UNIT 1: COMMUNICATION AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

UNIT 1:
COMMUNICATION AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

A. Communication and culture 

Culture: a shared background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes, and values. Culture in this context does not refer to art, music, literature, food, clothing style, and so on. It refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of human interactions, expressions, and viewpoints that people in one culture share. The hidden nature of culture has been compared to an iceberg, most of which is hidden underwater. Like the iceberg, much of the influence of culture on an individual cannot be seen. The part of culture that is exposed is not always that which creates cross-cultural difficulties; the hidden aspects of culture have significant effects on behaviour and on interactions with others.

Communication: the process of sharing meaning through verbal and nonverbal behaviour.

Cross-cultural communication: communication (verbal and nonverbal) between people from different cultures; communication that is influenced by cultural values, attitudes, and behaviour; the influence of culture on people’s reactions and responses to each other.

When we communicate with people from different cultures, it is important to remember that culture and communication are strongly connected. The way that people view communication - what it is, how to do it, and reasons for doing it - is part of their culture. The chance of misunderstanding between members of different cultures increases when this important connection is forgotten. In general, people from Western and Asian cultures have the greatest chance of misunderstanding each other. Much of this understanding comes from the fact that Western and Asian cultures have two very different views of communication.

Collective cultures tend to be group-oriented. A related characteristic is that they typically impose a very large psychological distance between those who are members of their groups (the ingroup) and those who are not (the outgroup). Ingroup members are required to have unquestionable loyalty, whereas outgroup members are regarded as almost inconsequential…

Individualist cultures train their members to speak out as a means of resolving difficulties. In classrooms, students from individualistic cultures are likely to ask questions of the teacher; students from collectivist cultures are not. Similarly, people from individualistic cultures are more likely than those from collectivist cultures to use confrontational strategies when dealing with interpersonal problems; those with a collectivist orientation are likely to use avoidance, third-party intermediaries, or other face-saving techniques.

In cross-cultural communication situations, it is natural for people to be aware of the potential for various misunderstandings and to want to avoid them. However, despite the best intention, serious misunderstandings and even conflicts can occur. One reason for this is that even though people are consciously attempting to avoid problems, they still are making ethical judgements as they are communicating. The values that people hold affect both their communication decisions and interpretation of what others communicate. Western and Asian cultures often have the greatest misunderstanding when ethics are considered. For example, an Asian would think it perfectly acceptable to give gifts to business associates and to hire one’s own relatives. Both of these actions help maintain social relationships.

However, people in the United States would consider these actions bribery and nepotism, both of which are against the law in the United States. So differing ethics can cause conflicts, especially when what one culture may consider morally wrong, another may actually encourage. When such conflicts occur, people who want to be ethical intercultural communicators should try to understand, respect, and accept each individual’s ethical perspective.

B. Barriers to cross-cultural communication 

1. Stereotypes and Generalization

Stereotypes are exaggerated beliefs and images about groups of people and are often based on a lack of information or contact. It is easy to overgeneralize and apply the actions and behaviour of a few people from a particular group to the entire group. An individual may observe, for example, five people from that group acting similarly. If he then says, “All people from that group act like that,” he is guilty of stereotyping. You can hear such comments as, “They are all like that,” and “That’s what they do,” about any cultural group. For some reason, people all over the world tend to divide society into “we” and “they”. Positive characteristics are applied to “we” and negative ones are applied to “they” (although some stereotypes can be positive as well).

Yet it is possible to make some generalizations about cultural groups that are true. If this were not possible, we would not even be able to talk about separate cultures. However, we must not assume that everyone within a culture fits the generalization. Many (and often a majority) do, but certainly not all.

In the United States, the media hasn’t always treated foreigners or members of ethnic groups fairly. For example, the Arab has often been portrayed as a wealthy sheik or a terrorist, the Frenchman as a “womanizer”, and the Native American as a wild warrior. However, there are now citizen organizations as well as political groups that condemn and, therefore, influence the media when a group has been wrongly represented. This type of organized reaction to cultural stereotypes is positive and healthy. In a multi-cultural society, people must learn to become increasingly sensitive to the needs of many ethnic groups.

