Communication Between Cultures

The link between cultural values and clothing can be seen in nearly every culture.

For example, as a symbolic gesture of their faith, the Amish dress in clothing that

demonstrates humility and severance from the dominant culture. Both males and

females wear clothing that is simple, unadorned, and predominantly dark in color.

You can also observe the relationship of values and attire in German culture, where

status and authority are significant. Hall and Hall write,

Correct behavior is symbolized by appropriate and very conservative dress. The male

business uniform is a freshly pressed dark suit and tie with a plain shirt and dark shoes

and socks. It is important to emulate this conservative approach to both manners and

dress. Personal appearance, like the exterior appearance of their homes, is very important

to Germans.^35

You can witness that same tie between cultural values and clothing among Filipi-

nos. Gochenour tells us,“Values relating to status and authority are the root of the

Filipino’s need to dress correctly.”^36 Japan is another culture that merges attire and

the culture’s value system:“The general proclivity for conservative dress styles and

colors emphasizes the nation’s collectivism and, concomitantly, lessens the potential

for social disharmony arising from nonconformist attire.”^37 This desire for social har-

mony can even be seen in the white coats that are part of a physician’s attire in

Japan. A recent study revealed not only that patients preferred the white garments,

but also that“wearing a white coat could favorably influence patients’confidence in

the relationship with their physician in all types of practices.”^38

Throughout this segment on attire, we have attempted to demonstrate how cloth-

ing represents a series of messages used by individuals and their cultures. Adamo sum-

marizes this important set of messages in the following:“Dress is a symbolic language.

It is one of the many ways in which people create and exchange meanings in commu-

nication. It helps to separate group members from non-members and to place the

individual in a social organization.”^39

We offer a final admonition to conclude this particular section. Whether it be the

women of Guatemala wearing their colorful tunics (huípiles)or African men in white

dashikis, traditional garments are still common in many cultures. Whether they are Sikhs

in white turbans, women in Iran wearing theirhijabs, Japanese in kimonos, Hasidic Jews in

black yarmulkes, or the dark attire of the Amish in the United States, you need to learn to

be tolerant of others’external differences and not let them impede communication.

Body Movement

We remind you that a major thesis of this chapter is that communication involves

much more than words. As Benjamin Franklin noted,“None preaches better than

the ant, and she says nothing.”Imai underscores this point in a little more detail:

“The world is a giddy montage of vivid gestures—traffic police, street vendors,

expressway drivers, teachers, children on playgrounds, athletes with their exuberant

hugging, clenched fists and‘high fives.’People all over the world use their hands,

heads, and bodies to communicate expressively.”^40

The study of how movement communicates is calledkinesics, which are those visi-

ble body shifts and movements that can send both intentional and unintentional

messages. For example, your attitude toward the other person can be shown by

Body Movement 307

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