Each culture has its own nonverbal as well as its verbal language. Movements, gestures and sounds have distinct and often conflicting interpretations in different countries. For Americans communicating with Japanese, misunderstandings are of two types: Japanese behavior which is completely new to the American, and Japanese behavior which is…

THE RELATIONSHIP OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT TO CULTURAL BARRIERS AND THE TEACHING OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES IS DISCUSSED IN THIS ARTICLE. VARIOUS VIEWS OF THE MEANING OF CULTURE ARE MENTIONED IN ORDER TO SINGLE OUT ANTHROPOLOGICAL CULTURE AS A MAIN FOCAL POINT. INTERCULTURAL DIFFERENCES ARE SPELLED OUT WITH EXAMPLES OF LINGUISTIC BARRIERS, AND…

Both North American and Latin American business professionals were investigated in a study that focused on the perceived communication problems between the two groups. A number of major areas of interest were considered, including the following: (1) source of credibility (what dimensions of personality were seen as most desirable in the…

A comparative study of turn-taking in North American and Spanish conversation investigated (1) differences in styles for the two cultures and (2) any resulting misinterpretation of communicative intentions. Data for the first were drawn from two dinner parties, one with four American women, conducted in English, and one with four Spanish-speaking…