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THE CONCEPTS OF CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER 1.
THE STUDY OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Although the ability to communicate effectively has long been an important aspect of any social interaction between people from different cultures, within the past two decades it has become essential. Responsible world leaders are working toward greater cooperation on all fronts – economic, political, and military.
Movement to a more global, interconnected community has been abetted by dramatic technological changes, such as digital communication advances that permit the uninterrupted transfer of large amounts of data across national borders and breakthroughs in transportation that facilitate the rapid, economical movement of people and goods over vast distances. These events, often referred to collectively as “globalization,” have brought about unprecedented levels of interaction among people from different national, ethnic, and religious cultural backgrounds. Media originating in one country are generally available throughout the world. Multinational and transnational organizations, replete with multicultural workforces, are now commonplace. An increasing number of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are engaged in emergency relief, humanitarian assistance, and charitable service work around the globe. World tourism, once available only to the wealthy, is a growth industry, with package tours to international destinations tailored to almost any budget. Nations with declining birthrates and aging populations are recruiting health care workers from abroad. Immigration, international marriage, and intercountry adoptions have added to U.S. cultural diversity.
Broadly speaking, globalization has brought about the realization that modern societies must learn to cooperate in order to prevent their mutual self-destruction.
There is a growing perception that employment of force may result in near-term solutions but will ultimately create problems that are more complex. Increased concern over the planet’s ecological degradation resulting from climate change and pollution has raised awareness of the need for international cooperation on a scale previously unseen. There is also recognition of the need to engage in global cooperative efforts on a number of other issues – nuclear arms, terrorism, over-population, world poverty, and escalating competition for natural resources.
Solutions, either whole or partial, to these circumstances will require increased intercultural understanding. To define intercultural communication, it’s necessary to understand the two root words – culture and communication.
Assignment 1
Choose the appropriate synonym from the list and rewrite each sentence, replacing the italicized word. Change tense, singular and plural, and part of speech when necessary.
inclination
illustrate
suitable
shorten
recommend
rank
casual
relationship
similarly
1. The dialogue in the story exemplified the personal problem the couple was having.
2. The teenage boy's informal clothes displeased his parents.
3. An appropriate response to "thank you" is "you're welcome."
4. It is advisable that you see a lawyer before making a decision.
5. Upon entering the church, the tour guide removed his hat. Likewise the male tourists took off their hats.
6. The graduate student reduced his thesis from 300 to 200 pages.
7. The status differences in the military are very specific and precise.
8. Her tendency is to eat too much when she is angry.
9. It is desirable for teachers and students to have a good rapport.
UNDERSTANDING COMMUNICATION
Communication is inescapable. It is something we have to do and something we enjoy doing, and in the digital age, we do a lot of it. Think about the many different ways that you engage in communication every day – by watching TV; listening to music; talking to friends; listening to a class lecture (well, at least pretending to); daydreaming; sending and receiving messages through e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter; searching for something new on YouTube; wearing a suit to an interview; and in many, many other ways. These are but a few of the communication activities you participate in on a daily basis. If one is to function in today’s data-rich society, one cannot avoid communicating.
Moreover, we seem to have an innate need to associate with, and connect to, other people through communication. Thus, the motives for entering into any communicative interaction can be categorized under one of three broad classifications. When people communicate, regardless of the situation or context, they are trying to (1) persuade, (2) inform, or (3) entertain. In other words, when you communicate, you have a purpose, an objective.
Assignment 2
Choose the word that best defines the italicized word.
1. The man's handshake was too firm for the little boy's hand.
a. sweaty
c. light
b. long
d. strong
2. In the United States, it is not customary for men to embrace.
a. forbidden
c. legal
b. usual
d. unusual
3. The teacher wanted to speak briefly to the student about her excellent paper.
a. in private
c. in an open manner
b. for a short time
d. for a long while
4. Problems can arise when people have no knowledge of the law.
a. occur
c. decline
b. deteriorate
d. abound
5. My first impression of him was positive.
a. encounter with
c. feeling about
b. interaction with
d. discussion about
6. During their relationship, the couple spoke only about trivial matters.
a. personal
c. deep
b. serious
d. superficial
7. Many people initiate conversations by asking questions.
a. begin
c. avoid
b. end
d. interrupt
8. American parents teach their children that it is impolite to talk with their mouths full of food.
a. dangerous
c. unhealthy
b. strange
d. rude
EXPLAINING COMMUNICATION
It should be intuitively evident that communication is fundamental to contemporary daily life. But what exactly is communication? What happens when we communicate? In answering those questions, we will first define and then explain the phenomenon.
Communication has been defined variously, and each definition is usually a reflection of the author’s objective or of a specific context. Often the definition is long and rather abstract, because the author is trying to incorporate as many aspects of communication as possible. In some instances, the definition is narrow and precise, designed to explain a specific type or instance of communication. When studying the union of culture and communication, however, a succinct, easily understandable definition is in everyone’s best interest. Thus, for us, communication is the management of messages with the objective of creating meaning (Griffin, 2005). This definition is somewhat broad, yet is precise in specifying what occurs in every communicative episode. It does not attempt to establish what constitutes successful or unsuccessful communication, which is actually determined by the involved participants, can vary from one person to another, and is frequently scenario dependent. The only qualifiers we place on communication are intentionality and interaction. In other words, if communication is considered to be purposeful – to persuade, inform, or entertain – then we communicate with an intention, and we achieve our objective only by interacting with someone. Let’s now examine the eight major structural components used to manage messages and create meaning. The first and most obvious is the sender – the person or group originating the message. A sender is someone with a need or desire, be it social, work, or public service, to communicate with others. In completing this desire, the sender formulates and transmits the message via a channel to the receiver(s).
