Crosscultural Communication

Intercultural Communication: Agenda

Intercultural
Language,
Communication in Gender and
Communication,
a Globalized Communication
and Culture
World

Nonverbal Intercultural
Communication Communication
and Culture Competence
What is intercultural
communication?

Interaction between people

whose cultural perceptions
and symbol systems differ
enough to alter the
communication event
What is Culture?
Culture is a set of human-made objective and subjective
elements that in the past-

• have increased the probability of survival and resulted

in satisfaction for the participants in an ecological
niche, and
• became shared among those who could communicate
with each other because they had a common language
and they lived at the same time and place.

- (Triandis 1994 p. 23)

What Culture does?
• Teaches people how to adapt to
surroundings

• Passes along previous knowledge and

experiences to future generations
Characteristics of culture

• Culture is learned
• Culture is passed along
• Culture is dynamic
• Culture is an integrated system
 Culture and
communication

• Verbal and nonverbal meanings are learned as

part of a person’s cultural affiliation.
• Each culture has a very elaborate set of verbal
and nonverbal symbols to which people within
that culture have learned to attach meaning.
• These meanings reside within the individual.
 What is
intercultural
communication?

• Interaction between people whose

cultural perceptions and symbol systems
differ enough to alter the
communication event
What is language?
Language may be thought of as an
organized system of symbols

both verbal and nonverbal

used in a common and uniform way
by persons who can manipulate
these symbols to express their
thoughts and feelings.
Functions of Language

Social Social Expressions

interaction cohesion of identity
Characteristics of Language

Words evoke
Words are mere denotative or
Word are arbitrary
symbols connotative
meanings
Language and Meaning

• Language is merely a set of shared symbols or signs that a cooperative group of people has
mutually agreed to use to create meaning.
• The relationship between the selected sign and the agreed meaning is quite often arbitrary.
• These differences in symbols also extend to how people of a cultural group hear natural
sounds.
• The noise made when someone is walking in beach sandals is “flip-flop” in the United States
but “peta-peta” in Japan.
• Variations in spelling between American English and that used in England were the result of a
calculated effort to create a new national identity and distance the new colonies from ties
with England.
Language and Culture

• Language allows you to verbally convey your emotions and relieve stress by simply
uttering a phrase (dang it) or a swear word (damn).
• You use language to express pain (ouch), elation (great!), disappointment (oh no!),
and surprise (what the...?).
• Language is also used to invoke assistance from the supernatural.
• Language usage also serves to organize people into groups according to factors such
as age, gender, and even socio-income level.
• A common language allows a group to record and preserve past events, when passed
on to new generations, becomes a unifying force.
Language and Culture

• The deeds of previous generations become an important means to socialize

and enculturate children with the group’s enduring values and normative
behaviours.
• Language and culture work together in a symbiotic relationship that ensures
the existence and continuation of each
Developing Language Competence
in the Intercultural Setting

• Be mindful
• Be aware of conversational taboos- generally relate “to sex, the supernatural, excretion, and
death, but quite often they extend to other aspects of domestic and social life.”
• Be attentive to your speech rate
• Be conscious of differences in vocabulary
• Attend to nonverbal behavior
• Use “checking” devices
Be Aware of • How conversations are opened and
terminated
Cultural • How the participants take turns talking
Variations in • The importance of silence in interaction
• Reaction to being interrupted
the Use of • Knowing what are appropriate and
Language inappropriate topics of conversation with
“strangers”
• The sequencing of topics from specific to
general or general to specific
Kiss, bow or shake hand
Understanding Nonverbal Differences among Cultures
What is nonverbal
communication

Nonverbal communication involves all those

nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting
that are generated by both the source and his or
her use of the environment and that have
potential message value for the source and/or
receiver.
 Functions of Nonverbal Communication

