Communication Between Cultures

Preview of the Book

To help you gain a degree of intercultural communication competence, we have orga-

nized this book into eleven interrelated chapters. Chapter 1 was designed to provide

you with a compelling reason to engage in studying intercultural communication by

highlighting some of the many challenges facing the globalized world. Some of the

problems associated with intercultural communication study have also been

discussed.

Chapter 2 establishes the connection between human communication and culture.

In Chapter 3 we move to the topic of social organizations and examine the role of the

family in both communication and culture. Chapter 4 delves into the deep structural

organization of culture by investigating how a culture’s worldview influences percep-

tion of matters relating to gender, suffering, life, death, and similar topics. Chapter 5

examines the role that a culture’s historical legacy plays in shaping and informing

contemporary beliefs and values and how that culture views itself.

The topic of Chapter 6 is cultural identity—the way it is formed and its impact on

perception and communication. Chapter 7 examines values and cultural patterns that

shape the perspectives and behaviors of people. Numerous cultural comparisons are

used to illustrate the link between cultural patterns and intercultural interaction.

Chapters 8 and 9 move to discussions of the symbols of intercultural interaction.

Chapter 8 explores how language is used in intercultural communicative interactions

and the ways in which it is often employed differently, depending on the culture.

Chapter 9 discusses the effects of cultural diversity on nonverbal communication

and how nonverbal messages support verbal communication in a variety of cultures.

Chapter 10 acknowledges the importance of two communication principles. First,

communication is rule governed, and, second, those rules are often scenario (or con-

text) dependent. Specifically, our investigation turns to cultural variations in the

business, education, and healthcare settings.

Chapter 11, our newest chapter, explores some of the problems associated with

intercultural interactions. We discuss culture shock and acculturation and how they

can be managed. Obstacles impeding effective intercultural communication, such as

stereotyping, prejudice, racism, and ethnocentrism, are discussed. The chapter con-

cludes with an overview of intercultural ethics.

Summary

• Globalization has created an interdependent world community.


• Interdependency has brought many benefits but also raised new challenges.


• The globalized community must work across national and cultural borders to man-
  age growing and potential international problems.


• Social challenges include population growth, migration, urbanization, and aging
  populations.


• Ecological concerns consist of international competition for natural resources,
  including water and food stocks, and environmental changes/degradation.

Summary 23

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