The messageconsists of the information the sender desires to have understood – the data used to create meaning. Messages, which can be verbal or nonverbal, are encoded and transmitted via a channelto the receiver. The channel is any means that provides a path for moving the message from the sender to the receiver. For example, an oral message may be sent directly when in the immediate presence of the receiver or mediated through a cellphone, a conference call, or a YouTube video. A visual, or nonverbal, message can be transmitted directly, such as by smiling to indicate pleasure, or mediated through a photograph or text. Today, websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace provide channels that offer senders a means to reach millions of receivers through mediated messages.
The receiver(s)is the intended recipient of the message and the location where meaning is created. Because the receiver interprets the message and assigns a meaning, which may or may not be what the receiver intended, communication is often characterized as receiver based. You may send a friend a text message, but for a variety of reasons, such as lack of nonverbal cues or insufficient context, the receiver may (mis)interpret the message and feel offended.
After interpreting the message and assigning a meaning, the receiver may prepare a response. This is any action taken by the receiver as a result of the meaning he or she assigns to the message. A response can be benign, such as simply ignoring a provocative remark, or, at the other extreme, a physically aggressive act of violence.
The feedbackcomponent of communication is related to, yet separate from, the response. Feedback helps us to evaluate the effectiveness of a message. Perhaps the receiver smiles, or frowns, after decoding your message. This offers a clue as to the meaning the receiver assigned to the message and helps you adjust to the developing situation. Depending on the feedback, you may rephrase or amplify the message to provide greater clarity, ask whether the message was understood, or perhaps even retract the statement.
Every communicative interaction takes place within a physical and contextual environment. The physical environment refers to the location where the communication occurs, such as a classroom, coffee shop, business office, or airplane cabin. The contextual, or social, environment is more abstract and exerts a strong influence on the style of communication employed. Think about the different styles of communication you use when participating in an interview, applying for a student loan, asking a stranger for directions, visiting your professor’s office, or apologizing when late to meet a friend. We alter our communicative style in response to the occasion and the receiver – the contextual environment.
Noise, the last component of communication, concerns the different types of interference or distractions that plague every communication event. Physical noise is separate from the communication participants and can take many forms, such as two people talking in the back of the classroom during a lecture, someone talking loudly on the subway, the sounds of traffic coming through the window of an apartment, or static on your cell phone.
Noise that is inherent to the people participating in the communication episode can take a variety of forms. Suppose that during a Friday afternoon class you find yourself concentrating more on plans for a spring break trip than on the lecture. Perhaps you are in a funk after learning your car needs an expensive brake job, or are worried about a term paper due the next week. These are examples of psychological noise that can reduce your understanding of the classroom communication. Physiological noise relates to the physical well-being of the people engaged in the communication activity. Coming to class with too little sleep, dealing with a head cold, or simply feeling too hot or cold in the room will interfere with your ability to comprehend fully the classroom activity.
The final type of noise often occurs during intercultural communication and can easily produce misunderstandings. For effective communication in an intercultural interaction, participants must rely on a common language, which usually means that one or more individuals will not be using their native tongue. Native fluency in a second language is very difficult, especially when nonverbal behaviors are considered. People who use another language will often have an accent or might misuse a word or phrase, which can adversely influence the receiver’s understanding of the message. This type of distraction, referred to as semantic noise, also encompasses jargon, slang, and specialized professional terminology.
Collectively, these eight components provide an overview of factors that can facilitate, shape, or hamper communication encounters. But there is also another influential factor that normally plays a role in communicative interactions. Our culture provides each of us with a set of standards that govern how, when, what, and even why we communicate. However, you must first understand the concept of culture itself in order to appreciate how it influences communication.
Assignment 3
Choose the correct word form for each sentence. Make verb tense changes, make nouns singular or plural, and use active or passive voice as applicable.
1. (to) flow, flowing, flow
a. The_________________river was a beautiful sight.
b. I couldn't follow the_________________of the conversation because they were speaking too rapidly.
c. The poetry would not_________ from the writer's pen.
2. (to) vary, variety, various
a. It is worthwhile to travel in order to become familiar with a _______________of cultures.
b.__________________topics were discussed at the business meeting.
c. Customs_________________from one country to another.
3. considerably, considerable
a. The young business partners have had__________________success this year.
b. Those brothers are_________________different from each other.
4. purpose, purposely, purposeless
a. The president did not state his__________________for visiting the small town.
b. The boss criticized his employee for taking a__________________ trip.
c. Did the children__________________set fire to the building?
WHAT IS CULTURE?
Culture is an extremely popular and increasingly overused term in contemporary society. Expressions such as cultural differences, cultural diversity, multiculturalism, corporate culture, cross-culture, and other variations continually appear in the popular media. As with communication, the term culture has been the subject of numerous and often complex, abstract definitions. What is frequently counted as one of the earliest and easily understandable definitions of culture, and one still used today, was written in 1871 by British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, who said culture is “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”.
Ruth Benedict offered a more succinct definition when she wrote, “What really binds men together is their culture – the ideas and the standards they have in common”. A more complex explanation was provided by Clifford Geertz, who said culture was “a historically transmitted pattern of meaning embodied in symbols, a system of inherited conceptions expressed in symbolic forms by means of which men communicate, perpetuate, and develop their knowledge about and attitudes toward life”. Contemporary definitions of culture commonly mention shared values, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, norms, material objects, and symbolic resources. Indeed, the many and varied definitions attest to the complexity of this social concept called culture.
