Intercultural

and
Global Communication
Prepared by Ms. Paula Borja

DTE Faculty - CvSU Bacoor City Campus

TOPICS:

• Culture
• Culture as Geography or
Ethnicity
• Transacting Cultures
TOPICS:

• Definition of Culture
• Dimensions of Culture
• Intercultural Communication
Ethics and Competence
Culture is a learned set of shared
interpretations about beliefs,
values, and norms that affect the
behaviors of a relatively large
group of people.

CULTURE What is culture?

CULTURE IS CLASSIFIED INTO TWO TYPES:

A.Ex t er n a l C ul ture - It is
superficial since it is based on
explicit knowledge and it can be
easily changed.
Examples: architecture, the
way people dress
CULTURE IS CLASSIFIED INTO TWO TYPES:

B. Internal Culture - It is not directly

stated, thus we are not aware of the
values and behaviors that contribute
to its identity or uniqueness
E x a m p l e s : Va l u e s , b e l i e f s ,
thought patterns
Culture is transmitted in three ways:

1. Enculturation: This is learning of your own

group’s culture which is usually practiced around
you.
2. Acculturation: This is the learning of new
traits that is borrowed from another culture.
3. Assimilation: This is losing awareness of
previous culture/group identity then learning a
new culture from another group.
Communication-culture Relationship

Cultures are created through

communication; that is communication
is the means of human interaction
through which cultural characteristics,
whether customs, roles, rules, rituals,
laws, or other patterns–are created
and shared.
Communication-culture Relationship

Communication shapes
culture, and culture shapes
communication.
 Culture as
GEOGRAPHY or ETHNICITY
Cross-cultural Communication

This compares the

communication styles and
patterns of people from
different cultural/social
structures.
Intercultural Communication

• This deals with how people

speak to one another.
• This focuses on the difficulties
or differences they encounter,
over and above the different
languages they speak.
Dimensions of Culture
Cultures refer to the following:

• Culture is NOT synonymous with

countries.
• Culture does NOT involve political
boundaries.
• A culture is a community or population
that is large enough to be self-
sustaining in order to produce new
generations of members.
Cultures refer to the following:

• Culture refers to the totality of a

group’s thoughts, experiences, and
patterns of behavior and its concepts,
values, and assumptions about life
that guide our behavior and our
interaction with other people’s
cultures.
Cross-cultural Characteristics
Cross-cultural Characteristics
by Duck and McMahan:

• Context
• Collectivism/Individualism
• Time
• Conflict
Context
• Total environment
where the speech Example:
and interaction
China and Iraq
takes place

- person’s
• Everything is status in society
connected to the is important
background context
of relationships
Context
Low-context

A low-context culture relies on

explicit communication. In low-
context communication, more
of the information in a message
is spelled out and defined.
High-context

A high-context culture relies on

implicit communication and
nonverbal cues. In high-context
communication, a message cannot
be understood without a great deal
of background information. 
Collectivism/Individualism
•Collectivism: Example:
To g e t h e r n e s s
(beehive)
Japan:
collectivist
• Individualism:
Individuality USA:
(single bee) individualist
Time

• Monochromic Society

• Polychromic Society
Monochromic
• believes time is a
straight line from
beginning to the USA: Time is
end; places money.
importance on USA, UK, and
Germany:
speed, efficiency,
Values time
and being “on and punctuality
time”
Polychromic
•M o re relaxed
USA: Time is
attitude toward money.
time
USA, UK, and
Germany:
•Time is like a Values time
rotation of season.
and punctuality
• Time
is an open-
ended concept.
CONFLICT

• Conflict as opportunity

• Conflict as destructive
5 Styles of Conflict Management
• Dominating Style

• Integrating Style

• Compromising Style

• Obliging Style

• Avoiding Style
5 Styles of Conflict Management

• Dominating Style: “We’ll have

pizza!”

• IntegratingStyle: “Let’s talk about

whether we’re going to eat a pizza
or a pasta.”
5 Styles of Conflict Management
• Compromising Style: “Let’s just
get chicken wings instead.”

• ObligingStyle: “We both want to

eat so let us agree on eating
pizza.”

• AvoidingStyle: “Just order what

you want.”
Value Dimensions by Geert Hofstede

• Individualism versus Collectivism

• Masculinity versus Femininity

• Power Distance

• Uncertainty Avoidance

• Task versus Social Orientation

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
ETHICS AND COMPETENCE
(Language and Ethics Across Cultures, Communication Approach
to Intercultural Communication)
Ethics Across Cultures
• Address people with the same
respect that you would like to
receive.

• Do not demean or belittle the

cultural identity of others.
Ethics Across Cultures
• Do not mislead or deceive
others.

• Emphasize and appreciate the

common beliefs and values
rather than the differences.
The Language and Ethics
of Prejudice and Racism
• Prejudice

• Racism

• Hate Speech (threats and verbal

slurs directed against someone;
or physical acts such as burning
crosses)
The Language and Ethics
of Othering
• Othering(labelling and degrading
of cultures)

• Example:
Gay men and ethnic
groups are “othered” by other
groups.
Communication Approaches in
Intercultural Communication

• Personality Strength

• Communication Skills

• Psychological Adjustment

• Cultural Awareness
BARRIERS TO
INTERCULTURAL
COMMUNICATION
BARRIERS

• ANXIETY

• ASSUMING SIMILARITY INSTEAD OF

DIFFERENCES

• ETHNOCENTRISM

• STEREOTYPES AND PREJUDICE

BARRIERS

• ANXIETY

• ASSUMING SIMILARITY INSTEAD OF

DIFFERENCES

• ETHNOCENTRISM

• STEREOTYPES AND PREJUDICE

CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERCULTURAL
COMPETENCE:

• Motivation

• Tolerance for Ambiguity

• Open-mindedness

• Knowledge and Skill