The concept of Intercultural Communication Лекция 1

The concept of Intercultural Communication Лекция 1

Learning outcomes • understand such terms as culture, communication, intercultural, international, intercultural. • recognize how communication barriers affect intercultural communication. • understand the differences between norms, rules, roles and networks. • understand the concepts of globalization, glocalization, grobalization. • understand the dimensions of culture and cultural iceberg concept • dimensions of culture by Hall, Hofstede, Schwartz, Maslow hierarchy of needs. • Understand such terms as stereotype, enculturation, acculturation, ethnocentrism.

Culture is A code we learn and share. Learning and sharing requires communication. Communication is a process of coding and decoding information that can be and must be learned and shared

Umwelt “self centered world” It is also the semiotic world of the organism, including all the meaningful aspects of the world for any particular organism, i. e. it can be water, food, shelter, potential threats, or points of reference for navigation. An organism creates and reshapes its own umwelt when it interacts with the world. The umwelt theory states that the mind and the world are inseparable, because it is the mind that interprets the world for the organism. Consequently, the umwelten of different organisms differ, which follows from the individuality and uniqueness of the history of every single organism. When two umwelten interact, this creates a semiosphere.

Communication chain 1. Someone has got an idea 2. Idea becomes a message 3. Message is transmitted 4. Receiver gets the message 5. Receiver gives a feedback

Intercultural concepts 1. Intercultural communication is a communication between persons of different cultures 2. Intercultural business communication is a relatively new term in the business world and is defined as communication within and between businesses that involves people from more than one culture. 3. Diffusion is the process by which the two cultures learn and adapt materials and adopt practices from each other. 4. World culture is the idea that as traditional barriers among people of differing cultures break down, emphasizing the commonality of human needs, one culture will emerge, a new culture to which all people will adhere.

Intercultural concepts 1. Melting pot means a sociocultural assimilation of people of differing backgrounds and nationalities; the term implies losing ethnic differences and forming one large society or macroculture. 2. Microcultures exist among cultures. 3. Intracultural communication is defined as communication between and among members of the same culture. Generally, people who are of the same race, political persuasion, and religion or who share the same interests communicate intraculturally. 4. International communication takes place between nations and governments rather than individuals; it is formal and ritualized.

Globalization, glocalization, grobalization Business “globalization is the worldwide diffusion of practices, expansion of relations across continents, organization of social life on a global scale, and growth of shared global consciousness” (Ritzer. 2007. p. 4) The term “glocalization” refers to “the interpenetration of the global and the local, resulting in unique outcomes in different geographic areas” (Robertson, 2001, in Ritzer, 2007, p. 13) Grobalization, according to Ritzer (2007), “focuses on the imperialistic ambitions of nations, corporations, organizations, and the like and their desire, indeed need, to impose themselves on various geographic areas“ (p. 15). It is the imposition of an organization on a new culture.

stereotype, enculturation, acculturation, ethnocentrism. • Stereotype perceptions about certain groups of people or nationalities, exist with persons of your own country and those of other cultures. • Enculturation is the socialization process you go through to adapt to your society. When you grow up in one culture, you learn one way of classifying, coding, prioritizing, and justifying reality. • Acculturation is the process of adjusting and adapting to a new and different culture. • Ethnocentrism is the belief that your own cultural background, including ways of analyzing problems, values, beliefs, language, and verbal and nonverbal communication, is correct. • Mindsets are ways of being that allow us to see, perceive, and reason through our own cultural awareness. Mindsets are learned by growing up in a particular culture. We learn to be open or closed to others and their way of living; however, these mindsets can be altered. Mindsets include the psychological and cultural factors that make us individuals and make us different or similar.

Norms, rules, roles, and networks are situational factors that influence encoding and decoding of both verbal and nonverbal messages within a culture. They are unwritten guidelines people with in the cultural group follow. Norms are culturally ingrained principles of correct and incorrect behaviors that, if broken, carry a form of overt or covert penalty. Rules are formed to clarify cloudy areas of norms. The U. S. Supreme Court is an excellent example of an organization that looks at the intent of a rule and determines how strongly or loosely it should be followed. A role includes the behavioral expectations of a position within a culture and is affected by norms and rules. Networks are formed with personal ties and involve an exchange of assistance. Networks and the need to belong are the basis of friendships and subgroups (Chaney & Martin, 2005).

Communication barriers • Physical—time, environment, comfort and needs, and physical medium (e. g. , telephone or letter) • Cultural—ethnic, religious, and social differences • Perceptual—viewing what is said from your own mindset • Motivational—the listener's mental inertia • Experiential—lack of similar life happenings • Emotional—personal feelings of the listener • Linguistic—different languages spoken by the speaker and listener or use of a vocabulary beyond the comprehension of the listener • Nonverbal—nonword messages • Competition—the listener's ability to do other things rather than hear the communication