We propose an applied and hopefully more simplified explanation of culture. Stop for a minute and think about the word football. What mental picture comes to mind? Most U.S. Americans will envision two teams of eleven men each in helmets and pads, but someone in Montréal, Canada, would imagine twelve men per team. A resident of Sidney, Australia, may think of two eighteen-man teams in shorts and jerseys competing to kick an oblong ball between two uprights, while a young woman in Sao Paulo, Brazil, would probably picture two opposing teams of eleven men, or women, attempting to kick a round ball into a net. In each case, the contest is referred to as “football,” but the playing fields, equipment, and rules of each game are quite different.
Try to think about how you would react in the following situations. Following your successful job interview with a large Chinese company, you are invited to dinner. At the restaurant, you sit at a round table with other people, and plates of food are continually being placed on a turntable in the table’s center. People are spinning the turntable, taking food from different dishes, talking with each other, and urging you to try items you are completely unfamiliar with. How do you feel? At a later date, one of your close friends, whose parents immigrated from Mumbai, India, invites you to his home for the first time. There, you are introduced to your friend’s grandfather, who places his palms together in front of his chest as if praying, bows and says namaste. What do you do? In each of these examples, perhaps you felt unsure of what to do or say, yet in China and India, these behaviors are routine.
These examples illustrate our applied definition of culture. Simply stated, culture is the rules for living and functioning in society. In other words, culture provides the rules for playing the game of life. Because the rules differ from culture to culture, in order to function and be effective in a particular culture, you need to know how to “play by the rules.” We learn the rules of our own culture as a matter of course, beginning at birth and continuing throughout life. As a result, own culture rules are ingrained in the subconscious, enabling us to react to familiar situations without thinking. It is when you enter another culture, with different rules, that problems are encountered.
If we accept the idea that culture can be viewed as a set of societal rules, its purpose becomes self-evident. Cultural rules provide a framework that gives meaning to events, objects, and people. The rules enable us to make sense of our surroundings and reduce uncertainty about the social environment. Recall the first time you were introduced to someone you were attracted to. You probably felt some level of nervousness because you wanted to make a positive impression. During the interaction, you may have had a few thoughts about what to do and what not to do. Overall, you had a good idea of the proper courtesies, what to talk about, and generally how to behave. This is because you had learned the proper cultural rules of behavior by listening to and observing others. Now, take that same situation and imagine being introduced to a student from a different country, such as Jordan or Kenya. Would you know what to say and do? Would the cultural rules you had been learning since childhood be effective, or even appropriate, in this new social situation?
Culture also provides us with our identity, or sense of self. From childhood, we are inculcated with the idea of belonging to a variety of groups – family, community, church, sports teams, schools, and ethnicity – and these memberships form our different identities. Our cultural identity is derived from our “sense of belonging to a particular cultural or ethnic group”, which may be Chinese, Mexican American, African American, Greek, Egyptian, Jewish, or one or more of many, many other possibilities. Growing up, we learn the rules of social conduct appropriate to our specific cultural group, or groups in the case of multicultural families such as Vietnamese American, Italian American, or Russian American. Cultural identity can become especially prominent during interactions between people from different cultural groups, such as a Pakistani Muslim and an Indian Hindu, who have been taught varied values, beliefs, and different sets of rules for social interaction. Thus, cultural identity can be a significant factor in the practice of intercultural communication.
Assignment 4
Choose the appropriate synonym (or the word closest in meaning) fromthe list and rewrite each sentence, replacing the italicized word. Change tense, singular and plural, and part of speech when necessary.
conclude
voice
unspoken
give
way
show
considerable
conversation
courtesy
1. When a professor hands the students their exam scores, he doesn't expect them to argue.
2. He did me the favor of lending me his car for two weeks.
3. Some doctors have a quiet manner with their patients.
4. The two friends had a tacit agreement not to share their secrets with to their people.
5. Do you think $10,000 is a significantly large amount of money?
6. Often interaction between two people who don't speak the same language is difficult.
7. He tried to indicate to the teacher that he didn't understand what she was saying.
8. When we see the police, we assume there is trouble.
9. A person's tone can convey more than her words.
CULTURE’S COMPONENTS
Culture Is Learned.At birth, we have no knowledge of the many societal rules needed to function effectively in our culture, but we quickly begin to internalize this information. Through interactions, observations, and imitation, the proper ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving are communicated to us. Being taught to eat with a fork, a pair of chopsticks or even one’s fingers is learning cultural behavior. Attending a Catholic mass on Sunday or praying at a Jewish Synagogue on Saturday is learning cultural behaviors and values. Celebrating Christmas, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, or Yon Kippur is learning cultural traditions. Culture is also acquired from art, proverbs, folklore, history, religion, and a variety of other sources. This learning, often referred to as enculturation, is both conscious and subconscious, and has the objective of teaching us how to function properly within our cultural milieu.
Culture Is Transmitted Intergenerationally.Spanish philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” He was certainly not referring to culture, which exists only if it is remembered and repeated by people. You learned your culture from family members, teachers, peers, books, personal observations, and a host of media sources. The appropriate way to act, what to say, and things to value were all communicated to the members of your generation by these many sources. You are also a source for passing these cultural expectations, usually with little or no variation, to succeeding generations. Culture represents our link to the past and, through future generations, hope for the future. The critical factor in this equation is communication.
Culture Is Symbolic.Words, gestures, and images are merely symbols used to convey meaning. It is our ability to use these symbols that allows us to engage in the many forms of social intercourse used to construct and convey culture. Our symbol-making ability facilitates learning and enables transmission of meaning from one person to another, group to group, and generation to generation. In addition to transmitting meaning, the portability of symbols creates the ability to store information, which allows cultures to preserve what is considered important and to create a history. The preservation of culture provides each new generation with a road map to follow and a reference library to consult when unknown situations are encountered. Succeeding generations may modify established behaviors or values, or construct new ones, but the accumulation of past traditions is what we know as culture.
