Lesson 4: Communication Modes

Communication mode refers to the channel through which one expresses one’s
communicative intent. It is the medium through which one conveys his/her thoughts.

A. Face-to-face Communication

- Face-to-face communication has the distinction of being able to see the other
party or parties in a conversation. It allows for a better exchange of information since
both speaker and listener are able to see and interpret body language and facial
expressions.

Also…

• It is one way of gaining new acquaintances or friends.

• It can be an informal or casual conversation between 2 or more people

• The most genuine form of communication.

Five Benefits of Face-to-face Communication

1. EASIER TO CONVINCE PEOPLE

- When you’re conversing with someone who disagrees with you, communication
over text or email can be cumbersome and ineffective. You may not have their
full attention, or they may just be skimming over the words you’ve written. They
may be doing something else rather than listening to you.

2. STRONGER CONNECTION

- Persons who do not see your face during the conversation are not likely to feel
the same connection to you as someone who sees you on a regular basis. They hear
you. They read your words. But seeing you makes a connection that can't be
substituted by any other method.

3. BETTER NON-VERBAL UNDERSTANDING

- It’s not just about talking. There’s another important dimension of

communication: body language. Nonverbal cues can tell you a lot about a person,
and that’s information that you can’t get over email, over the phone, or even over
video chat.

4. QUICKER AND MORE EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING

- Problem-solving is done better face-to-face. It might take ten emails to hash out
a minor detail that could be handled in two minutes in person. You might go back and
forth all day trying to find a solution to a problem that you could solve in a half hour
meeting. Instantaneous replies can build off each other.
5. MORE TEAM PARTICIPATION

- Getting your team or your family members all in one room can be a hassle, but
it’s worth it. People are more engaged and more collaborative in face-to-face settings.
Though some members of your team might go out on a limb to send you an idea or a
quick thought over email, others might only do so if prompted. A community setting like
a meeting is a great space to invite participation from every member of your team.

B. VIDEO BASED COMMUNICATION

Video conferencing is a live video-based meeting between two or more people in

different locations using video-enabled devices. Video conferencing allows multiple
people to meet and collaborate face to face long distance by transmitting audio,
video, text and presentations in real time through the internet.

Also…

1. Web cameras are used so that two or more people who cannot interact face-to-
face can communicate.

2. If there are no technical glitches encountered, this could be a very effective mode
of communication especially for people separated by distance

3. This is a convenient communication mode for people who want to reach out to
each other despite distance; the challenge is the difference in the time zone between
countries.

FIVE ADVANTAGES

1.REDUCES TRAVEL COST

- The oldest known advantage of this technology is reduced travel expenses. A

decade ago, the only way to collaborate with was to travel to the meeting.
- That meant spending cash on transportation, hotel reservations, staff meals and
other travel costs. Video communication solves all these problems. With video
communication, attendees can join online meetings from anywhere, which
significantly minimizes travel costs and time required for travelling.

2. Enhances Teamwork

- Video communication connects teams across the globe, eliminating the barriers
created by face-to-face communication or the need to commute to meetings.

- Colleagues can collaborate without restraints and make faster decisions.

Also, meetings can be called immediately globally with little notice, where teams can
come together to discuss projects and jointly work through documents.
3. IMPROVED COMMUNICATION

- With video communication meetings, start and end-times are usually agreed
upon before the video call starts, allowing for a more detailed discussion.

- Also, attendees are likely to stay focused on the agenda of the meeting.
Rather than getting frustrating emails where some meanings are not clearly understood,
attendees can see body language and expressions from other attendees making
communication clearer.

4. MORE FLEXIBLE

- Regardless of how much notice is given for a meeting, it is unavoidable that

there will be days when certain participants can't attend for some reason. With face-to-
face meeting, this can be a big blow especially if their presence is important to the
meeting.

- The benefit of video communication is that the meeting can still run as
scheduled despite unanticipated situations that stop participants from attending.

5. INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY

- We've all been to meetings where some attendees arrive late or every
participant talks over everybody else, making the conference go over time.

- Team members might feel discouraged when they leave the meeting room
feeling misunderstood and as though they were ignored during the discussion. Video
communication ensures that team members connect effectively, bonding their
relationships. This boosts their morale and keeps communication flowing smoothly

C. AUDIO-BASED COMMUNICATION

Audio communication is any form of transmission that is based on hearing. Audio

communicative forms are found in such platforms as audio books, television, movie
soundtracks and music records.

Also…

• It means transmitted sound.

• In this mode of communication, ONLY the voice of the speaker is heard.

• Can be quite challenging especially if you are listening to an unfamiliar accent from
people
on call.
FIVE ADVANTAGES

1.PHONES ARE WIDELY ACCESSIBLE

- A large amount of population have their own phones. Apart from email and
instant messaging, this is one of the ways people can be contacted should their
services be needed.

2. MULTIPLE PARTIES CAN PARTICIPATE IN A DISCUSSION

- Phone systems these days allow callers to call more than one person. This
becomes particularly useful when each person is located in different places around the
city, state or even the world. This kind of conversation is pretty normal in businesses that
have multiple locations.

3. Allows people to participate in the conversation when they can’t physically make it

to the meeting

- Suppose one member of the team fell ill and has to stay in bed but it’s
important that he/she be part of the call because his/her knowledge is needed in
brainstorming for a particular project.

