Ch 6
Juan Guevara
Language and Intercultural Communication
I have been blessed to travel quite a bit. I have been to Europe, twice. I’ve been to Sout America, Canada, Asia, and a bit in the U.S. One of the things that have fascinated me the most, other than the food, is the change in communication. There is a phonetic difference but that is completely normal. The detail which I describe as a proper phenomenon is a dynamic difference in communication. There is a fundamental difference even though there is an identical word translation. Some obvious reasons are the difference between High and Low Context Communications (Martin 2018, pg. 232).
I speak Spanish and English and I speak both well, thanks in part to my mother. She had a strict Spanish only rule in the house. I used to think it was because she wanted to ensure we spoke proper Spanish, what she claimed, Now I realize it was probably due to the universal feeling of being uncomfortable with others speaking a different language than you in front of you. Regardless- so grateful.
Back to my point; I speak both languages and they can be easily translated. In a literal sense; however, the communication transaction is much more complicated. If I were to request something in English say a lawnmower, no problem. If you wanted to request a lawnmower in Mexico, there is a huge difference. There might be several reasons why this is. Perhaps due to poverty, perhaps it is due to this equipment being less common in Mexico, or maybe it is because the culture in Mexico does not take borrowing and lending items so nonchalantly. The communication is contained in the context and no so much in the explicitly of the words, in order words, high context.
This dynamic is not exclusive to property though, that is the interesting detail. It goes beyond that and can contact things such as requesting assistance or offering it. There is an impression the person can be indebted. There is even an expression that describes the action of shamelessly reminding someone of a favor that was done in the past. Needless to say, it is something heavy to drop on anyone.
I’m not saying a low context communication is better; however, I am saying each style could have it’s extreme and unhealthy version.
Martin, J. (2018). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Language and Intercultural Communication
I have been blessed to travel quite a bit. I have been to Europe, twice. I’ve been to Sout America, Canada, Asia, and a bit in the U.S. One of the things that have fascinated me the most, other than the food, is the change in communication. There is a phonetic difference but that is completely normal. The detail which I describe as a proper phenomenon is a dynamic difference in communication. There is a fundamental difference even though there is an identical word translation. Some obvious reasons are the difference between High and Low Context Communications (Martin 2018, pg. 232).
I speak Spanish and English and I speak both well, thanks in part to my mother. She had a strict Spanish only rule in the house. I used to think it was because she wanted to ensure we spoke proper Spanish, what she claimed, Now I realize it was probably due to the universal feeling of being uncomfortable with others speaking a different language than you in front of you. Regardless- so grateful.
Back to my point; I speak both languages and they can be easily translated. In a literal sense; however, the communication transaction is much more complicated. If I were to request something in English say a lawnmower, no problem. If you wanted to request a lawnmower in Mexico, there is a huge difference. There might be several reasons why this is. Perhaps due to poverty, perhaps it is due to this equipment being less common in Mexico, or maybe it is because the culture in Mexico does not take borrowing and lending items so nonchalantly. The communication is contained in the context and no so much in the explicitly of the words, in order words, high context.
This dynamic is not exclusive to property though, that is the interesting detail. It goes beyond that and can contact things such as requesting assistance or offering it. There is an impression the person can be indebted. There is even an expression that describes the action of shamelessly reminding someone of a favor that was done in the past. Needless to say, it is something heavy to drop on anyone.
I’m not saying a low context communication is better; however, I am saying each style could have it’s extreme and unhealthy version.
Martin, J. (2018). Intercultural Communication in Contexts (7th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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