Intercultural Communication As A Trading of Cultural Stereotypes - Essay Example

 Intercultural Communication As A Trading of Cultural Stereotypes Stereotypes are generalizations that are made about all the members of a particular group. Stereotypes, often, but not always, stem from prejudice, ignorance or bigotry, and if left unaddressed, can lead to discrimination, alienation, and violence towards an entire group of people. Stereotypes are formed in a number of ways and for a number of reasons. Forming stereotypes is a natural occurrence amongst people as they try to bring order to their environments by compartmentalizing their experiences. Social learning sources such as the media, peers, parents and family also influence how people from one group interpret and process data about people from another group. The mass media is especially responsible for repeatedly promoting negative and distorted images of different cultural groups, until those images and stereotypes often become very difficult to overcome. A few isolated incidents of bad conduct from members of a group, and the entire group is often perceived as being the same, that is because when people stereotype, they don’t feel a need to consider the individuals that make up a group after placing that group in a determined category. Stereotyping serves the purpose of allowing people in one group to claim superior characteristics to those in another group. By attributing characteristics that bear a negative connotation, stereotyping becomes a way that people gain a sense of control about the unknown. This phenomenon not only exists between ethnic cultural groups, but between others as well, such as gender groups, economic groups, educational groups, and generational groups. This is particularly true when one considers the response a younger culture often receives from an older one. “…some theorists of postmodernism tend to lament what they see as the lowering of the standards of aesthetic taste associated with contemporary popular culture.”(Strinati 1995, p.38) The idea that an aesthetic decline was caused by the members of a new culture is an example of needing to feel superior to a group that one is not familiar with. There are differences of opinion when it comes to language and culture. Some say that language defines a culture, because it affects and molds what we believe and what we think, yet others say that language is only reflective of what goes on inside of a culture. When we talk about people, our intent is to make a specific point, and that point dictates the language and word choices that we make. If we want to portray someone in a positive light, we might refer to them as beautiful, trustworthy, enterprising or as a pillar of society. We would show respect by referring to them as Sir, Miss or Ma’am. On the other hand, if we want to portray someone in a less favorable light, we might call them by their last name only, use words such as shady or dubious. We often refer to people of colour as minorities, or use the phrase “those people” when talking about someone we don’t consider to be of equal footing. Language choices not only reveal how we feel about members of another group, but they also inform younger members and children how they should address the people in that group as well. This, in turn, establishes a social platform of misinformation that often continues for generations. Being mindful of chosen language when talking about others is a key step in establishing a positive venue of cultural information exchange. In his book, An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture, John Storey explores how theorist Jim McGuigan advocates studying popular culture in its relationship and relevance to social and political power. McGuigan also advises commencing “a dialogue between cultural studies and the political economy of culture.” (Storey 2006, p.182) Intercultural communication is the exchange of information between two cultures for the purpose of creating meaningful comprehension about the group members. Communication is an interpretive process, and not always intentional. Every aspect of an individual sends a message that is open to interpretation by another. Aspects such as dress code, speech, social habits, or religious practices present information about a person that may or may not be correctly interpreted by another. Stereotyping, if used as a building block to more advanced knowledge, can open doors to initiating conversation among different groups. Stereotypes become counterproductive, however, when a person believes that the broad nature of the stereotype is the end all of the group’s members, and fails to further discover deeper-rooted characteristics about the group. Decreased activity in searching for additional information about a group fuels a person’s inaccurate thinking and poor judgment about members of that group. In the book, Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book, (Holliday, Kullman, Hyde 2004, p. 32) the authors discuss the danger of being patronizing by making a member of another culture feel like an outsider. Applying generalized knowledge of someone’s culture to a conversation can inadvertently make them feel inferior and culturally handicapped. Even the act of showing interest and discussing aspects of another’s culture can make a person feel as if they have been singled out. When people feel insecure or feel a need to embellish their own importance, stereotypes create self fulfilling prophesies about other groups, and create a barrier when it comes to intercultural communication. Established stereotypes affect the way we respond to information about members of a group, to a point where we become more willing to believe incoming data that feeds into the stereotype, whether that data is true or not, and tend to dismiss data that negates the established stereotype, even though that data may be true. Stereotyping does not always have to be bad. Stereotypes comprised of national cultural traits often work in a positive way when applied to a large group, and when those traits are used as an initial identification of a group, it can actually aid in guiding one’s behaviour, in a positive manner, towards that group. Stereotypes can of course, be destructive and have a negative impact on cultural relations, even when the stereotype appears to be a positive one. For example, stereotypes that portray members of one group as being excellent in sports and music, or members of another group as being studious and excellent in academics appear to be positive traits, but when applied to everyone in those two groups, limits the areas of recognisable achievements by other individuals in those groups. Adhering to rigid stereotypes also becomes counter productive when members of the target group are considered weaker links if they themselves do not possess the stereotypical trait. When people from opposite sides of the shore agree to study and communicate with each other, members from both groups are allowed to express their value as human beings by gaining an equal footing in a globalised world. “…by analyzing the culture of a society - the textual forms and documented practices of a culture - it is possible to reconstitute the patterned behaviour and constellations of ideas shared by the men and women who produce and consume the cultural texts and practices of that society. It is a perspective which stresses ‘human agency’, the active production of culture other than its passive consumption.” (Storey 2006, p.44) Intercultural communication is indeed an initial trading of stereotypes developed to advance an effort of obtaining more information about members of another group, but it entails a lot more. Intercultural communication is an open exchange of ideas between members of those groups who acknowledge their information gaps, but who are both committed to learning about each other. In the diverse global world in which we live, learning to communicate effectively and efficiently will aid in conflict resolution matters between cultural groups, promote knowledge of custom and cultural protocol when addressing members of various groups, and foster the idea of willing participation in cross cultural comprehension. From a business standpoint, intercultural communication is certainly more than just a trading of stereotypes, because it calls for a willing and committed effort between managers, marketers, foreign nationals, and multi ethnic work teams and staff members to cooperate in a shared workplace. The broader spectrum of that, of course, is the development of the ability to communicate across the board from one global workplace to another. A culture is made up of things that are common amongst a group of people, and for that reason it is nearly impossible not to arrive at premature stereotypes, but once we decide to move past the initial stages of our exposure to something new, we can begin to appreciate the differences that make up various cultures, while still feeling confident within our own. In addition, we also gain the perspective of appreciating the characteristics that various cultures often have in common. It is then that we are able to fully occupy the global arena as learned participants in the phenomenon of intercultural communication. REFERENCES Holliday, A., Kullman, J., Hyde, M. (2004) Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book. London: Routledge Taylor Francis Group Martin, J. (1992) Cultures in Organisations: Three Perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press O’Sullivan, T. (1994) Key Concepts in Communication & Cultural Studies. New York: Routledge Storey, J. (2006) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Georgia: University of Georgia Press Strinati, D. (1995) An Introduction to Theories of Popular Culture. New York: Routledge Read More