Culture Is Dynamic.Despite its historical nature, culture is never static. Within a culture, new ideas, inventions, and exposure to other cultures create change. Discoveries such as the stirrup, gunpowder, the nautical compass, penicillin, and nuclear power are demonstrations of culture’s susceptibility to innovation and new ideas. More recently, advances made by minority groups, the women’s movement, and gay rights advocates have significantly altered the fabric of contemporary U.S. society. Invention of the computer chip and the Internet and the discovery of DNA have brought profound changes not only to U.S. culture but also to the rest of the world.
Diffusion, or cultural borrowing, is also a source of change. Think about how common pizza (Italian), sushi (Japanese), tacos (Mexican), and tandoori chicken and naan bread (India) now are in the U.S. American diet. The Internet has accelerated cultural diffusion by making new knowledge and insights easily accessible. Immigrants bring their own cultural practices, traditions, and artifacts, some of which become incorporated into the culture of their new homeland – for example, Vietnamese noodle shops in the United States, Indian restaurants in England, or Japanese foods in Brazil.
Cultural calamities, such as war, political upheaval, or large-scale natural disasters, can cause change. U.S. intervention in Afghanistan is bringing greater equality to the women of that nation. For better or worse, the invasion of Iraq raised the influence of Shia and Kurdish cultural practices and lessened those of the Sunni. International emergency relief workers responding to the earthquake in Haiti brought their own cultural practices to the situation, some of which have likely become intermingled with the cultural practices of the native Haitians.
Immigration is a major source of cultural diffusion. Many of the large U.S. urban centers now have areas unofficially, or sometimes officially, called Little Italy, Little Saigon, Little Tokyo, Korea Town, Chinatown, Little India, etc. These areas are usually home to restaurants, markets, and shops catering to a specific ethnic group. However, they also serve to introduce different cultural practices into other segments of the population.
Most of the changes affecting culture, especially readily visible changes, are often topical in nature, such as dress, food preference, modes of transportation, or housing. Values, ethics, morals, the importance of religion, or attitudes toward gender, age, and sexual orientation, which constitute the deep structures of culture, are far more resistant to major change and tend to endure from generation to generation.
Culture Is Ethnocentric.The strong sense of group identity, or attachment, produced by culture can also lead to ethnocentrism, the tendency to view one’s own culture as superior to other cultures. Ethnocentrism can arise from one’s enculturation. Being continually told that you live in the greatest country in the world, that America’s way of life is better than those of other nations, or that your values are superior to those of other ethnic groups can lead to feelings of cultural superiority, especially among children. Ethnocentrism can also result from a lack of contact with other cultures. If you were exposed only to a U.S. cultural orientation, it is likely that you would develop the idea that your country is the center of the world, and you would tend to view the rest of the world from the perspective of U.S. culture.
An inability to understand or accept different ways and customs can also provoke feelings of ethnocentrism. It is quite natural to feel at ease with people who are like you and adhere to the same social norms and protocols. You know what to expect, and it is usually easy to communicate. It is also normal to feel uneasy when confronted with new and different social values, beliefs, and behaviors. You do not know what to expect, and communication is probably difficult. However, to view or evaluate those differences negatively simply because they vary from your expectations is a product of ethnocentrism, and an ethnocentric disposition is detrimental to effective intercultural communication.
INTEGRATING COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE
A number of culture-related components are important to the study of intercultural communication. These include (1) perception, (2) patterns of cognition, (3) verbal behaviors, (4) nonverbal behaviors, and (5) the influence of context.
Perception. Every day we encounter an overwhelming amount of varied stimuli that we must cognitively process and assign a meaning to. This process of selecting, organizing, and evaluating stimuli is referred to as perception. The volume of environmental stimuli is far too large for us to pay attention to everything, so we select only what we consider relevant or interesting. After determining what we will attend to, the next step is to organize the selected stimuli for evaluation. The third step of perception becomes a process of evaluating and assigning meaning to the stimuli.
A common assumption is that people conduct their lives in accordance with how they perceive the world. These perceptions are strongly influenced by culture. In other words, we see, hear, feel, taste, and even smell the world through the criteria that culture has placed on our perceptions. Thus, one’s idea of beauty, attitude toward the elderly, concept of self in relation to others – even one’s perception of what tastes good or bad – are culturally influenced and can vary among social groups. For example, Vegemite is a yeast extract spread used on toast and sandwiches that is sometimes referred to as the “national food” of Australia. Yet, few people other than those from Australia or New Zealand like the taste, or even the smell, of this salty, dark paste.
As you would expect, perception is an important aspect of intercultural communication, because people from dissimilar cultures frequently perceive the world differently. Thus, it is important to be aware of the more relevant socio-cultural elements that have a significant and direct influence on the meanings we assign to stimuli. These elements represent our belief, value, and attitude systems and our worldview.
Beliefs can be defined as individually held subjective ideas about the nature of an object or event. These subjective ideas are, in large part, a product of culture, and they directly influence our behaviors. Bullfighting is thought to be cruel and inhumane by most people in the United States, but certainly not by the many people in Spain and Mexico who love the sport. A strict adherent of Judaism or Islam would probably find the thought of eating a ham sandwich repulsive. Regarding religion, many people believe that there is only one god but others pay homage to multiple deities.
