Yu, Kyong-ae. 2006. Impact of Culture in Communication:
Different Verbal Styles and Miscommunications. The Sociolinguistic
Journal of Korea 14(1). Verbal interaction styles reflect the overall values
and patterns of a culture. As Hall (1976) suggests, meaning or intention
in low-context communication is best expressed through explicit verbal
messages, while in high-context communication it is best conveyed
through context and non-verbal channels such as pauses, silence and tone
of voice. If different verbal styles are ignored or not understood,
miscommunication may occur in cross-cultural communication, which may
contribute to communication conflict or even hostile stereotyping (Milroy
1984: 26). Understanding of communication rules, sociocultural norms, and
inferences involved in conversation are being accorded greater importance
in language teaching and learning for effective communication in
intercultural interactions. This paper introduces different communication
styles based on cultural diversity, discusses the extent to which Korean
EFL students are concerned with English pragmatic strategies, and
analyzes Korean language and culture influence on their communication
styles in English speech. This paper shows that Korean EFL students
attempt to follow English styles in English conversation but their
communication styles in English are largely influenced by their native
language and culture, which can lead to miscommunication and conflict in
intercultural interactions.

Ⅰ. Introduction
Ⅱ. Problems in Intercultural Communication and Negotiationsof Meaning
Ⅲ. Cultural Diversity and Different Communication Styles
  1. Different Cultural Types and Miscommunications
  2. Different Communication Styles and Miscommunications
  3. Cultural Stereotypes between Korean and Western Values
Ⅳ. The Study
  1. Methodology
  2. Results
  3. Analysis and Discussion
Ⅴ. Concluding Remarks
 References
 Appendix : Question items

• Kyong-ae Yu(Chung-ang University)