Cross Cultural Communication Test 1

Culture

learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people

Three components of culture

1. Identifiable Group

2. Observable behaviors and artifacts

3. Transmittable learning

Multi-cultural communication

communication that goes out TO and that comes FROM several cultures at the same time

ethnography

direct observation and reporting of customary behavior

cultural study

developing "ideal personification of the culture" to help explain actions of individuals

race

refers to a large body of people characterized by similarity of physical appearance or ancestral descent

white privilege

a series of ideas to show the hidden or invisible racism in American culture

counterpoints of white privilege

nonexistent, exceptions, victimization

ethnicity

people of the same descent and heritage who share a common distinctive culture pass on through generations

globalization

worldwide spread of markets and democracy

subculture

culture within a culture, co-culture, bounded culture

communication

the process of engendering meaning by ways of signs, symbols, and signals

General Model of Communication

Source (Sender) --(Channel)--> Receiver

othering

degrading other groups outside one's own, emphasizing differences

Barriers to Intercultural Communication (7)

1. Anxiety

2. Assuming Similarity

3. Assuming Differences

4. Ethnocentrism

5. Eurocentrism

6. Stereotype

7. Prejudice

ethnocentrism

"my culture is better than everyone else's"

eurocentrism

cultural nearsightedness, the tendency to view history through European/Western lens

prejudice

irrational suspicion of hatred of a particular group

3 Steps of Perception

Selection, Organizing, Interpreting

Selection

salience: degree to which something attracts our attention

Organizing

sort and categorize information based on innate and learned cognitive patterns (proximity, similarity, difference)

Interpreting

assign meaning to our experiences through schemata

phenomenological theories

humans understand the world through direct personal experience with it, how individuals interpret their reality

attribution theory

focuses on the ways people infer the causes of behavior (internal or external)

perception foundation

sensation is the neurological process by which you become aware of your environment

high context

not very much info, highly contextual, indirect, implied

low context

lots of info, explicit, direct, explicit

common sources of perception difference

superstitions, rituals, values, hereos, symbols

intra-cultural communication

communication between members of the same cultural background

intercultural communication

Direct interaction and message exchange between individuals or groups from different cultural backgrounds.

cross-cultural communication

the comparison of communication patterns, behaviors, and styles across different cultural groups.

international communication

Communication between nations, governments, or political entities across international borders.

global communication

Mass communication systems, technology, media, and information flow spanning worldwide networks.

Confucianism

philosophical system based emphasizing social order, family heirarchy, moral duty and collectivism

Effects of Confucianism

1. Particularism

2. Intermediaries

3. Overlapping Spheres

4. In-Group Focus

5. Face & Harmony

communication competence

the ability to take part in effective communication that is characterized by skills and understandings that enable communicators to exchange messages successfully

ethical relativism

the belief that ethical rules and moral truths are dependent on cultural contexts and cannot be judged by external standards

ethical essentialism

the perspective that certain fundamental moral values are universal and apply across all human societies regardless of culture

Communication Model (10 Components)

1. Sender/Source

2. Encoding

3. Message

4. Channel/Medium

5. Receiver

6. Decoding

7. Feedback

8. Noise

9. Context

10. Effect/Outcome

in-group

circle to which a person feels loyalty and belonging

out-group

group of individuals viewed as external or competitive

Uncertainty Reduction Theory

during initial interactions, people seek information to reduce uncertainty and increase predictability of others

3 types of noise in communication

physical/environmental, physological, semantic

Communication Competence Approaches

Cognitive (knowledge), Affective (motivation), Behavioral (skills)

the stranger

a sociological concept describing an individual who is physically close yet culturally or socially distant

Lessons of the Outsider

the unique insights and critical self-awareness gained when an individual steps outside their home culture to experience being a foreigner

Sensing (step of perception)

choosing which sensory inputs from the environment to attend to while filtering out others

Organization (step of perception)

categorizing and arranging sensory data into meaningful patterns using existing schemas

Interpretation (step of perception)

assigning meaning and personal significance to the organized information

cultural nearsightedness

the failure to recognize that members of other cultures hold different assumptions, leading to misunderstandings

values

deeply held, enduring beliefs about what is desirable, right or good within a culture

heroes

real or fictional figures who embody a culture's core values and serve as role models

rituals

collective, repetitive activities or ceremonies that reinforce cultural beliefs

superstitions

cultural beliefs or practices based on supernatural forces, luck or unscientific causality

Proxemics

spatial distance, personal space

Kinesics

body movement, posture

Gestures

specific hand or body movement used to communicate

facial expression

facial movements expressing emotion or attitude

Oculesics

eye contact, gaze duration, pupil activity

Haptics

touch behavior (hugs, handshakes)

chronemics

use and perception of time

localics

physical arrangement, boundaries, geography or local environments

artifacts

clothing, jewelry, tatoos, body alterations

gustastics

communication involving taste and food traditions

olfactics

communication through smells and body scents

silence

deliberate or spontaneous absence of speech that carries distinct meaning depending on context

vocalics/paralanguage

nonverbal auditory elements of voice (speed, pitch, volume, vocal fillers)

language

structure system of arbitrary symbols, sounds, and rules used by a group to communicate thoughts and feelings

grammar

complete set of structural rules governing a language

syntax

the arrangement of words and phrases to create sentences

linguistic determinism (strong Sapir-Whorf view)

the theory that language strictly dictates and limits human thought patterns

linguistic relativity (weak Sapir-Whorf view)

the theory that language influences and shapes how speakers perceive and experience the world

translation problems

1. vocabulary equivalence

2. idiomatic equivalence

3. grammatical-syntactical equivalence

4. experiential equivalence

5. conceptual equivalence

back translation

translating a text into a target language then having a second independent translator translate it back into the original language to verify accuracy.

pidgin

a simplified auxiliary language developed for a trade or basic contact between groups without a shared language

creole

a stable, complex language that develops when a pidgin becomes the primary native language of a new generation

artifical languages

Concocted languages created by individuals or groups for specific purposes (e.g., Esperanto, programming languages, fictional languages like Klingon).

language importance

Language serves as the primary tool for identity preservation, knowledge transmission, cultural creation, and social cohesion.

linguistic archeology

where and how a language spreads and to what degree

Austronesian languages

spoken across Southeast Asia, Madagascar, Pacific Islands (e.g. Tagalog, Malay, Hawaiian)

African languages

diverse linguistic families across the continent including Niger-Congo (e.g. Swahili, Zulu), Afroasiatic, and Nilo-Saharan

Basque

a unique language isolate spoken in northern Spain and southwestern France, unrelated to any known Indo-European language family

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

proposes that the structure and vocabulary of a language influence how its speakers think, perceive, and experience the world

3 Keys of Linguistic Archeology

1. transforms from complex language to simple

2. diversity of form = origin

3. similarity of form = recent

the original language

1. first attempts to lock children and never speak to them

2. some believed Esperanto

3. Khoisan (clicking language) seen as possibility

What can we learn from language?

1. Language in central

2. History helps empathy

3. Deliberate efforts fail

4. Diversity shows God's power and creativity