COM 200: CHAPTER 1 NOTES
STUDYING INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
The Peace Imperative
· Question: Can individuals of different genders, ages, ethnicities, races, languages, and religions peacefully coexist on the planet?
· The influence of U.S. technology and media is seen as a positive benefit by some people and as a cause for resistance by others.
· War and intercultural conflict underscore the need for us to learn more about groups of which we are not members.
The Economic Imperative
· Knowing about intercultural communication is strategically important for U.S. businesses in the emerging transnational economy.
· “If companies are going to sell products and services globally, then they will need a rich mix of employees with varied perspectives and experiences. They will need top executives who understand different countries and cultures.”
The Workplace
· Business necessarily must me bore attentive to diversity issues
· Diversity is a potentially powerful economic tool for business organizations
o Developing new products for differing cultural contexts
o Marketing new products in culturally appropriate and effective ways
The Global Economy
· Globalization- the process in which businesses all around the world are continually expanding into overseas markets.
· Some argue that globalization is the cause of growing poverty and inequality around the world.
o These kinds of inequalities can lead to resentment, despair, and ultimately intercultural conflict.
· Maquiladoras- foreign-owned plants that use domestic labor.
· Cross-cultural trainers- people who assist people going abroad by giving them information about strategies for dealing with cultural differences.
· U.S. companies seem to have little regard for cultural idiosyncrasies, which can cause ill will and mistrust, enhance negative stereotypes, and result in lost business opportunities.
· In the future, economic exchanges will drive intercultural interactions
The Technological Imperative
· Global village- a world in which communication technology, such as TV, radio, news services, brings news and information to the most remote parts of the world.
Technology and Human Communication
· Social relationships evolve with each technological advance
o We can be involved simultaneously in many different relationships, all without face-to-face contact.
· Move on the internet is actually toward multilingualism, rather than an all-English internet.
· Through high-tech communication, we come into contact with people who are very different from ourselves, often in ways we don’t understand.
· Technology has increased the frequency with which many people encounter multilingual situations and so must decide which language will be used.
· People seek out intercultural communications for many different reasons, including the use of other languages to express their thoughts and feelings.
· “Digital divide”- exist between the people that have access to technologies and those who do not.
The Demographic Imperative
· Demographics- the general characteristics of a given population.
o They will change dramatically throughout your lifetime
o Change comes from 2 sources:
§ Changing demographics within the U.S.
§ Changing immigration patterns
Changing U.S. Demographics
· Increase in multicultural people- 2 or more races
· Where you live determines to some extent how much opportunity you have to interact with persons who are different from you ethically or racially.
Changing Immigration Patterns
· Immigration
· America is often described as a nation of immigrants
o Cannot simply think of it as this if we want to better understand contemporary U.S. society.
· U.S. is becoming more heterogeneous- diverse
· The tension between different racial/ethnic groups, as well as fear on the part of politically dominant groups, must be acknowledged
· Intercultural conflict is not necessarily a consequence of diversity.
· Diversity can expand our horizons—linguistically, politically, socially—as various lifestyles and ways of thinking come together.
· Historical Overview
o Common response is to ignore history
o Relationships between residents and immigrants or between old-timers and newcomers have often been contentious.
o Immigrants tried to protect their way of life, language, and culture
o Immigrants from southern, central, and eastern Europe were expected to assimilate into the so-called mainstream and jump into the “melting pot” and come out “American”
o Assimilatable- able to become members of White American society, and accept the concept of race assumed new meaning.
§ All of the so-called White races were now considered one
§ Because of this racial hostilities were directed to non-White ethnic groups
· The Current Situation
o Tradition of tension and conflict between cultures continues to this day
o Individuals who feel victimized by any number of situations sometimes perpetrate their own ignorance and stereotypes on the next racially different person they encounter.
o Enclaves- parts of cities where certain cultural/racial groups reside
o Economic class- influences a certain class structure
§ Most Americans are reluctant to admit one exists or how difficult it is to move up in it
§ Most people live their lives in the same economic class into which they were born
o Melting pot metaphor- all immigrants enter and blend into American society
§ Probably was never viable- not all immigrants could be assimilated into the U.S. the same way
· Demographic diversity in the U.S. has provided us with tremendous linguistic richness and culinary variety, has given us the resources to meet new social challenges, and has created domestic and international business opportunities
The Self-Awareness Imperative
· Self-awareness- to gain an awareness of one’s own cultural identity and background.
· Intercultural learning is not always easy or comfortable
· What you learn depends on your social and economic position in society.
· Self-awareness that comes through intercultural learning may involve an increased awareness of being caught up in political, economic, and historical systems, not of our own making.
The Ethical Imperative
· Ethics- principles of conduct that help govern the behavior of inidivduals and groups
o Often arise from communities’ views on what is good or bad behavior
o Cultural values tell us what is “good” and what “ought” to be.
Ethical Judgments and Cultural Values
· Ethical judgments focus more on the degrees of rightness and wrongness in human behavior than do cultural values.
· Contemporary debates about legalizing same-sex marriage reflect the role of cultural values in laws.
· Ethical principles are often culture-bound, and intercultural conflicts arise from varying notions of what constitutes ethical behavior.
· No cultural pattern is inherently right or wrong.
· Universalist position- we need to identify those rules that apply across cultures
o Identify acts and conditions that most societies think of as wrong
o Extreme position- Cultural differences are only superficial, fundamental notions of right and wrong are universal
· Relativist position- any cultural behavior can be judged only within the cultural context in which it occurs.
o Only a community can truly judge the ethics of its members.