Valuesrepresent those things we hold important in life, such as morality, ethics, and aesthetics. We use values to distinguish between the desirable and the undesirable. Each person has a set of unique, personal values and a set of shared, cultural values. The latter are a reflection of the rules a culture has established to reduce uncertainty, lessen the likelihood of conflict, help in decision making, and provide structure to social organization and interactions. Cultural values are a motivating force behind our behaviors. Someone from a culture that places a high value on harmonious social relations, such as Japan, will likely employ an indirect communication style. In contrast, a U.S. American can be expected to use a more direct style, because frankness, honesty, and openness are valued.
Our beliefs and values push us to hold certain attitudes, which are learned tendencies to act or respond in a specific way to events, objects, people, or orientations. Culturally instilled beliefs and values exert a strong influence on our attitudes. Thus, people tend to embrace what is liked and avoid what is disliked. Someone from a culture that considers cows sacred will take a negative attitude toward your invitation to have a Big Mac for lunch.
Worldview.Although quite abstract, the concept of worldview is among the most important elements of the perceptual attributes influencing intercultural communication. Stated simply, worldview is what forms people’s orientation toward such philosophical concepts as deities, the universe, nature, and the like. Normally, worldview is deeply imbedded in one’s psyche and operates on a subconscious level. This can be problematic in an intercultural situation, where conflicting worldviews can come into play. As an example, many Asian and Native North American cultures hold a worldview that people should have a harmonious, symbiotic relationship with nature. In contrast, Euro-Americans are instilled with the concept that people must conquer and mold nature to conform to personal needs and desires. Individuals from nations possessing these two contrasting worldviews could well encounter difficulties when working to develop an international environmental protection plan. The concept of democracy, with everyone having an equal voice in government, is an integral part of the U.S. worldview. Contrast this with Afghanistan and parts of Africa, where worldviews hold that one’s tribe takes precedence over the central government.
Cognitive Patterns.Another important consideration in intercultural communication is the influence of culture on cognitive thinking patterns, which include reasoning and approaches to problem solving. Culture can often produce different ways of knowing and doing. Research by Nisbett (2003) has disclosed that Northeast Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans) employ a holistic thinking pattern, whereas Westerners use a linear cause-and-effect model that places considerable value on logical reasoning and rationality. Thus, problems can be best solved by a systematic, in-depth analysis of each component, progressing from the simple to the more difficult. Northeast Asians, however, see problems as much more complex and interrelated, requiring a greater understanding of, and emphasis on, the collective rather than a focus on individual parts.
Thought patterns common to a culture influence the way individuals communicate and interact with each other. However, what is common in one culture may be problematic in another culture. To illustrate the potential of this problem, in Japanese –U.S. business negotiations the Japanese have a tendency to reopen previously discussed issues that the U.S. side considers resolved. United States negotiators find this practice to be frustrating and time consuming, believing that once a point has been agreed upon, it is completed. From the Japanese perspective, however, new topics can have an influence on previously discussed points. This example demonstrates both the importance of understanding that different patterns of cognition exist, and the need to learn how to accommodate them in an intercultural communication encounter.
Verbal Behaviors. The role of language in intercultural communication is self-evident in that all of the participants must, to some degree, share a language, be it their first or second.
What is not so self-evident is the symbiosis that exists between culture and language, because one cannot exist without the other. Without a common language, a group of people would not be able to establish and perpetuate a culture. They would be unable to share their beliefs, values, social norms, and worldview with one another or to transmit these cultural characteristics to succeeding generations. In turn, culture helps people to establish, evolve, and preserve their language. Like culture, language must be shared in order to exist.
Language itself is merely a set of symbols that a cultural group has arbitrarily agreed upon to help them bring meaning to objects, events, emotions, experiences, places, and the like. Different cultures have, of course, decided to use different sets of symbols. The use of symbol systems to construct and express meaning, however, is an inexact process, because the meanings for words are open to a variety of translations by both individuals and cultures. The word parallel can be used to demonstrate how culture influences meaning and can lead to misunderstandings in intercultural exchanges. In the United States, telling someone they are on a “parallel” course implies agreement or similarity of views. In Japanese, however, “parallel” is used to indicate that the parties disagree, because parallel lines (heik–o-sen) never converge.
Nonverbal Behavior.Another critical factor in intercultural communication is nonverbal behavior, which includes gestures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, posture and movement, touch, dress, silence, the use of space and time, objects and artifacts, and paralanguage. These nonverbal behaviors, which are inextricably intertwined with verbal behaviors, often communicate as much or more meaning than spoken words. Like language, culture also directly influences the use of, and meanings assigned to, nonverbal behavior. In intercultural communication, inappropriate or misused nonverbal behaviors can easily lead to misunderstandings and sometimes result in insults. A comprehensive examination of all nonverbal behaviors is beyond the scope of this chapter, but we will draw on a few culture specific examples to demonstrate their importance in intercultural communication exchanges.
Nonverbal greeting behaviors show remarkable variance across cultures. In the United States, a firm handshake among men is the norm, but in some Middle Eastern cultures, a gentle grip is used. In Mexico, acquaintances will often embrace (abrazo) each other after shaking hands. Longtime Russian male friends may engage in a bear hug and kiss each other on both cheeks. People from Japan and India traditionally bow to greet each other. Japanese men will place their hands at the side of the body and bow from the waist, with the lower-ranking person bowing first and dipping lower than the other person. Indians will perform the namaste, which entails holding the hands together in a prayer-like fashion at mid-chest while slightly bowing the head and shoulders.
Eye contact is another important culturally influenced nonverbal communication behavior. For U.S. Americans, direct eye contact is an important part of making a good impression during an interview. However, in some cultures, direct eye contact is considered rude or threatening. Among some Native Americans, children are taught to show adults respect by avoiding eye contact. When giving a presentation in Japan, it is common to see people in the audience with their eyes shut, because this is thought to facilitate listening. (Try it – you may be surprised.) How a person dresses also sends a strong nonverbal message. What are your thoughts when you see an elderly woman wearing a hijab, a Jewish boy with a yarmulke, or a young black man in a colorful dashiki?
