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INTERNATIONAL
MANAGEMENT:
EXPLORATIONS
ACROSS CULTURES
PART 3: Technology,
learning, language and
culture
CHAPTER 8: Language
and culture: translations,
interpretations and world
Englishes
PPTs by Elizabeth Christopher
• The objective of this chapter is to explore language
translation in business circles, and the extent to
which English has become the international
language of business and commerce (EIL).
• The questions are asked: whether EIL will
impoverish other languages and cultures; and
whether translation from one language to another
can convey the true meaning of the original.
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Interpretation devices
• International meetings increasingly need
interpretation devices such as headphones for
instantaneous translation.
• Interpretation and translation presuppose a certain
love of language, and deep knowledge of more than
one tongue.
• Interpreters and translators need to understand the
subject matter – which is one of the main reasons for
machine translation failure.
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A major problem for sojourners or
immigrants is lack of language
• For example, Chancellor Angela Merkel urged
immigrants, many of them Turks, to integrate,
learn German and adopt German culture and
values.
• President Christian Wulff stressed that integration
does not mean giving up culture and identity
('Islam belongs to Germany').
• A major problem for most immigrants to a foreign
country is not learning the language but learning
what vocabularies and grammars are appropriate
in various situations.
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Choosing language appropriate to context is an
important communication skill
•
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Write down what you think might be the context
in which these words might be spoken:
Yes, Sir!
Yes, dear, if you say so!
Yes, yes, all right!
What's the time?
Do you know what the time is?
Only if you have time.
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Technology is changing the English language
• It has created a whole new vocabulary and even
changed the way people talk about themselves – as
'hard-wired' or 'pre-programmed';
• and youngsters sometimes say they are 'buffering'
– meaning 'thinking'.
• Nearly a third of the British population is not
online and is confused by what can seem a foreign
language.
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An alternative language
• Cyber language increases cultural divisions at work.
• Incomprehension often leads to resentment.
• Those not current in the latest vocabulary and
allusions may feel hostile to those who use them, yet
they all have to work together.
• In such situations an in-house journal (online or in
print) can perform a very valuable function as a
dictionary or thesaurus as well as a distributor of
news!
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Culture clash
• Huntington wrote controversially of a new phase in
world politics in which the dominating source of
international conflict would be cultural.
• The United States would have to forge alliances with
similar cultures and spread its values wherever it
could.
• Western societies would need to be 'accommodating if
possible' to 'alien civilizations' but 'confrontational if
necessary'.
• However, he wrote also that in a final analysis all
civilizations would have to learn to tolerate each other.
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Peter Berger: four global cultures
• Davos culture of international business: members deal with
computers, cellular phones, airline schedules, currency
exchanges; mostly interact in English.
• Faculty Club International: the internationalization of
Western intelligentsia, values and ideologies; carried by
foundations, academic networks, non-governmental
organizations,...
• McWorld culture: popular culture under the banner of
Westernization and more specifically the United States.
• Evangelical Protestantism: origins in the United States but
thoroughly indigenized and brings about a cultural revolution
favourable to pluralism, to the market economy, and to
democracy.
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The two most important common features of
all Berger's global cultures
• Their Western, principally US, provenance and their relation
to the English language.
• Anglo-Saxon culture has become a cultural force and English
the medium of international economic, technological and
scientific communication.
• Every language carries values and assumptions held by the
culture of its origin;
• and English, especially US English, expresses what Berger
describes as the sensibilities of a dynamic, pluralistic and
rationally innovative world.
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Press releases, to publicize people, events,
services or products
• Transmitted by online media, fax or mail as part of a
press kit or with a promotional letter.
• Usually the heading states the release's most exciting
news in a few words and then in more detail.
• Spin doctors: political press agents or publicists who
embroider facts into attractive media reports.
• Sound bites: short, memorable, one-line propaganda
statements, suitable for media publication ('axis of
evil' and 'coalition of the willing').
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All communication is a form of propaganda
• Nobody communicates with anybody unless they want
to effect some kind of change.
• Even a simple 'Good morning' represents an attempt
to evoke a friendly response.
• Speech act theory: statements and words may describe
a situation or state a fact, but also perform a certain
action by themselves.
