Unit 1Communication Across CulturesReading IIntercultural Communication：An Introduction Comprehension questions1. Is it still often the case that “everyone‟s quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary world?This is still powerful in today‘s soci al and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon intoday‘s society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems are caused by minorities and immigrants.2. What‟s the difference between today‟s intercultural contact and that of any time in the past?Today‘s intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in any time in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life today?New technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence “culture is everything and everywhere”?Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and communication?The three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).6. What does one‟s family teach him or her while he or she grows up in it?The family teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our culture?Because language is not only a form of preserving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system that is used to representthe experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning to?People can attach meaning to nonverbal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions,eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How can a free, culturally diverse society exist?A free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society.Reading IIThe Challenge of GlobalizationComprehension questions1. Why does the author say that our understanding of the world has changed?Many things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the worldvery rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, nolonger prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding thischanged and still fast changing world in which we live.2. What a “global village” is like?As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remote cultures increasingly co me into contact on a daily basis. In a ―global village‖, members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people maylive thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.3. What is considered as the major driving force of the post-1945 globalization?Technology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.4. What does the author mean by saying that “the …global‟may be more local than t he …local‟”?The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than ofthe local events. In this sense,“the‘global’may be more local than the ‘local’”5. Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the world?Effective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have tomeet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires theability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemicsthat know no boundaries.7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability to understand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we areunaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalization?Globalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.Case StudyCase 1In this case, there seemed to be problems in communicating with people of different cultures inspite of the efforts made to achieve understanding.We should know that in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued so highly that it is not expressed in an objective and impersonal way. While Americans certainly value human relationships, they are more likely to speak of them in less personal, more objective terms. In this case, Richard‘s mistake might be that he chose to praise the food itself rather than the total evening,for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host and hostess it was as if he had attended an art exhibit and complimented the artist by saying, What beautiful frames your picturesare in.In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people value order and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itself－be it a family or a vast corporation－ismore valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans stress individuality as a value and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably inconflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case: Richard‘s mistake was in making greatefforts to defend himself. Let the others assume that the errors were not intentional, but it is not rightto defend yourself, even when your unstated intent is to assist the group by warning others of similar mistakes. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmenthan between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, ―Help yourself; for the English counterpart, ―Be my guest. American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is one who ―ma kes himself at home, even to the point of answering the door or fixing his own drink. For persons in many other societies, including at least this hypothetical English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involves conflicts between what is said to bedirect communication style and indirect communication style. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and to mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s why the students from Mexico readily adopted the techniques of asking questions in class. However, Korean people generally prefer indirect communication style, and therefore they tend to not say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and respectful and avoid losing face through any improper verbal behavior. As is mentioned in the case, to many Koreans, numerous questions would show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the student has not studied hard enough. Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the begi nning, Mary didn‘trealize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view, family possessions are shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting as most Dominican sisters would do in borrowing without asking every time. Once Mary understood that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience the same frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 4It might be simply a question of different rhythms. Americans have one rhythm in their personaland family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different rhythms. The American rhythm is fast. It is characterized by a rapid acceptance of others. However, it is seldom that Americans engage themselves entirely in a friendship. Their friendships are warm, but casual, and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner --- not because you don‘t think she could handle a fork and a knife, but because you have seen her that morning. Therefore, you reserve your more formal invitation to dinner for someone who lives in a more distant part of the city and whom you would not see unless you extended an invitation for a special occasion. Now, if the first friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reverse this --- see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and the first one you will invite more formally to dinner.Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends easily, and they don‘t feel it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.Unit 2Culture and Communication Reading IWhat Is CultureComprehension questions1. Which of the definitions given above do you prefer? Why?Some may prefer a short definition, such as the one given by E. Sapir or R. Benedict, for it is highly generalized and easy to remember. Some may prefer a longer one, such as Edward T. Hall‘s definition of culture, because it provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of culture and points out the all-pervasive impact of culture on human life in different dimensions.2．What have you learned from those definitions about culture?Many things can be learned from those definitions, for each definition, though not without its limitations, tells us something very important about culture or certain aspect(s) of culture.3. Do you agree that our lower needs always have to be satisfied before we can try to satisfy the higher needs?Even though this is generally the case, there will still be some exceptions. Sometimes people might prefer to satisfy higher needs, for instance, esteem needs, before their lower needs, such as certain physiological needs or safety needs are satisfied.4. What examples can you give about how people of different cultures achieve the same ends by taking different roads?For example, everyone has to eat in order to live and this is universally true. However, to satisfy this basic need, people of various cultures may do it in very different ways: what to eat and how toeat it vary from culture to culture.5. What behaviors of ours are born with and what are learned in the cultural environment?Instinctive behaviors are behaviors that we are born with and ways of doing things in daily life, such as ways of eating, drinking, dressing, finding shelter, making friends, marrying, and dealingwith death are learned in the cultural environment.6. What other cultural differences do you know in the way people do things in their everyday life?We can also find cultural differences in ways of bringing up children, treating the elderly, greeting each other, saving and spending money, and many other things people do in everyday life. 7. In what ways are the Chinese eating habits different from those of the English-speaking countries?We Chinese may enjoy something that is not usually considered as edible by theEnglish-speaking people. Generally we prefer to have things hot and lay much emphasis on tastes.We tend to share things with each other when we are eating with others.Reading IIElements of CommunicationComprehension questions1. What are the aspects of context mentioned above?One aspect of context is the physical setting, including location, time, light, temperature, distance between communicators, and any seating arrangements. A second aspect of context is historical. A third aspect of context is psychological. A fourth aspect of context is culture.2. In what ways would your posture, manner of speaking or attire change if you move from onephysical setting to another, for example, from your home to a park, to a classroom, to a restaurant, to a funeral house, etc?One‘s posture, manner of speaking or attire change from being casual to formal gradually from home to a park, to a classroom, to a restaurant, to a funeral house, etc, according to different formalness and seriousness of these situations.3. How do people acquire communication norms in their life?People acquire communication norms from their experiences in life.4. What examples can you give to describe some Chinese norms in our everyday communication?For example, it seems to be a norm in China to address one‘s boss by his or her title and neverto express one‘s disapproval directly to him or her.5. How can we play both the roles of sender and receiver in communication?As senders, we form messages and attempt to communicate them to others through verbal and nonverbal symbols. As receivers, we process the messages sent to us and react to them both verbally and nonverbally.6. Does the sender plays a more important role than the receiver in communication?No, they are equally important for both of them are essential in the process of communication.7. In what ways do the differences between participants make communication more or less difficult?Three especially important variables affecting participants which are relationship, gender, and culture make communication more or less difficult.8. What is a symbol and what is a meaning?The pure ideas and feelings that exist in a person‘s mind represent meanings. The wor ds, sounds, and actions that communicate meaning are known as symbols because they stand for the meanings intended by the person using them.9. How can meanings be transferred from one person to another? What problems may arise in thisprocess?A message from one person is encoded into symbols and then decoded into ideas and feelings to another person. In this process of transforming include nonverbal cues, which significantly affect the meaning created between the participants in a communication transaction.10. When are unintended or conflicted meanings likely to be created?Unintended meanings are created when the decoding person receives a meaning unrelated to what the encoder thought he or she was communicating. Conflicting meanings are created when the verbal symbols are contradicted by the nonverbal cues.11. Which channels do you usually prefer in communication? Why?Of the five