One of the many challenges we face

One of the many challenges we face as participants in intercultural encounters is coping with language differences. In some cases, we may not speak the same language as our conversational partner. When not a single word in an exchange can be understood, the challenge of successful communication is quite obvious. In other cases, however, our partner may be at least competent (if not fluent) in our language, or vice versa. On these occasions, it may seem that the challenge of coping with language differences is minimal or nonexistent. Yet it must be realized that even when interacting people speak the same language, such as English, they don’t always speak the same “language.”