• For example, 'between love and madness lies
obsession' is a philosophical statement but also does
something on its own – to promote a perfume by
Calvin Klein.
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Utterance-as-description and utterance-as-action
• 'Utterance-as-description' – factual statements; eg
'M&M sells chocolate drops'.
• 'Utterance-as-action', eg '(each drop) melts in your
mouth not in your hands'.
• The latter sentence does not merely report something
but encourages people to buy something.
• Speech in three categories: what is said (or written);
what the authors intend it to say; and what happens as
a consequence.
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Statements in three categories
•
'If you want to capture someone's attention,
whisper'.
1. In itself this statement is value-free.
2. The authors' intention is that readers will want to
buy Coty's Whisper perfume.
3. The consequence is that they will or will not buy it.
• Thus utterance-as-description, to become utteranceas-action, needs to be carefully phrased to achieve the
desired consequence.
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Cultural interpretations of meaning
• Culture spins 'webs of significance' between people,
subjective understanding and cultural identity.
• Meaning is structured and sustained by socio-cultural
influences in the environment.
• Context and culture determine meaning.
• Language is part of human activity; it is a life-form
whose meaning is deeply rooted in the value systems
by which people live their lives.
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Individuals and collectives work together to construct
a common understanding of 'reality'
• 'Impression management' within a living drama of
scripted dialogues, gestures, props and costumes.
• Thus groups, not individuals, create and maintain
certain aspects of 'reality', like a cast of actors
presenting a theatre play.
• For example, the acting, scripts and costumes for
membership of the 'Davos' international business
culture are very different from those of the McWorld
culture.
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Social scripts
• Goffman suggests that 'scripts' are vital to
interpersonal communication.
• For example, 'Good morning' introduces a social
dialogue.
• The next line will be: 'Good morning, how are you?'
to be followed by 'Fine thanks, how are you?'
• Scripts such as these offer people convenient
solutions to social expectations and norms. They
communicate a need for, and provision of, a sense of
mutual goodwill.
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Organizations use formal scripts
• For example, when employees answer the telephone
or make cold-call marketing overtures.
• Stages and sets convey particular impressions of
reality, eg name tags and folders on conference
room tables.
• Nobody can mistake a dentist's surgery for the
playroom in a day-care nursery.
• Manipulation of scenery, stage, set and costumes
involves a conscious effort to generate a particular
ambience and mood.
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The stage is divided into front and back
• Front-of-stage is what the audience sees; eg the
manager's office.
• Backstage is the photo-copy room, the mail room
and space for all the support activities.
• Retail shops have showrooms front-of-stage and
storage rooms at the back.
• Restaurants have dining rooms front of stage and
kitchens backstage.
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Communication in leadership
• Would-be leaders need to recognize their individual
talents, develop and practise them.
• Four major 'performance styles':
• Activists: 'hands-on', democratic, experiential, trialand-error, heavily reliant on feedback.
• Reflectors: observation, preparation.
• Theorists: logic and reason.
• Pragmatists: demonstration of practical application
of theory to knowledge.
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Different ways of acquiring information
•
•
•
•
•
Spatial/visual: learning by seeing.
Tactile/kinetic: doing and/or touching.
Auditory: learning by listening and talking.
Logical learners think things out for themselves.
Most people seem to have a preference for one
medium and use it to lead to the others.
• For example, visual learners will learn also by
talking and listening; but they are particularly good
at learning from looking (reading, watching,
visualizing...).
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Key points
1. International meetings frequently require state-ofthe-art digital systems and professional simultaneous
conference interpreters for instantaneous translation.
2. Professional interpreters need knowledge of the
subject, good general knowledge, familiarity with the
cultures of both source and target cultures and an
extensive vocabulary in both languages.
They need to be able to express other people's
thoughts clearly and concisely in both languages.
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Key points
3. Speakers also need verbal skills and careful
preparation when their words are being translated.
Written handouts will supplement verbal delivery;
and a good working relationship with the interpreter
is essential.
4. Presentation should be open and demonstrative with
use of paraphrase, gestures, sounds and images.
