INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

THEORIES
CULTURE, AND
INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
KEY TERMS
MAKE A LIST
OF WHAT
DEFINES
CULTURE
LANGUAGE
THREE DEFINITIONS of language
• Sapir (1921: 8): “a purely human, non-instinctive method of
communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of
voluntarily produced symbols”
• Lyons (1981: 4–5) is critical of Sapir’s definition, especially
doubting the properties ‘purely human’ and ‘noninstinctive’.
• Among other scholars who have written about this, Pinker, treats
language as an instinct and gives a detailed argumentation of
this idea in his 1994 book The Language Instinct.
Hall, Ed.

• Hall (1968: 158) understands

language as “the institution
whereby humans communicate
and interact with each other by
means of habitually used oral-
auditory arbitrary symbols”.
• The emphasis on language as a
tool of communication among
people makes it very similar not
only to Sapir’s definition but
also to the general definition.
• ‘habitually used’ refers to arbitrary
used
Jacobson, R.
• What are the six functions of language
according to Jacobson?
• Jakobson (1960: 352) emphasizes that • Which of Jacobson's function of language is
“for any speech community, for any needed every time we want to express
speaker, there exists a unity of ourselves?
language, but this over-all code
represents a system of interconnected
subcodes; each language encompasses
several concurrent patterns which are
each characterized by a different
function”.
• For Jakobson, it is necessary to
investigate language from the
perspective of its functions.
Model of Communication
The model by Jakobson outlines six
constitutive factors playing a role in verbal
communicative situation. The Addresser (or
sender, encoder or transmitter) sends a
Message to the Addressee (or receiver,
decoder). The Message is set in a particular
Context. The Addresser and the Addressee
must be at least partially familiar with the
Code. A final factor is represented by
Contact.
According to Jakobson (1960: 353) each of
these factors determines a different
function of language
Jakobson’s schematic representation of six
functions of language • It is natural that individual verbal
messages fulfil more than one
function or in other words all
functions can be present in the
message but in a different
hierarchical order. This also means
that the message may have one
dominating function.
• the emotive function is oriented
towards the Addresser, the conative
function towards the Addressee, and
context has a referential function,
etc.
How to relate the expressions
to the function
• “I enjoy cooking a lot.”
• “Could you possibly help me with
washing up?” • emotive function
• “A friend in need is a friend indeed” • conative function
• “Once upon a time, there…” • poetic function
• “John graduated in 2019” • referential function
• “Rescued migrants disembark in • ? phatic function
Italy”
 Language vs communication
• Jakobson’s model of six essential elements
of a verbal act and the corresponding six
language functions is one of the most cited
models
• This model has been influential especially in
approaching communication from a
linguistic perspective.
• This discussion brings us
to the question of defining
communication.
Similarly, as there is no generally accepted
definition of language, there are a number of
different definitions of communication.
• Language is a means of communication
whereas communication is a process of
transferring a message among
participants in a communicative
situation. Communication is a broader
concept than language. Signs, symbols,
and words are central in language while
the message is the main focus of
communication.
• Language is a system of verbal and
non-verbal codes used to transfer
information.
• The way of exchanging messages or
information between two or more people
is communication.

? communication
• “most communication scholars
agree on certain dimensions of
communication that describe its
nature”
• processual,
• dynamic,
• interactive-transactive,
• symbolic,
• intentional,
• contextual,
• Ubiquitous: This means that it is
everywhere and all the time. It is based on an
idea that Watzlawick, Beavin and Jackson
(1967) formulated as that one cannot not
communicate in the same way as one cannot
not behave.
• and ……. cultural
Culture gives shape to
communication!
• In general, people from different
cultures communicate differently.
• For instance, in Arabic countries
negotiation about prices is part of
social communication, especially
at markets and it shows respect
to a seller. This contrasts with
fixed prices in European
countries.
• The eight properties of
communication are more or less
accepted by the majority of
communication theorists, which
makes them useful in understanding
the communication and
communication theories in this
course.
Perspectives in defining culture

• anthropologic, • “a system of shared meanings that

• globalization, and are passed from generation to
generation through symbols that
• cultural studies allow human beings to
communicate, maintain, and
develop an approach and
understanding of life”
• For instance, if a young man in Arabic
countries wants to start dating a girl, it is
normal to ask her father for permission.
Such a practice in Bulgaria would be
interpreted as strange.
• At best it would be taken as a cultural
difference. It is important to be aware of
cultural differences and avoid judging
actions on the basis of your own cultural
system of shared meanings considering
them automatically correct.
How to define
intercultural
communication?
• In general, it is
understood that
intercultural
communication takes
place when people from
different cultures and
ethnicities start
communicating.
Definitions of Scollon, Scollon and
Jones (2021)
Scollon, Scollon and Jones (2012)
distinguish three areas of study in
the communication between
members of different cultures:
• intercultural communication,
• cross-cultural communication
and
• inter-discourse communication.
• Intercultural communication
concentrates on studies of the
actual interaction between
members of different cultures,
e.g. how French managers
communicate when they are not
satisfied with the work of Slovak
subordinates.
• Bailey (2000) who explored communication patterns
between Korean shop owners and African-American
customers. The research was based on the analysis of
video recordings of conversations in shops and
conversations with shop owners and customers. The
results revealed that Korean shopkeepers were very
brief and to the point in their communication with
African-American customers who felt offended by
such conciseness. In contrast, African-American
customers tried to start small talk and make
communication more personal but felt ignored as the
response to their attempts was not received with
enthusiasm. As a result, African-Americans interpreted
it as a lack of interest in communicating with them
because of racist attitudes. On the other hand, Korean
shop owners interpreted personalizing communication
as a sign of bad manners.
• Cross-cultural communication studies the comparison of
two or more cultural communities, for instance, comparing conflict
styles of German managers and Spanish managers.
Finally…

• Studies in inter-discourse communication focus

on answering the question how culture is made
relevant in a text or interaction and how
cultural identity is formed
through text and talk (Piller, 2017: 4).
For example, Galasiński and Jaworski (2003)
investigated the ways in
Summary
• communication is described in relation to language and culture. Language is
seen as a tool of communication. Jakobson’s model of verbal communication
acts is discussed, and the individual elements are linked to six language
functions: emotive, conative, referential, poetic, phatic and metalingual. Although
there is no single definition of communication, a number of communication
theorists agree on basic dimensions that characterize communication. These
dimensions include: process, dynamic, interactive-transactive, symbolic,
intentional, contextual, ubiquitous, and cultural
• Culture is defined from three perspectives, anthropological with emphasis on
shared meaning, globalization viewing culture as a resource, and cultural studies
understanding culture as hegemony. Finally, intercultural communication covers
the interaction of people belonging to different cultural backgrounds. Three
approaches are distinguished: inter-cultural, cross-cultural and inter-discourse
communication.
Goals>
• 1. Try to recall all the ways you used
language to communicate in
different contexts today or
yesterday. Make a list with two
columns: Description of Event, and
Language Function. Compare it with
other students and discuss the
differences and similarities.
2. Consider the anthropological
definition of culture and think of
examples of how shared meaning is
created. Can you think of any example
of how shared meanings change over
time?
3. Can you describe your own cultural
background? Compare it with the
cultural backgrounds of other students
in your class.