English Language Department

College of Arts and Letters

Bicol University
Legazpi City

First Semester
Academic Year 2020-2021

PROPERTY OF:

Name of Student/Course and Year

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

 CHAPTER THREE

LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS

WHAT IS THIS LESSON

In this chapter, we will discuss briefly what culture is and how it affects communication; we
shall also discuss the barriers to local and global communication in multicultural settings.
Also part of this chapter is a discussion on the varieties and registers of spoken and written
language.

WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?

At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Demonstrate an awareness of the reality of cultural diversity through identification of

known dialects and languages; and
2. Explain how cultural diversity affects effective communications.
3. Explain the importance of using appropriate varieties and registers of language in
certain communication context;
4. Explain the Variety and Register of Oral and Written Language; and
5. Explain the differences between Spoken and Written Language.

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

LESSON 1: DEFINITION OF CULTURE
LET’S READ!
Multiculturalism refers to the presence of people with several cultures in a specific setting. It is the
co- existence of diverse cultures, where culture includes racial, religious, or cultural groups and is
manifested in customary behaviours, cultural assumptions and values, patterns of thinking, and
communicative styles.
The world today is characterized by ever growing compacts resulting in communication between
people with different linguistic and cultural background. One of the most common forms of global
communication is an email.

A person in one country types a message and clicks the send button. The message is then encoded
into packets which are sent across the internet to the recipient. In another country, the receiver logs
in and decodes the message by opening the email, and retrieves the message.

Global communication becomes more complicated when there are multiple recipients from
different cultures with different languages all receiving the same message, as well as when there
are more layers added to the channel. For example, if a world leader makes a speech broadcast
across the globe, people from one region may rejoice at the news, while others may find it
offensive. In this case, the channel itself can involve many different layers, as translators, news,
editors and commentators each interpret the message differently before passing it on to the
intended audiences.

CULTURE
Culture is a learned system of meanings that fosters a particular sense of shared identity-hood
and community-hood among its group members. It is a complex frame of reference that consists of
a pattern of traditions, beliefs, values, norms, symbols and meanings that are shared to varying
degrees by interacting members of an identity group (Ting-Toomey & Takai, 2006, p.691 in
Oetzel, 2009).
According to Oetzel (2009), we are simultaneously members of multiple cultural groups, such as a
national culture, ethnic culture, religious culture, gender culture, media culture, social class culture,
generation culture, which overlap to varying degrees.

LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION

It is the way on how we communicate to other. By using our own languages and an
English language, we can make a conversation locally or globally. The main
purpose of this is to have an idea on how can we apply what we learned from
them for ourselves and for our community. It can also be the way for our country
to have sufficient knowledge to make it more outstanding.

Local communication means data transferred directly from the gateway to bluz DK, without
going through the Particle cloud. Local communication can be used for a lot of tasks that don't
require the cloud. Multicultural education refers to any form of education or teaching that
incorporates the histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural
backgrounds

The study of global communication is an interdisciplinary field focusing on global

communication, or the ways that people connect, share, relate and mobilize across geographic,
political, economic, social and cultural divides.

COMMUNICATING ACROSS CULTURES

Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has set rules that its members take for
granted. Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because cultural imprinting is begun at a

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

 very early age. And while some of culture‘s knowledge, rules, beliefs, values, phobias, and
anxieties are taught explicitly, most of the information is absorbed subconsciously.

The challenge for multinational communication has never been greater. Worldwide business
organizations have discovered that intercultural communication is a subject importance not just
because of increased globalization, but also because their domestic workforce is growing more
and more diverse.

Intercultural communication
- is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how
culture affects communication. It describes the wide range of communication processes and
problems that naturally appear within an organization or social context made up of individuals
from different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. In this sense it seeks to
understand how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate and perceive the
world around them.

BARRIERS TO LOCAL AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATION IN MULTICULTURAL SETTINGS

Some of the barriers to effective communication are language, medium of communication,

personality and culture. Culture became barrier to an effective communication when a person has
different language bearing, and they have different interpretation to such words.

What is the difference between multicultural and cross-cultural or Intercultural?

While they all might be under the same roof, they describe entirely different rooms. The
differences in the meanings have to do with the perspectives we take when interacting with people
from other cultures.

