1. Chapter 5 – Verbal Issues in Intercultural Communication
Notes on Chapter 5 – definitions and key points

2. Introduction
Intercultural communication involves more than just language skills but sometimes misunderstandings occur because we don’t understand a word or a word may have different meanings in different languages.
South Africa in context – language was a major issue in the fight for freedom in South Africa and led to the Soweto Uprisings of 1976 due to Bantu Education wherein Afrikaans was made compulsory.

3. Multilinguilism A person who speaks two languages is bilingual
A person who speaks more than two language is multilingual
What are the benefits of multilingualism? It would lead to inclusivity where more people would be able to participate and hence there would be a greater culture of consultation and participation. Multilingualism would also “facilitate economic access and redress past economic injustices of previously marginalized languages.”(page 90)

4. Study of Language – definitions
Phonology – how words are pronounced, the study of the sound of words
Semantics – the study of meaning, how words communicate the meaning
Syntactics – the study of the structure of a language, the rules for combining words into meaningful sentences
Pragmatics – how language is used in particular contexts

5. Language and Perception
Perceptions are shaped by the language we use – think about the fact that if a person constantly uses vulgar language as they talk to anyone regardless of who the person they are talking to - what would you think of that person?
Labels or labelling people also influences perception – think of the word ‘terrorist’ – what springs to mind? Labels have certain perception attached to them and most often they aren’t positive.

6. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
Language defines our experience
Certain languages don’t have certain words so they make use of inferences.
Something to think about: How would this create a misunderstanding?