New York City is the most densely inhabited cities in the United States of America. New York City is located at the northeastern part of the United States approximately halfway between Boston and Washington DC. The city consists of five boroughs, which are Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. New York City experiences a humid subtropical climate, with January as the coldest month. The demographics of New York City show that it is one diverse metropolitan area whose population is defined by a history of immigration. According to data from the Census Bureau, the New York City had a population of 8,336,697, in 2012, an increase of 2% from the previous year. The national heritage, languages spoken, socioeconomic level, family size, socioeconomic level, and religion are some of the aspects that explain New York’s demographics. It is necessary to assess the intercultural communication implications these aspects demonstrate in New York to comprehend the communication concept.
The city of New York is one concerned with its national heritage; the New York National Heritage Program bears an obligation to facilitate the city’s biodiversity through the provision of scientific expertise on natural ecosystems and rare species. New York City has several national heritage areas, which include Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, and Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area. Additionally, the city has several parks and recreation facilities that constitute its national heritage. These include Crotona Park Community Center, Haffen Park Field House, Hunts Point Recreation Center, St., Mary’s Recreation Center, and Kingsbridge Heights Communication Center. The recreation centers offer a range of facilities and programs and membership is a requirement for entry. New York City has seven state parks including Clay Pit Ponds State Park Reserve and Riverbank State Park. The parks and recreation centers generate revenue towards the state government hence contribute to economic growth. The Triborough Bridge is also a symbol of national heritage in New York City. Constructed in 1939, the bridge has withstood treacherous terrains and has facilitated transportation across the boroughs in New York City to date.
According to a survey conducted by the Census Bureau of America, 51% of New York dwellers speak only English at home. The remaining 49% speak other languages such as Spanish, Russian, French, Italian, Yiddish, Korean, and African languages. Spanish speakers, however, constitute the largest percentage among the non-English speakers; approximately 25% of non-English speakers in New York speak Spanish. Chinese, French, and Russian speakers follow in that order in terms of the numbers speaking a given language. These statistics imply that English is the language spoken at home by a majority of New York dwellers.
New York’s socioeconomic level is defined by factors such as occupation, education, and income levels that affect individual households. The city’s demographics indicate that Manhattan, among the other boroughs has the largest number of individuals in high-income brackets. The majority of Queens’ residents are mid-income earners with normally distributed income levels. Staten Island dwellers earn income ranging from middle to high levels, and a large number of Bronx inhabitants are low-income earners. Income levels in Brooklyn range between low to middle levels. The largest groups in the five boroughs are of Russian, German, Italian, Irish, and American ancestry. Generally, New York dwellers belong to the middle-class socioeconomic status.
The city of New York upholds education; there are 467 schools in New York, including 152 private and 315 public schools. The entire city’s public schools belong to nineteen districts, which include the New York City Geographic Districts. Additionally, there are 232 middle schools, 284 elementary schools, 499 preschools, and 193 high schools in New York. There are approximately 110 colleges and universities in New York hosting about 594, 000 students. According to census statistics, 61.33% of New York households are families with children. The majority of the city’s residents are members of the Catholic Church; 52% of New York City dwellers are Catholics, 29% are Jewish, and 18% belong to other religions such as Methodist Church, Islam, Assemblies of God, and Presbyterian Church.
Intercultural communication is one in which members of different cultural and social economic groups share information. The intercultural communication is used to describe the problems that may arise naturally within an environment comprised of individuals from various ethnic, religious, educational, and social backgrounds (Cai, 2010). Some of the intercultural communication implications demonstrated by New York’s demographics include changes in business relationships and acculturation. With the rapid New York’s economic growth and the emergence of global markets, cross-cultural communication among employers and employees has become a challenge. Language barriers, for example, have become significant hurdles to the development of business affiliations (Cai, 2010). Internationalization is viewed as a positive force that advocates for a conventional means for communication. The existence of a variety of communities in the New York City has introduced a variety of languages that have contributed to the existence of language barriers. This calls for the introduction of a universal language for other cultures to adapt to for smooth communication.
The acculturation concept describes the psychological and cultural changes that occur from an interaction of cultures. Effects of acculturation include language, clothing, and food changes (Cai, 2010). The growth in minority population groups, in New York has contributed to acculturation. While some may choose to preserve the values of their native culture, others acclimatize to the existing culture hence adopt their way of life. Acculturation is an intercultural communication implication demonstrated by New York City’s demographics especially in regards to language. A majority of dwellers has adopted the English language; 51% of these speak the English language at home.
The demographic results in New York reveal the presence of a diverse range of cultures. These cultures represent intercultural communication opportunities such as the need for cultural awareness. Technical communicators have an opportunity to spread cultural awareness to cope with multilingual audiences. This will foster business affiliations and reduce discrimination. Additionally, individuals should be encouraged to learn more about the people in their area in order to communicate with them effectively. This indicates the need for cross-cultural interactions that promote the learning of various languages.
References
Cai, D. A. (2010). Intercultural communication. Los Angeles, Calif: Sage.
