Measuring Cultural Specificity of Professional Vocabulary

Abstract

Abstract This paper explains some reasons for communication breakdown in professional discourse in cross-cultural and intercultural communication, which lie in the difference of what is associated with a particular word of the same language in different cultures. To avoid misinterpretation, misunderstanding and misconception in the professional communication in English between teachers representing different communicative cultures, the authors suggest a quantitative semantic tool to measure the risk of misinterpretation of professional vocabulary. The research aims to determine the degrees of semantic in-equivalence of pedagogical culture-specific vocabulary which is used in professional discourse practices by American and Belarusian teachers in their interactions in English, and identify linguistic and extralinguistic factors that create misunderstandings. To determine the degree of specificity of professional vocabulary, it was suggested to apply cultural specificity index, which was developed by the authors specifically to achieve the measurable objectives of the given research and to facilitate further studies in the highlighted area of concern. The semantic analysis of respondents’ subjective definitions of 26 vocabulary items resulted in their classification and clarification in the context of cross-cultural understanding.