advantages of intercultural communication essay

Language Learning: Why Is Intercultural Communication Important?

March 24, 2023

Thanks to fast transportation, global media, and the world wide web, we are now more connected than ever to other people worldwide. 

Working with the international community for economic survival means countries and cultures can no longer operate in a vacuum. Because of this, intercultural communication is no longer a choice but a must .

In addition, misunderstandings resulting from a lack of familiarity with another culture are often embarrassing. Blunders like these can make it difficult, if not impossible, to reach an agreement with another country or close a business contract with a foreign partner. For travelers, a faux pas can also make interactions more awkward. In this article, we’ll be discussing the importance of intercultural communication.

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Intercultural Communication Definition

The capacity to communicate with people from diverse cultures is referred to as intercultural communication. Interacting effectively across cultural lines requires perseverance and sensitivity to one another’s differences. This encompasses language skills, customs, ways of thinking, social norms, and habits.

There are many ways in which people all around the world are similar, yet it is our differences that truly define us. To put it simply, communication is the exchange of ideas and information between individuals by any means, verbal or otherwise. Sharing knowledge with others requires familiarity with social norms, body language, and etiquette.

Having the ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries is critical for the success of any intercultural or multinational endeavor. Additionally, it helps improve relationships by facilitating two-way conversations, which in turn foster mutual understanding between people of diverse backgrounds.

Intercultural Communication Examples

There are several facets to intercultural communication competence, from language skills to knowledge of social practices and cultural norms. These capabilities are constantly used throughout organizations and in all forms of communication. Here are a few examples of intercultural communication in action:

It can be challenging for multinational corporations to find appropriate product names that will not offend customers in their target markets due to linguistic differences. For instance, Coca-Cola initially considered renaming its brand KeKou-KeLa for the Chinese market. However, they didn’t take into account that this cute moniker means “female horse stuffed with wax” or “bite the wax tadpole.” Unsurprisingly, a rebrand was necessary. Coke then looked up 40,000 Chinese characters to get a phonetic equivalent and came up with “ko-kou-ko-le,” which roughly translates to “happiness in the mouth.”

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Business Relationships

Respecting the social norms of another culture requires an understanding that practices may vary. While Americans value making small talk with potential business partners, the British may try humor, while the Germans may jump right to the point.

In contrast, people from Thailand don’t bat an eye when asked what may be seen as intrusive questions in the West, such as whether you’re married or what you do for a living. Similarly, Americans prefer first names, but in Austria, titles are used to prevent coming off as disrespectful.

Advertising

You may have heard the popular myth that the Chevrolet Nova of the 1970s was a resounding flop in Latin America due to its name, since “no va” translates to “no go” in Spanish . The car was a smashing success since the name “nova” also means “new.” Nevertheless, there are innumerable examples of poorly translated advertisements across cultures that led to more severe outcomes.

For example, the Spanish equivalent of the American “Got Milk?” campaign featured the phrase “Tienes leche?” which translates as “Are you lactating?” The campaign completely bombed, ruining the brand’s reputation in that area. This mishap could have been avoided with more thorough focus group testing of intercultural communication.

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Public Relations and Media Events

Executives from the United States frequently interview international media and publicly appear in other countries. Working knowledge of the language is obviously necessary for such work, but words alone can’t account for how people will interpret things like tone of voice, the pace of speech, gestures, and facial expressions. In Japan, for instance, it’s rude to point out. Instead, you should wave politely in that direction. Similarly, the Indian equivalents of “please” and “thank you” are sometimes seen as overly formal and even disrespectful.

The Importance of Intercultural Communication

When we investigate the cultural influences on communication, we gain a deeper understanding of both areas. Additionally, it aids in expanding our knowledge of who we are as individuals and as a society.

Understanding our communication styles, habits, and tendencies and how they may serve or work against us when interacting with others from other cultural backgrounds is a valuable personal benefit of studying intercultural communication.

When seen in a broader context, intercultural communication can shed light on a wide range of human experiences, from the process of defining the workings of the brain to the power of languages in bringing people together.

As the world gets more interconnected, the ability to communicate successfully across cultural boundaries is becoming more and more vital. Since we are now able to travel to more places, we are exposed to other cultures and ways of living.

The ability to communicate effectively across cultural boundaries is crucial for the successful collaboration and relationship-building of multiethnic and international communities. It is also essential for avoiding and resolving conflicts. If you want to learn about other people and their customs and find common ground around the world, this is how to do it.

Intercultural Communication Competence

There are a variety of skills that are necessary for effective intercultural communication; some of them may be taught, while others are inherent and just require practice. Let’s take a look at some of the most crucial personal competencies for intercultural communication, as opposed to just linguistic ones like speaking, listening, and body language.

• Self-awareness: Recognizing how your personal views, behaviors, and possible prejudices and stereotypes might affect a conversation is a massive step in improving your ability to have meaningful interactions with others.
• Empathy: Intercultural communication relies heavily on empathizing with others and gaining insight into their experiences.
• Respect: Even if you don’t agree with or appreciate every aspect of another person’s or group’s culture, you may still respect them by recognizing their right to do so.
• Emotional intelligence: Learning to pick up on the subtleties of communication is essential when working with people from other cultures. Whether you get what is being communicated or not depends on how well you use your senses, how well you know yourself, and how well you can empathize with others.
• Adaptability: One of the goals of intercultural communication is to teach people how to modify their way of speaking to replace ambiguity, conflict, and antagonism with clarity, harmony, and cooperation. That’s why it’s important to be adaptable in our thinking, reactions, and interactions with others, as well as in our speech, listening, and body language.
• Patience: Effective communication across cultural boundaries doesn’t happen immediately. That’s why you need to have patience. Don’t rush through the process of becoming well-versed in best practices; instead, take your time and make them part of your routine. Due to cultural differences, it may take more or less time than usual to absorb new information.
• Positivity: Maintaining an optimistic attitude when interacting with people of other cultures is crucial. Misunderstandings occur all the time, and in most cases, it’s not because someone was trying to be deliberately unclear. Those of us who aren’t well-versed in other cultures often fail to grasp the intended meaning of a message. This is why it’s essential to look at every intercultural exchange in a constructive light.

Improving Your Intercultural Communication Skills

Here are some steps you can take to begin improving your intercultural communication skills:

Acquire Cultural Knowledge

Discovering the world through the lens of other people’s beliefs, values, and ways of expression is a fascinating and eye-opening experience. Educating yourself on the fundamentals of intercultural communication, such as language and gestures, is just as important as expanding your knowledge of the world’s diverse cultures.

Watch International Shows

To truly immerse oneself in the nuances of a different culture, indulging in international films in their original language proves far more rewarding than enduring subpar English dubs. It’s akin to embarking on a sensory journey, where the cadence of speech, the inflections, and the expressions hold the essence of the culture itself. Delving into Indian, Turkish, or Chinese cinema unveils a tapestry of traditions, values, and societal dynamics that might otherwise remain obscured in translation.

Enhancing this experience can be as simple as grabbing a beverage from the drinks fridge , settling comfortably, and letting the cinematic journey unfold. Modern streaming platforms offer a treasure trove of international TV shows and films, granting viewers a window into distant cultures from the comfort of their homes.

Speak to People

When you have coworkers or neighbors from other countries, you gain access to a wealth of undiscovered possibilities. In-depth conversations with people about their backgrounds and the culture shock they may have felt upon arriving in your country can yield a great deal of valuable knowledge and perspective. If they are treated with respect and dignity, people all around the world are happy to have their voices heard.

Take in What You Hear and See

There are a wide variety of ways to enhance your intercultural communication competence. Among these are learning when to ask open-ended questions, stick to yes/no answers, and decide when to use humor. The two most crucial pieces of advice for improving your communication skills are to listen attentively and to watch what others do.

