Culture-Free Communication

Cindy King — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:00:33 +0000

When writing in English for a broad international audience there are a few strategic decisions you need to make. One of them is whether you want to use culture-free communication.

…or not.

First, let’s have a look at what culturally-specific communication is.

Culturally-Specific Communication

Most people speak like everyone else around them. When we grow up, live, go to school, and work in the same place, we acquire a specific way of using the English language. And we speak with culturally-specific words and expressions.

So…

What happens when you speak to someone else who also lives in an enclosed environment a couple of hundred kilometers…in the same country? Well, he will understand you. But…

Will he use the same words and expressions as you do?

And what happens if this person lives a thousand kilometers away…still in the same country?

You can usually identify where people are from by the different words and expressions they use.

…when they speak in your own language.

Take Away The Confusion

The problem is that when you are a non-native English speaker, these different words and expressions can be confusing.

On this blog, you often read about clarity. It is important for good cross-cultural communication.

You must avoid this confusion for good communication with a broad international audience.

Remember, there are more non-native English readers online than native-English speakers.

A website in English can give you global visibility. English is today’s lingua franca after all.

…But do you want your readers to find your English confusing?

Culture-Free English

This is why you should evaluate your website for culturally-specific communication.

And culturally-specific communication goes beyond language. It is also any use of color, numbers, graphics, photos, what is in the photos, audio and any other content.

In culture-free English you take away any culturally-specific element.

The English communication is edited and re-edited to take away its specific cultural flavor.

Not Always The Right Solution

Culture-free English is not always the best option. In many cases, it is a balancing act.

For global companies, yes, of course, culture-free English can be the best thing to do. It provides a good base both for translations, and also to create more culturally-targeted content for different foreign markets.

For other companies, it is can also be a good idea to leave a little cultural flavor in there.

A small company, with a strong cultural identity or brand, may not be able to shed all of its culturally-specific communication without losing a part of its own identity.

You can write culture-free, or almost culture-free, English and still have a clear cultural identity. But language can be a very important element.

In these cases, you have a few options:

Not change anything, in which case you will probably limit your international development.
Look at smoothing some of the cultural specificity to make it easier on other cultures…and test.
Start a new international website, division, joint venture or partnership with a new communication style.

A Step Towards International English

This is part of the process to communicate with International English.

The next step is to make your communication appealing to a broad range of cultures.

…that’s for sometime soon.

What you need to know about International English:

International English Guidelines

Cindy King's International Business Blog » culture-free communication