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How communication is affected by different cultures
How communication is affected by different cultures
Reasons for understanding cultural differences
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Understanding one’s own culture is an important aspect of cross-cultural and intercultural communication, by allowing people to adapt and relate to different cultures. Culture can be defined as, “…a learned meaning system that consists of patterns of traditions, beliefs, values, norms, meanings, and symbols that are passed on from one generation to the next and are shared to varying degrees by interacting members of a community” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012, pg. 16). Culture impacts how people communicate. Western countries, such as the United State and France, communicate differently than eastern countries, like China and Japan. High versus low context culture, and the iceberg metaphor of culture consisting of surface, intermediate and deep …show more content…
High context cultures such as China use context clues, few words and symbols that have a shared meaning. People speak indirectly, not explicitly saying what they mean, but expecting others to understand based off of context clues and the shared meaning of the language. Asian and Middle Eastern countries are more likely to have a high context culture due to their homogeneity and lack of diversity. Belonging to the in-group is important due to the necessity of a shared meaning behind the context clues and symbols. Low context cultures speak directly and clarify expressions by using more words. The usage of symbols and context clues are rare. Being a part of the in-group is less important due to the direct language. The United States practices low context culture by asking direct questions and using more words for explanations. Westernized countries are more diverse racially and ethnically compared to Asia. The United States is often referred to as a ‘melting pot’ in regards to the different cultures, races and ethnicities found inside the …show more content…
The first level refers to surface level culture which refers to fleeting images represented in popular culture such as TV, film and music. The surface level is often times based on stereotypes. Crime shows such as NCIS and CSI follow crime scenes in major US cities and are exaggerated for dramatic purposes. The shows contain, “fast paced suspense drama, featuring attractive-looking actors…” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012, pg. 17). TV producers place more merit on ratings than factual information. Music videos and movies also intensify the party scene found at American colleges. Asher Roth’s I Love College, illustrates a party school where people sleep until one and never go to class (2009). While partying and drinking does happen a lot on campus, most students also focus on their education in between. Outsiders who see that music video may assume American college students are drunk all the time, but that is
Whether you have experienced a lot of traveling to other countries and continents or perhaps you have never left the East coast, it can be assumed; whether through school or a work environment, you have had at least one experience dealing with different nationalities and cultures. The realization is that we may come from different places and have different backgrounds but most people, cultures included, have more in common then we could imagine.
Whether you belong to a certain race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, geographical region or you identify with a certain sex you belong to a particular culture. Culture as define by Shiraev and Levy (2013), “Is a set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually communicated from one generation to the next” (p. ). In other words, we are a product of what has been handed down to us from the generations before. However, culture is evolving and it changes all the time. Hence the reason, no one group has a unique culture, since we are all influenced by each other’s way of life. As a result of this influence, we form relationships with people we know little about and share our values and beliefs with each other. Thereby creating a cross-cultural mix.
The distinction between US American low-context and Chinese high-context is easily demonstrated by the following description of American communication:
“Culture is often described as the combination of a body of knowledge, a body of belief and a body of behavior. It involves a number of elements, including personal identification, language, thoughts, communications, actions, customs, beliefs, values, and institutions that are often specific to ethnic, racial, religious, geographic, or social groups”.
The United States is a country with a diverse existing population today; this country is known as a melting pot of different cultures, each one unique in its own respect. Culture; differentiate one societal group from another by identification beliefs, behaviors, language, traditions, Art, fashion styles, food, religion, politics, and economic systems. Through lifelong, ever changing processes of learning, creativity, and sharing culture shapes our patterns of behavior as well thinking. The Culture’s significance is so intense that it touches almost every aspect of who and what we are. Culture becomes the telescope through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us. Trying to define the perplexing term of culture with varying component of distinguishable characteristics is difficult to restrict. Presenly, culture is viewed as consisting primarily of the symbolic, untouched and conception aspects of human societies.
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).