CONVEYING CREATING REGULATING SUBSTITUTING

INTERNAL STATES IDENTITY INTERACTION FOR WORDS
CLASSIFICATIO • Primarily produced by the body
(appearance, movement, facial
NS OF expressions, eye contact, touch, and
paralanguage)
NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATI • Individual combines with the setting
ON (space, time, and silence)
 • Clothing can be used to tell others about
economic status, educational level, social
position, current status, occupation, interests,
public and private affiliations, and the like.
• Our physical appearance—visible attributes
such as hair, clothing, body type, and other
physical features—profoundly influences our

Appearanc
interpersonal encounters.
• Across cultures, people credit individuals they
find physically attractive with higher levels of

e intelligence, persuasiveness, poise,

sociability, warmth, power, and employment
success than they credit to unattractive
individuals
• A person’s attractive or unattractive physical
presentation can lead to irrelevant decoding
that is distracting from other more
meaningful nonverbal cues.
• Whom you select to avoid and/or approach is
often determined by a person’s attractiveness
 • People all over the world use their hands,
heads, and bodies to communicate
expressively.

Body • Americans walk big—swinging arms, letting

their legs amble wide—in a manner that’s

Movement
fitting for folks from a country with plenty
of empty space.
• Europeans exhibit a far more compact
posture, with elbows and knees tucked
tight and arm swings restrained.”
Posture Posture can indicate:
• whether people are paying attention,
• the level of status in the encounter,
• if people are friends or strangers,
• if they like or dislike each other, and it can
provide a variety of other information about
the relationship.
Thumbs-up • In the United States it has positive
connotations.
• In Australia, Bangladesh, Iran, and Nigeria, it
is seen as a rude gesture.
• In Turkey, it represents a political party.
 In the United States, pointing at someone
Pointing usually does not carry negative connotations.

In Japan pointing is done with the entire hand

with the palm held upward

In China, pointing can be taken as a sign of

rudeness.

In much of the Arab world, pointing is thought

to be an offensive gesture.

In much of Asia, pointing the index finger at a

person is considered rude.
Making a In the United States, “making a circle with one’s thumb and index
finger while extending the others is emblematic of the word ‘okay’;

circle with In Japan (and Korea) it traditionally signified ‘money’

one’s Arabs this gesture is usually accompanied by a baring of teeth,

signifying extreme hostility.”

thumb and To a Tunisian, the gesture means, “I’ll kill you.”

index In some Latino cultures, the circle with the thumb and index finger is
often perceived as an obscene gesture.

finger This sign is considered inappropriate in Germany.

 • Distinctive gestures whose meanings are usually the feature and
property of a particular culture.
• In Nepal, pulling both earlobes is a form of apology for offending
someone.

Idiosyncra • Yet pulling one earlobe in China means a person is “saying” that he
or she touched something that was very hot.

tic
• The Japanese made a gesture by pointing both index fingers above
the head, at the top of the ears, as if they were the horns of an
ogre. The gesture means the man’s wife is angry.
• In China, if you place your right hand over your heart, it means you

Gestures are making a sincere promise. In Iraq, the same gesture can mean
“thank you.”
• For the French, pulling the skin down below the right eye can
mean, “I don’t believe you.”
• In Argentina, one twists an imaginary mustache to signify that
everything is “okay.”
 • face is given greater weight than are vocal
messages
• six pancultural and universal emotions conveyed by
facial expressions are happiness, sadness, fear,

Facial
anger, disgust, and surprise
• cultures create their own rules for what are
appropriate facial expressions and how those

Expression expressions are to be interpreted

• Each culture “teaches” its members:

s • what nonverbal actions to exhibit (crying or

laughing),
• the meaning of those actions (sadness or
happiness), and
• the contextual setting of those actions (funeral
or wedding)
 Culture can “influence smiling both by determining the interpretation of
events, which affects the cause of happiness, and by shaping display
rules, which determine when it is socially appropriate to smile.”
• North America: sends a positive message and is often used as a
greeting; a smiling person is typically perceived as happy or
amused

Facial • Thailand: can be used to display sadness, joy, embarrassment,

fright, anxiety, and numerous other emotions.

