How People from Different Cultures Relate to Each Other - Case Study Example

In-group – Out-group Relationships and Language Use Introduction Language plays a big role when it comes to culture since it is an aspect that strongly connects people. It helps build a bridge of understanding among people who belong to the same culture. Considering the different cultures that are existent in our society, the languages spoken are quite many as well. However, the way people relate with each other within the same culture is quite different with the way people from different cultures relate with each other (Gonsakolare, 2005). This may easily be referred to as biasness where the members might not even be aware of it. Therefore the main focus of this paper is going to be in group- out group relationships language use. The cultures that are going to be reflected are the Arabic culture and the Western culture. Main objectives The study of this topic aims to reflect on the relationships that people tend to have together. The relationships will be based on culture and how people from different cultures relate to each other. During this study one will be able to realise how they relate to people from different cultures and what the effects are. If there is need for change then this paper will aim to create awareness among the people. In group and out group relationships depending on cultural language may lead to confusion or discrimination but at some point they may be quite beneficial. Cultural values are quite important and the way people relate to each other at in- group relationships may help create a stronger bond among them. It also aims to create a distinction between discrimination and bondage process among cultures. According to Klopf, (2001), the Arabic culture is well known for its conservative nature and their highly respected values. Looking at Saudi Arabia, it is a country that is well known for its economic nature and tourism attraction. This definitely exposes them to the influence of other countries especially the western culture which has been taking over many cultures (Jandt, 2006). This factor however does not affect the culture of the people of Saudi Arabia since they have strict laws that enable them to closely observe their culture. Language is one of the strong traits of the country and losing this would definitely loosen some of the strong ties they have with each other. Relationships that people from different cultures hold are quite different from the relationships that people from the same culture share. This may not be regarded as discrimination but at some point it may be reflected as biasness (Suzuki, 1998). Some of the people involved are not even aware that they are being biased since to them it is only natural. This has been proven to be the case in most situations since people tend to feel closer to people of their culture rather than people from other cultures. It is more of a psychological effect rather than a discrimination act for an individual. Understanding of language The division of relationships and how people connect to each other strongly depends on understanding of the language (Jandt, 2006). Arabic is a language that is not used in many countries unless the country constitutes of the Islamic religion. Thus, the language is not well known by most people and in most cases there is always the occurrence of miscommunication (Ibad, 2010). Understanding of the culture will help people understand the culture and this is why people refer the in group relationships since they relate more to each other. The Arabic culture mainly observes certain strengths in their language that relate to their cultures. Privacy in Language As reported by Jandt, (2006), the Arabic culture observes privacy not only in dressing but also in the manner by which they speak. This however is not the case for other cultures such as the Western culture as their level of privacy does not coincide with the Arabic culture (Riketta, 2004). When people from the western culture are conversing, they tend to talk about everything and they do not feel ashamed to talk of various topics. They may appear to be quite strange for people with an Arabic background due to the conservative nature they respect. This situation may be present in an out group relationship situation. In such a scenario, the language relationship will tend to be annoying for both parties involved. While the western culture feels everybody should be at liberty to express themselves, the Arabic culture feels there should be privacy even in language. On the other hand the in group relationship will appear to be quite comfortable since the level of understanding is neutral for everyone involved (Jandt, 2006). In group relations involve one being loyal and having the liberty of relating with each other freely under the same grounds. This does not only apply to the Arabic culture but to the Western culture since this would be a comfort zone for every individual involved. Relating with people from the same culture is easy as the positive energy being exhibited by the group helps strengthen the bond among the members of the in group. Issues such as privacy are not bound to arise at any moment since the understanding is evident as the cultural background is the same. When people Western Culture and the Arabic culture are brought together they tend to focus more on the negative traits rather than the positive traits (Jandt, 2006). The differences they have are reflected and used as a negative energy. Instead of this being an opportunity for learning and understanding each other. It is used as a point of criticism and the people end up not gaining from the interaction. The form of communication applied by each cultural group is very important as they are also applied in the in-group and out-group communication relations. According to Jandt, (2006), Arabic people extend their culture to their language as well just as mentioned earlier. The way they communicate helps express themselves appropriately. The respect that is existent in the in- group relationship for the Arabic culture helps them use informal communication with each other. Informal communication is not applied by most cultures and formal communication is preferred. While this may appear to be quite a problem for most cultures, it is actually quite rejuvenating for the Arab culture as they can be able to communicate with each other freely. Klopf, (2001), reports that the western culture bear the same feelings as well since communication is not a barrier in the in- group relationships. Understanding each other is the main concept and as long as this factor is achieved then attitude within the group is positive. During the out- group relationships, the forms of education used are quite different and the approach leads to immediate misunderstanding of each other (Klopf, 2001). A solution may be suggested where the two groups may be asked to use formal communication to address each other such as; writing. This too is a problem because Arabic is written in a different form and one cannot be able to understand it unless one is conversant with the language. Arabic appears quite different in writing and this may be very frustrating for an individual who does not know the language. For example words such as; out group relationships tend to have a lot of negativity, will appear very differently in Arabic as follows; علاقات خارج المجموعة تميل إلى أن الكثير من الطاقة السلبية As much as most individuals may opt to avoid out- group relationships due to the misunderstandings, it might not be possible. Intercultural interactions are likely to occur more than one may expect. This has been increased by the effect of globalization as most countries are interacting with each other on a daily basis bringing together different cultures. The culture in the Arab society, closeness is observed a sign of respect especially