SOCIAL CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

a) CULTURE DIFFERENCE
Perception difference between cultures can affect communication enormously. Even silence is perceived differently from culture to culture. Culture can be defined as set of shared interpretation about beliefs, values and norms which affect the behavior of a relatively large group of people. it is not genetically inherited trait in human beings as it is learned. Clearly people from individuals and collective cultures perceive the world in marked different ways. Difference in emphasis on individualism and collectivism influence communication. Collective culture do not require the same social skills as individual culture

Harmony is highly regarded as collectivism culture and verbal messages tend to be vogue so no offence is caused. Silence can mean disagreement without apparent embarrassment of loss of face to either party. J.Dan Ruthwell (2000) explains that “what is appropriate and expected communication in your own culture may be perceived as rude, arrogant or uncivilized by individuals’ culture; ethnocentric attitude can produce misattributions and communication. There is a Chinese proverb that states that “the first person to raise his voice loses the agreement J.Dan further said that “some cultural differences may challenge your sense of what is normal or proper behavior without raising ethical issues.

b) GENDER DIFFERENCE
Both men and women may not recognize important messages because they listen to different purposes. Women are more likely to catch the feelings behind a speaker’s word while men tend to listen to the facts. Gender differences don’t just affect how we listen to one another. They also influence whether we listen at all. Well known sociolinguist Deborah Tannen States “all else being equal women are not as likely to be listened to as men, regardless of how they speak or what they say” one way