INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION Lesson 1+ 2 A brief Introduction to Intercultural Communication Some basic concepts 1 Communication 2 Characteristics Dynamic + is an ongoing activity + involves a host of.
INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION Lesson 1+ 2: A brief Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Some basic concepts Communication: Characteristics: - Dynamic: + is an ongoing activity + involves a host of variables + receiver + sender = part of the process - Symbolic: + no direct mind-to-mind contact between people, then only infer what others are experiencing by what being seen and heard + sounds, marks on paper, movements, etc that you employ in your attempt to share your reality with other people + a symbol is an expression that stands for or represents sth else - Contextual: + cultural context + environment context + occasion + times + number of people “Context provides a prescription that indicates what behavior is obligated, preferred, or prohibited” - High context – Low context continuum - Components of communication - Functions of communication: + gather information about others + fulfill interpersonal needs + establish personal identities + influences others (2) Culture The iceberg model of culture: + dress, art holidays, language, architecture, literature, laws, food, etiquette, hereos (outside) + values, traditions, beliefs, philosophy, ethics, customs, morals, meaning of life (inside) Component of culture Culture tree: religion, history, value, social structure, language Communication is culture & culture is communication “Cultures vary their ways of thinking…” Functions of culture “ Cultural exists as a vital, practical requirement of human lifeto structure a society so as to perpetuate the species, to pass on the hand-learned knowledge and experiences of generations past and centuries past to the young and inexperienced in order to space the next generation the costly and dangerous process of learning everything all over again from scratch through trail & error including fatal errors” In, humans, it is culture that sets the limits on behavior and guide it along predictable paths Characteristics of culture - culture is learned in a variety of ways and from a host of different sources - culture is integrated- “you touch a culture in one place and everything else is affected” - corporate culture … “collective behavior of people in organization where they share the same cooperative visons, goals, values, customs and work procedure, a common working languages and symbols” Stereotype Intercultural communication: + “… intercultural communication involves interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol system differ enough to influence the communication event” + “The people of different civilizations have different views on the relations between god and man, the individual and the group, the citizen and the state, parents and children, husband and wife, as well as differing views of the relative importance of rights and responsibilities, liberty and authority, equality and hierarchy” Cultural similarities: - cultural universals: patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies cultural commonality eg: family unit, basic human survivals: food, clothing, housing & human experiences (birth, death, illness, healing), music (music as cultural universal) Assuming similarities with one’s own culture - tendency to assume similarities between the foreign culture & one’s own culture cultural conflict (giving handkerchief as present) Cultural differences - Cultural differences are far more prevalent than cultural universals eg: greeting, ‘personal space’ in communication, cuisine (breakfast) - Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism Ethnocentrism: a belief or attitude that one’s own culture is better than all others, and should therefore serve as the standard frame of reference either sense of community pride or culture shock - Cultural relativism: the practice of assessing a culture by its own standards rather than viewing it through the lens of one’s own culture - Xenocentrism: the belief that another culture is superior to one’s own Cultural stereotyping a group of beliefs and attitudes towards people from different culture = pre-established expectations about how they are likely to behave & what they believe in Cultural shock Cultural shock is a mental state caused by the transition that occurs when you go from a familiar cultural environment to an unfamiliar one and discover that your normative, established patterns of behavior are ineffective “That song is the best esteemed with which our ears are most acquainted” Cultural= a contribution to a feeling of familiarity vary widely among individuals and can appear at different times: anxiety, depression, loneliness/ being homesick/ disturbed sleep patterns/ poor time management…) * Phrases of cultural shock Honeymoon: filled with excitement, hopefulness as being exposed to a different culture Uncertainty & doubt: recognize the reality of the new setting (difficulties of language, poor housing, crowded transportation…) Adaptation: gain some cultural insight & make some adjustments and modifications Acceptance: understand key elements of new culture (special customs, behaviors, communication patterns…) and feel comfortable in the surroundings Cross-cultural conflict (cultural differences stereotypes) A cultural conflict is a dislike, hostility or struggle between communities who have different philosophies and ways of living resulting in contradictory aspirations and behaviors What should be done to overcome cultural shock & cultural conflict? - show respect for other cultures - search for commonalities among cultures - respect cultural differences - learn the language of the host culture