between members of the same community or family. This presents itself as a problem when individuals from the Arab community find themselves interacting with people from other communities. The fact that the Arab community tends to be quite close to one another, makes them more comfortable with their language. This becomes a tradition that is quite difficult to abandon and it may present itself as a problem in out- group relationships (Denton, 2001). As much as English is a language that is frequently used by most countries, Saudi Arabia does not encourage its use. This is attributed tot h fact that the citizens of the country might adopt the Western culture and abandon their own. Language Perception According to Riketta, (2004), out- group relationships between the Arab culture and the Western culture will tend to be quite different because the languages spoken are different. Language perception may be one barrier that may lead to complications in such a relationship (Hall, 1973). The meaning of words may hold deeper meaning that what one may initially perceive. Some of the English words used may not bear deeper meaning and they can be used frequently. On the other hand, there are some English words that if put together in a sentence may bear a different meaning than what one may initially perceive. The words, ‘Hang in there’ meaning hold on or used to encourage one not to lose hope could be perceived to mean something rather annoying to an individual from the Arab culture. ‘He will be right’ meaning He is going to be alright or okay may also be used and one can easily misinterpret the words to mean something different. Some of the words that are used in the English language are borrowed from other cultural languages. Some of the English words that may closely relate to Arab words are ‘sugar’ (sukkar), magazine (mahazin), alcohol (al-kohl). The pronunciation of these words in Arabic may affect their understanding of the words once they are mentioned. Adopting Western Education Out- group relationships are likely to occur more often than the in-group relationships. Looking at the current society, most individuals are opting for overseas education as they claim it is better. The same applies in Saudi Arabia, where most students are finding it better to invest in western education. There is bound to be a lot of out- group relationships in such a situation (Riketta, 2004). There will be competition among the group in the interaction process especially in the language department. This may even result to conflict since the level of understanding is quite low. The out- group relationship may even ensue between teacher and student. This is a situation that is quite common since the teacher has to build a relationship with the student. However, this may be quite difficult due to the language barrier. It may take time before the student understands the teacher or vice versa (Klopf, 2001). There may also tend to be several cases of misinterpretations and arising conflict. The case is however different when it comes to in- group relationships as the point of understanding is already achieved. Trade Interactions and Business Multicultural education is not the only area where in- group relationships occur. The same situation is achieved in business as well. Saudi Arabia is known to be a good point of trade due to the many commodities it bears. Communication may be a barrier despite the improvement in technology and translation facilities. Saudi Arabia may prefer to trade with countries that relate to Arabic culture as they may have many common features than when other cultures are involved. The language will also be quite easy to relate to especially since most of the manuals and ingredients of goods will be written in Arabic (Denton, 2010). This however does not stop them from trading with other countries and this creates an out- group relationship status. The relations can be quite difficult due to language barrier as there may be cases of misinterpretations. Benefits of Out- Group Relationships Out- group relationships are considered to bear mainly negative results since people are focused on the differences too much. Whenever a positive attitude is focused on the group then the people involved then there might be various advantages. Language is seen as a big hindrance when it comes to communication. But this would be a good opportunity for one to learn a different language. Intercultural interaction may help one learn Arabic or English in this case. Methodology For this study, there was a lot of practical work conducted as it was important to gather the correct information. The application of both written and written sources was an important factor as well. Written Sources Information from written material was quite important. This is because other researches concerning the topic had been conducted and the information collected was quite relevant. The information from written sources was gotten from scholarly journals, articles and some books. This helped me learn about information that I might have missed out on in my research. Unwritten Sources The methods used in this section were observation, interviews and use of questionnaires. The students selected for this activity were eight, four from the Arabic culture and four from the Western culture to avoid biasness. Gender was also divided equally and they were aged between 16- 19. The use of questionnaires was important as some of the information that might have been overlooked in the observation would be noted. The questions were quite short and precise to avoid ambiguity. Observation was carried out at convenient times to determine the interaction process. The information collected was carefully recorded for further review. The interviews were also conducted at convenient times as well. The questions were also short and very direct. Conclusion In general, in- group out- group relationships and language can appear to be quite a big factor but it can be handled appropriately. In-group relationships tend to have a very positive attitude due to the level of understanding exercised especially in the communication department. The same however is not applied in the out- group relationship as there may seem to be quite a lot of hostility. Therefore, if the members of the different cultures took time to relate to each other the interaction would be better and the negative attitude would not be so strong. Reference List Denton, M. (2001) The emergence of cosmopolitan group cultures and its implications for cultural transition: A case study of an international student support group. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21(1), 91- 100. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V7R- 5178VPX- Hall, E. (1973). The Silent Language. United Kingdom: Anchor. Gonsakolare, K. (2005). The relationship between ingroup positivity and outgroup negativity under threat. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/unsworks:799 Ibad, F. (2010). Promoting intercultural communication. Retrieved October 13, 2010, from http://www.brandsynario.com/mindkey/article/553_promoting-intercultural- communication.aspx Jandt, F. (2006). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community - 5th Edition. California: Sage Publications. Klopf, D. (2001). Intercultural encounters, Fifth Edition: The fundamentals of intercultural communication. Englewood: Morton Publishing Company Riketta, M. (2004). Cognitive differentiation between self, ingroup, and outgroup: The roles of identification and perceived intergroup conflict. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35(1), 97- 106. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.234/abstract Suzuki, S. (1998). In-Group and out-group communication patterns in international organizations. Communication Research, 25(2), 154- 182. Retrieved from http://crx.sagepub.com/content/25/2/154.abstract Read More

