Influence of culture on communication
...or American want us to become an educated person as education shapes a person to become a good human being, a civilized person and a mannered person. Normally educated people always follow what their culture taught them. As a result they behave more mannerly when they communicate with other people. It is because educated people understand what their culture is saying and how to practice good communication skills in daily life. They also have a wide range of vocabulary in the way they talk to people. It is important as when we use a wide range of vocabulary in our communication our talking becomes more interesting rather than boring. For example an educated person knows that is an easier way to communicate to a friend whom staying in overseas country by emails rather than sending letters by post. It is because nowadays we have so much advance technology that it is so easy and convenient to keep in touch with a friend in overseas. But if you are a non educated person you probably wouldn’t know the latest technology like emails and chatting in internet and you most probably would write letters to your friend whom staying in overseas country by post. I’m not saying that the old fashion letter writing is not good it is just that method waste time in getting a faster reply from the other end person. So why not use the latest technology that is available as it is much more saving time and fastest way to communicate to person who’s staying far from us like in another country. It is obviously showing that culture influences communication process. There are differences that exist in the communicative behaviors of people from two different cultures. For example, people in Alaska rub their nose when they meet their friend or relative at outside. This sound strange but Alaska people do practice this habit as it is part of culture. So that certain culture is practice in communication among they people. When one has specific doing in their culture, it automatically will be followed during communicating with other people. Do you know that, people in Arabic country pat the back of a friend or relative they meet outside their home like in the street or visitors coming to their house. They perform such habit because they are taught to do like that in their culture. Therefore those things are practiced in the communicative behaviors. Maybe for us Malaysian those habit sounds strange but those habits doe’s exits in different cultures. That habit is something like what the Malays practice when going to other’s house which is by greeting them hello before entering their house. It’s a good habit to be followed as it shows the sign that the respect they pay to other people. People from different cultures encode and decode messages differently, increasing the chances of misunderstanding, so the safety-first consequence of recognizing cultural differences should be to assume that everyone’s thoughts and actions are not just like ours. Even when two people think they can speak each other's language, the chance of error is high. Usages and contextual inferences may be completely different between cultures. So even though one speaker may have learned the vocabulary of the other's language, selecting the most appropriate words, with the correct intonation, spoken with appropriate eye contact while standing a proper distance from the other are all critical even before one considers the propriety of the topic to be discussed. People may misinterpret each other's motives. For example, one group may assume that they are simply exchanging information about what they believe, but the other believes that they are negotiating a change in behavior. This is most likely to arise when the parties are not completely honest with each other from the outset. Individuals may wish to protect their privacy, corporations may be concerned about industrial espionage, and politicians may be bound by requirements of secrecy in the national interest. Nevertheless, clarifying the purpose of the interaction is essential to eliminating confusion, particularly if vested interests are involved. I can give u an example of situation where I experience a communication problem caused by culture barrier. When I was at my secondary school there was a foreign exchange student from Hungary in my class. He was from Hungary at a place called Budapest. It was after lunch time and I saw him at the class. I asked if he had eaten or not. He nodded at me. So I thought he ate ready. But then he asked me if I can accompany him to the canteen as he was very hungry. I was shock to hear that as just now when I asked whether he eaten or not he nod at me. So I asked him again he said that when he nods at me it meant that he hasn’t eaten yet. According to him in his culture, when a person nods his head it means no and when a person shakes his head it means yes. I was totally confused first but then its true different people got different culture. It was a total new experience for me. There’s also another experience which I had as a result of different cultural background. I had a pen-pal called Brian Cruise from Canada when I was 13 years old. We wrote to each other a lot. He became a very good friend of mine. After two years, Brian’s father who was a business man had a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He told that he want to follow his dad to Malaysia as he was excited to meet me and see my culture. I was happy to hear that and I told him that I can pick him from the airport and he can stay with me until his dad finishes his business matter. So then Brian finally came to my house. It was Friday that day and on the same time it was our Indian new year. Therefore my family prepared a lot vegetarian meal to celebrate the occasion. My family invited Brian to eat with us. My mom laid banana leaf on the table for each of us and served food on it. Brian was so amazed to see it and asked why we are eating on the banana leaf rather than eating on a plate. Then I explain to him that in our Indian culture we eat vegetarian food on the banana leaf on some special occasion. Brian told that it was a new experience for him and that he that he felt happy knowing about a new culture. There are a number of aspects of communication that can cause problems when working with people from different backgrounds. Two of the most common ones are language and non-verbal behaviours. Language problems may occur if all individuals within a team do not use the same first language. In these situations, for ease of communication, the team often chooses a common language that they can use for group communications. Language differences between individuals can occur at two different levels which are vocabulary. Confusion can arise if individuals simply do not understand one another in terms of the language being used; difference in vocabulary, pronunciation, use of slang and idioms can all cause problems. Another one is language style. Different styles of language can also lead to difficulties in comprehension. For example, some people may be very direct, whilst others are indirect; some may be expansive whilst others are succinct. Over-evaluation of individuals' style of language can lead to a misunderstanding of their intent. Gestures form a significant part of methods of communication. However, there are few if any universal gestures. Non-verbal behaviours or 'body language' vary considerably from one culture to another. For example, a high level of eye contact is considered a sign of attentiveness in some cultures and a sign of rudeness in others. In some cultures individuals are encouraged to express their emotions openly, whilst in others openly demonstrating feelings are discouraged. These differences in body language can lead to misunderstandings between people of different cultural backgrounds. It is essential that people research the cultures and communication conventions of those whom they propose to meet. This will minimize the risk of making the elementary mistakes. It is also prudent to set a clear agenda so that everyone understands the nature and purpose of the interaction. It is also prudent to set a clear agenda so that everyone understands the nature and purpose of the interaction. When language skills are unequal, clarifying one’s meaning in four ways will improve communication which are avoid using slang and idioms, choosing words that will convey only the most specific denotative meaning; listen carefully and, if in doubt, ask for confirmation of understanding particularly important if local accents and pronunciation are a problem; recognize that accenting and intonation can cause meaning to vary significantly; and respect the local communication formalities and styles, and watch for any changes in body language. If it is not possible to learn the other's language, it is expedient to show some respect by learning a few words. In all important exchanges, a translator can convey the message. When one has a deeper understanding of the codes and expressions of different cultures, it is easier to find out how and to what extent one can adapt, and how one can move and live in a bicultural way. For example, when parents from Africa hear children in Norway calling their teachers by their first names, they take it as a clear sign of disrespect and they do not want that attitude in their children. However, by looking more carefully at the relationship between children and teachers in Norway and Southern Africa, one may find that there is respect in both cultures, but respect for adults is more emphasized in Southern Africa. In Norway, friendliness and care may be emphasized in this relationship to a greater extent than in Southern Africa. We can see that many of the same values are represented in Norway and Southern Africa, but sometimes they...