Interpersonal Communication, Empathy and Globalization: Does Globalization Bring about Loss of Identity?
We often assume others are like us. In an age of so called globalization this may be a very dangerous attitude. When we look at the ‘others’ we attribute meaning to their behaviour. Culture plays a crucial role in shaping the perception of the world. Our competence in communication easily reaches ‘sympathy’ but the road to ‘empathy’ is longer and more complex. Communication with a person whose culture we share is a delicate task, communication with a person belonging to another culture requires a higher exploitation level of a different perspective before we express our comments or remarks. Indeed, ‘sympathy’ means ‘feeling with’ whereas ‘empathy’ means ‘feeling in(side)’. When we sympathize, therefore, we are not identifying with what the other person is feeling, whatever the other person is experiencing belongs to him and not to us in any way. Empathizing allows us to make the other person’s experience our own, even if for a limited time. It allows us to look at the world from a different perspective. It allows us, moreover, to understand and, hopefully, feel more available to accepting cultures, attitudes and behaviours which do not follow our patterns.
The experience of ‘feeling’ or ‘being’ like the ‘other’ will certainly influence our use of language. Language, therefore, becomes a powerful tool whose use may thoroughly shape the interaction among people and their sense of identity. It may begin with the meaning of a ‘name’ to finish with the value given to ‘silence’ or to a great number of other ‘details’. It means to give real meaning to words like open-mindedness, tolerance and communication.
Keywords: Open-mindedness, Empathy, Identity
Mariangela Marcello
Pedagogical Coordinator, Italian Culture and Language Association - ALCIES, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
|
Research on the connection between the use of language and neurology in everyday life situations in different cultures. Research on the different meanings language develops when used in different cultures. Research on the language of the immigrants after a few years spent in the foreign country. Research on body language, posture, proxemics in different cultures. Research on interpersonal communication. Research on Coaching with Neurolinguistic Programming.
Ref: L06P0329