(Article taken from the The Straits Times on Saturday, 19 Sept 2009)
The above article "Language won't be barrier at YOG" talks about how technological advancement is going to play a major role in breaking down language barriers in next year's Youth Olympic Games. Singtel has given us a glimpse of a unique multimedia service which is going to help althletes who speak different languages to communicate with each other. Aside from that, SingTel also plans to have a one-stop online portal where content from social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, Flickr and YouTube will be intergrated.
In COM 101 class this week, we took a look at verbal communication and the importance of verbal communication in today's context. Language is an essential part of verbal communication as it is a vessel for meaning and a primary tool for direct communication. Verbal communication allows us an avenue to convey our ideas, opinions, emotions and feelings.
However, we live in a world which promotes a huge array of languages. While speaking our own native languages in our own countries will not hamper our interaction with the people around us, it obviously acts as a huge barrier when communicating with people who do not speak the same language.
Competitions such as the YOG act as an international platform for young athletes all over the world to come together because of their love and passion for sports. It would be a real shame if these people, who had so much in common, were unable to communicate with each other and share their own personal experience because of the language barrier.
This particular article caught my attention because it serves to remind us how the advancement in technology has truly gone a long way in expanding our horizons and opening new doors and worlds to us. In the past, our knowledge of cultures and societies outside our own were very limited. Now, with the growth of technology and new media, we have everything at the tip of our fingers. The language barrier no longer poses a major obstacle for communicating with people who live on the opposite ends of the world.
hello alicia
ReplyDeletei must say...what an APT and current topic to blog on considering these recent develeopment is in line with COM 101. could not have picked out a better topic myself! :)
well this is indeed quite a technological milestone as the translation is REALTIME and there's no delay n conveying msgs or even just plain conversing with one another...
not just one form of communication is used.. in order to grasp more ppl SMS, online portals and even realtime AUDIO is used...
a German athlethe will be able to communicate to a french athlethe so effectively in their own languages that they can carry a conversation..
let us not forget that the purpose of such games is not to compete but rather foster closer international relations btween countires which will increase tidings of peace, trade and prosperity... and communication is indeed vital for that.. after all its hard to hold conversations when time is needed to translate back and forth.. the conversation becomes dull and awkward without a flow to it.. but thanks to technology, this is eliminated! i am sure these young athlethes will appreciate such a breakthrough as they spread their culture and lives across foreign athlethes and perhaps discover they are alike in more ways than ones and also at the same time CELEBRATE their differences..
:)
but on the other hand, some might argue that promoting such software would just make athlethes and foreign dignitaries focus on just their mother tnogue and not to make an effort to learn other languages... after all there is a certain bond when one speaks the same language.. but i guess with such technology as long as people can understand one another, who really cares what langauge its said in right?
right alicia? or can i say? betul kah Alicia? ;)
Hello darling (:
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on how such technology invented would allow communication between two atheletes from different backgrounds.Yet,whatever happened to the old fashioned way of going back to school to learn a particular language?With such technology,we would get lazy and start totally relying it.Then we would have to deal with a whole new set of problems.Firstly,one would not really understand or appreciate the language of another since he does not know its roots whatsoever.THough the least of these problems would be the jobless language teachers.Such technology is still a concern.
I'd rather people just learn the launguae and converse or even better,speak english or promote english in their native lands.They can always approach the Singapore government for advice.I mean we have a powederful 'Speak good Engrish' campaign (:
Hello Alicia! Technology definitely has reduced the barriers of communications that may have existed in the past. But not now, in this modern world, new media has helped changed indefinitely the functions of verbal communication. Say for instance, podcast and video conferencing, they serve as mediums to convey messages across continents.
ReplyDeleteHowever, i would still love to bring up the point that nonverbal codes are just as important apart from verbal comunication! Nonverbal codes are framed differently according to the environment we are brought up in and also our personal experiences. Sometimes, we tend to script nonverbal codes and i feel that we have to bear in mind that we have to remain sensitive to cultures different from ours when interpretating nonverbal codes such as kinesics, etc.
Hey Alicia,
ReplyDeleteIt's truly wonderful that Singtel or any other media mogul can step up and share with the world technology that would promote global communication and understanding. In light of the past decade filled with racial tensions, religious misunderstandings and political standoffs i think its about time that we, as people of a Global Village put in effort on breaking barriers between the people of the world.
Technology alone is not enough. If we were to host more international events and establish our country as a hub for globalization, i feel we have to go back to the basics. 93% of communication is non- verbal. Language alone is not the barrier between people. Culture, heritage, lifestyles and even likes and dislikes contribute to barriers between people.
Thus, as much as i am impressed and amazed at our technological bounds, i feel that the best way we can break barriers is to make an effort to understand one another. Physically and mentally.
That said, Singapore should be proud to take the first step in bringing athletes of the world together, as one.
wowee i lke nathaan's entry!
ReplyDeleteindeed language is not the only barrier.. very gd perspectives in ur comment naathan.. :)
Hello Ahleesia!
ReplyDeleteTechnology is indeed amazing. With the advancement of technology in modern times, there are so many things which once proved to be barriers, which are now easily overcome by us.
I especially find it intriguing how social networking sites are so seamlessly integrated into our lives that we can even use it for YOG! Obviously language is a huge barrier when people of different nationalities gather, and being able to overcome it really helps to improve the experience of the event not just for the audience, but for the young athletes too. But as the previous commentors have pointed out, language is not the only barrier. There is much more to communicating and there is only that much that technology can help us achieve in understanding people of different social backgrounds.
Hi everyone! Thanks for commenting!
ReplyDeleteYou all raised alot of interesting points!
I think the view that most of you share is that while this technology is great in helping eliminate the language barrier, it might not necessarily be such a good thing as it may actually serve to divide us more instead of bring us closer together, especially is no one sees the need in having a common language to converse in due to the advancement in technology.
I could not agree with you more! That definitely might prove to be a problem in the future. While technology may give us the luxury of conversing with people who speak different languages, it must not make us lazy or be the reason that deters us from attempting to learn other languages.
i love it how in real life and in movies, you see the people giving big talks in the UN and stuff andyou have translators etc, proving that there is not much of a lanuage barrier when people of the world unite. I was just thinking,so many people now know engish, but then there is the discussion that mandarin is the new national lnguage, then we all wonder whether we will all be speaking english in the fture... heheheh....maybe robots will talk for us in thefuture...
ReplyDeletethat said, i still think each person should know more than one language :D
Hey Alicia,
ReplyDeletegood point brought across. Never thought it to be this way before. Haha. Good noneless!
hey babe!good entry!indeed i feel that technology has certainly allowed communication to be even more enhanced than it already is.
ReplyDeleteLOL at ado's comment again!
ReplyDeleteahha..
ROBOTS?
but she does bring up a really good point abt each person knowing more than one language..
precisely why our govt encourages 2nd language with english being the first and even encouraging more ppl to take up a THIRD ONE!
GOLLY!
but yes with all this said, let me reiterate the fact that we all should not forget that language is NOT the ONLY problem..
:D
Hi guys!
ReplyDeleteWELL SAID.
i definitely think that it is important to know more than one language
(I am now ashamed to admit that English is more or less the only language that i can speak FLUENTLY) haha
good one ali.
ReplyDeleteyou just pointed out the fact that sometimes we do not need to speak a common language in order to be able to communicate. =))