Culture and Decision-Making
People in individualistic countries believe that a person thrives when they have the ability to make decisions, especially when the decision personally affects them. But that is not true in some collectivistic societies, where others (normally family) may play a major role in decision making. For example, the concept of “arranged marriages,” in which the […]
Language come from People
Ralph Waldo Emerson is attributed to saying, “Language is a city to the building of which every human being brought a stone.” Living languages aren’t something established by linguistic authorities. Although rules and norms are established by such institutions, languages are built by the people who use them. Language is part of who we are, […]
Stereotypes
Negative stereotypes can be very misleading and erroneous. • India is home to more than 2,000 different ethnic groups that share the national identity of being “Indian.” • In the United States, it is not uncommon for a larger city to be home to people from 100 or even 150+ different ethnic backgrounds. • Malaysia’s […]
World Englishes
Today, English is considered one of the most pervasive languages in the world. It has a wide range of native speakers and non-native speakers scattered throughout the continents, and it is often used to communicate as a shared language, or “lingua franca”, in universities, businesses, and governments. What do you think of the influence of […]