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Final Thoughts

Whether you’re a tourist taking a trip overseas, a businessperson negotiating a merger, or a professor teaching a classroom full of international students, you need to be aware of the importance of effective intercultural communication.

In today’s interconnected world, the ability to communicate across cultural boundaries is more important than ever. It facilitates communication across linguistic and cultural boundaries, leading to more tolerance, acceptance, and, ultimately, stronger relationships amongst people of diverse backgrounds.

Enrolling in a language program is an excellent first step if you’re interested in learning more about intercultural communication and identifying and overcoming your own cultural biases. You can improve your language skills and your ability to communicate across cultures by enrolling in one of the Middlebury Language Schools’ immersion programs . Teaching both beginners and more advanced students, our immersion and graduate programs cover a wide range of languages.

When you need help learning a new language, Middlebury Language Schools is here to guide you. Contact us today !

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8.3 Intercultural Communication

Learning objectives.

• Define intercultural communication.
• List and summarize the six dialectics of intercultural communication.
• Discuss how intercultural communication affects interpersonal relationships.

It is through intercultural communication that we come to create, understand, and transform culture and identity. Intercultural communication is communication between people with differing cultural identities. One reason we should study intercultural communication is to foster greater self-awareness (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). Our thought process regarding culture is often “other focused,” meaning that the culture of the other person or group is what stands out in our perception. However, the old adage “know thyself” is appropriate, as we become more aware of our own culture by better understanding other cultures and perspectives. Intercultural communication can allow us to step outside of our comfortable, usual frame of reference and see our culture through a different lens. Additionally, as we become more self-aware, we may also become more ethical communicators as we challenge our ethnocentrism , or our tendency to view our own culture as superior to other cultures.

As was noted earlier, difference matters, and studying intercultural communication can help us better negotiate our changing world. Changing economies and technologies intersect with culture in meaningful ways (Martin & Nakayama). As was noted earlier, technology has created for some a global village where vast distances are now much shorter due to new technology that make travel and communication more accessible and convenient (McLuhan, 1967). However, as the following “Getting Plugged In” box indicates, there is also a digital divide , which refers to the unequal access to technology and related skills that exists in much of the world. People in most fields will be more successful if they are prepared to work in a globalized world. Obviously, the global market sets up the need to have intercultural competence for employees who travel between locations of a multinational corporation. Perhaps less obvious may be the need for teachers to work with students who do not speak English as their first language and for police officers, lawyers, managers, and medical personnel to be able to work with people who have various cultural identities.

“Getting Plugged In”

The Digital Divide

Many people who are now college age struggle to imagine a time without cell phones and the Internet. As “digital natives” it is probably also surprising to realize the number of people who do not have access to certain technologies. The digital divide was a term that initially referred to gaps in access to computers. The term expanded to include access to the Internet since it exploded onto the technology scene and is now connected to virtually all computing (van Deursen & van Dijk, 2010). Approximately two billion people around the world now access the Internet regularly, and those who don’t face several disadvantages (Smith, 2011). Discussions of the digital divide are now turning more specifically to high-speed Internet access, and the discussion is moving beyond the physical access divide to include the skills divide, the economic opportunity divide, and the democratic divide. This divide doesn’t just exist in developing countries; it has become an increasing concern in the United States. This is relevant to cultural identities because there are already inequalities in terms of access to technology based on age, race, and class (Sylvester & McGlynn, 2010). Scholars argue that these continued gaps will only serve to exacerbate existing cultural and social inequalities. From an international perspective, the United States is falling behind other countries in terms of access to high-speed Internet. South Korea, Japan, Sweden, and Germany now all have faster average connection speeds than the United States (Smith, 2011). And Finland in 2010 became the first country in the world to declare that all its citizens have a legal right to broadband Internet access (ben-Aaron, 2010). People in rural areas in the United States are especially disconnected from broadband service, with about 11 million rural Americans unable to get the service at home. As so much of our daily lives go online, it puts those who aren’t connected at a disadvantage. From paying bills online, to interacting with government services, to applying for jobs, to taking online college classes, to researching and participating in political and social causes, the Internet connects to education, money, and politics.

• What do you think of Finland’s inclusion of broadband access as a legal right? Is this something that should be done in other countries? Why or why not?
• How does the digital divide affect the notion of the global village?
• How might limited access to technology negatively affect various nondominant groups?

Intercultural Communication: A Dialectical Approach

Intercultural communication is complicated, messy, and at times contradictory. Therefore it is not always easy to conceptualize or study. Taking a dialectical approach allows us to capture the dynamism of intercultural communication. A dialectic is a relationship between two opposing concepts that constantly push and pull one another (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). To put it another way, thinking dialectically helps us realize that our experiences often occur in between two different phenomena. This perspective is especially useful for interpersonal and intercultural communication, because when we think dialectically, we think relationally. This means we look at the relationship between aspects of intercultural communication rather than viewing them in isolation. Intercultural communication occurs as a dynamic in-betweenness that, while connected to the individuals in an encounter, goes beyond the individuals, creating something unique. Holding a dialectical perspective may be challenging for some Westerners, as it asks us to hold two contradictory ideas simultaneously, which goes against much of what we are taught in our formal education. Thinking dialectically helps us see the complexity in culture and identity because it doesn’t allow for dichotomies. Dichotomies are dualistic ways of thinking that highlight opposites, reducing the ability to see gradations that exist in between concepts. Dichotomies such as good/evil, wrong/right, objective/subjective, male/female, in-group/out-group, black/white, and so on form the basis of much of our thoughts on ethics, culture, and general philosophy, but this isn’t the only way of thinking (Marin & Nakayama, 1999). Many Eastern cultures acknowledge that the world isn’t dualistic. Rather, they accept as part of their reality that things that seem opposite are actually interdependent and complement each other. I argue that a dialectical approach is useful in studying intercultural communication because it gets us out of our comfortable and familiar ways of thinking. Since so much of understanding culture and identity is understanding ourselves, having an unfamiliar lens through which to view culture can offer us insights that our familiar lenses will not. Specifically, we can better understand intercultural communication by examining six dialectics (see Figure 8.1 “Dialectics of Intercultural Communication” ) (Martin & Nakayama, 1999).

Figure 8.1 Dialectics of Intercultural Communication

Source: Adapted from Judith N. Martin and Thomas K. Nakayama, “Thinking Dialectically about Culture and Communication,” Communication Theory 9, no. 1 (1999): 1–25.

The cultural-individual dialectic captures the interplay between patterned behaviors learned from a cultural group and individual behaviors that may be variations on or counter to those of the larger culture. This dialectic is useful because it helps us account for exceptions to cultural norms. For example, earlier we learned that the United States is said to be a low-context culture, which means that we value verbal communication as our primary, meaning-rich form of communication. Conversely, Japan is said to be a high-context culture, which means they often look for nonverbal clues like tone, silence, or what is not said for meaning. However, you can find people in the United States who intentionally put much meaning into how they say things, perhaps because they are not as comfortable speaking directly what’s on their mind. We often do this in situations where we may hurt someone’s feelings or damage a relationship. Does that mean we come from a high-context culture? Does the Japanese man who speaks more than is socially acceptable come from a low-context culture? The answer to both questions is no. Neither the behaviors of a small percentage of individuals nor occasional situational choices constitute a cultural pattern.

