Bekkaoui Mohammed

Introducing Intercultural Communication

- Global Cultures and Contexts

Summary

Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Understanding Communication
Introduction

We make contact with the world by what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say
it. These are the basics of sharing a code to exchange messages. Furthermore, there are diverse
means of this exchange; such as language, eye contact, or touching. The purpose of
communication is to complete tasks, to achieve goals, to exchange understanding and
information, or to be heard. Regardless any society, communication is about sharing who we are
and what we know. Yet, the way we share varies from a culture to another, which increases the
need for intercultural communication.

The Multifaceted Nature of Communication

Although the diversity of means of communication, human communication appeared
alongside with the appearance of humans themselves. It all started with cave paintings in
prehistory, then both humans and animals were used to carry information. Pigeons were used in
the First World War, while human messengers were very efficient in ancient times. Others like
Chinese warriors used burning fire and smoke to deliver the information. Thanks to the advances
in information technology; such as print, television, email, and Facebook, human communication
has exceeded the constraints of time, space, and culture. Nowadays, each communicator is a part
of a bigger communication network.

-Defining Communication

On the grounds that communication has countless definitions, Dance concluded that we should
deal with communication as a 'family' of related concepts, instead of a unitary concept. To give an
illustration, thousands of of components are in the simple operation of greeting. Adding cultural
dimensions, it becomes even more complex. For example, people in New Zealand use a casual
hello, while Arab friends use a full embrace with a kiss on the cheek.

To defeat the complication of the communication concepts, scholars took from

'communication' only what they need for their studies. As a result, neurologists focus on the
nervous system during communication, psychologists focus on perception, linguists focus on the
use of language, and so on.

There is no right or wrong definition of communication, as there is no definition that includes

all aspects of it. For us, as we study communication between culturally different people, the
definition of communication is the process by which people use shared verbal or non-verbal
codes, systems, and media to exchange information in a particular cultural context.

According to Littlejohn, The primary ideas about communication were rhetorical. The
rhetorical theory views communication as the practical art of discourse, and problems of
communication as exigencies that must be resolved through the artful use of discourse to
persuade an audience, which explains the importance of participating in discourses. Within this
approach, we can improve our communication by education, research, learning skills, and
practice. Besides, each culture has its own communication rules, and its own criteria to judge
communicators.

The rhetorical theory is based on the fact that we can persuade people using arguments within
verbal or visual symbols. Rhetors are the rhetorical communicators, and their messages are called
rhetorical acts. The most significant rhetorical text is Aristotle's Rhetoric; as he focuses on three
elements while speaking: ethos, based on the character of the speaker; pathos, based on making
the audience feel specific emotions; and logos, based on the arguments used during the speech.
Today, the rhetorical analysis is not only restricted to public speech but also used to interpret
mass media.

To put this theory into practice, we can take managers as an example of rhetors since they
communicate with employees at different levels. The manager-as-rhetor notion can help
understanding how persuasion is a part of an organizational leader's role. Green studied managers
in the context of innovation and suggested that "what managers say and how they say it matters a
great deal". Concerning rhetorical skills, a manager can make the members feel the power of
action, visualize products, and imagine the promise of bringing the innovation to fruition. Also, a
manager faces organizational challenges as a classical orator do, and they both argue and
persuade to achieve their goals.

-Components of Communication

Despite the variety of communication definitions, scholars agree that there are some factors
that are embedded in each and every definition. To be accurate, there are eight components in
human communication, found in every culture. They are source, message, channel, receiver,
encoding, decoding, noise, and feedback.

The source is the origin of information. It is basically someone who needs and wants to share
information. This need might be either conscious or non-conscious, but the idea of sharing
thoughts and feelings is always present.

The message is the verbal or non-verbal form of thoughts and feelings that someone wants to
communicate within a specific context. It can take the form of language or body language. And
each culture has its way of forming and expressing these messages.