Nonverbal facial and body expressions, like language, form a coding system for constructing and expressing meaning, and these expressions are culture bound. Through culture, we learn which nonverbal behavior is proper for different social interactions. But what is appropriate and polite in one culture may be disrespectful or even insulting in another culture. People engaging in intercultural communication, therefore, should try to maintain a continual awareness of how body behaviors may influence an interaction.
Contextual Influences.We have defined culture as a set of rules established and used by a group of people to conduct social interaction. These rules determine what is considered correct communicative behavior, including both verbal and nonverbal elements, for both physical and social (situational) contexts. For example, you would not normally attend a funeral wearing shorts and tennis shoes or talk on your cell phone during the service. Your culture has taught you that these behaviors are contextually inappropriate (i.e., disrespectful).
Context is also an important consideration in intercultural communication interactions, where the rules for specific situations usually vary. What is appropriate in one culture is not necessarily correct in another. As an example, among most White U.S. Americans, church services are relatively serious occasions, but among African American congregations, services are traditionally more demonstrative, energetic gatherings. In a restaurant in Germany, the atmosphere is usually somewhat subdued, with customers engaging in quiet conversation. In Spain, however, the conversation is much louder and more animated. In U.S. universities, students are expected to interactively engage the instructor, but in Japan the expectation is that the instructor will simply lecture, with very little or no interaction.
In these examples, we see the importance of having an awareness of the cultural rules governing the context of an intercultural communication exchange. Unless all parties in the exchange are sensitive to how culture affects the contextual aspects of communication, difficulties will most certainly arise and could negate effective interaction.
READING
Is the sun red or yellow? Should you crack a joke in s business presentation? Are such questions important? Is it only language you need to learn?
International Business people often invest time and money in improving their knowledge of foreign languages in order to be able to communicate with colleagues from around the world. Language, of course, is vital, but it is only half the problem.
There are hidden rules for playing the game of doing business with people of other cultures. It is all easy to “put your foot in it” by making mistakes which can upset your foreign counterparts.
An American greeting a mid-European businessman by saying “Hi Dieter, great to meet you!” may not be favorably regarded in a country where more formal modes of address are usual.
In the West, business cards are given a cursory glance and pocketed. In Japan, they are highly regarded, looked at closely and left on the table during a business meeting.
In Britain, most business presentations would include a joke. In many other countries, this would be unheard of.
Will you cause offence if you refuse to eat something generally regarded as inedible in your country? Your counterpart may be watching your reaction when he offers you this local delicacy.
Small talk and relationship building are considered highly important in some parts of the world; talking about the weather, the wine and the local area come before business. In othet places, people get down to business immediately.
It is important to know the way things are usually dealt with in your host country. Problems arise because we see things differently. It helps to be aware of how other nationalities perceive certain things.
The Japanese see the sun as red. It is an important symbol which appears on their flag. When Japanese children paint pictures, they paint a red sun. European and American children paint the sun yellow. When children travel and see the sun painted in a different colour, they are surprised and find it very strange.
Adults find these differences harder to accept. Both sides may feel uneasy because they are unsure of the rules of the game in the opposite culture.
It is, however, very dangerous to have stereotyped views of what the other culture is like. Such views are often narrow and can cause criticism and intolerance. “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” and can encourage you to make predictions about what will happen in your business transactions. If your sides are too narrow, you may be surprised at all the people you meet who do not fit into your pattern and who behave differently from the way you predicted they would.
Our ideas then, have to be flexible and constructed from through research and observation. We should also recognize that it is not only people`s national background that influences their behavior and personality, but also their particular regional background, their personal background and their company culture.
Comprehension
When you read an article, you can often guess the words you do not know from the context. Find words or expressions in the above article which have the following meanings:
a) say or do something wrong or inappropriate, usually as a result of thoughtlessness, and so cause an awkward situation;
b) quick and not through;
c) something to eat which is considered rare or expensive;
d) say or do something wrong or stupid;
e) something done without attention to details; quick, hurried;
f) deal seriously aware of something; tackle;
g) become aware of something esp. through the eyes or demand.
CASE STUDY
Some people have an Eastern outlook on life, others a Western perspective. What is yours?
A. Respond to each of the following items with “1” if it never relates to you, “2” if it rarely does, “3” if if sometimes does? “4” if it often does? And “5” if it usually does.
_____ 1. People should strive to return to nature.
_____ 2. I believe in a personal soul that will continue after death.
_____ 3. I hate to kill anything, even insects.
_____ 4. I get little pleasure from material things.
_____ 5. We should accept our role in life as it is given to us by our parents.
_____ 6. Meditation is the highest form of enlightenment.
_____ 7. The use of artificial organs is going too far.
_____ 8. I feel real kindship with most plants and animals.
_____ 9. We should try to harmonize with nature rather than try to conquer it.
_____ 10. A meaningful life depends more upon learning to cooperate than to complete.
B. To score, add the points for the ten item. Total score: 10 to 50. Scores of 40to 50 suggest an Eastern outlook on life or worldview, below that, the Western view.
C. Make comments: What worldview is more typical in Kazakhstani diverse society (eastern, Western, or a mixture of both)? Why?
CHAPTER 2.