The personal-contextual dialectic highlights the connection between our personal patterns of and preferences for communicating and how various contexts influence the personal. In some cases, our communication patterns and preferences will stay the same across many contexts. In other cases, a context shift may lead us to alter our communication and adapt. For example, an American businesswoman may prefer to communicate with her employees in an informal and laid-back manner. When she is promoted to manage a department in her company’s office in Malaysia, she may again prefer to communicate with her new Malaysian employees the same way she did with those in the United States. In the United States, we know that there are some accepted norms that communication in work contexts is more formal than in personal contexts. However, we also know that individual managers often adapt these expectations to suit their own personal tastes. This type of managerial discretion would likely not go over as well in Malaysia where there is a greater emphasis put on power distance (Hofstede, 1991). So while the American manager may not know to adapt to the new context unless she has a high degree of intercultural communication competence, Malaysian managers would realize that this is an instance where the context likely influences communication more than personal preferences.

The differences-similarities dialectic allows us to examine how we are simultaneously similar to and different from others. As was noted earlier, it’s easy to fall into a view of intercultural communication as “other oriented” and set up dichotomies between “us” and “them.” When we overfocus on differences, we can end up polarizing groups that actually have things in common. When we overfocus on similarities, we essentialize , or reduce/overlook important variations within a group. This tendency is evident in most of the popular, and some of the academic, conversations regarding “gender differences.” The book Men Are from Mars and Women Are from Venus makes it seem like men and women aren’t even species that hail from the same planet. The media is quick to include a blurb from a research study indicating again how men and women are “wired” to communicate differently. However, the overwhelming majority of current research on gender and communication finds that while there are differences between how men and women communicate, there are far more similarities (Allen, 2011). Even the language we use to describe the genders sets up dichotomies. That’s why I suggest that my students use the term other gender instead of the commonly used opposite sex . I have a mom, a sister, and plenty of female friends, and I don’t feel like any of them are the opposite of me. Perhaps a better title for a book would be Women and Men Are Both from Earth .

The static-dynamic dialectic suggests that culture and communication change over time yet often appear to be and are experienced as stable. Although it is true that our cultural beliefs and practices are rooted in the past, we have already discussed how cultural categories that most of us assume to be stable, like race and gender, have changed dramatically in just the past fifty years. Some cultural values remain relatively consistent over time, which allows us to make some generalizations about a culture. For example, cultures have different orientations to time. The Chinese have a longer-term orientation to time than do Europeans (Lustig & Koester, 2006). This is evidenced in something that dates back as far as astrology. The Chinese zodiac is done annually (The Year of the Monkey, etc.), while European astrology was organized by month (Taurus, etc.). While this cultural orientation to time has been around for generations, as China becomes more Westernized in terms of technology, business, and commerce, it could also adopt some views on time that are more short term.

The history/past-present/future dialectic reminds us to understand that while current cultural conditions are important and that our actions now will inevitably affect our future, those conditions are not without a history. We always view history through the lens of the present. Perhaps no example is more entrenched in our past and avoided in our present as the history of slavery in the United States. Where I grew up in the Southern United States, race was something that came up frequently. The high school I attended was 30 percent minorities (mostly African American) and also had a noticeable number of white teens (mostly male) who proudly displayed Confederate flags on their clothing or vehicles.

There has been controversy over whether the Confederate flag is a symbol of hatred or a historical symbol that acknowledges the time of the Civil War.

Jim Surkamp – Confederate Rebel Flag – CC BY-NC 2.0.

I remember an instance in a history class where we were discussing slavery and the subject of repatriation, or compensation for descendants of slaves, came up. A white male student in the class proclaimed, “I’ve never owned slaves. Why should I have to care about this now?” While his statement about not owning slaves is valid, it doesn’t acknowledge that effects of slavery still linger today and that the repercussions of such a long and unjust period of our history don’t disappear over the course of a few generations.

The privileges-disadvantages dialectic captures the complex interrelation of unearned, systemic advantages and disadvantages that operate among our various identities. As was discussed earlier, our society consists of dominant and nondominant groups. Our cultures and identities have certain privileges and/or disadvantages. To understand this dialectic, we must view culture and identity through a lens of intersectionality , which asks us to acknowledge that we each have multiple cultures and identities that intersect with each other. Because our identities are complex, no one is completely privileged and no one is completely disadvantaged. For example, while we may think of a white, heterosexual male as being very privileged, he may also have a disability that leaves him without the able-bodied privilege that a Latina woman has. This is often a difficult dialectic for my students to understand, because they are quick to point out exceptions that they think challenge this notion. For example, many people like to point out Oprah Winfrey as a powerful African American woman. While she is definitely now quite privileged despite her disadvantaged identities, her trajectory isn’t the norm. When we view privilege and disadvantage at the cultural level, we cannot let individual exceptions distract from the systemic and institutionalized ways in which some people in our society are disadvantaged while others are privileged.

As these dialectics reiterate, culture and communication are complex systems that intersect with and diverge from many contexts. A better understanding of all these dialectics helps us be more critical thinkers and competent communicators in a changing world.

“Getting Critical”

Immigration, Laws, and Religion

France, like the United States, has a constitutional separation between church and state. As many countries in Europe, including France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, have experienced influxes of immigrants, many of them Muslim, there have been growing tensions among immigration, laws, and religion. In 2011, France passed a law banning the wearing of a niqab (pronounced knee-cobb ), which is an Islamic facial covering worn by some women that only exposes the eyes. This law was aimed at “assimilating its Muslim population” of more than five million people and “defending French values and women’s rights” (De La Baume & Goodman, 2011). Women found wearing the veil can now be cited and fined $150 euros. Although the law went into effect in April of 2011, the first fines were issued in late September of 2011. Hind Ahmas, a woman who was fined, says she welcomes the punishment because she wants to challenge the law in the European Court of Human Rights. She also stated that she respects French laws but cannot abide by this one. Her choice to wear the veil has been met with more than a fine. She recounts how she has been denied access to banks and other public buildings and was verbally harassed by a woman on the street and then punched in the face by the woman’s husband. Another Muslim woman named Kenza Drider, who can be seen in Video Clip 8.2, announced that she will run for the presidency of France in order to challenge the law. The bill that contained the law was broadly supported by politicians and the public in France, and similar laws are already in place in Belgium and are being proposed in Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, and Switzerland (Fraser, 2011).

• Some people who support the law argue that part of integrating into Western society is showing your face. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
• Part of the argument for the law is to aid in the assimilation of Muslim immigrants into French society. What are some positives and negatives of this type of assimilation?
• Identify which of the previously discussed dialectics can be seen in this case. How do these dialectics capture the tensions involved?

Video Clip 8.2

Veiled Woman Eyes French Presidency

(click to see video)

Intercultural Communication and Relationships

Intercultural relationships are formed between people with different cultural identities and include friends, romantic partners, family, and coworkers. Intercultural relationships have benefits and drawbacks. Some of the benefits include increasing cultural knowledge, challenging previously held stereotypes, and learning new skills (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). For example, I learned about the Vietnamese New Year celebration Tet from a friend I made in graduate school. This same friend also taught me how to make some delicious Vietnamese foods that I continue to cook today. I likely would not have gained this cultural knowledge or skill without the benefits of my intercultural friendship. Intercultural relationships also present challenges, however.

The dialectics discussed earlier affect our intercultural relationships. The similarities-differences dialectic in particular may present challenges to relationship formation (Martin & Nakayama, 2010). While differences between people’s cultural identities may be obvious, it takes some effort to uncover commonalities that can form the basis of a relationship. Perceived differences in general also create anxiety and uncertainty that is not as present in intracultural relationships. Once some similarities are found, the tension within the dialectic begins to balance out and uncertainty and anxiety lessen. Negative stereotypes may also hinder progress toward relational development, especially if the individuals are not open to adjusting their preexisting beliefs. Intercultural relationships may also take more work to nurture and maintain. The benefit of increased cultural awareness is often achieved, because the relational partners explain their cultures to each other. This type of explaining requires time, effort, and patience and may be an extra burden that some are not willing to carry. Last, engaging in intercultural relationships can lead to questioning or even backlash from one’s own group. I experienced this type of backlash from my white classmates in middle school who teased me for hanging out with the African American kids on my bus. While these challenges range from mild inconveniences to more serious repercussions, they are important to be aware of. As noted earlier, intercultural relationships can take many forms. The focus of this section is on friendships and romantic relationships, but much of the following discussion can be extended to other relationship types.

