Identifying the religious background of the householder is one thing; getting him interested in the good news is quite another. A typical response, usually in a mixture of Chinese, and English, is: “Semua agama sama lah.” This is followed by, “Sorry, I am not interesting.” With a wide smile, the householder has just told you that he thinks all religions are the same and that he is not interested.

Coping With the Languages and Customs

To deal with the multilanguage situation, a well-stocked literature case is needed when preaching from house to house. But this does not always solve the problem.

For instance, being Chinese and having Chinese literature does not automatically mean that a Witness can communicate with a Chinese householder. Do they speak the same dialect? If the Witness is Hokkien and the householder Cantonese, this could be a problem. Since Chinese dialect is tonal, the slightest variation of pronunciation can convey a totally different message. To illustrate: It was more than amusing when a Hokkien-speaking pioneer sister went about in a Cantonese area telling people she was a “mad student” when she intended to say she was a “Bible student.”

Even when the right word is used, it may not mean the same thing to everyone.