Cervales, Sofia Joy T.

English 45
AB English 3A
December 14, 2019
Culture Influences the Way we Speak

Why is cross-cultural awareness important when speaking your (or another) language? Take English, the
lingua franca of the international business world. It may be the same language across the globe used by
companies, governments and international institutions – but is it understood in the same way? Discover how
culture impacts the way different nationalities speak and understand English – important for anyone who works
internationally. With the inexorable rise and global domination of English, are speakers across the globe
speaking the same language? And are they speaking it the same way? You may learn the technical parts such as
grammar and punctuation, but what about the nuances, about what words connote and not simply denote?
Moreover, does your cultural identity determine the style and register in your usage of the world’s lingua
franca?
It most certainly does. And therefore, for those us working in international teams where English is often
the team language, an appreciation of what lies beneath the more obvious differences in cultures is vital.
However, it is the hidden differences like the mindset, values, beliefs, attitudes, sensibilities, prejudices and
preferences that also determine how we communicate, whichever be the language of our choice.
Let’s look at three examples to understand the differences in the use of English between Asian speakers
of English such as the Japanese or Indians and native English speakers:

1. NOUNINESS AND VERBINESS

Indians and Japanese tend to use more nouns which make the language heavy and cumbersome; native
users of the language, on the other hand, use more verbs which make the language more direct and dynamic,
e.g:
“The candidate submitted an application for the job.” vs. “The candidate applied for the job.” “The police
conducted an investigation into the murder.” vs. “The police investigated the murder.”

2. USE OF PASSIVE VOICE

Native users of English prefer the active voice whereas Asian users tend to use the passive voice more.
This directly relates to how they communicate in their own language.

E.g. Native Japanese speakers who want to treat their colleagues to lunch will politely say: “Watasi ni
harawasete kudasai”, which corresponds to “Allow the bill to be paid by me.” The English “Let me pay” or “I’ll
pay” would sound a bit rude and abrupt. Japanese or Indians are more reserved and formal, and the impersonal
or distanced nature of passive voice matches their sensibility better. The western attitude prefers brisker “who
did what” style of the active voice.

3. DIRECT AND INDIRECT EXPRESSIONS

Japanese and Indians find it rather more difficult to say “no” directly. It can sound rude or “in your face”. They
would rather imply a negative than say it out loud. This can cause misunderstandings as westerners sometimes
might assume a deal is done and dusted, whereas there was never a “yes” implied. E.g. “Kangaete mimashoo”
or “Let me think about it” can often mean an “I’m sorry, no”; a “Ah, soo desu ne” or “Ah, that is so”, depending
on the intonation could mean, that is not so; or even a “Wakarimasita” or “I understand” could simply indicate
understanding and not necessarily agreement.