Various Cultures During The First Meeting With Foreign

Cultural differences range in an extensive range, and language is one part of it. Language is saturated with many cultural matters. Local culture, the environment along which one grew up, and other cultural matters such as the family they were born into are the cultural factors that make one language different from the others. Therefore, cultural diversity and language diversity go hand in hand. The term language itself, however, is not exclusive to verbal communication or the words delivered. It is profoundly how one delivers the entire words or speech. Language includes oral language, body language, intonation, inherited virtues, and religious provision. Out of all that make a language, this essay is intended to expose the attempt to manage to have a conducive first cross-cultural meeting.

Numerous numbers of handling international affairs have aroused throughout time and across the globe. Along with it, it carries various cultures to the melting pot in which all cultures fuse and adapt to one another. Trueba & Zou, 1994 assumed that culture is a broader umbrella concept, and that language is a part of the culture. In fact, language is an essential part of a culture. Culture and language are so inseparable that they have to coexist to prolong. Subconsciously, language forms the way one perceives the world and interprets every literature and linguistic input that they are consuming. This speaks a lot of why people catch different messages than the other when the delivered message is precisely the same. Language and culture build perspectives. However, the backbone of linguistic comprehension is not limited to the extrinsic cultural factors like their local environment, constitutional regulation, and artsy components. The intrinsic part of comprehending languages plays a significant role, too. Someone's capability and developed skills in learning, their hereditary factor, and other inherent biological set partake in one's language processing phase, also.

It is argued that there are two types of speakers in the linguistic world, namely the coconut type and peach type. One is the exact opposite of the other. Coconut people tend to have an invisible hard wall, just like coconuts do, which shows through the way they retain from giving personal information. Other people often find coconut people challenging to approach. The coconut-cultured people take it as politeness. On the contrary, peach-cultured people are more friendly and approachable since they light "skin" is easy to be penetrated. They are prone to give personal information, and their cheerful traits are the essential part of their speech. This is what politeness is to them. The significant difference between the two types of linguistic cultures makes misunderstanding non-avoidable. Conversations are the melting pot where cultures from various backgrounds meet and collide. If not equipped with the correct amount of flexibility and adaptation, misunderstandings and misconception will quickly emerge.

These types are rooted deep far beneath where one has been growing up along. It has a lot to do with the geographical environment. In Asia, there are various ways of greeting people. Japanese people will be more likely to bow and call someone with their titles that denote their position in society. The other place, like in Indonesia, smiling and vibrant-sounding greeting, start the conversations. It is more likely for them to shake hands, but most religious people, especially Moslems, do not shake hands with the opposite genders. Likewise, Middle-Eastern people do not necessarily shake hands. Their cultural gesture is to fold hands in front of their chest and smile to the other parties. This gesture derives from the religious confinement that they uphold. There are also differences in verbal matters, e.g., how they speak, and how loud they do it. Asian people will find it rude if someone talks too loud to others. England and Spanish people speak loudly to avoid mishearing words and indicate high self-esteem as the first impression. They have been growing up in such an environment since that is what politeness is to them. Speaking more silently will be taken as speaking under one's breath, thus is not polite to them.
In terms of address, English-speaking people countries tend to address others by their first name—e.g., John, Michael, Linda, Jane—rather than calling the person Mr. Jackson, Mrs. Howard, or Miss Jones. This applies to people of significantly different ages. Young people like children call their parents or grandparents with their first name. This indicates equality between all parties involved. Europeans do not regard it as disrespect, unlike the peoples in some countries in Asia that strictly have their own rules for titles mentioned prior to the other party's first name. For them, equality exists, and so does respect for older people, so they call older people with titles that suit their social status. (Afghari & Karimnia, 2007)

In order to avoid misunderstanding, there are a few strategic ways of speaking with someone from different cultural backgrounds for the first time. Flexibility ranks first in the most significant way to lessen inconvenience in conversations. Whosoever involved in the first meeting with strangers should not find it offensive if they do the things that their culture defies. In order for both sides to achieve freedom in oral communications, both sides need to be flexible. The safest way is to pre-study the other party's culture because learning a language is inseparable from learning its culture. If the first meeting is scheduled, then we shall prepare the things required to maintain a pleasant atmosphere by studying the environment or background that they come from. However, the cultural differences vary in an endless range, so having grace in first meetings is considered a game-changer.

Reference:
Afghari, A, Karimnia, A. (2007). Intercultural Communication Studies XVI: 1 2007. A Contrastive Study of Four Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between English and Persian, p. 1.

Kim, L. S. (2003). GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies. Exploring the Relationship between Language, Culture, and Identity, vol. 3(2)2003, p. 1.