Ehsanullah Hassani (s14136)
Intercultural Communication
December 22, 2014
Japanese Culture and Society A study of “uchi-soto, Harmony (wa), Face (losing face), Non-verbal Communication” for effective Intercultural Communication
Japanese society is mostly homogenous with a very small of people from other parts of the world. Japan was closed to rest of the world for many years and created its own customs and traditions, though enormously copied from east and west. Because traditions were developed selectively, Japanese culture became a mixed of different cultures (Donahue, 1998). This not only distinguishes Japanese culture and society from rest of the world but also makes it hard for others to get accepted among Japanese. The concept
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Japanese communication relies less on verbal manipulation and more heavily on non-verbals. Words are crucial but so are body language, gestures, tone of voice, facial expressions, ‘non-word sounds’ such as hissing sound that Japanese make when confronting with an unappealing situations. One of the main reasons why Japanese rely on non-verbal communication is homogeneousness of society where people have enough background information on each other to reply on expressions (Kopp, 2014). Japanese style of communication is often described as ichi ieba ju wakaru (hear one understand ten). Means that when the speaker speaks 10% the listeners understand the rest based on the non-verbals and shared context (ibid). This style of communication is puzzling for foreigners, even if spoken words are understood completely there might be hidden meaning behind words considering the context and expressions. In order to have effective communication with Japanese either at work or daily life non-verbals should be understood carefully. Following are some important points in communication with Japanese. The following list includes ideas about non-verbal communication in Japan originally developed by Mary Bosrock (eDiplomat …show more content…
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Japanese individuals allow other cultural influence to establish their mindset and actions. As Watters states, “Feelings that Americans associate with depression have, in Japan, been wrapped up in a variety of cultural narratives that altered their meaning and the subjective experience for the individual,” (522). Japanese individuals rely on other cultures to control their way of living and thinking, and therefore lose recognition of the value of undergoing independent experience. Watters proves this perception of uniformity by contending to the belief that, “By applying a one-size fits all notion of depression around the world, Kirmayer argued, we run the risk of obscuring the social meaning and response the experience might be indicating,” (518). Individuals in Japanese culture are so influenced by other cultures that they lack control over their own experiences and in turn, lose their
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While communicating with another human being, one only has to examine the other’s face in order to comprehend what is being said on a much deeper level. It is said that up to 55 percent of a message’s meaning can be derived from facial expression (Subramani, 2010). These facial manipulations allow thoughts to be expressed in ways that are often difficult to articulate verbally, with the face demonstrating “the thoughts of the mind, and the feelings of the heart” (Singla). Many expressions are said to universal, particularly those showing happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and...
Nonverbal communication has always played an important role in the entire communication process. It may include gestures, kinesics, haptics and other means, which a person incorporates into the communication process. These acts make the communication process more effective and meaningful. However, nonverbal communication is highly influenced by cultural differences as the context of the culture defines how the message is interpreted. This essay will analyse several types of nonverbal communication such as proxemics, haptics, kinesics, semiotics and paralinguistic. It will also analyse the messages conveyed by these nonverbal communication types in different cultures and their impact on the non-verbal communication process in relative cultural contexts.
Many people who go to visit or work in another country suffer some misunderstanding from the local people, because they have a different culture. Different culture will cause disparity points of view about almost everything. In the article, Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks by Laray M. Barna, there are five stumbling blocks mentioned that are seen in a cross-culture communication. These blocks are: language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, the tendency to evaluate and high anxiety. Barna wants to use these stumbling blocks to show the common blockades between different cultures. I agree with what she thinks about the language, nonverbal signs and symbols, preconceptions and stereotypes, and the tendency
Western Washington University (2011). US / Japan culture comparison. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from www.wwu.edu/auap/english/gettinginvolved/CultureComparison.shtml
Everything we do in our life involves communication because it is a way for a sender to send message to the receiver by verbal and non-verbal communication. However, in some parts of the world messages that are delivered sometimes are not received in a way it is supposed to. A way to solve this is by using competent communicator and intercultural communication because it makes it easier for people from other cultures to communicate in general. On the other hand, there are also some problems faced because different cultures have different ways to express their way of communication. By understanding these types of communication and by defining them may solve this dilemma. In addition to that, there are also types of communication to consider that are commonly used, which is Proxemics, Gestures and body language.
When individuals or groups from different cultures communicate, this process is called intercultural communication. The transaction process of listening and responding to people from different cultural backgrounds can be challenging. The greater the difference in culture between two people, the greater the potential of misunderstanding and mistrust. Misunderstanding and miscommunication occur between people from different cultures because of different coding rules and cultural norms, which play a major role in shaping the patterns of interaction (Jandt, 2012).
Intercultural communication is an evolving discipline that occurs between individuals from contrasting backgrounds. It include...
Notably, the book Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations expounds the significance of the essential nonverbal element of communication: “Generally, verbal messages express the literal content of messages, while nonverbal messages express the emotional meaning” (Richmond, McCroskey, & Hickson, III, 2008, p. 5). Equally important, knowledge of nonverbal communication is extremely advantageous, as it assists with improving conversation skills with others, including:
Conflict and nonverbal communication are two of the most important subject matters in interpersonal communication. From this, one would assume that there would be lots of studies done to see the relation between these two important concepts. Fortunately there was some studies done to examine these relations, while most were not solely focused on this, they did discuss these ideas. But when it came to examining the relation of conflict to tone of voice, movement and gestures it was lacking in studies. In this paper I plan to explain the concepts of conflict and nonverbal communication, I will also make and argument for why it is important to continue to research the relation between conflict and nonverbal communication, specially tone of voice,
Culture of Japan - history, people, traditions, women, beliefs, food, family, social, marriage. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Japan.html
Japan is a fascinating multifaceted culture, on one hand it is filled with many traditions dating back thousands of years and yet is a society with continually changing fads,
A comparison between modern Western countries and Japan emphasizes a large discrepancy in beliefs regarding cultural growth in the separate parts of the world (Leonardson, 2004). According to many scholars and much research done on Japan the culture is the perfect example of what cultural homogeneity means as a whole. The cultural homogeneity affects the Japanese youth in how they grow, develop, affect their communities, and live their future lives in the community; this also plays a role in forcing out crime in the country. It also affects the procedures of the police force when interacting with citizens and planning new procedures that require the help and cooperation of Japanese citizens. The cultural