Langauge and Communication

Is typographic design directly related to the language of its communication?

Or to rephrase the question:

If a designer has been trained in the principles of visual communication that are based upon western European languages, will it impact the way in which he or she would communicate Asian / African / Middle Eastern languages? I guess it will. Having said that, Shouldn't the visual communication of non-European languages require the designer to handle those languages differently, with perhaps different principles guiding it? More often, they are not.

I was told by a friend of mine from work regarding the overly discussed subject amongst the Indian design intelligentsia of how there is no such thing as unique "Indian" style of visual communication (that more often requires the use of regional languages.) He said that the designers that follow Western European principles of typography for other languages end up mocking them. Fair enough. Then where might one look for the typographic principles that might bring out the character and the spirit of those languages? The answer may lie in the design of the letterform itself. The foundations of these letterforms would perhaps lie in the calligraphy of those languages, or in the ancient manuscripts, or even in the walls of their cultural sites.

The individuality of any visual communication depends on contemporary culture, history, technology and various other influences upon the designer. If one were to design with non-European languages, maybe its time to start looking at their images and their alphabets more closely.