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Christopher Horton, ENGL 131, MP2

Increased globalization is forcing a growing number of business managers and
employees to interact across linguistic boundaries (Lauring, 2008). Since language affects
almost all aspects of everyday life, there needs more of a focus on communication barriers
by researchers and practitioners.
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Language, in a sense, is one of the biggest aspects of us as human beings in the
world today. It is what ties us together with those that speak the same language, to give
us a sense of identity that is not otherwise found via culture or other way. At the same
time, it is also one of the biggest negatives to bringing us together a human race,
alongside those of race, culture, and history. In a sense, you can say that language is one
of the most important aspects of humanity that keeps ushuman; similar yet extremely
different in many different ways. When it comes down to it though, language is an
effective barrier to effective communication between people of different cultures,
backgrounds, and identities.
The stakes of language rise far beyond that of a normal analysis. Language in itself,
with very few exceptions, is the entire basis of which communication between people is

1
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1175&context=gradconf_hospitality
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founded on. Because of this, the stakes of language are very high; not being able to
communicate with people from different identities and backgrounds is a major obstacle
toward getting anything running or going along. Language is the key to a persons self-
identity. It enables the person to express emotions, share feelings, tell stories, and convey
complex messages and knowledge. Language is our greatest mediator that allows us to
relate and understand each other (Imberti, 2007)
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. With this previous quote, you can
infer that without a proper understand, grasp, or even usage of language in a correct way,
my argument about language being a barrier to communication is proven correct in
every way, shape and form.
Granted, there are arguments to how the language is not a barrier to effective
communication, but Ill choose to use examples of theoretical situations of incidents that
can happen in real-life to support the argument that Im trying to make at the current
time.
In Korea, where I grew up, culture, tradition, and respect are among some of the
biggest aspects of our society and culture, and not paying attention to any one of these
three above can lead to very, very severe consequences for both the person who does not

2
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1175&context=gradconf_hospitality
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pay attention and the person that he/she has offended. Korea, in retrospect, receives a lot
of foreign tourists and visitors every single day who come from all different cultures,
backgrounds, and countries; none of which are the same or even in most cases even
similar to that of Koreas. Because of this, it is really not uncommon at all to see incidents
occur in everyday life between people where the foreigner will do something that will
offend the person that they are speaking to because of differences, most of which involve
a communication error (since Korean is very different from other languages and involves
many connotations and other items that can lead to confusion. In fact, this leads to
several instances where it has resulted in criminal acts, as the instigator has no idea how
serious of a line that they had just crossed was, while the person who was offended/the
victim retaliates without knowing that the person who had offended them does not
realize that they done something wrong (thus leading to the phrase unintended
consequences). This is one prime example of how language can act as a barrier to
effective communication between people of different cultures.
An actual example to the before mentioned theoretical example is the term
(kireru), which is so frequently used to describe sudden emotional rage, which is
seen more frequently in North Americathe values of being indirect, less confrontational,
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and modest are seriously challenged. You can see within this example the fact that the
very aspect of language, especially underneath the actual surface of language itself,
provides a sort of misunderstanding or differencing interpretations of the language, which
in itself is one of these before mentioned barriers to communication via language
between different cultures and backgrounds.
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There is also another source
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that states:
language as a barrier between communication because it is a medium that ignores culture
and backgrounds in itself, utilizing the example of Korean/Chinese students within Japan .
In this source itself, the focus on the sort of inferiority complex or otherwise between
people of different cultures living in foreign countries takes effect, especially due to
language (and differences between that of their home language and the difficulties of
adapting to their new/native countrys language. These are real-life examples to go
alongside my theoretical example listed above.
Another theoretical instance of how language can act as a barrier to
communication is through the aspects of translators. While it may seem to the outside
casual observer that translators can act as an effective means to communication rather
than an effective obstacle to communication, it really goes much deeper than just the

3
http://buna.arts.yorku.ca/japanese/ejlt/globalization.pdf
4
http://www.hawaii.edu/sls/sls/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/6-Hatori-Reiko.doc
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surface. Frequently, translators cannot translate words completely verbatim, leading to
instances where the line that they are supposed to translate comes out a completely
different line than how it had gone in (thus where the phrase lost in translation goes
into effect). In fact, this has led to several well-publicized and documented incidents
throughout the course of history. A good quote to be used here to describe this situation
is Clearly, language and linguistic ability may act as a barrier to communication. However,
even when communicating in the same language, the terminology used in a message may
act as a barrier if it is not fully understood by the receiver(s). For example, a message that
includes a lot of specialist jargon and abbreviations will not be understood by a receiver
who is not familiar with the terminology used.
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This is another prime example of how
language works as a barrier to effective communication.
These are just some of the theoretical examples of how language can act as a
barrier to effective communication. While there are undoubtedly many more situations
that one can think of to prove the point that Im trying to make, I am just focused on
making my point that language works as a barrier to effective communication. Whenether
through translators, culture differences, background differences, or other items similar to
any of the ones listed above, it brings me back to the point that I am trying to re-iterate:

5
http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/barriers-communication.html
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that language in itself, although very important and an integral part of everyones lives,
remains one of the most frustrating and effective barriers to breaking down the
communication problems between people of different backgrounds, cultures, and
languages.