Nurul CAPS Blog #3: The Power of Language

Thank you in different languages

Language is a medium to convey our messages to other people. With the aid of non-verbal communications such as eye-contact, facial expressions, and gestures, the messages could be conveyed effectively to other person. Different society will have different language. English language as lingua france becomes one of successful tools to connect people from different regions and cultures. Language is not only spoken when people meet with each other. In fact, it is also very important in various kinds of writings as medium to express ideas and thoughts such as newspapers, blogs, and social networkings. Even though words written are static and they are in the form of combination of symbols, they do give impact to other people's life. Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another (Hill, 2001).

When I read various comments and tweets on UNL Haters, I realized that the world would not be able to be free from prejudice and stereotype. Based on my experience living in this country for almost three years, I always thought majority of people in the United States are nice and friendly. I have met a lot of Americans who were really helpful and friendly especially in this place, Nebraska.I was very shocked to see that most of the tweets on the UNL Haters are being racist and prejudice towards Asians and Arabians. One of the tweets on UNL Haters is, "I've seen the same Asian studying as I went out. This is why they are smarter than us. I spend my night drunk he spends them studying." 'Asians are genius' is a very popular stereotype among white people. Another stereotype about Asians is 'they all look the same." I took Nationality & Race class last semester and I still remembered clearly one of my classmates said that all Asians look the same and it is hard to differentiate them. Many times, these labels are spoken without any knowledge or understanding of their meanings, origin, or even current implications and can demonstrate prejudicial feelings (Martin & Nakayama, 2012, p. 238). But if we ask Asians about this matter, they would give the same answer. "We cannot differentiate white people either."

The picture above is actually a recent comment from an Asian who is also one of international students in UNL. We have different perceptions and thoughts because we are socialized in different cultures and environments. People should be educated about the negative effects of stereotyping and prejudice towards other people who are from different race, region, and religion. Stereotyping or prejudice can lead to overt nonverbal actions to exclude, avoid, or distance and are called discrimination (Martin & Nakayama, p. 284).

Hannah grown up in America, and she is actually an Asian American. People always assumed her as Chinese, Japanese when she is  actually a Korean from South Korea. When people asked her, "What race are you?" "I am a human being."

References

Hill, N. (2001). Word quotes. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/words.html


Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.