Understanding of language The division of relationships and how people connect to each other strongly depends on understanding of the language (Jandt, 2006). Arabic is a language that is not used in many countries unless the country constitutes of the Islamic religion. Thus, the language is not well known by most people and in most cases there is always the occurrence of miscommunication (Ibad, 2010). Understanding of the culture will help people understand the culture and this is why people refer the in group relationships since they relate more to each other.

The Arabic culture mainly observes certain strengths in their language that relate to their cultures. Privacy in Language As reported by Jandt, (2006), the Arabic culture observes privacy not only in dressing but also in the manner by which they speak. This however is not the case for other cultures such as the Western culture as their level of privacy does not coincide with the Arabic culture (Riketta, 2004). When people from the western culture are conversing, they tend to talk about everything and they do not feel ashamed to talk of various topics.

They may appear to be quite strange for people with an Arabic background due to the conservative nature they respect. This situation may be present in an out group relationship situation. In such a scenario, the language relationship will tend to be annoying for both parties involved. While the western culture feels everybody should be at liberty to express themselves, the Arabic culture feels there should be privacy even in language. On the other hand the in group relationship will appear to be quite comfortable since the level of understanding is neutral for everyone involved (Jandt, 2006).

In group relations involve one being loyal and having the liberty of relating with each other freely under the same grounds. This does not only apply to the Arabic culture but to the Western culture since this would be a comfort zone for every individual involved. Relating with people from the same culture is easy as the positive energy being exhibited by the group helps strengthen the bond among the members of the in group. Issues such as privacy are not bound to arise at any moment since the understanding is evident as the cultural background is the same.

When people Western Culture and the Arabic culture are brought together they tend to focus more on the negative traits rather than the positive traits (Jandt, 2006). The differences they have are reflected and used as a negative energy. Instead of this being an opportunity for learning and understanding each other. It is used as a point of criticism and the people end up not gaining from the interaction. The form of communication applied by each cultural group is very important as they are also applied in the in-group and out-group communication relations.

According to Jandt, (2006), Arabic people extend their culture to their language as well just as mentioned earlier. The way they communicate helps express themselves appropriately. The respect that is existent in the in- group relationship for the Arabic culture helps them use informal communication with each other. Informal communication is not applied by most cultures and formal communication is preferred. While this may appear to be quite a problem for most cultures, it is actually quite rejuvenating for the Arab culture as they can be able to communicate with each other freely.

Klopf, (2001), reports that the western culture bear the same feelings as well since communication is not a barrier in the in- group relationships. Understanding each other is the main concept and as long as this factor is achieved then attitude within the group is positive. During the out- group relationships, the forms of education used are quite different and the approach leads to immediate misunderstanding of each other (Klopf, 2001). A solution may be suggested where the two groups may be asked to use formal communication to address each other such as; writing.

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