MODULE 2: GLOBALIZATION, CULTURES AND COMMUNICATION

Lesson 1: Globalization and its Effect on Communication

Communication has been greatly affected by globalization and globalization by communication.
In this lesson we will discuss the meaning of globalization, what causes it, what drives it, its
implications, and how it affects communication.
 What is globalization?
In the 21st century we have often heard of the term globalization. Globalization is a
complex concept and a single meaning may not be able to capture its total essence. Also, its
definition depends on which lens one looks at globalization.
Mansbach and Rhodes (2013) postulate that globalization involves proliferating
connections among societies and people, growing porosity of national frontiers, proliferation of
transnational processes, and the growing importance of authoritative actors other than national
governments, such as transnational corporations, social networks, and international
organizations.
The above definition gives us a picture of nationalities, societies, races, interconnecting
and making impact on each other’s economy, politics, culture (beliefs, norms, values, language,
food, clothing, etc.), social, and education system.
There are those who think that globalization means convergence of cultures hence the
termination of diversity of cultures while there are those who believe that globalization may
cause changes in a nation but does not necessarily lead to losing its identity. Globalization is
perceived by the latter group as a phenomenon that leads to ‘deterritorialization’.
 What are some of the drivers of globalization?
1. Colonization
This marked the beginnings of globalization. In the Philippines for instance, history tells
us that the Spaniards, Americans and other colonizers have introduced their cultures (language,
food, clothing, beliefs, values, education, etc.) to the country, and some of these ways of living
have been consciously or unconsciously adopted by the Philippine society even up to this day
and age. Also, other Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and
other countries have their share of stories on how colonization has shaped their social, economic,
and education systems without necessarily being disconnected from their own countries’ local
methods of civilization.
2. Diaspora
Oxford dictionary suggests that diaspora is closely connected with the dispersion of the
Jews beyond Israel. In this era, this is a phenomenon that refers to people’s movement and
inhabitation in countries outside of their own. Other scholars call this migration. The United
States of America, Australia, and Canada are examples of popular lands of immigrants. People
migrate outside of their homelands for several reasons (employment opportunities, education,
intermarriage, professional advancements, etc.) Immigration provides us a picture of fluidity
among people from different races where new networks of economy and cultures are established.
3. Technologies
Technologies have immensely facilitated globalization. With the Internet, people are no
longer strangers to events outside of their own country. Exposure to various political, economic,
and social systems through global news, current events, and other media publicities have
considerably educated people hence on a micro level, potentially impacting individual’s views
towards one’s society and on a macro level, possibly influencing a nation’s perspective towards
its governance, economic trading, environmental care activities, social dealings, health activities
and education system. Also with communication technologies (smart phones, tablets, computers)
nations have become more fluid in their interactions (video chats, phone conversation), allowing
instantaneous feedback and negotiations.
How does globalization affect communication?
With globalization, a need for a common language to achieve international intelligibility
is germane. “On almost any basis, English is the nearest thing there has been to a global
language. Its worldwide reach is much greater than anything achieved historically by Latin or
French, and there has never been a language as widely spoken as English. Many would
reasonably claim that in the fields of business, academics, science, computing, education,
transportation, politics, and entertainment, English is already established as the decto lingua
franca”
Although English has been acknowledged as the current global language and is learned
by many due to globalization, patterns of interactions (greetings, gestures, business dealings,
etc.) may not essentially be universalized. Nationalities, ethnic groups, religious communities,
gender groups, generations and other subcultures will still maintain their unique ways of
communication expressions unless they all agree to replace their distinctive manners of
communicating with a newly acquired one from another culture.

