Intercultural Communication: What’s Culture Anyway?

CULTURALLY SPEAKING

Introduction

This textbook begins from the idea that communication is inseparable from culture. The importance of cultural elements in interpersonal communication can’t be overestimated: when we chat, argue, plan a date or even say hi to each other we are interacting in culturally specific ways. Most of us tend to take these kinds of interactions for granted within our native language and culture. We do not usually think of them in cultural terms because they are such a basic part of our daily lives.

Yet different ways of looking at things associated with our different social identities may result in all kinds of misunderstanding, even conflict inside the same linguoculture. This misunderstanding can be caused not only by what you say but by how you say it – and this is where phonetics steps in.

The American anthropologist and linguist Michael Agar, Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, labels the process of interpersonal communication as culture blending, giving a number of examples of the abovementioned misunderstanding from his personal experience.

“One Friday afternoon…I went to a faculty reception. I met a colleague whom

I‘d corresponded and talked on the phone with but never met in person. She had helped me out a lot by sending me some bibliographies and course outlines from her field. When I finally met her, I thanked her and said something like ‘The least I can do is buy you a drink.’ She snapped to attention and said, rather sharply, ‘I can pay for my own drink.’ I explained that I’d have made the same offer to any colleague who’d helped me out, male or female or any other variation on the theme. I guess you could say that she just didn’t understand. But in this case, we both did. She had read my invitation as a come-on, converting her to pick-up; I’d meant it as thanks.”( M.Agar. Culture Blends, p.14)

Differences happen within languages and across them. When we are exposed to a different language as part of a different culture, we begin to realize that communication is not something natural that we just “know how to do”, we are constantly reminded that people around the world have different values and customs which find specific verbal and non-verbal expression. In this way we become aware that the ways we interact with other people are linked to larger cultural expectations, that communication should be viewed in terms of shared cultural knowledge that is to be learned and practised, in a word we begin to see communication as culturally constituted.

The textbook is based on a comparative approach (where possible) which means that we are going to consider the communicative and cultural practices of English-speaking nations in relation to those common in Russia. This approach, we hope, might stimulate interest in and encourage respect for both Russian and English cultures, for learning a second language and coming to terms with a foreign culture means learning more about your own language and culture.

UNIT 1

READ THE FOLLOWING PASSAGES FROM K.FOX’ “WATCHING THE ENGLISH” AND SAY WHAT YOU HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT:

- culture in general;

- English culture and Englishness, as they are defined by the author;

- the rules for distinguishing different cultures.

Defining culture

10 …my search for the rules of Englishness will effectively involve an attempt to understand and define English culture. This is another term that requires definition: by ‘culture’ I mean the sum of a social group’s patterns of behaviour, customs, way of life, ideas, beliefs and values.

I am not implying by this that I see English culture as a homogeneous entity – that I expect to find no variation in behaviour patterns, customs, beliefs, etc. – any more than I am suggesting that the ‘rules of Englishness’ are universally obeyed. As with the rules, I expect to find much variation and diversity within English culture, but hope to discover some sort of common core, a set of underlying basic patterns that might help us to define Englishness.

Distinguishing cultures (culture-to-culture rules)

13  The human species is addicted to rule making. Every human activity, without exception, including natural biological functions such as eating and sex, is hedged about with complex sets of rules and regulations, dictating precisely when, where, with whom and in what manner the activity may be performed. Animals just do these things; humans make an almighty song and dance about it. This is known as ‘civilization’.

The rules may vary from culture to culture, but there are always rules. Different foods may be prohibited in different societies, but every society has food taboos. We have rules about everything. In the above lists, every practice that does not already contain an explicit or implicit reference to rules could be preceded by the words ‘rules about’ (e.g. rules about gift-giving, rules about hairstyles, rules about dancing, greetings, hospitality, joking, weaning, etc.). My focus on rules is therefore not some strange personal whim, but a recognition of the importance of rules and rule making in the human psyche.

If you think about it, we all use differences in rules as a principal means of distinguishing one culture from another. The first thing we notice when we go on holiday or business abroad is that other cultures have ‘different ways of doing things’, by which we usually mean that they have rules about, say, food, mealtimes, dress, greetings, hygiene, trade, hospitality, joking, status-differentiation, etc., which are different from our own rules about these practices.

COMPARE K.FOX’S DEFINITION OF CULTURE WITH THE FOLLOWING ENTRIES FROM LONGMAN DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE (4-th impression, 2000, p.314):

 Culture – the customs, beliefs, art, music and all the other products of human thought made by a particular group of people at a particular time, e.g. Greek culture, pop culture.

 Culture gap –difference in culture (e.g. between Britain and France, Britain and the USA, Britain and Russia).

