CHAPTER OUTLINE Building Block 1: Culture Culture Is Learned Culture Involves Perception and Values Culture Involves Feelings Culture Is Shared Culture I Culture Is Dynamic and Heterogeneous essed as Bebarvior Building Block 2: Communication Culture and Communication Communication, Cultural Worldviews, and Values Communication and Cultural Rituals Communication and Resistance to the Dominant Culture Building Block 3: Context Building Block 4: Power Barriers to Intercultural Communication Exbnocentrism Stereoryping Prejudice Discrimination Summary Building Intercultural Skills Activities Endnotes CHAPTER TWO Intercultural Communication BUILDING BLOCKS AND BARRIERS STUDY OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Define culture Define communication. . Discuss the relationship between culture and communication. 4, Describe the role that context and power play in intercultural interactions. 5. Identify and define ethnocentrism. 6, Identify and describe stereotyping. 7. Identify and describe prejudice. 8, Identify and describe discrimination. 9, Explain the ways in which ethnocentrism, stereo- typing, prejudice, and discrimination act as barriers to effective intercultural communication. KEY TERMS color-blind approach masculinity/femininity communication perceptions context power eulture power distance discrimination prejudice ‘embodied ethnocentrism stereotypes ethnocentrism uncertainty avoidance individualism values intercultural worldview communication Jong-term versus short- term orientation 26FF% hs past years, im the town of Timbuken (yes, there really is such a place!), in Mali, Africa, musicians from all over the world gather for a yearly world festival of music. Organized by the Touareg (Tuareg in Arabic)—a nomadic group—the headliners inchide Robert Plant of Led Zepplin, the French group LoJo, a native Indian group from Arizona, and leading musicians from Mali such as Oumou Sangare and Fantani ‘Toure. One attendee describes this intercultural event: ‘The Touaregs came on their bedecked camels from villages far and wide, and also outsiders from the United States and Europe. . .. Apart from camel-hide tents for musicians and visitors, a main concert-stage and a canopy for after- noon events, it was just an ocean of sand. There were no seats and that was fine with everyone as the natural setting was an attraction in itself As the sun disappeared in the sandy horizon, the main stage started to become active. Sixty groups performed over three days. The music played was not just entertainment but an artistic expression of their culture and tradition.! This intercultural event in Timbuktu represents a joyous sharing of music, art, and culture, possible only in today’s global world. Other intercultural events in our world are more challenging. Consider the “Day without Immigrants” event ‘on Monday, May 1, 2006, when immigrants and their supporters took to the streets of all major American cities to protest proposed immigration laws and boy- cotted businesses to express their economic power. These protesters encountered people from other groups who did not agree with them. The discussions between various ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups regarding immigration policies represent the complexity of intercultural interactions in today’ society.? While these events described represent intercultural interaction on a global and national scale, intercultural interactions are also a part of your everyday life—from your encounters with diverse groups of students in your classes, to ‘your interactions with your parents (from a different generational culture!), as well as your interaction with friends of opposite genders and sexual orientations. Groups of people everywhere are coming together, sometimes with enor- sous differences in cultural backgrounds, beliefs, lifestyles, economic resources, snd religions. This illustrates that intercultural communication does not happen % 2 vacuum, History, economics, and politics played an important role in how ‘serious people and groups react when they encounter each other in specific con- seus and engage in intercultural communication. What are some of the specific Suilding blocks and barriers of intercultural communication? The answer to that ‘geestion is the focus of this chapter. Intercultural communication may be said to occur when people of dif- Secnr cultural backgrounds interact, but this definition seems simplistic and ‘sedundant. To properly define intercultural communication, it's necessary to 27 a Surf's Up! To see photos and afirst- hhand account of Josh Millers extraordinary + journey tothe annual Festival Au Desert in Timbuktu, Mali, visit hittp/Avwnjambase com/ headsupasp2storylD-8319. It was abo attrip “home” for Josh, who ved in Mali for 2years while serving in the Peace Corps several years ago, Timbuktuis home to the “Blue People” of ‘the Sahara—the guar- dians ofthe desert—the Tuareg, .. proud peo- ple who still ride into the city on their camels, Gressed in their indigo- dyed clothes (the dye rubs onto their skin giving them the blue skin they are named for) and brandishing the swords you might seein a Sinbad movie.28 Part 1 Foundations of Intercultural Communication What Do You Think? Rank-order the follow {ing in terms of their importance in defining “American culture”: hamburgers, movies, corn, apple pi, pizza, bascball, hot dogs, mifk- shakes, french fries, and big cars. Did youknow that only three of those things actually are indigenous to the United ‘States (corn, baseball, milkshakes), while the other seven are from Europe? What does this say about the ideas and values of US. culture? understand the two root words—culture and communication—that represent the first two building blocks. In addition, communication always happens in a particular situation or context, our third building block. Our