Lesson 2: Local and Global Communication in Multicultural Settings

Communication is often defined as the sharing of information, ideas, and messages
between two or more people. The primary goal, of course, of communication, is to understand
the information being conveyed or shared and at the same time, also to be understood. One of the
ways successful communication can be achieved is to have the involved parties share a mutual
knowledge of how the signs and symbols used in communication come together to create
meaning. However, communication is not as simple as sending and receiving messages as it may
involve interaction between people that come from different backgrounds and culture. More
often than not, how people impart and understand a message would depend on how they derive
or inject meaning into what is being said (or not said).
People read into information based on their knowledge of it, and their knowledge is
ultimately shaped by the culture and environment they are in. It is important to understand that
what is defined as appropriate in terms of communication can differ from person to person or
from
culture to culture. Communicating in a culturally appropriate way would require finding ways to
impart and receive messages with respect to the cultural differences between individuals
involved in the communication process. Therefore, to be able to communicate effectively in the
local and global setting, one must be able to understand that there are internal and external
differences one must take into consideration before diving into the process of communication
What does cross-cultural interaction look like? Look at the image below and analyze it carefully.

Effective communication is important in any interaction one gets involved in. In theory,
effective communication is as simple as sending a message to a receiver, the receiver decoding
the message and understanding it and ideally, getting a response from that said receiver.
However, effective communication is not as simple as it theoretically sounds. In fact, effective
communication involves a complex understanding of how symbols and signs are presented based
on the cultures and environment of the communicators.
Look at how one communicates within the boundaries of his/her home. Despite speaking
the same language and coming from the same background and culture, members of a family still
experience miscommunication due, most likely, to differences in age, gender, and personality or
the context with which the message is interpreted.
Now, take that same situation and place it in a global context. Imagine one’s self-
interacting with people from different backgrounds, cultures, and languages. The opportunity for
miscommunication becomes more apparent the bigger the difference is between the
communicators’ language and culture.
What is culture?
Culture is often defined as the learned patterns and attitudes shared by a group of people
(Martin & Nakayama, 2010). According to Geert Hofstede (1984), a noted social psychologist,
culture is “the programming of the mind.” He said:
Every person carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential
acting which were learned throughout (his or her) lifetime. Much of these patterns are acquired
in early childhood, because at that time a person is most susceptible to learning and
assimilating.
Hofstede (1984) described how patterns are learned and developed through one’s day to
day interactions with his surroundings – with his family, community, school, work, and so on
(Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Culture shapes one’s perceptions and ideas, which in turn, would
also shape how one interacts, gives meaning to and draws meanings from the signs, symbols, and
messages he or she may encounter every day.
What is Intercultural Communication?
The differences of cultures and backgrounds affect communication. In fact, culture
becomes a significant determiner of how people approach any form of communication. One’s
environment can significantly change his or her perception about certain issues in the society
which in turn would also determine how he or she would communicate the ideas he or she may
want to tackle.
In addition, people from different backgrounds often encounter difficulties in processing
meanings and understanding messages due to the difficulties in understanding certain factors of
communication such as language, context, and meaning. Communication problems often occur
when there is a lack of understanding about how certain cultures work.
Ultimately, the only way to lessen miscommunication in an intercultural context is to
understand that now two individuals are alike and that every person comes from a background
that may be different from one another. It is only by observing and learning the cultures of other
people that one can possibly lessen the gap created by cultural differences.
COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES
Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has set rules that’s its
members take for granted. Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because cultural
imprinting is begun at a very early age
The challenge for multinational communication has never been greater. Worldwide
business organization have discovered that intercultural communication is a subject of
importance- not just because of increased of. And while some of a culture’s knowledge, rules,
beliefs, values, phobias, and anxieties are taught explicitly, most of the information is absorbed
subconsciously. Globalization, but also because their domestic workforce is growing more and
more diverse, ethnically, and culturally.
HIGH-CONTEXT VS. LOW-CONTEXT
High- context cultures (Mediterranean, Slav, Central European, Latin American, African,
Arab, Asian, and American-Indian) leave much of the message unspecified, to be understood.
Through context, nonverbal cues, and contrast, low-context cultures (most Germanic and
English- speaking countries) expect messages to be explicit and specific.

SEQUENTLY VS. SYNCHRONIC

In sequential cultures (like North American, English, German, Swedish, and Dutch) business
people give full attention to one agenda item after another.
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.

AFFECTIVE VS. NUETRAL

In international business practices, reason and emotion both play a role. Which of these
dominates depends upon whether we are affective (readily showing emotion) or emotionally
neutral in approach. Member of neutral cultures do no telegraph their feelings but keep them
carefully controlled and subdued. In cultures with high affect, people show their feeling plainly
by laughing, smiling, grimacing, scrawling, and sometimes crying, shouting, or walking out the
room.

