Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships Essay

Exclusively available on IvyPanda Available only on IvyPanda

Linguistics subdivides language study into four separate parts. These parts include syntactic, semantics, pragmatics, and phonetics. These form most of the learner’s intercultural communication since it aims at identifying how people use the real language in their daily lives, thus, being the major objective of chapter six. Chapter 6 provides a scientific approach to language, which focuses on individual features of the language. For that reason, the interpretive tactic, in this chapter, aims at contextual features of every language. The role of power in the use of language is also featured greatly in this chapter. There are various positions in every relationship between a person’s perception and language. The nominalist’s position indicates that a person’s perception of ideas in life is never shaped by the language that the person speaks. The other position is the relativist, which provides that the language, which a person speaks, determines the perception of that particular person on different issues in life.

We will write a custom essay on your topic a custom Essay on Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships
808 writers online

Communication styles may appear at different levels. The levels are high, low, elaborate direct, or indirect depending on the prevailing contexts and situations. The chapter reveals that there are different orientations, which co-cultural units can use to deal with the majority of the major groups in the community. They are three styles to implement. The styles include accommodation, separation, or assimilation. The approaches carry with them nonassertive, aggressive, and assertive techniques. Every strategy comes with both costs and benefits to eco-cultural individuals.

Everyone uses language from his/her social position and the power to use the language together with the labels that come from the social position. In this context, a person may speak more than one language. Bilingual is a state whereby an individual can speak two languages when multilingual is the ability of an individual to speak three and more languages depending on the underlying situation. Chapter 6 reveals that people can shift from one language to another if they are bilingual or multilingual depending on the situation. The aspect of shifting from one language to the other during communication is referred to as code-switching. The Existence of different languages in the world calls for the translation of one language to another involving written work. Interpretation, on the other hand, is the translation of a language to another although it involves oral work.

Summary of Sapir Whorf

A realistic summary of the Sapir Whorf hypothesis in a tractable outline is that various cultures interpret the world in different ways. This provides an effect on how people think and come up with meaning in language. Language, in this view, influences and shapes thought to a certain extent. The hypothesis combined comprises of linguistic determinism and linguistic relativism. Supporters of the proposition pursue the two proposals at various heights identifying variations between tough and feeble accounts of the hypothesis. Cognitive multilingual people are part of linguist groups who are involved with mentalists position with the required seriousness not forgetting that most of the linguists do not support the study form of the proposition. The initial linguistic determinism element of the proposition reveals that language affects the determining thoughts of a person. Relativism account reveals that since the language can affect the thinking process of a person, and the existence of several languages can give varied meanings depending on the type of language in a given circumstance.

A section of the argument in the proposition is the inadequacy of experimental information. This made most of the researchers to move into the field and make several types of research considering the issues relating to linguistic determinism that gave them the ability to come up with a real judgment. A good example can be cited in 2008 where Daniel Casasanto prepared various experiments using space, time, and amount to prove that English together with Greek speakers could be affected by the metaphor favored by a specified language. He observed that language to a certain degree-affected judgment although it cannot be a causal claim concerning the Sapir Whorf proposal. Different research, which was based on the activity of linguistic relativism, revealed that it could shape most of the thoughts, which were in the opposing direction with the thought determiner. It is a very important assumption in linguistic because it provides recognition of connection that exists in between thought together with language. It partially provides a good foundation of the cognitive declaration, revealing that language use governs conceptualization. Different conceptualizations are then indicated in several linguistic corporations.

Power Effect of Labels

People use labels in life to give their identities. It enables people to appreciate a specific aspect of social identity. For instance, people fall under two categories in the context of gender. It is either one female or a male person. Male and female, in this context, are labels referring to man and classifying him into two groups. Women will always identify themselves as female while men may fail to signify their identity. This is because the existence of males precedes the female gender.

Labels have the power to communicate in different ways according to how it is used in life. This makes people desire to be associated with one label and feel offended when associated with another version of the label. For instance, one may feel proud when labeled as an American. On the contrary, the same person may feel offended when he/she is labeled as a Native American, Black American, or American Chinese. This is because the label brings in the racism notion. If labels are utilized correctly, they promote communication while they fail to use labels correctly blocks communication due to the development of a negative attitude between the communicators.

1 hour!
The minimum time our certified writers need to deliver a 100% original paper

Labels have the power to communicate specific issues in life. They may promote positive coexistence or promote hostility among people depending on how the label utilization. This is the power in the use of labels.

Translation and Interpretation

Many languages exist in the world. For example, English, Japanese, Greek, and Chinese are the main languages existing in the world currently. This means that nobody can learn all the languages of the world. Translation and interpretation are responsible for connecting thoughts from different languages to enable communication between people who speak different languages. The European Union recognizes all languages and its constituent associates. This provides evidence for hiring many interpreters and translators by the organization. This bridges the gap that may exist between different languages.

In this context, translation is the procedure of producing written content that gives some meaning to something that is written or said in a different language. The content of the original work is referred to as the source text while text that is translated into a new language is called the target content. On the other hand, interpretation refers to the procedure of expressing verbally what is written or said in a different language.

Code-Switching

Many people who travel from one nation to another have learned how to talk different languages as they work. For instance, when one is in China and understands the Chinese language correctly, he/she may talk in Chinese. When the same person moves to America and understands the American language, he/she can use the language when communicating. Therefore, code-switching refers to the aspect of shifting from one language, accent, or dialect to another.

Code-switching has many advantages in life. First, it helps people to accommodate other speakers; it enables the expression of different cultural identities. Additionally, it may also avoid accommodating other speakers. Secondly, it gives a reflection on different ways of communicating, identities, and relationships among communicators.

Print
Need an custom research paper on Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships written from scratch by a professional specifically for you?
808 writers online
Cite This paper
Select a referencing style:

Reference

IvyPanda. (2020, August 28). Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships. https://ivypanda.com/essays/intercultural-communication-identity-and-relationships/

Work Cited

"Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships." IvyPanda, 28 Aug. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/intercultural-communication-identity-and-relationships/.

References

IvyPanda. (2020) 'Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships'. 28 August.

References

IvyPanda. 2020. "Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships." August 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/intercultural-communication-identity-and-relationships/.

1. IvyPanda. "Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships." August 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/intercultural-communication-identity-and-relationships/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Intercultural Communication: Identity and Relationships." August 28, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/intercultural-communication-identity-and-relationships/.

Powered by CiteTotal, easy citation website
If you are the copyright owner of this paper and no longer wish to have your work published on IvyPanda. Request the removal
More related papers
Cite
Print
1 / 1