fourth building block concerns the element of power, something that is part of every intercul- tural interaction. We first define and describe culture and communication and then discuss how these two interact with issues of context and power to form our understanding of intercultural communication. BUILDING BLOCK 1: CULTURE Culture is often considered the core concept in intercultural communication. One characteristic of culture is that we may not think about it very much. Trying to understand one’s own culture is like trying to explain to a fish that it lives in water. Often, we cannot identify our own cultural backgrounds and assumptions until we encounter people from other cultures, which gives us a frame of refer- ence. For example, consider our student, Ann, who participated in a study- abroad program in Mexico. She told us that she thought it was strange that many young Mexicans lived with their parents even after they had graduated from college and were working. Gradually, she recognized that Mexicans tend to have a stronger sense of family responsibilities between children and parents than do Americans. Thus, young people often live at home and contribute to the family income. And older parents rarely go to retirement communities, but are cared for within the family. While volunteering in a senior citizens’ home, Ann was impressed by how few people lived in the facility. Culture has been defined in many ways. For some people, it means the opera or classical music, but for the purposes of this book, we define culture as earned patterns of perception, values, and behaviors, shared by a group of peo- ple, that is also dynamic and heterogeneous. Culture also involves our emotions and feelings. Let's look at what this definition actually means. Culture Is Learned First, culture is learned. While all human beings share some universal habits and tendencies—we all eat, sleep, seek shelter, and share some motivations to be loved and to protect ourselves—these are not aspects of culture, Rather, culture is the unique way we have learned to eat, sleep, and seek shelter because we are American or Japanese, male or female, and so on. For example, most Americans eat holding a fork in one hand, but when they use a knife, they shift the fork to their other hand. Europeans think this is clumsy; they simply eat with fork in one hand and knife in the other. While Americans and Japanese share a need to be loved, Americans tend to express feelings of love more overtly, whereas Japanese are taught to be more restrained. So, when we are born, we don’t know how to be a male or female, American or Mexican, and so on. Rather, we are taught. We have to learn how to eat, walk, talk, and love like other members of our cultural groups—and we usually do so slowly and subconsciously, through a process of socialization. Think of how young children learn to be male or female. Young boys imitate their fathers and other grown men, while young girlsChapter 2. Intercultural Communication 29 learn to talk and act like their mothers and other women. The same is true for other groups we belong to. For example, an American child adopted by a Finnish family will embrace Finnish cultural values; likewise, a Korean child ised by a German family will exhibit German cultural values. When we move into new cultures, we learn new cultural patterns. For exam- ple, when Chinese students first arrive in the United States they are surprised to see car drivers motioning with their hand to pedestrians to let them pass first. In China, this gesture is used only when a person gets frustrated or irritated at another person! Gradually Chinese students learn the meaning of this gesture— that the driver is actually being polite—and then use it themselves when driving, Culture Involves Perception and Values What do cultural groups learn and share? First, they share perceptions, or ways of looking at the world. Culture is sometimes described as a sort of lens through which we view the world. All the information we receive in a given day passes through this perceptual lens.’ We select, evaluate, and organize information stimuli) from the external environment through perception. Thus, all of our prior learning—the information we have already stored in eur brains—affects how we interpret new information. Some of this learning Many cultural groups value family relation- ships, but how and how often families interact may depend on the particular cultural norms. How often does your extended family get together and what are the expectations for the interaction?30 Part I Foundations of Intercultural Communication Seis < What Do You Think? What kind of cultural values are embraced by children in multiracial families, such as golf star Tiger Woods, who calls himself “Cablinasian? ‘meaning Caucasian, Black, American Indian, and Asian? What about the Hollywood movie star Keanu Reeves, whois “Eurasian” being White, ‘Chinese, and Hawaiian? He was born in Lebanon and grew up in Canada and America. With such family backgrounds, might multiracial kids be more ‘nterculturally competent? Surf's Up! Take a test to assess your ‘own cross-cultural com- petence at hitp//www maec.org/cross/table1 htm, The 20 questions listed assess a person's ‘knowledge of the relation- ships among culture, com: ‘munication, and language and perception is related to the values of cultural groups we belong to. Values have to do with what is judged to be good or bad, or right or wrong, in a culture (and we'll talk more about values later). Consider our student, Ann. She saw the young Mexicans’ behavior in a particular way because of her cultural upbring- ing, Whereas an important value for the young Mexicans was to be closely con- nected to their families, Ann’ cultural values emphasized being independent from her family. Like Ann, we all see the world in particular ways because