03 April, 2023

CHAPTER I

CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

Culture comes from Latin cultura, means cultivation. British anthropologist Edward
Tylor first gave the definition of culture which is widely quoted: 5 Culture is that complex
whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law, custom and any other capacities
and habits acquired by man as a member of society.

Newmark describes culture as a way of life of a certain society which is expressed by

certain language. Clifford Geertz stated that culture is a symbolic meaning system. It is
semiotic system in which symbols function to communicate meaning from one mind to
another.

Cultural universals are elements common to all human cultures, regardless of historical
moment, geography, or cultural origin. Koentjoroningrat (1990) categorizes cultural universal
into seven, namely: (Language, Knowledge system, Social organizations, Life tool system,
Livelihood system, Religion system , and Art).

The word culture doesn’t mean just national culture, but the whole range of different
types of culture. These include:

1. Corporate culture (for example, the culture of Apple, Microsoft)

2. Professional culture (for example, the culture of doctors, lawyers)

3. Gender (different cultures of men and women)

4. Age ( the different cultures of young, middle-aged, and old-people)

5. Religious culture (for example, Catholicism, Islam, Budha)

6. Regional culture (for example, Western, Eastern)

7. Class culture (for example, working class, middle class, upper class)

According to Sapir (1921), language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of

communicating ideas, emotions and desire by means of voluntarily produced
symbols.Language is a part of culture and a part of human behavior. It is often held that the
function of language is to express thought and to communicate information. Language also
fulfills many other tasks such as greeting people, conducting religious service, etc.

The relationship between culture and language as the following:

 language is a key component of culture. It is the primary medium for transmitting

much of culture. Without language, culture would not be possible.
 Children learning their native language are learning their own culture; learning a
second language also involves learning a second culture to varying degrees.
 Language is influenced and shaped by culture. It reflects culture.
 Cultural differences are the most serious areas causing misunderstanding,
unpleasantness and even conflict in cross-cultural communication.

CHAPTER II

GENERAL AMERICAN VALUES

American culture has been enriched by the values and belief systems of virtually every
part of the world. Consequently, it is impossible to be comprehensive. Nevertheless, a few
selected values are at the core of the American value system.

Freedom, Americans commonly regard their society as the freest and best in the world.
Americans understanding of freedom is shaped by the Founding Fathers belief that all people
are equal and that the role of the government is to protect each persons basic inalienable
rights.

Individualism, Americans notion of freedom focuses on the individual, and individualism

has strong philosophical roots in America. Individualism, understood not only as self-reliance
but also as economic self-sufficiency, has been a central theme in American history.

Punctuality, Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or

fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. "Punctual" is often used
synonymously with "on time." It is a common misconception that punctual can also, when
talking about grammar, mean "to be accurate."

Volunteerism, Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, and is intended

to promote good or improve human quality of life, which in return produces a feeling of self-
worth and respect, but no financial gain.
 Equality, When we go to the bank, to the post office, or to immigration, we will be asked
to take a number and wait. Regardless of how important or trivial our need is, we will be
treated like everyone else; first come, first served.

Informality, Informality is right understood as idealism in practice, or democracy in

action, the right of the individual balanced by his responsibilities, in the basic unit is the
family.

Idealizing what is practical, Many historians believe that most of the beliefs and values
which are characteristically American emerged within the context of the frontier experience.

Mobility, As a nation of immigrants, Americans have shared from the beginning the
assumption that the practical solution to a problem is to move elsewhere and make a fresh
start. Mobility in America is not a sign of aimlessness but optimism.

Progress, It is associated with the idea of freedom is the ideal of progress. The nation8s
progress has been measured by the taming of the frontier and industrial expansion.

CHAPTER III

STEREOTYPE

Definiton Stereotype is a fixed idea or image that many people have a particular type of
person, thing, or event, but sometimes it is not true in reality. Cultural stereotypes mean
applying both evidence and our existing beliefs about the members of that cultural group.

Stereotypes are called idiosyncratic, if only an individual uses them, or they are social, or
collective if they are widely shared by a group of people. In everyday use, the concept of the
stereotype is used in various contexts: usually the word stereotype is used to refer to members
of some kind of collective: firemen are courageous, blondes are less intelligent, Italians are
noisy, and so forth.

The term stereotype itself, as allegedly used for the first time by Walter Lippman in
1922, is used today to mean a readily available image of a given social group, usually based
on rough, often negative generalizations.

Hofstede uses the model of the pyramid to illustrate three levels of uniqueness in human
mental programming. Every person is in some way like other people, some, or none.( 1.
Personality, 2. Culture, 3. Human)
 The Kinds of Stereotypes is : Nationality stereotypes, Racial stereotypes, Political
stereotypes, Gender stereotypes

Positive sides of stereotypes are:

• People rely on stereotypes everyday to help them function in society.

• To allow people to quickly process new information about an event or person.

• To organize peoples past experiences.

• To meaningfully assess differences between individuals and groups.

• To make predictions about other peoples behavior.

Negative sides of stereotypes are :

• Oversimplified generalization

• Breeding ground for errant generalizations.

• Serve as a major source of disinformation about others.

• May easily conceal or feed into prejudice, racism, sexism, and other forms of bigotry.

CHAPTER IV

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Communication has always been an important need of all societies. Since the time of our
cave-dweller ancestors, people have been communicating in different ways. Neanderthals
drew pictures on cave walls, American Indians communicated using drumbeat and smoke. In
wars, soldiers used doves to communicate top secrets. Letters and the telephone were the next
step in communication. Finally, in the present century most of communication process is
done through the Internet. Communication can be defined as the exchange of meaning. This
involves the sending and receiving of information between a sender and a receiver.
Generally, in communication, we seek to reduce uncertainty.

