The Interaction of Cultures - Case Study Example

Intercultural Communication Intercultural Communication Communication must take place between cultures if interactions in the form of business transactions and for academic reasons such as in the case of student exchange programs has to take place. With the ever growing ease of interaction with distant cultures, and the diverse languages and cultures that exist, the communication barrier gaps have to be filled and eliminated for ease of interaction. Laray M. Barna in “Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks” clearly states that communication involves more than “verbal conversation” and communication (Spack, 1990, p. 66). A feeling of commonality is required for enhanced communication. People with common cultures, backgrounds and even religious beliefs communicate more freely and understand each other better as compared with those whose such traits vary. It is agreeable that many hindrances face communication between cultures since such commonalities are not so common after all. Laray M. Barna identifies the smile as a “contradicting gesture”. Different cultures understand smiles differently (Spack, 1990, p. 67). Stereotyping is also brought out as a hindrance to communication due to various expectations created through stereotypes. Having encountered communication barriers when interacting with foreigners, words having the same spellings or pronunciations, but different meanings for different cultures were one of the challenges. Such words bring about controversy and can send the wrong message to the one interpreting them, leading to rather unexpected outcomes from a simple conversation. Stereotyping also affected the exchange program stay abroad, whereby people had heard of various stories about people of the culture and expected me to act in various ways when faced with some situations.Language is an essential in communication, but a great stumbling block in intercultural interaction and communication. Different cultures have different languages, creating a barrier in communication among people from these cultures. For instance, some people write from left to write on a sheet of paper while others write from right to left. This can lead to confusion when it comes to interpretation of the same written information since some will start reading from right and others from the left. Those who read in the direction in which the information was not written get the wrong message. Words are commonly misused across cultures. Similar to Laray’s work, foreigners who learn a local word tend to use it anywhere and anyhow regardless of the “context” and meaning (Spack, 1990, p. 69).It creates misplaced statements and consequently misunderstanding in communication. Some cultures also have the same words in spelling but different in pronunciation and even meaning. Such words can greatly mislead those who misunderstand them wrongly. The same applies with intonation in sentences, whereby different intonations bring about different meanings. This can happen even among English speakers whereby one uses “culture dependency” in intonation (Spack, 1990, p. 69). In some cultures, when offered a meal one says ‘Thank you’ to indicate that they do not want the meal.However, others say the same to mean that they are very pleased with the meal and will be glad to have it. Nonverbal signs and symbols also hinder effective intercultural communication. The smile in “Intercultural Communication Stumbling Blocks” shows different meanings can be derived from the same nonverbal symbols in different cultures just as the smile gave contradicting meanings although it shows joy. Holding hands can mean differently in various cultures. Indian men hold hands freely even in streets, but this can be seen as a sexuality defect in other cultures. Waving hands can mean ‘goodbye’ or symbolize a greeting. Expectations on people’s behaviors in terms of “preconceptions and stereotyping” are evident in almost all over the world (Spack, 1990, p. 70). People already have expectations on how other people in other cultures behave and react to situations. Such expectations can be wrong and misguide people, disappointing those with the expectations. Arabs are stereotyped as dangerous in terms of violence creates a gap between them and anyone willing to communicate with them. There is fear among other people towards them such that people would even avoid eating in a restaurant where a group of them are having a meal. Their language also involves loud sounds that are scary. Some communities are also seen as sharp and intellectual and are, therefore, expected to perform the best and give awesome solutions to problems when it comes to group discussions and tasks. Such can apply to the Indians who are believed to be brilliant in mathematics and medicine. Tasks involving these two fields of study will make people rely on them a lot for answers and solutions. The Chinese, Koreans and Japanese are stereotyped as human weapons, with the belief that they are so good in martial arts that they would form an army without any guns or grenades. In the case of any attack when in a group with people from different cultures, they are expected to be the ones to fight for the group. They are hardly challenged by other people in a physical battle as they are thought to be fierce. However, with the modern changes in life and priorities, not all such people are as stereotyped. The Chinese, for example, value education and technology a lot nowadays. Preconceptions tend to be misconceptions, and thus a stumbling block for intercultural communication. One’s expectations of people of a particular culture are often not met, leading to confusion and poor understanding of one’s intentions. “The high tendency to evaluate” behaviors (Spack, 1990, p. 70) can discourage one from communicating with people from other cultures. Some people run into conclusions when it comes to judging behaviors of others. This judgment can be misled, leading to a misunderstanding of why the behavior is as so. An example is whereby a “siesta can be seen as an act of laziness” whereas it is indeed due to the high temperatures (Spack, 1990, p. 70). The wrong evaluation of an act can lead to improper understanding of one another in a group. Due to the lack of 24-hour economies in Africa, most Africans go to bed early. This can also be seen as an act of laziness, but when one considers insecurity in such countries, then being out at night is a risk rather than an endeavor to earn extra cash. Understanding this creates an awareness that one truly has to understand the cultures of others and the reasons behind them. It takes listening, patience and understanding to enable effective communication with them.Some actions might be wrongly understood, and even taken for rudeness or arrogance.The Korean student thought his American friend was rude for talking to him through the window and not welcoming him into his home and yet the American had no intention to “hurt feelings” of the Korean (Spack, 1990, p. 71). The environment he had lived in taught him to act as he did and was thus not to be judged for his actions. High anxiety discourages people from interacting with strangers or foreigners “because of uncertainties present” from the communication between them or what the foreigners will expect from them (Spack, 1990, p. 71). It can be observed that the lack of proper understanding of a foreign language can make one fear to communicate with it due to lack of ability to talk fluently and at the pace of foreigners. This anxiety leads to fear and eventual seclusion from the groups in which one has to speak or interact with foreigners. This kind of anxiety is common with first time visitors of foreign countries and a few subsequent visitors who never got acquainted with the new foreign way of life and a foreign language too. It can be minimized or completely eliminated through repeated interaction with the foreigners and getting used to them. Overcoming it also involves accepting the fact that one is not good in the foreign language and showing interest in learning a thing or two about it. This works well for excited first time visitors such that their subsequent visits will be so smooth that they will feel like locals. Conclusion The limitations of intercultural communication are clearly evident from the causes explained. These limitations are true, and almost every person who travels to different parts of the world has experienced them. Enhancing communication between cultures around the world can only be achieved through patience and understanding. The need to learn about and understand different cultures is also key in getting to communicate with people from different cultures effectively. Understanding their backgrounds, beliefs and traditions is important in building a common ground with which everyone can relate and be able to accommodate foreigners. References Spack, R. (1990). Guidelines: A cross-cultural reading/writing text. New York: St. Martins Press. Zamle & R. Spark (Eds.), Crossing the curriculum: Multilingual learners in college classroom. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Read More