Cultural Barriers In Communication

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BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION ‘Barriers’ are any obstacles or difficulties that come in the way of communication. They may be physical, mechanical, psychological, cultural or linguistic in nature. In business communication, for instance, the major obstacles arise because of the set-up of an organisational barrier. The size of an organisation, the physical distance between employees of an organisation, the specialisation of job and activities, and the power and the status relationship, are the main organisational barriers. Besides, there are the barriers, raised by interpersonal relationship between individual and groups, the prejudices of both individuals and groups, and the channels they use to communicate. In the ‘jargon’ of communication, all …show more content…

During a written examination, nervous candidates misread the instructions, misunderstand the questions asked. Some psychologists, however, are of the view that a little anxiety is good, for it brings in to use brain-cells otherwise inactive, and heightens attention, improves performance, releases certain hormones, and facilitates learning by a greater spread of nerve message in the brain. In other words, fear and anxiety can be turned in to a source of energy and confidence. Linguistic and Cultural Barriers A language is the expression of the thoughts and experience of the peoples in terms of their cultural environment. When the same language is made use of in a different culture, it takes on another colour, another meaning. When, for instance, English is employed in India, it comes under the influence not only of the accent of the local language, but also of the meanings and connotations of words, phrases, and idioms of that language, and of the culture that has given rise to it. Each language shapes the reasoning of its speakers. Thus English enforces ‘either/or’ thinking and reasoning, which Chinese does not. Indeed, no human is free to describe nature with strict objectivity; he is prisoner of his language and even the same language has to cross not only cultural and generation gaps, but political …show more content…

Channels become barriers when the message as interfered with some disturbance, which (1) increased the difficulty in reception or (2) prevented some elements of the message reaching its destination or both. The absence of communication facilities would also be a mechanical barrier. Technically, such barriers are clubbed together into one general term ‘channel noise’. This type of barrier includes any disturbance, which interferes with the fidelity of the physical transmission of the massage. A telephone that is in poor working order, making demands, on the yelling ability if the Sender and receiver, is a mechanical barrier in interpersonal communication. So also is ‘cross-talk’ often heard over an ‘intercom’ link in an office, or during long-distance calls. Thus hearing is the physical act of receiving sound waves, a natural process listening however, is a skill that has to be learned and developed, requiring hard work and

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