Impact of Cultural on Communication

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Culture is not something that you carry in your DNA. It is not about genetics, it is about being born into a society with certain cultural characteristics. From the moment that you are born, you start learning about culture throughout the course of your life. You gain knowledge of culture from your parents, grandparents, friends, teachers in school and so on. Cultural characteristics refer to the elements that define individuals. Some of these characteristics consist of beliefs, values, norms and social practices. In the next paragraphs you will find a better definition of each cultural characteristic and how they influence verbal and non-verbal communication.

Belief is the idea that an individual can consider to be true around him or the exterior world. I always considered beliefs to be controversial, not because you believe in a certain religion for example, means that it is true. Everyone has different beliefs; it varies depending on where you are from, the religion that you follow, etc. Values refer to what individuals from a particular culture believe that is right, good, fair, just, valuable, beautiful, appropriate, kind or the opposite of these. Within a culture, values are taught through generations. They are enduring and remain important during long periods of time. Norms can be defined as changing behaviors. They consist in good manners and greeting behaviors. Norms vary within cultures too. The best example that I can give is the greetings between an American and a Latino. Latinos have the tendency to kiss on the cheeks when greeting someone. On the other hand, Americans are more of a handshake type and a hug when it comes to acquaintances, friends or family. Social practices refer to the different behaviors pa...

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... their husband demands. It affects communication by the lack of it. They cannot even express themselves in a non-verbal way. The type of clothing they use covers everything except their eyes, and they cannot make eye contact either. It would be a sin if they are caught making eye contact to a man that is not the one they have been promised to.

Throughout the essay you have been able to gain perspective of how culture and communication connect. The different types of cultural characteristics definitely have an influence in verbal and non-verbal communication. Beliefs, Values, Norms and Social practices can change communication within the diverse cultures. This is something we get to study and see every day if we take a closer look. I have gained a lot of knowledge doing this research and I am still trying to understand and respect different cultural values.

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