What Is Intercultural Communication? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Communication is a vital component of any society in the world. We communicate with others to express our emotions, ideas, thoughts as well as new information. When we communicate, we are creating interaction with other people, and sometimes these people are entirely different from us. It means that we can interact with others who we don't share backgrounds. When we are communicating with people from different backgrounds, we call that intercultural communication. When we talk about intercultural communication, we are referring to the act of interacting with people who do not share our cultural backgrounds. It may be taken as a case where an individual communicates with people in a foreign environment. The conventional way is described as a situation whereby people from different cultures are trying to make communication smooth and efficient.

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No matter where a person finds himself or herself, it is usually essential to have the essentials for communication. Communicating across cultures is not something that is easy. When talking about communicating across cultures, we are not merely looking at language as a barrier. It is essential to take into consideration about language barrier but when looking at culture language is but a small part ((Gudykunst, pp. 164-166). What stands out in intercultural communication is that different cultures have different ways of communicating.

Regarding formality in communication, cultures differ, what is formal in one culture might be considered informal in another. Therefore, this means that cultures will always change and that is what happens when communication across cultures. One might use a way that he is used only to realize that it is unacceptable in the other culture. One thing is that every culture communicates although in a unique way. If there is no understanding, then it becomes easier to offend one another (Gudykunst, pp. 163-166). The remedy for this is to learn how to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communication allows positive interaction between people who do not share learnings. One significant thing to note is that it does not mean that when dealing with different cultures one has to convert and become a member of the other religion.

Something else that should be considered too is that intercultural communication does not only involve having fluency in the other language. It is imperative to note that connection is not only based on style but also the non-verbal cues, boy language, attitudes that we display and many more (Gudykunst, p. 164). A more significant percentage of our communication occurs through non-verbal ways. It means what accompanies expression is very important and essential to have successful communication. Intercultural communication is more than just learning a foreign language.

The first part of intercultural communication knows. Understanding the rules that govern a certain communication within a culture is the most critical aspect of intercultural communication. What needs observation are the regulations to be followed, the norms, and the rituals. It, therefore, means that one has to learn so much about the new culture to be able to have meaningful communication. When dealing with intercultural communication, the most important thing is to determine the full ways of the other learning. One of the items in intercultural communication is patience.

Intercultural communication requires one to have a good understanding especially the fact that different cultures will always have different ways through which they will communicate. The customs, standards, social mores will also be very different hence one should approach intercultural communication with all this in mind (Gudykunst, p. 166). What will make the intercultural communication successful is the ability to accept that there are differences and that what is to be done is to try and adapt to them? These requirements are essential and any successful communication banks on them every time. The aspects discussed herein mean that as much as we may think of learning a new language as the first step to intercultural communication, it is important to note that language is the least important. It is because even with knowledge of a new language, other requirements make communication successful. Communication does not only entail communicating through the language we speak but also looking at the different components like non-verbal cues and the norms.

Theories of Intercultural Communication

Several theories explain more about intercultural communication. One of the most prominent arguments is the Social Science Approach. This theory is also called the functionalist theory and was advanced in the 1980s. It is a theory that bases on psychology and sociology, and it assumes that in any communication there is an external reality. Meaning that in any communication there is an external force and interaction does not depend on the internal environment alone. It also assumes that culture is a variable factor (Neuliep). This theory works to predict that culture has influences on the trends in communication.

Culture will always have a considerable impact on how communication is carried out in any context. For example, how people greet one another depends upon the culture of the people. In some cultures, it is the young person to greet the older person whereas in others it is the opposite (Gudykunst, p. 165). We must consider culture very much in any form of communication that we want to carry. If we understand what culture needs, then it becomes easier for us to carry out communication across cultures. Culture has a significant bearing on how we communicate and what type of words we choose to interact with.

An example might be looking at the difference between British English (BrE) and American English (AmE). Although it is the same language, how they communicate is entirely different. This theory is good because it has been used to identify the variations that are present in communication between groups (Neuliep). However, this theory has a limitation that we cannot be able to identify all the variables that influence the way we communicate.

The second theory is the interpretive theory that seeks to understand human behavior. This approach is a bit advanced than the social theory because it looks at the relationship that is there between communication and culture. One thing that this approach believes is that we use communication to create and maintain a lifestyle. It is as opposed to the social theorists who believe that culture influences communication. In the interpretive approach, the focus is usually on the pattern of behaviors within a particular group (Gudykunst, pp. 163-164). What they hold is that human communication is generally subjective. The strengths of this theory are that it usually gives a deeper understanding of the patterns in communities and looks at communication in context. This theory, however, has a weakness in that there are few studies centred on interpretive studies.

The last theory is a critical approach which looks more at the other smaller contexts like political or social structures that influence communication. The primary goal of this approach is not just to understand the behavior but also to try and change the lives of everyday communication. It basis its studies on how power influences communication in different contexts. Identifying cultural differences in communication becomes important only if we consider power. The approach has the advantage that is looking at power relations is essential as it shows the importance attached to both social and historical contexts (Stella, pp. 1-4). The limit, however, is that the approach does not emphasize face-to-face interaction.

Intercultural communication is essential especially in the world where diversification is the order of the day. Learning how to communicate across cultures is a significant thing in that it brings the different cultures together to enhance communication. With intercultural communication, there is a big possibility that there will be reduced ethnocentrism and stereotyping. Stereotyping is a negative attitude towards a particular group based on how they carry themselves (Jandt). Through intercultural communication, we can understand other people's behaviors and ideologies.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, it is good to note that communication takes place in cultural surroundings. One thing that we should be knowledgeable about is that we do not communicate using language only. Knowing how to speak a language does not necessarily mean that we can talk well. We need to learn more aspects to do with communication to make communication efficient and effective. Understanding the norms and how a group communicates is the best way to learn how to communicate interculturally. We should always strive to move beyond language fluency to make our communication better and useful.

Works Cited

Gudykunst, William B. Cross-cultural and intercultural communication. Sage, 2003. 163-166

Jandt, Fred E. an introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community. Sage publications, 2017.

Ting-Toomey, Stella. "Identity negotiation theory." The International Encylopedia of Intercultural Communication (2007): 1-6

Neuliep, James W. Intercultural communication: A contextual approach. Sage Publications, 2017.