Multicultural refers to a society that contains several cultural or ethnic groups. People live
alongside one another, but each cultural group does not necessarily have engaging interactions
with each other. For example, in a multicultural neighbourhood people may frequent ethnic
grocery stores and restaurants without really interacting with their neighbours from other countries.

Cross-cultural (Intercultural) refers to the comparison of different cultures. In cross-cultural

communication, differences are understood and acknowledged, and can bring about individual
change, but not collective transformations. In cross-cultural societies, one culture is often considered
―the norm and all other cultures are compared or contrasted.

THE CULTURAL ICEBERG

WATCH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9Z83I_g4Hw

TASK #1

View on the Youtube “The Cultural Iceberg (Iceberg Model of Culture). In an essay form, answer
the question below to interpret the above illustration.

 What is the concept of culture which is associated with an iceberg?

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

LESSON 2: REACTIONS TO CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ENCOUNTERS
LET’S READ!
People could react differently when they encounter another culture. Literatures say that they could
react through: ASSIMILATION, ACCOMODATION and SEPARATION.
According to Oetzel (2007), ASSIMILATION is the effort to eliminate the cultural differences
towards home and host cultures. ACCOMODATION attempts to retain some cultural uniqueness
and to transform the existing dominant structures so that there is less hierarchy while SEPARATION
rejects the dominant society and organizations, and individuals attempt to join similar co-cultural
group members to form organizations that are reflective of their own values and norms.
Also, some people have the tendency to think and feel that their culture is SUPERIOR than the
others so they use their own culture as the standard in judging other people’s cultures. This is called
ETHNOCENTRISM. CULTURAL RELATIVISM on the other hand sees other cultures equal to their
own.

LESSON 3: REACTIONS TO CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ENCOUNTERS

LET’S READ!
Sociolinguists argue that gender is a social variable that could account for language and
communication differences. Women speeches for instance according to results of some researches
suggest that they are generally characterized as indirect, apologetic, sensitive, relationship-
oriented and are usually into rapport-talk and advise seeking. For example, some studies suggest
that women more than men have the tendency to use the expressions, “Please, correct me if I’m
wrong” and similar forms of hedges (language devices that lessen the appearance of bragging
and assertion).
Men’s speech on the other hand are often described to be assertive, dominant, power and status-
oriented, information-oriented and are inclined to report talk.
There are cases however that regardless of gender, one’s talk is characterized as feminine (soft
and less assertive) or masculine depending on one’s personality.
The differences need not be interpreted as to which gender demonstrates a better and more
positive communication patterns or which gender seems to be more inferior. Being aware of the
male and female communication variances could lead to better and deeper understanding of
someone in communication situations.
GENERATION CULTURE COMMUNICATION DIFFERENCES
Every generation or age group may also use its own unique set of jargons or lingos in their casual
conversations. Their era’s trends, popular events, movies, television shows, radio programs, songs
and literature among many other machineries could introduce these lingos. Also, technology has
made some changes on words and introduced ones that are easier to type (forming acronyms) and
innovative. The digital natives or the “millenials” are the ones who are creatively using them.
The following are a few examples of popular or viral English terms and expressions among the
millenials from John Brandon (www.inc.com)

CAN’T UNDERSTAND WHAT A MILLENIAL IS SAYING TO YOU?

HERE’S A CHEAT SHEET TO HELP.

Sometimes, it almost seems like people are speaking in Klingon.

