Non-verbal Barriers to Cross-cultural Communication

The document is addressing the non-verbal communication and the various meanings it
may have across cultures. Hand shaking, body gestures, personal space and cultural changes
seemed to be some areas of interest for the author. The text shows how important the non-verbal
is in a conversation, and how an interpretation of a gesture in a culture A may not match that of a
culture B, which may be creating barriers in the communication between two persons from
different cultures. These nonverbal aspects can change the meaning and/or interpretation of the
same sentence, for example, a firm handshake with a strong eye contact while saying “Hi” will
be perceived as confident, sincere, and reclaiming respect, whereas in the Middle Eastern
cultures, such body expressions are seen as aggressive behavior that are threatening one’s
personal space.
The text mentions regulators in non-verbal communication and explains how these
regulators have a great role in directing conversations, as mentioned before, the simple gestures
give additional meaning to the verbal side of the communication. Crossing hands for instance
conveys that the person is ready to argue, moving the head from up to down means that the
person is agreeing with what the other is saying, also looking away can convey a lack of faith in
what the other is saying. These were example of nonverbal regulators from the author. These
gestures have a great impact on leading conversations and classifying in a hierarchic way the
contributors of the discussion. It shows and create at the same time the leader and the follower in
the debate. With no words, its power enhances the speeches and turns the tables.
The document went through multiple terms and their definitions in the non-verbal
universe. I am going to briefly explain each one of them.
Kinesics which refers to all the facial and body movements that may have different.
meanings across cultures, a thumbs-up may be welcomed in some culture while in others it may
be an offensive sign.
Proxemics, and it refers to the space used in communication, whether the person is using
a lot of space, manspreading being an example of it, or using too little space, and being too close
to the other that may be interpreted as a sign of warmth or as getting into the personal space of
the other.
Vocalics, which evolves all what’s related to the tone, a loud tone may seem strong and
assertive in some cultures, while disrespectful in others.
 Physical Appearance, which gives impressions that influences one’s thinking of what you
are or might be. It includes the hairstyle, the facial details, and the way the person dresses. This
is also something that its norms vary culturally between societies.
Chronemics, which is the perception of the time value across cultures, some are very
strict regarding time and appointments, while others are more flexible regarding that.
Haptics, which relates to the use of touch in the conversation, a touch may seem friendly
in some cultures and inappropriate in others.
Finally, Oculesics, and it is related to the eye’s movements and how it behaves. Eye
contact, gazing and blinking are examples of it, as all the others, its interpretation is subjective to
each culture.

The document concludes that the understanding of these regulators and their cross-
cultural differences is the crucial key of the non-verbal barriers we have. And to relate the
document’s context to emotional expression executed through language in Moroccan
communication, we can say that the Moroccan’s understanding of non-verbal and their
capability to adapt to others’ nonverbal seems to be descent. Moroccans are known for their
hospitality with tourists from all over the world, each with his specific culture and background
and they still manage to get along with the diversity. This highlights the flexibility in the
Moroccan non-verbal, and the neutrality in the sense of it not offending others. Our non-verbal
seems to be accepted by the big majority of foreigners despite its emotional richness.

A Linguistic Study of Borrowing in Moroccan

Teenage Talk
The next document is a linguistic study on Moroccan teenagers about the borrowing in
the words they use. It highlights the diversity of the languages teens borrow words from, such as
Arabic, French, Spanish and more. The paper focuses on understanding teenagers way of
communicating and the words they use that are specific to them. By understanding and using
their codes, elder generations can diminish to cancel the generational gap there is between them
and create a bridge linking both the generations and their thought using a common language or at
least understanding it and accepting it. The study also demonstrates the linguistic diversity of
Morocco and the sometimes-extremist ways teens may use while talking such as the
intensification and exaggeration. To them it is a way to intensify and give more colors and life to
whatever feelings or ideas they are trying to convey. As a way to rebel and challenge the “rules”,
teens defy their linguistic norms without rejecting it completely, to create new words either from
existing ones in the Moroccan dialect, or by borrowing them from other languages and/or
cultures. The use of intensification and exaggeration leads to a more dramatic and amplified
discourse, which is a common characteristic of young people’s talk. Borrowing allows teens to
feel distinguished and a sense of belonging that strengthen the bonds between the users of the
same imported words making them feel more connected and understood among themselves.

A LINGUISTIC AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS OF SYMPATHY, COMPASSION,

EMPATHY AND PITY IN ENGLISH AND MOROCCAN ARABIC

The paper investigates the expression of emotions through different languages in different
cultural contexts. The diversity of emotions implicates the diversity of the way emotions are
organized, that is mainly but not only due to the cultural norms influencing this expression of
emotions. While semantic primes such as the notions of bad and good, the concepts of wants,
needs or thoughts are universal across languages, natural semantic metalanguage comes in handy
for semantic analysis. Such tools can be helpful to dive deeper into the conceptualization of
emotions and concepts in relation to feelings in English as in Moroccan Arabic. Regarding the
same concept, contrastive analysis reveals remarkables differences between these two languages
in sympathy related concepts. Despite the few similarities, cultural attitudes and social
interaction are a common example highlighting the differences in emotional expression.