Expressio • Vietnam: can represent phrases such as “Hello,” “Thank you,”

and “I am sorry.”
• Japan: “the Japanese may smile when they feel embarrassed

ns: Smile and laugh when they want to hide their anger.” Smiling is also
used to denote acceptance of a command from a person of
higher status.
• Russia: Limited use of smiling. They are also distrustful of people
who smile at what they believe are inappropriate occasions.
• Germany: Smile “is used with far more discretion, generally
only with those persons one knows and really likes.”
Eye Contact and Gaze

Eyes can give clues to:

• the nature of the relationship,
• indicate if the channels of communication are open or closed,
• assist in monitoring feedback,
• indicate degrees of attentiveness and interest in the interaction,
• regulate the flow of the conversation,
• reflect positive or negative emotions, and
• help define power and status relationships between the participants.
 Touch

A high frequency of
Brazilians may even
In Mexico “Hugs, pats on touching is also prevalent
continue to “touch you
backs, and other physical among the people of
intemittently on the arm,
contact are an important Eastern Europe, Spain,
hand, or shoulder during
part of communication.” Greece, Italy, Portugal, and
much of the conversation.”
Israel.

Many Southeast Asians

In Japanese business
Intentional touching is also believe that “touching their
practices, “Touching fellow
not a prevalent form of heads places them in
workers and associates is
communication in Asia. jeopardy because that is
not common.”
where their spirits reside.”
Paralangua • Vocal cues can influence perceptions related
to the individual’s emotional state, social
class and status, personality traits, ethnicity,
ge educational level, credibility, comprehension,
and personality.
• Most classifications divide paralanguage into
three categories:
1. vocal qualities
2. vocal characterizers
3. vocal segregates
Paralangua
• Cultural differences are most apparent in the use of volume.
• Arabs speak with high levels of volume. For Arabs, loudness
connotes strength and sincerity.

ge: Vocal • Germans use “commanding tone that projects authority and self-
confidence.”

Qualities
• Philippines speak softly, as they maintain that this is a sign of good
upbringing and education.
• In Thailand, it is an indication of anger when a person elevates his
or her volume.
• In Japan, raising one’s voice often implies a lack of self-control.
• African Americans use more inflection and employ a greater vocal
range than most white Americans.
• Men’s voices tend to have louder volume, lower pitch, and less
inflection.
• Women’s voices typically have higher pitch, softer volume, and
more inflection.
Paralangua
Vocalizations convey a meaning for members of a specific
culture:

ge: Vocal • Yawning in public is considered rude in France and

Argentina

Characteriz • In much of Europe, whistling during a public

performance is a message of disapproval and ridicule

ers • Laughing and giggling are interpreted as expressions

of enjoyment among most Americans
• For many Southeast Asians, Laughing and giggling may
be a sign of extreme embarrassment, discomfort
 Vocal segregates are sounds that are audible but are
not actual words, such as:

Paralangua • The “shh” sound produced by Americans when

they are asking someone to be silent.

ge: Vocal • The Maasai in Africa draw out “eh” sound,

which can mean “yes,” “I understand,” or

Segregates “continue.”
• In Kenya, the “iya” sound tells the other person
that everything is okay.
• In Jamaica, the “kissing” or “sucking” sound
expresses anger, exasperation, or frustration.
• The Japanese make use of vocal segregates in
their conversations. To demonstrate reluctance
or concern, a Japanese worker might “suck in his
breath, look doubtful and say ‘Saa.… ’”
•
Space and
• Hall defines proxemics as “the interrelated observations
and theories of man’s use of space as a specialized
elaboration of culture.”

Distance • Proxemics is concerned with such things as:

1. Personal space
2. Seating
3. Furniture arrangement

• Cultures that stress individualism and privacy (England,

the United States, Sweden, Germany, and Australia)
generally demand more space than do collective cultures.
• Arabs, Latin Americans, and U.S. Hispanics fall into this
collective category
Personal Space and Gender

• Women normally “establish closer proximity to others” than do men.