5. Electronic media, including online social networks,
have created new vocabularies and concepts, and
caused a backlash of resistance to cyber language and
cyber speakers.
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Key points
6. A major problem for most immigrants is learning
what vocabularies and grammars are appropriate in
various situations.
7. Language is culture and it may be that cultures high
in a need to avoid uncertainty develop more precise
language structures than those of English, which
tolerates more ambiguity.
8. English expresses the cultural sensibilities of a mostly
secular, democratic, dynamic, pluralistic and
rationally innovative world.
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Key points
9. Global cultures are emerging, whose two most
important common features are their Western/US
provenance and their use of EIL.
10. 'Spin doctors': political press agents or publicists.
'Sound bites': short, memorable, one-line propaganda
statements suitable for media publication – sometimes
translated insensitively into other languages.
11. Speech act theory argues that words do not only
describe something but perform certain actions by
themselves, such as the effect of advertising slogans
on consumer habits.
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Key points
12. Societies create their own 'reality' in living dramas of
scripted dialogues, gestures, props and costumes. And
in all social settings there is a 'front-of-stage' for
public view and a 'backstage' where assembly takes
place.
13. Communication media have an infinite range. They
include political songs as well as more traditional
methods of effecting change. Political and
organizational leaders need to identify their own
performance skills, develop and practise them as
instruments for the inspiration and influence of
others.
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Key points
14. Tactics for getting the best out of people include
active listening, questioning and giving constructive
feedback. Some managers achieve this through
hands-on involvement; others use reflective
observation, or apply theoretical principles, or
practical demonstration of required skills or
knowledge.
15. People have distinctive ways of acquiring
information: primarily spatial/visual; tactile/kinetic;
auditory; or logical.
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Key points
16. There are no right or wrong, bad or good
communication styles; the only criterion is degree of
effectiveness.
Most people seem to have a preference for one
medium and use it to access the others. Visual
learners will learn also by talking and listening; but
they are particularly good at learning from pictures
and images.
17. Major 'power tools' for leadership are legitimacy of
office; connection to higher powers; knowledge and
information; rewards and punishments; and force of
personality.
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LOOKING AHEAD
• Chapter 9 explores some of the dangers of
international management, including problems of
prejudice and discrimination; safety and security.
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Revision
Complete the following sentences:
1. International meetings frequently require...
• Answer: state-of-the-art digital systems and professional
conference interpreters for instantaneous translation.
2. Professional interpreters need...
• Answer: knowledge of the subject, good general
knowledge, and an extensive vocabulary in both languages.
They need to be able to express other people's thoughts
clearly and concisely in both languages.
3. Public speakers in multilingual environments need...
• Answer: verbal skills and careful preparation when their
words are being translated.
4. Written handouts in such situations will...
• Answer: supplement verbal delivery
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5. Verbal presentations should be...
• Answer: open and demonstrative with use of paraphrase,
gestures, sounds and images.
6. Electronic media, including online social networks, have
created...
• Answer: new vocabularies and concepts.
7. A major problem for most immigrants is...
• Answer: learning what vocabularies and grammars are
appropriate in various situations.
8. English expresses the cultural sensibilities of...
• Answer: a mostly secular, democratic, dynamic, pluralistic
and rationally innovative world.
9. 'Spin doctors' are...
• Answer: political press agents or publicists.
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10. 'Sound bites' are...
• Answer: short, memorable, one-line propaganda
statements suitable for media publication – sometimes
translated insensitively into other languages.
11. Speech act theory argues that words...
• Answer: do not only describe something but perform
certain actions by themselves, such as the effect of
advertising slogans on consumer habits.
12. Societies create their own 'reality' in...
• Answer: living dramas of scripted dialogues, gestures,
props and costumes.
13. Tactics for getting the best out of people include...
• Answer: active listening, questioning and giving
constructive feedback.
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14. People have distinctive ways of acquiring
information. Primarily these are...
• Answer: spatial/visual; tactile/kinetic; auditory; or
logical.
15. The only criterion for communication style is...
• Answer: its degree of effectiveness.
16. Major 'power tools' for leadership are...
• Answer: legitimacy of office; connection to higher
powers; knowledge and information; rewards and
punishments; and force of personality.
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