Verbal Communication : The Way People Speak

Culture influence comunication styles. Although this point may seem obvious, cultural styles can and do create misunderstandings in conversations among people from different cultures.
For example, consider the following conversation between an Italian and an American. The Italian made a strong political statement with which he knew this his American friend would disagree. The Italian wanted to involve The American in a lively discussion. The American rather than openly disagreeing, said, “ Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion. I accept that your opinion is different than mine.” The Italian responded . “ That’s all you have to say about it?” In general, the American did not enjoy verbal conflicts over politics or anything else. The Italian actually became angry when the American refused to get involved in the discussion. He later explained to the American, “ A conversation isn’t fun unless it become heated.”
What does this example say about culture and its influence on communication ? Surely, there are many Americans who do get involved in verbal conflicts over politics , just as there are some Italians who would not become involved. However , the above conversation represents types of communication pattern that are related to cultural differences.

Conversational Involvement
In her book: You Just Don’t Understand, the sociolinguistic research Deborah Tannea discusses the notion that people from some cultures value “high involvement “ conversation patterns , while ether value “ high considerateness” patterns . Many people from culture that prefer “ high involvement” styles tend to : 1). Talk more 2). Interupt more 3). Expect to be interrupted 4). Talk more loudly at time and 5). Talk more quickly than those from cultures favoring “ high considerateness” styles. Many “ high involvement “ speakers enjoy arguments and might even think that others are not interested if they are not ready to engags in a heated discussion.

On the other hand , people from cultures that favor “ high considerateness” styles tend to 1). Speak one at time. 2)use polite listening sounds ; 3) refrain from iterrupting; and 4) give plenty positive and respecful responses to their conversation partners. Most teachers of English as a Second Lenguage (ESL) in multi cultural classrooms have observed that some students become very involved in classroom conversation and discussion, whereas ethers tend to participate only in a hestical manner. The challenge for the teacher is not to allow the “ high involvement “ group to dominate discussions.
The cultures that Tannen characterizes as having “ high involvment” conversational styles include Russia ,Italian , Greek , Spanish, South American , Arab ,and African. In general , the various communication styles in Asian cultures (e.g. Chinese and Japanese) would be chracterized as “ high considerateness.” Mainstream American conversation style would also be characterized as “ high considerateness” , althought it differs significantly from the various Asian patterns. Thre are important regional and ethnic differences in conversation styles within the United States.

Incorrect Judgments of Characters
Americans can have problems when talking to each other because of differences. For example , New Yorkers tend to talk faster and respond more quickly ( high involvement) than Californians ( high considerateness). To some New Yorkers, Californians seem slower , less intelligent, and not responsive. To some Californian , New Yorkers seem pushy and domineering. The judgment that people make about regional differences within a country are similar to those they make about people from another culture. The reactions to such differencess are not usually expressed in the following reasonable fashion. “The way she speak s is different from my way of speaking. She must have had a different cultural upbringing. I won’t judge her according to my standards of what is an acceptable communication style”
Instead , people tend to make judgments such as , “ She’s loud, pushy , and domineering ,” or “ He doesn’t seem interested in talking. He’s very passive and uninvolved. “ The people interacting are forgetting that their respective cultural styles are responsible , in part , for their mannerisms and habits of communication. The important differences in communication create prblems of stereotyping and incorrect judgments among members of diverse groups.


Taken form :
Cross Cultural Understanding

By Kendra Nicole Staley, M.A