Topic > The main obstacles to communication between different cultures and languages ​​

Communication has been defined in many ways by different scholars. It is defined as a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviors (Webster, 1828). It can also be said to be in the form of codes or secret languages. When two parties are unable to receive and understand messages sent through different mediums, whether through information, ideas and thoughts, these are called communication barriers. Barriers to communication can mainly be caused by intercultural differences. Today the world we live in is a global village where no nation, group or culture can remain anonymous (Samovar and Porter, 1997). Different cultures have difficulty understanding each other's points of view both at work and in the workplace. It can also be defined as cultured good manners; that is, the set of experience learned and matured by a person that is transmitted socially, or more briefly, behavior through group learning. Culture is the set of customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group (Webster, 1828). In this essay we will discuss the main barriers to communication between different cultures and languages. These barriers include language, signs and symbols, behavior and nature, stereotypes and prejudices, religions of ethnocentrism, individual space and food. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To successfully communicate with individuals or colleagues in an organization or team, we need to understand the communication environment and know the barriers that prevent our messages from being sent and received successfully. We understand different ways of communicating in many different ways. When we look at language barriers, this occurs when people do not speak the same language or have different levels of proficiency in a language. Barriers can occur even when people speak the same language. This can be through the use of slang or an inappropriate level of language. Many of us hesitate to communicate with a foreigner because we cannot understand their language or accent. For example, an Asian may not feel comfortable speaking to an Australian, due to their strong English accent (Rampur, 2018). Linguistic differences occur in verbal, written, and nonverbal communication and can constitute substantial barriers to effective intercultural communication. Distinct spoken dialects are undeniable obstacles to convincing verbal exchange in multilateral affairs. However, learning a modern dialect can take longer. Indeed, in the long term, if you think about it seriously and top institutions don't have the time or resources to allow people to carry on their dialect skills. Problems can arise while a man or woman would have to rely on their knowledge of any other language to arrange their presence in another nation or work with a person from another country. If their dialect aptitudes are a little unusual or are no longer as well known as they should be, it can add to real problems in technology. For example, in the United States, eye contact is regularly described as a form of honesty and alertness. However, in Hispanic cultures, eye contact is often avoided as a sign of understanding a person in a characteristic of authority. In most business situations it is very advantageous to use an interpreter instead of a translator because an interpreter deliverswith spoken words while a translator offers with written words. An interpreter and a translator each convey the meaning of one language to the other. Written communication is usually actual writing through circular letters, criticisms, memos, announcements or telegrams. When we look at written communication, these are documents that can be taken into account, appropriate in one way of lifestyles or culture and may not be suitable for someone who belongs to another type of culture. The substance and manner of composed and authoritative communications may also be at odds between societies. In some companies a coordinated approach is desirable. In others, most of the message is conveyed first through respectful phrases that have little or nothing to do with the main reason for the message. At that point the message can also be followed up with polite phrases that have little or no relation to the purpose of the communication. It is important to know that nonverbal communication is one of the most important ways of communicating between cultures. To understand this you need to become familiar with “high and low context” cultures. When we talk about context; these are 'the circumstances which constitute the setting for an event, statement or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood (Oxford Living Dictionary, n.d.)'. It is therefore the knowledge of the circumstances that frame an event or ideas in these cultures. “High context” societies rely deeply on nonverbal communication, using necessity in combination with proximity in their interaction, rigorous social orders, and deep social documents to speak, differentiate, and “low context” societies typically rely on words themselves. For example, according to the Korea Times, waving your hand vertically with your palm facing out means "goodbye" in the United States, but can be misinterpreted to mean "come here" to someone from Korea. Stereotype is a way of creating or developing an image of an entire culture by either overgeneralizing all human beings belonging to the same culture as having identical dispositions and classifying them accordingly. Samovar and Porter (1991) define stereotypes as overgeneralized, secondhand beliefs that provide conceptual bases from which we “make sense” of our surroundings, regardless of whether they are accurate or appropriate to the circumstances. This is a belief that a certain group of people have about something, and it's usually terrible. The stereotype can be completed with the idea of ​​many things which include race, nationality, gender, faith, ethnicity and age. For example, in faith, Muslims are defined as violent human beings in society and in Zambia, Bemba are considered as crooks in society. Negative stereotypes produce prejudice because they cause a judgmental mentality towards specific cultures. Human beings will begin to view the lifestyle as evil and will begin to treat those people who have an equal lifestyle badly or horribly. The media plays a role in societies as it is available and promotes prejudices among the extraordinary organizations of those cultures due to stereotypes that limit verbal exchange. Coming from sensitive religions or backgrounds can act as a boundary for talking to someone. From time to time a person may also enjoy stubbornly talking to human beings of excellent religions. In most cases, due to the evaluation of beliefs, they have an impact on how one views them. Different societies and cultures follow different religions around the world. Ethnocentrism and stereotypes refer to background.