· David W. Kale- proposed a universal code of ethics for intercultural communicators.
o Based on a universal belief in the sanctity of the human spirit and desirability of peace.
· Don’t assume that your ethical principles are shared by others.
· Kwame Appiah
o We all must become cosmopolitans- citizens of the world
o Take seriously the value of not just human life, but particular human life, never forgetting that each human being has responsibilities to the other.
· We should be able to judge what is ethical and unethical behavior given variations in cultural priorities. (1st)
· We should be able to identify guidelines for ethical behavior in intercultural contexts where ethics clash (2nd)
Becoming an Ethical Student of Culture
· Self-reflexivity- process by which we “look in the mirror” to see ourselves
· When you learn about other cultures and cultural practices, you learn much about yourself as well.
· Self-reflection about your intercultural experiences will go a long way in helping you learn about intercultural communication
· Most cultural attitudes and ideas are instilled in you and are difficult to unravel and identify
· Discovering who you are is an ongoing process that can never fully capture the ever-emerging person
o Your intercultural experiences change who you are and who you think you are.
· Learning about Others
o Students of culture should try to speak with and to people instead of about them
o Rather than merely describe other people from afar, it’s better to try to listen to and engage them in a dialogue about their cultural realities.
· Listening to the Voices of Others
o Listening carefully as people relate their experiences and knowledge helps us learn about other cultures
o Starsota and Chen- mutual listening forms the core of intercultural understanding
o Ishii- core of intercultural understanding is listening
§ Listen carefully before you speak
§ We can only really understand another person when we have listened to him or her carefully.
· Developing a Sense of Social Justice
o Intercultural learning is not just transformative for the individual but should also benefit the larger society and other cultural groups in the increasingly interdependent world
o The first step in working for social justice is acknowledging that oppression and inequities exist.
GLOSSARY
Assimilatable- the degree of participation in a type of cultural adaptation in which an individual gives up his or her own cultural heritage and adopts the mainstream cultural identity
Class structure- the economic organization of income levels in a society; the structure that defines upper, middle, lower, and other social classes
Cosmopolitans- people who view themselves as citizens of the world and are responsible to each other
Cross-cultural trainers- trainers who teach people to become familiar with other cultural norms and to improve their interactions with people of different domestic and international cultures
Demographics- the characteristics of a population, especially as classified by age, sex, and income
Diversity- heterogeneity
Enclaves- regions that are surrounded by another country’s territory; cultural minority groups that live within a larger cultural group’s territory
Ethics- principles of conduct that help govern behaviors of individuals and groups
Global village- a term coined by Marshall McLuhan in the 1960’s that refers to a world in which communication technology links people from remote parts of the world
Globalization- the increasing tendency toward international connection in media, business, and culture
Heterogeneity- consisting of different or dissimilar elements
Immigration- movement to a new country, region, or environment to settle more or less permanently
Maquiladoras- assembly plants or factories (mainly of U.S. companies) established on the U.S.-Mexico border and using mainly Mexican labor.
Melting pot metaphor- a metaphor that assumes that immigrants and other cultural minorities will be assimilated into the U.S. majority culture, losing their original cultures
Relativist position- the view that the particular language we speak, especially the structure of the language, shapes our perception of reality and cultural patterns
Self-awareness- related to intercultural communication competence; the quality of knowing how you are perceived as a communicator, as well as your strengths and weaknesses
Self-reflexivity- a process of learning to understand ourselves and our own position in society
Universalist position- an ethical approach that emphasizes the similarity of beliefs across cultures- for example, killing within the group or treason
Monday, May 11, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Glossary for Intercultural Communication
Accommodating style- emphasizes an indirect approach for dealing with conflict and a more emotionally restrained manner
Adaptors- gestures related to managing our emotions
Affirmative action- statutes that attempt to stop discrimination by encouraging the hiring of minorities and women
Afrocentric- an orientation toward African or African American cultural standards, including beliefs and values, as the criteria for interpreting behaviors and attitudes
Age identity- the identification with the cultural conventions of how we should act, look and behave according to our age
AIDS- Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; a disease caused by a virus, HIV, transmitted through sexual or blood contact, which attacks the immune system
Alternative medicine- a medical approach that goes against the norms of the medical establishment; it can incorporate holistic medicine, spirituality, and/or non-Western wellness philosophies
Americans with Disabilities Act- a law requiring that places of business make “reasonable” accommodations for employees with physical disabilities.
