Eli is talking to the new girl at school, Naomi. “Yo. What’s up? You’re like, mad chill. You’re one of the coolest chicks I know. You want to turn up at the Nash tonight? Hashtag yaaaaaassssss!” Naomi thinks about going just as her Professor walks by. Eli surprisingly turns to Dr. Heinrich and says “Good morning Dr. I enjoyed your lecture this morning. Looking forward to next week’s class!” Naomi is surprised by Eli’s change in vocabulary. Eli exemplifies which concept that causes challenges to cross-cultural communication?
A) high-context
B) social context
C) euphemism
D) verbal dueling
B) social context
Eli exemplifies the concept of social context, which causes challenges to cross-cultural communication. Social context refers to the social situation, relationship, and status between the speaker and the listener. In this case, Eli uses informal language, including slang and hashtags, when talking to Naomi, which indicates a friendly and informal relationship. However, when Eli turns to Dr. Heinrich, he switches to formal language, indicating a respectful relationship with the professor. This change in language and tone based on social context can be confusing or even offensive to people from different cultures or social backgrounds. Therefore, social context is an essential factor to consider in cross-cultural communication.