4. Inexpensive

- A lot of the audio/voice technologies are relatively budget friendly so a large

amount of the population have phones and can engage in audio-based
communication.

5. one can multitask

- One of the best things about talking to someone over the phone is that you
have the freedom to multitask. Listening to an audiobook is a great alternative for
reading if the other tasks do not require much of your attention.

D. Text-based Communication

Text-based communication means using a hand-held wireless telecommunications

device to manually communicate with any person or business by communication
referred to as a text message, instant message, or electronic mail.

Also…

• Text-based communication focuses on written messages by the use of social media, or

through texting.

• It has a wider reach and can disseminate information to a bigger audience.

FIVE ADVANTAGES

1.QUICK AND IMMEDIATE

- Texting is virtually instantaneous. You type in your message, send it, and most of
the time the recipient receives the message within seconds.

2. INEXPENSIVE

- You don't need an expensive smartphone to text; just a basic cell phone will
do. The cost of texting has fallen over time, and unlimited texting is included with many
cellphone plans nowadays.

3. EASY TO USE

- Sending and receiving texts comes pretty intuitively to most people— even
the least tech-savvy person can generally use it without trouble. Sending a text doesn't
usually involve logging in to a website, or sitting at a computer. You can text on the
move, or wherever you are located.

4. DISCREET

- Unlike making a phone call, texting can be carried out in relative privacy.
Whether you are in a busy office, at the cinema, or sat on a train, it's easy to send and
receive texts without disrupting those around you, and what you read and write is not
made public.

5.NO INTERNET CONNECTION REQUIRED

- You can use text in any place that you can connect to a cellular network,
which is virtually anywhere in modern countries. You don't have to rely on an internet
connection.

LESSON 5: Communication in Social Media

The evolution of social media has been fueled by the human impulse to communicate
and by advances in digital technology. It is a story about establishing and nurturing
personal connections at scale.

According to Merriam-Webster, social media is defined as “forms of electronic

communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through
which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages,
and other content (such as videos).”

The 2019 Pew Research Center report on social media use in the United States showed
that 72% of American adults use some form of social media. In 2005, the year after
Facebook went live, that number was 5%.
IN ASIA

The age of social media has hit the world like no other trend before. Social media
provides the opportunity to connect with different people throughout the entire world,
sharing videos, photos, opinions, and experiences. With great technological advances,
connectivity has soared allowing even the most remote of places to have internet
access

Social media consumption in the region has grown dramatically, with the likes of China,
India, Indonesia, and Japan leading the way in terms of monthly active users.

Additionally, citizens of the Philippines spent the longest time on social media per day,
ranking higher than the global average and followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
and India. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Asia Pacific has a strong social media
presence.

HOW DID IT BEGIN?

In a sense, social media began on May 24, 1844, with a series of electronic dots and
dashes tapped out by hand on a telegraph machine. The first electronic message from
Baltimore to Washington, D.C., proved Samuel Morse understood the historic
ramifications of his scientific achievement: “What hath God wrought?” he wrote.

SOCIAL SITES COMING INTO PLAY

In the 1980s and ’90s, according to “The History of Social Networking” on the
technology news site Digital Trends, the internet’s growth enabled the introduction of
online communication services such as CompuServe, America Online, and Prodigy.

They introduced users to digital communication through email, bulletin board

messaging, and real-time online chatting.

This gave rise to the earliest social media networks, beginning with the short-lived Six
Degrees profile uploading service in 1997. This service was followed in 2001 by
Friendster. These rudimentary platforms attracted millions of users and enabled email
address registration and basic online networking.

Weblogs, or blogs, another early form of digital social communication, began to gain
popularity with the 1999 launch of the LiveJournal publishing site. This coincided with the
launch of the Blogger publishing platform by the tech company Pyra Labs, which was
purchased by Google in 2003.

In 2002, LinkedIn was founded as a networking site for career-minded professionals. By

2020, it had grown to more than 675 million users worldwide. It remains the social media
site of choice for job seekers as well as human resources managers searching for
qualified candidates.
Two other major forays into social media collapsed after a burst of initial success. In 2003,
Myspace launched. By 2006, it was the most visited website on the planet, spurred by
users’ ability to share new music directly on their profile pages.

By 2008, it was eclipsed by Facebook. In 2011, Myspace was purchased by musician

Justin Timberlake for $35 million, but it has since become a social media afterthought.
Google’s attempt to elbow its way into the social media landscape, Google+, launched
in 2012. A rocky existence came to an end in 2018, after the private information of
nearly 500,000 Google+ users was compromised by a data security breach.

Top 5 Social Media Outlets

1.Instagram

- Long the home of influencers, brands, bloggers, small business owners, friends and
everyone in between, Instagram has topped well over 1 billion monthly users. If
you’re wondering whether a meaningful segment of your audience spends time
on the platform, the answer is almost surely a resounding yes.

2. YouTube

- YouTube hails as the second most popular search engine in the world today, right
behind its parent company, Google. If your business could benefit from producing
video tutorials or walkthroughs, visually driven instructional content, product reviews or
interviews, then this social media platform is a must for reaching their more than 2 billion
monthly users.