Anti-Americanism- negative ideas against the United States, most often the US government
Argot- nonstandard way of communicating that separates insiders from outsiders of a coculture; language within coculture
Assimilatable- the degree of participation in a type of cultural adaption in which an individual gives up his or her won cultural heritage and adopts the mainstream cultural identity (cultural adaptation)
Authenticity- in tourism, the search for “real” cultural experiences very different from the tourists’ everyday life
Benevolent deception- withholding information from a patient, ostensibly for his or her own good
Bilingual- able to speak two languages fluently or at least competently
Bilingualism- the ability to speak two languages
Boundary maintenance- the regulation of interaction between hosts and tourists
Class identity- a sense of belonging to a group that shares similar economic, occupational, or social status
Class structure- the economic organization of income levels in a society; the structure that defines upper, middle, lower and other social classes
Cocultural group- non-dominant cultural groups that exist in a national culture—for example, African American or Chinese American
Code switching- changing from one language or communication style to another
Collectivism- the tendency to focus on the goals, needs, and views of the ingroup rather than the individuals’ own goals, needs, and views
Colonial education system- schools established by colonial powers in colonized regions; They often forbade the use of native languages and discussion of native cultures
Colonial histories- the histories that legitimate international invasions and annexations
Communication- a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed
Communication style- the metamessage that contextualizes how listeners are expected to accept and interpret verbal messages
Complimentarity- a principle of relational attraction suggesting that sometimes we are attracted to people who are different from us
Compromise style- a style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which both partners give up some part of their own cultural habits and beliefs to minimize cross-cultural differences (compare with consensus style, obliteration style and submission style)
Conflict- the interference between two or more interdependent individuals or groups of people who perceive incompatible goals, values or expectations in attaining those ends
Consensus style- a style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which partners deal with cross-cultural differences by negotiating their relationship (compare with compromise style, obliteration style, and submission style)
Constructive identity- an identity that is actively negotiated from various cultures in contact and that often creates feelings of new multicultural identity
Contact cultures- cultural groups in which people tend to stand close together and touch frequently when they interact—for example, cultural groups in South America, the Middle East, and southern Europe (see noncontact cultures)
Contact hypothesis- intercultural contacts can result in more positive and tolerate attitudes toward other cultural groups, but only under very specific conditions
Context- the physical or social situation in which communication occurs
Contractual honesty- telling a patient only what he or she wants to know
Core symbols- the fundamental beliefs that are shared by the members of a cultural group; Labels, a category of core symbols, are the names or markers used to classify individual, social or cultural groups
Cosmopolitans- people who view themselves as citizens of the world and are responsible to each other
Cross-cultural trainers- trainers who teach people to become familiar with other cultural norms and to improve their interactions with people of different domestic and international cultures
Cultural contact- when two or more cultures come together, sometimes on an individual basis, but often through larger social migrations, wars and other displacements.
Cultural group histories- the history of each cultural group within a nation that includes, for example, the history of where the group originated, why the people migrated, and how they came to develop and maintain their cultural traits
Cultural identities- who we are as influenced by the cultures to which we belong
Cultural imperialism- domination through the spread of cultural products
Cultural space- the particular configuration of the communication that constructs meanings of various places
Cultural texts- cultural artifacts (magazines, TV programs, movies, and so on) that convey cultural norms, values and beliefs
Culture- learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people
Culture industries- industries that produce and sell popular culture as commodities
Culture shock- a relatively short-term feeling of disorientation and discomfort due to the lack of familiar cues in the environment
Deception- the act of making someone believe what is not true
Demographics- the characteristics of a population, especially as classified by age, sex and income
Diaspora- a massive migration, often caused by war or famine or persecution, that results in the dispersal of a unified group
Diasporic histories- the histories of the ways in which international cultural groups were created through transnational migrations, slavery, religious crusades, or other historical forces
Direct approach- emphasizes that conflict is fundamentally a good thing and should be approached head-on
Discrimination- behaviors resulting from stereotypes or prejudice that cause some people to be denied equal participation or rights based on cultural group membership (such as race)
Discussion style- combines the direct and emotionally restrained dimensions and emphasizes a verbally direct approach for dealing with disagreements
Dynamic style- uses an indirect style of communicating along with a more emotionally intense expressiveness
Eco-tourism- tourism of sites of environmental or natural interest
Electronic colonialism- domination or exploitation utilizing technological forms
Emblems- gestures that have a specific verbal translation
Embodied ethnocentrism- feeling comfortable and familiar in the spaces, behaviors, and actions of others in our own cultural surroundings
Emotionally expressive style- conflict style where intense and overt displays of emotion are valued during discussion of disagreements
Encapsulated identity- an identity that is torn between different cultural identities and that often creates feelings of ambiguity
Enclaves- regions that are surrounded by another country’s territory; cultural minority groups that live within a larger cultural group’s territory
Engagement style- emphasizes a verbally direct and confrontational approach to dealing with conflict
Equal employment opportunity- laws against discrimination in the workplace
Equivalency- an issue in translation, the condition of being equal in meaning, value, quantity, and so on
Ethics- principles of conduct that help govern behaviors of individuals and groups
Ethics committees- groups that provide guidance in making health care decisions; usually composed of health care professionals, administrators, lawyers, social works, members of the religious community, and patient representatives
Ethnic histories- the histories of ethnic groups
Ethnic identity- set of ideas about how one’s own ethnic group membership; a sense of belonging to a particular group and knowing something about the shared experience of the group
Ethnocentrism- an orientation toward one’s own ethnic group; often a tendency to elevate one’s own culture above others
Eurocentric- the assumption of the centrality or superiority of European culture
Euthanasia- the ending of the life of a terminally ill patient
Eye contact- a nonverbal code that communicated meanings about respect and status and often regulates turn taking during interactions
Facial expressions- facial gestures that convey emotions and attitudes