Intercultural Friendships

Even within the United States, views of friendship vary based on cultural identities. Research on friendship has shown that Latinos/as value relational support and positive feedback, Asian Americans emphasize exchanges of ideas like offering feedback or asking for guidance, African Americans value respect and mutual acceptance, and European Americans value recognition of each other as individuals (Coller, 1996). Despite the differences in emphasis, research also shows that the overall definition of a close friend is similar across cultures. A close friend is thought of as someone who is helpful and nonjudgmental, who you enjoy spending time with but can also be independent, and who shares similar interests and personality traits (Lee, 2006).

Intercultural friendship formation may face challenges that other friendships do not. Prior intercultural experience and overcoming language barriers increase the likelihood of intercultural friendship formation (Sias et al., 2008). In some cases, previous intercultural experience, like studying abroad in college or living in a diverse place, may motivate someone to pursue intercultural friendships once they are no longer in that context. When friendships cross nationality, it may be necessary to invest more time in common understanding, due to language barriers. With sufficient motivation and language skills, communication exchanges through self-disclosure can then further relational formation. Research has shown that individuals from different countries in intercultural friendships differ in terms of the topics and depth of self-disclosure, but that as the friendship progresses, self-disclosure increases in depth and breadth (Chen & Nakazawa, 2009). Further, as people overcome initial challenges to initiating an intercultural friendship and move toward mutual self-disclosure, the relationship becomes more intimate, which helps friends work through and move beyond their cultural differences to focus on maintaining their relationship. In this sense, intercultural friendships can be just as strong and enduring as other friendships (Lee, 2006).

The potential for broadening one’s perspective and learning more about cultural identities is not always balanced, however. In some instances, members of a dominant culture may be more interested in sharing their culture with their intercultural friend than they are in learning about their friend’s culture, which illustrates how context and power influence friendships (Lee, 2006). A research study found a similar power dynamic, as European Americans in intercultural friendships stated they were open to exploring everyone’s culture but also communicated that culture wasn’t a big part of their intercultural friendships, as they just saw their friends as people. As the researcher states, “These types of responses may demonstrate that it is easiest for the group with the most socioeconomic and socio-cultural power to ignore the rules, assume they have the power as individuals to change the rules, or assume that no rules exist, since others are adapting to them rather than vice versa” (Collier, 1996). Again, intercultural friendships illustrate the complexity of culture and the importance of remaining mindful of your communication and the contexts in which it occurs.

Culture and Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships are influenced by society and culture, and still today some people face discrimination based on who they love. Specifically, sexual orientation and race affect societal views of romantic relationships. Although the United States, as a whole, is becoming more accepting of gay and lesbian relationships, there is still a climate of prejudice and discrimination that individuals in same-gender romantic relationships must face. Despite some physical and virtual meeting places for gay and lesbian people, there are challenges for meeting and starting romantic relationships that are not experienced for most heterosexual people (Peplau & Spalding, 2000).

As we’ve already discussed, romantic relationships are likely to begin due to merely being exposed to another person at work, through a friend, and so on. But some gay and lesbian people may feel pressured into or just feel more comfortable not disclosing or displaying their sexual orientation at work or perhaps even to some family and friends, which closes off important social networks through which most romantic relationships begin. This pressure to refrain from disclosing one’s gay or lesbian sexual orientation in the workplace is not unfounded, as it is still legal in twenty-nine states (as of November 2012) to fire someone for being gay or lesbian (Human Rights Campaign, 2012). There are also some challenges faced by gay and lesbian partners regarding relationship termination. Gay and lesbian couples do not have the same legal and societal resources to manage their relationships as heterosexual couples; for example, gay and lesbian relationships are not legally recognized in most states, it is more difficult for a gay or lesbian couple to jointly own property or share custody of children than heterosexual couples, and there is little public funding for relationship counseling or couples therapy for gay and lesbian couples.

While this lack of barriers may make it easier for gay and lesbian partners to break out of an unhappy or unhealthy relationship, it could also lead couples to termination who may have been helped by the sociolegal support systems available to heterosexuals (Peplau & Spalding, 2000).

Despite these challenges, relationships between gay and lesbian people are similar in other ways to those between heterosexuals. Gay, lesbian, and heterosexual people seek similar qualities in a potential mate, and once relationships are established, all these groups experience similar degrees of relational satisfaction (Peplau & Spalding, 2000). Despite the myth that one person plays the man and one plays the woman in a relationship, gay and lesbian partners do not have set preferences in terms of gender role. In fact, research shows that while women in heterosexual relationships tend to do more of the housework, gay and lesbian couples were more likely to divide tasks so that each person has an equal share of responsibility (Peplau & Spalding, 2000). A gay or lesbian couple doesn’t necessarily constitute an intercultural relationship, but as we have already discussed, sexuality is an important part of an individual’s identity and connects to larger social and cultural systems. Keeping in mind that identity and culture are complex, we can see that gay and lesbian relationships can also be intercultural if the partners are of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

While interracial relationships have occurred throughout history, there have been more historical taboos in the United States regarding relationships between African Americans and white people than other racial groups. Antimiscegenation laws were common in states and made it illegal for people of different racial/ethnic groups to marry. It wasn’t until 1967 that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Loving versus Virginia , declaring these laws to be unconstitutional (Pratt, 1995). It wasn’t until 1998 and 2000, however, that South Carolina and Alabama removed such language from their state constitutions (Lovingday.org, 2011). The organization and website lovingday.org commemorates the landmark case and works to end racial prejudice through education.

Even after these changes, there were more Asian-white and Latino/a-white relationships than there were African American–white relationships (Gaines Jr. & Brennan, 2011). Having already discussed the importance of similarity in attraction to mates, it’s important to note that partners in an interracial relationship, although culturally different, tend to be similar in occupation and income. This can likely be explained by the situational influences on our relationship formation we discussed earlier—namely, that work tends to be a starting ground for many of our relationships, and we usually work with people who have similar backgrounds to us.

There has been much research on interracial couples that counters the popular notion that partners may be less satisfied in their relationships due to cultural differences. In fact, relational satisfaction isn’t significantly different for interracial partners, although the challenges they may face in finding acceptance from other people could lead to stressors that are not as strong for intracultural partners (Gaines Jr. & Brennan, 2011). Although partners in interracial relationships certainly face challenges, there are positives. For example, some mention that they’ve experienced personal growth by learning about their partner’s cultural background, which helps them gain alternative perspectives. Specifically, white people in interracial relationships have cited an awareness of and empathy for racism that still exists, which they may not have been aware of before (Gaines Jr. & Liu, 2000).

The Supreme Court ruled in the 1967 Loving v. Virginia case that states could not enforce laws banning interracial marriages.

Bahai.us – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Key Takeaways

• Studying intercultural communication, communication between people with differing cultural identities, can help us gain more self-awareness and be better able to communicate in a world with changing demographics and technologies.
• A dialectical approach to studying intercultural communication is useful because it allows us to think about culture and identity in complex ways, avoiding dichotomies and acknowledging the tensions that must be negotiated.
• Intercultural relationships face some challenges in negotiating the dialectic between similarities and differences but can also produce rewards in terms of fostering self- and other awareness.
• Why is the phrase “Know thyself” relevant to the study of intercultural communication?
• Apply at least one of the six dialectics to a recent intercultural interaction that you had. How does this dialectic help you understand or analyze the situation?
• Do some research on your state’s laws by answering the following questions: Did your state have antimiscegenation laws? If so, when were they repealed? Does your state legally recognize gay and lesbian relationships? If so, how?

