Communication Between Cultures

(Sean Pound) #1
of people. Haviland and his associates explain this“sharing”process:“As a shared set
of ideas, values, perceptions, and standards of behavior, culture is the common
denominator that makes the actions of individuals intelligible to other members of
their society. It enables them to predict how other members are most likely to behave
in a given circumstance, and it tells them how to react accordingly.”^24
We conclude this section regarding the shared component of culture by briefly
reminding you of what we wrote in Chapter 1 when we discussed that much of
human behavior comes from sources beyond culture. In general terms, three
basic factors influence human behavior.^25 The most universal of these is human
nature. Our abilities to cry, feel fear, seekfood, etc. are inherited traits. Second,
culture and various groups (clubs,
professions, co-cultures, etc.) present
people with thousands of learned
behaviors. Finally, there is the
unique personality that is the exclu-
sive domain of each individual.

Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation


Embedded in our first characteristic is the notion that what is shared by a culture gets
transmitted from generation to generation. The American philosopher Thoreau
reminded us of that fact when he wrote,“All the past is here.”Of course, Thoreau is
correct. For a culture to endure, it must make certain that its crucial messages and ele-
ments are not only shared but also passed to future generations. In this way, the past
becomes the present and helps create and perpetuate the culture. This means that the
numerous values, norms, and behaviors that are considered fundamental to a culture
need to be handed down from one generation to another. This process of transmitting
culture is a kind of cultural inheritance. As such, this“heritage”is made up of the beliefs
and actions that may have evolved long before each new generation arrives. The longev-
ity of the beliefs, values, and behavior that are transmitted is clearly delineated by Mat-
sumoto and Hwang when they write,“Our culture determines what it means to be a
husband or wife, child, work colleague, acquaintance, or even a stranger.”^26
Like so much of culture, it is communication that makes culture a continuous process,
for once cultural habits, principles, values, and attitudes are formed, they are communi-
cated to each member of the culture. While the immediate family begins the“education”
process, you need to remember that most of the crucial“lessons”of a culture continue to
be emphasized throughout the person’s life. Infants, held and touched by parents, do not
consciously know they are learning about family and touch, but they are. The essential
cultural values continue to be reinforced as children share holidays, both religious and
secular, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives. So strong is the need for a
culture to bind each generation to past and future generations that it is often asserted
that a fracture in the transmission process would contribute to a culture’sextinction.

Culture Is Based on Symbols


Our discussion of how culture is transmitted from generation to generation allows for
an easy transition to our next characteristic—culture is based on symbols. Without the
capacity of humans to think symbolically and express those symbols, culture could not
be passed from generation to generation. The symbols that are important to a culture
can take a variety of forms.

CONSIDER THIS


What is meant by the phrase“Culture is shared”?

Characteristics of Culture 41

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