3. Facebook

- With nearly 2.5 billion monthly users, Facebook is hands down the largest social
media site in the world. While that practically ensures at least some of your audience
regularly uses the platform, it’s developed a somewhat negative reputation amongst
younger users that are increasingly turning to other alternative sites.

4. Twitter

- While Twitter’s monthly active user numbers have hovered consistently

around 300 million for a while now, a whopping 40% of those users are active on the site
multiple times daily, suggesting that if your audience uses the platform, they’re likely
very engaged. The popularity of this social media site remains high amongst tech-savvy
users and is particularly active in B2B verticals related to business, marketing and politics
today.

5. TikTok

- TikTok was created by Chinese tech giant ByteDance and was first released
in September 2016 under the name “Douyin”, which was marketed as a video-sharing
social networking service similar to Facebook and Instagram (both of which are
banned in China).
Today, TikTok reportedly sees over 800 million monthly users, which instantly places it
amongst the top social media platforms in the world in terms of sheer user figures. TikTok
is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second
videos, on any topic.

The Good and the Bad

In today’s world, social media is the best medium of communication for people.
Through social media people can easily communicate with other people. Social media
has become a very important part of life nowadays. The usage of social media has
grown much faster day by day.

The Pros

1. Social Media Used for Noble Causes

• Social media plays a very important role in helping people.

• There is a lot of communities available on social media for social work. People can join
those communities and can discuss their issues with the community.

• The people in the communities can help them and give them in terms of the best ever
advice and can also help them in terms of money

2. Social Media Used for Promotion and Advertising

• People can share their business products and services with the whole world because
the
whole world is connected and using social media.

• Online and also non-online businesses need promotions and advertisements to

promote their business to the people.

• Social media is the less expensive and profitable medium for promoting and advertising
the business, products, and services to the people.

3. Social Media Helps in Connectivity Among People

• In the world anywhere, you can make connectivity with the people you want with
the help of social media. Social media platforms provide you the possibility of
connectivity with the people in the world.

• On social media, you can make friends from anywhere or follow someone else.
Others also can follow and contact you with the help of social media.
The Cons

1. Cyberbullying

• Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that is done through social media platforms. Most
people make fake accounts on social media for teasing other people.

• They can do anything without being traced. They bully other people by sending bad
things
images and videos and teasing them.

• Bullying becomes quite easy by using social media. They create discomfort for
other peoples by negative comments and teasing by another kind of thing.

2. Social Media Used for Hacking

• Hacking is the worst disadvantage of social media mostly happened to people.

• Hacking is an illegal activity. It is the activity of getting access to the personal

and restricted information of other people.

• Mostly the hackers hack the accounts of people and then they blackmail the people
by
posting their personal detail on social media.

3. Affects Social-Emotional Connection

• Social media has become a hindrance in the way of social-emotional connection.

Be it the wishes on special days or expressing one’s feelings, everything has been
limited to textual content through social media, which results in a lack of personal
feelings and connections.

• Before, people use to visit one’s place to wish them on special days, but now they
find it easier to send a text message. A person’s emotions and feelings cannot be felt
through just a text message. So, there is a lack of connection between people
because of social media.

In conclusion …

The debate about whether social networking is good or bad is expected to continue.
Just keep your software update, double check information before you believe it and
keep your privacy settings updated too. And if social networking is getting you down,
take a break. After all, when you’re using it correctly, it improves your life.
Lesson 6: Communication and Globalization

What is Globalization?

• Globalization is the spread of products, technology, information, and jobs across

national borders and cultures. In economic terms, it describes an interdependence of
nations around the globe fostered through free trade.

• Globalization is the process by which people and goods move easily across borders.

The Connection of Globalization to Communication

Global communication is directly affected by the process of globalization. It helps to

increase business opportunities, remove cultural barriers and develop a global village.

Both globalization and global communication have changed the environmental,

cultural, political and economic elements of the world.

The Origin of Globalization

Many scholars say globalization started with the voyage of Columbus to the New World
in 1492. People traveled to nearby and faraway places well before the voyage of
Columbus. However, exchanging ideas, products, and customs along the way was more
prevalent during the time of Columbus.

The Silk Road, an ancient network of trade routes across China, Central Asia, and the
Mediterranean used between 50 B.C.E. and 250 C.E. is perhaps the most well-known
early example of globalization.

The Silk Route was a series of ancient trade networks that connected China and the
Far East with countries in Europe and the Middle East. The route included a group of
trading posts and markets that were used to help in the storage, transport, and
exchange of goods. It was also known as the Silk Road.

Advances in metallurgy led to the creation of coins; advances in transportation led to

the building of roads connecting the major empires of the day; and increased
agricultural production meant more food could be trafficked between locales.

Along with Chinese silk, Roman glass, and Arabian spices, ideas such as Buddhist
beliefs and the secrets of paper-making also spread via these tendrils of trade

The web of globalization continued to spin out through the Age of Revolution, when
ideas about liberty, equality, and fraternity spread like fire from America to France to
Latin America and beyond.

It rode the waves of industrialization, colonization, and war through the

eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, powered by the invention of
factories, railways, steamboats, cars, and planes.
Factors/Drivers of Globalization

1. Trade

- Trade is the buying and selling of goods and services between different countries
around the world. Goods that are brought into a country are called imports and those
that are sold to another country are called exports.

