Communication There Is Only so Far Google

Communication

There is only so far Google Translate can take a person hoping to achieve social harmony across cultures. Language barriers are enhanced, and exacerbated, by the differences in non-verbal communication across cultures. Whether for business or personal interactions, non-verbal communications characterize a culture's values and social norms. This is why places like Sweden feel completely different from places like Saudi Arabia; and places are dramatically different in terms of how the society is structured, who is in power, and what norms govern behavior. Understanding the complex facets of cross-cultural communication can greatly enhance a travel experience, or a business interaction.

Of the innumerable sociological and anthropological frameworks used to understand and explain cross-cultural differences in communication, Geert Hofstede's cultural dimensions are among the most useful and well used. Power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and indulgence vs. restraint are important and salient axes for analyzing culture. Additionally, issues like attitudes towards conflict, decision-making styles, and approaches to knowing become important when addressing cross-cultural differences in communication (DuPraw & Axner, 1997). Common sense issues such as having respect, withholding judgment, and being patient remain of the utmost importance.

In a travel article about Stockholm, Alford (2012) relates tales that reveal the unique communication styles of Sweden. These styles can be conceptualized in terms of Hoftstede's cultural dimensions. For example, Swedish society has quite a low power distance; its culture is not hierarchical and is self-defined as being "socialist" in spirit (Alford, 2012, p. 2). Moreover, as Alford (2012) points out, most people in Stockholm also have a cabin in the woods or on an island -- highlighting the relatively flat social structure that has a low distance between haves and have-nots (p. 2). The power distance factor in Sweden can be readily compared to more hierarchical societies, such as India, in which the haves and the have-nots are separated by wide and usually insurmountable chasms. Even the United States has a higher power distance factor than does Sweden, as many Americans are fundamentally opposed to social institutions and structures that generate equality such as free higher education for all citizens, and free healthcare funded by taxpayer dollars. As American onlooker Alford (2012) describes it, " New parents get 480 days of parental leave?! Everyone I talk to seems to have a summer house on an island?!" (p. 2).