COPING WITH THE CHALLENGES OF INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

• English


  Global lingua franca, official or working language in ASEAN countries
• The ownership of English cannot be attributed to countries who use it as a native tongue or home language
• The varieties of English spoken by different speech communities have evolved and have been heavily influenced by the local culture and its speakers
• Misunderstanding in intercultural communication


  • Not always caused by verbal utterances
  • May also occur due to wrong interpretation of the non-verbal code
• Handshake

  • United States: Firm handshake
  • France: Soft handshake
  • Germany: Firm handshake, for men, traditionally accompanied by a slight bow
  • Japan: Handshake with arm firmly extended, accompanied by a bow
  • Middle East: Handshake and free hand placed on forearm of the other person

  
• Greetings

  • Japanese women bow differently from men
  • German bow is termed diener, used in recognition of an authority. When a person bows, he/she is sending a message "at your service."
• Sources of Misunderstanding


  • Ambiguity – lack of explicitness in the form of problematic reference and ambiguous semantics in which the utterance is open to different interpretations
  • Performance– related misunderstanding – slips of the tongue and mishearing which may be due to utterances spoken quickly and unclearly
  • Language-related misunderstanding – ungrammaticality of sentences
  • Gaps in world knowledge – gaps in content rather than in language
  • Local context – orientation of participants as well as the repair moves that follow the displayed understanding
• Approaches to studying Intercultural Communication

  • Be aware or be conscious of other cultures especially to that you will visit to avoid offending people
  • Become aware of cultural identities and background as it will broaden your horizon
  • No culture is superior or inferior to another, it is through awareness that you can compare other cultures with your own and learn to appreciate cultural diversities and learn to live with them
  • People have different languages, lifestyles, and ways of thinking, speaking and behaving - cultural diversity
• Approaches to Intercultural communication explained by Martin and Nakayama (2010)

  • Social Science or Functionalist
  • Interpretative
  • Critical
• Discipline on which approach is founded

  • Psychology
  • Anthropology; Sociolinguistic
  • Varied
• Research goal


  • Describe and predict behavior
  • Describe behavior
  • Change behavior
• Assumption of reality


  • External and describable
  • Subjective
  • Subjective and material
• Assumption of human behavior

  • Predictable
  • Creative and voluntary
  • Changeable
• Method of study


  • Survey, observation
  • Participant observation, field study
  • Textual analysis media
• Relationship of culture and communication

  • Communication influenced by culture
  • Culture created and maintained through communication
  • Culture as a site of power struggle
• Contributor of the approach

  • Identifies cultural variations and differences in aspects of communication
  • Emphasizes communication & culture & cultural differences be studied in context
  • Recognizes the economic and political forces in culture and communication; all interactions are characterized by power