Lesson I.

Varieties of English
Varieties of Language

1.    Spoken – is a language provided by the articulation of sounds, spontaneous and

momentary, mostly maintained in the form of a dialogue

2.    Written - is a language that is carefully organized, more explanatory and deliberate

in its word choice

Language Varieties

-          is a specific set of linguistic items or human speech patterns (sounds, words,
grammatical features) which can be associated with some external factor such as
geographical area, social background, gender, age, etc.) -Wardhaugh, 1986, as cited in
Mu’in, 2008

1.    Pidgin – a new language that develops in situations where speakers of different

languages need to communicate but do not share a common language. Once, a stable
pidgin has emerged, it is generally learned as a second language and used for
communication among people who speak different languages. (e.g. bueno, señor,
amiga, etc.)

2.    Creole – this is a language when children start learning a pidgin as their first

language and it becomes the mother tongue of a community (e.g. Mindanao
Chabacano)

3.    Regional Dialect – is not a distinct language but a variety of languages spoken in a

particular area of a country

4.    Minority Dialect – sometimes members of a particular minority ethnic group have

their own variety which they use as a marker of identity, usually alongside a standard
variety (e.g. Negritos)

5.    Indigenized Variety – are spoken mainly as second languages in ex-colonies with

multilingual populations 

English as a Specific Language

1.    American English (AmE) – a variant of English language spoken mainly in the US,
introduced to North America by British settlers in the 17 th century

2.    Australian English (AuE) – a variant of English language spoken mainly in Australia,

began to diverge from British English shortly after Australia was settled in the late
18thcentury; bears semblances to New Zealand English and certain dialects of South East
England

3.    Black English – refers to British and American English spoken by black communities
in the US and the UK; also refers to a variant of English spoken widely in the Carribean
and Africa

4.    British English (BrE) – is a variant of English spoken mainly in the UK; am English
variant, together with AmE, are taught in most English as a Second Language (ESL) and
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs.

5.    Philippine English – originated in the US intervention of 1898 by the American

teachers who arrived in the Philippines; legitimate nativized variety of English used by
the Filipinos in controlling domains such as science and technology, the judiciary,
bureaucracy, higher education and scholarly discourse; it has linguistic properties
ascribed to other varieties of English, especially those used in Asia.

LIST OF BRITISH ENGLISH TERMS AND THEIR EQUIVALENCE IN AMERICAN

ENGLISH

 
British American British American British American
trousers pants moisturise moisturize tram streetcar
lift elevator licence license travelled traveled
aubergine eggplant practise practice tyre tire
billfold wallet analyse analyze underlay carpet pad
garden yard humour humor undertaker mortician
year grade colour color vest undershirt
loo comfort room labour labor wardrobe closet
tap faucet clamour clamor to wash wash up
lorry truck favour favor wing fender
candy floss cotton candy neighbour neighbor zebra crossing crosswalk
sweet candy biro ball-point pen metre meter
oven mitt oven glove bonnet hood flat apartment
 cooker stove braces suspenders diversion detour
biscuit cookie car park parking lot duvet comforter
nappy diapers caravan trailer engaged busy
pavement sidewalk caretaker janitor enquiry inquiry
zip zipper catalogue catalog fancy dress costumes
post mail centre center football soccer
post code zip code chips French fries full stop period
taxi cab notice board bulletin board to hire to rent
underground subway number plate license plate indicator blinker
chemist’s shop drug store, petrol gas icing sugar powdered sugar
pharmacy
shop store polo neck turtle neck ladybird ladybug
head master principal quid buck match game
solicitor, lawyer, roundabout traffic circle, motorbike motorcycle
barrister rotary
attorney
airplane plane rucksack backpack mum mom
a pack of cards a deck of cards rubber eraser trolley cart
pants underpants rubbish garbage boot trunk
phone box phone booth share stock cosy cozy
pepper bell pepper shop assistant sales clerk double cream heavy cream
postman mailman sick nauseated draughts checkers
prawn shrimp single ticket one-way ticket dummy pacifier
programme program Sorry. Excuse me. earth wire ground wire
primary school elementary sports day fields day expiry date expiration date
school

