American Communication and Islam Communication - Research Paper Example

? Compare and Contrast American Communication and Muslim/Islam Communication, such as non-verbal or listening. American Communication and Muslim/Islam Communication Communication is referred to as the action of passing on meaningful facts or information. Similarly one form of communication in our daily lives is the nonverbal communication which explains the procedure of passing on some knowledge or information without using words as a medium. As the study of a famous psychologist, Albert Mehrabian suggests that majority of our communication is non verbal which includes proxemics, chronemics, haptics, body language, gestures, facial expression, postures and eye contact. It is an important form of communication in every society and is known as silent language playing a major role in the everyday lives of humans from personal to business relations. Our culture administers the behavior in which individuals deal with each abovementioned feature of nonverbal communication. When an individual initially learns to converse in a second language, he can be dissuaded from the fluency of their oral signs. Altering with every culture is the interpreted meaning of different features of body languages as culture provides meanings to behavior, gesticulation, postures, and thus has an effect on every characteristic of non verbal communication. At first the comparison of culture variation in the nonverbal representation of emotion can be identified in both American and Muslim communication. Sentiments of companionship subsist all over the world, but the way to express this feeling varies. It is suitable in America for a gentleman to hug and hold hands with a female whereas in any Islamic country Muslims are prohibited or discouraged to display affection in this fashion. In a few Muslim societies, a woman will possibly be distressed even if a male takes a seat near to her as the Islamic culture prefers a lesser amount of physical contact with acquaintances of the opposite sex. As Asgharalia states that according to Islam, Muslim women should be modest and keep their chastity protected. Although patting a kid’s head is thought of as a welcoming or friendly act in the American culture, it is regarded as an improper gesture in majority of the Islamic societies since the head is thought of as a sacred part of a human body. As a report from Vermont department of health states that “In normal American culture, contact through eye is understood as a person being attentive and honest? they are trained that they should “look people in the eye” when talking whereas in Muslim community eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude, and lack of eye contact does not mean that a person is not paying attention. Women may especially avoid eye contact with men because it can be taken as a sign of sexual interest” This belief is also strengthened by the verse of the holy Quran which states that both men and women should lower their gaze. The faces of human beings expose feeling and attitudes; however one must not make an effort to interpret people belonging from a different culture as they would interpret an individual from their own culture. The extent of facial articulateness one shows differs between people and cultures. The truth is that people of one society do not communicate their sentiment as frankly as do people of another background but this does not denote that these individuals do not feel emotions. To be more precise, cultural restraints exist on the quantity of nonverbal communication allowed. Moreover, the sign of thumbs up in America symbolize that everything is perfect and one approves of a particular condition, this sign is believed to be rude in majority of the Islamic countries. Another factor is the expressing of grief and sorrow, where the Muslims in Islamic communities exaggerate sorrow or misery, majority of the Americans prefers hiding it. According to Dilara Hafiz “ culture can be as simple as the language you speak, the food you eat, the clothes you wear, or as complex as the way you celebrate you birthday or the way you handle a death in the family.” Proxemics includes the communal utilization of area in a communication circumstance. One feature of this is the proximity relating and between individuals when they converse, and the important function that ethos take part in this. Americans are known to stand very close when they talk but comparatively Muslims are instructed to maintain a proper distance while conversing. Vocalic is also known as paralanguage and it involves the use of vocal signs, more precisely known as the traits of language without any phonemic. These deal with pronunciation, volume, rhythm, tone, tempo, pace of speech, pitch and nasality, as all these features express meaning. Vocalic is at times divided into some types. The characterizers of vocal include laughing, crying, gaping etc. All these elements can be linked with culture, for instance the various manners in which different cultures understand the habit of belching. In Muslim culture, for instance believes that talking loudly symbolizes honesty, but in North America it is most of the times understood as aggressiveness. Appearance plays a significant part in the manner in which an individual communicates in. It includes the physical features of an individual’s body, color of the hair, tone of the skin, plus grooming and manner of dressing etc. In the Muslim society, woman are obliged to cover their head, bosoms, and in some communities it is also necessary to cover their face whereas in American culture everybody has the free will to dress in whatever fashion they prefer. ‘Olfactics’ is a feature of nonverbal communication that has something to do with smells. It is linked with ‘proxemics’ because the closer individuals will stand or sit during a conversation, the more possible that the odor will be significant. In a few Muslim communities, it is usual to get near to the other individual in conversation to smell him. Certainly, religious Muslims are well-known for wearing perfumes since according to the instructions the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) it is an act of charity and kindness to smell pleasant for others. But this varies for the woman as they are suggested to use perfumes that are not very strong and thus cannot be smelled by an unknown man. Comparatively American society gives the freedom of dressing and appearances as it all depends on the will of an individual. Both these societies deal with different culture, ethics, morals and values therefore their way of communication is generally different from each other. References: Quran. (n.d.). Qura'an Majeed. Kutab-Khanah Isha'at-e-Islam Hafiz, D., Hafiz, I., & Hafiz, Y. (2009). The American Muslim teenager's handbook. New York, N.Y: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. Engineer, A. (1985). Islam in South and South-east Asia. Delhi: Ajanta Publications Wiener, M., & Mehrabian, A. (1968). Language within language: Immediacy, a channel in verbal communication. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts . Read More