Family histories- the body of knowledge shared by family members and the customs, rituals, and stories passed from one generation to another within a family
Folk culture- traditional culture that is not practiced for financial profit
Friendship- a personal, nonromantic relationship that has culture-specific definitions
Gay relationships- same-sex romantic relationships
Gender histories- the histories of how cultural conventions of men and women are created, maintained and/or altered
Gender identity- the identification with the cultural notions of masculinity and femininity and what it means to me a man or woman
Gestures- nonverbal communication involving hand and arm movements
Globalization- the increasing tendency toward international connections in the media, business, and culture
Global nomads- people who grow up in many different cultural contexts because their parents relocated
Grand narrative- a unified history and view of humankind
HBCUs- historically black colleges and universities
Health care professionals- physicians, nurses and all the other medical staff with whom patients in the health care system come into contact
Heterogeneity- consisting of different or dissimilar elements
Hidden histories- the histories that are hidden from or forgotten by the mainstream representation of past events
High-context communication- a style of communication in which much of the information is contained in the contexts and nonverbal cues rather than expressed explicitly in words
HIV- human immunodeficiency virus
Home- the immediate cultural context for our upbringing; where we have lived
Homo narrans- a term used to describe the story-telling tendencies of human beings
Host- residents of a tourist region
Hyphenated Americans- Americans who identify not only with be understood differently depending on the perspectives that people take (for example, social psychological, communication, or critical perspectives)
Illustrators- gestures that go along with and refer to speech
Immigration- movement to a new country, region, or environment to settle more or less permanently
Improvised performance- a way of thinking about intercultural interaction in which two people are making up a performance as they go along
Incompatibility- a state of incongruity in goals, values, or expectations between two or more individuals
Indirect approach- emphasizes that conflict should be avoided
Individualism- the tendency to emphasize individual identities, beliefs, needs, goals and views rather than those of the group
Intellectual histories- written histories which focus on the development of ideas
Intercultural communication- the interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds
Intercultural conflict- the perceived or real incompatibility of goals, values or expectations between two parties from different cultures
Intercultural dating- the pursuit of a romantic intercultural relationship
Intercultural relationships- relationships that are formed between individuals from different cultures
Interdependent- a state of mutual influence; the action or behavior of one individual affecting the other person in the relationship
Interlanguage- the form of language that emerges when a nonnative speaker overlaps his or her native grammar or structure onto another language
Intermediary- in a formal setting, a professional third party, such as a lawyer, real estate agent, or counselor, who intervenes when two parties are in conflict; Informal intermediaries may be friends or colleagues who intervene
International conflict- conflict that occurs on the international level, often between nations
International students- students attending high school or college in another country
Interpersonal allies- people, often friends, who work for better interpersonal and intergroup relations
Interpersonal conflict- conflict that occurs between individuals, rather than groups or nations
Interpretation- the process of verbally expressing what is said or written in another language
Intimacy- the extent of emotional closeness
Labels- terms used to refer to people’s identities
Language- a means of communication using shared symbols
Language acquisition- the process of learning language
Language policies- laws or customs that determine which language will be spoken when and where
Learning styles- the different ways student learn in different cultures
Low-context communication- a style of communication in which much of the information in conveyed in words rather than in nonverbal cues and contexts
Macrocontexts- the political, social, and historical situations, backgrounds, and environments that influence communication
Majority identity development- the development of a sense of belonging to a dominant group
Maquiladoras- assembly plants or factories (mainly of US companies) established on the US-Mexico border and using mainly Mexican labor
Masculinity/femininity value- a cultural variability dimension that concerns the degree of being feminine—valuing fluid gender roles, quality of life, service, relationships, and interdependence—and the degree of being masculine—emphasizing distinctive gender roles, ambition, materialism, and interdependence
Media imperialism- domination or control through media
Mediation- the act of resolving conflict by having someone intervene between two parties
Medical jargon- medical terminology, especially that which is confusing or difficult for the layperson to understand
Medical terminology- a set of scientific words and phrases used by doctors to precisely describe illness
Melting pot- a metaphor that assumes that immigrants and cultural minorities will be assimilated into the US majority culture, losing their original cultures
Migrating- when an individual leaves the primary cultural context in which he or she was raised and moves to a new cultural context for an extended period of time
Minority identity development- the development of a sense of belonging to a non-dominant group
Mobility- the state of moving from place to place
Monochronic- an orientation to time that assumes it is linear and is a commodity that can be lost or gained
Multicultural identity- a sense of in-betweenness that develops as a result of frequent or multiple cultural border crossings
Multilingual- the ability to speak more than two languages fluently or at least competently
Multinational- companies that have operations in two or more nations
Multiracial and multicultural people- people whose heritage draws from more than one racial or cultural group
National history- a body of knowledge based on past events that influenced a country’s development
National identity- national citizenship
Neighborhood- living area defined by its cultural identity, especially an ethnic or racial one
Noncontact cultures- cultural groups in which people tend to maintain more space and touch less often than people do in contract cultures. Great Britain and Japan tend to have noncontract cultures
Nonverbal codes- systems for understanding the meanings of nonverbal behavior, including personal space, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, time orientation and silence
Nonverbal communication- communication through means other than language—for example, facial expressions and clothing
Obliteration style- style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which both partners attempt to erase their individual cultures in dealing with cultural differences (compare with compromise style, consensus style and submission style)
Pacifism- opposition to the use of force under any circumstances
Perception- the process by which we select, organize, and interpret external and internal stimuli to create our view of the world
Personal identity- a person’s notions of self
Personal space- the immediate area around a person, invasion of which may provoke discomfort or offense
Phonology- the study of speech sounds
Physical ability identity- knowledge of self based on characteristics related to the body, either more permanent or temporary—for example, sight, hearing and weight