THE CONCEPTS OF CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION
Many people have a culturally identifiable name and, perhaps, a physical appearance that conveys, or at least suggests, their cultural identity. For example, imagine a brown-skinned, dark-haired person named Augusto Torres. He identifies himself as Latino. But many individuals are not so easily identified culturally. Two million people in the United States are culturally mixed and may identify with one or two or with multiple cultures. A person named Susan Lopez might be expected to be Latina, judging only from her last name. “Lopez” actually comes from her adoptive parents, who raised her in the Latino tradition in the Southwest. But Susan’s biological father was a European American, and her mother is a Native American. Her physical appearance reflects her biological parentage. However, Susan is culturally Latina, preferring to speak Spanish, enjoying traditional food and music, and displaying other aspects of Latino culture. Here we see that blood ancestry does not dictate an individual’s cultural identification.
Many individuals have names that do not fit exactly with their self-perceived cultural identity. For example, consider three communication scholars named Fernando Moret, Miguel Gandert, and Jorge Reina Schement. Can you guess the culture with which each individual identifies? Do you think that their first name or their surname best predicts their cultural identification? In intercultural marriages, if the wife takes her husband’s surname, her cultural identity may no longer be conveyed by her married name.
When individuals change their religious or ethnic identity, they often change their name to reflect their new identification. For instance, when the world heavyweight boxer Cassius Clay became a Black Muslim, he changed his name to Mohammed Ali. Likewise, basketball player Kareem Abul-Jabbar was Lew Alcindor before he joined the Muslim faith. Some European immigrants had their names changed by U.S. immigration officials when they were processed through Ellis Island in New York. For example, “Stein” became “Stone”, “Schwarz” was often changed to “Black”. In many cases, the name change was to an Anglo-Saxon name that was easier to understand in the United States.
GENDER IDENTITY
We often begin life with gendered identities. When newborns arrive, they may be greeted with clothes in either blue or pink. To establish a gender identity for a baby, visitors may ask if it’s a boy or a girl. But gender is not the same as biological sex. This distinction is important in understanding how our views on biological sex influence gender identities. We communicate our gender identity, and popular culture tells us what it means to be a man or a woman. For example, some activities are considered more masculine or more feminine. Similarly, the programs that people watch on television – soap operas, football games, and so on – affect how they socialize with others and come to understand what it means to be a man or a woman. Our expression of gender identity not only communicates who we think we are but also constructs a sense of who we want to be. We learn what masculinity and femininity mean in our culture, and we negotiate how we communicate our gender identity to others. As an example, think about the recent controversy over whether certain actresses are too thin. The female models appearing in magazine advertisements and TV commercials are very thin – leading young girls to feel ashamed of anybody fat. It was not always so. In the mid-1700s, a robust woman was considered attractive. And in many societies today, in the Middle East and in Africa, full-figured women are much more desirable than thin women. This shows how the idea of gender identity is both dynamic and closely connected to culture.
There are implications for intercultural communication as well. Gender means different things in different cultures. For example, single women cannot travel freely in many Muslim countries. And gender identity for many Muslim women means that the sphere of activity and power is primarily in the home and not in public.
AGE IDENTITY
As we age, we tap into cultural notions of how someone our age should act, look, and behave, that is we establish an age identity. And even as we communicate how we feel about our age to others, we receive messages from the media telling us how we should feel. Thus, as we grow older, we sometimes feel that we are either too old or too young for a certain “look”. These feelings stem from an understanding of what age means and how we identify with that age. Some people feel old at 30; others feel young at 40. Our notions of age and youth are all based on cultural conventions and they change as we grow older. When we are quite young, a college student seems old. But when we are in college, we do not feel so old. Different generations often have different philosophies, values, and ways of speaking.
RACIAL AND ETHNIC IDENTITY
The issue of race seems to be pervasive in the United States. It is the topic of many public discussions, from television talk shows to talk radio. Yet many people feel uncomfortable discussing racial issues. Most scientists now agree that there are more physical similarities than differences among so-called races and have abandoned a strict biological basis for classifying racial groups. Instead, taking a more social scientific approach to understanding race, they recognize that racial categories like White and Black are constructed in social and historical contexts. Several arguments have been advanced to refute the physiological basis for classifying racial groups. Racial categories vary widely throughout the world. In general, distinctions between White and Black, for example, are fairly rigid in the United States, and many people become uneasy when they are unable to categorize individuals. By contrast, Brazil recognizes a wide variety of intermediate racial categories in addition to White and Black. This indicates a cultural, rather than a biological, basis for racial classification. Racial identities, then, are based to some extent on physical characteristics, but they are also constructed in fluid social contexts. The important thing to remember is that the way people construct these identities and think about race influences how they communicate with others.
One’s ethnic identity reflects a set of ideas about one’s own ethnic group membership. It typically includes several dimensions: self-identification, knowledge about the ethnic culture (traditions, customs, values, behaviors), and feelings about belonging to a particular ethnic group. Ethnic identity often involves a common sense of origin and history, which may link members of ethnic groups to distant cultures in Asia, Europe, Latin America, or other locations. Ethnic identity thus means having a sense of belonging to a particular group and knowing something about the shared experiences of group members. For some Americans, ethnicity is a specific and relevant concept. These people define themselves in part in relation to their roots outside the United States – as “hyphenated Americans” (Mexican-American, Japanese-American) – or to some region prior to its being part of the United States (Navajo, Hopi, Cherokee).
PHYSICAL ABILITY IDENTITY
We all have a physical ability identity because we all have varying degrees of physical capabilities. We are all handicapped in one way or another – by our height, weight, sex, or age – and we all need to work to overcome these conditions. And our physical ability, like our age, changes over a lifetime. For example, some people experiences a temporary disability, such as breaking a bone or experiencing limited mobility after surgery. Others are born with disabilities, or experience incremental disability, or have a sudden-onset disability. The number of people with physical disabilities is growing. In fact, people with disabilities see themselves as a cultural group and share many perceptions and communication patterns. Part of this identity involves changing how they see themselves and how others see them. For people who become disabled, there are predictable stages in coming to grips with this new identity. The first stage involves a focus on rehabilitation and physical changes. The second stage involves adjusting to the disability and the effects that it has on relationships; some friendships will not survive the disability. The final stage is when the individual begins to integrate disabled into his or her own definition of self.
