Intercultural Communication PDF

MAIN TOPIC 1 Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication generally refers to interpersonal communication between individuals or groups who are affiliated with different cultural groups and/or have been socialized in different cultural (and, in most cases, linguistic) environments. This...

MAIN TOPIC 1 Intercultural Communication Intercultural communication generally refers to interpersonal communication between individuals or groups who are affiliated with different cultural groups and/or have been socialized in different cultural (and, in most cases, linguistic) environments. This includes such cultural differences as age, class, gender, ethnicity, language, race, nationality and physical/mental ability. Interpersonal Communication Genuine intercultural communication goes beyond mere ‘information-sharing’ and narrow conceptions of cultural membership, whereby culture is reduced to nationality and variations within cultural groups are largely ignored. In conceptions of intercultural communication, it is important to recognize the dynamic, interpersonal dimension inherent in relationship building between people from diverse backgrounds. Cross-cultural vs Intercultural ​ Cross-cultural communication comparison of communication behaviors and patterns in two or more cultures. research typically compares and contrasts native discourse and communication behaviors (or styles) in different cultures. ​ Intercultural communication involves interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds (Gudykunst 2003). research involves an investigation of interpersonal interaction between individuals (or groups) from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Reasons to Study Language and Intercultural Communication ​ Globalization: A process of removing government-imposed restrictions on movements between countries in order to create an “open”, “borderless” world economy’ (Scholte, 2000). ​ Internalization Any systematic sustained effort aimed at making higher education more responsive to the requirements and challenges related to the globalization of societies, economy and labor markets. Advances in transportation and communication technologies With all this advancement, the global village has been coined by Marshall McLuhan (1962) to refer to the way the world is ‘shrinking’, as people become increasingly interconnected through media and other communication advances. ​ Changing Demographics Migration is creating more opportunities for daily interaction with people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and another reason why intercultural communication knowledge and skills have become vital. ​ Conflict and Peace As the world becomes more and more interdependent, the mutual understanding of people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds becomes even more vital to peace, cooperation and stability. ​ Ethics Addressing problems requires decision makers to communicate ethically their concerns about what is right, good, or virtuous across cultural boundaries and to understand others who communicate. MAIN TOPIC 2 “There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by those four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.” Dale Carnegie Multifaceted Nature of Communication ​ Communication requires that all parties understand a common ‘language’ or code. There are auditory means of exchanging this code, such as speaking, singing, and tone of voice; there are physical means, such as body language, sign language, touch, eye contact, or writing. People communicate to accomplish tasks, achieve goals, share understanding, exchange information, to be heard and even be appreciated. ​ Communication is sharing who we are and what we know. We all share our ideas and feelings with others; however, how we share them with others varies from culture to culture. As our contact with people from other cultures expands, the need for competent intercultural communicators increases. ​ Advances in information technology have brought tremendous changes to communication media and to the role of communicators. From print, telephone, radio, telegraph, television, satellites, email, the internet, Facebook, twitter, and blogs, human communication has expanded beyond the confines of time, space, geographic region, culture, and nation. Every communicator, whether a source or a receiver (or more likely both), is a node on the ‘wired’ communication network. ​ Communication is theorized as a ‘family’ concept rather than unitary concept. This reflects the multifaceted nature of communication. Consider the simple act of greeting a friend. From the secretion of chemicals in the brain to the moving of one’s lips to produce sound, thousands of components are in operation. When we add on cultural dimensions, it becomes even more complex -people from different cultures express the same concept or idea differently. Overcoming Complexity of Communication Neurologists look at what the brain and nervous system do during communication; psychologists examine issues related to perception linguists inspect people’s use of language; philosophers are more interested in whether communication is essential to thought; anthropologists focus on the question of whether communication is universal; scientists focus on the transfer of data and information from one location to another; Communication researchers how people share understanding and meaning through verbal or nonverbal symbols. Components of Communication Source Origin of information Message Verbal and/or nonverbal form of ideas, thought or feelings that one person wishes to communicate to another person or group Channel Means by which messages move from one person to another Receiver Intended target of the message Encoding Process by which the source uses shared codes to convert concepts, thoughts, and feelings into a message. Decoding Process by which the receiver converts the coded message back into meaning Noise Interferes with the receipt of the message. Feedback The response of the receiver after receiving the message Characteristics of Communication ​ dynamic process. you cannot talk about the exact beginning or the end point of a communication exchange. ​ interactive.it requires the active participation of at least two people. ​ symbolic. A symbol is an arbitrarily selected and learned stimulus that represents something else. ​ contextual. dependent on the context in which it occurs. Models of Communication: The Linear Model: Shannon and Weaver ​ This model is known as the TRANSMISSION MODEL of communication, viewing communication as a process of transferring information from one mind to another. ​ The transmission model is useful, as it allows us to distinguish between communication sources and receivers and map the flow of information through systems. ​ It also allows for messages