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Cultural differences communication
Cultural differences in cross-cultural communication
Cultural differences communication
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A conversation between a man and a woman is very different to one between a woman and a woman or between a man and another man. Both genders have very different ways of communicating. In the essay, “Sex Lies and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard For Men And Women To Talk To Each Other”, Deborah Tannen observes the different communication styles both genders have along with the factors of linguistic battle between the sexes, listening to body language, and the sound of silence. In the text, it is evident that there is a excessive extent that these linguistic differences are a major factor in the conversations between men and women. One of the major factors is the linguistic battle between the sexes. As Deborah explained, linguistic battle between …show more content…
Both sexes have grown up with their own mentality of how communication in a friendship or relationship. This causes major issues to occur when men and women have dialogue with one another. They misinterpret or simply misunderstand the way the other gender would appreciate to be listened to or spoken to. An example of this misunderstanding and linguistic difference is found in body language. Body language is one of the most important obstacles in a discussion between men and women. Women like to speak face to face “their eyes anchored on each other’s” (342). As for men, they like sit “at angles from each other and look else where in the room” (342). So when both genders use these specific conversation habits with each other, it causes irritation and an unpleasant impression for both parties. The woman assumes the man isn 't listening to her speak, and the man believes he’s being scrutinized under her intense stare. This linguistic difference creates a blockade between both genders, and doesn 't allow communication to flow between the …show more content…
In short, this means “listener- noises”. For females it is comforting to know that the listener is still following along when they speak, so they expect “listener-noises”. As for men, when speaking to one another they tend to stay completely silent until the speaker has fully finished telling his story. When bringing these two qualities into a talk between a man and woman, it can cause irritation on both sides. As Deborah shares, for a woman, when a man stays completely quiet it appears she has lost his attention and interest. As for the man, when the woman offers her advise or makes “lister-noises” it come across as pushy and impatient. The unfortunate part is that both parities mean no harm with their listening skills. They simply have habits that the opposite sex is not accustom
That is the question of the century, and it frequently asked, especially by women in a relationship. Communication is key, but it is often a problem between couples. Men and women communicate in different ways, and there is constant misunderstanding during these variations of communication. Deborah Tannen really aids her audience in understanding these types of communication in her article, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation.” She has a PhD in linguistics, and is a professor of linguistics as well. She provides very useful information and even gives situations to relate to.
Communications generally occur in body languages: how the individuals interpret each other. Her essay is an event that is reoccurring more and more lately. The event results in a failure in marriage. In today’s society more and more people are splitting up or having divorces due to miscommunications. The essay, “Sex, Lies and Conversation,” that Deborah Tannen wrote is much use of today because it explains where miscommunications happen and she has her own studies and research to back it up. The essay goes into depth about her ideologies that cause miscommunications. Look at a miscommunication twice and do not be quick to judge because it will save plenty of
I agree with Tannen that women and men communicate much differently. For example, I grew up with all brothers, so the way I talk with other girls is often different than some that grew up with sisters. Tannen writes that men joke differently than women. I can attest to this. Since I grew up mainly
Sex is defined as the biological and physiological characteristics, which can be simplified to as being male or female (World Health Organization website). However, gender is defined as the “socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women” (World Health Organization website). This means that sex is based on the physical biology of a person, while gender is based on the social roles that the person is expected to adhere to. Linguistic determinism is a theory that says “that language may determine thought,” and it was supported by “cognitive differences that resulted in people who speak in languages with different grammatical structure” (Wasserman and Weseley). Linguistic relativity has greater support, and it refers to “the idea that language can reflect and preserve existing social structures and influence perceptions of reality” (Wasserman and Weseley). The social justification effect is defined as the disadvantaged groups that “rationalize the society that puts them at a disadvantage and to therefore embrace the idea that their own group is inferior” (Wasserman and Weseley).
The circle of influence and experience were different between men and women because of the differences in philosophies of life. The differences in philosophies of life created communication problems between men and women. What seemed to be interesting to one person would not be interesting to another. The key to a successful relationship would be to communicate with your spouse in all aspects of life, even if it was not a mutual interest. The author of Sex, Lies, and Conversation, Deborah Tannen, explained how men and women communicated differently through listening skills, body language, and emotions.