Lesson 3: Sub-cultures and Communication Differences

Sociolinguists argue that gender is a social variable that could account for language and
communication differences. Women speeches for instance according to results of some
researches suggest that they are generally characterized as indirect, apologetic, sensitive,
relationship-oriented and are usually into rapport-talk and advise seeking. For example, some
studies suggest that women more than men have the tendency to use the expressions, “Please;
Correct me if I’m wrong” and similar forms of hedges (language devices that lessen the
appearance of bragging and assertion). Men’s speech on the other hand are often described as
assertive, dominant, power and status-oriented, information-oriented and are inclined to report
talk.
There are cases however that regardless of gender, one’s talk is characterized as feminine
(softer and less assertive) or masculine depending on one’s personality.
The differences need not to be interpreted as to which gender demonstrates a better and
more positive communication patterns or which gender seems to be more inferior. Being aware
of the male and female communication variances could lead to better and deeper understanding
of someone in communication situations.
Generation Culture Communication Differences
Every generation or age group may also use its own unique set of jargons or lingos in
their casual conversations. Their era’s trends, popular events, movies, television shows, radio
programs, songs, and literature among many other machineries could introduce these lingos.
Also, technology
has made some changes on words and introduced ones that are easier to type (forming acronyms)
and innovative. The digital natives or the “millennials are the ones who are creatively using
them.
Other than generation, a person’s social class, occupation, education, and religion can
also be factors that shape one’s speech code (language, lexicon, expressions, jargons, etc.) In the
Philippines for instance, it is an observation that is someone is able to use the English language
properly and accurately, the person is regarded as educated or someone in the upper class of the
social economy.
Reactions to Cultural Communication Encounters
People could react differently when they encounter another culture. Literatures say that
they could react through: assimilation, accommodation, and separation.
According to Oetzel (2007:229-230), assimilation is the effort to eliminate the cultural
differences towards home and host cultures. Accommodation attempts to retain some cultural
uniqueness and to transform the existing dominant society and organizations, and individuals
attempt to join similar co-cultural group members to form organizations that are reflective of
their own values and norms.
Also, some people have the tendency to think and feel that their culture is superior than
the others so they use their own culture as the standard in judging other people’s cultures. This is
called ethnocentrism. Cultural relativism on the other hand sees other cultures equal to their own.