2. Financial Flow

- Financial flows involve the movement of money around the world. Global financial
flows allow nations to secure funding that is not available in the domestic economy.

- The Global Financial Flows section analyzes U.S. international financial flows and their
implications for the U.S. economy and the world more generally. This work focuses on
the interaction between international and domestic financial markets, and section
members conduct research on related topics.

3. Technology, Transport and Communication

- Whether it’s economic or health related, for the sake of improving the lives of many
people one step at a time, inventions and new products and services in the area of
technology, transport and communication have fueled the growth of globalization!

With the help of different web platforms such as social media, without a doubt, internet
assisted in delivering almost any goods to places either where they are really needed or
solely just for trade.

General Effects of Globalization

1. Increased Business Opportunities

- Many companies today hire employees that are located in other countries. Using
communication vehicles such as video calling make it simple to converse with
colleagues across the globe, almost making it feel as if they are in the same room.

- Thanks to global communications, information itself can be transferred as a

valuable business asset from one country to another. This has the effect of making
everyone's operations more modern and efficient, regardless where they are
located.

2. Fewer Cultural Barriers

- Many people perceive culture to be the root of communication challenges. When

people from two different cultures try to exchange information, the way they speak,
their body language or their mannerisms can be interpreted differently by the other
person. The way people approach problems and how they participate in communities
is all influenced by culture. Globalization gives people varied opportunities to learn
how to deal effectively with cultural barriers.
The Good and The Bad

FOUR ADVANTAGES

1. Increases economic growth

- By increasing the international exchange of goods, technological advances, and

information, globalization increases economic development for any country
participating in the global economy.

• An increase in economic growth means better living standards, higher incomes, more
wealth
in a country, and, often, less poverty—in short, the overall well-being of a country.

2. production made more affordable

• A global market allows businesses wider access to production opportunities and

consumers,
meaning that there are more goods available at a wider range of price points.

3. Promotes working together

• When different countries come together to engage in trade and investments in a

global financial market, they become interdependent and often come to rely on one
another for certain goods and services.

4. Brings opportunities to less developed countries

- Globalization allows companies to move their production from high-cost locations to

lower- cost locations abroad—this means bringing jobs, information technology, and
other economic opportunities to countries with fewer resources.

FOUR DISADVANTAGES

1. Unequal economic growth

• While globalization tends to increase economic growth for many countries, the growth
isn’t
equal—richer countries often benefit more than developing countries.

• Globalization can introduce disproportionate growth both between and within

nations. These effects must be carefully managed economically and morally.

2. Lack of local businesses

- The policies permitting globalization tend to advantage of companies that have the
resources and infrastructure to operate their supply chains or distribution in many different
countries, which can hedge out small local businesses—for instance, a local New
York
 hamburger joint may struggle to compete with the prices of a multinational burger-
making corporation.

3. Exploitation of cheaper labor markets.

Globalization allows businesses to increase jobs and economic opportunities in

developing countries, where the cost of labor is often cheaper. However, overall
economic growth in these countries may be slow or stagnant.

4. Causes job displacement

• Globalization doesn’t result in an increased number of jobs; rather, it redistributes jobs

by moving production from high-cost countries to lower-cost ones. This means that high-
cost countries often lose jobs due to globalization, as production goes overseas.

Lesson 7: Communication Across Cultures

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has a set rules that its
members take for granted. Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because
cultural imprinting starts at a very early age. And while some of a culture’s knowledge,
rules, beliefs, values, phobias and anxieties are taught explicitly, most of the information is
absorbed subconsciously.

1. Intercultural communication refers to the communication between people from

two different cultures. (Chen & Starosta, 1998)
2. Intercultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual
process, in which people from different cultures create shared meanings. (Lustig &
Koester, 2007)
3. Intercultural communication refers to the effects on communication behavior,
when different cultures interact together. Hence, one way of viewing intercultural
communication is as communication that unfolds in symbolic intercultural spaces.
(Arasaratnam, 2013)

Three Approaches to the Study of Intercultural Communication

1. The Social Science Approach

The social science approach is based on the assumptions that human behavior is
predictable and that there is a describable external reality. This approach, also called
the functionalist approach, is based on research in the fields of sociology and
psychology. Scholars seek to describe and predict behavior by using the social
science approach, and they frequently rely on quantitative methods.
• Scholars seek to study the way culture influences communication by using the social
science approach.
• For example, a social science researcher might wish to examine the way members of
different cultural groups use email, the Internet and other electronic media to
communicate with members of them in groups to establish virtual communities.

2. The Interpretive Approach

Interpretive researchers are interested in describing human behaviors which they

believe to be unpredictable and creative. They believe that culture is both created
and perpetuated through communication. The interpretive approach uses qualitative
 research methods that originated in the fields of anthropology and linguistics. These
methods include field studies, ethnographies, observations and participant
observations.
The interpretive approach studies culture from the perspective of members of the
cultures being studied rather than through a framework imposed by the researcher.
• Interpretive researchers typically become directly involved with members of the
communities they are studying and often form close friendships with them.

