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Reading #1 Summary

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Loire Aviles Collamat
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42 views1 page

Reading #1 Summary

Uploaded by

Loire Aviles Collamat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reading #1: World Englishes and Cross-Cultural Communication

Summary
Nylvie Loire Collamat

This study was conducted to examine the differences between the two world Englishes.

The purpose is to understand these differences better to help enhance cross-cultural

communication. It focused on grammatical differences between a group of Filipino English

language teachers and Standard American English. Differences were noted in the grammar of the

two English varieties. They include article usage, collocations, pluralization of mass nouns,

question formation, and verb tense. These differences may be the premise of a cross-cultural

communication problem. The study showed as well that these communication problems cause

miscommunication.

The study was not meant to degrade either of the two Englishes. It was not a search of

which English is perfect. It is not also suggested in this study that SAE speakers do not make

mistakes in speaking the language. Nevertheless, it gave a clearer picture of possibilities of

misunderstanding between varieties of English such as British or American English in cross-

cultural communication. There were inconsistencies noted between the varieties of Englishes that

could, would, and do lead to misunderstandings. It was shown in the study that one of the most

significant influences in the Filipino variety of English is the culture. Yes, every culture has the

potential to reshape English into something that fits the cultural setting. However, a separate

question arises as to why that might be necessary for a culture where English is not the mother

tongue. English is a global language to communicate with other people outside of one’s cultural

boundary. When one goes outside of his cultural limitation and proceeds to cross-cultural

communication, there is a potential for confusion and misunderstanding among speakers due to

the cultural adjustments done to English. Therefore, it was suggested that further studies must be

conducted to bridge the gap of differences in the varieties of Englishes in the world.

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