1

FUNDAMENTAL THEORIES OF

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Lecture 1

COMMUNICATION AS AN ELEMENT OF CULTURE

2

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF COMMUNICATION

AND CULTURE

to learn the barriers one would need to overcome; the barriers include such concepts as ethnocentrism, stereotyping, nonverbal misunderstandings, and translation difficulties

3

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF COMMUNICATION

AND CULTURE

ethnographical approach, which implies observing the customary behavior of a group to learn the unwritten rules for appropriate behavior in that group

4

APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF COMMUNICATION

AND CULTURE

cultural approach, which means to develop an ideal personification of the culture to understand behaviors in that culture

5

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

Being an indivisible part of society, culture comprises four fundamental components:a community or population large enough to produce new generations of members without relying on outside peoples;

6

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

the totality of that group’s thought, experiences, and patterns of behavior; its concepts, values, and assumptions about life that guide behavior and how those evolve with contact with other cultures;

7

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

a process of social transmission of these thoughts and behaviors over the course of generations;

members who consciously identify themselves with the group, known as cultural identity.

8

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

Cultural identity – the identification with and perceived acceptance into a group that has a shared system of symbols and meanings as well as norms for conduct. Co-culture is a group of people living within a dominant culture, but also having representation of their

9

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

membership in another culture. They are part of one culture, but live and practice another culture in addition to their own. The term co-culture has a synonym subculture, used by some scholars. However the term co-culture is considered more politically correct.

10

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

Race is defined today from two concepts: biological and sociohistorical ones. As a biological concept, race is a fixed notion that refers to a large body of people characterized by a similarity of descent; that is, one’s race is the result

11

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

of the mating behavior of their ancestors. As a sociohistorical concept, race is an unstable and socially determined notion through constant debate.Myths are stories and images representing a culture’s values handed down from generation to generation as

12

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

the cultural image of perfection and a guide for living. Ethnicity is the shared descent or heritage of a group of people.Ethnic group means a group of people of the same descent and heritage who share a common and distinctive culture passed on through generations.

13

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

Subgroup is a group based on vocation, avocation, or special skills that, like cultures, provide patterns of its members’ behavior and values. Subgroups exist within a dominant culture and are dependent on that culture.

14

CULTURE IN SOCIETY

Reference group (“wanna-be” behavior) is any group to which one aspires to attain membership.Norms – standard or model behaviors expected in a culture.Superstitions – the practices believed to influence the course of events.

15

COMMUNICATION AND ITS COMPONENTS

Communication is a process of intentionally stimulating meaning in other humans through the use of symbols. The components of communication are source, encoding, message, channel, noise, receiver, decoding, receiver response, feedback, and context.