grade school
to queue to line up sultana raisin fortnight two weeks
anorak jacket, parka sweet shop candy store mackintosh raincoat
at the weekend on the term semester mashed potato mashed
weekend potatoes
bank holiday national theatre theater motorway freeway,
holiday, highway,
expressway,
federal holiday interstate
base rate prime rate timetable schedule litre liter
to bath to bathe tin can lost property lost and found
beetroot beet town centre downtown maths math
bill check torch flashlight jewellery jewelry
bin, dustbin garbage can, trainers sneakers Jumble sale yard sale
trash can
 Source: www.englisch-hilfen.de
 

Have you encountered the term World Englishes (WE) or varieties of English? WE

actually stands for the localized varieties of English as they are used or spoken in certain
areas. In the Asian context, the concept was introduced by Braj Kachru. The famous
“Three Concentric Circles of Asian Englishes” attributed to Kachru presents the three
circles: Inner Circle with ENL (English as a Native Language) member countries; the
Outer Circle with ESL (English as a Second Language) member countries; and the
Expanding Circle with EFL (English as a Foreign Language) member countries.

Aside from the fact that the Outer and Expanding Circles are ESL- and EFL- speaking,
respectively, they have been colonized by some member countries in the Inner Circle
making the varieties they speak as post-colonial. It is then to be understood that people
have different linguistic and cultural backgrounds making intercultural communication a
significant variable in communication.
According to Bautista and Gonzales (2006), the structural characteristics of these new
varieties differ. This is brought about by the mother tongue or home languages of those
who learn or acquire English. And even in terms of social features, differences can also
be highlighted in that there is a continuum of basilectal, mesolectal, and acrolectal
varieties of English within the speech community. The acrolect then comes closest to
the standard while the basilect digresses thoroughly from it and comes closest to the
pidgin. Mesolect or the middle variety is the midway between the acrolect and basilect.
Bautista and Gonzales use the term edulects for these varieties resulting from certain
types of education ascertained by social class but are conveyed or transferred by the
kind of instruction of the school system especially for those coming from higher-income
families and/or better educated classes.

As regards structural variation, Kachru & Nelson (2006) claim that these varieties of
English are influenced by the local language(s) in various areas of their grammars and
exhibit specific phonological, lexical, syntactic, and discoursal characteristics (p. 35). For
instance, in terms of stress and rhythm, Outer and Expanding Circle varieties observe
syllable-timed rhythm rather than stress-timed rhythm. Nigerian say
‘success for suc`cess  and Indians and Nigerians say recog`nizefor ‘recognize. Moreover,
speakers from the Outer and Expanding Circles do not make any changes in their
pronunciation to make a distinction between nouns and verbs in pairs which Inner Circle
countries observe as in the case of `import and im`port  and do not utilize contrastive
stress for focusing (Bamgbose, 1992 & Gumperz, 1982a, 1982b, as cited in Kachru &
Nelson, 2006). As regards sounds, Outer and Expanding Circles do not observe initial
aspiration of voiceless plosives such as p, t, k  and these are often perceived by Inner
Circle countries as b, d, g. Some speakers of expanding Circle varieties, as in the case of
Japanese speakers, do not properly distinguish between r  and l.

According to Pope (1976, as cited Kachru & Nelson, 2006), in the case of syntactic
features, question-answering systems differ between Inner and Outer-Expanding Circles.
While the former observes positive-negative system where the answer follows the
polarity of the question (i.e. If the question is in the positive the answer confirming the
assumption of the questioner is in the positive, and the answer disconfirming the
assumption is in the negative. If, however, the question is in the negative, the answer
confirming the assumption of the questioner is in the negative as well, while the answer
disconfirming the assumption of the questioner is in the positive), the latter observes
the agreement-disagreement system which poses difficulty to speakers who follow the
positive-negative system particularly in interpreting the yes or no of the response unless
it is followed by a clarification (i.e., Yes, I think you’re right: No, that’s not so) (p.45).

