Cross- Cultural Communication.pdf

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY GROUP ASSIGNMENT SUBJECT: CROSS- CULTURAL COMMUNICATION TOPIC: COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE Hanoi, 2023... WORKING GROUP MINUTESDate: 22/03/2023 Tim

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE HANOI LAW UNIVERSITY

GROUP ASSIGNMENT SUBJECT: CROSS- CULTURAL

COMMUNICATION TOPIC: COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE

Hanoi, 2023

WORKING GROUP MINUTES

Date: 22/03/2023

Time: 7:00 a.m

Group: 01

Class: N03

Attendance: 04

Subject: Cross- cultural communication

Topic: Communcation and culture

On the purpose of determining the level of participation and participation results of each student in performing group assignment, the following results are shown in the table below:

Studen

Student review

Student sign

A B C

Mark (number )

Mark (word)

Definition of communication and PowerPoint 453208

Phạm Trần

Khánh

Linh

x

Communicatio

n and summary the assignment 453212

Lê Thị

Lâm

Huyền

x

Definition and related terms of culture 453216

Trần

Phương

Uyên

x

Culture analogies

Hanoi, 22nd March, 2023

Leader

INTRODUCTION: 1

BODY: 1

I COMMUNICATION: 1

1 Definition of communication: 1

1.1 What is communication? 1

1.2 Communication Process: 1

1.3 Types of Communication: 2

2 Characteristics of communication: 2

II CULTURE: 3

1 Defining “culture” for the study of communication 3

2 Culture and related terms 5

3 Culture analogies 6

3.1 The Melting Pot 7

3.2 An Iceberg 7

3.3 Salad bowl 8

CONCLUSION 9

What is communication, why do we communicate, how do we communicate, and to what end, are all questions we ask in the study of communication At its most basic,

communication is the exchange of information and meaning We are constantly

communicating, in a wide range of different contexts, such as with each other

(interpersonal communication), with different cultural groups or subgroups (intercultural communication), or to large audiences (mass communication), just to name a few

Therefore, we choose this topic to understand more about communication and culture

BODY:

I COMMUNICATION:

1 Definition of communication:

1.1 What is communication?

Communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual process in which people create shared meanings

1.2 Communication Process:

Communication is an ongoing process that mainly involves three components namely sender, message, and recipient The components involved in the communication process are described below in detail:

Sender: The sender or contact generates the message and transmits it to the recipient

He is the source and the first contact

Message:It is an idea, knowledge, opinion, truth, feeling, etc produced by the sender

and intended for reference

Encoding:The message produced by the sender is encrypted in a symbolic way such as

words, pictures, touches, etc before transfer

The media:This is how the coded message is conveyed The message can be conveyed

orally or in writing

Recording:It is a process of modifying the signals sent by the sender After recording

the message is received by the recipient

Recipient:You are the last person in the chain and the message you sent was sent If the

recipient receives the message and understands it correctly and acts on the message, only then the purpose of the communication is achieved

Answer:Once the recipient confirms to the sender that you received the message and

understood it, the communication process is complete

Noise:Refers to any restrictions caused by the sender, message or recipient during the

communication process For example, incorrect telephone connection, incorrect coding, incorrect recording, careless recipient, incorrect understanding of message due to

discrimination or inappropriate touch, etc

1.3 Types of Communication:

Verbal Communication and Non-Communication

Verbal communication: Communication occurs through verbal, or written

communication that conveys or conveys a message to others is called oral

communication

Non-verbal communication: It occurs with signs, symbols, colors, touches, body or facial features Insignificant communication is using body language, body language and facial expressions to convey information to others

For example, you may have a smile on your face when you hear an idea or a piece of interesting or exciting information Open communication is helpful when you are trying

to understand the thoughts and feelings of others

2 Characteristics of communication:

Communication Is Symbolic: Symbols are central to the communication process

because they represent the shared meanings that are communicated A symbol is a word, action, or object that stands for or represents a unit of meaning Meaning, in turn, is a perception, thought, or feeling that a person experiences and might want to communicate

to others A message, then, refers to the "package" of symbols used to create shared meanings

For example: the people in a class (perhaps even your class) could decide to change the

symbols and refer to the teacher as a door, the students as cows, the blackboard as a pancake, the classroom as a bar, and the desks as pineapples A description of the

classroom with these new and arbitrarily assigned symbols might read as follows: "When the cows entered the bar, they sat down at their pineapples, and the door began to write

on the pancake." Although the sentence sounds strange (and perhaps quite humorous), if everyone consistently referred to the objects in the same way, the mean- ing that would

be created in using these symbols would soon become widely shared

Communication Is Interpretive: Messages do not have to be consciously or

purposefully created with the specific intention of communicating a certain set of

meanings for others to be able to make sense of the symbols forming the message

Rather, communication is always an interpretive process The first outcome of

communication is understanding what the others are trying to communicate The second outcome is reaching agreement on the particular issues that have been discussed

