An investigation about the Role of Applied Linguistics in Improving Intercultural Communication

Abstract

Languages have always been used for communicative purposes either between people of the same society or in the current globalized world where many countries struggle for leadership, where religious and ethnic conflicts still exist in spite of sustained effort from governments and organizations, where linguistic tensions between communities still prevail. The solution to these long lasting problems comes from applied linguistics, which seeks to provide us with many theoretical and practical strategies for intercultural or (cross-cultural) communication. This paper aims at clarifying the scope of the interdisciplinary field of applied linguistics, the areas in which it intervenes and the ways of solving such problems. It also seeks to highlight the contribution of education, which should prepare people for communication in order to succeed in the global village we live in