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

 With the advent of social media and texting came an entirely new way to communicate.
It's a mix of shorthand, conjoined words, abbreviations, and phrases that came about
because of a meme or even a mistake on social media that people found funny--and
useful for communicating in a digital age. Here are a few I've heard or discovered on
social media myself. (With a special shout-out to my Twitter pals for the help.)
1. Phubbing
I'm reading an early review copy of a book by Sherry Turkle and this word comes up a
few times. It means someone is talking to you while he or she is texting or on a computer.
It's a negative term only because it's impossible for most of us to talk and type at the
same time.
2. Hundo P
This phrase is fairly obvious when you think about it. It means "a hundred percent" or that
the person using the phrase is supportive and approves.
3. JOMO (Joy of missing out)
Millenials like to take an overused acronym like FOMO (fear of missing out) and twist it to
their will. The "joy of missing out" means missing something that was lame in the first place.
4. Sorry not sorry
Fake apologies are part of the ethos when you are a Millennial. You are a little sorry, but
you also want to make fun of the idea of being sincerely apologetic when it is not
deserved.
5. I can't even
When you hear this phrase at work, watch out. It means the speaker is losing patience, is
at a loss for words, and is pretty annoyed about something.
6. The struggle is real
When Millenials use this phrase at work, it means they are annoyed. They might use the
phrase to let you know there is a tough problem or a real hardship.
7. On fleek
Used originally in an Instagram post about eyebrows (yes, the origin stories for these
terms tend to be as weird as the terms themselves), being "on fleek" means to be on point.
In a business context, it means something was well executed and is worthy of
acknowledgement.
8. Dipset
I was confused when I heard this one on social media. It means to bail on something--to
leave because something is lame. You might "dipset" from a meeting if the topic is boring.
If you use this one, let me know if people understand you.
9. Bae
This word has fallen out of favor, according to a lengthy essay in The Atlantic that
probably was not necessary, but you'll still hear people use it at work. It means your
significant other.
10. V
Another "word" that is a single letter, v is common because it adds some emphasis to
texting and social media conversations. It means "very," as in "I'm v excited" about this
project. It also means you don't have to type three extra letters.
11. Perf
Another shortened word, perf means "perfect" and denotes agreement to a cause or plan.
Like many of the slang words on this list, it came about because you don't have to type as
many letters. Just don't confuse it with the shortened version of performance.

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

 12. JK
JK--just kidding--is not a new abbreviation, but it has stood the test of time. It's used when
someone has made a joke and wants to make you pick up on the humor.
13. It me
This shortened version of "it's me" is often used as a term of agreement and self-
identification. It means the person identifies with the topic, but they don't want to explain
at length. It's just a quick way to say you can relate to something.
14. P
Is one letter by itself a word? That's something Oxford will have to decide if it hasn't
already, but to Millennials, p is already part of their cannon. It's a replacement
for pretty (as in "I'm p excited") and might show up in your next email conversation.
15. TBH
This one is pretty easy to guess (or should I say "it p easy to guess"?). It means "to be
honest" and is usually followed by either a joke or a more sincere comment.
Other than generation, a person’s social class, occupation, education, religion, can also be
factors that shape one’s speech code (language, lexicon, expressions, jargons, etc.) in the
Philippines for instance, it is an observation that if someone is able to use the English
language properly and accurately, the person is regarded as educated or someone in the
upper class of the social economy.

TASK #2

Give 10 examples of popular viral millennial English terms and expressions (with their
meanings) that you have adopted/ used with your co – millennial individuals.

TASK #3

A. Research 5 various cultural and intercultural modes of communication. For example, words,
gestures, images used in a particular country or region to show respect. The research must
showcase the varied communication purposes/ patterns of the selected country in terms of
etiquettes and customs, gift-giving etiquette, dining etiquette, relationships, business meeting,
greetings, gestures, clothing etc.
B. Write an essay or blog on various issues in communication showing gender sensitivity
through language and gestures.

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

LESSON 4: VARIETIES AND REGISTERS OF SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE

LET’S READ!

According to an article written by Gleaner, we have six language registers: formal, casual,
intimate, private, frozen and consultative. These registers can be used depending on the
situation and people we encounter. It is essential to use appropriate varieties and registers of
language in certain communication context because in different situations and people call for
different registers. It shows the level of formality and informality of the language used. When we
use appropriate varieties and register of
language we‘re showing respect, interest,
comfortableness and professionalism.

However, we have different approach in

language register when it comes to face-to-
face conversation and in written mode. We
characterized face-to-face conversation as
multi-modality because we can use different
registers and we considered the status,
position or the way of living of the person
we‘re communicating with in order to know
when and where to use or drop the formality.
While in writing a paper we commonly use the formal register since the construction of sentences,
correction of grammar and appropriate using of words really matter.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WRITTEN LANGUAGE

Permanence - means when students write something they already set in their mind to be done in
one session. They don‘t think that they can edit or revised their written to be better because
students think their written is subject to permanence. In this case teacher perhaps notice all of
students that they just write everything that comes in their written.

Production time - this part plays a crucial issue for the agents. In this part, students will think about
the deadline. The possible case in here is the students will just only focus on the deadline and
would resort to not give importance on the content itself. As the result, their written work will not be
maximized and or to be improved. Moreover this is a job for the teachers to push students to think
about the process of learning rather than the result itself.

