C.Y.

2018 - 2019 GED106 Purposive Communication

Communication and Globalization:

Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings

Globalization has been regarded as the key to the worldwide integration of

humanity, where there is an increased in economic, political, and cultural
integration and interdependence of diverse cultures.
Communication in the modern world must be anchored on the concept of diversity,
since effective communication and the ability to understand cultural differences are
skills that have become requisites not only for a meaningful social life but also for a
successful professional career.
Digital technology has erased territorial boundaries among countries and among
people with varying cultures.
The cost of cultural insensitivity in global communication can be felt in everyday
communication, as cultural misunderstandings often lead to misinterpretation and
unnecessary tension between people.
Sensitivity is the key to any successful communicative situation.
In communicating in a highly global environment, the challenges that faces
everyone is to learn to understand, accept, and address cultural – and
communication – differences.

ASSESSMENT: Are you ready to communicate in a global and multicultural

environment? Assess your readiness to communicate effectively with people having
different cultures. Simply write TRUE or FALSE on the space provided before each
number.

________1. I enjoy communicating with persons who are like me in terms of interests
and with the same socio-economic status, as much as I enjoy
communicating those who are not „like‟ me.
________2. I am equally sensitive to the concerns of all groups of society, and I
genuinely care to the plight and issues surrounding them.
________3. I can tell when persons with different cultures do not understand me or
are confused by my actions
________4. I am not afraid of interacting neither with members of minority groups nor
with members of a dominant culture.
________5. Persons from other cultures who do not actively participate in a
conversation, debate or any form of discussion act that way probably
because of their culture‟s rules.
________6. Persons from other cultures have the right to be angry at members of my
own culture.
________7. How I handle conflict or disagreements with persons from other cultures
depends on the situation and on the culture they are from.
________8. My culture is not superior to other cultures.
________9. I am knowledgeable of how to behave when communicating or interacting
with people having different cultures.
________10. I respect the communication rules of cultures other than my own.

Myra Clarisse B. Laylo │ Page 1 of 2

 C.Y. 2018 - 2019 GED106 Purposive Communication

The greater the number of statements that are honestly true to you, the more prepared
you are to welcome the opportunity of communicating and interacting with people rom
different cultures.

LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS

World Englishes – the regionally distinct varieties of English that have arisen in parts
of the world where there is a long and often colonial history of English being used in
education, commerce and government (Celce-Murcia, 2014)

Examples of World Englishes are Indian English, West African English, Singapore
English, and Filipino English.

MAJOR ISSUE: Varieties of World Englishes are often not fully intelligible to users
of other varieties.
o Example: Dine in or Take out? Kirkpatrick (2007) proposes a scale with two
extremes that characterize this problem:
 Extreme 1: The goal of national or regional identity. People use a
regional variety of English with its specific grammar, structure and
vocabulary to affirm their own national or ethnic identity (e.g. Only
Filipinos use the terms “senatoriable”, “congressman”, “chancing”, and
“bedspacer”, among others, and use these when communicating with
other Filipinos).
 Extreme 2: The goal of intelligibility. Users of a regional variety should
ideally still be readily understood by users of English everywhere else
in the world to fully participate in the use of English as an international
language (e.g. Users of Filipino English have to understand that they
have to use “bin” instead of “trash can” or “lift” instead of “elevator”
when in a country using British English).

CHALLENGE: Find a good balance between the identity-intelligibility extremes.

Hence, speakers of the English language may resort to code-switching (i.e., using
English and another language in the same statement)

Reference:

Tejada et.al .Purposive Communication. (2018) Sucat, Muntinlupa City: Panday-

Lahi Publishing House, Inc.

Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs:

the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so.

Myra Clarisse B. Laylo │ Page 2 of 2