 Culture shock – the feeling of shock or of being disorientated which someone has when they experience a different or unfamiliar culture.

WHAT IS K.FOX’S EXPRESSION FOR CULTURE GAP –culture rules? WHICH OF THE TWO EXPRESSIONS WOULD YOU PREFER? Give your reasons.

LOOKING CLOSER AT THE RULES FOR DISTINGUISHING ONE CULTURE FROM ANOTHER WHICH OF THEM STRIKE YOU AS PARTICULARLY SALIENT AND USEFUL FOR DESCRIBING THE CULTURE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NATIONS?

Inter-, as you’ll probably know, comes from the Latin word for “between”, and the dictionary defines “communication” as “exchanging information”. Therefore, it’s easy to draw the conclusion that intercultural communication simply refers to exchanging information between two cultures. Sounds very easy, doesn’t it? But it’s the “culture” part of this basic definition where things start getting a tad complicated.

Academic researchers in the field of intercultural communication often start out with the observation that “culture” is a word with a very vague meaning. Or rather, a word with lots of different meanings. A ground-breaking study by two anthropologists in the 1950s found that there were no less than 164 (!) definitions of the word “culture”. So it’t no easy matter to understand what intercultural communication is all about.

Intercultural Communication: What’s Culture Anyway?

When talking about culture in everyday conversation, completely unconnected with intercultural communication, the word might refer to high-brow culture: intellectualism, literature, the fine arts etc. “My cousin Peggy’s a real culture vulture (хищница). She goes to the opera every Sunday, and loves spending her free time at the museum!” Or, to get back to the expat context, a globe-trotting friend might chat with you about various national cultures. “I love the Italian culture,” he would say. “Their food is excellent, and they are so much nicer to kids than us back home.”

One mistake that many a traveller make is to assume that a foreign country’s national culture is just this: its heritage and arts, food and table manners, visible social customs and family life, festivals and rituals. In fact, experts in intercultural communication call this false assumption one of the most dominant myths about culture.

Actually, inintercultural communication, what you can see and touch is only the smallest part of a foreign culture. Some teachers of intercultural communication like using the “iceberg model” in their lectures. The culture of any country is like an iceberg. 7/8 of an iceberg are hidden from your view. So, if you want to avoid ending up like the Titanic during your time abroad, it’s best to familiarize yourself with some basic principles of intercultural communication.

From Wikipedia:

Inter-cultural communication principles guide the process of exchanging meaningful and unambiguous information across cultural boundaries, in a way that preserves mutual respect and minimises antagonism. For these purposes, culture is a shared system of symbols, beliefs, attitudes, values, expectations, and norms of behaviour. It refers to coherent groups of people whether resident wholly or partly within state territories, or existing without residence in any particular territory. Hence, these principles may have equal relevance when a tourist seeks help, where two well-established independent corporations attempt to merge their operations, and where politicians attempt to negotiate world peace. Two factors have raised the importance of this topic:

• Improvements in communication and transportation technology have made it possible for previously stable cultures to meet in unstructured situations, e.g. the internet opens lines of communication without mediation, while budget airlines transplant ordinary citizens into unfamiliar milieux. Experience proves that merely crossing cultural boundaries can be considered threatening, while positive attempts to interact may provoke defensive responses. Misunderstanding may be compounded by either an exaggerated sensitivity to possible slights, or an exaggerated and over-protective fear of giving offence;
• Some groups believe that the phenomenon of globalisation has reduced cultural diversity and so reduced the opportunity for misunderstandings, but characterising people as a homogeneous market is simplistic. One product or brand only appeals to the material aspirations of one self-selecting group of buyers, and its sales performance will not affect the vast multiplicity of factors that may separate the cultures.

The aspects of crosscultural communication may include:

High and Low Context Cultures: Context is the most important cultural dimension and also immensely difficult to define. The idea of context in culture was an idea put forth by an anthropologist by the name of Edward T Hall. Hall breaks up culture into two main groups: High and Low context cultures. He refers to context as the stimuli, environment or ambiance (зд. аура) surrounding the environment. Depending on how a culture relies on the three points to communicate their meaning, will place them in either High or Low context cultures. For example, Hall goes on to explain that low-context cultures assume that the individuals know very little about what they are being told, and therefore must be given a lot of background information. High-Context cultures assume the individual is knowledgeable about the subject and has to be given very little background information.

Empathize Through Action

· As you learn the ways of another culture, the best way to establish good intercultural communication is to act in a way that is considered ethical in that culture. Do and say the things that will express that you have the best interest of those around you in mind. Enjoy the food people prepare for you. If there are certain respectful gestures associated with greeting people older or more prestigious than yourself (or everyone), use them. Learn at least enough of the language to greet people and ask how they are doing in their native tongue. Wear clothing that is culturally appropriate. Respect family organization and methods of doing education and business. On every level of life and society, share in the way people think and act as much as you are able to. This willingness to adopt the standards of another culture is the best way to establish ethical and intercultural communication. COMMENT

DO YOU THINK EMPATHIZING IS IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH GOOD INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION? HOW DO YOU INTERPRETE THE TERM?

