LANGUAGE &
INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS
“All speech, written or spoken, is a
dead language, until it finds a
willing and prepared hearer”
R.L. Stevenson, Lay Morals
Big Ideas about Communication
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Communication is a Process
Meanings are in People
Communications involves Perceptions
– Perceptions are not always accurate
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Communication is Symbolic
Communication requires Context
We communicate to satisfy needs.
Communication involves ethical choices
Communication competence
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No one, ideal way.
Situational
Relational
Can be learned
This Chapter’s Focus on Becoming a
Competent Communicator
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To understand the influence of culture
and context on communication
Competent communicators
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A wide range of behaviors rather than a
few
The ability to choose the most
appropriate behaviors
Mindfulness
Empathy/perspective taking
Cognitive complexity
Self-monitoring
Commitment to others
Competent Communicators
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Skills at performing behaviors
– Listening
– Reframing
– Argumentation
– Persuading
The Nature of Language
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Language is Symbolic
Meanings are in People, not Words
Language is Rule-Governed
Rule governed
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Phonological rules
Semantic rules
Syntactic rules
Pragmatic rules
– Relationship
– Setting
– Nonverbal behavior
The Power of Language
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Language shapes perception
Meanings are negotiated between
communicators
Roles of Communication
– as interpersonal influence
– as information processing
– as artful public address
– a process of sharing meanings through
signs
– as the creation and enactment of social
reality
– as reflective challenge of unjust discourse
– as an experience of self and others
through dialogue
Triangle of Meaning
C.K. Ogden & I.A. Richards
USER
WORD
(SYMBOL)
THING
(REFERENT)
BALANCE THEORY
Fritz Heider (1958)
PERSON
ATTITUDE OBJECT
OTHER
PERSON
(THING, EVENT,
ACTION)
Language shapes attitudes
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Naming
Credibility
Status
Sexism and racism
Language reflects attitudes
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Power
Affiliation
– Convergence
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Responsibility
– it versus I
– You versus I
– but versus and
– questions versus statements
Implications ….
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Meanings are in People
Perceptions are in People
Attitudes are shaped and reflected in
language
Conversational style choices are made
by People
Motives for communications are in
People
Activity
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Write the name of a vegetable that you
don’t like on a piece of paper
Write the name of an animal (bug, pest,
or otherwise) that scares you or you
dislike
Write the name of a loved one, family
member, close friend on a piece of
paper
Communication problems
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Equivocal
Relative
Emotive
Disruptive
Overly Abstract
Troublesome Language
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Language of Misunderstanding
Stereotypes
Confusion
Disruptive Language
Evasive Language
Overly abstract language
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Abstraction ladder
– low level abstractions are specific
– high level abstractions
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useful as short-cut
useful to avoid confrontations
problematic as stereotyping
problematic when confusing others
Avoid overly abstract language
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Use behavioral descriptions
– Person(s) who?
– Circumstances - when and where?
– Observable behavior - what?
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Reasoning
– Argument by example, argument by
analogy
– Fallacies in reasoning
• Sign reasoning
Powerless Language
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Hedges:
– I think we should …
– I guess I’d like to …
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Hesitations:
– Uh, can I have a minute …
– I wish you would - er -- try to be on time.
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Intensifiers:
– So that’s how I feel …
– I’m not very hungry
Disruptive language
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Fact-opinion confusion
– Facts can be verified
– Opinions are beliefs
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Fact-inference confusion
– Facts
– Inference conclusions from interpretations
of evidence
Evasive language
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Euphemism
Equivocation
Language & Culture
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Verbal Communication Styles
Face and Facework
Proxemics
Individual Differences
What seems
logical, sensible,
and important in
one culture, may
seem illogical,
irrational,
unimportant in
another culture.
INSIGHTS
Perceptual tendencies
Perception checking
Describe, interpret, clarify …..
Verbal communication styles
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Directness
– low-context cultures
– high-context cultures
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Elaborate or succinct
– Arab elaborated style
– succinctness and silence valued
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Formal and informality
Language & Sex
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Content
Reasons for Communicating
Conversational Style
Nongender Variables
Sex Roles
“If women speak and hear a
language of connection, while men
speak and hear a language of status
and independence, then
communication between men and
women can be like cross-cultural
communication, prey to a clash of
conversational styles. Instead of
different dialects, it has been said
they speak different genderlects”.
Deborah Tannen, You Just Don’t Understand: Women and
Men in Conversation
Men are from Mars, Women are
from Venus, or are they?
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30,445 students last spring, 61% or
18,500 female and 39% male
Students from 86 countries (one planet)
Deborah Tannen
Powerless Language
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Polite forms:
– Excuse me, sir …
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Tag questions:
– It’s about time we got started, isn’t it?
– Don’t you think we should give it another
try?
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Disclaimers:
– I probably shouldn’t say this, but …
– I’m not really sure, but …
Professor Stone, Patton, Heen -
INSIGHTS
Harvard Project book entitled Difficult
Conversations
Be persistent about listening.
Say what is missing in their story
that would help it make sense to you.
Ask for advice.
Ask what, if anything, would
persuade them.
Invent new options.
Language Effectiveness
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Mindfulness
Dignity of others
Cognitive complexity
Self-monitoring
Develop skills to create a wide range of
behaviors