Communication Between Cultures

have formed various interdependent groups as a means of survival. Within these

groups, people have developed patterned interactions and“rules”that all members

have learned and display. These social systems establish communication networks

and regulate norms of personal, familial, and social conduct.“They also establish

group cohesion and enable people to consistently satisfy their basic needs.”^85 The

ways in which these organizations function and the norms they advance are unique

to each culture. Nolan underscores the nature of these organizations in the following:

“Social structures reflect our culture, for example, whether we have kings and queens,

or presidents and prime ministers. Within our social structure, furthermore, culture

assigns roles to the various players—expectations about how individuals will behave,

what they will stand for, and even how they will dress.”^86

Language

Language is yet another feature common to all people and cultures. We may arrive

in this world with all of the biological and anatomical tools necessary to survive, but

we must learn language in order to share ourideas, feelings, and thoughts with other

people. Language is an element found in all cultures, as the words a young child

learns and what those words mean are directly related to culture. By the age of

three, children can name and understand a countless number of objects and con-

cepts that they find in their environment, an environment unique to a particular

culture. Language and culture are connected in a number of ways. Whether they

are English, Swahili, Chinese, or French,most words, how they are used, the mean-

ings assigned, the grammar employed, and the syntax bear the identification marks

of a specific culture. Bailey and Peoples further develop the important role language

playsintheexistenceofaculturewhentheywrite,“Language underlies every other

aspect of a people’s way of life—their relationship with the natural environment,

family life, political organizations, worldview, and so forth. Most socialization of

children depends on language, which means language is the main vehicle of cultural

transmission from one generation to the next.”^87 As is the case with nearly all of

the cultural elements we have examined in this section, we will devote an entire

chapter to language later in the book.

Before we conclude this portion of the chapter, we need to underscore two more

important ideas about culture. First, throughout this chapter, we have isolated various

aspects of culture and talked about them as if they were discrete units. The nature of

language makes it impossible to do otherwise, yet, in reality, it is more accurate to

perceive culture from a holistic perspective. Hall says it this way:“You touch a culture

in one place and everything else is affected.”^88 Ferraro and Andreatta expand on

Hall’s premise when they point out that“cultures should be thought of as integrated

wholes, the parts of which, to some degree, are interconnected with one another.

When we view cultures as integrated systems, we can begin to see how particular cul-

tural traits fit into the whole system and consequently, how they tend to make sense

within that context.”^89 The crucial point regarding culture being integrated is that you

should not“focus on one cultural feature in isolation. Instead, view each in terms of

its larger context and carefully examine its connection to related features.”^90

The values regarding materialism in North America exemplify the integrated

nature of culture. That is, the thrust behind these values stems from a variety

of sources. History, family, and religion can influence family size, work ethic, use of

time, and spiritual pursuits. Another complex example of the interconnectedness of

The Elements of Culture 59

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