Intercultural Communication Is an Academic

Intercultural Communication is an academic field of study which aims to look at how people from different cultures interact with each other. Various other fields also contribute to the body of knowledge of intercultural communication, namely Anthropology, psychology, communication and cultural studies. Culture can simply be considered as the basic values, attitudes and behaviors of a certain group of people most of the time. The basic process of communication is considered to be the process where a sender encodes a message, the message travels through the medium and the receiver decodes and interprets the message, and finally gives feedback. Communication is delivered after the application of many filters, e.g. status, age, subject, nature of relationship, level of interest, and so on.

A cultural filter is a penetrable cultural barrier. It is inevitable to encounter some level of cultural filters in intercultural exchanges. The major problem with cultural barriers is that in many cases, they are difficult, or even impossible to remove. But at the same time, it is possible to communicate across these filters, without removing the filter altogether. The filter is called penetrable because some information comes through the filter. It is important for the parties to gauge the characteristics of the filters in order to work with it. At this time, it is important to understand that, while overcoming cultural filters it is essential to understand that there is no such thing as a superior or an inferior culture, and the cultures have to be seen as being different, not as being better or worse.

There are various examples of cultural filters in the corporate environment and beyond. Attitudes to the labor market form an important cultural filter. Some cultures prefer lower pyramids of management, where the employees are prepared to take more responsibility for their own work, and management is considered to be a facilitating, rather than imposing presence. In other cultures, relatively higher pyramids of management are acceptable, thus resulting in the employee giving less importance to self-responsibility. Taking the example of employee training, it would be essential for the trainer to be aware of the cultural leanings of the groups in question in order for the training to achieve its objectives. The trainer can elicit reactions such as unwillingness or disinterest if his training methods assume a personal responsibility towards the learning process, whereas the employee is used to being "managed." This confrontation can be avoided through better cultural understanding.

In any intercultural interaction, communication forms the core of the whole exercise. Freltoft and Kay (1996) opine that a lack of a common working language (or limited common language) can act as a cultural filter as well.1 if not treated carefully, this filter can cause minor misunderstandings, which can lead to discomfort or even irritation. Examples of these misunderstandings exist even at the highest level. Take the example of UN during the Cold War. The declaration by Soviet party secretary Khrushchev, that "our system will survive yours" was translated by the interpreter as "our system will obliterate yours." The resulting misunderstanding can only be too obvious.

It is common for our responses to be shaped by our cultural filters, and if the individual does not make a deliberate effort to recognize these cultural filters, the responses become automatic behavior and go beyond conscious awareness. It is important to understand that our cultural filters shape the way we view the world. E.g. It shapes one's view of how humans relate to nature: they control nature, they co-exist with nature, or they are subject to the forces of nature. A similar case would be one's belief about men and women: mean and women are equal, men are dominant whereas women are submissive, or women are dominant whereas men are submissive. These approaches are shaped by our cultural filters. Nisbett describes a research experiment where an animated underwater animation scene was shown to American and Japanese students simultaneously. It is interesting to note that both groups saw the scene differently, based on their cultural filters.2 the Americans focused on how the big fish swam with the small fish, whereas the Japanese were more interested in the background environment. After research, Nisbett concluded that the Japanese view the world as a complex place and give importance to the context, whereas the Americans consider the world to be a relatively simple place, giving more importance to the parts, not giving undue attention to the context.

Verbal and nonverbal cues play a very important role in intercultural interactions. The significance of verbal patterns might be the more obvious of the two, and as a result, most people might focus their energies on this aspect, but the nonverbal patterns, although subtle, are equally important and convey important messages. This is even more important in intercultural exchanges and it is imperative that a person is careful and knowledgeable about the cross cultural sensitivities during the communication process; otherwise it can have an unexpectedly negative impact. It can be illustrated with a real-life example. An American politician toured a Latin American country several years ago. While coming out of the airport of the local country, he waved to the gathered crowd of reporters and dignitaries. When asked how his flight had been, he flashed a thumbs-up sign to indicate that the flight was fine, as the cameras flashed away. To an American layman the above example might not strike as extra-ordinary, but a person well-versed in intercultural exchanges would know that this sign is considered to be an obscene gesture in that part of Latin America. Needless to add, the next day's local newspapers' front pages carried the politician making that gesture, instantly making the trip an embarrassment and a flop.3