of the cultural groups (based on ethnicity, age, gender, and so on) to which we belong. And each group has a different prescription for its lenses. The difficulty comes in trying to understand our own cultural perceptions, just as itis difficult to look at our own glasses without taking them off. Another metaphor for culture isa computer program in that culture, ina sense, serves as a “program of the mind” that every individual carries within himself or herself. These programs of the mind, or patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting, work just like computer software. That is, they tell people (subconsciously) how to walk, talk, eat, dance, socialize, and otherwise conduct their lives:* Culture Involves Feelings Culture is experienced not only as perceptions and values but also as feelings. When we are in our own cultural surroundings we fee! a sense of familiarity, and a certain level of comfort in the space, behavior, and actions of others. We might characterize this feeling as a kind of embodied ethnocentrism, which is nor- mal,’ (Later on we'll discuss the negative side of ethnocentrism.) This aspect of culture has implications for understanding adaptation to other cultural norms and spaces. That is, the stronger your identification with a particular space or cultural situation, the more difficult it might be to change spaces without expe- riencing a lot of discomfort—actual psychological and physiological changes. For example, dining in a formal Japanese restaurant, with flat tables, rice-paper walls, silence, and low light, would probably give U.S. Americans a feeling of mild unfamiliarity, compared to experiences in most U.S. restaurants. However, experiencing new cultural situations on a daily basis can give a stronger feeling of disorientation. (We'll discuss this more when we talk about culture shock in Chapter 10.) For example, U.S. students studying in France described their feelings in coping with the French language. Their self-esteem dropped and they became very self-conscious. Their whole bodies were entrenched in this effort of trying to communicate in French; it was a laborious and involved process that was con- nected to all aspects of themselves—a feeling of being out of their cultural com- fort zone.’ We should not underestimate the importance of culture in providing usa feeling of familiarity and comfort. Culture Is Shared Another important part of our definition of culture is that cultural patterns are shared. The idea of a culture implies a group of people. These cultural patterns ofperceptions and beliefs are developed through interactions with different groups of individuals—at home, in the neighborhood, at school, in youth groups, at college, and so on. Culture becomes a group experience because it is shared with people who live in and experience the same social environments, So our perceptions are similar to those of other individuals who belong to the same cultural groups. In class, the authors sometimes put students in same-gender groups to highlight how many men share many similar perceptions about being male and similar attitudes toward women; the same seems to hold true for women. For example, men some- times share a perception that women have power in social situations. Women sometimes share a perception that men think badly of women who go out with a lot of guys. This same pattern of shared perceptions is evident in polls of attitudes of African Americans and Whites. White Americans seem to share a perception that things are getting better for Aftican Americans and that racial attitudes and interactions are improving. By contrast, many African Americans share a percep- tion that, while equality between races has improved, there is still a long way to go. For example, in a recent poll, Blacks and Whites polled after Hurricane Katrina in fall 2005 drew very different lessons from the Katrina tragedy. Seven-in-ten Blacks (71 percent) said the disaster showed that racial inequality remains a major problem in the country, compared to only 32 percent of Whites. More striking was the dis- agreement over whether the government’ response to the crisis would have been faster if most of the storm’s victims had been White; 66 percent of African Americans express that view, compared to 17 percent of Whites.” Our membership in cultnral groups ranges from involuntary to voluntary. Many of the cultural groups we belong to—specifically, those based on age, race, gender, physical ability, sexual orientation, and family membership—are invol- untary associations over which we have little choice. We belong to other cultural groups—those based on, say, professions, political associations, and hobbies— that are voluntary associations. And some groups may be involuntary at the beginning of our lives (those based on religion, nationality, or socioeconomic status) but become voluntary associations later on. Culture Is Expressed as Behavior Our cultural lens or computer program influences not only our perceptions and beliefs but also our behaviors. So, for example, Ann’ belief in (or lens on) the importance of individual independence, or simply individualism, is reflected in her behavior. She was expected to become increasingly independent when grow- ing up and to be on her own after college, and she was socialized to make her own decisions about dating, marriage, and career. By contrast, the young people she met in Mexico were socialized to the cultural value of collectivism. That is, they were expected to be more responsible for caring for other family members and to take their wishes into consideration in marriage and career decisions. Ic is important to understand that we belong to many different cultural groups and that these groups collectively help determine our perceptions, beliefs, and behavior. Also, these patterns endure over time and are