For a message to be sent, it needs a channel. The latter can be a sound, a sight, fax, and so on.
Culture shapes our preferred channels; which makes Americans prefer words, and Japanese to use
silence.

The intended target of the message is called a receiver, as they share the same code as the
source. While participants are both sources and receivers in interpersonal communication, mass
communication may be only one way. Also, the way of sending and receiving information in
human communication is not similar to how computers work. Actually, there are several factors
headed by culture, education, age, sex, and race.

To categorize experiences and communicate them to others, we need to use codes that refer to
a shared language. Encoding is the whole process of converting thoughts into messages through
shared codes based on one's culture. For instance, encoding the message of 'greeting' might be
done through a smile or a bow.

Decoding is the process done by the receiver for the sake of converting the coded message
back into meaning. Similar to encoding, decoding is also affected by one's culture. Therefore, the
same coded message may be decoded differently by different people.

All factors that interfere with the process of communication are called noise. Noise can be
physical as a sound, psychological as having a phobia, or semantic as facing ambiguity. For
example, people have different interpretations of a concept like 'individualism', based on their
culture. As a result, noise reaches its acme in the process of communication between
heterophilous people.

Feedback refers to the response of the receiver after receiving the message. It is often used to
adjust the behaviors of participants, based on their culture. For example, the feedback that shows
disagreement might take the shape of a verbal sentence in the US, and a deep breath in China.

-Characteristics of Communication

As scholars agreed on components of communication, they also agreed on some characteristics

of communication.

Communication is a dynamic process. Even though verbal messages have time limits, you
cannot define the exact point of the beginning or the end of an exchange. This process is ongoing,
ever-changing, and continuous. For this reason, every communication process affects both your
past and future. Communication is dynamic in the way that each word we utter is immediately
replaced with another one that cannot be retracted -we can not take back what we communicated-.
That is to say, a process is irreversible and unrepeatable.

Since communication requires the active participation of at least two people, we say that it is
interactive. Even if you are communicating with yourself, you are interacting with an imagined
self. During the process, communicators can modify the form and the content of their
conversation as well as their thoughts or feelings.

Symbols are learned verbal and non-verbal stimulus that represents something. They are the
tools by which thoughts and feeling may be communicated. Thus, communication is symbolic but
really attached to culture. For instance, patting a child on the head is considered a symbol of
affection, while the same gesture is a symbol of an offensive attitude in Thailand.

Communication is contextual because it depends on the context. A context can be defined as

the historical, the cultural, physical, relational, and perceptual environment. Thus, several actions
may appear wrong or right depending on the context. The latter influences what and how we
communicate.

Relevant to this topic, the communication accomodation theory is related to intercultural

communication and based on three assumptions: interactions are embedded in a socio-historical
context; communication is both exchanging meaning and negotiating identities; achieving these
functions is done through the accomodation of their communicative behavior to their perception
of the others' characteristics. Some key concepts of this theory are:

·0 Ingroups and outgroups: People are attached to the group they belong, and try to exclude
people from outgroups.

·1 Accomodation: Communicators adjust their behavior based on the other's needs because
of a desire for a communication effectiveness.

·2 Non-accomodation: Speakers reserve to a social distance by treating others as parts of a

group rather than individuals.

The use of this theory can be projected on instant messaging conversations. Using temporal cues
and the adaption to them influences the results of communication.

Models of Communicaion
A model is a systematic representation of something in an abstract form. Concerning
communication, the models represent the process, characteristics, components and their
relationships to each other. A model represents a theory, so if a theory needs modification, so does
its model.

-The Linear Model

Early scholars saw communication as transmitting information through a straight line. The
most famous linear model is the mathematical one suggested by Shannon and Weaver. Later, This
model was adapted to the process of human communication, dealing with the most efficient way
of transmitting electrical signals from point A to B.

'The message' in this model is like an object in a parcel which should be opened by the
receiver to get the message. The concept of feedback was later added. Because it is mainly
concerned with technical problems of the selection and the arrangement of information, Shannon
and Weaver's model applies to mathematical dimensions rather than semantic dimensions.