Distance - having a relationship with the audience anticipation. Before students start to write, they
have to know who will be the audience to read their output.

Orthography - this part is talk about the technical of appearance. After writer consider about the
word, phrase and sentence that they will use students also consider about the front, size and also
the picture. All appearance has to connect with the topic and target of the reader.

Complexity - this is talk about the sentence whether students use simple sentence combine or
complex sentence. We as a teacher will know the students’ progress of learning. And for the
academic writing, students should provide reference.

Vocabulary - talk about word richness we (teacher) can see what a new vocabulary that they
already acquired.

Formality - this is complex convention for academic writing (describe, explain, compare, criticize,
argue, etc.). If the writer creates academic writing it means the product have to formal. Because of
that the language that they use has to formal and polite. The front or size has to consistent with the
guideline that they use (APA style, MLA etc.).

CHARACTERISTICS OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE

1. VARIATION IN SPEED
2. LOUDNESS OR QUIETNESS
3. GESTURES
4. INTONATION

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

 5. STRESS
6. RHYTHM
7. PITCH RANGE
8. PAUSING AND PHRASING

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPOKEN AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE

WRITTEN:

 Tends to be more complex and intricate than speech with longer sentences and many subordinate
clauses. The punctuation and layout of written text also have no spoken equivalent.
 Usually permanent and written texts cannot usually be changed once they have been
printed/written out
 Written text can communicate across time and space for as long as the particular language and
writing system is still understood.
 Writers can make use of punctuation, headings, layouts, colors and other graphical effects in their
written texts.
 Some grammatical constructions are only used in writing as are some kinds of vocabulary such as
some complex chemical and legal terms.

SPOKEN:

 Tends to be full or repetitions, incomplete sentences, corrections and interruptions with the
exception of formal speeches and other scripted forms of speech such as news reports and scripts
for plays and films.
 Usually transient unless recorded and speakers can correct themselves and change their utterances
as they go along.
 Speech is usually used for immediate interactions.
 Speech can us timing, tone, volume and tremble to add emotional context.
 Some types of vocabulary are used only or mainly speech. These include slang expressions, and
tags like y’know, like, etc.

THE FIVE MOST COMMON LANGUAGE REGISTER IN WRITING

FORMAL LANGUAGE REGISTER

Is appropriate for professional writing and letters to a boss or stranger.

 Cannot instead of can‘t

 Have not instead of haven‘t
 Will not instead of won‘t

EXAMPLE: business letters, announcement, professional emails, some essay, letters complaint.

INFORMAL LANGUAGE REGISTER

Is conversational and appropriate when writing to friends and people you know very well.

 They‘ve been fighting all day

 He‘s very busy
 We feel that the target in unrealistic
 I planned many different

EXAMPLE: short notes diaries and journals

NEUTRAL LANGUAGE REGISTER

Is non-emotional and sticks to facts. It is most appropriate for technical writing

“Definition of register and varieties of spoken and the written language”

Register
Is a subset of language as defined by purpose and setting.

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3

 Varieties
A variety also called ― lect is a specific form of language cluster. This may include Languages,
Dialects, registers, style or other forms of language, as well as “Standard Variety”

Varieties of the Philippines

a. Cebuano
b. Waray-waray
c. Ilocano
d. Kapampangan
e. Hiligaynon

5 TYPES/ CATEGORIES OF LANGUAGE REGISTER

A. Frozen/ Static - is a language that never changes. (Ex. Panatang Makabayan).

B. Formal - Standard English. (Ex. Speeches or School Lessons)
C. Consultative - Less formal Standard English. (Ex. Newscasting)
D. Casual - Language between Friends (Ex. Vernacular speech)
E. Intimate – Language between close family members, or intimate people (Ex. Intimate form of
language)

Intimate - language between lovers or other close family or friends.

Spoken Language - Is a language produced by articulate sounds, an oral language is a produced

with vocal tract. It tends to convey subjective information.

Written Language

 Is a representation of Spoken or gestural by means of a writing system.

 It must be taught to children.

TASK #4
Give 3 examples of Language Register per category
1. Frozen/ Static
2. Formal
3. Consultative
4. Casual
5. Intimate

GEC-15, PURPOSIVE COMMUNICATION Chapter 3