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Sometimes we tend to forget the significance of communication – the impact it has, be it positive or negative, in our lives. Being in the comfort and familiarity of our own community, we have little difficulty communicating with each other (in terms of understanding and being understood). We may hence take for granted that our own ways and methods of communication – our verbal and non-verbal interactions – are universally understood in every corner of this world, failing to see the fact that there is not only one particular way of communication, just as there is no one particular definition of the word; people in different cultures have their own distinct ways of interaction.
I have my own share of experiences in communicating with people from a cultural background different from mine. A rather memorable memory would be when I had just moved to Singapore from my home country, Indonesia. With the close proximity of the geographic locations of these two neighbouring countries, I thought that there would not be much difference in our ways of communicating – and it must have been my naivety that had lead me into believing so. The major difference (or obstacle) would probably be the language (verbal interaction). The problem does not lie with the fact that English is the main language used in Singapore and Indonesian in Indonesia, but rather, the usage of “Singlish” (a form of English-based creole that include words from Chinese dialects, Malay and Indian languages) peppered in-between conversations. Those unfamiliar with certain lexicons of “Singlish” will certainly find it hard to understand what the other is saying. There are too, some minor differences in non-verbal interactions such as the body language, an example being in the finger used to point at something; while most in Indonesia would have pointed using their thumbs, most in Singapore would probably use their index fingers instead.
In the first few months of my arrival in Singapore to study, I vividly remember having some difficulty in understanding what my classmates said, and they too have difficulty understanding mine, though perhaps partly because of my accent and pronunciation of certain words. Of course, at first we tried to understand each other by replying “what did you say?”, “what is it again?”, “sorry can you repeat that?”, but after repeated failed attempts to understand one another, one side would in the end choose to abandon the conversation, resulting in a failed communication. I was so very distressed about my failed communication attempts, it affected me emotionally, and did not leave me with a sweet memory of my initial life living on this tropical island. As of now, after around 6 to 7 years of living in Singapore, I am no longer faced with that level of difficulty in communicating with others, partly because I am now more familiar with Singapore, her culture and her people, but majorly, I believe, because I made an effort to adopt the way of interaction as it is done here in Singapore (after all, it is said “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”). However, it is through this somewhat painful experience, that I realized the importance and significance of communication, an idea that was emphasized in the recent Communication lessons.
In my opinion, to have a successful communication with people of different cultural backgrounds goes beyond the mere understanding of the language or diction used, for it is more than that; it is an all-encompassing process that also includes understanding the people, their ways of life, their thoughts and their culture of interaction. An awareness of their culture would help in minimizing potential conflicts due to unintended misunderstandings. This is because understanding their customs, traditions and values not only serves as a purpose in enhancing the process of communication, but also gives an insight as to their ways of interaction. It is quintessential that we break through these cultural barriers, for communication is something that we cannot live without – it is, after all, through communication that we and our ancestors express ideas and contribute to our world, to the way that we live our lives today and possibly even the future.
In closing, I shall quote from Robert M. Hutchins, that “a world community can exist only with world communication, which means something more than extensive short-wave facilities scattered; about the globe. It means common understanding, a common tradition, common ideas, and common ideals.”
Reference:
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/robert_m_hutchins.html
Connecting Minds 
I couldn’t agree more with this. As a new resident in Singapore myself, I’ve found that it takes quite awhile for me to be able to communicate with the people who had lived in this country for a long time and in my experience what I meant by communicate is-as stated above- not just through verbal means.
Having studied in an international school before I moved in, I’ve had the benefit of catching quite a few of their unique English accent and cultures from a few of my Singaporean friends.
At first it was rather hard to believe that I had quite some trouble when I first moved in, since this wasn’t just my first or second time visiting this country. But the most troubling truth was the fact that the real hurdle for me was interacting with the locals outside of school; the people that I don’t even use verbal communication with. I was rather ashamed when it made me realized that I had ignored the importance of communication, listening and not just hearing, all these years during my many short-term visits to another country.
I have visited Singapore quite a few times before actually moving here as well, and too, did not expect to meet with difficulties when communicating with the locals! I suppose coming to a country as a tourist and as a resident provides one with two very different experiences. As a tourist, one communicates with a limited number of locals, perhaps just the store clerks and tourist guides. Meanwhile, to live as a resident requires one to communicate with no few people from different walks of life. I think, sometimes (or most of the time) we just easily assume others will understand us, when actually it is not necessarily so.
I hope that you will get used to the life and way of interaction here in Singapore soon (if you have not). It may take some time, but when you do, I think Singapore will feel more like a home to you, at least that is how it is with me! 🙂
Group 5’s URL: http://thefivewrite.wordpress.com
Group 5’s response:
I agree that all of us (regardless of which country we reside in) are rather myopic in the sense that we conveniently assume others of other cultures know what we are talking about in everyday conversations. Sometimes, we get rather self-absorbed in the middle of a conversation with another party of a different cultural background that we fail to realize he or she has no clue about what we are trying to bring across. For example, an American professor whom I work closely with for psychological research emailed my team saying, “any chance all of you would be interested in talking about your research project at my informal brown bag in two weeks from now?” We were very puzzled with regard to what an “informal brown bag” referred to. We discussed amongst ourselves and thought that the professor meant to meet at his office, considering that the walls of his room were brown. (On hindsight, we were surely silly and ridiculous.) We then decided to do some research as to “informal brown bag” meant, and realized that it meant an informal lunch meeting. The term “brown bag” was coined because Americans are used to carrying their own lunches to school and to work in brown paper bags. This taught me that clarity is of utmost importance when conveying a message – we have to be sure that the receivers of our message understand all the terms we plan to use.
In my opinion, we should all move out of our comfort zones and embrace every culture, no matter how distinct each one of them is from our own. This would allow us to have a better sense of how other people of other countries communicate with one another through common references, and what those references mean. Also, by observing communication between people of other cultures, we would be able to pick up cues that suggest their attitudes towards certain subjects, and we would then gain a deeper understanding of different people around the world.
Group 5′s URL: http://thefivewrite.wordpress.com
Group 5’s response –
Sorry I made a typo error (I forgot to type the words ‘what an’):
“We then decided to do some research as to *WHAT AN* “informal brown bag” meant, and realized that it meant an informal lunch meeting. “
Living in a Multi-Racial Society like Singapore, we have had the privilege of interacting with people of all walks of life, especially those from different cultures, race and language. I strongly agree that the ability to communicate is so vital in our lives and something that we cannot do without.
Definitely, the unique circumstances and the makeup of our society is such that we are constantly exposed to a ‘rojak’ culture, a culture infused with so many different elements from different races and ethnic groups (read: we have roti prata, indian cuisine for breakfast, chinese chicken rice for lunch and malay nasi lemak for dinner); is something that differentiates us from other homogenous societies such as America (where the dominant language is English) or China (where it is mostly made up of Chinese speaking nationals).
This special quality is what sets us apart as “Uniquely Singapore” but definitely also may turn foreigners and people who are trying to integrate into our society as citizens as well.
However, I would like to comment that Communication is important in a culture but besides the verbal communication, other aspects of communication such as non-verbal communication should be explored in this case study of the Singaporean identity, because as we have learnt, non-verbal communication makes up of the 93% of all communication.
“No man is a lone island”
Group 2