How diverse cultural backgrounds influence communication between individuals?

Question

How diverse cultural backgrounds influence communication between individuals?

Answer 1

One of the main ways it influences communication is the language barrier.  When an individual learns a foreign language it is usually not the current usage meaning of the word.  For instance the word g*y.  If a foreigner thought an American was very jolly or a fun person he might use the old term for jolly or fun filled and tell him "You seem very g*y".  The American would probably take offense when no offense was intended.  Another is shaking hands.  Certain cultures that don't have toilet paper use their left hand to wipe with.

It is therefore an insult to them if you extend your left hand to shake hands.  Certain cultures consider belching at the table after a meal shows that you enjoyed the meal.  If you don't belch it is a sign you didn't enjoy it.  In certain cultures you don't wear your outside shoes inside a house, it is a sign of disrespect.

Answer 2

Usually they have to merge words, creating a larger vocabulary.

Answer 3

Even if you know the language of the person you speak, you can have difficulty if you have different backgrounds. I came across such things, especially when I use an idiom it can't be understood or it is misunderstood. So are the gestures, body language etc.

Answer 4

Diverse cultural backgrounds make communication much worse. I have practical and technical reasons. I am married to a Chinese wife and massive amounts of communication I thought went on was not going at all. There was no feedback. Cultural background is a vital part of communication.

Technically in order for communication to take place two things need to be present, the person has to not know what you are communicating and you need some kind of library {alphabet, common experience, common language}. If you are from different cultural backgrounds there are areas where you will not be able to discuss things well. Such as subtle concepts of culture and feelings. In these areas the error rate is very high. Errors do not mean just that communication did not happen, it may also mean that it was misunderstood.

After you discover some of these areas, if you do, then you will need to use a lot more energy to get your message across. This is typically an issue with people seeing each other socially.