RELIGIOUS IDENTITY
Religious identity is an important dimension of many people’s identities, as well as a common source of intercultural conflict. Often, religious identity gets confused with racial/ethnic identity, which means it can be problematic to view religious identity simply in terms of belonging to a particular religion. For example, when someone says, “I am Jewish”, does this mean that this person practices Judaism or views Jewishness as an ethnic identity? When someone says, “That person has a Jewish last name”, does this confer a Jewish religious identity? Historically, Jews have been viewed as a racial group, an ethnic group, and a religious group. Drawing distinct lines between various identities – racial, ethnic, religious, class, national, regional – can lead to stereotyping. For example, Italians and Irish are often assumed to be Catholic. Intercultural communication among religious groups also can be problematic. Religious differences have been at the root of conflicts from the Middle East, to Northern Ireland, to India/Pakistan, to Bosnia-Herzegovina. The traditional belief is that everyone should be free to practice whatever religion they want to, but conflict can result from the imposition of one religion’s beliefs on others who may not share those beliefs. Religion traditionally is considered a private issue, and there is a stated separation of church and state. However, in some countries, religion and the state are inseparable, and religion is publicly practiced. Some religions communicate and mark their religious differences through their dress. Other religions do not mark their members through their clothes; for example, you may not know if someone is Buddhist, Catholic, Lutheran. Because these religious identities are less obvious, everyday interactions may not invoke them.
MULTICULTURAL IDENTITY
Today, a growing number of people do not have clear racial, ethnic, or national identities. These are people who live “on the borders” between various cultural groups. While they may feel torn between different cultural traditions, they also may develop a multicultural identity – an identity that transcends one particular culture – and feel equally at home in several cultures. Sometimes, this multicultural identity develops as a result of being born or raised in a multiracial home. The United States, for example, has an estimated 2 million multiracial people – that is, people whose ancestry includes two or more races – and this number is increasing. The development of racial identity for multiracial children seems to be different from either majority or minority development. These children learn early on that they are different from other people and that they don’t fit into a neat racial category – an awareness-of-differentness stage. The second stage involves a struggle for acceptance, in which these children experiment with and explore both cultures. They may feel as if they live on the cultural fringe, struggling with two sets of cultural realities and sometimes being asked to choose one racial identity over the other. In the final stage, self-acceptance and assertion, these children find a more secure sense of self. This exposure to more than one culture’s norms and values often leads to a flexible and adaptable sense of identity – a multicultural identity.
CULTURAL CLASH
A cultural clash is defined as the conflict that occurs between two or more cultures when they disagree about a certain value. A cultural clash may involve strongly held values, such as those concerning religion. Cultural clashes occur frequently in cities, such as Miami, that are composed of a large number of ethnic groups. For example, Suni Muslims immigrated from the Middle East and Pakistan in the 1950s. These people have maintained their culture over the several decades of living in North Miami, resisting assimilation into the dominant general culture. This cultural maintenance of the Suni Muslims, however, frequently leads to the intergenerational cultural clash between youth and their parents. This conflict may center on the degree of individual freedom allowed young women. For instance, a fourteen-year-old asked her parents for permission to go to a shopping mall with her friends. They refused because of the Suni Muslim value that unmarried women should not be seen in public unless chaperoned by parents or older brothers. The adolescent daughter insisted on going to the mall, so her parents chained her to her bed.
As the degree of intercultural difference becomes wider in human communication situations, information exchange is likely to be less effective. Meanings are less likely to be shared as the result of communication exchange. The message intended by the source participant has less probability of being interpreted predictably by the receiver if the two are culturally unalike. The basis for understanding one another narrows as cultural differences increase. For example, marriage advertisements in India might describe a prospective bride as “homely”, meaning she is expert in domestic matters, a good cook, and a charming hostess. To someone from the United States, the word “homely” describes an unattractive person.
When each participant in a communication exchange represents a different culture, the likelihood of effective communication is lessened. Communication between unalike individuals does not have to be ineffective. For instance, if the participants can empathize with each other (that is, put themselves in the shoes of the other person), then they may be able to overcome the ineffective communication. Further, the individuals can try to learn about people of different cultures.
Assignment 5
Choose the correct word form for each sentence. Make verb tense changes, make nouns singular or plural, and use active or passive voice as applicable.
1. actual, actually
a. "______________," said the student, "I prefer having a job to being a student."
b. The patient did not want to discuss the______________problem with the doctor; instead he talked around the problem.
2. definitely, definite
a. The young man said that he would_______________come to the party.
b. Are your plans_______________yet?
3. genuine, genuinely, genuineness
a. The gift was a_____________expression of his appreciation.
b. I sensed a lack of_______________in the car salesman.
c. The artist was______________trying to be creative.
4. unconsciously, unconscious, unconsciousness
a. After being hit by the car, the child was______________for three days.
b. He_______________turned off the alarm clock when he woke up in the morning.
c. He was in a state of______________that lasted for three weeks.
COLLECTIVISTIC VERSUS INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES
We define a collectivistic culture as one in which the collectivity’s goals are valued over those of the individual. In contrast, an individualistic culture is one in which the individual’s goals are valued over those of the collectivity. Individualism-collectivism is perhaps the most important dimension of cultural differences in behavior across the cultures of the world. Japanese culture is an example of