3. The Critical Approach

• The critical approach views reality as subjective and focuses on the importance of
studying the context in which communication occurs. Critical scholars view culture in
terms of power struggles and study cultural differences specifically as they relate to
unequal distribution of power within society.
• They are interested not only in studying human behavior across cultures, but also in
effecting change in society. They believe that by their study and analysis of the role of
power in cultural encounters, they can assist people in opposing the oppressive forces
in society.

Critical scholars believe that the goal of intercultural research is to identify and make
explicit power differences in order to liberate those individuals who lack power in
society.

DIFFERENCES IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

1. A HIGH-CONTEXT cultures
(Mediterranean, Slav, Central European, Latin American, African, Arab, Asian,
American-Indian) leave much of the message unspecified, to be understood through
context, nonverbal cues, and between the lines interpretation on what is being said.

B By contrast, LOW-CONTEXT cultures

(Most Germanic and English-speaking countries) expect messages to be explicit and
specific. Low-context cultures are individualistic, value tasks over relationships, and have
members that form several short-term relationships. The United States of America is a
country that has a low-context culture.

2. A Sequential Culture
In Sequential Cultures, business people give full attention to one agenda after another
(North America, UK, Germany, Sweden, Dutch). Also, they believe that time is money.

1. People tend to do only one activity at a time

2. Appointments must be respected; activities are scheduled in advance and often
close together
3. Keeping to the schedule is more important than relationships
4. Strong preference for following original plans

B Synchronic Culture
• In synchronic cultures (including South America, southern Europe and Asia) the flow of
time is viewed as a sort of circle, with the past, present, and future all interrelated. This
viewpoint influences how organizations in those cultures approach deadlines, strategic
thinking, investments, developing talent from within, and the concept of "long-term"
planning.
 1. People tend to multi-task
2. Appointments are approximate and subject to change: more time left between
events
3. Relationships are more important than schedules
4. Strong preference to let events/relationships guide planning

3. A Most of the time, people that practice AFFECTIVE CULTURE

do not hold back when it comes to relaying their emotions.
•People with an affective orientation use a wider range of facial expressions and
physical gestures during everyday conversation.

B People from NEUTRAL CULTURE

do not expose their emotions, but that doesn’t mean they are cold. It simply means
they set aside their emotions before anything else when it comes to business practices.
People with a neutral orientation strive to control their emotions. Reason may influence
their behavior more than feelings.

The Importance of Intercultural Communication

Culture has a large impact on how people conduct business; therefore, cultural
implications are critical for succeeding in an international context. Lack of intercultural
sensitivity in business dealings can offend prospective or current clients, alienate
employees who work in other locations across the globe, and have a negative effect on
a company’s bottom line. Specific steps can be taken to improve intercultural
communication skills and cross cultural interactions that will enhance personal
marketability.

We live in a rapidly changing world with larger forces driving us to interact with others
who are culturally different from ourselves. National disasters, technology, business and
educational opportunities are some of the many forces that lead to intercultural
interaction. It would be easy to be overcome by the complexities of the things that you
do not know or understand about another culture, but regardless of who we are
communicating with, one fact is important to remember: the communication choices
we make determine the personal, national, and international outcomes that follow.

•When we communicate well, we create happy memories, satisfying relationships, and

desired outcomes. When we communicate poorly, we can create conflict, bitterness or
frustration. By studying intercultural communication, you can acquire knowledge and
skills to boost your communication competence, while improving your quality of life.

1. Environmental Imperative
In terms of the world and the universe, we humans have been around for a short period
of time. Actions bring consequences, and sometimes we cannot predict or anticipate all
the consequences that may result. If we build a potable water system and provide clean
water to a community, we can predict a lower rate of water-borne diseases and
improved health conditions.

• If we build a dam across a river to create hydroelectric energy, we may see a decline
in fish and the loss of land, even entire communities, as we benefit ourselves with
electricity and industry production. If we create an energy system that uses
hydrocarbons or even nuclear reactions, we can see what electricity brings to the world,
as well as pollution and contamination.
•We share the air and water on this planet, and what occurs in one country’s national
borders impacts all other nations, even if only measurable to a small degree. Our
management of our actions, and both their intended and unintended consequences,
can be improved through effective intercultural communication.

2. Peace Imperative
• The peace imperative or the consideration of conflict and how we resolve it, is an
important aspect of intercultural communication. Conflict is an element of
communication. It is never not present in our interactions. Peace then is not the absence
of conflict but a state in which we resolve conflicts through negotiation and
understanding.
• We struggle to know each other, to understand what we mean by what we say and
how we say it, to gain information, to persuade, and to meet our needs and those of
others. Communication is never conflict-free. We can learn to recognize that conflict is
not the issue and instead focus on our response.
It is how we approach conflict, our attitude, that makes the difference. When we try to
gain understanding or compliance from each other, we are asking first for respect. We
need to give respect, demonstrate listening, and share what we understand even as we
perception check that understanding, in order to begin to build trust.

3. Economic Imperative
• For the vast majority of us on the planet, we have to work to meet our needs. In the
workplace, we encounter people from all walks of life, from diverse cultural
backgrounds, who sometimes speak languages that we do not understand.

