The Conversation published an article by Baden Eunson on the absurdity of English spelling recently. With the rise of the Internet and World Wide Web over the past 20 years, I think the topic of language in general has become more prominent. When we communicate with people from other countries and other cultures, even if in the same language (English), we quickly find that we do many things differently. To me, this is probably a good thing.
Exposure to other cultures broadens one’s outlook. One might not necessarily agree with everything one sees elsewhere, but it does raise awareness of how other people might look at an issue. Cross-cultural communication is a fascinating topic. When I studied it briefly, many years ago, I could immediately understand better why some historical conflicts had occurred—or at the least, had been catalysed.
Take, for example, Culture A, in which direct eye contact during conversation is an extremely confrontational behaviour. Contrast that with Culture B, in which direct eye contact during conversation is a sign of honesty, and where avoiding eye contact is usually a sign of dishonesty. Now imagine that people from Culture A are meeting people from Culture B for the first time in history …
As another example, take Culture C, in which “yes” during conversation normally means “yes, I have heard what you have said”—in other words, a simple acknowledgement of hearing without any commitment to agreement. In Culture D, “yes” normally means “yes, I agree to what you have said.” Again, imagine if people from those two cultures are communicating without an understanding of the different meanings that “yes” might have for each other. There’s tremendous potential for misunderstanding, where probably none had been intended.
It is sad to consider that many, many people would have died through the course of human history due to misunderstandings. Hopefully, with the increasing use of English—as quirky and imperfect a language as it might be—we can decrease the risk of misunderstandings happening.
Indeed. I read a short history of the English language as written by a friend of mine – Margo Beilby. Some of it is quite fascinating.
On the other hand, the potential for misunderstanding other human beings (and animals, for that matter) is tragic; even people within the same culture can easily misunderstand each other because everyone carries their own model of the world and speaks in that context.