Lesson 3: Varieties and Registers of Spoken and Written Language

During your senior high school, you must have encountered the term World Englishes
(WE) or varieties of English in class. WE actually stands for the localized varieties of English as
they are used for spoken in certain areas. In the Asian context, the concept was introduced by
Braj Kachru. The famous “Three Concentric Circles of Asian Englishes” attirubuted to Kachru
presents the three circles: Inner Circle, Expanding Circle, & Outer Circle.
 According to Bautista and Gonzalez (2006), the structural characteristics of these new
varieties differ. This is brought about by the mother tongue or home languages of those who
learn or acquire English. And even in terms of social features, differences can also be highlighted
in that there is a continuum of basilectal, mesolectal, and acrolectal varieties of English within
the same speech community. The acrolect then comes closest to the standard while the basilect
digresses thoroughly from it and comes closest to the pidgin. Mesolect or the middle variety is
midway between the acrolect and basilect. Bautista and Gonzalez use the term edulects for these
varieties resulting from certain types of education ascertained by social class but are convey or
transferred by the kind of instruction of the school system especially for those coming from
higher-income families and/or better educated classes.
According to pope (1976), as cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2006), in the case of syntactic
features, question-answering systems differ between Inner and Outer- Expanding Circles. While
the former observes the positive-negative system where the answer follows the polarity of the
question (i.e., If the question is in the positive, the answer confirming the assumption of the
questioner is in the positive, and the answer disconfirming the assumption is in the negative. If,
however, the question is in the negative, the answer confirming the assumption of the questioner
is in the negative as well, while the answer disconfirming the assumption of the questioner I in
the positive), the latter observes the agreement-disagreement system which poses difficulty to
speakers who follow the positive-negative system particularly in interpreting the yes or no of the
response unless it is followed by a clarification (i.e., Yes, I think you’re; No, that’s not so).
With respect to lexicon, vocabulary words peculiar only to some English varieties in
Southeast Asia can be noted as seen in the following examples:
1. Singapore English: actsy (show off), missy (nurse), chop (rubber stamp), Marina kids
(youngsters who spend their leisure time at or around Marina square, a shopping center),
graduate mothers ‘graduate (well-educated) married women, encourage to have more children
and accorded certain priviliges in Singapore,’ as compared to non-graduate mothers.
2. Philippine English: deep (‘puristic or hard to understand’ as an attribute to language), stick
(cigarette), high blood (tense or upset), blow out (treating someone with a snack or meal), motel
(a hotel used for pre-marital or extramarital affairs), manualized (to prepare manuals), go ahead
(to leave before others with host’s permission), Amboy (a Filipino perceived to be too proud
American), promdi (from a province), pulot boy (boy who picks up tennis balls in a game), and
balikbayan box (box where Filipinos returning from abroad put all their shopping among others).
3. Malaysia English: antilog (a male hated by a girl), popcorn (a loquacious person), kachang
(peanuts), slambar (relax), red spot, open shelf (girls who are popular and those who are not),
day bugs (those who come to attend school but do not live in residence halls’.
You have to be aware of and recognize intercultural communication as you need to be
sensitive to the people around you who belong to different cultural heritages and have their own
linguistic identity. When you encounter them, you will be able to avoid misunderstanding, avoid
communication breakdown, and overcome language barriers with less difficulty since you are
exposed to their own language features. This way, you will be able to enhance your personal and
social interaction.
LANGUAGE REGISTERS OF ENGLISH
When it comes to language variation, the terms genre, register, and style are often
encountered. David Crystal (2008) defines register as “a Variety of language defined according
to its use in social situations e.g. are register of scientific, religious, formal English.’ He added:
“In Hallidayan linguistic, the term is seen as specifically opposed to varieties of language
defined according to the characteristics of the users (viz. Their regional or class dialect), and is
given a sub classification into field, mode and manner of discourse.
Language being the product of interaction among the members of society, must
ultimately studied according to the social context in which it is found. Within a language, there
are variations in style and register, which differentiate and formally characterize distinct social
situation. Style refers to the degree of formality attached to particular interpersonal social
situation which is reflected by differences I language—for example, the kind of language used
while talking to a friend will differ noticeably from that used in addressing a superior, in
otherwise the same situation. Register refers to a kind of language whose forms are of a definable
social situation, regardless of the status of the participants-thus one finds the register of legal
language, liturgical language, and so on.
It is to be noted that genre and register overlap and are sometimes used interchangeably.
According to Lee (2001), whereas genre is associated more with the organization of culture,
register is associated with the organization of situation. To this end, register is understood as thee
context-specific variety of language to which the field-mode-tenor framework is important.
To give a concrete example, with the genre of recipe, field may be analyzed in terms of
the social setting and the communicative purpose in which the text is produced. Tenor may be
described in terms of the role/s required of the writers and readers including the cultural values
shared by both. Mode could be explained in light of the knowledge of other texts required of
speakers/listeners and writers/readers as regards the genre including the formal text features.
Language register then refers to the formality of language which one speaks. Different
registers are used in different situations. It is through register that you are able to determine the
kind of lexicon or vocabulary to use as well as the kind of structure to be used. Even in writing,
you may use a formal or an informal register.
Formal register (formal speaking and writing situations) Examples: state of the nation address,
professional writing (project proposals, business letters)
Informal register (casual or intimate) Examples: personal e-mails, phone texts, short notes, diaries
Neutral register (non-emotional and sticks to facts) Examples: giving
directions/instructions/presentations, technical writings, reviews, articles
Lesson 4: Exploring Texts Reflecting Different Cultures
Awareness of the different varieties of English with their features as well as
understanding the registers of English should be the goal of everyone so that there is less
misunderstanding and miscommunication. Note that one cause of miscommunication is
pronunciation. Speakers of different varieties of English have different ways of pronouncing the
words. This is so because of the differences in phonology.
Kachru and Nelson (2006) claimed that in terms of pronunciation, most Outer-and
Expanding-Circle varieties, display differences from the Inner-Circle varieties similar to those
found between regional dialects within the Inner-Circle varieties. These differences may lead to
grammatical consequences affecting comprehension.
In the Philippine language, every vowel is pronounced with full, distinct sound. Filipinos
pronounce words as they are written or spelled out making it syllables-timed and not stress-
timed. Americans, on the other hand, blend syllables or sometimes even drop some sounds
making the syllables short. Below are some examples of this feature.
1. American English: Gotcha!
Philippine English: Got you!
2. American English: whatche say?
Philippine English: What did she
say?
3. American English: wherd yu go?
Philippine English: where did you
go?
4. American English: Ja hitit?
Philippine English: Did you hit it?
5. American English: Can I getche adrink?
Philippine English: Can I get you a
drink?