Today, this model is known as the transmission model of communication that views
communication as the process of transferring information from A to B. The linear model was
suggested to study media effects and Harold Laswell's 5W theory is a typical example of this
attempt: "Who?", "Says What?", "In Which channel?", "To Whom?", and "With What effect?".

Linear models of communication faced some criticism because they do not account for the
complexity of communication. Critics found the model philosophically flawed and full of
paradoxes by limiting content to transmission. As a result, they suggest the model to be modified,
if not replaced by a model which takes into consideration the shared meaning along with central
social issues.

-The Interactive Model

Shramm's interactive model of communication

Considering encoding and decoding as simultaneous activities, Wilbur Schramm was the first
to challenge Shannon and Weaver's model of communication. He viewed that speaking and
listening are not separate acts that occur one at a time. Even in mass media, both the organization
and the audience are senders and receivers. Schramm's model assumes that, based on the context,
a message may be differently understood. Yet, similar to the linear model, Schramm's model does
not deal with communication across several sources.

Scholars such as Everett Rogers and Thomas Steinfatt elaborated Shramm's interactive model.
They tried to emphasize the subjectivity of communication. That is to say when the source and
the receiver are individuals, their perceptions, paradigms, and past experiences influence the
whole process. That explains why the receiver often decodes the message into the exact intended
meaning of the source.

To explain the intercultural communication phenomena, we adapt Rogers and Steinfatt's

model. This model replaces the terms 'sender' and 'receiver' with 'communicator'; and, it
associates communicator's perceptions into the model. The whole process, within this model, is
influenced by the context and how communicators see each other. Furthermore, each
communication action is built upon past experiences and will influence the future. Rogers and
Steinfatt's model takes into consideration the dynamic nature of communication as well as the
influence of perceived cultural differences. Actually, James Carey named the interactive model a
'ritual' model because it is about sharing, participating, and creating a society through
communication processes.

Current Issues Surrounding Theorizing Communication

The communication study is highly interdisciplinary since it draws its materials from several
disciplines like philosophy and sociology. There is no universal definition of the concept nor a
single object of communication study. Also, a model can embody only a few characteristics of
communication. Similarly, a theory deal with only certain aspects of communication phenomena.
It is through context that different levels of communication study - intrapersonal, interpersonal,
group, organization, and mass- come together.
Levels of communication:

·3 Intrapersonal: understanding and sharing meaning within the self

·4 Interpersonal: understanding and sharing meaning between atleast two people when
opportunities of speaking and listening exist

·5 Group: communication in limited groups to make decisions or solve problems

·6 Organizational: communication in large networks including all aspects of both
interpersonal and group communication

·7 Mass: understanding and sharing meaning with an audience through mediated channels
The multidisciplinary nature of communication does not mean that it is a fragmented field.
The development of the communication theories has been informed by two general approaches: a
linguistic approach associated with humanities, and a quantitative approach associated with social
sciences. These two approaches have been the frame of forming theories and collecting data. In
this regard, Robert T. Craig summarized communication study into seven traditions:

·8 Rhetorical: communication is a practical art of discourse that can be learned and

practiced.

·9 Semiotic: communication is a process of signification that mediates via signs.

·10 Phenomenological: communication is an experiential encounter of self and other through
dialogue.

·11 Cybernetic: communication is information processing.

·12 Socio-psychological: communication is expression, interaction, and influence.
·13 Sociocultural: communication exists in social and cultural patterns that allow interaction
 between people.

·14 Critical: communication is a reflection of ideology and power.

There are many communication theories and many understandings of communication. Over
the past decades, scholars have used communication theories to analyze the ways in which
communication shape public opinion, transmit information, create relationships, and to define,
interpret, and critique culture.

