Communication- Cultural Influences - 1970 Words

Write an essay about the social context of communication and how cultural influences shape how people communicate with each other In today’s 21st Century society through our day-to-day lives we encounter many different people from many different cultural backgrounds. It is almost inevitable that we will have to communicate with at least one other person on any given day. Whether this is at work, at school, while out shopping, or even when talking on the telephone, communication is vital in order to ensure that our wants and needs can be met and also to voice an opinion. As â€Å"different cultures have different approaches to communication† (Thompson, 2003 pg. 29), there will often be times when our interpretations of something communicated†¦show more content†¦As we integrate these different values and beliefs as our own we begin to establish a sense of unified belonging to those that share the same thoughts, beliefs, values and ideas as ourselves. In other words culture helps by â€Å"making the world a less mysterious and frightening place† (Thompson, 2003, pg 35), and also help s us to see the world as a bit more safe and predictable. As with the communication process cultural perceptions and behaviours can either be learnt sub-consciously or consciously. For example a consciously learnt behaviour might be a parent teaching a child how to brush their teeth, and a sub-consciously learnt perception might be that it is ok to objectify women, through watching multiple television advertisements. It is of importance to note that both of these examples; as with lots of important messages of a culture get repeated and reinforced. Because â€Å"it is through cultural signs and symbols that we are so often able to communicate with one another† (Thompson, 2003, pg 15), it is almost a given that in intercultural communication we will encounter barriers which will need to be overcome in order for communication to be productive. In order for effective intercultural communication to occur one must be aware of the different aspects of communication. These can include but are not limited to language usage, types of non-verbalShow MoreRelatedCultural Influence: Arab vs. English Communication Styles4001 Words   |  16 Pagesï » ¿Cultural Influence: Arab vs. English Communication Styles According to Joanna Jaworowska a speech act is simply   a minimal functional unit in human communication. Fundamentally, a speech act is the smallest form of communication. According to Austins theory (1962), any given speech act has three possible meanings: the propositional meaning, the illocutionary meaning, and the perlocutionary meaning (Jaworowska). For instance, the literal meaning might be: its cold in here. 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