She suggests that male-female conversation is cross-cultural communication and that miscommunication results because of intolerance for the opposite gender marked language. While this is true, it could also seem to the audience that both characters have different wants and needs for their future, so perhaps the language isn’t a strong enough factor in the miscommunication. What is certain through the text is that the male American has much more dominance and certainty in his dialogue whereas the female Jig’s dialogue tends to stretch the conversation more rather than have a fixed standpoint. This can be seen through her mentioning the “white elephants” (9, Hemingway) or snapping about how they “look at things and try new drinks” (34). It is clear that Jig’s dialogue is driven by fantasy whereas the American’s dialogue is driven by facts and what is. Smiley does have a point when she suggest that women’s language focuses on emotions rather than facts and objects, but this could be since they are socially primed to be more emotionally open about their thoughts than are men. If male gender-marked language is more direct and less trivial than that of women it is due to culture, not
Communication is the means of connection between people or places, it’s an easy every day use. Most of us get into the habit of talking a specific way towards females and males, although it does differ depending on who you are you’d be surprised on how often it actually happens. This habit starts very early on, way back to grade school the way we interact with people then and the social interaction we have now correlate with habits that start early on in life. Another thing is the way you’re brought up and your culture some may be raised differently or some may have more interaction with females than males and vice versa. One author that shows interest in this topic is Deborah Tannen, she is a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. She wrote an excerpt called, “Why Can’t He Hear What I’m Saying?” in this she discusses her relationship with her husband and how their relationship lacked communication which lead to a divorce. In this excerpt she hits a lot of essential points in gender communication. Overall, depending on how and where you grow up greatly effects the way you communicate with the opposite sex whether it’s realized or not.
Steven Pinker distinguishes the difference between talking to man and women. Pinker showed a lady that was comfortable talking to another lady and the lady became angry when her talking to a man, not women (Pinker 2007 .p112, 113). People used intricacies method to achieve their needs and emotion instead of saying what they need to say directly. (Pinker 2007 .p113) Furthermore, even in a sexual situation, people twist and turn around and turn around their words. For example, “would you like to come up and see my etching?” (Pinker 2007.p113) Moreover, people use a kind word to order something from someone else without making a demand to the receiver or using indirect speeches to avoid a problem that may happen by mistake. (Pinker, 2007
Do men and women effectively communicate in the same way, or is it just a conversation of misunderstanding? There is constantly a new interest in whether men and women converse successfully. Professor and journalist, Deborah Tannen writes, “Sex, Lies, and Conversation: Why Is It So Hard for Men and Women to Talk to Each Other?” Tannen compares and contrasts all conversational styles, and explains how the expectation of dialogue affects how men and women converse. Tannen focuses on the subject of marriage and the imbalance of interest between male and female couples. The contrasting perspective however comes from, Deborah Cameron, author of, “What Language Barrier”. Cameron conveys that the stereotypes left upon male and female communication
We all have a certain way of communicating that seems evident and natural to us, so we can be shocked, frustrated, or even sadden when someone misinterprets us. Interacting with other people is part of our daily lives, yet men and women have different styles of communication and behavior. Some of the major differences between men and women are how they express emotion, affection or intimacy, and communication. Women tend to be more emotional and express more affection, whereas men are far less emotional and express less affection. Women regard intimacy as talking face-to-face; however, men regard intimacy as working or playing side-by-side. Women tend to ask more questions when communicating while men ask fewer or no questions at all. These
In the introduction of Deborah Tannen’s “Conversation Style: Talking on the Job”, she compares and contrasts the ways men and women communicate. This reminds me of what I tell people that are struggling in their relationships. Women and men express themselves differently. Women think, but men act. If you can’t wrap your head around this, being in a relationship with anyone is going to be hard. Yet, this is such a basic way of looking at this issue. Not only are the genders vastly different, but each person relates to the world around them in a certain way. He or she also needs to be related to in a specific way. Looking at personalities and personal histories can give a better look at the way we communicate with each other. Tannen examines
...a meaningful communication to take place. In conclusion, there are differences between men and women that go beyond social nurture. These differences have their origin in their genes. The differences evident in men and women are translated in their behavior and communication. There are possibilities of these differences in their turn raising the problem of failing to understand one another because in a communication men and women have a different set of expectations from each other. It is essential to understand and appreciate these differences for a meaningful communication to take place.
Kramarae’s work is also foundational. She believes that there has been little research on the way men and women use language. She seeks to understand not only the possibility of differences in grammatical, phonological, and semantic aspects, but also possible differences in the verbal skills, instrumental use of language and the relationship of non-verbal uses to verbal behavior. Her research also looks for differences between the sexes in their linguistic competence and performance. She discovered that it is easier to see differences of language between the sexes in other cultures. There is, she writes, “linguistic evidence that in at least some scattered instances, the existence of these distinctions is associated with an assertion of
Gender communication focused on the method of expressing a thought or idea through the use of a gender in the relationship and the role of people. Some will argue that gender communication is qualified as a form of intercultural communication on the development of effective communication skills when we interact with an opposite sex. The communication between men and women have a huge difference because people from different culture speak different dialects. In the current society, it is common for us to hear phrases such as “ you men (women) are from a different planet,”these phrases are developed due to the miscommunication between men and women over the course of evolution. Men and women had developed different methods of
Our capacity as human beings to acquire and express complex methods of communication has been one of the biggest driving forces of humanity’s success. These complex linguistic systems are what we know as language. Language gives us a method of expressing concepts, emotions, and ideas in a varied way which sets us apart from all other animals. Language and gender is an area of sociolinguistics and related fields which attempt to define the differences in language related to gender, and what the inferences of these differences may be.