The Language of Cross-Cultural Communication

Every language is shaped by culture, which has particular practices and norms of behaviour. Understanding both the language and the culture it comes from makes us much better communicators and offers us new ways of seeing the world. As we become more sensitive to the influence of culture on people’s values and behaviours, it becomes easier for us to recognise and appreciate our cultural differences, and develop better personal and professional relationships.

English is our shared global language, which we can use to communicate across cultures with anyone who speaks it. There is a common fear that communicating in one global language might suppress the speaker’s native culture, but in a fascinating study by a Harvard professor, linked below, the opposite was found to be true! As a neutral language shared by multilingual speakers, English can be a valuable tool to express and share our values and ideas, whether individual, organisational or national.

For more insight

Watch a TED Talk by Harvard Professor Dr Tsedal Neeley about a global Japanese company that adopted English as its corporate language and transmitted its culture

Read the book: Language of Global Success: How a Common Tongue Transforms Global Organizations by Dr Tsedal Neeley

Read the article: Overcoming the Stress of Englishnization

The Language of Global Business

Better English skills have been found to be a key tool to improving and expanding business internationally. The Economist Intelligence Unit survey shows that 90% of executives at companies around the world believe that an improvement in cross-border communication at their company would lead to increased profit, revenue and market share. Ineffective communication and inadequate collaboration admittedly stood in the way of major international business deals and resulted in financial loss. 

Companies with a global strategy need a language strategy. Adopting a global language policy on a corporate level can be a challenging step, but with the right support and adoption framework, it is a highly rewarding future-forward initiative. English is the official corporate language of many successful international companies, including Japanese e-tailer Rakuten, European aerospace corporation Airbus, French automotive manufacturer Renault and Korean electronics firm Samsung.

For more insight

Read the report summary: Competing Across Borders

Read the article: Global Business Speaks English

Read the article: Rating the English Proficiency of Countries and Industries Around the World

The Language of Better Economies

There is an interesting correlation between the English skills of a country’s population and that country’s economic performance. In the largest ranking of English proficiency around the world, the 60 countries surveyed show that a rise in English ability was connected to a rise in the GDP in that country and a better quality of life, as measured by the Human Development Index: education, life expectancy, literacy, and standards of living. It was also found that job seekers with an English level that is above average in their country earned 30-50% higher salaries, as a result of increased professional opportunities.

For more insight

Read the article: Countries With Better English Have Better Economies

Read the article: The Link Between English and Economics

Read the article: English Proficiency Index 2019 Report

The Language of Innovation 

The best tool for innovation in any industry is collaboration. And to collaborate effectively and efficiently across cultures, we need a common language. Proficiency in English as our common language is shown to positively correlate with some key measures of innovation: higher proficiency is linked to increased public investment in research and development, and a greater number of researchers and technicians per capita.

Diversity also positively impacts innovation. Culturally diverse groups in particular are found to make better decisions, rely more on facts than opinions and have less cognitive bias than homogenous groups. In research done by McKinsey & Company, cultural diversity in executive teams was also linked to industry-leading profitability.

Notably, the world’s biggest advancements in technology were made within the context of the English language. We type on a keyboard using the Roman alphabet and the top 10 global programming languages are all English-based, although some were created in non-native English-speaking countries. English is also the language used in over half of all content on the internet.

The ability to speak one language is essential to take part in global conversations and to accomplish broad goals on an international scale.

For more insight

Read the article: Why English, Not Mandarin, Is the Language of Innovation

Read the report: English Proficiency Index 2019 Report