With respect to lexicon, vocabulary words peculiar only to some English varieties in
Southeast Asia can be noted as seen in the following examples (pp. 189-190):

1.          Singapore English: actsy ‘showoff,’ missy ‘nurse,’ chop ‘rubber stamp,’ Marina

kids ‘youngsters who spend their leisure time at/or around Marina Square, a shopping
center,’ graduate mothers‘graduate (well-educated) married women, encouraged to have
more children and accorded certain privileges in Singapore,’ as compared to non-
graduate mothers (Pakir, 1992, as cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2006).

2.          Philippine English: deep ‘puristic or hard to understand’ as an attribute of

language, stick ‘cigarette,’ high blood  ‘tense or upset,’ blow out ‘treating someone with a
snack or meal,’ motel ‘a hotel used for pre-marital or extra-marital affairs,’ manualize ‘to
prepare manuals,’ go ahead ‘leave before others with host’s
permission,’ studentry‘student body,’ Amboy ‘a Filipino perceived to be too pro-
American,’ promdi ‘from the province,’ behest loan ‘unguaranteed bank loan given to
presidential cronies,’ pulot boy‘boy who picks up tennis balls in a game,’ and balikbayan
box ‘box where Filipnos returning from abroad put all their shopping,’ among others
(Bautista, 1997 as cited in Kachru & Nelson 2006).

In other sources, these are the additional information about Philippine English:

Varieties of Philippine English

a.      Acrolectal – is associated with academics, bilinguals from English speaking homes

and English majors at university level.

b.      Mesolectal – is spoken by professionals who are non-English majors and who

mostly use English in the workplace, and who display a noticeably Philippine accent.

c.      Basilectal- typically differs from the standard language in pronunciation,

vocabulary, and grammar, and can often develop into different languages; it is also
characterized by the use of words that are typically considered slang or colloquialisms,
which are usually spoken by factory workers, janitors, drivers, etc.

(Note: The three varieties of Philippine English are what Bautista and Gonzales (2006),
term as edulects.)

Linguistic Features of Philippine English

a.    Phonological features - include devoicing of sibilant consonants in words like beige,

pleasure, seize, bees and cities which are articulated as [s]and the rendering of
“th”sounds as [t], [d], in words such as this [dis], thin [tin]. With vowels, other features
may occur including a loss of distinction between long and short vowels in such pairs as
sheep/ship, full/fool’ bought/boat, etc.

b.    Lexical features – borrowed extensively from Spanish

(despedida ‘farewell’, estafa‘faud’ ‘scandal’, querida ‘mistress’, and Tagalog. Loan
translations are also widely used including open/close the light/radio for “turn on/off the
light/radio”, joke only for “I’m teasing you”, and you don’t only know for “you just don’t
realize”; local coinages include such items as to carnap, highblood, hold-upper, and
topnotcher, while archaic items derived from late 19th century American English include
comfort room (CR), solon, and viand.

3.      Malaysian English: antilog ‘a male hated by a girl,’ popcorn ‘a loquacious

person,’ kachang  ‘peanuts, easy,’ slambar‘relax,’ red spot, open shelf  ‘girls who are
popular and those who are not,’ day bugs‘those who come to attend school but do not
live in residence halls’ (Said & Ng, 2000, as cited in Kachru & Nelson, 2006).

When Bautista’s monograph on Defining Standard Philippine English: Its Status and
Grammatical Features came out in 2000, she answered the usual questions asked about
Philippine English: Is there a Standard Philippine English? and When does an error
become a feature of Philippine English?  She stressed that just like any other new variety
of English (Indian English, Singaporean English and Nigerian English), Philippine English
is legitimate, having its own grammatical, lexical, and syntactic features. Gonzalez (1985,
as cited in Bautista, 2000) identified the following lexical features in Philippine English (p.
76):

 
1. Preference for specific words and collocations specifically shall, could, such, wherein,
of (to signal possession);

2. Unusual words and collocations, specific terms, and word combinations which may
have been originally confused with other collocations but which, because of frequent
use, have become fixed combinations in their own right (e.g., results to instead of results
in); and

3. Unusual prepositional usage, including omission of prepositions in two-word verbs,

addition of prepositions to verb-phrases, local use of different prepositions in noun
phrases following certain verbs or adjectives.

