Conflict Between German And Australian Workplace Telephone Discourse

Based on where we’re from can have a lot to do with how we communicate with one another. Language is apart of our culture and way of life. We become accustomed to the way of life based on our surroundings and the language being spoken around us.

Politeness is able to show a person’s feelings towards others and awareness of a social custom. There are many purposes of politeness including: creating a public self image, creating solidarity, threatening people to send a negative message, not threatening people or upsetting them, indicating social relationship, showing awareness of social context, and power dynamics. The value of polite speech in a culture has the purpose of creating solidarity. Polite speech in a specific culture is very important and should be practiced as much as possible.

According to MacNeil, language classifies our ranks in the society we live in reinforcing “feelings of social superiority or inferiority” (2012, p. 242). By this the author suggests how changes in language test the patience of individuals of which “some are good humored and tolerant of change, others intolerant and snobbish” (2012, p. 242).

Thanks to globalisation, you are likely to work with Japanese, French, Chinese, German and all sorts of other nationalities. It is important to recognise that people from different cultures are different in a variety of ways.

Conversation is a ritual every person must encounter throughout their lives in order to function properly with one another in today’s society. However, every individual has a “different idea about what’s appropriate” when approaching someone in any sort of conversation; that is why we are referred to as individuals (Tannen 327). There are thousands of diverse languages to speak to one another with, in fact that means there are thousands of different ways to offend each other with our words. Within those languages there are several contrasting gestures that can offend any single person, such as the amount of times individuals apologize in one meeting, giving criticism too harshly, or thanking someone so often it does not seem genuine. In the article “What Do You Mean,” Deborah Tannen touches upon apologies, criticism, and thank yous in further detail to explain where individuals go wrong within conversation and how they can fix their actions. Individuals find it satisfying to please others by being polite because it is the ‘right’ thing to do, however like myself others need to stand up for themselves and get directly to the point now in order to avoid conflict later in life.

First, Amy Tan’s mother was not taken seriously because of the way she spoke. The way people speak can be a cover that affects how people communicate and understand each other. In the essay “Mother Tongue”, there are many occasions in which Tan’s mother was discriminated because of her “limited English.” Tan makes note that people do not take her mother seriously because of the way she speaks. “The fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her” (466). Tan’s mother was treated differently because of her “limited English.” At the hospital the doctors just assumed that she did not know what she was talking about. They ignored her request and told her to go home. In the essay, Tan describes a situation in which her mother’s inability to speak standard English prevented her from getting her the CAT scan she came for (466). Evident in this scene, the doctors did not take Tan’s mother seriously because of the way she spoke. Because Tan’s mother had difficulty speaking English, the doctors assumed she was wrong. Similarly, working at a supermarket, I have seen many employees and coworkers ignore customers because the way they spoke English was “limited.” Some would generally ignore the customers all together and pretend like they either were not there

Finally Lemark states that `empirical studies on intercultural communication found no universal norms in silence, and, in fact, documented that profound differences in cultural norms affect interpretations of silence in interaction`(Lemak,

Although the language individuals use reflects our identity, language use is not static and changes according to context. This is

The world uses English to communicate as a general rule; and the world is not small anymore. In these times of globalization, communication between Norway and other countries is literally as easy as the click of a mouse and the tapping of a few keyboard keys, or dialing a number. But in work life, you communicate because you have something you want to accomplish. The intent of communicating varies wildly, but there always is one. As an example, how will you ever get to sell your cars if no one can understand that it is cars you want to sell? Knowing English is a do or die situation in work life, and it truly makes a world of difference.

Many corporate are now conducting training on cross-cultural communication for their workforce. In the US, opinions of cultural experts are invited before taking a judicial decision. In short, every person or organization can make small steps to minimize this

The importance of understanding cultural, ethnic and gender differences by managers and professionals in a business setting is essential to make the work environment comfortable. In every culture there are basic standards of thinking, and acting and these cultural differences strongly influence workplace values and communication. What may be considered acceptable and natural in the workplace for one person may be unacceptable for another person. People from diverse cultures bring new ways of thinking, creativity and language skills needed to survive in today’s work force. In many

I. Differences in cultural aspects: The differences in the frequency of saying “sorry” as an apology result from

The process of globalization is rapidly expanding. More and more people are learning languages and looking for a job in a foreign environment. However, a study conducted in 2010 proposed that having an accent could diminish one’s credibility. This finding was widely promoted in a New York Times article named A Failure to Communicate., but was not accurately reported.

Language is a powerful weapon used for a variety of purposes. It is a way for people to communicate effectively and voice their thoughts, ideas, opinions, view and beliefs. We live in a world of seven thousand languages to communicate with and a great percentage speak more than one. For this reason, there is only one language that truly defines us; our native language. Our native language is a part of our culture, and creates the foundation of who we are as individuals. It is a way to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world. The opportunities provided to those with multiple languages are far greater than those who are not. Although, speaking multiple languages is beneficial, individuals with multiple languages still face criticism, judgement and rejection from their own people. Therefore, importance of proper word selection, correct grammar is quite significant depending on who you communicate with.

The rational actions people take to preserve both kinds of face, for themselves and the people they interact with, add up to politeness. Brown and Levinson (1987) also argue that in human communication, either spoken or written, people tend to maintain one another's face