Culture of India - Essay Example

CULTURE OF INDIA In this essay, I shall review the work of Larry Samovar in the book Cross Cultural Communications. It is vital to note that communication and culture works in tandem. This is because communication allows for the transfer of culture from one generation to the next. This book is a compilation of a number of interesting articles from a number of authors that reflects on the diversity in intercultural communication. My main focus in this essay is cross cultural communication in relation to the culture of India. It important to note that India is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world. Religion plays a major role in the way of life of a people. In addition to the fact that it is the second most populous country in the world brings with it a number of challenges when it comes to intercultural communication (Samovar, Porter and McDaniel 13). Cultures have individual perceptions of society, and norms and values affect the manner in which people of varying cultures communicate and understand the world. Inability to understand the difference in culture may cause misunderstanding or hinder communication between people of varying culture. The culture of India is one of the most unique since there is cultural diversity throughout the country. The North, south, and Northeast have unique cultures and their combination has led to development of the Indian culture. It is vital to note that tourism is the most apparent method of intercultural meetings since people of diverse cultures travel to far away lands such as India to learn different cultures. There is normally a difficulty in intercultural communication not only because of the difference in language but also because of the varying attitudes of people of varying culture (Chen and Starosta 9). Through speech humans are able to communicate with each other and to do so they use language. Humans use systems of symbolic communication to pass across messages and the variety in language makes human communication very complex. Language is the most important tool for the transmission of various cultures. It is also the greatest barrier of communication between individuals of different cultures. In India, different states have various official languages identified by the central government. For example east India speaks Hindi, Urdu, and Bengali. India has a wide variety of language but the Central government decided that Hindi was the official language. English is considered globally as the language most understood. However, different cultures speak the language differently. Indians who speak English have a heavy Indian accent and at times it is difficult to understand them. Communication does not have to be verbal but can be nonverbal as well. This includes the use of gestures, facial expression, and signs. A common gesture used by Indians is the bobbing of their head from side to side. While in western culture this gesture normally means no, Indians do so as a sign of understanding and agreement (Chase 329). Various cultures in the world have varying worldviews and these are the theories showing how the world works. This greatly influences the way of thinking of people of different cultures. India is greatly influenced by Hinduism and this has the tradition of the caste system. This culture emphasizes the establishment of hierarchical relationships. There is a clear social order and everybody has their own status depending on race and financial status. For this reason, intercultural communication may be hindered because of this. A Hindu would communicate differently with a white person compared to a black person. This is mainly because Indian culture believes that blacks are inferior and would therefore communicate by showing them disrespect. This can also be considered as a message of skin color. It is essential to note that communication is not only oral, but written as well. Ancient India has several varying writing styles. Hindi was written using unique symbols called pictographs (Chen and Starosta 14). This form of writing would be difficult for none natives to understand. This therefore means that in order to better communicate posters and signs written in pictographs are also written in English using letters from the alphabet. Religion also greatly influences the culture of many Indians. The two main religions found in India are Hinduism and Islam. There are other lesser religions in India including Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism. These religions have varying religious beliefs and this greatly influences the way they communicate. For example, according to Islam, if a man wants to greet his fellow man he may kiss him on the cheeks in public. However, Muslim women are not allowed to come into any contact with a man let alone even shake their hands. This is unlike Western culture whereby men and women kiss in public as a way of greeting. Intercultural communication can also be influenced by gender roles. In India, due to the carrying races and religions the genders have varying roles. According to Hinduism, the woman is more immanent and active in comparison to the man who is more inert and latent. In India, the woman’s dominant role is to carry out domestic duties (Samovar, Porter and McDaniel 45). This involves taking care of the children, cooking, washing, and other household chores. The men are meant to provide food and for that reason receive great respect from the women. Intercultural communication is hence affected by this since the way a woman would communicate with a tourist is not the same as the manner in which a man would talk to a tourist. The values and norms of a people also greatly influence the manner in which they communicate with people of varying culture. Values refer to the beliefs an individual holds that influences his actions. Indian culture believes in showing respect to and individual depending on their social status. If you are elderly or rich an Indian would probably try to communicate with you better than if you were young and poor (Chase 330). Due to the diversity in India, there are various social identities and these influence the manner in which the people would communicate with you. Racial identity greatly influences intercultural identity. Black Indians are normally considered as the lowest caste in India. For that reason, most blacks would not want to talk to a white tourist due to their skin color. Racism is high in India despite the racial diversity in the country. Work cited Chase, M. "Book review: Communication between cultures (4th ed.)." International Journal of Intercultural Communication. (2002): Pp 329-332. Print. Chen, G. M. and W. J. Starosta. "Asian approaches to human communication: A dialogue." Intercultural Communication Studies (2003): Pp 1-15. Print. Samovar, Larry A., Richard E. Porter and Edwin R. McDaniel. Communication Between Cultures. New York: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. Read More