For example: it may or may not be communication if a man, who is dressed in

unfamiliar clothes and who is obviously from another culture, walks up to you and, after bowing, utters some sounds that seem like they could be language but whose meaning is unknown to you If his purpose is merely to provide you with a ritualistic greeting and, recognizing this, you return his bow, then, relative to the purposes of the participants, we would say that the two of you have created shared meanings for your behaviors, and, consequently, communication has occurred However, if he is asking you for directions and you merely return his bow without even recognizing his in- tended goal, then shared meanings do not exist, and communication has not occurred relative to the task at hand

Communication Is Transactional: To suggest that communication is transactional

implies that all participants in the communication process work together to create and sustain the meanings that develop A transactional view holds that communicators are simultaneously sending and receiving messages at every instant that they are involved in conversations

Communication Is Contextual: All communication takes place within a setting or

situation called a context By context, we mean the place where people meet, the social purpose for being together, and the nature of the relationship Thus, the context includes the physical, social, and interpersonal settings within which messages are exchanged

The Physical Context: The physical context includes the actual location of the

interactants: indoors or outdoors, crowded or quiet, public or private, close together or far apart, warm or cold, bright or dark

The Social Context: The social context refers to the widely shared expectations people

have about the kinds of interactions that normally should occur given different kinds of social events

The Interpersonal Context: The interpersonal context refers to the expectations people

have about the behaviors of others as a result of differences in the relationships between them

For example: Communication between teachers and students, even outside the

classroom context, differs from communication between close friends Communication among friends differs from communication among acquaintances, coworkers, or family members

Communication Is a Process: People, relationships, activities, objects, and

experiences can be described either in static terms or as part of a dynamic process

Communication Involves Shared Meanings: The interpretive and transactional nature

of communication suggests that correct meanings are not just "out there" to be

discovered

II CULTURE:

1 Defining “culture” for the study of communication

Meaning of the word culture

The word “culture” derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin

“colere,” which means to tend to the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture” (Cristina

De Rossi)

In this sense culture is the man-made environment and the people living in a society actually grow their way of life over time Western culture, European culture, Pakistani culture, Pakhtoon culture etc

Culture plays a major role in your communication As you work and socialize, you convey information to others and interpret what is conveyed to you Your culture's characteristics influence these communications

Culture has multiple meanings:

Example:

 Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people

 Culture is communication, communication is culture.

 Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning

 Culture is the ways of thinking, the ways of acting, and the material objects that together form a people’s way of life

 Culture is NOT society-culture is a blueprint for how we live, think and act, while society is a group of people within a geographic area

 Culture includes the traditions we inherit and pass on to the next generation

 A culture a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, norms, and

social practices, which affect the behaviors of a ralatively large group of people.

Components of culture

Beliefs

Ideas that people assume to be true about the world Beliefs are contexttual They arise from learned experiences, resulting from the cultural and environmental situations we have faced Beliefs grow from what we see, hearm experience, read and think about

Values

Values refer to what a group of people defines as good and bad or what it regards as important

• Values indicate what people find important and morally right (or wrong)

• Respect for parents, elders

• Cleanliness

• Generosity

• Values are broad principles that support beliefs

• Beliefs are specific thoughts or ideas that people hold to be true

Norms

Rules for appropriate behavior, which provide the expectations people have of one another and of themselves

• These are rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

• There are two aspects of norms…

- Proscriptive

 Should not and must not ; prohibited

 Laws that prohibit us from driving over the speed limit

- Prescriptive

 Must, should, may ;prescribed like medicine

 Persons making a certain amount of money are expected to file a tax return and pay any taxes they owe

Social practices

The predictable behavior patterms that people typically follow

Advantages of culture’s role in communication

 It helps you to identify the cultural basis of beliefs When you may encounter

beliefs that do not make sense to you in areas such as gender roles, clothing, communication, indulgence, trustworthiness, and loyalty By learning about culture’s role in communication, you can identify the cultural characteristics that

have triggered these beliefs Then, you can make informed decisions that can improve your communication

 It helps you to identify cultural behaviors You’re more likely to identify

behaviors that emanate from a culture This enables you to separate individual behaviors, which are unique to a person, from cultural behaviors, which are unique

to a culture Then, you can tailor your communication strategy to address the latter type

 It improves your skill set for working with multinationals Many businesses

operate in countries with different cultures, so learning about how cultural characteristics impact communication can improve your qualifications for working

in them

 It makes you a better communicator Based on your knowledge of culture’s role

in communication, you develop stronger communication strategies Then, you become a better communicator

2 Culture and related terms

Terms like nation, race, ethnicity and culture have become a part of our everyday language We often use them interchangeably to define who we are But, in fact, these terms don’t mean the same thing So, how are they different?

