1 Paper Presentations

PAPER PRESENTATIONS

Cultural Identity on immigrant adaptations to a new country
Presenter: Abiodun Sola-Olabode
Royal Roads University

Migration has been an integral part of human history, shaping our societies and cultures. With the rise of globalization, the number of people migrating to different parts of the world has increased significantly. Migration is not only about physical relocation but also involves a complex interplay of social, cultural, and psychological factors that shape the identity of migrants.

Cultural identity is a complex and multifaceted concept that encompasses various aspects of an individual’s identity, including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and traditions. It is the sense of belongingness that individuals feel towards a particular group or community, and it plays a crucial role in shaping an individual’s behaviour, attitudes, and beliefs. Cultural identity is not static but is dynamic and evolves, as individuals interact with different cultures and communities.

The complex relationship between cultural identity and migration is shaped by various factors, including acculturation, social support, and cultural similarity. The acculturation process can lead to different forms of cultural identity, including integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization. The role of social support and cultural similarity can influence the acculturation outcomes of migrants, with social support providing critical resources and cultural similarity facilitating the acculturation process. The study of cultural identity and migration is an essential area of research, as it can shed light on the challenges and opportunities that migrants face in the process of adapting to an entirely new cultural environment. Cultural identity and acculturation measures are important variables and factors to assess in the process of understanding the stresses and support that individual experiences while migrating to a new environment and how these interact with their other life events and experience.

How does Cultural Identity Impact Intercultural Communication through the lens of Modern Theoretical Frameworks
Presenter: James Gatiti
Royal Roads University

Culture is crucial in intercultural communication, which involves exchanging messages between individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Cultural identity, shaped by ethnicity, shared values, language, and traditions, influences individuals’ perceptions and expressions of their culture, which might affect communication and behaviour during cross-cultural interactions. This paper examines the influence of cultural identity on daily intercultural communication and its practical and theoretical implications.
The paper highlights how cultural identity affects various dimensions of intercultural interactions, including communication styles, norms, and expectations while influencing how individuals interpret and perceive messages and are willing to adapt to cultural differences which could improve communication, collaboration, and inclusivity in diverse cultural environments.
The paper further elaborates on how theoretical concepts such as intercultural communication competence and cross-cultural competence aid in understanding how cultural identity impacts communication. This is crucial in promoting effective intercultural communication and fostering collaboration, inclusivity, and respect in any intercultural setting.
The paper also highlights theories from several Scholars to elaborate on the impact of cultural identity on intercultural communication such as the Cultural Identity Theory, Communication Accommodation Theory, Social Identity Theory, Face Negotiation Theory as well as the Intercultural Competence Framework. The aim is to help us understand and evaluate the role and impact of cultural identity in intercultural communication, which can provide a foundation for future research to enable researchers to make systematic, evidence-based claims about the relationship between cultural identity and intercultural communication.
In conclusion, these findings might help us get a broad understanding of how cultural identity can significantly impact intercultural communication by promoting appreciation and respect for diverse values, beliefs, and customs. This can help us avoid misunderstandings, and adapt our communication styles to accommodate intercultural groups while fostering empathy and inclusivity. This understanding can ultimately create a more harmonious and productive intercultural environment, while further developing existing theoretical frameworks and research.

How Cultural Identity Affects the Use of Emoticons and Emoji
Presenter: Yeming Li
Royal Roads University

This paper explores the relationship between cultural identity and the use of emoticons and emojis based on previous findings that as emoji has become a language, the use of it varies across cultures by conducting a literature review. These findings are taken further in this paper by raising the question of how cultural identity affects the use of emoticons and emojis. Two theories are applied in the research. The first one is Berry’s acculturation strategies theory, where the assumption that identity affects the use of emoticons and emojis is extended. The second one is Hofstede’s cultural dimensions—- individualism and collectivism. Applying the cultural dimensions theory, several studies found that individualism culture and collectivism did have an impact on the interpretation and choice of emojis. To reduce the generalization caused by the cultural dimensions on the interpersonal communication level, a converged measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism is also applied to investigate intercultural differences in communication styles. Most studies used qualitative methodology to conduct the research.
After reviewing literature published in recent years, this paper summarized two features of the use of emoticons and emojis. The first one is that there are universalities of the use of emoji despite the different cultural backgrounds. The reason largely is that people share some fundamental feelings like happiness, sadness and anger. Emojis for these feelings are easy to understand and hence widely used across cultures. It is also a good way to avoid misunderstandings caused by textual messages. The second feature is that people from collectivist cultures use emojis more often, they have a higher sensitivity to the given context and they are inclined to choose the correct emojis to respond to the scenarios. There are limitations to the studies, however, they provide a stepping stone for future studies.

Intercultural Practices Related to Identity, Language, Verbal and Non-verbal Communication in Various Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Context
Presenter: Karl Sweku Sowani Okyerefo
Royal Roads University
According to the social identity theory, which was first put forth by H. Tajfel and J. C. Turner, a person’s identity is made up of both their personal and social identities. This paper presents a critical review of social identity, verbal and non-verbal communication and the role of media systems in who a person is. It talks about the social identity theoretical framework, looks at the relationships between cultural identification and intercultural communication, and concentrates on social identity and some verbal aspects such as Language. It is one of the most important components of any civilization. It is a technique for developing relationships, communities, and interpersonal communication. Verbal and non-verbal communication both involve language, which is a crucial part of daily living. Identity is not negotiated until we both understand and agree on it. It is a multifaceted term made up of social components.

Mistakes in communication: Insights from domestic and international students in Poland
Presenter: Natalia Brelik
English Philology, University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw, Poland

Making mistakes, including those related to language, is an inevitable part of being human. This qualitative study investigates how students perceive language mistakes in communication, based on semi-structured interviews with four female students: two domestic psychology students and two international Spanish philology students, all studying at universities in Poland. Thematic analysis of the data revealed two main perspectives on mistakes: personal and societal. On an individual level, students viewed mistakes as an opportunity to improve their language skills. On a societal level, they recognized the importance of mistakes in maintaining social interactions. This finding emphasizes the need to examine how mistakes affect students’ self-perceptions and intercultural interactions. Moreover, the students demonstrated a heightened level of self-awareness and acceptance of their mistakes in language learning and proposed actionable ideas to effectively reduce errors in their second language, avoiding repeated mistakes. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the significance of mistakes for personal growth, self-acceptance, and social interaction. Future research will expand by interviewing students of various genders and academic fields to gain a more comprehensive understanding of perceptions regarding language learning and communication mistakes. The insights gained from this study could be useful for language teachers, curriculum designers, and policymakers in developing effective strategies to support language learners in achieving fluency and accuracy.