In Lasswell's model, objects of communication messages or the 'whom' receive the output of
communication and may change their behaviors or opinions. Now with digital advances, the
'whom' act as influencers, receivers became an audience, and boundaries between interpersonal
and mass communication have vanished. Also, the context, which is the basis of the interactive
model of communication, is highly fatal in the world of digital media. Our previous idea about
the intersection between interpersonal and mass communication have changed because audiences
now create media and media create audiences.

Digital technology has changed the way we develop our relationships. In virtual social worlds,
we appear in the shape of avatars and interact in an environment that is very similar to the real
world. One of the good examples is the Second Life application, where residents can do things as
in the real world, such as speaking to other avatars or creating content to gain a virtual currency.

Communication and Culture

It is impossible to separate culture and communication because they influence each other.
Furthermore, culture is a code we learn and share via communication. Dodd noted that culture
generates symbols, rituals, customs, and formats. In Western cultures, the symbols of success are
one's achievements. While achievements of one's group are the scale of success in other cultures.
When we fail to match the communication system to a culture, cultural misunderstandings occur.
To give an illustration, a Chinese worker shows modesty and respect by hesitating to fix a
machine in front of his American manager who was not able to fix it. This cultural act of modesty
may be understood by the manager that the Chinese worker lacks confidence or ability. So, we
become more aware of cultural rules when interacting with different others.

The link between culture and communication can be illustrated in several ways. Firstly,
culture teaches us rules, rituals, and procedures. Such as our thoughts about time, relations,
clothing, work, and food. The process of learning these cultural rules and behaviors is called
socialization. One of these rules is politeness, as when you visit someone, you tell them that the
food was very nice. In traditional homes of Slovenia, the guest is offered bread and salt to show
them that they are part of the family. In Denmark, speaking in a loud voice is considered very
rude. To sum up, one's culture teaches what is polite, rude, or expected, which helps to define
boundaries between 'us' and 'them'.

More than teaching 'rules', culture cultivates and reinforces beliefs and values. As a result, our
whole ideas and approaches about the world are culturally taught. These beliefs and values shape
our communication. In Australia, for instance, the communication style tends to be direct between
two people when facing a conflict because they believe in independence and privacy. In Asia, on
the other hand, a third party might be brought to resolve the conflict because they believe in
harmony.

Additionally to those, culture teaches us how to develop relationships with others. For humans
to survive, they need to initiate and maintain relationships with others, which is the purpose of
every communication event. Also, from these relationships, we gain the feedback used to evaluate
ourselves. Certain roles and expectations -like where to stand, how far, when and how to visti,
level of formality to use- are generated from a cultural context. To give an illustration, Chinese
people emphasize on returning the favor big time in social interactions. Yet, North Americans
return another's generosity at the same level. Hence, they often split the bill when having dinner
together.

The debate leads us to this question: can one not communicate? Watzlawick, Beavin and
Jackson came up with the axiom 'on cannot not communicate'. Michael Motley considered the
axiom to suggest that all behaviors are communicative. But several postulates of communication
do not agree with the statement. The Western Journal of Speech Communication answered
Motley focusing on whether communication depends more upon receivers' interpretations of
behaviors or senders' orientations to those behaviors. In all cases, communication in a planned
action rather than random activity.

To elaborate more, Gasiorek and Gilles investigated the role of inferred intentionality and
motive in people's evaluations of non-accommodation which is a communicative behavior that is
inappropriately adjusted while an interaction. Results of the research show that when participants
inferred that a non-accommodation was intentional and negatively motivated, they evaluated the
behavior and the speaker more negatively than if the non-accommodation was inferred to be
either unintentional or intentional but positively motivated.

Our verbal and nonverbal behavior reflect our cultural imprints. Cultures make our
communication style across some characteristics like pitch, loudness, turn-talking, and gestures.
For example, you should expect an intensive bargaining in a marketplace stall in Hong Kong. As
it is unusual to see two male friends kissing in public, but it is commonplace in Peru. To
conclude, we are the same because each of us experiences the same feelings. Yet, our cultural
experiences keep us apart. Misunderstandings occurs because we do not understand other's
cultural rules governing communication behavior.