Nation

Nation is a political term referring to a government and a set of formal and legal mechanisms that regulate the political behavior of its people These regulations often encompass such aspects od a people as how leaders are chosen, by what rules the leaders must govern, the laws of banking and currency, the means to establish military groups, and the rules by which a legal system is conducted

The culture, or cultures, that exist within the boundaries of a nation-state certainly influence the regulations that a nation develops, but the term culture is not synonymous with nation

Although one cultural group predominates in some nations, most nations contain multiple cultures within their boundaries

Race

Race commonly refers to certain physical similarities, such as skin color or eye shape, that are shared by a group of people and are used to mark or separate them from others Because society has decided which features are important for categorizing people, race is considered to be a social construct However, once people have been categorized, society treats them differently As a result, racial categories can differ in vulnerability to illness, access to health care, and health outcomes

Ethnicity

Ethnic group is another term often used interchangeably with culture Ethnicity is actually a term that used to refer to a wide variety of groups who might share a language, historical origins, religion, nation-state, or cultural system

Ethnicity categorizes people based on common cultural characteristics Ethnic groups may

or may not share physical characteristics When we talk about someone’s ethnic background, we are often thinking more about a combination of ancestry and learned behaviours, such as language or diet

For example, two people, such as an African American and West Indian might both

identify their race as Black, but distinguish their ethnicity based on where they were raised

Conversely, ethnic groups such as British or Canadian include people from many racial backgrounds such as Black, white, or Asian

Subculture and Co-culture

Subculture is also a term sometimes used to refer to racial and ethnic minority groups

that share both a common nation-state with other cultures and some aspects of the larger culture

A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles

- Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, political and sexual matters  the concept of subcultures was developed in sociology and cultural studies

Signal each other

 Fashion style

 Stereotypical behaviors

 Use of secret language created to prevent outsiders from understanding them

Involves the study of symbolism

 Clothing

 Music

 Also the ways that these same symbols are seen and understood by members od the dominate culture

Co-culture has become more commonly used in an effort to avoid the implication of a

hierachical relationship between the European American culture and these other important cultural groups that form the mosaic of the United States

Co-culture is the idea that no one culture is inherently superior to other coexisting cultures in a given environment

So what’s the difference?

Subcultures are distinct cultures within a larger culture, such as the gullah culture in the southeast, and southeastern culture in the US

Example:

 Furries

 Furries for Trump

 Ethnicities

 Immigrants

 & many more

True Co-cultures understand both cultural planes, for example Native Americans abide by both US laws and customs as well as tribal laws and customs

Example:

 Native Americans

 Second-gen immigrants

 Regional American cultures

3 Culture analogies

Metaphors are a powerful tool that we use to understand and communicate complex concepts They allow us to describe abstract ideas in a more concrete and relatable way,

making it easier for us to understand and discuss them We will be showing some

common metaphors for diversity and how they help us to understand and appreciate the complexity and richness of diversity, particularly in culture Therefore, we can gain a deeper understanding of this important concept and how it shapes our world

3.1 The Melting Pot

- A melting pot is a metaphor for a society where many different types of people blend together as one America is often called a melting pot Some countries are made of people who are almost all the same in terms of race, religion, and culture Then there are places like the United States, where there are many different types of people A place like that is

a melting pot, because the people — despite their differences — manage to coexist and live together as one nation Anywhere diverse people are assimilated could be called a

melting pot In a melting pot, differences become less important than unity.

- US known as The Melting Pot

+ The phrase “melting pot” has been used since the 1780s, but entered into common usage because of a celebrated Broadway play “The Melting Pot,” written by Israel

Zangwill in 1904, was about a Russian Jewish refugee immigrating to the U.S to escape ethnic cleansing in his homeland Here he finds love, acceptance, and belonging, as the differences between ethnicity “melted away” due to cultural exchange becoming the

norm The idea of the “melting pot” was embraced and soon became a central part

of the United States of America’s cultural identity.

+ The phrase “the melting pot” to describe the effects of the American immigration system Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, the United States of America became known worldwide as the great melting pot Immigrants came to this country with the idea

in their hearts and minds that they could become Americans no matter their origins Symbols like the Statue of Liberty represent this idea, but nothing quite sums up what it means to be an American like the concept of a “melting pot” of cultures, mixing,

merging, and becoming stronger than each individual one; which results to the US

becoming one of the most attractive countries for immigrants and refugees around the world

+ This country welcomes people from all over the world and encourages them to

integrate themselves into American society

For example in New York, pizza came from Italy, but it’s hard to think of anything more

American than a slice of New York pizza Rock & Roll, Blues, and Jazz all came from the African American musical tradition, but they are thought of as American today The Asian influence is huge with a booming Chinatown and more Asian restaurants than one can imagine As for the French, there are more French restaurants in NYC than in Paris The only problem is that American society is more complicated than ever, but still, the philosophy stays the same When an immigrant moves here, they will need to learn about all of America’s societal, economic, and cultural norms For example, if their

understanding of English is limited, they’re encouraged to take English as a Second Language class (ESL) to better communicate with other Americans

3.2 An Iceberg