Allen, B. J., Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity , 2nd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011), 55.

ben-Aaron, D., “Bringing Broadband to Finland’s Bookdocks,” Bloomberg Businessweek , July 19, 2010, 42.

Chen, Y. and Masato Nakazawa, “Influences of Culture on Self-Disclosure as Relationally Situated in Intercultural and Interracial Friendships from a Social Penetration Perspective,” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 38, no. 2 (2009): 94. doi:10.1080/17475750903395408.

Coller, M. J., “Communication Competence Problematics in Ethnic Friendships,” Communication Monographs 63, no. 4 (1996): 324–25.

De La Baume, M. and J. David Goodman, “First Fines over Wearing Veils in France,” The New York Times ( The Lede: Blogging the News ), September 22, 2011, accessed October 10, 2011, http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/first-fines-over -wearing-full-veils-in-france .

Fraser, C., “The Women Defying France’s Fall-Face Veil Ban,” BBC News , September 22, 2011, accessed October 10, 2011, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15023308 .

Gaines Jr. S. O., and Kelly A. Brennan, “Establishing and Maintaining Satisfaction in Multicultural Relationships,” in Close Romantic Relationships: Maintenance and Enhancement , eds. John Harvey and Amy Wenzel (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2011), 239.

Stanley O. Gaines Jr., S. O., and James H. Liu, “Multicultural/Multiracial Relationships,” in Close Relationships: A Sourcebook , eds. Clyde Hendrick and Susan S. Hendrick (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000), 105.

Hofstede, G., Cultures and Organizations: Softwares of the Mind (London: McGraw-Hill, 1991), 26.

Human Rights Campaign, “Pass ENDA NOW”, accessed November 5, 2012, http://www.hrc.org/campaigns/employment-non-discrimination-act .

Lee, P., “Bridging Cultures: Understanding the Construction of Relational Identity in Intercultural Friendships,” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 35, no. 1 (2006): 11. doi:10.1080/17475740600739156.

Loving Day, “The Last Laws to Go,” Lovingday.org , accessed October 11, 2011, http://lovingday.org/last-laws-to-go .

Lustig, M. W., and Jolene Koester, Intercultural Competence: Interpersonal Communication across Cultures , 2nd ed. (Boston, MA: Pearson, 2006), 128–29.

Martin, J. N., and Thomas K. Nakayama, Intercultural Communication in Contexts , 5th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2010), 4.

Martin, J. N., and Thomas K. Nakayama, “Thinking Dialectically about Culture and Communication,” Communication Theory 9, no. 1 (1999): 14.

McLuhan, M., The Medium Is the Message (New York: Bantam Books, 1967).

Peplau, L. A. and Leah R. Spalding, “The Close Relationships of Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals,” in Close Relationships: A Sourcebook , eds. Clyde Hendrick and Susan S. Hendrick (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2000), 113.

Pratt, R. A., “Crossing the Color Line: A Historical Assessment and Personal Narrative of Loving v. Virginia ,” Howard Law Journal 41, no. 2 (1995): 229–36.

Sias, P. M., Jolanta A. Drzewiecka, Mary Meares, Rhiannon Bent, Yoko Konomi, Maria Ortega, and Colene White, “Intercultural Friendship Development,” Communication Reports 21, no. 1 (2008): 9. doi:10.1080/08934210701643750.

Smith, P., “The Digital Divide,” New York Times Upfront , May 9, 2011, 6.

Sylvester, D. E., and Adam J. McGlynn, “The Digital Divide, Political Participation, and Place,” Social Science Computer Review 28, no. 1 (2010): 64–65. doi:10.1177/0894439309335148.

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Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Intercultural communication

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Will Baker, Intercultural communication, ELT Journal , Volume 78, Issue 2, April 2024, Pages 212–215, https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccad040

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Intercultural communication (IC) can be defined as communication where cultural and linguistic differences are perceived as relevant to the interaction by the participants or researchers involved ( Zhu 2019 ; Baker 2022 ). In IC, participants make use of and negotiate between different cultural resources and languages in interaction, including intersecting cultural identities, communities, references, and meanings (eg nationality, ethnicity, class, profession, gender, sexuality), at a range of scales from the local, to the national, and the global. Due to its focus on linguistic and cultural practices, language learning is inevitably an intercultural process, whether or not it is explicitly recognized in teaching. The intercultural dimensions of language learning become particularly important when the focus is on developing learners’ communicative competence since that communication is typically intercultural. Indeed, the idea of culture as part of language teaching has a long history. In the nineteenth century, languages were learnt primarily through works of literature to gain a better understanding of the culture of the target language community ( Risager 2007 ). In the twentieth century, there was an emphasis on learning languages as a means of communicating across national cultural borders, often for economic or political advantage ( Jenkins 2015 ). The rapid increase in globalization at the end of the previous century and during the first decades of this century has seen a focus on learning languages for global connections and intercultural communication. This has been particularly true of English and ELT due to the role that the expansion of English language use has played in the processes of globalization ( Moran Panero 2018 ).

IC perspectives are at times used interchangeably with cross-cultural (CC) perspectives, and there are overlaps between them. However, a broad (and somewhat simplified) distinction can be made between IC and earlier CC perspectives that have been prevalent in ELT ( Scollon et al. 2012 ; Baker 2022 ). In CC approaches, communicative practices of different groups are frequently compared at the national scale with differences identified, for instance comparing different greetings in Chinese and English. This has been criticized for presenting stereotyped and essentialist characterizations of culture through reducing individuals to representations of a national culture ( Holliday 2011 ). In contrast, IC approaches investigate instances of interaction between individuals at a range of cultural levels ( Scollon et al. 2012 ). This is a crucial distinction because people in intercultural interactions typically communicate differently to how they would in intracultural (shared culture) scenarios ( Scollon et al. 2012 ). For example, English people may shake hands when meeting someone for the first time in a formal situation, and in a similar situation Thai people place their hands, palms together, in front of their face and bow their head in a wai . However, when a Thai person meets an English person, neither will expect a wai or a handshake: each realizes that their interlocutor may not be familiar with their greeting norms. Thus, a CC comparison would be unhelpful for predicting the flexibility that is usual in actual instances of intercultural communication. Nevertheless, even within IC perspectives the ‘who’, ‘how’, and ‘why’ of culture needs to be critically investigated to avoid stereotyping others. This includes acknowledging cultural groupings beyond the nation, such as ethnicity, gender, religion, sexuality, and profession ( Scollon et al. 2012 ). Most recently, transcultural communication (TC) has been proposed as a new direction in IC understanding. TC recognizes the complex ways languages, cultures, identities, and communities come together in highly diverse contemporary social settings where boundaries between languages and cultures are not easily distinguished. This includes multilingual and multicultural urban centres, international business and academia, and global social networking platforms ( Baker and Ishikawa 2021 ).

In relation to language teaching, one important insight from IC research has been that the competence needed to interact across and through cultural and linguistic borders will be an intercultural competence rather than the linguistic competence of an idealized ‘native speaker’. This has led to a core concept in language teaching, communicative competence, being expanded through the addition of intercultural dimensions. The most well-known model of this is Byram’s (1997 , 2021 ) intercultural communicative competence (ICC). ICC takes key features of communicative competence (linguistic, sociolinguistic, and discourse competence) and incorporates intercultural elements. These include skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, knowledge (of own and other cultures, as well as IC), attitudes of curiosity and openness, and critical cultural awareness ( Byram 2021 : 62). ICC has been hugely influential in language teaching as a way of systematically incorporating intercultural dimensions into language teaching, assessment, and curricula ( McConachy et al. 2022 ). However, there are concerns that Byram’s conception of ICC is too focused on the national scale and does not sufficiently recognize that other cultural groupings (discussed above) may be equally or more relevant ( Holliday 2011 ; Baker 2022 ). Most significant to discussions of English and ELT is that ICC, especially in the earlier versions ( Byram 1997 : 114) that have been most influential in ELT, does not account for languages used as a lingua franca where no native speaker communities or cultures are present, as is the case in most English interactions globally ( Baker and Ishikawa 2021 ).