Physical attraction- sexual desire based on the appearance of another
Political conflict- conflict that happens at the societal level over political issues
Polychronic- an orientation to time that sees it as circular and more holistic
Popular culture- forms of contemporary culture that are made popular by and for the people through their mass consumption of these products; those systems or artifacts that most people share and that most people know about, including television, music, videos, and popular magazines
Postcolonialism- an intellectual, political and cultural movement that calls for the independence of once colonized states and also liberation from colonialist ways of thinking
Power- a state of differential levels of societal and structural privilege
Power distance- a cultural variability dimension that concerns the extent to which people accept an unequal distribution of power
Pragmatics- the study of how meaning is constructed in relation to receivers and how language is actually used in particular contexts in language communities
Prejudice- an attitude (usually negative) toward a cultural group based on little or no evidence
Prejudicial ideologies- sets of ideas that rely on stereotypes
Racial and ethnic identity- identifying with a particular racial or ethnic group; although in the past racial groups were classified on the basis of biological characteristics, most scientist now recognize that race is constructed in fluid social and historical contexts
Racial histories- the histories of nonmainstream racial groups
Reader profiles- portrayals of readership demographics prepared by magazines
Regionalism- loyalty to a particular region that holds significant cultural meaning for that person
Regulators- gestures used to guide the flow of conversation, especially for turn-taking
Relational messages- messages, both verbal and nonverbal, that express how we feel about others
Relativist position- the view that particular language we speak, especially the structure of language, shapes our perception of reality and cultural patterns (compared with nominalist position and qualified relativist position)
Religious conflicts- conflicts that arise from strongly held views and religious beliefs
Religious freedom- the ability to practice ones’ religion without fear; a concern among health care professionals who worry about engaging in religious issues
Religious histories- bodies of knowledge containing the items of faith and that faith’s prescriptions for action that have been important for a cultural group
Religious identity- a sense of belonging to a religious group
Resistance- avoiding intrusions; may take fairly passive forms or more assertive forms
Restraint style- conflict style where disagreements are best discussed in an emotionally calm manner
Retreatism- the avoidance of tourists by hosts
Revitalization- the economic benefits associated with tourism in certain areas
Romantic relationships- intimate relationships that comprise love, involvement, sharing openness, connectedness, and so on
Self-awareness- related to intercultural communication competence; the quality of knowing how you are perceived as a communicator, as well as your strengths and weaknesses
Self-reflexivity- a process of learning to understand ourselves and our own position in society
Semantics- the study of words and meanings
Sexual orientation histories- the historical experiences of gays and lesbians
Silence- the absence of verbal messages
Similarity principle- a principle of relational attraction suggesting that we tend to be attracted to people whom we perceive to be similar to ourselves
Social conflict- conflict that arises from unequal or unjust social relationships between groups
Social histories- written histories that focus on everyday life experiences of various groups in the past
Social movements- organized activities in which individuals work together to bring about social change
Social positions- the places from which we speak that are socially constructed and thus embedded with assumptions about gender, race, class, ages, social roles, sexuality, and so on
Social roles- roles we enact that are learned in culture—for example, mother, big brother, and community leader
Socially responsible tourism- tourism that emphasizes positive economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts from the tourism industry
Socioeconomic class histories- bodies of knowledge relating to a group’s relationship to social class and economic forces
Source text- the original language text of translation
Staged authenticity- when local people alter their cultural performances to meet tourist expectations, the resulting representation of the local culture is not authentic
Status- the relative position an individual holds in a social or organizational setting
Stereotypes- widely held beliefs about a group of people
Stereotyping- the use of stereotypes
Strict paternalism- a physician’s provision of misinformation for the supposed benefit of the patient
Study-abroad programs- university-sponsored programs that five course credit for study in other countries
Submission style- a style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which one partner yields to the other partner’s cultural patterns, abandoning or denying his or her own culture (compare with compromise style, consensus style, and obliteration style)
Syntactics- the study of the structure, or grammar, of a language
Target text- the new language text into which the original language text is translated
Teaching styles- the different ways teachers teach in different cultures
Third culture style- a new communication style that results from two people trying to adapt to each other’s styles
Tourists- visitors to another country or region
Translation- the process of producing a written text that refers to something said or written in another language
Traveling- the changing of cultural spaces through locomotion
Tuskegee Syphilis Project- a government-sponsored study of syphilis in which treatment of the disease was withheld from African American males for the purpose of establishing an experimental control group
U-curve theory- a theory of cultural adaptation positing that migrants go through fairly predictable phases (excitement/anticipation, shock/disorientation, and adaptation) in adapting to a new cultural situation
Uncertainty avoidance- a cultural variability dimension that concerns the extent to which uncertainty, ambiguity and deviant ideas and behaviors are avoided
Universalist position- an ethical approach that emphasizes the similarity of beliefs across cultures—for example, killing within the group or treason
Unmitigated honesty- a physician’s communication of the entirety of a medical diagnosis to a patient
Values- a system for viewing certain ideas as more important than others
Verlan- a French form of argot in which the syllables in words or the words are often reversed
Whiteness- the associations having to do with the identities of White people
Worldview- underlying assumptions about the nature of reality and human behavior
Adaptors- gestures related to managing our emotions
Affirmative action- statutes that attempt to stop discrimination by encouraging the hiring of minorities and women
Afrocentric- an orientation toward African or African American cultural standards, including beliefs and values, as the criteria for interpreting behaviors and attitudes
Age identity- the identification with the cultural conventions of how we should act, look and behave according to our age
AIDS- Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; a disease caused by a virus, HIV, transmitted through sexual or blood contact, which attacks the immune system
Alternative medicine- a medical approach that goes against the norms of the medical establishment; it can incorporate holistic medicine, spirituality, and/or non-Western wellness philosophies
Americans with Disabilities Act- a law requiring that places of business make “reasonable” accommodations for employees with physical disabilities.
