A company, Today Translations, recently placed an advert in The Glasgow Herald seeking speakers of ‘Glaswegian’.
Candidates, it said, must understand “vocabulary, accent and nuances”. The boss insisted there was a genuine need.
She said: “We’ve already had calls including someone who said they could speak English, German, French, Spanish, Italian - and Glaswegian.”
A former lord provost was insulted, claiming: ”I travelled the world and nobody failed to understand me.” He missed the point which is that accents can create barriers and cause difficulties. Accents in themselves are fine as long as they are understood.
Within the NHS, there is still a greater likelihood of overseas qualified doctors failing in postgraduate exams and job applications than indigenous doctors. Part of this has to do with the cultural barriers encountered. Is it the case that if the appropriate vocabulary, accent and nuances go missing in action, the perceptions, expectations and assumptions of colleagues can lead to prejudice?
Historically, more delegates at our workshops have been from overseas, underlining for us the importance of clear communication. It’s obvious. You are not effective or influential if you cannot communicate clearly. Articulating, questioning and listening can all suffer because of accent. Yet we are either too embarrassed or reluctant to risk accusations of political incorrectness, to point this out.
Trainers have better opportunities to pick this up in 1-to-1 sessions. Making general observations in public and personal ones in private, works - ask any wage negotiator.
Individuals, although resident in UK for some time, can still have gaps in their communicating framework. Many, described as having a ‘communication problem’, do not have a problem at all. They just have a strong accent. Is this the tip of a cultural awareness iceberg?
In the safe environment of the training room we have people pronouncing ‘v’ as ‘w’ to the point of distracting from the content of their presentations or emphasising the second of a four syllable word when it should be the first. Amid peer discussion, practice and much laughter, we all deal with it in our own way. It reinforces for us the elemental nature of fun, although humour can sometimes be cruel.
If you’ve ever sat at a crowded table where everyone but you is laughing at something you get a sense of the loneliness of the outsider. But the transition from confused person struggling with subverted cultural norms, into a confident member of staff cannot be managed by ignoring behaviours which do not match cultural expectations.
How can we assist individuals to reach their potential? The right climate will encourage any plant to grow. Important qualities which help to create a strong performing, developmental climate are professionalism and leadership and these start with each of us.
As a recently fired trust director said: ”Byraway see thae furriners, nae affence but haufa thaim dinna unnerstaun wut we’re oan aboot. It’s a pain in the erse tryin tae get yer point acroass. Ahm definitly gaunae go fur wanna thae interpretatin joabs.” (for a translation, please contact Today Translations)
This is Bob Mathers’ final article in this three-part series on communication. Read the first and second parts.
Bob provides non-clinical communications training for health professionals. Email him on bobmathers@btinternet.com or call 07816 230 213.
Tags: Communication