Intercultural awareness (ICA) represents a further expansion of IC in language teaching that builds on ICC but is specifically focused on the global use of English as a lingua franca (ELF) in diverse settings in which there are often no native speakers present (although native English speakers can, of course, also engage in IC through ELF, they are present in much smaller numbers and so are not the focus). ICA is, thus, of direct relevance to ELT due to its focus on English and ‘non-native’ multilingual English users. ICA is defined as an ‘understanding of the role culturally based forms, practices and frames of understanding can have in intercultural communication, and an ability to put these conceptions into practice in a flexible and context specific manner in communication’ ( Baker 2022 : 42). It is divided into three levels: starting from a basic understanding of culture at a simplistic and stereotyped level; to cultural awareness, similar to ICC; then the final level of intercultural or transcultural awareness in which the relationship between language, culture, and communication is approached as complex and emergent, not necessarily linked to any single community ( Baker 2022 ). In terms of teaching practices, IC-related materials and classroom activities can be tailored to the learners based on their level of ICA and the ICA levels can also be used as a framework to document progress ( Baker 2022 ).

At present, the extent to which ICC, ICA, or other intercultural elements are incorporated into ELT classroom practices is debatable. Culture and the intercultural are often tacked on as a ‘fifth skill’ ( Kramsch 1993 : 1) to be addressed only when other aspects of language and communication have been covered. Evidence suggests that teachers typically fail to teach culture or IC in a systematic or in-depth way ( Young and Sachdev 2011 ). This is not surprising given the restricted time and resources many ELT teachers face and that few assessments include aspects of IC. Additionally, teaching materials frequently cover culture and the intercultural in a simplistic and stereotyped manner ( Gray 2010 ). Furthermore, intercultural dimensions are often not part of pre-service teacher education.

Nonetheless, there are now decades’ worth of research and theory suggesting a wide variety of approaches to applying IC in language classrooms ( Risager 2007 ; Baker 2022 among many others). Shared features of these approaches include expanding communicative competence to incorporate ICC and ICA, and linked to this, replacing the native speaker with an intercultural speaker/citizen model as more appropriate and achievable for L2 learners (discussed above). Intercultural language education also involves a critical approach to language, culture, and identity that encourages learners to question taken-for-granted assumptions about national cultures, identities, languages, and the connections between them. In relation to English, rather than just Anglophone varieties and cultures, this entails recognizing its global role as a multilingua franca for intercultural and transcultural communication in diverse cultural settings. This also means centring on the cultures, and related needs and goals, of local teachers and learners, rather than imposing external teaching approaches and materials. IC is increasingly part of in-service teacher education, particularly at postgraduate levels in university courses. IC is also more frequently appearing in language teaching policy documents in diverse settings, including the United States, Europe and Southeast and East Asia ( Baker and Ishikawa 2021 ). All these factors combined underscore the growing importance of IC in ELT and the need to incorporate it more deeply and systematically into teacher education, teaching materials, classroom practices, and assessment.

Final version received July 2023

Will Baker University of Southampton, UK.

Email: [email protected]

Baker , W. 2022 . Intercultural and Transcultural Awareness in Language Teaching. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press .

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Baker , W. , and Ishikawa , T. 2021 . Transcultural Communication through Global Englishes. Abingdon : Routledge .

Byram , M. 1997 . Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence . Bristol : Multilingual Matters .

Byram , M. 2021 . Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence: Revisited . Bristol : Multilingual Matters .

Gray , J. 2010 . The Construction of English: Culture, Consumerism and Promotion in the ELT Global Coursebook . Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan

Holliday , A. 2011 . Intercultural Communication and Ideology . London : Sage .

Jenkins , J. 2015 . Global Englishes: A Resource Book for Students . 3rd ed. London : Routledge .

Kramsch , C. 1993 . Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford : Oxford University Press .

McConachy , T. , Golubeva , I. , and Wagner , M. 2022 . Intercultural Learning in Language Education and Beyond: Evolving Concepts, Perspectives and Practices. Bristol : Multilingual Matters .

Moran Panero , S. 2018 . ‘ Global Languages and Lingua Franca Communication.’ In The Routledge Handbook of English as a Lingua Franca , edited by J. Jenkins , W. Baker , and M. Dewey , 556 – 69 . Abingdon : Routledge .

Risager , K. 2007 . Language and Culture Pedagogy. Bristol : Multilingual Matters .

Scollon , R. , Scollon , S. B. K. , and Jones , R. H. 2012 . Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach . 3rd ed. Chichester : Wiley-Blackwell .

Young , T. J. , and I. Sachdev . 2011 . ‘ Intercultural Communicative Competence: Exploring English Language Teachers’ Beliefs and Practices .’ Language Awareness 20 ( 2 ): 81 – 98 .

Zhu , H. 2019 . Exploring Intercultural Communication: Language in Action . 2nd ed. Abingdon : Routledge .

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Intercultural Communication — The Significance of Intercultural Communication

The Significance of Intercultural Communication

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• Chen, G. M. (2015). Intercultural communication. John Wiley & Sons.
• Hall, E. T. (1959). The silent language. Anchor Books.
• Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Sage.
• Samovar, L. A., Porter, R. E., & McDaniel, E. R. (2015). Intercultural communication: A reader. Cengage Learning.

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102 Intercultural Communication Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best intercultural communication topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good essay topics on intercultural communication, 📌 most interesting intercultural communication topics to write about, ❓ questions about intercultural communication.