The syntactic features identified include the following (pp. 76-77):

1. Word-order features, consisting of the placement of the time adverb before the place
adverb, placement of the adverb between verb and object, placement of the adverb
between noun and prepositional phrase, placement of the indirect object introduced
by to between verb and direct object, other unusual adverb placements;

2. Use of articles, including absence of the definite article, unusual use of the definite
articles, absence of indefinite article;

3. Noun sub-categorization, consisting of the non-pluralization of count nouns, the

reclassification of General American English (GAE), mass nouns as count nouns, mass
noun pluralization, pluralization of the adjectival nouns in compounds;

4.  Pronoun-antecedent incongruence;

5. Subject-predicate incongruence;

6. Reclassification of GAE transitive verbs as intransitive verbs; and

7. Tense-aspect usage consisting of unusual use of verb forms and tenses, use of the
perfect tense where the simple past tense or even present perfect is called for in GAE,
lack of tense sequence.

As for the question “When does an error become a feature of Philippine English?”,
Gonzalez (1958) has this to say:
When do these errors cease to be errors and become part of the standard? If enough
educated elites in the society ‘commit’ these errors, then these errors in effect have
been accepted by society as the standard (p. 189).

The foregoing discussion only shows how dynamic English is. These are only some of
the essential features of some varieties of English which should be given full attention
by users coming from different cultures. From the variety of English used by the native
speakers such as British, Americans, Canadians, Australians, and New Zealanders, English
has evolved into post-colonial varieties and should not be mistaken as errors most
especially if they have become the standard in the speech community and have been
codified. As the poet Gemino Abad (1997, p. 8) aptly put it: “English is ours. We have
colonized it too.”

You have to be aware of and recognize intercultural communication as you need to be sensitive
to the people around who belong to different cultural heritages and have their own linguistic
identity. When you encounter them, you will be able to avoid misunderstanding, avoid
communication breakdown, and overcome language barriers with less difficulty since you are
exposed to their own language features. This way, you will be able to enhance your personal
and social interaction.

Intercultural Communication plays an important role in achieving effective

communication. There are different varieties of English spoken by countries colonized by
Britain, The US, Canada, and Australia: Singapore English, Malaysian English, Philippine
English, Thai English, among others. These varieties have their own grammatical, lexical,
and syntactic features and should not be considered as errors. 
Lesson II. Registers of English/Language Register

When it comes to language variation, the terms genre, register, and style are often

encountered. David Crystal (2008) defines register as “a variety of language defined
according to its use in social situations e.g. a register, scientific, religious, formal English.
(p. 409).” “He added: “In Hallidayan linguistics, the term is seen as specifically opposed
to varieties of language according to the characteristics of the users (viz. their regional
or class dialect), and is given a sub-classification into field, mode and manner of
discourse (p. 409).

Crystal (1964) further discusses style and register:

Language, being the product of interaction among the members of society, must
ultimately be studied according to the social context in which it is found. Within a
language, there are variations in style and register, which differentiate and formally
characterize distinct social situations. Style refers to the degree of formality attached to
particular interpersonal social situation, which is reflected by differences in language –
for example the kind of language used while talking to friend will differ noticeably from
that used in addressing a superior, in otherwise the same situation. Register refers to a
kind of language whose forms are of a definable social institution, regardless of the
status of the participants – thus one finds the register of legal language, liturgical
language, and so on (p. 149).

It is to be noted that genre and register overlap and are sometimes used
interchangeably. According to Lee (2001), whereas genre is associated more with the
organization of culture, register is associated with the organization of the situation. To
this end, register is understood as the context-specific variety of language to which the
field-mode-tenor framework is important.