Hesselgrave opines that the nonverbal cues determine a person's first impression, i.e. how he dresses, what his style is, his expressions, etc. But until the verbal communication commences the knowledge of a person remains confined. Verbal communication opens up the deeper side of a person, i.e. his thoughts, his philosophy of life, his interests etc. Thus through a combination of verbal and nonverbal patterns, people are judged. Similarly, in a cross cultural perspective, people across different cultures tend to judge people through their verbal and nonverbal patterns. Nonverbal patterns include eye-contact, facial expressions, gestures, dress, proximity etc. And in the Japanese culture, even silence is a nonverbal cue. E.g. although silence is considered a moment of awkwardness in the American culture, in the Japanese culture it is just as important as speaking. Thus, while interacting with a Japanese counterpart, it is important not to try and break the silence, as silence is considered to be an opportunity to think and ponder, while breaking it might be construed as a sign of insincerity. Similarly touching is also considered to be non-verbal cues. In the American culture, when two men meet in a business transaction, a handshake is considered to be customary, but in the Arabic culture, the handshake is preceded by a kiss on each cheek. It is important to keep in mind these cross cultural aspects while in a multi-cultural setting.

Riemer and Jansen (2003) assert that the main difference between verbal and nonverbal communication is that in verbal communication, one word usually carries one meaning, but in nonverbal interactions, one bodily expression may be shared across cultures for different meanings, as discussed above.4 conflict is an opposition or clash between two groups. Misunderstandings and conflicts can occur if the principles of inter-cultural communication are not properly applied. When the conflict is not merely limited to interests, but in fact to values and views, we can term it as a cultural conflict. Encyclopedia of Small Business (2002) cites language as the biggest barrier to conflict-free communication across cultures. The importance of linguistic differences between different cultures is frequently downplayed but it is an important element of cross cultural communication. In cases where the languages are different, the interacting parties are better served by acquiring the services of a good translator. Three types of language-based hindrances are: blatant translation problems, subtle differences from language to language, and variations between the speakers of the same language based on culture.5 Accents also play a part in inter-cultural exchanges. Sometimes different accents elicit negative stereotyping of people, due to reasons of prejudice or racial discrimination and might even serve to fuel preconceived notions with respect to business acumen, ability and intelligence. Thus it is important, for cross cultural exchanges, not to judge a person on the basis of ill-conceived notions regarding particular accents.

There can be various ways in which culture can conflict with cross cultural understandings. Firstly there are the cognitive constraints, which deal with the context and frames of reference within which people belonging to a certain culture insert new things and attach meaning to them. Secondly, there are behavior constraints. These are related to how a particular culture interprets verbal and nonverbal communication, as discussed earlier in the text. The third type is called the emotional constraint, which has to do with the different ways in which different cultures encourage the exhibition of emotions. Some cultures are overtly emotional, while there are others which believe in keeping emotions concealed, or only reveal them to a "rational" degree. Naturally such differences often lead to problems. Following are two examples from international diplomacy, cited by the University of Colorado's Conflict Research Consortium, which illustrate that lack of awareness of a certain culture and its values can result in longstanding misunderstandings, whereas accommodating cultural differences and understanding them, can lead to fruitful results.

The first case pertains to the relations between U.S. And India. In 1954, the U.S. had provided arms assistance to Pakistan, which was India's adversary. India took exception to this assistance provided to Pakistan, and as a form of re-assurance, President Eisenhower dispatched a letter to the Indian Prime Minister, and mentioned that the U.S. would intervene if Pakistan used the assistance against India. Nehru indicated to the ambassador that he did not doubt America's intentions, but went on to relay his concerns on the matter. This restrained response was taken as an endorsement of the American action, and the case was closed, but in fact, it caused a great amount of misunderstanding between U.S. And India, which affected their relations for a long time.

The second example pertains to U.S. And Japan, and is indicative of the sort of success that is possible if inter-cultural differences are taken into account. During the 1971 U.S.-Japan currency crisis, America's intention was to convince Japan to re-value its currency. But Secretary of Treasury John Connally avoided pressure tactics, as they would have had undesirable effects. Instead, he accommodated the Japanese style, focused on building relationships, presented the American proposals as being of mutual interest rather than imposed demands, and thus won over the Japanese, allowing the crisis to dissipate.6

Thus, the bottom line is that cultural conflicts arise due to the difference in the norms, values and behaviors of people of different cultures. And a deliberate effort is required to mitigate the effects of these barriers. The most common problem is that people in a particular culture treat their culture as the 'ultimate' culture and other cultures as 'strange' or out-of-line. This attitude, dubbed as ethnocentrism, plays a significant part in multicultural conflicts. The following signs help in identifying cultural conflict. Firstly, complex dynamics are involved. Secondly, if the addressing of surface problems doesn't solve the issue, it is rooted in cultural differences. Finally, if conflict repeatedly occurs and raises strong emotions on seemingly trivial matters of disagreement, it's a sign of cultural conflict.

