It is mostly assumed that the most basic tool for communication is language. As such it is widely believed that meaning can only be communicated through language. However, experiences in multicultural communities prove that the meaning of concepts cannot be fully relayed through language alone. People make concrete meaning about the world and ideas around them by the way they conceive and interpret thing that makes up that world. People from different cultures conceive the world differently. As such the conception of the existing and surrounding world is cultural based. This is commonly referred to as worldview and implies that worldview is as varied as culture. In communication, worldview is as important as language. As such, meaning is communicated through language and enhanced through illustrations that take into considerations the dominant world view. It is imperative to state that worldview’s influence in communication can be likened to languages’ in various ways. World view, like language, helps in the reasoning process, formulation of concepts as well as determining how people communicate. In a multicultural university setting such influences of world view have significant effects to new student in adapting to university learning environment.
Language and world view are inextricably inseparable and as such by studying a community’s language, one can gain an understanding of the dominant world view within a culture. This means that world view is as important as language in communication meaning. Suffice to state that like language, world view is a tool that can be used to construct reason and logic. As explained by Trudgen1, the differences in world view between the Yolnu Matha and the Balanda doctors can be explicitly described by the reason given by each, for the causes of diseases and death. Yolnu Mathas reasoned that people (sorcery) and not germs cause disease and death and thus could not understand the Balanda doctor’s reason diseases were caused by small animals living inside human bodies. In view of this assertion, for new students adapting to learning in a multi cultural university environment, reasoning will be much determined by the language and enhanced by the interacting world views.
The way people perceive the world around them determines what knowledge they acquire and the means through which that knowledge is acquired. The relationship between world view and acquisition of language is further influenced by other factors. These include a community’s historical occurrences, how much the community is exposed to the outside world and the natural environment surrounding that community. Historically, the Yolnu community learning and teaching methods involved giving basic information to people. It is up to people to make meaning out of the basic information they receive2. As compared to the European way of life where, the message and the meaning are taught explicitly, the Yolnu thus continue to think about things that do not make meaning to them without asking for clarifications since clarifications and illustrations are uncommon amongst the Yolnu. Thus in a university setting such differing world views about learning methods from the communities students come from has much influence as language on the way student acquire knowledge in a university learning environment.
In any community concepts are communicated using language. Through words, people relay ideas and concepts. Furthermore, by studying language one can understand the existing and dominant concepts within a culture. However, it is through the way people conceive the world that concepts acquire meaning. Thus people can only conceive the meaning of concepts not through language but by perceiving them in relation to their world view. Concepts are communicated through words, and thus from words one can determine the concepts present within a given community. In view of this assertion, Trudgen argues that it is important to explain new concepts and that one needs to look for the appropriate word within the new community’s vocabulary and if no word exists, then that is an indication that the new concepts is non existent or is perceived differently. A case in point is the concept of percentage which is absent in Yolnu’s community and whose meaningfulness has to be communicated through the concept of fractions, a notion that makes the concept of percentages meaningful to the Yolnu’s3. As such for new students joining university it is imperative to consider concepts acquired socially and formally through classroom learning in view of the student’s world view if those concepts are to make meaning.
In a multi cultural university, new students will find out that some cultures are more dominant than others, especially in terms of lexicology. As such the dominant cultures have expanded word choices than others. In view of this assertion, new students especially from dominated cultures find out that there are strange words from the dominant cultures which have no meaning to them since they do not explain any meaningful concept. Trudgen gives an example of the word conclusively in respect to Yolnu Matha community4. The word ‘conclusively’ makes no sense to the Yolnu’s yet it is used extensively by the Balanda doctors treating Yolnu patients. The notion expressed by the English term ‘conclusively’ is non existent amongst the Yolnu’s and as such whenever the word is used while communicating to the Yolnu, it creates a lexical gap. To fill this gap means that the notion expressed by the term has to be described using illustrations conceivable within the Yolnu’s world view. As such, new students in a multi cultural university setting may encounter new words which initially make no meaning. As such, wherever that word is used in a statement it not only creates a lexical but also semantic gap. To fill that gap a student has two choices: to look for the lexicon equivalent conceivable within the student’s word view or to seek an illustration, in the students own word view that captures the meaning expressed by the strange word.
A community’s word view about another determines how individuals within those communities interact. Suffice to state that perceptions about other communities are riddled with major and often false assumptions. For instance Trudgen explains that the Balanda’s think that the Aboriginals are not very intelligent and thus while communicating to the Aboriginals, the Balandas only use basic words to communicate basic concepts. As such there is usually a communication barrier brought about by differing word views between the Balanda doctors and the Aboriginal patients. New student will find out that such differing world views amongst the existing cultures within the university environment hinder communication.
World view is how a community perceives and interprets the world. As such, world view communicates meaning about the world within which communities live in. This implies that like language, world view is as important in communicating meaning. For new students joining a multi cultural university, world view influences the learning in various ways. As such the new students have to adapt to a world view dominated learning environment.
Bibliography
Richard Trudgen. ‘Thirteen years of wanting to know,’ in Why Warrior Lie down and Die, Darwin: Aboriginal Resources And Development Services, Inc., 2000.
Footnotes
- 1 – Richard Trudgen. ‘Thirteen years of wanting to know,’ in Why Warrior Lie Down And Die, (Darwin: Aboriginal Resources And Development Services, Inc., 2000) 106
- 2 – Richard Trudgen. ‘Thirteen years of wanting to know,’ in Why Warrior Lie Down And Die, (Darwin: Aboriginal Resources And Development Services, Inc., 2000) 105-106
- 3 – Richard Trudgen. ‘Thirteen years of wanting to know,’ in Why Warrior Lie Down And Die, (Darwin: Aboriginal Resources And Development Services, Inc., 2000) 109
- 4 – Richard Trudgen. ‘Thirteen years of wanting to know,’ in Why Warrior Lie Down And Die, (Darwin: Aboriginal Resources And Development Services, Inc., 2000) 110