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• Personal Worldview and Intercultural Communication Since I believe that living according to the word is the only right thing to do, I tend to disregard other people’s cultures because, in my view, my culture is right and other people’s cultures […]
• Reducing Intercultural Communication Barriers To reduce the above challenges, I must be aware of the barriers, be empathetic, pay careful attention to communication cues, and always verify with the receiver that I have understood his or her response. Academically, […]
• Intercultural Communication as Practiced in the US There are certain patterns of nonverbal behavior disclosing a particular communicative idea, but there are cases when it is impossible to display those patterns successfully. Therefore, it is much harder to conceal nonverbal signals that […]
• Intercultural Communication in the Arabian Gulf Region The concept of intercultural communication is particularly important to the countries in the Arabian Gulf where the rate of cultural diversity is at an all time high.
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• Intercultural Communication in the Series “Tyrant” Caught up in the middle of a revolt against the ruling family, he loses his father, who died during the coup, and is forced to help his brother and the new president to overcome the […]
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• Culture Shock and Intercultural Communication The challenges of mistreatment of women and religious orientations can be addressed by conducting workshops and trainings aimed at assisting expatriate employees to develop adequate cultural competence on how to deal with culturally diverse others […]
• Intercultural Communication in Contexts: Fifth Edition Review Another aspect of language to consider is the evolvement of technology in the digital age and the emergence of online communication.
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• Intercultural Communication: Different Aspects Discussing the main aspects of the inter-cultural communication, Carol Myers-Scotton focuses on the role of globalisation in the process, on differences between collectivistic and individualistic cultures which influence the particular features of the representatives’ communication, […]
• Intercultural Communication: Workers From Diverse Backgrounds Verderber and Verderber allege that communication is quite intricate in multinational organizations due to a diverse body of workers with distinct educational, cultural, and social backgrounds.
• Computer Mediated Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication Despite the fact that social media clearly poses a tangible threat to the culture of live communication and, therefore, will contribute to the shriveling of people’s social skills, computer mediated interpersonal and intercultural communication will […]
• Intercultural Communication: Stereotypes and Perspectives Finally, it is possible to say that being a rather complicated issue; communication also has a great number of different prejudices connected with the culture of people and their behavior.
• International and Intercultural Communication On the masculinity and femininity dimension, the scores of the two countries are 62 for the United States and 40 for Tanzania.
• Intercultural Interaction and Communication Plan: Merced, CA The documents help to inform the school and students about the changes in education and ensure communities and parents participate in the process of learning.
• Intercultural Communication and Success at Work Such people have limited abilities to consider alternative behaviours in processes of interpersonal communications that involve different cultures. Such forms of cross-cultural communications are difficult and may lead to interpersonal conflicts in communications.
• Intercultural Communication in Management The managers should, therefore, ensure that the process of communication satisfies these different needs to ensure that they are all aware of their role in the organization and in the implementation of the new strategy.
• Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication at the Workplace The interview was explained to the reasons of the interview and the need for the specific information being searched for. The key concept to retain in communication, is that no one component of communication – […]
• Kinesics and Proxemics in Intercultural Negotiations There are a myriad of kinesics and it will be hard for the US Company to learn all of the applicable kinesics when relating to the Japanese people.
• Intercultural Communication in Society Unlike other people in New Jersey, Alexander Mathew has a friendly attitude towards tourists, as he likes sharing his cultural beliefs and traditions with different people.
• Intercultural Communication Experiences: Interview With an Immigrant Sheik Omar is an immigrant to the United States and lives in the Atlantic City, New Jersey. The writer thought that Sheik Omar has adopted American culture since he has lived in the United States […]
• Language and Culture: Language Acquisition The process of the first language acquisition is considered to be a psycholinguistic process, while the second language acquisition is the area for study for linguists.
• Martin and Nakayama: Intercultural Communication in Contexts In their book, the authors reveal to the readers that there are two types of nonverbal communication. To this end, they state that motivation, knowledge, attitude and behavior are the major components for facilitating intercultural […]
• Intercultural Communication in Various Contexts Code switching practices have led countries to declare the official languages in a country in order to promote the assimilation of the people in the country.
• Fundamentals of Intercultural Communication Unlike other minority groups in Europe, the Jews face more segregation owing to the stereotype created about them in reference to the past association with the communities there, particularly, Germany and Austria, countries that were […]
• “Intercultural Communication in Business Ventures” Article Study Upon determining the market potential in the international market, it is critical for firms’ management teams to evaluate the various factors that would be necessary in the exploitation of the market opportunities.
• Islamic Living: Effective Cross-Cultural Communication It is not possible to separate Islam as a religion and the way one who professes the faith lives because it has been said to be a way of life.
• Intercultural Business and Legal Communication Additionally, the scholarly critique shall attempt to identify the goals of the article and the key theories and concepts used and whether are not these theories and concepts achieved the goals of the article. The […]
• Cross Cultural Communications in the Globalized World Among the cultures that have always been in conflict are the Islamic culture and the American culture. Assimilation in the American and Islamic cultures is desirable if effective communication is to occur between adherents of […]
• What Are Some Examples of Intercultural Communication?
• How Can Barriers to Intercultural Communication Be Overcome?
• What Are the Types of Intercultural Communication?
• How Does Poor Intercultural Communication Affect International Commerce and Foreign Policy?
• How Do We Deal With Intercultural Communication?
• What Are Some Intercultural Communication Problems?
• What Are Intercultural Communication Skills?
• What Is Intercultural Communication and Examples?
• What Makes Intercultural Communication Essential in the Process of Globalization?
• What Is Intercultural Communication, and Why Is It Important?
• Why Is It Important to Think Beyond Ourselves as Individuals in Intercultural Interaction?
• How Does Poor Intercultural Communication Affects International?
• What Are the Four Forms of Intercultural Communication?
• What Is the Other Name for Intercultural Communication?
• What Is the Role of Intercultural Communication in Work-Life?
• What Are the Three Challenges of Intercultural Communication?
• Why Do We Need to Understand Intercultural Communication?
• How Important Is Intercultural Communication to Our Society?
• What Makes for Good Intercultural Communication?
• What Are the Four Elements of Intercultural Communication?
• What Role Does Intercultural Communication Play in Achieving Effective Communication?
• What Is the Difference Between Cultural and Intercultural?
• What Are the Six Dichotomies of Intercultural Communication?
• What Are the Challenges of Intercultural Communication?
• What Is the Meaning of Intercultural?
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1.1: Why Study Intercultural Communication?

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• Karen Krumrey-Fulks
• Lane Community College

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, readers should:

• Understand why we study intercultural communication.
• Be able to list and describe the six imperatives.
• Explain how each imperative is related to the others.
• Identify which imperative is the most important to them.
• Explain how studying intercultural communication can lead to increased self-understanding.

We live in a rapidly changing world with larger forces driving us to interact with others who are culturally different from ourselves. National disasters, technology, business and educational opportunities are some of the many forces that lead to intercultural interaction. It would be easy to be overcome by the complexities of the things that you do not know or understand about another culture, but regardless of who we are communicating with, one fact is important to remember: the communication choices we make determine the personal, national, and international outcomes that follow. When we communicate well, we create happy memories, satisfying relationships, and desired outcomes. When we communicate poorly, we can create conflict, bitterness or frustration. By studying intercultural communication, you can acquire knowledge and skills to boost your communication competence, while improving your quality of life.

This book is divided into three sections: foundation, elements, and contexts . Each section will have several smaller chapters that outline our exploration of intercultural communication. The foundation chapters include the basic principles that underlie the communication process and building blocks of culture. The element chapters explore the parts or elements that must be considered when understanding the bigger picture of intercultural communication. The context chapters show us how specific contexts or environments are impacted by the foundations and elements. As you encounter people from different cultures, an understanding of the foundations, elements, and contexts of intercultural communication studies will prove to be invaluable to your success and happiness when communicating cross-culturally.

What is your reason for studying intercultural communication? Maybe it was a requirement on the road to achieving your major, and you dutifully signed up without having given it much thought. Maybe you’ve spent time overseas or enjoyed spending time with an exchange student at your high school. Martin & Nakayama (2011) believe that all our varied reasons can fall into six categories that they call imperatives. For our purposes, an imperative will be an important or compelling reason. Martin & Nakayama (2011) identify the six imperative categories as peace, demographic, economic, technological, self-awareness, and ethical.

Human civilization is familiar with conflict. History is full of conflict over politics, religion, language, resources, and more. The bottom line for the peace imperative is a question. Can individuals of different races, ethnicities, language, and cultures co-exist on this planet? It would be naïve to assume that simply understanding intercultural communication issues would end war and conflict, but this question does underscore the need for all of us to learn more about cultural groups other than our own.

The term demographics means the characteristics of a population , as classified by race, ethnicity, age, sex, income, and more. U.S. demographics, as well as those around the world, are changing dramatically. According to the Population Reference Bureau (2019), which computes a “diversity index,” the states in the US south, southwest, and west will see the biggest impact from immigration. Many of those immigrants will be economic refugees directly impacted by climate change. They will come searching for new ways to support themselves and their families. Others will be victims of violence and political instability.

The United States has an interesting history in relationship to its’ immigrants. A commonly used metaphor called the melting pot assumes that immigrants and cultural minorities are assimilated into the US majority culture, losing their original cultures. Most researchers believe that the melting pot is a myth, and a better metaphor would be the tossed salad or rather the diversity of immigrants and minorities is still apparent, but part of a nourishing whole.

