L Awaras

L Awaras (talk) 11:47, 8 October 2012

Introduction

We live in an era of rapid globalization in which being able to communicate across cultures is imperative to our ability to function in a diverse work place, city and world.

Intercultural communication is a form of global communication. It is used to describe the wide range of communication problems that naturally appear with in an organization made up of individuals from different religious, social, ethnic and educational backgrounds. Intercultural communication is sometimes used synonymously with cross-cultural communication. In this sense it seek to understand how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate and perceive the wold around them. Many people in intercultural business communication argue that culture determines how individuals encode messages, what medium they choose for transmitting them and the way messages are interpreted. Intercultural communication focuses on the importance of culture in our everyday lives, and the ways in which culture interrelates with and effects of communication processes. When communicating with someone from different culture, we can therefore expect cultural difference to have an influence. Cultural differences stem from our differing perceptions, which in turn determine how we communicate with people of other cultures. By understanding how people perceive the world, their working environments, their values and beliefs we can better understand what they say and can anticipate potential cross-cultural or intercultural communication misunderstandings.

Perception

Is defined as “the internal process by which we select, organize and Interpret information from the outside world. In other words, our perceptions of the world are what we tend to notice, reflect upon and respond to in our environment that is meaningful and significant to us. This is especially the case if we interact with people who come from cultures that are different from our own. The way in which each one of us perceives the world is learned and is part of our cultural experience. Whether it is the judgement we make of a certain kind of food or the responses we have to go to see the doctor. We all react to these different events in the way that our cultures have taught us. Our perceptions are culturally determined and in turn influence the way we communicate with others.

Beliefs

Are the judgments we make about what is true or probable. They are usually Linked to objects or events that possess certain characteristics that we believe to be true With or without proof. For example we have beliefs about religion (there is a God), events (the meeting was successful), and other people (he /she is friendly) or even about ourselves (I am hard working). Most of our beliefs are ideas about how things work, why things are the way they are and where things come from. Many of our beliefs are also concern with providing an explanation for things which would otherwise be unpredictable or inexplicable, such as the weather, death and romance. Like our perception, our beliefs are determined by our cultural backgrounds and experiences. We are taught very early on what to believe based on what our culture considers worthy and true.

Values

Are defined as “an enduring set of beliefs that serve to guide or direct our behaviour. They represent the norms of a culture and specify, For instance, what is good or bad, right or wrong, rude or polite, appropriate or inappropriate. In other words, they provide us with a set of rules for behaving.

There are certain barriers to intercultural communication.

• Differences in beliefs and behaviour.

People from different cultures may interpret behaviour differently .For example, in certain cultural groups a child is for bitten to question or distrust his parent, while in other cultural groups informal communication, questions and even disagreement with parents are considered quite normal. Europeans tend to belief that younger people should be the first to greet older people, while in some African culture it is the other way round, where a child has to wait to be notice and acknowledge with a greeting.

• Lack of knowledge and acceptance.

Not only should we be aware that there are cultural difference, we should also accept and respect them.

• Non-verbal communication.

Without a non-verbal code system (body language) which is understood by everyone involved, communication would be impossible, and it can be divided into four categories, kinesics-which refers to body movement when communicating, which is also known as body language, and proxemics-which is the study of how we use space and paralanguage-which comprises of all the sounds we produce with our voices that are not words, for example many Africans consider direct eye conduct disrespectful; a European teacher, may not understand an African child’s non-verbal code, and may interpret the child’s averted gaze as a sign disrespect, dishonesty or a lack of interest .Greeting and addressing people may also differ, and then of course different cultures have different table manners.

• Verbal communication.

Language is one of the most important differences between many cultures, and one of the greatest barriers. Differences in language make intercultural interaction difficult be it in work places or in our daily lives, even if the person is fluent in a language, severe mistakes can still occur. Linguistic conventions may cause significant misunderstandings related, for instance, to speech acts, interaction management, and lexicon and politeness forms. A visitor to another culture should be aware of the impression they are creating by the speech style which they use. A person can indicate a positive or negative attitude to another by shifting towards a more similar or less similar speech style as the respondent, using e.g. a different accent or dialect. This can happen unconsciously.

How individuals and organizations can encourage intercultural communication.

In order to ensure a good intercultural daily lives and work environments,

• Companies and individuals should strive to create an atmosphere of trust in which different approaches are respected.
• There should be free discussions on how different cultures view situations and approaches to communication.
• They should also strive for the best possible communication, which means they have to be patient and tolerant of mistakes.
• Lastly individuals as well as staff members should be encourage to learn the languages spoken by other cultural groups.
  

conclusion

Effective intercultural communication will only be possible if we do not judge other cultures by our own cultural norms and values. Today it is easy to learn about other cultures and how the people that are part of them live, because in the end intercultural contact affects us all. This is quite clear when we turn on the TV, go shopping or even attend a social function.

External links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercultural_communication

References

• Barna, L.M. (1997) .Stumbling blocks in intercultural communication .In L.A. Samovar and R.E. Porter (Eds.), Intercultural communication (eighth ed.).Belmont CA: Wadsworth.
• Hunter J,(2012),Professional Writing Study Guide,Polytechnic of Namibia-Windhoek,COLL
• Gudykunst, W.B (1983) .Intercultural communication theory: Current perspective. Beverly Hill: Sage
• Jandt, F. E. (2001). Intercultural communication: An introduction (third ed.).

Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Compiled by Lode /Awaras,200966804(Polytechnic of Namibia student)