To give a concrete example, with the genre of recipe, field may be analyzed in terms of

the social setting and the communicative purpose in which the text is
produced. Tenor may be described in terms of the role/s required of the writers and
readers including the cultural values shared by both. Mode could be explained in light
of the knowledge of other texts required of speakers/listeners and writers/readers as
regards the genre including the formal text features.

Language register then refers to the formality of language which one speaks. Different
registers are used in different situations. It is through register that you are able to
determine the kind of lexicon or vocabulary to use as well as the kind of structure to be
used. Even in writing, you may use a formal or an informal register. In some instances,
even a neutral language register is identified.

The formal register then is used in formal speaking and writing situations. In a state of
the nation address classified as a formal communicative situation, the speech is usually
delivered using a highly-polished language, read from the manuscript. This is certainly
allowed since the President occupying the highest position in the country could not
afford to make mistakes. On the contrary, a priest delivering his homily, more often than
not, speaks extemporaneously and uses ordinary language. This is so since the audience
is composed of various audiences coming from different walks of life. The priest should
be able to convey his spiritual message to the listeners without difficulty of
comprehension on their part. The priest should also be able to touch the very core of
the listener’s hearts so that they live the preaching they hear.

The formal register is likewise appropriate for use in professional writing like project
proposals, position papers, and business letters as in the case of writing to superior or to
a head of a certain organization. It is more impersonal, objective and factual. Informal
register, which is more casual in tone, is appropriate for people with whom you have
established a more personal relationship as in the case of friends and relatives. This type
of writing may sometimes be emotional, as an intimate relationship exists between the
speaker and listeners or writer and reader.

Earlier in the discussion, it was mentioned that register refers to the kind of language
whereby the forms used to define the social situation, notwithstanding the status of the
interlocutors. Thus, legalese or legal language is highly characterized by archaic
expressions, technical jargon intrinsic only to the community of legal professionals,
embedded structures, nominalizations, passive voice, as well as long, kilometric
sentences, which are not the features of textese, or language of texts. Conversely, the
features of SMS language or textese language are exactly the opposite – use of
abbreviations, acronyms, slang words, and expressions. This is so since messages used
to be limited to a certain number of characters/spaces that made texting much easier
and quicker. However, misinterpretation and/or miscommunication in text messaging
may arise if vocabulary and knowledge of context are limited. Hence, extra care should
be practiced when comprehending text messages.

Language has formal and informal registers. These registers have forms that define the
social situation. The kind of register to be used affects the way one speaks and writes. As
a student, you should read carefully the text to identify its register.
Through comprehension, you can easily know whether what you are reading uses
legalese or textese. Be sure also to be aware of whom you speak or write, because the
register varies from one situation to another. By doing this, as an interlocutor, you can
avoid miscommunication.

Lesson I. You Say More Than You Think

We have already established in the previous chapters the fact that there is more to what
you say than meets the eye. With culture, business, and language interplaying with one
another, the extent by which we can stretch the impact of language points us to
differing directions. In this chapter, we are going to focus on the specificity, or at least,
what we perceive to be specific in the messages we put out there for everyone to
understand and interpret. Like the discussion in the previous chapters, the context in
which you become embroiled in the world of work, professional world will be the focus
of this chapter.
Figure 1. 

This print advertisement features a “better” groomed black man about to throw into the
air an image of his old self across football field. This image elicited a deluge of negative
comments mainly focused on how the ad promises users of Nivea to be re-civilized
version of a black man who shouldn’t sport the Afro hairstyle. If you do not have an
Afro, this ad means differently to you, but the fact remains that a large population of
black men have naturally curly or Afro hair and that this ad undermines them. This add
was pulled out in no time after generating wild negative buzz.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/most-deserved-apologies-of-2011-for-offensive-
ads-2011-12#nive

Figure 2. 

What was thought of as a simple message of making dark chocolate relevant to the

times has been dubbed to be condescending by no less than the supermodel alluded to
in this ad, Naomi Campbell. Campbell added by saying ”It’s upsetting to be described as
chocolate, not just for me but for all black women and black people. I do not find any
humor in this. It is insulting and hurtful.”
Cadbury pulled out the advertisement and apologized profusely to the black community
and to Ms. Campbell for having inadvertently undermining them with this ad.