There are several parts of Barriers to Intercultural Communication that is: Attitude,
Perception, Stereotyp, Interpretation, Culture Shock and Non-Verbal Behavior.

Improving Intercultural Communication, It is essential that people research the cultures

and communication conventions of those whom they propose to meet In interactions with
people from foreign cultures, a person who is interculturally competent understands the
culturespecific concepts of perception, thinking, feeling, and acting. The basic requirements
for intercultural competence are(Break the Assumptions, Empathise, Involve, Discourage
Herd Mentality, Avoid Insensitive Behavior)

CHAPTER V

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

Non-verbal communication is the process of communicating through sending and

receiving wordless messages. Non-verbal communication can be divided into 4 parts namely
body 1. language (kinesics: Body movement (gesture), Body Position, Facial Expressions,
Dress, ), 2. eye contact (oculistics), 3.touch (haptics), 4. body distance (proxemics).

Paralangue, It is not only words that convey message, but also a range of other factors,
such as :

 vocal characterizers -laugh, cry, yell, moan, whine, belch, yawn- send different
messages in different cultures.
 vocal qualifiers such as volume, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and tone have different
meaning.
 vocal segregates such as 5uh-huh, shh, uh, ooh, mmmh, humm, eh, mah, nahh
indicate formality, acceptance, assent, uncertainty, and also controlling conversation.

In normal, civilized Western-type of conversation, speakers do not speak all the time; they
wait for their turn. But, how do people go about allocating turns to each other or themselves?
This is the mechanism of turn taking. On the one hand, there are natural breaks in every
conversation; a speaker has to pause for breath, or runs out things to say, or simply declares
his or her contribution to be finished.

CHAPTER VI

CULTURE SHOCK

The definition of culture shock is the trauma you experience when you move into a
culture different from your home culture. Culture shock is the personal disorientation a
person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to
a new country, or to a move between social environments, also a simple travel to another type
of life.
 Cause of shock culture, Besides language barrier, frustration, anxiety and stress also
occur whenever people can8t do all the things they are accustomed to doing in their everyday
lives. These can include work, home and leisure related activities that they are either no
longer able to do at all or no longer able to do like they are accustomed to.

General symptoms of culture shock include: irritation, homesickness, loneliness,

nervousness, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, feeling tired, extreme pride in one's home
culture, hypersensitivity or excitability, confusion, incompetence etc.

Culture shock can be described as consisting of at least one of four distinct phases:
honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and mastery.

CHAPTER VII

CULTURAL CONFLICT

Intercultural communication is communication between members of different cultures. In

intercultural communication, people will deal with different perception, attitudes, and
interpretations. Even two people from the same culture can have communication problems.

Cultural conflict occurs as a result of ethnocentrism, misinterpretation, and stereotype.

Ethnocentrism often entails the belief that one's own race or ethnic group is the most
important or that some or all aspects of its culture are superior to those of other groups.
Within this ideology, individuals will judge other groups in relation to their own particular
ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion.

There are some ways dealing with cultural conflict:

 If we are subjected to upsetting or offensive behavior, or if you witness such a thing

happening to someone else, clearly, firmly and simply state that the behavior is
upsetting.
 If the behavior is offensive, but not threatening or aggressive, whether the person
apologises or says nothing, let it go the first time.
 If the behaviour is threatening or aggressive, or if the offensive behaviour recurs, tell
someone and follow the guidelines.
 If we feel unable to confront the situation directly, or if we are unsure about whether
or not to act upon something promptly, discuss the issue with someone such as a
friend, colleague, supervisor, employee advisor, or councelor.
 No matter who is involved in the negative interaction, whether the offensive
behaviour is directed at us or we witness it happen to someone else, it is important
that some action is taken promptly.
 CHAPTER VIII

MALE-FEMALE RELATIONSHIP

Peoples ideas about appropriate behavior for men and women are deeply-held, and
having been planted within them from a very early age. People tend to believe strongly that
their own ideas on the subject are correct and other ideas are wrong or somehow inferior.
People8s ideas about what is proper in malefemale relationship do not change easily.

Stereotype about American Men and Women, As stated in previous chapter, stereotypes
are generalizations of people groups which are deep-rooted in the psyche of the people.
People stereotype others based on what they see, their experience, or may be from the media.

Women and Gender Discrimination, Many of the stereotypes that result in gender
discrimination are not only descriptive, but also prescriptive beliefs about how men and
women. For example, women who are considered to be too assertive or men who lack
physical strength are often criticized and historically faced societal backlash. They can also
facilitate or impede intellectual performance, such as the stereotype threat that lower women's
performance on mathematics tests, due to the stereotype that women have inferior
quantitative skills compared to men's, or when the same stereotype leads men to assess their
own task ability higher than women performing at the same level.

Women Liberation, The term women liberation refers to collection of opinions and
developments that seek to end discrimination against women. Equal right for women is the
goal. Adherent of the women’s liberation movement urge that school textbooks and teachers
take note of women contributions to history, science, and other fields. They argue for an end
to what they see as stereotyping of women on television and other media. Women liberation
brings many impacts to men-female relationship, such as: 1. Women working and
househusband, 2. Single parent. Sexual Revolution, In last 30 years, there has been a sexual
revolution point of number of changes:

 People, particularly younger ones, feel freer than they once did to talk about sex
 related subject, such as human sex organ, menstruation, and other things. It’s also
portrayed in many videos, songs, movies, and literature.
 More young people engage in premarital intercourse.
 Homosexuals (gay & lesbian) have become much less reluctant than they used to be o
be openly acknowledge their sexual orientation