The products we buy are imported from all over the world. Domestically, we also
produce goods and services and trade with each other. We need not only someone
who can cut the tree down but someone to transport it to the mill, someone who can
tailor it to a given specification, someone who can lathe it to an ornamental table leg,
someone who can finish it, and still more people to assemble the pieces, package the
product, and ship it to market. We also need someone to plant a tree to replace the one
cut down. We trade with each other, specialize in our job tasks and functions, and come
together in an increasingly interconnected global marketplace through a process called
globalization.
LESSON 8: English Varieties

• English is the most widely-spoken language in the world, having the distinct status of
being the official language of multiple countries. While the English language is uniform
with major variations in spelling present between American English and British English, the
dialect or accent is usually the factor that enables one to distinguish the various types of
English out there. Like most languages, there are varieties of English too, however, the
difference is not as prominent as you may see in other languages.

SEVEN VARIOUS ENGLISH LANGUAGE DIALECTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

1. British English
British English is the English language as spoken and written in the United Kingdom or,
more broadly, throughout the British Isles. Slight regional variations exist in formal, written
English in the United Kingdom.
English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects
brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of what is now northwest
Germany and the northern Netherlands.

2. American English
American English sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of
varieties of the English language native to the United States and widely adopted in
Canada. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and is the
common language used by the federal government, considered the de facto language
of the country because of its widespread use.

3. Australian English
Australian English is a major variety of the English language, used throughout Australia.
Although English has no official status in the constitution, Australian English is the country’s
national and de facto official language as it is the first language of the majority of the
population.
• Australian English began to diverge from British English after the founding of the Colony
of New South Wales in 1788 and was recognized as being different from British English by
1820.
• It arose from the intermingling of early settlers from a great variety of mutually
intelligible dialectal regions of the British Isles and quickly developed into a distinct variety
of English.

4. Canadian English
Canadian English is the set of varieties of English native to Canada. According to the
2011 census, English was the first language of approximately 19 million Canadians (57% of
the population) the remainder of the population were native speakers of Canadian
French (22%) or other languages (allophones, 21%).
Allophones are a kind of phoneme that changes its sound based on how a word is
spelled. Think of the letter t and what kind of sound it makes in the word "tar" compared
with "stuff." It's pronounced with a more forceful, clipped sound in the first example than it
is in the second.
The term “Canadian English” is first attested in a speech by the Reverend A. Constable
Geikie in an address to the Canadian Institute in 1857. Canadian English is the product of
five waves of immigration and settlement over a period of more than two centuries. The
first large wave of permanent English-speaking settlement in Canada, and linguistically
the most important, was the influx of loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, chiefly
from the Mid-Atlantic States – as such, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. Canadian English is believed by
some scholars to have derived from northern American English.

5. Indian English
English public instruction began in India in the 1830s during the rule of the East India
Company. India was then, and is today, one of the most linguistically diverse regions of
the world. In 1835, English replaced Persian as the official language of the Company.
Lord Macaulay played a major role in introducing English and western concepts to
education in India. He supported the replacement of Persian by English as the official
language, the use of English as the medium of instruction in all schools, and the training
of Englishspeaking Indians as teachers.

6. Philippine English
Philippine English is any variety of English (similar and related to American English) native
to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated
Filipinos. English is taught in schools as one of the two official languages of the country,
the other being Filipino (Tagalog).
Philippine English has evolved tremendously from where it began decades ago. Some
decades before English was officially introduced, if not arguably forced, to the
Philippines, the archipelagic nation has been subject to Spanish rule and thus Spanish
was the language of power and influence.
However, in 1898, when the Spanish gave the United States control of the nation, the
English language, although initially not favored, became widely used in a matter of
years, which was catalyzed by the coming of American teachers.

7. Ugandan English
Ugandan English, or Uglish (pronounced you-glish), is the dialect of English spoken in
Uganda. As with similar dialects spoken elsewhere, Ugandan English has developed a
strong local flavor. The speech patterns of Ugandan languages strongly influence spoken
English. Uganda has a large variety of indigenous languages, and someone familiar with
Uganda can readily identify the native language of a person speaking English. Ugandan
speakers will alter foreign words to make them sound more euphonic.

Three Concentric Circles of English

1. Inner Circle
• The INNER CIRCLE refers to the countries where English is used as the primary language,
such as the USA, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.
2. Outer/Middle Circle
The OUTER/MIDDLE CIRCLE denotes those countries where English usage has some colonial
history. This includes nations such as India, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, and Zambia.
3. Expanding Circle
• The EXPANDING CIRCLE includes countries where English is spoken but where it does not
necessarily have a colonial history or primary/official language status. This includes nations
such as China, Japan, North and South Korea, Egypt, Nepal, Indonesia, Israel, Saudi
Arabia, Taiwan, USSR, and Zimbabwe.
Five Types of Language Registers
• Language register is the level of formality with which you speak. Different situations and
people call for different registers.
• Each level has an appropriate use that is determined by differing situations. It would
certainly be inappropriate to use language and vocabulary reserve for a boyfriend or
girlfriend when speaking in the classroom.
• Thus, the appropriate language register depends upon four factors: 1) the audience
(who), 2) the topic (what), 3) purpose (why) and 4) location (where).

1. Static Register
This style of communications RARELY or NEVER changes. Examples are the Pledge of
Allegiance, the Lord’s Prayer, the Preamble to the US Constitution, the Alma Mater, a
bibliographic reference, laws.