Figure 3.                          

Earlier this year, Summer's Eve launched a completely bizarre ad campaign that featured
-- we kid you not -- an ethnically diverse array of talking hands that represented an
ethnically diverse array of talking vaginas.

Said hand-ginas also spoke in racially stereotypic cliches.

After being parodied on The Colbert Report, the commercials were eventually pulled.
Still, those responsible refused to apologize.

The Richard's Group told Adweek, "We are surprised that some have found the online
videos racially stereotypical."

 Figure 4. 

his is a picture of Lakshmi, an Indian Goddess of Wealth, who appears, to fancy eating

beef burgers. This is, for obvious reasons, forbidden under Hindu religion. This
depiction provoked widespread displeasure to the point of anger with its suggestion
that the deity eats beef.

  Source:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/worldnews/asia/india/5786561/Burger-King-
apology-to-Hindus-for-advert.html?bo=1

 
Burger King, the owner of this ad, quickly withdrew the advertisement and issued an
apology to Hindu leaders all over the world.

 Figure 5. 

This is a Chapstick advertisement entitled “Where do lost Chapsticks go? This ad was

posted by its manufacturer Pfizer to Facebook to which users are allowed to
comment “however” way they can. In the end, Pfizer was compelled to apologize to
Facebook for having attracted comments like, “after looking at this pic. I know where I
wanna hide my chapstick.”                  

Pfizer ended up discontinuing the offensive advertisement and promised to “comply

with Facebook guidelines and remove posts that use foul language and are menacing to
fans and employees.”

Figures 1-5 clearly demonstrates the emergence of “global” village emphasized by the

“smart” technology. Now, it can be argued that in order to succeed in a highly
globalized world, businessmen must make it their business not to undermine the
cultures of the world in the areas of marketing, management strategies, relationships,
and communication among other business affairs. This was explained well in
(Peretemode, 2012).

The above cases specifically point out that international business organizations must
have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of national culture differences to be
able to maintain a certain level of acceptance, and more importantly, belief in their
product. UNPFA (2013) clarifies that indeed there exist:

ü  The realities and social-cultural assets of societies;

ü  The influential power structures and pressure groups that can be potential allies or
adversaries to management and; and

ü  The internal cultural tensions and aspirations of the subcultures.

Moreover, to achieve the above statements, cultural knowledge and backgrounds, their
similarities and differences, and having the sensitivity to consider them before making
any bold business moves will always be an advantage to a business organization
wanting of continued relevance.

How do you then, as a would-be professional, deal with diverse culture in the business
world?

Trompenaars and Hampden (1997) reiterate that there are dimensions to recognizing
cultural diversity in national cultures and that the manner by which people respond to
certain questions about culture are attributed to the uniqueness of their culture. In
(2009), Duanmu and Geppert underscored changes in these dimensions and listed them
below:

1. Universalism vs. Particularism. Universalistic culture people adhere to general rules,

codes, values, obligations; that regardless of circumstance, same rules apply to different
situations. Standards in universalism take precedence over the needs and claims of
friends and other relationships. Particularistic people on the other hand make
judgments according to their relationships. This culture of particularism is based on
friendships and intimate relationships affecting situations on a case-to-case basis.
Therefore, what is appropriate in one situation may not be right in another.

In matters of international business, particularistic culture values relationships and that

these relationships can be basis of bending rules and regulations of a business
organization. The companies of the figures given previously certainly valued the
friendship they wanted to build or they already had built in countries where they sell
their products. For example, when Pfizer or Burger King decided to apologize to the
cultures they offended, they must have realized that maintaining friendship was more
important than creating a media campaign to boost their sales.

