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The world is filled with a variety of interesting, unique, and rich cultures, built by peoples over the ages. By sharing stories, raising offspring, practicing art, and erecting monuments to the days past, individuals are able to keep their particular shared history alive. The existence of different cultures contributes to global diversity and allows folk to preserve and display their legacy. In many cases, people of different backgrounds also speak different languages, due to the way their society developed communication and writing. This fact, while understandable and beneficial to the overall diversity in the world, also makes communication difficult. Most people learn one particular language from birth, in some cases two. Understanding the rules and particularities of language systems unfamiliar often presents difficulty, especially when language is learned at an adult age. This, in turn, means that people often do not have the capacity to learn every major language. The inability to properly understand what other people are saying is a barrier to both effective understanding and verbal communication, impairing the way individuals can interact. This paper will argue for some of the major problems of language barriers in the context of intercultural communication, highlighting the severity of the issue and its effect on the practice. In an effort to give full proper context to the problem, potential workarounds and solutions will also be brought up. During the course of this assignment, further understanding of language’s impact on communication will be reached.
The language barrier can manifest in a variety of ways. Most obviously, it could mean an inability for two parties or more to understand each other’s language, making conversation nigh impossible. In other cases, language barriers represent a struggle to properly convey intended meanings in a manner that is understandable to a person of another culture. The communication process itself is multi-layered and consists of a variety of processes during which gaps in understanding can occur. Examining a communication process between two parties, they can be classified as the sender and the receiver. In this framework, one side sends a “message”, which can be a literal message, a spoken phrase, or any other piece of information conveyed through some medium. The message is then transferred through a particular channel, metaphorical or literal, to reach the receiving party. This action then prompts a response that further directs the conversation. In the case of language barriers, most resistance is present in the process of message’s creation by its sender and the effort of “decoding” it by the receiver. Since both parties have an incomplete understanding of each other’s language and culture, mistakes in phrasing or translation are likely to occur. Taking into account the particular aspects of language miscommunication one can note a number of particular problems. First of all, the accent can become a significant barrier to correct understanding. As noted by research, accents have the potential to significantly distort what a person is saying, contributing to being unable to convey a particular message (Buarqoub 64). The general misunderstanding of words and their meaning can lead to a similar effect, as people become less able to correctly interpret each other’s words and have trouble keeping up a coherent conversation (Edwards et al. 1). In some cases, the misuse of vocabulary and words can also occur (Keles 1513). Either unintentionally utilizing incorrect words, utilizing slang or offensive terms, and failing to use the correct means to convey one’s message can be especially detrimental to communication.
The issue of communications issues is important, as it can lead to a variety of negative outcomes in both a personal and global sense. Historically, miscommunications have often lead to increased misunderstanding and hostility between people, sparking unnececary conflicts and raising tenshions. An inability to properly interpret or relay meaning in words or gestures has also contributed to inaccuracies in records, cultural ignorance and possible mistreatment of individuals. In a more modern sense, communication still plays a key part in working with others, and in an increasingly globalized environment, people have to find ways of cooperating with whose from different cultures. A buseness venture or development can be significantly hindered by people’s inability to fully interact, as work relations are tightly connected to the formation of mutual understanding. An inability to communicate with no issues puts the process of international development of business into question and stunts their ability to grow stronger. Interpersonal relationships are also affected by the problems of not understanding another’s culture. Individuals can be hard pressed to form connections when they cannot meaningfully interpret another person’s words, or fully understand them.
There are a number of ways one can avoid the problems that come with the communication barrier. A most obvious and direct way is using written language, as it fully nullified the effects of an accent or pronunciation differences. Writing gives a person an ability to further examine what they are about to say, reflect on their wording choices, grammar, vocabulary, and the general understandability of their message. This solution, however, is not universal. In many cases, written language and writing, in general, are either harder than direct communication or inaccessible. This can come about due to the unavailability of technology or the internet as a means of text communication, or the relative difficulty of written communication. People tend to verbalize their thoughts in a foreign language better, and more quickly grasp the necessary vocabulary to communicate (Why Writing Is Harder Than Speaking: And What You Can Do About That). Another way to amend the language barrier is the use of a proxy language, a universal language that is shared between two parties. Most often, that language is English, which is used to translate intended meaning into a platform both parties have a more equal chance of understanding (McKay 9). The use of other languages, however, is also not the perfect solution, as it requires both parties to know the intermediary language at a sufficient level. The method of communication is also susceptible to the same problems general intercultural communication faces, including the effect of accents, misuse of words, and misinterpretation of meaning. The last approach towards counteracting misunderstanding between two parties would be the use of sign language. As a universal platform of communication, it allows one to fully eliminate the need to use words and broadens the potential spectrum of people one could communicate with. Meaning is conveyed through signs in this case, in which particular hand movements representing words or actions. It can also be used to improve the process of communication through enhanced understanding (Jantzen 1). The only downside of this approach is that a relatively small population of the world is familiar with sign language, and not many people are able to learn it easily. As a more physical medium than other languages, it requires a specific level of competency to master.
In conclusion, it can be said that the process of communication is difficult and often requires both parties to exert a large amount of effort to reach an understanding. This is most easily evident in cases of intercultural communication, where the language barrier between the parties prevents them from fully understanding each other. Due to the need to actively try and understand another language or a somewhat incorrect version of one’s own, their ability to understand what is being said lessens, leading to miscommunication and frustration, in many cases. Conversation can be impeded by a variety of factors, including lack of knowledge or skill with a particular language, or lapses in necessary vocabulary. Such factors as a person’s word choices in language also add to the lack of understanding. During the process of communication two sides participate in the process of conveying, transferring, and decoding messages, with multiple points at which the process can be distorted. The influence of accents, the usage of particular words or phrases, and the general inability to accurately translate the meaning of a phrase, all contribute to a general lack of good communication. While different ways of amending this issue exist, none of them offer a surefire way to bypass language difference, only serving as alternatives the enhance convenience. It is important to recognize the possible barriers one might face when attempting communication with a person of a different culture, and make informed decisions based on the knowledge they have on a foreign culture. Being respectful and assuming differences instead of similarities are the initial steps on can take towards establishing a productive relationship with a member of another global community.
Bibliography
Jantzen, Tisha M. “The Power of Sign: Enhancing Oral Communication with Young Children with Typical Hearing.” Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2011). Print.
“Why Writing Is Harder Than Speaking: And What You Can Do About That.” Worditude. 04 July 2020. Web. 15 Apr. 2021.
McKay, Sandra Lee. “English As an International Language: What It Is and What It Means For Pedagogy.” RELC Journal 49.1 (2018): 9-23. Print.
Keles, Yener. “What Intercultural Communication Barriers Do Exchange Students of Erasmus Program Have During Their Stay in Turkey, Mugla?” Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences 70 (2013): 1513-524. Print.
Buarqoub, I.a.s. “Language Barriers to Effective Communication.” Utopía Y Praxis Latinoamericana. 2019. Web. 15 Apr. 2021.
Edwards, Renee, Brock T. Bybee, Jonathon K. Frost, Adam J. Harvey, and Michael Navarro. “That’s Not What I Meant: How Misunderstanding Is Related to Channel and Perspective-Taking.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology 36.2 (2016): 188-210. Print.
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