Semester Blog Entry # 4 (Report & Analyze Primary Research)

    

 

     Old Dominion University is a melting pot for cultural diversity. The campus community consist of students from all over the world with different religious backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds and different ethnicity. My research shows we all share some common factors but are all at Old Dominion University in search of furthering and reaching a higher level of education. With over twenty five thousand students on register, my research question was " Does cultural diversity exist in writing?"

     Using the interview method, I questioned ten current students, alumni and staff members of Old Dominion University. Within the ten participants my first step was to determine who would be interviewed. I  randomly chose a diverse group that consisted of African American, Caucasian, Asian,  and Latino participants. Using the help of clubs and on campus organizationsI was able to find participants who spoke more than one language.

Participants

     The participants included three males, six female and one who wished to remain anonymous when disclosing gender. Of the six females, two classified themselves as Caucasian, one African America, zero Middle Eastern, one Asian, one Latino and one wished to remain anonymous. The male participants consisted of zero Middle Eastern, zero Asian, one Caucasian and two African Americans. Each participant was asked to fill in a yes, no or undecided response to five questions and give a brief description of their race, social class and gender for informational purposes. Participants that practiced different religious beliefs and spoke more than one language. 

Results

     The first question in the research process was, "Do you believe cultural differences existed in writing?" Eighty percent of the participants thought that culture differences do exist in writing. Twenty percent said they did not think there was a difference in writing between cultures.The second question in the research process was, "Do you believe vocabulary is the biggest difference between cultures when writing?"  Six percent of those asked thought use of vocabulary is the biggest difference in between cultures. The third question in the process asked " Do you believe it is important to have a universal style of writing instead of each culture having their own?" Seventy percent said yes, followed but thirty percent who said no. The fourth question in the interview process was " Do you think English should be the universal language taught in all countries when it pertains to speaking and writing?" Forty percent said yes, fifty percent said no and one participant was undecided. My final question was "Have you ever had trouble reading or comprehending a paper, essay, or writing written by someone of a different cultures?" Thirty percent said yes, they had trouble understanding the writings of someone of a different culture. Twenty percent said no and fifty percent said they had never read the writings of someone from another culture.

From the research I have concluded that each culture does write differently. Each brings a something special but different. Students believe vocabulary is the difference barrier in cultures and teachers seem to believe that it is more the style in which the paper is writen. As English writers we are encourgaed to write with our words and voice a clear thought. Other cultures, such as Chinese leave that open to interpretation. While the idea of a universal written language sounds appealing, logistically it would be hard to accomplish with the culture differences that do exist in todays writers.