2. Formal Register
• This language is used in formal settings and is one-way in nature. This use of language
usually follows a commonly accepted format. It is usually impersonal and formal. A
common format for this register are speeches. e.g. sermons, rhetorical statements and
questions, pronouncements made by judges, announcements.

3. Consultative Register
This is a standard form of communications. Users engage in a mutually accepted structure
of communications. It is formal and societal expectations accompany the users of this
speech. It is professional discourse. e.g. when strangers meet, communications between a
superior and a subordinate, doctor and patient, lawyer and client, lawyer and judge,
teacher and student, counselor and client.

4. Casual Register
• This is informal language used by peers and friends. Slang, vulgarities and colloquialisms
are normal. This is “group” language. One must be a member to engage in this register.
e.g. buddies, teammates, chats and emails, and blogs and letters to friends.

5. Intimate Register
This communication is private. It is reserved for close family members or intimate people.
e.g. husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, siblings, parent and children.

Lesson 9: Cultural Texts Formal and Informal Language

What are Cultural Texts?

A "text" is not limited to something written down. A text can be a film, an artifact, anything
in a language and culture that conveys meaning.

Cultural texts are those objects, actions, and behaviors that reveals cultural meaning. A
photo is an image, but is also a cultural text, a picture with cultural information beyond just
the picture itself.

The entire space and place, including the people and their interaction, all the rituals and
rules and its various forms in which they manifest themselves, are “readable” texts.
Although, not every text has a particular cultural relevance.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE
A key part of clear communication is considering your audience. How well you know
them, and how casual it’s appropriate to be with them, will affect every word from your
salutation to your sign-off, so let’s unpack the difference between formal and informal
language.

INFORMAL LANGUAGE
Informal language is how you communicate with people you know well and can relax
around. It tends to resemble the way people converse out loud more than formal writing
does, and it may feature more contractions (“they’re” instead of “they are”) as well as
slang, abbreviations, and expressions of emotion—even exclamations!

FORMAL LANGUAGE
• The use of formal language is more prevalent when we write. Informal language is seen
more when we speak. Formal language is characterized by the use of standard English,
more complex sentence structures, infrequent use of personal pronouns, and lack of
colloquial or slang terms.

Appropriate Use of Formal vs Informal Language

• There is a time and a place for everything, and that same rule of thought can be
applied to language. There are times when more formal language is required, but there
are also times when it is appropriate to adopt a less formal approach.
•Formal writing is written for an audience you do not know on a personal level. It is often
the main style in academic writing (unless otherwise noted) and is more complex than
informal writing.
•Formal writing is serious.
•Informal writing consists of short sentences and is used in more personal settings, such as
writing a letter to a friend or writing a diary entry. It is much more relaxed than formal
writing.

FORMAL WRITING STRUCTURE

Seven Characteristics
1.uses long and complex sentences does not offer personal opinions
2.does not use contractions use “cannot” instead of “can’t”
3.is objective sentences tend to be compound and contain commas to link two ideas,
uses transitions like “furthermore” and “to exemplify”
4.does not use colloquial language no slang or common everyday vocabulary is used
5.uses diverse vocabulary words vocabulary is of a higher level
6.uses words that are subject-specific If one is writing about biology, one would use words
like “epithelial cells” instead of “skin cells”
7.uses third person point of view does not use first person pronouns like “I” or “me”

INFORMAL WRITING STRUCTURE

Six Characteristics
1. can use first-, second- or third-person point of view can use any type of pronouns
including “I”
2. can use slang everyday language and slang terms can be used, such as “It was cool…”
3. uses active voice Sentences tend to be written with a subject acting on the verb, such
as “I wrote an interesting essay” instead of “The interesting essay was written by me.”.

4. can use contractions and abbreviations It’s okay to use “can’t” instead of “cannot” or
“it’s” instead of “it is”
5. personal emotional tone can be detected Since the writing is personal, it can include
feelings and the sharing of emotions.
6. empathy can be demonstrated. The writer put himself in the shoes of the audience and
address their problems directly. This shows the author as coming from a place of
understanding their situation.

Lesson 9: Challenges of Intercultural Communication

•When we are communicating with people who are very different from us, it is very
difficult to know how to draw the inferences about what they mean, and so it is impossible
to depend on shared knowledge and background for confidence in our interpretations.
• Misunderstanding in intercultural communication may result from many different and
possibly interacting sources such as inadequate perception, inappropriate
comprehension at different linguistic levels, gaps in interlocutors' knowledge of the world,
uncooperativeness on the part of one or both of the interlocutors, or their inability to
assemble and realize an intercultural move that is expected by the partner at this
particular point in the interaction.

FIVE CHALLENGES

1. Different Communication Styles

The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One
aspect of communication style is language usage. Across cultures, some words and
phrases are used in different ways. For example, even in countries that share the English
language, the meaning of "yes" varies from "maybe, I'll consider it" to "definitely so," with
many shades in between.
• Another major aspect of communication style is the degree of importance given to non-
verbal communication. Non-verbal communication includes not only facial expressions
and gestures; it also involves seating arrangements, personal distance, and sense of time.
In addition, different norms regarding the appropriate degree of assertiveness in
communicating can add to cultural misunderstandings.

