Chapter 5 Part 2

Communicating across Differences Third culture style – when two people try to adapt to each other they often adopt a style that is not like the others but a combination of the two or other cultures. Improvised performance - we don’t have a ready-made script in life but as we become more skillful in communication we are able to ‘sense’ where a person is coming from/going and adapt to their way or communicate in a way they would understand.

Language and Power Something to ponder – How often do we perceive a person as being ‘unintelligent’ because they do not speak English properly? It’s been a debate for a long time: that we often assume a person is intelligent, powerful, dynamic by the words they use and the language they speak. Language provides assumptions about social constructs such as class, race, gender, age, sexuality etc. Read the Malema example on pg 98 of your textbook

How do co-cultural groups relate to the more dominant groups? They can: Accommodate Assimilate Separate Read more about these three strategies on page 100

Some questions after you have completed the chapter… What is your understanding of multilingualism? Why do you think it’s important to acknowledge all 11 official languages of SA?