Being an immigrant from Nigeria was initially a challenge when I first moved to America. I generally speak quite fast, but I soon realize that some Americans could not understand my English and might misinterpret me. I had to talk slower in order to pass the right messages across. Below are two examples of situations when I misinterpreted a message and when my message was misinterpreted. During my freshman year in undergrad, I was approached by some classmates asking if I want to go to a football game, I did not think into it too much. To my surprise, the “football” I was used to was what Americans called soccer. I misinterpreted the whole conversation because of the language barrier between us; and mistakenly thought my classmates were discussing American soccer. …show more content…
Another instance of misinterpretation hindered by noise and cultural difference is -when I am at home with my Nigerian roommate, I particularly choose to speak my native language because it is more convenient. For instance, if I am speaking to my roommate while my American girlfriend is present, I will respond to him in my native language. However, my girlfriend feels offended because she misinterprets our conversation; and believes that we are talking negatively about her. Moreover, I am only choosing to speak my language because the words form