A.

Title: Cultural and Global Issues Affecting Communication

B. Discussion:

Communication is all about sharing and exchanging of ideas and information (in the form of

letters, symbols, gestures, signals) that is being absorbed, analyzed and interpreted between two or more

people (even intrapersonally). It is a powerful tool that keeps everyone connected even across all

borders. From the values injected by our ancestors, to the instructions that we encounter everyday, the

implementation of the law from the government, the traffic symbols we see across the street, down to

sharing some common interests with our friends, neighborhood and classmates in any form, all these

things are possible because of the capability of communication to unite us. In order for this feat to be

enjoyed, effective communication should be considered always for us to make our listeners (receiver of

the message) understand what message we want to convey to them.

The study of [ CITATION Jur16 \l 18441 ] stated that in order for us to achieve effective

communication, its primary characteristics must be taken into account. These are (1) consideration to

other’s level of knowledge (regardless of havng tons of ideas, if the other is struggling in tracking what

you are saying, then communication is not utilized properly), (2) completeness, clarity and integrity of

the message, (3) maintaining courtesy, honesty and openness by both sender and the receiver, (4)

development of relationships, and (5) the manifestation of the feedback. Another thing that makes

communication essential in a society is it can create culture itself and it is defined as the shared and

learned behaviours and beliefs. It does not mean that humans are made in order to create a certain type

of culture by means of communication but rather culture is the natural result of humans’ socialization

[ CITATION Cam18 \l 18441 ] . Even though nowadays, we have diverse culture and traditions, it is possible

to communicate and have ties with each other. However, in order for us to achieve this kind of
relationship without degrading and invalidating each others’ beliefs, we have to identify and minimize

the effects of Cultural and Global Issues Affecting Communication.

One of the most common issues that may affect cultural and global communication is language

barrier. As a structured system of communication, language helps a certain group of people to

understand each other although it can also destroy its path especially when two parties have different

language learned. [CITATION BUA19 \l 18441 ] noted that language barrier affects healthcare, aviation,

maritime, business and education. In providing healthcare services, it appropriate that patient together

with his/her family understands their trusted healthcare professional because if not, inaccurate patient

assessment, diagnosis and prescriptions will be given to a patient that will affect that person’s well-being

[ CITATION deM18 \l 18441 ] . On the other hand, [ CITATION Sex00 \l 18441 ] indicated that in aviation,

specific language variables are moderately to highly correlated to the individual error rates of a crew.

This implies that even smallest error is a threat to aviation safety. Another study that was conducted by

[ CITATION Ten17 \l 18441 ] about the language-related barriers in companies. It was identified that this

barrier has brought negative emotional responses among the employees of a multinational corporations

resulting to trust building and collapse the concept of organization itself. Lastly, education is also an

affected sector of language barrier especially if this institution is a multinational one. Every student

should learn basic numeracy and reading comprehension skills in order for him/her to obtain some

higher level skills (even 21st Century skills). However, it will be hard enough for someone if the

language of instruction is different from the language you are using in your daily life. [ CITATION

McC19 \l 18441 ], stated that in order to eradicate this problem, use a language that students know as an

official instruction (for tests and lessons) to increase the literacy rate. These five aspects in our society

should be protected against langauge barrier for us to enjoy conveying message.

 Diversity in terms of culture and ethics is also a challenge in relaying a message. This can be due

to racial discrimination, gender inequality and religion. [ CITATION Ril14 \l 18441 ] , stated that having

negative experience from another race will later result to negative attitude to people different in race.

This implies that if not resolved immediately, it will cause cultural conflict between two different races.

Another aspect that made us more diverse aside from our races is our sexes. Men and women have their

different gender roles in society. Nevertheless, not all men and women are in the categories that society

dictates. This made gender inequality contributes to cultural conflict. [ CITATION Mei18 \l 18441 ],

believed that men and women’s difference in relationship orientation, decision-making process non-

verbal communicative differences, and lastly unequal engagement are the things we need to further

recognize for us to have understanding that will minimize future disagreements. The last cause of culural

conflict that is very evident even up to now is religion differences. In the article created by [ CITATION

bus18 \l 18441 ] stated that religious views is a powerful influencer of how people think about the others.

Worshipping different Gods creates different perspectives and opinions. One of its examples is in

Pakistan; Christians are mostly being discriminated by some Muslims.

These issues opened our senses and made us realize that these problems still exist nowadays.

We, as part of one society, should be able to make a safer space for everyone regardless of the gender

role, race and religion we have because communication is not just for local purposes, it is for everyone

who wants to be heard and understood.

References

Buarqoub, I. (2019). Language barriers to effective communication. Utopia y Praxis Latinoamericana.

Campbell, C. (2018, November). The relationship between culture and communication. Retrieved

August 12, 2020, from Mannygossip blogspot: http://manygossip.blogspot.com/2018/11/the-

relationship-between-culture-and.html

Communication, b. i. (2018, January 6). Cultural Barriers to Communication. Retrieved August 12,

2020, from businesstopia: https://www.businesstopia.net/communication/cultural-barriers-

communication#:~:text=things%20or%20differences.-,Religion,how%20people%20think

%20about%20others.

de Mossaic, D., & Bowen, S. (2018). Impact of Language Barriers on Quality of Care and Patient Safety

for Official Language Minority Francophones in Canada. Sage Journals.

Jureddi, D. N., & Brahmaiah, N. (2016). BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. VEDA’S

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (JOELL), 114-115.

McConville, K. (2019, September 23). LANGUAGE BARRIERS IN THE CLASSROOM: FROM

MOTHER TONGUE TO NATIONAL LANGUAGE. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from Concern

Worldwide US: https://www.concernusa.org/story/language-barriers-in-

classroom/#:~:text=Language%20barriers%20in%20the%20classroom%20are%20ubiquitous

%20in%20a%20country,for%20most%20children%20is%20Borana.&text=UNESCO

%20estimates%20that%2040%25%20of,a%20language%20that%
Meier, K. (2018, July 1). Gender Barriers to Communication. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from Chron:

https://work.chron.com/gender-barriers-communication-6858.html#:~:text=Societal

%20stereotypes%2C%20assumed%20gender%20roles,fit%20into%20a%20labeled%20category.

Riley, T. (2014). Do Racial Perceptions Affect Communication in Conflict? Communication Studies

Undergraduate Publications, Presentations and Projects.

Sexton, J., & Helmreich, R. (2000). Analyzing cockpit communications: The links between language,

performance, error, and workload. APA PsychNet, 63-68.

Tenzer, H., & Schuster, T. (2017). Language barriers in different forms of international assignments.

Econbiz, 63-100.

C. Terminologies:

1. Communication- refers to the sharing and exchanging of ideas and information that is being absorbed

analyzed and interpreted between two or more people (even intrapersonally).

2. Culture- refers to the shared and learned behaviours and beliefs.

3. Language Barrier- refers to the linguistic difficulties encountered by groups speaking different

languages.

4. Cultural Conflict- refers to the struggles experienced by two different communities who have

different ways of living.

5. Racial Discrimination- refers to any form of prejudice against others base on skin color , ethnic origin,

etc.

6. Gender Inequality- refers to the idea that men and women are not equal and should be treated

differently.

7. Religion- refers to the organized collection of beliefs; a particular system of faith and worship.

D. Submitted by:

Palma, Christian Nathaniel R.

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