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Effects of culture on communication
How do cultural differences affect cross cultural communications
Cultural differences and communication
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When it comes to my opinion when regrading how cultures affects communication, I think culture can affect how communication is received. Someone may come off as being offensive, depending on how you communicate with a particular culture. For example, in the National Football League (NFL), one team in particular, Washington Redskins, some cultures within the Native American's deem the term Redskins to be offensive. Most football fans, not all, view said offensive team named, not offensive. However, what right does someone have to tell another culture what should, or shouldn't be offensive? Personally, I think if said name offends a portion of the population, what harm is it to just change the bigotry name? As a result, some of the reports
In a generation focused on social justice and the elimination of prejudice from our society, there is still a use of offensive language and terminology in the area of professional sports. In “The Indian Wars” by S. L. Price, Price attempts to make the reader aware of sports teams that use derogatory terms as their team name and their mascot. He does this by highlighting football, and trying to determine whether Native-Americans are offended by team names in sports, or more specifically, the Redskins. Price’s essay is ineffective because although he raises good points, he doesn’t help the reader to form an opinion by adding historical context to the derogatory names used. He also uses inaccurate poll results to make assumptions about the feelings
For instance, in the show Freaks and Geeks, we find individuals, calling themselves freaks, because they do not belong in the ‘status quo,’ and live or desire to live alternative lifestyles. Would this be disrespectful to individuals who according to 19th and 20th century lingo, were called freaks? I think it is highly disrespectful indeed, because in the show, we find these kids who are not disabled, and are all white using a term which has caused so much pain to others,used it in such a free way, to be different and alternate. It goes back to what he was saying about how individuals who identify with the pink triangle and the term freak, need to also be a witness to the pain that other individuals suffered, like the gay POC and non-disabled POC. And it is worse because these kids in no way bear any semblance with either of the categories mentioned. It’s becoming some sort of norm, in which white people of years passed create words which are meant to relegate different individuals to the outside, and then after this relegation is done, choose to use it as freely as they want. For instance the use of the word ‘nigger’, white people want to include this word in their vocabulary so bad, because slavery happened more than 300 years ago. But they forget the pain that comes with this word, but you cannot truly forget what
Being Chinese, I understand first hand how discriminatory words can impact the way that you view yourself. I was really able to relate to Christine Leong’s, “Being a Chink”, and was able to empathize with her feelings of anguish over having a loved one called a derogatory name. Many times I have been made fun of due to my small eyes, flat face, and short stature, all of which are common traits that most Chinese people share. I have been treated differently, asked absurd questions, and been stereotyped all because of my ethnicity. The multiple times I’d been made fun of because I was Chinese are vividly burned into my memory, I can even remember the outfit I was wearing. That just goes to show how powerfully words can affect someone. My
If we started all over before any names were made and altered these names towards other races how would people react? Lets take the Cleveland Indians for example. What would happen if we had used the Jews, Blacks or Chinese as this political cartoon suggests. Every race involved would have been in an uproar when the caricature came out. They would feel that their constitutional rights were being ignored. But, when "Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians, runs about drunkenly at baseball games"1 they feel that it is ok to disregards the Indian name, heritage, and ritual. Taking in the psychological considerations for the Native Americans "dehumanization, as the word implies, is a psychological process that reduces a person or group to a sub-human level. One...
Fighting the use of the word ‘redskins’” by Brian Cladoosby says how “[s]tudies show the use of American Indian-based names, mascots and logos in sports has a negative psychological effect on Native peoples” Cladoosby places a link to Dr. Michael A. Friedman research report which backs his case. In his study Dr. Friedman, a clinical psychologist says how Redskins is “uniquely destructive” because it “perpetuates the stereotypical and outdated caricature” and “promotes and justifies the use of a dictionary-defined racial slur, thus increasing risk for discriminatory”. With the rate of Native American suicide one of the highest in the nation the addition of their culture and history being stereotyped young Natives are facing discrimination and then being told that it’s okay because it’s for a sport. Cladoosby adds how that it creates a challenge to Natives who want to “maintain a foundation in their culture and language” meaning that ignoring a name that was once used when hunting their ancestors means that they are ignoring their culture. The name is not just racist and derogatory but promotes the an old-fashioned and stereotypical view of Native
Recently, the use of controversial words has become a heavily debated topic, as seemingly truthful statements to some, cause insult to others. The Times article "Why 'Redskins' Is a Bad Word", by acclaimed linguist and professor John McWhorter, was published in 2015, around when the use of the word "Redskins" was being debated in Californian public schools through Bill AB-30 (2015). In the article, McWhorter aims to clarify the condemnation of the word "Redskins" (McWhorter,2015, para. 1), by suggesting the offence does not stem from the literal definition of such words, but instead the negative and often derogatory connotations the words have. McWhorter begins by introducing the recent discussions surrounding the use of the word "Redskins" (McWhorter,2015, para. 1). He informs readers of the emotions attached to controversial words in the examples and describes how words continue to evolve as time goes on. Alongside his reputation as a credible person, a quote from a distinguished professor, and anecdotal story, McWhorter provokes an emotional connection with the readers