The same companies obviously turned against the universalistic culture which dictates
that laws supersede culture. This culture puts less emphasis on personalities and of
course, the culture to which they submit. If the advertisements did not violate any
existing laws of the society in which the advertisements were used, then a universalistic
company would not have problems with the continuing use of marketing figures and
would argue that no laws were violated.
2. Individualism vs. Collectivism. The individualistic culture puts emphasis on the
individual’s wants, happiness, fulfillment, initiative, and welfare above those of the
community’s. Collectivism in turn decides for the greater good and values what works
for the community undermining personal wants and desires. The manufactures of the
products shown in figures 1-5 are by no means collectivistic for having taken the route
of discontinuing advertisements that offended certain communities.

3. Specific vs. Diffused. The specific culture is about a man who considers his work a
place where he functions as an individual. For this man, he can work effectively and
achieve his career goals even without maintaining real relationships with his co-workers.
The diffused culture is opposite of the specific as it encourages relationships and
camaraderie among co-workers. For a man in diffused culture, he thrives on the
collective desires of the people around him irrespective of his own desires.

As a future professional, you will be subjected to experiencing having to deal with

colleagues who subscribe to either the specific or diffused culture. It is then up to you to
determine whether to choose one, or to balance your way through two culture
dimensions interplaying with one another.

4. Achievement vs. Ascription. This dimension is about the attainment of one’s status.
For those who value achievement, they regard others on account of their education,
ability, success, in chosen career, competition, and so on. In ascription, people value you
according to your social connections, age, or gender, your origin, or your religion.

In the business context, the achievement dimension gives value to you as compared
with your co-workers in the organization based on your work performance. On the other
hand, the ascription dimension evaluates you according to natural admiration and to the
loyalties you have established in a company over time.

The challenge for a college student is again to strike a balance between achievement
and ascription. On one hand, you have to show that you are competitive when the
situation or your boss calls for it; on another hand, aim to show admirable qualities to
your co-workers in order to enjoy the benefits of both dimensions.

5. Neutral vs. Affective. In a neutral culture, people make an effort to conceal their
feelings because they have been taught that way. They are often perceived to be
guarded and controlled. For the affective, they “wear their heart on their sleeves” and
spend their time at work with laughter, expressions of displeasure or happiness, bold
gestures, and dramatic non-verbal expressions.
At best, hide your emotions if it means sparing your co-workers from feeling worse than
they already do during challenging times in the workplace. But, if there are enough
reasons for you to express happiness over something worth celebrating, it would not
hurt to do bold gestures to show how you feel.

6. Time Orientation: Sequential vs. Synchronic. If you think that there is a time and
place for everything to be done, then you are the sequential type. Furthermore, you
follow a strict and particular order in doing things and a change in this order will cause
uncertainty for you. If you are synchronic, you connect the past and the future but you
do not focus on one or the order with which the two take place. You deal with things as
they come and you think of different ways of achieving your set objectives in numerous
and possible combinations of time and order.

Ideally, we should be fluid in achieving our goals. There will be times that we ought to
acknowledge that we need to follow a process in order to produce desired results at
work. However, when things dictate that we do not time and sequence our activities to
be able to arrive at a surprisingly successful ending, we should also take the time to be
unpredictable and “full of surprises” around our co-workers.

7. Inner – Directed vs. Outer – Directed Orientation. The inner-directed culture thrives
on people making a conscious effort of controlling the environment where they are in.
While nature is complex, the inner - directed culture allows its people to have a
mechanistic view of nature and control it with skill and precision. The outer - directed
culture for its part believes in the domination of nature over mankind. People, therefore,
should always look into the challenges of nature, to what the outside world presents,
and then use them in making decisions.

In business, they are those who think that they dictate what consumers need and play
up those needs in order to bolster sales for the company. If you will be an employee of
an inner - directed company, the ability to innovate is the qualification you should be
developing. On the other hand, there are companies that respond to trends set by the
outside world, abide by them, and then operate the business around what is perceived
to be popular.

As a nation, the US remains to provide a distinct manifestation of the interplay of the

different cultural dimensions discussed above so much so that they introduced the term
“melting pot”. This term encourages assimilation, and “being American” as the
mainstream culture. In the process, a differing culture loses itself to what is considered
“American”. Immigrants coming to the United States were expected to set aside their
language and culture in favor of the “American way”. Schools over the US were also
compelled to order their immigrant students to submit to American customs, beliefs,
and ideas in order to truly assimilate with the dominant American culture.

