Abstract
Cross-cultural conflict is often rooted in variation between values from different cultures, for example, differences
in time orientation. Usually, individuals are monochronic or polychronic regarding time orientation. In
South Africa, the term African time represents a nuanced polychronic time orientation. As this term is often
used pejoratively, it is cardinal to break down stigmatization and create cultural awareness regarding this
unique time orientation. In this paper, we argue that people must be cognizant of particular time orientations to
facilitate intercultural dialogue better and lessen conflict. With this in mind, we employed empirically-engaged
African philosophy and developed the African Time Inventory (ATI). We theoretically introduce African time
as a unique time orientation during the scale development process. The psychometric properties of the ATI are
presented and proved to be reliable and valid in South Africa. In praxis, utilizing the ATI can facilitate decolonization
resulting from some needed cultural awareness for dialogue and conflict mitigation.