CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

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CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

• CH 10

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COMMUNICATION

• An exchange of information
• Verbal language
• Nonverbal behaviors
• Facial expressions
• Gestures of hands, arms legs
• Posture, lean body orientation
• Tone of voice, silence
• Interpersonal space
• Touching behaviors
• Gaze visual attention

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Communication

• Communication is bi-directional
• Encoding The process by which we select the
  way(s) we communicate
• Decoding The process by which we receive a
  communication and determine its meaning

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Culture Communication

• Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The idea that speakers of
  different languages think differently because of
  the differences in their languages
• Thoughts, feelings and actions are influenced by
  language and culture
• Cultural filters, emotions and value judgments
  impact both encoding decoding
• Fundamental attribution error A tendency to
  explain the actions of others using internal
  attributions but to explain ones own behaviors
  using external attributions.

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Culture Communication

• Intracultural Communication Between individuals
  of the same culture
• Expectations of same culturally-based rules for
  encoding decoding
• Negative attributions when those expectations
  arent met

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Culture Communication

• Intercultural Communication Between people of
  differing cultures
• Rules for encoding decoding may not be shared
• Greater likelihood of miscommunication and/or
  ambiguity
• Increased likelihood of anxiety associated with
  uncertainty, frustration conflict

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Barriers to Effective Communication

• Assumptions of similarities
• Language differences
• Nonverbal misinterpretations
• Preconceptions and stereotypes
• Tendency to evaluate
• High anxiety or tension

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Minimizing Barriers to Effective Intercultural
Communication

• Mindfulness Being conscious of and
  conscientious about ethnorelativism (knowledge,
  awareness and skills with sensitivity toward
  cultural differences)
• Uncertainty reduction
• Face A cultural concept generally associated
  with collectivist cultures, governing the
  handling of conflict with sensitivity to outward
  appearance and respect
• Emotional regulation Patience, flexibility,
  calm, openness to learning, being motivated to
  communicate effectively