A cultural barrier does not only pertain to differing languages. It may also be in the form
of a cultural practice or even bodily gestures. For instance, in English-speaking countries and
even in the Philippines, the thumbs-up gesture signals approval. However, it is considered
offensive in other countries such as Greece, Italy, and in some parts of the Middle East.
Likewise, making a circle with one’s thumb and forefinger generally means okay in many
Western cultures but this is not so in countries like Japan where it is interpreted as a sign for
money, and in some Arab cultures as a threat. Thus, one should be careful in using bodily
gestures.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL LANGUAGE
In the previous lesson, you also studied language register which refer to the formality of
the language. Which one speaks? As it is, different registers are used in different situations. Your
purpose for communication and the relationship you have with the listeners/reader will determine
if you are to use formal or informal language.
When speaking impromptu on a certain topic, you should use ordinary, controversial
language. However, if you are to give a lecture in a conference, your language should be formal.
In the same manner that when you write your speech and your purpose is to inform your
audience on climate change, it is expected that your language is formal. In contrast, if your
speech is meant to certain your listener on a light topic your language should be informal.

Lesson 5: Coping with the Challenges of Intercultural Communication

Scollon and Scollon (1995) stated “When we are communicating with people who are
very different from us, it is very difficult to know how to draw inferences about what they mean,
and so it is impossible to depend on shared knowledge and background for confidence in our
interpretation.
Indeed, the lack of shared knowledge and beliefs and cultural diversity make it more
complicated to arrive at the correct inference or interpretation of meanings. But it can also be
argued that English is now a global lingua franca. In fact, with the ASEAN integration, English
has been declared the official or working language of ASEAN.
Note that misunderstanding in intercultural communication may not always be caused by
verbal utterances. Misunderstandings may also occur due to wrong interpretation of the non-
verbal code. For instance, the handshake which is commonly done by people introduced to each
other by a third party should be done and interpreted correctly as the type of handshake varies
from culture to culture.
SOURCES OF MISUNDERSTANDING
Kaur (2006) cites the following as the sources of misunderstanding:
1. Ambiguity - lack of explicitness on the part of the speaker in the form of problematic
reference and ambiguous semantics in which an utterance is open to different interpretations.
2. Performance-related misunderstanding - slips of the tongue and mishearing which may be
due to utterances spoken quickly and unclearly.
3. Language-related misunderstanding - ungrammaticality of sentences.
4. Gaps in world knowledge - gaps in content rather than language.
5. Local context- turns and the turns within sequences produced by the participants themselves,
and the orientation of the participants as well as the repair moves that follow the displayed
understanding.

EFFECTIVE INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

 Be clear. Avoid using ambiguous words, phrases or signals.
 If you suspect possible miscommunication, repair right away.
 Avoid using idioms and metaphors understood only on our local context, but may be
confusing to other cultures.
 Learn the correct uses of idioms and figures of speech in other languages.
 Asians to Westerners: be direct; say polite yet clear “No.”
 Westerners to Asians: clearly convey rejection but also “soften” this with buffers, such as an
explanation or good news preceding the outright “No.”
 To be Effective: adjust to the culture and mode of address of the other; or choose not to take
offense because you understand the culture that drives the linguistic convention.