2. Ethnocentrism

Another barrier to cross-cultural communication is ethnocentrism, or negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. To be ethnocentric is to believe in the superiority of one’s own culture. Extreme ethnocentrism leads to a rejection of the richness and knowledge of other cultures. It impedes communication and blocks the exchange of ideas and skills among peoples. Because it includes other points of view, an ethnocentric orientation is restrictive and limiting.

3. Anxiety

When you are anxious because of not knowing what you are expected to do, it is only natural to focus on that feeling and not be totally present in the communication transaction. For example, you may have experienced anxiety on your very first day on a new college campus or in a new job. You may be so conscious of being new - and out of place - and focus so much your attention on that feeling that you make common mistakes and appear awkward to others.

4. Assuming similarity instead of difference

The fourth barrier is assuming similarity instead of difference. When you assume similarity between cultures, you can be caught unaware of important differences. When you have no information about a new culture, it might make sense to assume there are no differences, to behave as you would in your home culture. But each culture is different and unique to some degree. On the other hand, assuming difference instead of similarity can lead to your not recognizing important things that cultures share in common. Therefore, it is better to assume nothing. It’s better to ask, “what are the customs?” rather than assuming they are the same – or different – everywhere.

Exercises:

I. Answer the following questions 

1. According to the authors, what is meant by culture?

2. What is the difference between communication and cross-cultural communication?

3. What are stereotypes?

4. What is ethnocentrism?

5. List stereotypes you have heard about people of a specific country? Do you believe that these stereotypes are true?

Answer Key: 
1. Culture means a shared background (for example, national, ethnic, religious) resulting from a common language and communication style, customs, beliefs, attitudes, and values.
2. Communication means the process of sharing meaning through verbal and nonverbal behaviour. Cross-cultural communication means communication (verbal and nonverbal) between people from different cultures. It is influenced by cultural values, attitudes, and behaviour. 
3. Stereotypes are exaggerated beliefs and images about groups of people and are often based on a lack of information or contact.
4. Ethnocentrism means negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture. To be ethnocentric is to believe in the superiority of one’s own culture.
5. Answers vary.

II. Cultural Values 

    People from different cultures have different values. There are several of these values that we can use to generally describe Americans and people from your culture. Look at the values in the following list and try to match them to their characteristics.

1. Individualistic	a. Not hidden, easily understood
2. Cooperative	b. Having a great interest in possessions, money, etc.
3. Direct	c. Same in value, rank, etc.
4. Informal	d. Working together
5. Equal	e. Based on past principles, beliefs, etc.
6. Traditional	f. Casual; not formal
7. Competitive	g. Independent in thought or action
8. Materialistic	h. Having strong desire to be the rest and succeed, usually on an individual basis
9.Practical/Efficient	i. Moving forward or developing continually
10. Private	j. Not casual
11. Progressive	k. Personal; not to be shared with others
12. Formal	l. Effective; convenient; working well without waste

Answer Key: 
1.g     2.d     3.a     4.f       5.c      6.e 
7.h     8.b     9.l     10.k      11.j     12.i

III. Following are some situations that demonstrate some of the values listed on the exercise above. Match each situation and belief with a corresponding value introduced in Part II. 

Situation	Corresponding value
1. A student in your history class does not let you borrow her notes because she is afraid you might do better than she on the exam.
2. Your next-door neighbour often spends money on new stereo and video equipment. He also usually buys a car every three or four years.
3. You just heard one of your classmates call your professor by her first name.
4. One day after history class, a student asks if you would like to join a study group to prepare for tomorrow’s exam.
5. People donate thousands of dollars to an organisation that will be sending scientists to live on the planet Mars in he year 2020.
6. A manager of a small company prefers that her employees and refer to her as “Ms. Mead”.
7. A recent high school graduate will attend college this fall. She has saved money from working part-time during high school and plans to continue working part-time during college.

Answer Key: 
1. competitive
2. materialistic
3. informal
4. cooperative
5. progressive
6. formal
7. practical/efficient