The term “melting pot” however did not last very long in the mainstream psyche of the
Americans ever since “cultural pluralism” came into the scene. This term focuses on a
diverse population of cultures interacting with one another to form a society. 
Cultural Pluralism is likened to a salad bowl with a variety of ingredients each one
contributing to the final taste of the salad. Not one ingredient is taken for granted, each
one makes up the whole.

Indeed, the concept of cultural pluralism has been with us for more or less sixty years.
Among the many writers who pushed for recognition of the concept are Horace M.
Kallen, Gunnar Myrdal, Tamotse Shibutani,  Kian M. Kwan, Milton M. Gordon, Robert
Blauner, and Albert Memmi.

Anthropologist Peggy R. Sanday underscores the concept od cultural pluralism this way:

. . . defined as existing in any society where there is more than one style dimension,
where there is more than one set of cultural themes, information components, and
behavior styles sanctioned in a society. Sub-cultural systems are open systems. Because
of the mechanism of intra-cultural diffusion if the members of these systems are in
differing degrees articulated in the mainstream culture and hence can share elements in
the culture. Depending on the barriers to diffusion, sub-cultural systems definable at
one point in time on the basis of certain characteristics may over time become assumed
into the mainstream culture.

With the foregoing definition, we can surmise that cultural pluralism is a condition in
which people are able to organize communities regardless of differences of race, age,
sex, religion, language and cultural lifestyles. Furthermore, this condition is attained in a
society where culturally diverse communities interact with one another on the basis of a
healthy functioning of the society that are a part of. Cultural pluralism then will not
thrive when culturally different communities do not get along.

Also noteworthy are what Stent, Hazard, and Rivlin (1973) said about cultural pluralism,
that it is:

“a state of equal co-existence in a mutually supportive relationship within the

boundaries of framework of one nation of people of diverse cultures with significantly
differing patterns of beliefs, behavior, color, and in many cases with different languages.
To achieve cultural pluralism, there must be unity in diversity. Each person must be
aware of and secure in his own identity, and be willing to extend to others some respect
and rights that he enjoy himself.”

Therefore, we may assume that cultural pluralism is an issue that will remain relevant in
the years to come as there are stronger demands now more than ever for nations of
differing cultures to interact with one another. When the Chinese government recently
announced its intention of drafting the “code of conduct” with all the neighboring
nations, staking claims of ownership of certain parts of the South China Sea, it is an
indicator of the willingness of a dominant nation like China to participate in a system of
culturally diverse countries coming together for a common goal of order in the Asian
region.

As what Bennet and Hammer (1998) assert, the more experience a person has for
cultural differences, the more that he will develop intercultural competence. This
competence is necessary in working for intercultural relations and in attaining
effectiveness when working across cultures. Hence, as intercultural communicators, we
should bear in mind to respect and value the differences of other people. In this way, we
can be able to develop intercultural competence and work harmoniously with
professionals of various cultures anywhere in the world.

Lesson 2. The Power of Texts and Images

Multimodal Literacy (O’Halloran & Lim, 2011) - is about understanding the different
ways of knowledge representations and meaning-making.

It focuses on the design of discourse by investigating the contributions of specific

semiotic resources (e.g. language, gesture, images) co-deployed across various
modalities (e.g. visual, aural, somatic).
 

Also, this focuses on interaction and integration in constructing a coherent multimodal

text (such as advertisements, posters, news report, websites, films).

Editorial Cartoons

-          graphic expression of the creator's ideas and opinions

-          usually, but not always, reflects the publication's viewpoint

-          based on current events

-          have an educational purpose

-          to make readers think about current political issues

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As intercultural communicators, we should also develop an awareness to multimodal literacy
wherein the meanings and interpretations that the images and text suggest should be
understood well by everyone. Without multimodal literacy, we cannot establish good
interpersonal skills towards others and everything that we see around us will just be senseless.