Anti-Americanism- negative ideas against the United States, most often the US government
Argot- nonstandard way of communicating that separates insiders from outsiders of a coculture; language within coculture
Assimilatable- the degree of participation in a type of cultural adaption in which an individual gives up his or her won cultural heritage and adopts the mainstream cultural identity (cultural adaptation)
Authenticity- in tourism, the search for “real” cultural experiences very different from the tourists’ everyday life
Benevolent deception- withholding information from a patient, ostensibly for his or her own good
Bilingual- able to speak two languages fluently or at least competently
Bilingualism- the ability to speak two languages
Boundary maintenance- the regulation of interaction between hosts and tourists
Class identity- a sense of belonging to a group that shares similar economic, occupational, or social status
Class structure- the economic organization of income levels in a society; the structure that defines upper, middle, lower and other social classes
Cocultural group- non-dominant cultural groups that exist in a national culture—for example, African American or Chinese American
Code switching- changing from one language or communication style to another
Collectivism- the tendency to focus on the goals, needs, and views of the ingroup rather than the individuals’ own goals, needs, and views
Colonial education system- schools established by colonial powers in colonized regions; They often forbade the use of native languages and discussion of native cultures
Colonial histories- the histories that legitimate international invasions and annexations
Communication- a symbolic process whereby reality is produced, maintained, repaired and transformed
Communication style- the metamessage that contextualizes how listeners are expected to accept and interpret verbal messages
Complimentarity- a principle of relational attraction suggesting that sometimes we are attracted to people who are different from us
Compromise style- a style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which both partners give up some part of their own cultural habits and beliefs to minimize cross-cultural differences (compare with consensus style, obliteration style and submission style)
Conflict- the interference between two or more interdependent individuals or groups of people who perceive incompatible goals, values or expectations in attaining those ends
Consensus style- a style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which partners deal with cross-cultural differences by negotiating their relationship (compare with compromise style, obliteration style, and submission style)
Constructive identity- an identity that is actively negotiated from various cultures in contact and that often creates feelings of new multicultural identity
Contact cultures- cultural groups in which people tend to stand close together and touch frequently when they interact—for example, cultural groups in South America, the Middle East, and southern Europe (see noncontact cultures)
Contact hypothesis- intercultural contacts can result in more positive and tolerate attitudes toward other cultural groups, but only under very specific conditions
Context- the physical or social situation in which communication occurs
Contractual honesty- telling a patient only what he or she wants to know
Core symbols- the fundamental beliefs that are shared by the members of a cultural group; Labels, a category of core symbols, are the names or markers used to classify individual, social or cultural groups
Cosmopolitans- people who view themselves as citizens of the world and are responsible to each other
Cross-cultural trainers- trainers who teach people to become familiar with other cultural norms and to improve their interactions with people of different domestic and international cultures
Cultural contact- when two or more cultures come together, sometimes on an individual basis, but often through larger social migrations, wars and other displacements.
Cultural group histories- the history of each cultural group within a nation that includes, for example, the history of where the group originated, why the people migrated, and how they came to develop and maintain their cultural traits
Cultural identities- who we are as influenced by the cultures to which we belong
Cultural imperialism- domination through the spread of cultural products
Cultural space- the particular configuration of the communication that constructs meanings of various places
Cultural texts- cultural artifacts (magazines, TV programs, movies, and so on) that convey cultural norms, values and beliefs
Culture- learned patterns of behavior and attitudes shared by a group of people
Culture industries- industries that produce and sell popular culture as commodities
Culture shock- a relatively short-term feeling of disorientation and discomfort due to the lack of familiar cues in the environment
Deception- the act of making someone believe what is not true
Demographics- the characteristics of a population, especially as classified by age, sex and income
Diaspora- a massive migration, often caused by war or famine or persecution, that results in the dispersal of a unified group
Diasporic histories- the histories of the ways in which international cultural groups were created through transnational migrations, slavery, religious crusades, or other historical forces
Direct approach- emphasizes that conflict is fundamentally a good thing and should be approached head-on
Discrimination- behaviors resulting from stereotypes or prejudice that cause some people to be denied equal participation or rights based on cultural group membership (such as race)
Discussion style- combines the direct and emotionally restrained dimensions and emphasizes a verbally direct approach for dealing with disagreements
Dynamic style- uses an indirect style of communicating along with a more emotionally intense expressiveness
Eco-tourism- tourism of sites of environmental or natural interest
Electronic colonialism- domination or exploitation utilizing technological forms
Emblems- gestures that have a specific verbal translation
Embodied ethnocentrism- feeling comfortable and familiar in the spaces, behaviors, and actions of others in our own cultural surroundings
Emotionally expressive style- conflict style where intense and overt displays of emotion are valued during discussion of disagreements
Encapsulated identity- an identity that is torn between different cultural identities and that often creates feelings of ambiguity
Enclaves- regions that are surrounded by another country’s territory; cultural minority groups that live within a larger cultural group’s territory
Engagement style- emphasizes a verbally direct and confrontational approach to dealing with conflict
Equal employment opportunity- laws against discrimination in the workplace
Equivalency- an issue in translation, the condition of being equal in meaning, value, quantity, and so on
Ethics- principles of conduct that help govern behaviors of individuals and groups
Ethics committees- groups that provide guidance in making health care decisions; usually composed of health care professionals, administrators, lawyers, social works, members of the religious community, and patient representatives
Ethnic histories- the histories of ethnic groups
Ethnic identity- set of ideas about how one’s own ethnic group membership; a sense of belonging to a particular group and knowing something about the shared experience of the group
Ethnocentrism- an orientation toward one’s own ethnic group; often a tendency to elevate one’s own culture above others