channels, some may prefer sight. As the old saying goes, words are but wind, but seeing is believing.12. What examples can you find to show that one channel is more effective than others for transmitting certain messages?For example, when asking a lady for a date, a young man may wear an immaculate suit and spray some perfume to show that he highly values this date with her. In this case, sight and smell are definitely more effective than words for conveying that particular message.13. What are the things that can create noises in the process of communication?Sights, sounds, and other stimu li in the environment that draw people‘s attention away from intended meaning are known as external noise. Thoughts and feelings that interfere with the communication process are known as internal noise. Unintended meanings aroused by certain verbal symbols can inhibit the accuracy of decoding. This is known as semantic noise.14. What should we do to reduce the interference of noise in communication?When communicating with others, we should pay undivided attention to communication itself, avoiding being distracted by any external or internal noise. Besides, we should make sure that what we say is correctly understood by others and vice versa to prevent semantic noise from generating. 15. Why is feedback a very important element of communication?Feedback is very important because it serves useful functions for both senders and receivers: it provides senders with the opportunity to measure how they are coming across, and it provides receivers with the opportunity to exert some influence over the communication process.16. What will you usually do when you receive negative feedback in communication?Open.Case StudyCase 5In China, it is often not polite to accept a first offer and Heping was being modest, polite andwell-behaved and had every intention of accepting the beer at the second or third offer. But he had not figured on North American rules which firmly say that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason behind the rule, you do not insist in offering alcohol. So unconscious and so strong are their cultural rules that the Americans equally politely never made a second offer of beer to Heping who probably thought North Americans most uncouth.However, what we have to remember is that cultures are seldom a strict either-or in every instance for all people and there are always individual differences. Probably this young Chinese nurse was very different from Heping or, unlike Heping, she may have known something about the American cultural rules and was just trying to behave like an American when she was in an American family.Case 6When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, speaker‘s meaning and hearer‘s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz said ‗How long is she going to stay?‘ she meant to say that if she knew how long her mother-in-law was goingto stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law overheard the conversation, and took Litz‘s question to mean ―Litz does not want me to stay for long‖. From the Chinese point of view, it seems to be inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law‘s arrival. If she feels she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don‘t have oneto offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn‘t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship.Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn‘t know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return. Case 8As the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that shepreferred to celebrate Christmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girl. She did not like to see her boyfriend feel disappointed at the ―shabby‖Chinese Christmas. That‘s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minister‘s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Christmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the foods chosen by her mother were all her favorites?From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shameful just because one‘s culture is different from others‘. As Amy‘s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only s hame is to have shame.Unit 3Cultural DiversityReading IDifferent Lands, Different Friendships Comprehension questions1. Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States?Because few Americans stay put for a lifetime. With each move, forming new friendship becomes a necessity and part of their new life.2. Do people from different countries usually have different expectations about what constitutesfriendship and how it comes into being?Yes. The difficulty when strangers from two countries meet is their different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being.3. How is friendship in America different from friendship in West Europe?In West Europe, friendship is quite sharply distinguished from other, more casual relationships,is usually more particularized and carries a heavier burden of commitment, while in America theword ―friend‖can be applied to a wide range of relationship and a friendship may be superficial, casual, situational or deep and enduring.4. In what country does friendship have much to do with one‟s family? And in what country does itnot?In Germ any, friendship has much to do with one‘s family as friends are usually brought into the family, while in France it doesn‘t as, for instance, two men may have been friends for a long timewithout knowing each other‘s personal life.5. What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized?For instance, a man may play chess with a friend for thirty years without knowing his political opinions, or he may talk politics with him for as long a time without knowing about his personal life. Different friends fill different niches in each person‘s life.6. What are friendships usually based on in England?English friendships are based on shared activity. Activities at different stages of life may be ofvery different kinds. In the midst of the activity, whatever it may be, people fall into steps and findthat they participate in the activity with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by dayor in some critical situation.7. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures? If you do, what arethey?Yes. There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, invokes freedom ofchoice. A friend is someone who chooses and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend givesthe other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take.8. What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship? Is it similar to or different fromany of the Western friendships?It seems that the typical Chinese concept of friendship lays great emphasis on personal loyaltyand also has much to do with family. It may be similar to Germany friendship to some extent andquite different from other Western friendships.Reading IIComparing and Contrasting CulturesComprehension questions1. How is the mainstream American culture different from the Japanese culture?Americans believe that human nature is basically good and man is the master of nature. Theyare future-oriented and ―being‖-oriented. Their social orientation is toward the importance of the individual and the equality of all people. However, the Japanese believe that human nature is amixture of good and evil. Man is in harmony with nature. They are both past-oriented andfuture-oriented. And they are both “growing-”and “doing-”oriented. They give emphasis to authorities and the group.2. Can you find examples to support the author‟s view of traditional cultures in different valueorientations?For example, the traditional Indian culture believes that man is subjugated by nature and it isbeing-oriented (which can be exemplified by its caste system). Also, traditional Chinese culture ispast-oriented, for emphasis has long been given to learning from the old and past.3. Why do Americans tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and regard rapid change asnormal?Concerning orientation toward time, Americans are dominated by a belief in progress. They are future-or iented. They believe that ―time is money‖and have an optimistic faith in the future andwhat the future will bring. So they tend to equate ―change‖with ―improvement‖and consider a rapid rate of change as normal.4. What does “Electric Englishman” mean w hen it is used to describe the American?As for activity, Americans are so action-oriented that they tend to be hyperactive. That‘s whythat they have been described as ―Electric Englishmen‖, who always keep themselves busy.5. How would you explain the fact that contradictory values may exist in the same culture?As time changes faster and faster and there is more contact between cultures, it is more likely to find contradictory values existing in the same culture. This is especially the case in a society that is being transformed from a traditional one into a modern one. For example, in the Japanese culture, some people may still be very past-oriented and some are rather future-oriented, and even the same people may be sometimes past-oriented in certain situations and sometime future-oriented in other situations.6. What can we get from models of this kind about cultural differences?Models of this kind are quite useful in giving rough pictures of striking contrasts and differences of different cultures. However, such a model only compares cultures on some basic orientations. It does not tell us everything about every conceivable culture. We have to recognize that models of this kind are over-simplifications and can only give approximations of reality.7. Do cultural values change as time changes?Yes, the values may be in the process of marked change due to rapid modernization and globalization. However, they have a way of persisting in spite of change. The evolution of values is a slow process, since they are rooted in survival needs and passed on from generation to generation.8. How is communication influenced by differing cultural values?Putting people from one culture into another culture with radically different value orientations could cause stress, disorientation, and breakdowns in communication.Case StudyCase 9Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere inJapanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such as martial arts or flower arrangements.In this case, the young chairman must have had his own ideas about how to manage the company; however, when encountered with his grandfather‘s dissenting opinions, he dared not to take a stand against him. This may manifest the rigid hierarchical structure in the Japanese society. In the Japanese society, how hierarchy is formed depends mainly on seniority, social roles, and gender. Asa respectable senior member of the family and the former leader of the company, the grandfather obviously overpowered the inexperienced young chairman. In other words, the grandfather seemedto be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture, challenging or disagreeing with elders‘ opini ons would be deemed as being disrespectful and is often condemned. People in lower positions are expected to be loyal and obedient to authority. That‘s why the young chairman didn‘t say anything but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather.But Phil seemed to know little about the Japanese culture in this aspect. In many Western cultures, particularly American culture, seniority seldom matters very much in such situations, and young people are usually encouraged to challenge authority and voice their own opinions. Unfortunately, his outspoken protest could easily offend the grandfather and he might be regarded as a rude and ill-bred person by other Japanese.Case 10In Japan, a company is often very much like a big family, in which the manger(s) will take goodcare of the employees and the employees are expected to devote themselves to the development ofthe company and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own individual interests for the interests of the company, from which, in the long run, the employees will benefit greatly. But for the French, a company is just a loosely- knit social organization wherein individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their families. Moreover, the way the French make decisions in the family might also be different from the typical Japanese one, which may not often involve females and the power to decide usually lies with the dominating male. As there are such cultural differences between the Japanese and the French, Mr. Legrand‘s decision made Mr. Tanaka feel dumbfounded.Case 11。
