Culturally
Appropriate Terms,
Expressions,
Images
“Every country has its own way of
saying things. The important thing is
that which lies behind people’s
words.”(Freya Stark, n.d.)
Cultural differences result in
misunderstanding, and “language, more
than anything else, is at the heart of
culture.”
The previous statement
implies that being proficient
in English does not
guarantee our being able to
understand what another
speaker of English is trying
to communicate unless we
become fully aware of how
that speaker uses English
based on his own culture.
American English British English
first floor ground floor
second floor first floor
elevator lift
apartment flat
parking lot car park
diaper nappy
Differences are also found in:
1. pronunciation
2. spelling
In the present era of high
technology, the issue on culture
World Englishes and
and use of English has become
English as more complicated than what it
international seems because of the emergence
of the now recognized “World
language Englishes.” These varieties of
English are used by three
identified “concentric circles” of
societies.
The Inner Circle covers
the native English-
speaking countries such
as:
England
USA
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
The Outer Circle comprises the
former colonies such as:
India Malaysia
Africa Singapore
Nigeria Philippines
Pakistan Bangladesh
The Expanding Circle consists of countries
such as:
China Saudi Arabia
Japan Korea
Germany Taiwan
Turkey
Egypt
Israel
When turning to other circles, the
question of what counts as a
language and what may be
considered a variety of English is
somewhat intricate. Pidgins and
Creoles belong to this issue.
Pidgins are used as lingua franca for
trade or any other practical
interaction.
A pidgin uses words from the languages of
communicators to understand each other, but
it is not the language of either communicator.
The pidgin is a “little more than strings of
nouns, verbs and adjectives, often arranged to
place old, shared information first and new
information later in the sentence.”
The language providing vocabulary is called lexifier, and
the language that provides the syntactic structure is call
the substrate. After an extended period of using a pidgin
in a community, when the pidgin becomes more fully
developed and serves as the language community, it
becomes a “creole.”
Example of Hawaian Creole Bible text.
Day Numba One
“Den God say, ‘I like the light shine!’ an the light
start to shine. God see how good da light. Den
he put the light on one side, and da dark on da
odda side. Da light time, he give um da name
‘Day time.’ Da dark time, he give um da name
‘Nite time.’ So, had da nite time and day time, az
day numba one.
In the process of learning English as either a second language
or a foreign language, people from the outer and expanding
circles develop an interlanguage, a “learner language” that
deviates from the norms of the target language. This is a
transitional linguistic system at all levels (phonology,
morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics).
The interlanguage results from a
several language-learning
processes, such as borrowing
patterns from the mother tongue,
extending patterns from the
target language, and expressing
meanings using the words and
grammar that are already known.
In Philippine English, we hear many Filipinos saying
sentences like the following:
I already ate. (Kumain na ako.)
He will come with us, isn’t it? (Sasama siya sa atin, hindi
ba?)
One of my classmate is inside. (Isa sa mga kaklase ko ay
nasa loob.)
They will come there. (Pupunta sila doon)
Example of Indian English:
You have taken my book, isn’t it?
You are soon going home, isn’t it?
In India English, the meaning of the tag in tag questions is its
social meaning not the meaning of the main proposition (or the
independent clause) as expected in American or British English.
The two examples show how the
linguistic for is affected by cultural
constraints of politeness in India. The tag
(isn’t it) is governed by the politeness
principle of non-imposition.
In standard American or British English, tag questions are
formed by using the subject of the independent clause and
an appropriate modal auxiliary such as:
You have taken my book, haven’t you?
You are soon going home, aren’t you?
Indian culture on grammatical
rules is also evident in the use of
“may” in Indian English.
Indian English:
“These mistakes may please be
corrected.”
Standard English: “These mistakes
must be corrected.”
LINGUISTIC PREFERENCES AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR
Variations in the way different cultures use language – like
linguistic preferences and nonverbal behaviors – also cause
miscommunication. Nuances in linguistic preferences provide
hints about behavior, manners, and thinking as a cultural group.
Examples:
Spaniards and Italians prefer eloquence
and expressiveness to exactness, tend to be
flowery with their language.
The English are very polite, use
understatement to avoid confrontation,
hence, sometimes end up being ambiguous.
Asians, including the Japanese and
Chinese, consider harmony an important
virtue, so to avoid confrontation, they
often say “yes” to many things with the
understanding of “Yes, I hear you” or “Yes, I
understand,” and not necessarily “Yes, I
agree.
People in Latin America, and Southern Europe are not
comfortable with ambiguity because they are conditioned
to expect absolute truths.
Scandinavians tend to be reserved; they are completely
focused, dedicated listeners.
Germans, on the other hand, are very logical in both
manner and words.
Edward T. Hall called nonverbal behaviors “the silent language.”
Nonverbal behaviors are expressive human attributes that impart
feelings, attitudes, reactions, and judgment which need to be given
continued attention because they are acquired mainly through
acculturation.
DIFFERENCES IN NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR
Australia: Thumbs up means obscene
V sign with palm facing toward the
speaker is the obscene “up yours” insult.
France: Your hands should be
visible at all times even when
seated at a table.
Germany: It is impolite to put your
hands in your pockets. Show
respect; be punctual.
Hong Kong: Maintain a two-arm’s-length distance
with the person. Touching and patting
are taboo. When you are seated, your
your feet should be facing the ground;
the soles of your shoes should not shown.
Indonesia: When you are in a private home or
mosque, be sure to remove your shoes.
Position them by pointing them toward
the door from which you entered.
Japan: The bow is still the tradition in greetings.
Bend your body a 30-degree angle from
the waist. For men: Palms should be face up,
toward the knee. For women: Hands should
be folded in front of you as you bow.
Saudi Arabia: Expect greeting to be very emotional.
They consist of a “salaam alaykum”
(“May God be with you”) followed by
a handshake and then a “keef halak”
(“How are you?”). *
Singapore: Gesture with your entire hand in
conversation. Pointing with one or two
fingers is rude. Avoid showing the
soles of your shoes.
Your feet should be used for walking –
nothing else. *
South Korea: When meeting someone, slight bow is
appropriate.
It is considered good manners to
acknowledge an older person by
standing when the person enters the
room.*
