LO C A L A N D

G LO B A L
C O M M U N I C AT I O N
IN
M U LT I C U LU T U R A L
SETTING
 OBJECTIVES:
(1)creating awareness
(2) imparting knowledge
(3) projecting an image
(4) shaping attitude
(5) stimulating a want or
desire
 GLOBAL COMMUNICATION
DEFINITION
At its root, global communication can
be defined just as any communication
can: a message is sent from one
person or group to another anywhere
in the world.
When it comes to communicating
globally, it is usually in the encoding and
decoding that problems occur. As with any
communication, ensuring that the message
is received as it was intended is the
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES ( EA ST E R N V S
W E STE RN )

Travelling and Ideal of Beauty

Recording

Punctuality Lining
up
LOST IN TRANSLATION

• “Finger-lickin’ good”
Slogan translated
into Chinese
became…“eat your
fingers off”
Examples of Global
Communication
One of the most common forms
of global communication is an
email. A person in one country
types a message and clicks the
send button. The message is then
encoded into packets which are
sent across the internet to the
recipient. In another country, the
receiver logs in and decodes the
message by opening the email,
and retrieves the message.
 WHAT IS CROSS CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION?
• The process of exchanging meaningful and
unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in
a way that preserves mutual respect and minimizes
antagonism.
• People from different cultures encode and decode
messages differently, increasing the chances of
misunderstanding, so the safety-first consequence of
recognizing cultural differences should be to assume
that everyone’s thoughts and actions are not just like
 Why cross-
culture is
important?
-Globalization
-Business opportunities
-Job opportunities
-Sharing of views and ideas
-Talent improvisation
-An understanding of diverse
market
CROSS CULTURAL TIPS
• Research the cultures to gain understanding of
a culture
• Set clear agendas and expectations of
interactions/meetings
• Avoid using slang and idioms, choosing words
that will convey only the most specific
denotative meaning
• Listen carefully and, if in doubt, ask for
confirmation of understanding (particularly
CROSS CULTURAL TIPS CONT…
• Respect the local communication formalities/styles,
and watch for any changes in body language
• Be careful of written word choices as your
communication will be analyzed thoroughly by the
recipient
• Investigate a culture’s perception of your culture by
reading literature about your culture through their
eyes before entering into communication. This will
allow you to prepare yourself for projected views of
your culture you will be bearing.
 DEVELOPING CROSS-CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
1. Slow down
2. Separate questions
3. Avoid negative questions
4. Take turns
5. Write it down
6. Be supportive
7. Check meanings
8. Avoid slang
HIGH CONTEXT
• Examples:
• Small religious congregations, a party with friends, family
gatherings, neighborhood restaurants with a regular clientele,
on-campus friendships, regular pick-up games.
• Asia and the Middle East
• Less verbally explicit communication, less written/formal
information
• More internalized understandings of what is communicated
• Multiple cross-cutting ties and intersections with others
• Long term relationships
• Strong boundaries- who is accepted as belonging vs who is
considered an “outsider”
LOW CONTEXT
• Examples:
• large US airports, a chain supermarket, a cafeteria, a
convenience store.
• Rule oriented, people play by external rules
• More knowledge is codified, public, external, and accessible.
• Sequencing, separation--of time, of space, of activities, of
relationships
• More interpersonal connections of shorter duration
• Knowledge is more often transferable
• Task-centered. Decisions and activities focus around what
needs to be done, division of responsibilities. 
WHAT IS LOCAL COMMUNICATION?
 LOCAL COMMUNICATION
• Host processes can communicate with workflows by
exchanging data through custom local communication
services. These local communication services implement
user-defined interfaces that define methods and events that
will be passed between the workflow and the host process.
 COMMUNICATE
Do
• Talk about person's job/work-related matters
• Talk about sports, movies, books, hobbies...
Don't
• Discuss religion, politics or other controversial
subjects
• Ask women if they are married
• Tell ethnic or religious jokes
 WHAT IS A LOCAL COMMUNITY
GROUP?