• Other gender differences in the use of space:
1. men claim more personal space than women,
2. women manifest less discomfort than men when confronted with a small amount of
space,
3. men seem to approach females more closely than females who move toward men,
4. women, when given the opportunity, seek to interact at a closer distance than men do
5. men more frequently walk in front of their female partner than vice versa
 Seating

Perceptions related to seating arrangements are

leadership, dominance, sex frequently dictated by
roles, and introversion and cultural and historical
extraversion are influenced norms, particularly at
by seating arrangements formal events
 Seating
• In Korea seating arrangements reflect status and role
distinctions; the seat on the right is the place of
honor.
• In Japan, seating at any formal event is determined
based on hierarchy; the most senior person sitting in
the middle and those next highest in rank sitting to
the left and right of this senior position.
• For Samoans and Fijians, respect and status “means
being physically lower than a superior.”
• In United States, people tend to talk with those
opposite them rather than those seated beside them.
And in most instances, the person sitting at the head
of the table is the leader.
• In China, seating arrangements place the honored
person facing east or facing the entrance to the hall.
The higher a person’s status, the closer they sit to
the person of honor.
• At business meetings the Chinese experience
alienation and uneasiness when they face someone
directly or sit opposite them at a desk or table.
Furniture Arrangement

The way people arrange French, Italians, and

In the United States,
furniture “play a Mexicans find the furniture
furniture is often arranged to
communicative role by in the living room pointing
achieve privacy and
expressing cultural or toward the television set
interpersonal isolation.
symbolic meaning.” rude and stifles conversation.

In Japan, offices are usually

open and shared with many French offices are organized In Germany, seating is
colleagues, and the around the manager, who is dispersed throughout the
furnishings are placed in at the center. office.
proximity.
Time
• One of the markers of a successful and
intimate relationship is the amount of time
people spend together and how patient they
are with each other.
• Each culture has its own time norms, which are
unconsciously followed until violated.
• Two cultural perspectives: (i) informal time and
(ii) monochronic and polychronic
classifications.
• Informal time composed of two interrelated
components—punctuality and pace.
 Time

M-Time P-Time
• This orientation views time as linear, • For P-time cultures, time is less tangible,
sequential, and segmented and people are usually not in a hurry to
• Cultures (Germany, Austria, Sweden, finish an assignment or chore.
Norway, England, Finland, Canada, • The pace for P-time cultures (Arab, African,
Switzerland, and the dominant U.S. Indian, Latin American, South Asian, and
culture) with this orientation perceive
Southeast Asian) is more leisurely than the
time as being tangible
one found in M-time cultures.
• M-time culture people would schedule
appointments in advance, try to be • In P-time cultures, human relationships, not
on time to meetings, be concise in tasks, are important.
making presentations and have a • Time for Africans is defined by events
strong penchant for following initial rather than the clock or calendar.
plans.
 Silence
• Cross-cultural differences are common over when
to talk and when to remain silent, or what a
particular instance of silence means.
• In most Western cultures, talk is highly valued, and as such, it is
often difficult to determine the meaning behind someone’s
silence.
• It can be interpreted as an indication of agreement, anger, lack
of interest, injured feelings, shyness, a means of showing
respect, contempt, or even a way concealing the truth.
• A silent reaction to a business proposal would seem negative to
American, German, French, Southern European and Arab
executives.
• Buddhist maintain that inner peace and wisdom come only
through silence.
• Silence is also used by many Asian people as a means of
avoiding conflict.
Developing Nonverbal
Communication Competency

• Your interpretations should be tentative

• Be conscious of the context
• Utilize feedback
• Know your culture
• Monitor your nonverbal actions
Nonverbal communication and
culture
Culture is but one of the dynamics that influence the way people send and receive
nonverbal messages.

Nonverbal behavior is part of the socialization process and presents the members of each
culture with “cultural rules”.

These rules are manifested in norms, values, attitudes, traditions, customs, and heritage
and are communicated across generations.

What emotions are felt, how they are expressed, and how they are understood are matters
of culture.