HERE ARE 10 PRINCIPLES TO BE GUIDED WITH WHEN WORKING IN AN INTERCULTURAL ENVIRONMENT (e:info@kwintessential.co.uk) DO YOU THINK THE LIST IS EXHAUSTIVE?

1. Be Patient: Working in an intercultural environment can be a frustrating affair. Things may not get done when expected, communication can be tiresome and behaviour may be inappropriate. Patience with yourself and others helps move beyond such issues and address how to avoid similar incidents in the future.
2. Establish Rules: Sometimes if working in a truly intercultural team it may be necessary for all to take a step back and set down some ground rules. i.e. how do we approach punctuality, meetings, communication, emails, disagreements, etc? It is always a good idea to try and develop the rules as a group rather than have them imposed.
3. Ask Questions: When you don't understand something or want to know why someone has behaved in a certain way, simply ask. Asking questions stops you making assumptions, shows the questioned you did not understand them and helps build up your bank of intercultural knowledge.
4. Respect: The foundation of all intercultural communication is respect. By demonstrating respect you earn respect and help create more open and fruitful relationships.
5. The Written Word: Sometimes people who do not have English as their mother tongue will read more proficiently than they speak. It is a good idea to always write things down as a back up.
6. Time: Not everyone in the world thinks "time is money". Understand that for many people work is low down on the priority list with things like family taking a much higher precedence. Do not expect people to sacrifice their own time to meet deadlines. It is good practice to always leave a bit of spare time when considering deadlines.
7. Humour: In an intercultural environment one man's joke is another's insult. Be wary of differences in the sense of humour and also the acceptability of banter and the like in a business environment.
8. Always Check: The easiest way of minimizing the negative impact of intercultural communication is to check and double check. Whether agreeing something or giving instructions, a minute spent double checking all parties are 'reading from the same sheet' saves hours of work later on down the line.
9. Be Positive: When faced with incidents of an intercultural nature steer clear of blame and conflict. Stay positive, analyse the problem areas and work as a team to build strategies and solutions to ensure the same never occurs again.
10. Self-Reflect: A good intercultural communicator not only looks outwards but also inwards. Take time to reflect on your own communication, management or motivation style and see where you can improve as an individual.

USING WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT CULTURE IN GENERAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AS A STARTING POINT GIVE YOUR OWN EXPLANATION OF WHAT SHOULD BE MEANT BY LINGUOCULTURAL DIFFERENCES. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE MEANS, INCLUDING PHONETIC MEANS, IN DISTINGUISHING CULTURES? Give examples.

Communication (presentation) HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED CULTURE SHOCK WHEN YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN ANOTHER COUNTRY AND WERE EXPOSED TO A DIFFERENT CULTURE?

When giving your presentation take care of the following tips

PRESENTATION

Do you realize that speaking is the most powerful means of influencing others in business and in (academic) life? If you do, try to make the most of your speaking opportunities, phonetics included.

Let us proceed with the idea that there exists a kitbag of tools, some straightforward techniques that could help you become an expert and powerful speaker. A trap to be avoided: sometimes the high-tech gadgets can suppress the humanity and spontaneity of the speaker who is supposed to share himself with the audience. So a few slides will hardly make a winning presentation if you lack the necessary expertise.

Another challenge that many people worldwide are facing is reaching out to others who are different from themselves. In countries such as Russia, the US, the UK and many others with highly diverse populations knowing how to speak effectively to mobilize different opinions and perspectives is a challenge for the presenter.

One of the simplest rules to remember: a formal presentation should rather be like an organized, enlarged conversation - as if with your peers over lunch or dinner. The power of speaking is in the personal contact, in the immediacy of interaction. Do not sacrifice this aspect under any circumstances.

A recent survey reveals that American managers are rated as the best speakers - their direct style and confidence were the main reasons cited.

The truth is that nobody is born a good speaker – effective speaking is learned and takes a great deal of hard work. Preparation and determination are the means to achieve success. A great speaker like Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister during World War II was aware of this. His approach is well worth recalling.

Once Winston Churchill went by taxi to a meeting. When the taxi stopped at the address, Churchill delayed getting out. The Cockney taxi driver yelled, ‘You’ve arrived, governor. You’re ‘ere.’ ‘I know, I know,’ replied Churchill. ‘I’m just preparing my impromptu remarks.’

All good speakers get nervous. The truth is that you need the adrenalin of nervous energy to perform effectively.