2. Different Attitudes Toward Conflict

Some cultures view conflict as a positive thing, while others view it as something to be
avoided.
In the U.S., conflict is not usually desirable; but people often are encouraged to deal
directly with conflicts that do arise. In fact, face-to-face meetings customarily are
recommended as the way to work through whatever problems exist
In contrast, in many Eastern countries, open conflict is experienced as embarrassing or
demeaning; as a rule, differences are best worked out quietly. A written exchange might
be the favored means to address the conflict.

3. Different Approaches to Completing Tasks

From culture to culture, there are different ways that people move toward completing
tasks. Some reasons include different access to resources, different judgments of the
rewards associated with task completion, different notions of time, and varied ideas about
how relationship-building and task-oriented work should go together.
• When it comes to working together effectively on a task, cultures differ with respect to
the importance placed on establishing relationships early on in the collaboration. A case
in point, Asian and Hispanic cultures tend to attach more value to developing
relationships at the beginning of a shared project and more emphasis on task completion
toward the end as compared with European-Americans. European-Americans tend to
focus immediately on the task at hand, and let relationships develop as they work on the
task.

4. Different Decision-Making Styles

The roles individuals play in decision-making vary widely from culture to culture. For
example, in the U.S., decisions are frequently delegated -- that is, an official assigns
responsibility for a particular matter to a subordinate. In many Southern European and
Latin American countries, there is a strong value placed on holding decision-making
responsibilities oneself.
•When decisions are made by groups of people, majority rule is a common approach in
the U.S.; in Japan consensus is the preferred mode. Be aware that individuals'
expectations about their own roles in shaping a decision may be influenced by their
cultural frame of reference.

5. Different Attitudes Toward Disclosure (the act of making something known)

• In some cultures, it is not appropriate to be frank about emotions, about the reasons
behind a conflict or a misunderstanding, or about personal information.
• Keep this in mind when you are in a dialogue or when you are working with others.

FIVE SOURCES OF MISUNDERSTANDING

1. AMBIGUITY
- the lack of explicitness on the part of the speaker.

2. PERFORMANCE-RELATED MISUNDERSTANDING
- Slips of the tongue and mishearing which may due to utterances spoken quickly and
unclearly

3. LANGUAGE-RELATED MISUNDERSTANDING
- ungrammaticality of sentences

4. MISINFORMATION
- misleading ideas taken by the people

5. MISINTERPRETATION
- wrong interpretation on the part of the receiver

INTRODUCTION THROUGH HANDSHAKE

• A handshake conveys far more than an initial greeting. It can establish a sense of trust,
or it can ruin your career. While it may seem farfetched, a handshake can make or break
a relationship.
• The handshake which is commonly done by people introduced with each other
introduced by a third party should be done and interpreted correctly as the type of
handshake varies from culture to culture

A GUIDE TO HANDSHAKES

USA

- Extend a firm handshake, and introduce yourself with your first and last name while
making eye contact.

- KEEP IN MIND: Shake hands with everyone present at a meeting or with a small group of
people.
MEXICO

- A long handshake and a possible hug (if you’re a man).

- KEEP IN MIND: Bow when greeting a Mexican woman ang shake hands if she offers her
hand.

CANADA

- Initiate a firm handshake when meeting and leaving. Women extend their hands first.

- KEEP IN MIND: Hugs are acceptable for close friends, and kissing tends to be mostly fir
family or couples.

BRAZIL

- Maintain eye contact and return the film grasp. Kiss women on each check.

- KEEP ON MIND: If kissing on the cheek, the official number of kisses ranges from 1-3
depending on where you are.

MOROCCO

- Only shake hands with people of the same sex; shake softly and grip lightly.

- KEEP IN MIND: If greeting a woman, wait for her to offer her hand before shaking.

SOUTH AFRICA

- Use a gentle grip and wait until the other person releases first.

- KEEP IN MIND: Handshake can very region to region, with some communities having a
special handshake technique.

CHINA

- Extend a handshake to the eldest person first, gripping lightly, bowing slightly and
avoiding eye contact.

- KEEP IN MIND: Often a sample nod will suffice.

JAPAN

- Only shake hands if someone initiates the shake. Grip lightly, shake gently and don’t
make eye contact.

- KEEP IN MIND: Don’t stand too close and avoid touching.

SOUTH KOREA

- Start with the eldest person and offer a soft shake.

- KEEP IN MIND: To show respect, support your right forearm with left hand.

THAILAND

- Wait for the other person to bow in a “wai” first, then return the gesture. Shake hands with
men only.
- KEEP IN MIND: It is an insult not to retain the “wai”

PHILIPPINES

- Offer a weak grip, look the person in the eye and don’t bow.

- KEEP IN MIND: Kissing is deemed inappropriate unless you are in a couple.

AUSTRALIA

- Women offer their hands to men first, while not shaking with other women.

- KEEP IN MIND: Shake hands with everyone present upon meeting and before leaving.

NEW ZEALAND

- A medium-strength grip will do, but only shake the first time you meet someone. Never
afterwards.

- KEEP IN MIND: Always smile with a handshake

UK

- Stick to a light handshake, taking care to widen personal space afterwards.

- KEEP IN MIND: Avoid prolonged eye contact when you meet for the first time.

FRANCE

- Pick up the space in Paris- light, fast shakes are the norm.

- KEEP IN MIND: Family and friends greet with a kiss on both cheeks.