• A local community is a group of interacting people sharing

an environment. In human communities, intent, belief,
resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other
conditions may be present and common, affecting the
identity of the participants and their degree of cohesiveness.
WHAT IS A COMMUNAL IDENTITY?
• Defining who we are includes what and
how we should behave in a particular
situation. Individual, relational and
communal identity. Individual identity
refers to the individual's interpretation of
his or her cultural identity, which is based
on his or her own experiences.
GESTURES IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES
 ea ou at
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 FIVE
LANGUAGE
REGISTERS
1. FROZEN/STATIC
• These are specific written or oral acts that
never change, hence the name "frozen" or
"static." Because they don't change, they
sometimes include old grammar or
vocabulary.
• They are cultural, usually related to the
religions, laws, or customs of the
community. They are usually unidirectional
(one direction). (They don't involve back-
• Some examples include the "golden rule"
(Do unto others as you would have them
do unto you.), national anthems, religious
books, laws, famous speeches, the Bill of
Rights, etc.
• Each one usually has a specific audience,
purpose, and context. For example, a
country's national anthem is played when
someone wins an Olympic gold medal
(context) for the athletes and the viewers
• They might be formal or casual, and
emotional or intellectual. Because they
can be very different from each other, this
isn't a register which can be learned. Each
instance must be learned separately.
• Learning them helps you to become a
member of a cultural group or community.
They are often passed down from
generation to generation, or preserved in
books which are important to a group.
2. FORMAL/REGULATED
• These are specific written or oral acts that
follow similar rules about their form,
hence the names "regulated" and
"formal.“
• They are usually informative, but pure
information can be boring, so they are
sometimes persuasive, too. They are
typically unidirectional. ("Let ME tell YOU
some information, or what to do, think, or
• Some examples include a research paper
or an academic presentation,
announcements in the newspaper, a
judge's pronouncement, or a religious
sermon.
• The purpose, audience, and context may
be broad (to explain a scientific idea to
any interested person in a scientific
magazine or website)or specific (to
announce a criminal's punishment to the
• These acts are formal, NOT casual. They are
mostly intellectual and informational, NOT
emotional (but sometimes emotions are
used to persuade). Because they follow a
form, the general rules for using them can
be learned.
• Learning the rules for formal-regulated
speech and writing shows that you are well
educated and helps you to use language
differently in different situations.
3. CONSULTATIVE/PROFESSIONAL
• Consultative-professional acts follow
most of the same rules as formal-
regulated speech and writing, but have a
different general purpose: to get help.
These acts are bidirectional (back and
forth) or sometimes multi-directional.
• Some examples include a doctor's
appointment, a meeting with the
school principal, or any first meeting
between strangers.
• The purpose is very specific (to get
help with something. The audience is
small and specific (the helper[s] and
the helpee[s]). The context is also
specific (at a hospital after an injury,
• These acts are generally formal. They also
involve the exchange of information. However,
casual speech might be used to calm an
injured person down, and emotions might be
used to persuade someone to give help.
• Learning how to use consultative-professional
register well helps you get what you want or
need from someone. It also shows strangers
that you respect them, and that they should
respect you and treat you as an equal.
Practicing this can also help you develop the
4. CASUAL/GROUP
• Casual-group register is used in writing
and speech with people in the same
group, team, etc.
• Casual-group communicative acts don't
follow standard societal rules, but follow
the specific rules and "norms" of the
group. They have various purposes and
are multi-directional.
• Some examples include a team victory
celebration, lunch with friends, a school
dance, or dinner with friendly coworkers.
• There could be one or more general
purposes for these acts (to build team
spirit, to have fun, etc.). The audience of
each of these acts is the group. The
context is probably very general (a bus
ride after a game, a visit to the mall, etc.)
• These acts are very casual, and they are
typically spoken, but could also include
online chats, emails, texts, etc. Because
they follow group "norms," one act in one
group may be very different from another
act in another group.
• Learning how to use casual-group
language helps you to bond with the other
members and become a part of the group.
The members create their own ways of
5. INTIMATE/PERSONAL
• Personal-intimate register, sometimes called
"private" register, is used in writing and speech
with close family members and close friends.
• These communicative acts don't follow
standard societal rules, but follow the "norms"
of the people in the relationships. They have
various purposes and are usually bidirectional.
• Some examples of the relationship which use
this register are parent-child, couples,
spouses, siblings, and best friends.
• The audiences for these acts are specific and
limited, the people in the relationships. The
contexts are very general, basically whatever
situation the people are in. The purposes are
also very general (to have fun, to become
closer, etc.)
• These acts are very casual and most often
spoken, but could also include a not, an
online chat, and email, a text, etc. People
in close relationships like these often
develop their own ways of
communicating.
• Learning to use personal-intimate
language helps you to show that you are
in a special relationship. The people in the
relationship create these special ways of
WHICH REGISTER SHOULD I
USE?
It's easy enough to understand
which register is which, but what
happens if I use the wrong
register?

Changing register can be helpful

in certain situations and harmful
• A teacher normally speaks to students in
consultative register because they are in
more formal, academic settings, but if the
teacher helps a student with a problem
outside of the classroom, he or she may
speak more casually.
• But if the teacher speaks intimately to the
student, the student could feel threatened
and might think the teacher is "creepy."
This could damage the student-teacher
• A man might speak to his best friend intimately or
casually in most situations, but if they meet the
friend's coworkers, it might be better to speak
formally around them. If they are alone, though, and
the man switches to formal register, it tells the friend
that he is angry about something.
• Students might speak with each other in consultative
register in a class discussion, but at the lunch table,
speaking in consultative registers sends this
message: "I don't want to be your friend."
ONCE I KNOW WHICH REGISTER
TO USE, HOW DO I USE THE
LANGUAGE DIFFERENTLY?
ORGANIZATION
• Formal/Impersonal Casual/Personal
more structured less structured
tighter looser
more logical less logical
more repetitive less repetitive
more details fewer details
more support less support
more explanation less explanation
VOCABULARY
• Formal/Impersonal Casual/Personal
• complete forms contracted forms
• academic/exact common/general
• scientific/technical no scientific/technical
• jargon no jargon
• latinate verbs compound verbs
• no slang/swearing slang/swearing
• few personal pronouns more personal pronouns
• no nicknames nicknames
• no private words private words
• less descriptive richer description
• more transitions more conjunctions
• uses negative forms uses "not" + word
• fewer emotional words more emotional words
GRAMMAR
• Formal/Impersonal
• more complex sentences
• longer sentences
• more conditionals
• more passive verbs
• more exact
• correctness more important
• more qualifiers/hedges
Casual/Personal
more simple sentences
shorter sentences
fewer conditionals
more active verbs
more vague
correctness less important
fewer qualifiers/hedges
TONE-PRONUNCIATION
• Formal/Impersonal Casual/Personal
• careful enunciation slurred
enunciation
• louder softer
• assertive tone inquisitive tone
The end.