Intercultural Communication
Jenny Dang
Coms018VerbalCommunication.pptx
Verbal Communication
Linguistics (study of language)
Linguistics (study of language) answers important questions concerning universal aspects of languages and how a concept in one language is expressed in another language.
Phonology is the study of the sound system of language.
Phonology looks at how words are pronounced, which units of sound (phonemes) are meaningful, and which sounds are universal.
Because different languages use different sounds, it is often difficult for nonnative speakers to learn how to pronounce some sounds.
Mispronounced words
Anyway
Tenet
Coup de grâce
Hyperbole
Ophthalmologist
Prestigious
Coup
Rendezvous
Genre
Faux pas
Attache
Albeit
Semantics is the study of meaning.
Semantics describes how words communicate the meaning we intend to get across. For example, a person may understand individual words but not the meaning of the phrase when the words are put together.
Different languages have different words for the same object. Even cultures that share a language (the United States and Britain) have different words for the same object.
Syntactics is the study of the structure of a language or the rules for combining words into meaningful sentences.
Languages have rules concerning the structure and expression of plural, possessive, and gender forms (subject, verb, object arrangement, and so on).
Learning a language is not merely learning words and their meanings. One must also learn the rules that govern the language.
Pragmatics is the study of how language is used in particular contexts
There are five specific functions or ways we use language:
i. Language is used to give information.
ii. Language is used to control others' behavior.
iii. Language communicates feeling.
iv. Language is used to participate in rituals.
v. Language is used to execute plans.
Pragmatics (cont.)
The meaning of language depends on the context and the persons who are communicating, which makes pragmatics different from semantics (which focuses solely on the meaning of the words spoken).
The meaning does not come from the words or the word order alone. Meaning also depends on other things like nonverbal cues.
Code Switching
As we’ve seen, people communicate differently in different cultural communities.
Thus, the context in which the communication occurs is a significant part of the meaning.
And while we might communicate in one way in one culture, we might change our communication style for another culture.
Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf developed the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (that the language we speak determines our perception of reality) based on their research of Native American languages.
They proposed that language not only expresses ideas but also shapes ideas and perceptions of the world.
It may be more accurate to view language as a tool rather than a mirror of perception.
It may mean that members of cultural groups really experience the world very differently and, in a sense, that they live in very different perceptual worlds.
High-context communication/Low-context communication
High-context communication is rather indirect, with most of the information residing in the context or being internalized in the person, rather than in the spoken verbal message.
Low-context communication is demonstrated when the bulk of the meaning and information of the message resides in the spoken words. The emphasis is on verbally explicit communication.
The "Power" Effects of Labels
Another way of looking at power and language is to think about the labels we use to refer to others and ourselves.
Labels acknowledge and communicate aspects of our social identity.
The context in which a label is used may determine how strongly we feel about the label.
Labels communicate many levels of meaning and establish particular kinds of relationships between speaker and listener.
Labels
Write down ten labels you use to describe yourself or others use to describe you.
