Language and its Effects
Humans are social beings, and they interact with each other in their daily activities. Language is often used since most of the communication is through speaking. The spoken words are well structured and should be understandable for effective communication. However, there are many different languages in the various regions of the world. There are various aspects of language which affect how ideas are shared among the people. Some of the aspects are; grammar, naming, gender, accent, and ethnicity. These aspects have positive effects as well as negative ones. Their results can help bring people together or cause them to divide due to their differences. Most of the effects brought about by these aspects of language are negative in that they cause division among the people.
The Impact of Accent
The accent is one of the major aspects of language. It is the unique way in which a certain group of people speaking the same language pronounces words. The accent of a person depends on many factors- the major one being the region in which he/she comes from. Many people take their accent to be the best and so there is a difficulty in communication for people with different accents. It is hard for a person with a different accent from the others he/she is communicating with to be understood clearly. It is because those listening to him find the way he/she is pronouncing particular words either strange or to mean something different from the one intended.
Listeners then focus on the pronunciation instead of paying attention to the message being delivered. The person with the distinct accent will then be discouraged to keep on communicating or will have to repeat the message now and then. Some accents are linked with a higher social status a person is judged by his/her ability or inability to speak in a particular language. For example, in some countries, those who speak English with an American accent are socially welcome, leading to unfair judgments. In the business environment, this aspect is a key factor, mostly in sales and marketing, which affect the success of the marketer. It is mandatory for the marketer to communicate to the clients persuasively. When the clients do not understand the marketer well due to his/her accent, then, the business will be affected negatively. In the employment sector, the issue of accent may hinder a job seeker from expressing him/herself in the right manner to the potential employer. A gap is created between people with different accents. However, there are, but very few, the positive effects of this aspect. The major one is that some accents, however strange they may be, are clear and easily learned, mastered and used. Almost everyone in a particular region would like to know how to speak in that foreign accent. Hence people come together for that particular goal. As it is often seen, many of the effects of separate accent people. It is because people like associating and interacting with people who have the same accent.
The Influence of Ethnicity
Ethnicity, an aspect of language, brings about a lot of misunderstanding and drawing of stereotypes and other unethical issues among people from different ethnic groups. For example, a certain word may be polite and morally acceptable in one ethnic group, but it may be abusive in another group. Some cultures have regulations in the manner in which people should talk- it causes misunderstanding when they speak with people from other cultures.
The Role of Gender
Gender is another aspect of language which affects communication negatively mostly through misunderstandings and assumed expectations from each gender. The different communication styles of the genders are brought about by childhood activities people were subjected to, biological differences, cultural differences, and expectations from the society they live in. Men and women differ most of the times during their communication. Some of the areas they differ include their attitude towards relationships, work, and responsibilities. Women are more social and relationship oriented, unlike men who are task oriented. When a woman is given a particular task, she will first ask the responsible people and build relationships to have the task done. Men, however, are afraid to ask, so they jump into the task and build relationships later. The way of processing and evaluating information is also another area where there is a difference between both genders. Most of the time women speak what they think which men think it is a sign of weakness. When women are faced with a particular problem, they 'announce' their suggestion. Men see this as a way of seeking approval because they think that one should process the problem internally until a solution is found. There is a big difference in the style of communication in which the different genders use. For example, women nod to show that they are listening while men nod to indicate that they agree to what is being said. During a conversation, men view silence as a way of thinking and analyzing what is being said while women view this as a form of disagreement. There is always a negative effect caused by this aspect to both genders.
Overcoming Differences for Effective Communication
The aspects of accent, ethnicity, and gender bring differences between people in communication. Therefore, people disagree by these aspects which eventually leads to their division. For effective communication, people should not discriminate one another but focus on the benefits rather than on the trivial unethical aspects.
Works Cited
Henry, Paul Shala, et al. "Method and apparatus for arranging communication sessions in a communication system." U.S. Patent No. 9,503,189. 22 Nov. 2016.
Galegher, Jolene, Robert E. Kraut, and Carmen Egido, eds. Intellectual teamwork: Social and technological foundations of cooperative work. Psychology Press, 2014.
McQuail, Denis, and Sven Windahl. Communication models for the study of mass communications. Routledge, 2015.