to be conceptualized as ‘containers’ of meaning, and for communication to be understood as an act performed in order to achieve anticipated outcomes. Although viewing communication as a linear process, this model makes us alert to the ever-present danger of distortion and misunderstanding in communication. ​ One of the major changes human communication scholars made to Shannon’s model was to emphasize the subjectivity of communication. When the source and receiver are individuals instead of machines, their perceptions, paradigms, and past experiences inevitably filter the encoding and decoding process. ​ This subjectivity is one reason why the receiver seldom decodes a message into exactly the same meaning that the source has in mind. The Interactive Model: Wilbur Schramm He conceived of decoding and encoding as activities maintained simultaneously by sender and receiver; made provision for a two-way interchange of messages. The view of communication as interactive recognizes that communicators simultaneously send and receive messages rather than act exclusively as either senders or receivers (Lanigan, 2013). Any communication act takes place in a context, and it is through context that the different levels of communication study – intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, organization, and mass – come together. The multidisciplinary nature of the communication field and the proliferation of the objects of communication study do not necessarily mean that communication is a fragmented field. The development of communication theories has been informed by two general approaches: a linguistic approach associated with the humanities, and a quantitative approach associated with the life and social sciences (Cobley and Shulz, 2013). MAIN TOPIC 3 Culture ​ “Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense, and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.”— Walter Lippmann ​ The word CULTURE originated from the Latin word CULTURA, which is from the verb COLERE, denoting ‘TO TILL’ (as in to till the soil or land). In its original meaning, therefore, culture is a process related to the tending of something, such as crops or animals. ​ The word shares its etymology with modern English words such as agriculture, cultivate, and colony. Eventually, the term was extended to incorporate ideas related to the human mind and a state of being ‘cultivated’. ​ Culture is “those deep, common, unstated experiences which members of a given culture share, communicate without knowing, and which form the backdrop against which all other events are judged.” (Edward Hall) ​ Being a member of a cultural group implies that you have been nurtured by its core values and understand what constitutes ‘desirable’ and ‘undesirable’ behaviors in that particular system (Ting-Toomey and Chung, 2005). ​ Culture is not instinctive or innate; culture is learned. Communication and culture are intertwined. To study intercultural communication without exploring culture is like studying physics without exploring matter. Being a member of a cultural group implies that you have been nurtured by its core values and understand what constitutes ‘desirable’ and ‘undesirable’ behaviors in that particular system (Ting-Toomey and Chung, 2005). ​ Antonio Gramsci Culture is the creative meaning-making process, constantly being produced and reproduced by multiple groups. ​ ​ “Culture is a web. Firstly, as a web, culture both confines members to their social reality and facilitates their functioning in this reality; secondly, culture is both a product and a process; and thirdly, culture provides contexts for behavior.” Characteristics of Culture Culture is HOLISTIC Culture functions as an integrated and complex whole. While the various parts of culture are interrelated (Samovar et al., 2013), the whole is more than simply the sum of these interconnected parts. As Hall (1977) said, “You touch a culture in one place and everything else is affected.” Chadō, or ‘Way of Tea’ Culture is LEARNED. The Dutch psychologist and sociologist Geert Hofstede (1991) writes that every person “carries within him or herself patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned throughout his or her lifetime. Much of these patterns are acquired in early childhood, because at that time a person is most susceptible to learning and assimilating.” Chinese Marriage Culture is DYNAMIC. Culture is subject to change over time; it is not fixed or static. When different cultures are in contact, cultural change may occur. While technology, transport systems, material objects, and architecture are becoming increasingly similar across different cultures, our beliefs, values, and worldviews—the inner core of culture—can prove more resistant to change. Tango Culture is ETHNOCENTRIC. The term ethnocentrism refers to the belief that one’s own culture is superior to other cultures. Anthropologists generally agree that ethnocentrism is found in every culture (Samovar et al., 2013). It builds fences between cultures and thus creates barriers for intercultural communication. How we view a culture invariably affects how we interact with people from that culture. Subcultures Within any dominant culture, there are microcultures, often referred to as subcultures. Some scholars call subcultures co-cultures. Subcultures can be categorized by a number of indicators, including gender, ethnicity, religion, profession, social class, organization, and geographic region. Ethnic Culture ​ Ethnicity is frequently the basis of a subculture within a larger national culture. Ethnic groups are identifiable bodies of people who have a common heritage and cultural tradition passed on through generations. ​ Ethnic identity refers to identification with a group with shared heritage and culture. Some people use this term and the term racial ethnic groups interchangeably; others differentiate the two terms by specifying that racial groups emphasize genetically transmitted traits of physical appearance (Dodd, 1998). Social-Class Culture ​ Socioeconomic status (SES) can be the basis for a subculture. SES can be derived from a person’s income, education, occupation, residential area, and family background. ​ For example, your income can determine where you are most likely to reside, the type of occupation you have and the position you hold, the brand of clothes you wear, the kind of people you tend to associate with, whom you marry, or which school your children attend. Indian Caste System Organizational Culture Through communication, these beliefs and values develop into organizationally based understanding and shared interpretations of organizational reality. These expectations and meanings form the framework of organizational culture. Regional Culture Regional differences often imply differences in social attitudes, lifestyle, food preferences, and communication.