Eurocentric- the assumption of the centrality or superiority of European culture
Euthanasia- the ending of the life of a terminally ill patient
Eye contact- a nonverbal code that communicated meanings about respect and status and often regulates turn taking during interactions
Facial expressions- facial gestures that convey emotions and attitudes
Family histories- the body of knowledge shared by family members and the customs, rituals, and stories passed from one generation to another within a family
Folk culture- traditional culture that is not practiced for financial profit
Friendship- a personal, nonromantic relationship that has culture-specific definitions
Gay relationships- same-sex romantic relationships
Gender histories- the histories of how cultural conventions of men and women are created, maintained and/or altered
Gender identity- the identification with the cultural notions of masculinity and femininity and what it means to me a man or woman
Gestures- nonverbal communication involving hand and arm movements
Globalization- the increasing tendency toward international connections in the media, business, and culture
Global nomads- people who grow up in many different cultural contexts because their parents relocated
Grand narrative- a unified history and view of humankind
HBCUs- historically black colleges and universities
Health care professionals- physicians, nurses and all the other medical staff with whom patients in the health care system come into contact
Heterogeneity- consisting of different or dissimilar elements
Hidden histories- the histories that are hidden from or forgotten by the mainstream representation of past events
High-context communication- a style of communication in which much of the information is contained in the contexts and nonverbal cues rather than expressed explicitly in words
HIV- human immunodeficiency virus
Home- the immediate cultural context for our upbringing; where we have lived
Homo narrans- a term used to describe the story-telling tendencies of human beings
Host- residents of a tourist region
Hyphenated Americans- Americans who identify not only with be understood differently depending on the perspectives that people take (for example, social psychological, communication, or critical perspectives)
Illustrators- gestures that go along with and refer to speech
Immigration- movement to a new country, region, or environment to settle more or less permanently
Improvised performance- a way of thinking about intercultural interaction in which two people are making up a performance as they go along
Incompatibility- a state of incongruity in goals, values, or expectations between two or more individuals
Indirect approach- emphasizes that conflict should be avoided
Individualism- the tendency to emphasize individual identities, beliefs, needs, goals and views rather than those of the group
Intellectual histories- written histories which focus on the development of ideas
Intercultural communication- the interaction between people from different cultural backgrounds
Intercultural conflict- the perceived or real incompatibility of goals, values or expectations between two parties from different cultures
Intercultural dating- the pursuit of a romantic intercultural relationship
Intercultural relationships- relationships that are formed between individuals from different cultures
Interdependent- a state of mutual influence; the action or behavior of one individual affecting the other person in the relationship
Interlanguage- the form of language that emerges when a nonnative speaker overlaps his or her native grammar or structure onto another language
Intermediary- in a formal setting, a professional third party, such as a lawyer, real estate agent, or counselor, who intervenes when two parties are in conflict; Informal intermediaries may be friends or colleagues who intervene
International conflict- conflict that occurs on the international level, often between nations
International students- students attending high school or college in another country
Interpersonal allies- people, often friends, who work for better interpersonal and intergroup relations
Interpersonal conflict- conflict that occurs between individuals, rather than groups or nations
Interpretation- the process of verbally expressing what is said or written in another language
Intimacy- the extent of emotional closeness
Labels- terms used to refer to people’s identities
Language- a means of communication using shared symbols
Language acquisition- the process of learning language
Language policies- laws or customs that determine which language will be spoken when and where
Learning styles- the different ways student learn in different cultures
Low-context communication- a style of communication in which much of the information in conveyed in words rather than in nonverbal cues and contexts
Macrocontexts- the political, social, and historical situations, backgrounds, and environments that influence communication
Majority identity development- the development of a sense of belonging to a dominant group
Maquiladoras- assembly plants or factories (mainly of US companies) established on the US-Mexico border and using mainly Mexican labor
Masculinity/femininity value- a cultural variability dimension that concerns the degree of being feminine—valuing fluid gender roles, quality of life, service, relationships, and interdependence—and the degree of being masculine—emphasizing distinctive gender roles, ambition, materialism, and interdependence
Media imperialism- domination or control through media
Mediation- the act of resolving conflict by having someone intervene between two parties
Medical jargon- medical terminology, especially that which is confusing or difficult for the layperson to understand
Medical terminology- a set of scientific words and phrases used by doctors to precisely describe illness
Melting pot- a metaphor that assumes that immigrants and cultural minorities will be assimilated into the US majority culture, losing their original cultures
Migrating- when an individual leaves the primary cultural context in which he or she was raised and moves to a new cultural context for an extended period of time
Minority identity development- the development of a sense of belonging to a non-dominant group
Mobility- the state of moving from place to place
Monochronic- an orientation to time that assumes it is linear and is a commodity that can be lost or gained
Multicultural identity- a sense of in-betweenness that develops as a result of frequent or multiple cultural border crossings
Multilingual- the ability to speak more than two languages fluently or at least competently
Multinational- companies that have operations in two or more nations
Multiracial and multicultural people- people whose heritage draws from more than one racial or cultural group
National history- a body of knowledge based on past events that influenced a country’s development
National identity- national citizenship
Neighborhood- living area defined by its cultural identity, especially an ethnic or racial one
Noncontact cultures- cultural groups in which people tend to maintain more space and touch less often than people do in contract cultures. Great Britain and Japan tend to have noncontract cultures
Nonverbal codes- systems for understanding the meanings of nonverbal behavior, including personal space, eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, time orientation and silence
Nonverbal communication- communication through means other than language—for example, facial expressions and clothing
Obliteration style- style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which both partners attempt to erase their individual cultures in dealing with cultural differences (compare with compromise style, consensus style and submission style)