creates unwanted bias between cultures as they clash on a daily basis. A number of those who
The Washington Redskins professional football team has thousands of fans that believe that taking away the name of the football would also take away their legacy. A poll created by ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” got results back that say “71 percent [of Americans believe the name Redskins] “should not” be changed” (Clement). This shows that the majority of Americans think that the word Redskins in this case is not offensive to the Native Americans and that the team should not have to change their name because a few Native Americans find the word racist. Another poll from Annenberg Public Policy Center asked Native Americans if they found the football team’s name offensive, ninety percent said that the name was acceptable (“Washington Redskins Name: An Intelligent Discussion”). This comes to show that the very people this name is supposed to offend find the name acceptable and do not believe the Washington Redskins are racist. However, the other side does believe that public opinion is showing that the football team Washington Redskins is offending Native Americans. In a poll from Oneida Indian Nation who surveyed Washington area residents found that fifty-nine percent of Native Americans have the right to be offended (“Washington Redskins Name: An Intelligent Discussion”). This may be the truth for Americans in the Washington area, but the polls people
When dealing with social artifacts and images that carry a history and deeper meaning we are talking about traditions of a society. If a part of your culture is emotionally disruptive it would seem wise to be more aware of the harm that could be done, and make a better effort to shield people from harm. Most groups have some images that bring up negative emotions. It’s easy to say “get over it”, but when it’s the other way around it hurts. So we as a society and culture should invest time and effort to target signs of racial charged symbols, and do our best to inform and encourage members of society to be as courteous when
The media has a strong influence on how societies receive and react to the context of the messages that the media displays to the public. From Disney movies on up to horror films there’s a plot that each film is trying to accomplish. The controversial issue comes into play based on how the film messages are portrayed. Films that use racial humor harm the particular race that the films are depicting. Films with racial humor that is enhanced to be seen as acceptable creates prejudge mental labels for certain races. The viewers of these films are more likely to view these stereotypes portrayed in the
government has also set an age minimum of seventeen years old to even purchase the
Recently, it came to my attention that some publishing companies are considering changing classic works of literature and replacing racially offensive language in these works. I assert that the words should be changed for specific reasons, the most reasonable reason is it being racially offencive. In an instant if anyone would read this book without having any background knowledge, they would definitely feel offended. I strongly feel that if the language and the way the words get changed to something that is more suitable more people would pick up the book and read it.
There are right and wrong ways to say something. One way being with sophistication, the other with ignorance. Now if someone is all steamed up about something they heard, and posts their opinion, what makes them think the other person posting their opinion is going to stop, cause that may just make them want to prove their statement more.”Now Cheerios is doubling down on that popular mixed-race family. Their latest installment will debut during the Super Bowl and shows the family breaking some news to that cute little girl.”(Goyette, Branden) Cheerios is a big corporation and did not take this lying down so they made another commercial with the same mixed family to show that those words won't keep them down. Everyone's say is aloud but at what cost, because those bigots didn't help the situation for them, they just hurt
As in anything in life, there are positive and negative terms that can be detrimental in how a person does and says something and may be offensive to another person. In Diversity a positive term that we should strive to do to contain order would be, Equity, which means to treat everyone equally no matter their culture or race. Equity is very important since it’s the bases of Diversity and should be acknowledged a little more often. Without Equity, there would be no structure in Diversity for anything else, and no admiration between one another. A Negative term for diversity would be Discrimination. Discrimination is the unequal treatment of someone based on their culture or ethnicity. Discriminating someone who might be different than you is very wrong. A person has no need to put down someone just because they might not be the same religion or believe in the same thing as you. We should try to totally eradicate negative terms in order to maintain a culture of diversity and inclusion.
Cultural sensitivity occurs when people recognize and are aware that each country or various ethnic groups of people have their own set of experiences, beliefs, values, and language that affect their perceptions toward life. Addressing Cultural sensitivity permits people to comprehend that there are differences between cultures. Furthermore, having awareness in the differences between cultures permits a culturally competent person to communicate effectively with others that are outside of one’s realm. Some of the differences of Cultural sensitivity can be discovered while traveling outside of the country, such as through Cross-cultural sensitivity experiences. Likewise, a culture has its own norms and beliefs to how one should dress; how one should greet others, such as by referring to a significant individual by his or her first name or surname (comprehending which name should be stated first in foreign names); and/or what foods are permitted to eat or forbidden to eat or understanding what may offend a person (e.g. not accepting a home cooked meal). There are norms, taboos, cultural cues, and cultural etiquette standards that are significant to learning about one’s culture before exploring another country or while working with people who are from your country but who are part of another racial group. It takes time and patience to build a high level of Cultural sensitivity. Educating oneself with a culture’s psychology and its norms is significant toward achieving an increasing awareness toward Cultural sensitivity.