Misunderstanding in Intercultural Communication

ATS 3779

Language and Culture

Inadequate linguistic proficiency

• Inadequate linguistic proficiency
• Pragmatic mismatch
• Clash of styles
• Mismatch in schemas and cultural stereotypes
• Mismatch in contextualisation and framing

Key factors that may cause misunderstanding in intercultural communication

Bremer (1996 as cited in Hua, 2014) identified several problems of understanding that are located at the linguistic level and can be attributed to inadequate linguistic proficiency. These are described below:

Lexical comprehension problem

'Mishearing' a lexical element

Syntactic complexity

Clash of styles

Clash of style often leave very little trace in interaction in the sense that no conversational trouble or 'breakdown' is usually visible in interaction.

• Some communicative styles and aspects of communication are likely to have culture specific variations.

• Speakers apply different styles of conversation.

Example: "freedom of speech"

Pragmatic mismatch

Misunderstanding can occur when the hearer has difficulty in understanding a speech act. As a result, the hearer failed to understand the intention of the speaker.

The constitution of North Korea promises its people with freedom of speech

Bremer(1996) uses the term ‘misunderstanding’ to refer to the occasions on which ‘the listener achieves an interpretation, which makes sense to her or him- but it wasn’t the one the speaker meant’ and the term ‘non-understanding’ to describe those occasions when the listener fails to make sense of what has been said by the speaker.

MISUNDERSTANDING IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Mauranen (2006) defines a misunderstanding as a ‘potential breakdown point in conversation, or at least a kind of communicative turbulence’

What is "misunderstanding"?

Define "misunderstanding"

Factors that may cause misunderstanding

Our critical responses to the issue

• Contextualisation can be verbal or non-verbal signs such as intonation, stress, tone of voice, code-switching, style of switching and so on.
• Framing can be represented as a tool to signal what is to be expected at a point in a conversation.

• Lack of knowledge about the system and procedures
• Cultural stereotype can lead to misunderstanding in interation.

Implications that contribute to successful intercultural communication

Mismatch in contextualisation and framing

Mismatch in schemas and cultural stereotypes

References

Critical Responses

Huayan Chen 25082671

Ka Ho Cheung 23550554

Soukdalone Phommathep 24732575

Kaur, J. (2011). Intercultural communication in English as a lingua franca: Some sources of misunderstanding. Intercultural Pracmatics, 8(1), 93-116.

Custom Design

Prezi Templates

Add your own content

Visit: http://prezibase.com

Create a unique Presentation

Prezi Tips & News

Prezi To Video

Hua, Z. (2014). Exploring intercultural communication: language in action. London & New York: Routledge

Liu, BM 2013, "Effect of first language on the use of English discourse markers by L1 Chinese speakers of English", Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 45, no. 1, pp.149-172.

Weigan, E. (1999). Misunderstanding: the standard case. Journal of Pragmatics, 31(1), 763-785.

Watterson, M. (2008). Repair of non-understanding in English in international communication. World Englishes, 27(2), 378-406.

Yu, MC 2011, "Learning how to read situations and know what is the right thing to say or do in an L2: A study of socio-cultural

competence and language transfer", Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 1127-1147.

• Kaur (2011) stated that misunderstanding in intercultural communication could sometimes happen between people with similar lingua-cultural backgrounds.
• Weigan (1999) "Not everything is explicitly said in communication … because we are not always aware of every piece of information that would be necessary for clear understanding”
• Watterson (2008) confirmed that non-native speakers are very skilled in their use of communication strategies and interactional practices to negotiate meaning in order to come to a mutual understanding
• Liu (2013) found that ESL speakers tend to use norms from their L1 when they speak in L2.
• Yu's (2011) study shows that 'proper behaviors' in another language need to be learnt.

Implications for a successful intercultural communication

• Hua (2001) suggested that there is a need to know an audience.
• Take turns , have a pause , repeat when neccessary and be clear about the main messages you want your communication partner to recieve.
• Negotiate misunderstanding by signalling through questions such as pardon? sorry? what does it mean?
• Be open-minded to the other cultures.