Solutions to cultural conflict resolution follow the identification of these issues. Firstly, it is important for the parties to recognize that a cultural dimension is involved in the problem. Thus, willingness should develop within the parties to satisfy all the aspects of the problem. Then a comprehensive process of rapprochement can occur. In that process, the parties discuss with each other the aspects in each others' behavior that they find offensive. Then they get to learn the cultural perceptions of the problem in each others' point-of-view. It is useful to understand how the problem is dealt with in the culture of the opponent. Finally, the parties can agree on a conflict resolution outline. A better form of getting rid of conflicts is to avoid them in the first place. It is a well established fact that most cultural conflicts occur due to a lack of information about the culture of others. Therefore, it is important, in today's multi-cultural environment, to be well acquainted with other cultures. Even if an in-depth understanding of the culture is not possible, at least one should be able to avoid the actions, gestures and statements that are considered to be offensive or insulting in the other culture. This would certainly help in improving the communication process between the people across different cultures. It would also help remove many of the stereotypes that exist in people's minds due to incomplete information. In the case of organizations, they should design the company charter and culture in such a way, that it doesn't just reflect the norms of one culture, thus sowing the seeds of cultural conflict.7

Several discussions on culture and values have tended to emphasize that cultural values and habits influence communication behaviors and patterns in individuals and groups. It is important to understand that culture and communication styles are inherently related. A study by Mobo Gao (1998) related to the Chinese immigrants to Australia concluded that when people become a part of a different culture than their own, the dimensions that they retain from their previous culture are that of language, values and customs. Interestingly, the use of the native language influence the way the person uses the new language in the new culture. This influence not only relates to verbal communication, but also to nonverbal communication.8

There are various ways in which culture manifests itself in concrete forms of expression. An important aspect to consider here is context. Communication in high-context situations and low-context situations is completely different, and need to be handled differently. This is an important reason why people from low context cultures like America have different communication styles, compared to someone living in a high-context culture, like China. Communication in low-context culture is similar to the behavior of a computer program, i.e. instructions have to be specified very clearly, and expressions should be very explicit and clear, otherwise the program wouldn't run. On the other hand, communication in high-context cultures is likened to the communication between twins, who have been raised in a common family, surrounding, and they share much of the environment and its understanding. Thus, the communication between them is usually intuitive, and makes use of context. Thus, to an American, the greeting "where are you going" might be rather uncomfortable as he might consider them an invasion of privacy. But to a Chinese, these greetings are the norm.

William Gudykunst opines that another way culture influences communication is in the way people answer questions. As an example, in Chinese cultures, an answer can have two meanings. For example, when offered tea, if the answer is "no," it can either mean that they do not need more tea, or they might be acting polite and actually want more tea. Whereas in the American case, a "no" means that they do not want any more tea. In cross cultural communications, such double interpretations are rather confusing, and it's important to keep them in mind. One way of getting around this ambiguity in interpretation is to repeat the question. Cultural ideas also contribute to the style of communication. In the Chinese culture, the saying "One word is worth a thousand pieces of Gold" indicates that Chinese generally are less talkative, and the stereotype of Chinese in American minds is that they talk less, work hard and are intelligent. On the other hands, Chinese stereotype Americans as people who cannot be trusted too much because they talk too much. Stereotypes are similar to rules of thumb; they are not accurate in all situations. A very vivid example of how these attitudes can influence communication styles can be understood by applying these stereotypes to a conversation between a Chinese and an American. If the Chinese is talkative, he won't fit the American's stereotype, and expecting him to be reticent, effective communication would not take place. Thus it is important for cross cultural interactions, to put aside stereotypes and to attempt an understanding based on personal learning, as stereotypes do not accurately describe specific members of a particular culture. It is important to know the influence of culture on the process of communication in order to overcome hindrances to communication.9