Unit 1
Communication Across Cultures
Reading I
Intercultural Communication：An Introduction
Comprehension questions
1. Is it still often the case that “everyone?s quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary world?
This is still powerful in today?s social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon in today?s society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems are caused by minorities and immigrants.
2. What?s the difference between today?s intercultural contact and that of any time in the past?
Today?s intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in any time in history.
3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life today?
New technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.
4. How do you understand the sentence “culture is everything and everywhere”?
Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.
5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and communication?
The three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).
6. What does one?s family teach him or her while he or she grows up in it?
The family teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.
7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our culture?
Because language is not only a form of preserving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system that is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.
8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning to?
People can attach meaning to nonverbal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.
9. How can a free, culturally diverse society exist?
A free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society.
Reading II
The Challenge of Globalization
Comprehension questions
1. Why does the author say that our understanding of the world has changed?
Many things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.
2. What a “global village” is like?
As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remote cultures increasingly come into contact on a daily basis. In a “global village”, members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people may live thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.
3. What is considered as the major driving force of the post-1945 globalization?
Technology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.
4. What does the author mean by saying that “the ?global? may be more local than the ?local?”?
The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than of the local events. In this sense, “the ?global? may be more local than the ?local?”.
5. Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the world?
Effective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.
6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?
Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.
7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?
This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability to
understand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.
8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalization?
Globalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.
Case Study
Case 1
In this case, there seemed to be problems in communicating with people of different cultures in spite of the efforts made to achieve understanding.
We should know that in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued so highly that it is not expressed in an objective and impersonal way. While Americans certainly value human relationships, they are more likely to speak of them in less personal, more objective terms. In this case, Richard?s mistake might be that he chose to praise the food itself rather than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host and hostess it was as if he had attended an art exhibit and complimented the artist by saying, “What beautiful frames your pictures are in.”
In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people value order and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itself－be it a family or a vast corporation－is more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans stress individuality as a value and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably in conflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case: Richard?s mistake was in making great efforts to defend himself. Let the others assume that the errors were not intentional, but it is not right to defend yourself, even when your unstated intent is to assist the group by warning others of similar mistakes. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.
When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, ―”Help yourself”; for the English counterpart, ―”Be my guest”. American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is one who ―makes himself at home, even to the point of answering the door or fixing his own drink. For persons in many other societies, including at least this hypothetical English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.
Case 2
A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involves conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication style. In