Pacifism- opposition to the use of force under any circumstances
Perception- the process by which we select, organize, and interpret external and internal stimuli to create our view of the world
Personal identity- a person’s notions of self
Personal space- the immediate area around a person, invasion of which may provoke discomfort or offense
Phonology- the study of speech sounds
Physical ability identity- knowledge of self based on characteristics related to the body, either more permanent or temporary—for example, sight, hearing and weight
Physical attraction- sexual desire based on the appearance of another
Political conflict- conflict that happens at the societal level over political issues
Polychronic- an orientation to time that sees it as circular and more holistic
Popular culture- forms of contemporary culture that are made popular by and for the people through their mass consumption of these products; those systems or artifacts that most people share and that most people know about, including television, music, videos, and popular magazines
Postcolonialism- an intellectual, political and cultural movement that calls for the independence of once colonized states and also liberation from colonialist ways of thinking
Power- a state of differential levels of societal and structural privilege
Power distance- a cultural variability dimension that concerns the extent to which people accept an unequal distribution of power
Pragmatics- the study of how meaning is constructed in relation to receivers and how language is actually used in particular contexts in language communities
Prejudice- an attitude (usually negative) toward a cultural group based on little or no evidence
Prejudicial ideologies- sets of ideas that rely on stereotypes
Racial and ethnic identity- identifying with a particular racial or ethnic group; although in the past racial groups were classified on the basis of biological characteristics, most scientist now recognize that race is constructed in fluid social and historical contexts
Racial histories- the histories of nonmainstream racial groups
Reader profiles- portrayals of readership demographics prepared by magazines
Regionalism- loyalty to a particular region that holds significant cultural meaning for that person
Regulators- gestures used to guide the flow of conversation, especially for turn-taking
Relational messages- messages, both verbal and nonverbal, that express how we feel about others
Relativist position- the view that particular language we speak, especially the structure of language, shapes our perception of reality and cultural patterns (compared with nominalist position and qualified relativist position)
Religious conflicts- conflicts that arise from strongly held views and religious beliefs
Religious freedom- the ability to practice ones’ religion without fear; a concern among health care professionals who worry about engaging in religious issues
Religious histories- bodies of knowledge containing the items of faith and that faith’s prescriptions for action that have been important for a cultural group
Religious identity- a sense of belonging to a religious group
Resistance- avoiding intrusions; may take fairly passive forms or more assertive forms
Restraint style- conflict style where disagreements are best discussed in an emotionally calm manner
Retreatism- the avoidance of tourists by hosts
Revitalization- the economic benefits associated with tourism in certain areas
Romantic relationships- intimate relationships that comprise love, involvement, sharing openness, connectedness, and so on
Self-awareness- related to intercultural communication competence; the quality of knowing how you are perceived as a communicator, as well as your strengths and weaknesses
Self-reflexivity- a process of learning to understand ourselves and our own position in society
Semantics- the study of words and meanings
Sexual orientation histories- the historical experiences of gays and lesbians
Silence- the absence of verbal messages
Similarity principle- a principle of relational attraction suggesting that we tend to be attracted to people whom we perceive to be similar to ourselves
Social conflict- conflict that arises from unequal or unjust social relationships between groups
Social histories- written histories that focus on everyday life experiences of various groups in the past
Social movements- organized activities in which individuals work together to bring about social change
Social positions- the places from which we speak that are socially constructed and thus embedded with assumptions about gender, race, class, ages, social roles, sexuality, and so on
Social roles- roles we enact that are learned in culture—for example, mother, big brother, and community leader
Socially responsible tourism- tourism that emphasizes positive economic, social, cultural, and environmental impacts from the tourism industry
Socioeconomic class histories- bodies of knowledge relating to a group’s relationship to social class and economic forces
Source text- the original language text of translation
Staged authenticity- when local people alter their cultural performances to meet tourist expectations, the resulting representation of the local culture is not authentic
Status- the relative position an individual holds in a social or organizational setting
Stereotypes- widely held beliefs about a group of people
Stereotyping- the use of stereotypes
Strict paternalism- a physician’s provision of misinformation for the supposed benefit of the patient
Study-abroad programs- university-sponsored programs that five course credit for study in other countries
Submission style- a style of interaction for an intercultural couple in which one partner yields to the other partner’s cultural patterns, abandoning or denying his or her own culture (compare with compromise style, consensus style, and obliteration style)
Syntactics- the study of the structure, or grammar, of a language
Target text- the new language text into which the original language text is translated
Teaching styles- the different ways teachers teach in different cultures
Third culture style- a new communication style that results from two people trying to adapt to each other’s styles
Tourists- visitors to another country or region
Translation- the process of producing a written text that refers to something said or written in another language
Traveling- the changing of cultural spaces through locomotion
Tuskegee Syphilis Project- a government-sponsored study of syphilis in which treatment of the disease was withheld from African American males for the purpose of establishing an experimental control group
U-curve theory- a theory of cultural adaptation positing that migrants go through fairly predictable phases (excitement/anticipation, shock/disorientation, and adaptation) in adapting to a new cultural situation
Uncertainty avoidance- a cultural variability dimension that concerns the extent to which uncertainty, ambiguity and deviant ideas and behaviors are avoided
Universalist position- an ethical approach that emphasizes the similarity of beliefs across cultures—for example, killing within the group or treason
Unmitigated honesty- a physician’s communication of the entirety of a medical diagnosis to a patient
Values- a system for viewing certain ideas as more important than others
Verlan- a French form of argot in which the syllables in words or the words are often reversed
Whiteness- the associations having to do with the identities of White people
Worldview- underlying assumptions about the nature of reality and human behavior
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