When thinking about what has been covered so far in the unit, I would consider lending my USB to my friend unacceptable. During our group discussion, my groupmates also have all agreed that it would not be very smart as it could result in problems such as plagiarism. To communicate this to my friend, firstly I would tell them that I cannot lend my USB to them and explain why afterwards. I would tell them the problems that might surface from borrowing my work and suggest a few tips. I would explain to them what plagiarism is and what would happen if we plagiarised; we could earn a zero from our work or subject, and in severe cases, could lead to both of us being expelled from the university (Butler, 2005). I would talk about the other ways for
My upbringing and exposure to many different cultures has made me somewhat cosmopolitan and culturally flexible. I'm able to work well with most cultures. When it comes to context, I can't say that I have a certain preference; I sometimes appreciate the respectfulness of high-context cultures, and the blunt honesty and clarity of low-context ones. However, I believe that most low-context cultures are often more practical. I like individualism slightly better than collectivism.
Effective communication with people of difference cultures can be especially challenging. The way people interpret the world can be strikingly different between cultures. Intercultural communication occurs when a member from one culture produces a message that is absorbed by a member of another culture. How that message is understood by the communicating party is a vital part in intercultural communication. For example, in Cambodia it would be considered rude to discuss business in a social setting (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.). However, in the United States this is a common practice and is almost an encouraged event. Another important factor and consideration in intercultural communication is the importance of understanding cultures, values, history and beliefs. For instance, in Cambodia, if you deliver a present that is wrapped in white paper, this is considered to represent mourning. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to assimilate into a culture and be mindful of communication between cultures (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.).
I wasn 't quite sure what I was getting into when I first enrolled in Intercultural Communications. I had assumptions as to the goals of the course such as I would be learning about the way cultures interact with each other, learn about communication in general, or I would be learning about the ways we use communication through our culture. I think that I achieve the latter goal, but I also gained knowledge about more then just my culture. I came to realize that there is more to a culture than just language, appearances, and customs, which are aspects of culture that could be seen above the waterline, or they are more noticeable/obvious to someone outside of that culture. There are aspects of culture that are below the waterline, or more
According to Hofstede’s (1980), ‘culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another… culture in the sense, includes systems of values: and values are among the building blocks of culture.’ It is necessary to determine how culture impacts our communication behavior as culture directly influences our perception and understanding of the message that is transmitted from one party to another. People from different cultures encode and decode messages differently; this therefore increases the chances of misunderstanding. Intercultural communication refers to interactions between people whose cultural assumptions are so different that the communication between them is altered. Verderber, Verderber, & Sellnow, (2010).
Therefore, it is essential to study nonverbal and verbal communication Nonverbal communication is all forms of communication other than words themselves, which includes “body motions; vocal qualities; and the use of time, space, and even smell” (Neuliep, 2011, p. 269). On the other hand verbal communication or language “consists of symbols in the form of spoken or written words (Wood, 2014, p. 67). Thus cultures have different representations of symbols and what one culture interprets another may define or view differently. Communication is closely related to culture because communication expresses and alters culture. In a culture you learn behaviors and acceptable ideologies. This can be seen in verbal and nonverbal communication. For example, the tone of your voice is based on culture. Without communication you are unable to establish cultural differences. Your own culture directly shapes how one communicates, such as when it is appropriate to make eye contact. We are not born knowing when and how we should speak; this is a learned behavior that is taught by interaction with others. This is not an easy task because nonverbal signals differ from culture to culture. Charles Braithwaite stated, “One of the fundamental components of cultural and linguistic competence is knowing how and when to use silence as a communication tactic” (Neuliep, 2011, p. 64). Before one can communicate effectively one must understand the context in which the culture exchanges information. One must have a working awareness of how each society conveys meaning, hence high vs. low context cultures. According to the Central Michigan University text, organizational dynamics and human behavior (2009), to become a successful international manager one must develop “cross-cultural skills”. One part of the skill set involves the comprehension of the difference between high-context and low-context
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
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
High-context and low-context cultures differ in how much contextual detail they expect the person to comprehend: