Boshi Chen
ENGLISH 191
FINAL PAPER
4/23/2012
Intercultural Communication
The most important thing
for international students is not learning knowledge, I thought, learning how
to work and get along with people from different cultures, beliefs and
religions. However, intercultural communication is of importance to
international businesses as it examines how people from different cultures,
beliefs and religions come together to work and communicate with each other.
Consequently, it is necessary and important to understand what exactly
intercultural communication is. The aim of my paper is to learn Intercultural
communication, give my reader an entire understand about Intercultural
communication. I want to analyze an Intercultural communication as well, solve
some misunderstandings about it. As an international student, I have
experienced both positive and negative encounters that are why I find
Intercultural communication is interesting.
As to know intercultural
communication, what is Intercultural communication? “It is a form of global
communication. It is usually used to describe the wide range of communication
problems that naturally appear within an organization made up of individuals
from different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.”That is
the definition from Wikipedia, kind of in written form and precise. For me,
Intercultural communication means communication between people of different
cultures and backgrounds. Actually my demands for intercultural communication
skills are increasing as more and more. Although I had been studying in Unite
State for almost two years, I still prefer making friends with Asian, Japanese,
Korean, etc. People around me realize that there are barriers and limitations
when entering a foreign territory as well. Then I thought without the help of
intercultural communication we can unknowingly cause confusion and
misunderstandings. Without misunderstandings and breakdowns, we could integrate
into the community better. With this idea I even find an Institute for
Intercultural Communication, it follows that the demands for intercultural
communication skill are increasing, not only for our international students,
but also for people around the world.
So it is certainly needed
to understand and analyze intercultural communication. For this reason, I did
some work to figure out the main issues surround Intercultural communication.
I found out that the main
issues surround Intercultural communication are language, culture diversity and
ethnocentrism.
In fact, all of us in one
form or another come across situations that require some kind of cross cultural
communication and understanding. One such situation is when communicating with
foreigners. We all encounter people at work, study, on holiday or elsewhere who
does not share the same language as us. Although we consider language the main
means of communicating, language only represents part of what we communicate.
There are many ways of overcoming the language barrier to allow us communicate
better. Sometimes, you can use body language, like use hands, arms, legs,
gestures, facial expressions and everything else your charades experience has
taught you. Sometimes, you even can draw a picture to people who you want to
talk with. For example, if you really cannot explain 'milk' to the shop owner
draws the cow, the udders and the milk. Pictures speak louder than words.
Remember when the first time I came to Unite State, I spent all my time use
drawing and body language talking with Japanese beside me; although we got
language problems, it was a wonderful experience for me. Most cultures will be
able to spot what you are getting at straight away. Even in our own language
and culture we do not always use language to express fright, frustration, anger
or joy. Emotions transcend linguistic barriers, like eye contact. In addition,
sometimes we share common words and we do not know it. Additionally people from
different cultures will have a passive knowledge of English gained through the
media. Try saying the word slowly or with a different pronunciation.
SCSU is a good place to
see culture diversity, because we got American, Asian, and African here. We
need got in touch with each other every day. When I was IEC, it is important to
increase our awareness of and sensitivity to culturally different modes of
behavior. We need to recognize different cultural patterns at study, and get a
good chance to know in the behavior of people from other countries and
cultures. It is also useful to be aware of how our own cultural background
influences our behavior. For me, usually but not always, I can find the same
points in people with Asia background. And we need to develop tolerance for
behavior patterns that are different from our own.
I always think
ethnocentrism is the biggest barrier for intercultural communication. You can
see lot examples for that, and you don't have to go, even go back so far
period. In World War II, Nazi Germany left us a nightmare to ethnocentrism; it
is like the worst intercultural communication between Nazi and the Jews.
We got issues, we got
methods. There are many theories that set principles to help interpret the
basis of intercultural communication. These theories help to eliminate
misunderstandings, the basic principle of giving use guidelines how to resolve
the situation. These guidelines will help to prevent conflict between different
cultural groups caused by the misunderstanding.
The basic skills of
intercultural communication are fundamentally general communication skills that
can be used universally by all cultures and races. These skills usually adjust
the direction, taking the cultural limitation into consideration. An example of
such communication skills in the intercultural environment is to listen without
judging, repeat what you understand, confirm meanings, give suggestions and
acknowledge a mutual understanding. Building an understanding of other people's
cultures, their communication styles and behaviors can go a long way in
improving relationships and being more successful in an intercultural
environment. The following intercultural communication tips can help people get
some basic insight into dealing more effectively with people and not letting
culture become an issue. First one, be patient, sometimes intercultural
communication could be a frustrating affair. The different of cultural and the
issue of language could make communication inappropriate. Patience with
yourself and others is a good way to go, favor returns. Second one, ask questions,
when I don’t understand something or want to know how to do something right, I
would ask question, and that helps me a lot so far, asking questions can stop
me making mistakes. Besides, I could avoid similar incidents in the future.
Third one, the written word, sometimes I know some English word but I cannot
spell it out, it is a good time to write it down as a backup. Fourth, humor, in
an intercultural environment one man's joke is another's insult. Be wary of
differences in the sense of humor and also the acceptability of banter. Fifth,
be positive, when I faced with incidents of intercultural communication, I
would depressed for a little, then positive came, analyze the problem areas
found solutions to ensure the same incidents never occurs again.
In the general, the main
purpose of following such theories is to earn respect from others. Respect in
all cultures in the world is a common language and by earning it through
respecting other peoples culture and religion.
Times change, times
change, so does intercultural communication. Today, both culture and
communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one
another. Intercultural communication is not new; it is a symbol which should be
used to create shared meanings. Don't be afraid of it, get brave to do it.
Bibliography:
“Handbook of International and Intercultural Communication” By William B. Gudykunst, Bella Mody. Book.
Sun. 22 Apr. 2012
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0FYtvfvpphIC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=intercultural+communication+issues&ots=WDPf77RQLI&sig=2wZRinI5ifeIAR0OlVS_Z3v6nm4#v=onepage&q=intercultural%20communication%20issues&f=false
Wikipedia. Web. Mon. 23 Apr. 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercultural_communication
“Cross-Cultural Communication Strategies.” Mon. 23 Apr. 2012
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/xcolcomm.htm
“An introduction to intercultural communication.” Web. Mon. 23 Apr. 2012
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/introduction-intercultural.html
“Journal of Intercultural Communication” Editor in chief: Prof. Jens
Allwood. Web. Mon. 23 Apr. 2012
http://www.immi.se/intercultural/
The Intercultural Communication Institute (ICI) Web. Mon. 23 Apr. 2012
http://www.intercultural.org/
“intercultural communication
tips.” Web. Mon.23 Apr. 2012
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/intercultural-communication-tips.html
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