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How communication is affected by different cultures
Elements of communication across cultures essay
Elements of communication across cultures essay
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Communication and culture
Communication is vital for humans’ day to day life. It is how we exchange information. how we pass information can be challenging because of the distinct cultures we have. “Cultures provide people with ways of thinking, ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. Thus, the same words can mean different things to people from different cultures, even when they talk the "same" language”. (Goman, Carol Kinsey. "Communicating across Cultures." Asme.org. N.p., Mar. 2011. Web). I find it very important to understand the concept of culture in communication because it enables you to understand why people think differently from one another, which eliminates misjudgment and confusion. Some of the ways culture interferes
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These are people who shares the same hobbies or interest. I remember once I went to an event where people played video games, I felt lost and confused cause I had no idea what they were talking about. I did not understand their jokes and I just felt out of place being at the event. My grandmother and I have come from the same culture but our age sets us apart into distinct cultures. Some of our values and believes differ because she is still stuck in the older ways. She still believes that a woman sole purpose is to be a wife and a mother. A woman should be cleaning and cooking for her family. On the other hand, I believe that women have the same rights as men in the sense that, they too can provide for their family financially. They have the right to get education and peruse their …show more content…
individualistic culture is when the culture focuses on the individual's needs and looks for happiness on an individual level before looking to the group while collective culture “places greater emphasis on loyalty to the family, workplace, or community than on the needs of the individual”. (Pg43, text book). I come from a collective culture where the importance of family is emphasized. We are taught from a tender age the importance of sharing and helping each other out. My mom instilled in my siblings and I that a single member of the family down fall is a failure to the entire family. Americans tend to have an individualistic culture the positive side to it, it teaches people to be self-sufficient and independent. People are going to be tired of helping someone out all the time and might create some resentment toward one another, and I believe this is what happens to collective cultures. The thought of giving your all to someone else’s need all the time can be frustrating and exhausting. Individualistic culture has its negative part to it, it teaches people to be self-centered and in the process they lose empathy because they believe that everyone should be capable of doing things for themselves and when people fail to do so then they are being lazy. I believe that individualistic culture practices low context culture, they expect messages to be explicit and specific. “people are
A culture’s tendency to be individualistic or collectivistic can be found at the root of
Ting-Toomey, Stella., & Chung, Leeva C. (2012). Understanding Intercultural Communication. Oxford University Press. 43, 159-160.
Samovar, Larry A., Richard E. Porter, and Edwin R. McDaniel. Communication between Cultures. 7th ed. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.
Martin, Judith N., and Thomas K. Nakayama. Intercultural Communication in Contexts. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.
In Hall’s article, “Context and Meaning” it is revealed to us the importance in cross cultural communication. Context can be defined as the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed. Cross cultural communication is important because it creates diversity and understanding between the workers. In this essay the reader is provided with sufficient evidence to identify the staging of context with such importance to cross culture communication, teach about culture and joint cooperatives, and business transaction, and help create a diverse workforce.
Culture differences are the different ways that people communicate with each other. In different culture
According to Sledge, Miles, and Coppage (2008) individualism versus collectivism is “the concepts of ‘I and Me’ versus ‘We and Us’” (p. 1670). Some cultures rely heavily on groups and teams. Collective societies look at group accomplishments rather than individual accomplishments. Some countries such as China and Japan rely heavily on groups. Countries like the United States and Canada are more of an individualism society. People focus more on individual accomplishments. Teams have started to become popular in the United States, but are not as effective as in a collective society. In a country where individualism is strong individual recognition and rewards would be effective motivators.
...Through this class I have learned that there are many differences between cultures, but there are also many similarities. People identify with the people that are most like themselves and have the same values and outlooks. Our culture is how we know where we fit in, but our culture is not set in stone. We can change certain aspects of our culture just as Ms. Halualani’s parents did for her.
Effective communication with people of difference cultures can be especially challenging. The way people interpret the world can be strikingly different between cultures. Intercultural communication occurs when a member from one culture produces a message that is absorbed by a member of another culture. How that message is understood by the communicating party is a vital part in intercultural communication. For example, in Cambodia it would be considered rude to discuss business in a social setting (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.). However, in the United States this is a common practice and is almost an encouraged event. Another important factor and consideration in intercultural communication is the importance of understanding cultures, values, history and beliefs. For instance, in Cambodia, if you deliver a present that is wrapped in white paper, this is considered to represent mourning. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to assimilate into a culture and be mindful of communication between cultures (Language, culture, customs and etiquette, n.d.).
Since communication affects almost all aspect of our life, it is important to enhance the skills of communication. Difficulty in expressing or conveying your message may lead to your communication becoming unaffected. And, ineffective communication will lead to your message becoming confused and misunderstand. Thus, recognizing the barriers in communication is the first step in improving communication. There are many factors that cause the failure in communication such as language, gender, culture, and interpersonal barrier. However, it is clearly that the different culture has a different pattern in transferring message and has a strong influence in our communication skills. To avoid the barrier in culture, this paper will try to analyze the differences in culture between Asia and America that impact on the two ...
Therefore, it is essential to study nonverbal and verbal communication Nonverbal communication is all forms of communication other than words themselves, which includes “body motions; vocal qualities; and the use of time, space, and even smell” (Neuliep, 2011, p. 269). On the other hand verbal communication or language “consists of symbols in the form of spoken or written words (Wood, 2014, p. 67). Thus cultures have different representations of symbols and what one culture interprets another may define or view differently. Communication is closely related to culture because communication expresses and alters culture. In a culture you learn behaviors and acceptable ideologies. This can be seen in verbal and nonverbal communication. For example, the tone of your voice is based on culture. Without communication you are unable to establish cultural differences. Your own culture directly shapes how one communicates, such as when it is appropriate to make eye contact. We are not born knowing when and how we should speak; this is a learned behavior that is taught by interaction with others. This is not an easy task because nonverbal signals differ from culture to culture. Charles Braithwaite stated, “One of the fundamental components of cultural and linguistic competence is knowing how and when to use silence as a communication tactic” (Neuliep, 2011, p. 64). Before one can communicate effectively one must understand the context in which the culture exchanges information. One must have a working awareness of how each society conveys meaning, hence high vs. low context cultures. According to the Central Michigan University text, organizational dynamics and human behavior (2009), to become a successful international manager one must develop “cross-cultural skills”. One part of the skill set involves the comprehension of the difference between high-context and low-context
Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have taken place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which intercultural communication is frequent such as : the workplace, the classroom and vacation trips.
I wasn 't quite sure what I was getting into when I first enrolled in Intercultural Communications. I had assumptions as to the goals of the course such as I would be learning about the way cultures interact with each other, learn about communication in general, or I would be learning about the ways we use communication through our culture. I think that I achieve the latter goal, but I also gained knowledge about more then just my culture. I came to realize that there is more to a culture than just language, appearances, and customs, which are aspects of culture that could be seen above the waterline, or they are more noticeable/obvious to someone outside of that culture. There are aspects of culture that are below the waterline, or more
Learning is the most essential part of communication it shows that you can process multiple ideas at once and not judge but seek to understand where another person’s ideas are coming from as well. People have their own reasons and narratives that shape what they believe to be their goods and why they protect these goods. Each person’s goods are representative of their culture. Culture is a collection of ones history learned styles, patterns, and perceptions that continu...
unknown. (n.d.). The relationship between Culture and Communication. Retrieved November 20, 2010, from jrank.org: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6491/culture-and-communication.html