Language Barriers

I found the section of the book and culture and language style to be extremely interesting. It reminds us that it's more than just a difference in language but it's also in the meanings behind the words themselves that lend to the creation of culture barriers. Not everything translates directly from one language to another, but it's important to remember that it's more than just the words themselves that convey meaning. I think it is important how the book goes into how culture affects our communication patterns, both verbally and nonverbally. It covers what we do, how we use, and our shared understandings of communication through culture, including even the forms of speech we use and how they are valued.
I remember this being one of the hardest parts of language study. I could learn and remember the meanings of words, the ones that directly translated across anyway, what I found myself having a hard time with was the ways in which the link which is used the words in context. Once I was able to understand the style of the language it was easier to actually learn the language itself. Remembering and beginning to understand these nuances between languages is a key contributor in successful cross-cultural interaction.