passed on Chapter 2. Intercultural Communication — 31 —_Ya— Surt’s Up! Although individualism and collectivism are culture-specific value ‘orientations, some cultures seem to favor one or the other as a barometer for proper living, Check out the websites for the Individualist Research Foundation (hitp// home-earthlinknet/ =whmn/) and Enter Stage Right (http //www -enterstageright.com/) Do these groups equate ‘individuality with liberty and freedom? How might these groups adapt to life among collectivist cultures like the Diné (Navajo) or the Thai?32 Part Foundations of Intercultural Commumication The visible and hidden layers of culture. Visible Behavior from person to person. Therefore, just as Ann was socialized to be individualis- tic, she'll probably pass on these same beliefs and behaviors to her own children. Culture Is Dynamic and Heterogeneous Another crucial feature of culture is that it is dynamic, or changing, and can often be a source of conflict among different groups.’ It is important to recog- nize that cultural patterns are not rigid and homogeneous but are dynamic and heterogeneous. A good example of cultural heterogeneity is the varying opinions among Latinos/as regarding U.S. immigration policies. During the spring 2006 protests regarding proposed immigration legislation, many Latinos/as stressed that they did not agree with the protesters. For example, one Latino war veteran said that while he understands the contribution immigrants have made to the United States, “We're all here today to tell all those protesters, ‘You do not speak for me.” It is important to remember that members of cultural groups do not all think or behave in the same way.!° Sometimes there is conflict over cul- tural patterns and meanings, For example, who gets to define what “Native American” means? The government has one definition: a person who has proven Native American ancestry and is enrolled in a particular tribe. But some people feel that a Native American can be anyone who follows Native American cultural and spiritual traditions and practices. ‘Table 2.1 shows some cultural behaviors that are widely shared in some cul- tures around the world. Note that these are shared, collective cultural behaviors, rather than individual characteristics.Chapter 2 Intercultural Communication 33 TABLE 2.1 Interesting Cultural Behaviors Thailand: Thai people greet each other with a wai greeting—hold your hands together at the chest like a prayer and give a light bow. Egypt: Using the left hand alone to exchange an item with an Egyptian is considered rude, France: The French expect promptness. They are not accustomed to standing in line. Germany: Germans often bang their fists on the table to show their appreciation at the end of a meeting. Japan: When you are offered a gift, you must first refuse it once, modestly and serenely. Then you should accept it using both hands. Israel: When Istaelis invite someone to their home, it is an important gesture. Ivis, appropriate to bring a book as a gift. Spain: Afier a meal, you must place your utensils together on the plate. Otherwise, your Spanish host would think that you were not satisfied. French Polynesia: It is not necessary to tip. People usually give small gifts instead. Source: Selling Destinations: Geography for the Travel Profesional, 4th ed., by M. Manci Clifton Park, NY: Thomson/Delimar Learning. i, 2003, Viewing culture as dynamic is particularly important for understanding the struggles of various groups—Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, African Americans, Latinos/as, women, gays and lesbians, working- | class people, and so on—as they try to negotiate their relationships and ensure their well-being within U.S. society. By studying the communication that arises from these ongoing struggles, we can better understand several intercultural concerns. Consider, for example, Proposition 227, passed by California voters in 1998, which eliminated public funding for bilingual education. The controversy surrounding the passage of this proposition illustrates the concerns of many dif- | Bride with Spencer Tracy, ferent cultural groups. Some Whites and long-term immigrants wanted to elim- fromthe 1950s, his wife inate public funding for any programs for more recent immigrants. Others felt isa housewife in high that providing bilingual education was a good investment and that failing to do _ heels In the Steve Martin so sent a message of hostility to new immigrants. version in the 1980s, she Seeing culture as dynamic and heterogeneous opens up new ways of think- has a career Bela Lugosis ing about intercultural communication. After all, the people from a particular Dracula movies from the culture are not identical, and any culture has many intercultural struggles. For 1930s only hint at sexual- instance, when we speak of Chinese culture or French culture, we ignore the diver- ity |n the Christopher Lee sity that resides in that culture. That “Chinese culture” may refer to the mainland _ films ofthe 1960s there Chinese; or to the inhabitants of the island of Taiwan, who speak Taiwanese or _arehalf-nakedfemale Mandarin; or to the Chinese from Hong Kong, who speak Cantonese. ‘The label vanypires in Dracula cas “Chinese” thus obscures incredible diversity. Similarly, “French culture” could tle.And the Gary Okman refer to the “Pieds Noirs” (North Africans of French descent), or to Vietnamese of version from the 1990s French descent, or to the Bretons, who live in northwestern France and speak their even more graphic. own language.34 Part | Foundations of Intercultural Communication Surf's Up! Learn more about the disability culture and how it exemplifies the five ele- ments of this textbook’s definition of culture at http://wwwcdisabiity culture.org. To learn the characteristics of the ‘American deaf culture, go tohttp:/Avwwideafeulture