Vocabulary important to the demographic imperative are heterogeneous and homogeneous. If a population is considered heterogeneous, there are differences in the group, culture, or population. If a population is considered homogeneous, there are similarities in the group, culture, or population. Diversity is the quality of being different. A nativistic group is extremely patriotic to the point of being anti-immigrant.

The demographic imperative is not only about immigration though, it’s also about an aging workforce, and economic pressure. Most families need two incomes to live what is consider a middle-class existence or to generate savings enough to retire on. As the demographics change, culture changes.

The recent trend toward globalization or the creation of a world market in goods, services, labor, capital, and technology is dramatic. To be effective in this new global market, we must understand how business is conducted in other countries and cultures because more and more of our domestic economic growth depends on global success. An accurate understanding of the economies around the world is also crucial to compete on the world stage. The bottom line when considering the economic imperative is the ultimate impact of globalization on the average person.

In 1967, a futurist named Marshall McLuhan coined the iconoclastic term, global village, which has become the vanguard for the technology imperative. The term refers to a world in which communication technology unites people in remote parts of the world. As you know, it was decades later before personal computing came into existence, but today new technology is introduced almost daily. Technology has made communication easier. Information is so easy to access and manipulate, that we are now confronted with the impact of fake news and purposeful disinformation.

Technology is not just about ease of use though, it’s also about increasing contact with others. We can increase contact with people who are different than us, but we can also increase contact with people who are the same as us. In fact, research tells us that humans prefer to use technology to contact those who are homogeneous. Diasporic groups, ethnic and/or national groups that are geographically dispersed throughout the world, are using technology to maintain contact as they disperse from refugee camps to host nations. Technology is also an identity management tool. Individuals use technology to make sense of their multiple images concerning their sense of self in different social contexts.

Communication technology has become so important and so intertwined with the economic imperative that the term, digital divide, has come into being. Digital natives , or people who grew up using technology, are often citizens of wealthy nations that live lives of privilege and have better economic prospects because of their technological access. People who grew up in poorer nations without technological skills and access, often have fewer economic opportunities. At the end of the last century, this idea was captured in the statement, “they live on the other side of the tracks.” The other side of the train tracks referred to a less desirable location. In today’s world, the “tracks” have been replaced by technology, and the digital divide.

Does the digital divide lead you to ponder ethical issues of privilege and wealth? Ethics, the principles of conduct that help govern behaviors of individuals and groups, often create cultural questions that lead to our understanding of the ethical imperative. Ethical principles often arise from community consensus of what is good or bad, right or wrong, and what “ought” to be as opposed to what “is.” Some ethical issues are explicit or clearly stated within a culture, while other are implicit or not clearly stated.

When pondering ethical situations and cultural mores, there are two ways humans view the situation, relativistically or universally . If you are a relativist, you believe that no cultural pattern is inherently right or wrong, everything depends on perspective. In other words, you might not make the same choice yourself, but are willing to understand why others would make that choice. If you are a universalist, you believe that cultural differences are only superficial, and that fundamental notions of right and wrong are universal. In other words, everyone should be making the same choices for the same reasons. Although universalism and relativism are thought of as an either/or choice (non-dualistic), realistically most people are a combination of both (dualistic). There are some issues you might hold strict opinions about while other issues you are willing to be more open about.

One of the most important reasons for studying intercultural communication is the awareness it raises of our own cultural identity and background. The self-awareness imperative helps us to gain insights into our own culture along with our intercultural experiences. All cultures are ethnocentric by their very natures. Ethnocentrism is a tendency to think that our own culture is superior to other cultures. Most of us don’t even realize that we think this way, but we do. Sure, we might admit that our culture isn’t perfect, yet we still think that we’re doing better than that culture to the north or south of us. Ethnocentrism can lead to stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. It will be discussed in greater depth in coming chapters.

The opposite of ethnocentrism is self-reflexivity or the process of learning to understand oneself and one’s position in society. Learning about others helps us to understand ourselves. Real people with real lives struggle with decisions just like you do. They have values, and beliefs that govern their choices. Listening to the voices of people who are different can lead to different ways of seeing the world. Developing self-awareness may also lead to an increased awareness of being caught up in the political, economic, and historical systems that are not associated with an individual’s choice.

As you ponder your reasons for studying intercultural communication, it is hoped that you make a conscious effort to become more aware of the communication practices of yourself and others. Much of the communication principles and theories that you learn about in this book occur at a subconscious level. As you learn more, challenge yourself to develop observation skills so you can “see” more. As you learn more, become more flexible in your interpretation of the messages that you are receiving from others. As you learn more, begin to create meaning “with” others and avoid dictating “to” others. The study of intercultural communication is the study of the variation of your story within the human story. Let’s get started.

Key Vocabulary

• Demographics
• Technological
• Self-Awareness
• Heterogeneous
• Homogeneous
• Melting Pot
• Tossed Salad
• Global Village
• Diasporic groups
• Identity management
• Universality
• Ethnocentrism
• Self-reflexivity

References:

• Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2011). Experiencing intercultural communication (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

10.2 Intercultural Communication and Relationships

Intercultural relationships are formed between people with different cultural identities and include friends, romantic partners, family, and coworkers. Intercultural relationships have benefits and drawbacks. Some of the benefits include increasing cultural knowledge, challenging previously held stereotypes, and learning new skills ( Martin and Nakayama ). For example, I learned about the Vietnamese New Year celebration Tet from a friend I made in graduate school. This same friend also taught me how to make some delicious Vietnamese foods that I continue to cook today. I likely would not have gained this cultural knowledge or skill without the benefits of my intercultural friendship. Intercultural relationships also present challenges, however.

The dialectics discussed earlier affect our intercultural relationships. The similarities-differences dialectic in particular may present challenges to relationship formation ( Martin and Nakayama ). While differences between people’s cultural identities may be obvious, it takes some effort to uncover commonalities that can form the basis of a relationship. Perceived differences in general also create anxiety and uncertainty that are not as present in intracultural relationships. Once some similarities are found, the tension within the dialectic begins to balance out and uncertainty and anxiety lessen. Negative stereotypes may also hinder progress toward relational development, especially if the individuals are not open to adjusting their preexisting beliefs. Intercultural relationships may also take more work to nurture and maintain. The benefit of increased cultural awareness is often achieved because the relational partners explain their cultures to each other. This type of explaining requires time, effort, and patience and may be an extra burden that some are not willing to carry. Last, engaging in intercultural relationships can lead to questioning or even backlash from one’s own group. I experienced this type of backlash from my white classmates in middle school who teased me for hanging out with the African American kids on my bus. While these challenges range from mild inconveniences to more serious repercussions, they are important to be aware of. As noted earlier, intercultural relationships can take many forms. The focus of this section is on friendships and romantic relationships, but much of the following discussion can be extended to other relationship types.

Intercultural Friendships

Even within the United States, views of friendship vary based on cultural identities. Research on friendship has shown that Latinos/as value relational support and positive feedback, Asian Americans emphasize exchanges of ideas like offering feedback or asking for guidance, African Americans value respect and mutual acceptance, and European Americans value recognition of each other as individuals ( Collier ). Despite the differences in emphasis, research also shows that the overall definition of a close friend is similar across cultures. A close friend is thought of as someone who is helpful and nonjudgmental, who you enjoy spending time with but can also be independent, and who shares similar interests and personality traits ( Lee ).

Intercultural friendship formation may face challenges that other friendships do not. Prior intercultural experience and overcoming language barriers increase the likelihood of intercultural friendship formation ( Sias et al. ). In some cases, previous intercultural experience, like studying abroad in college or living in a diverse place, may motivate someone to pursue intercultural friendships once they are no longer in that context. When friendships cross nationality, it may be necessary to invest more time in common understanding due to language barriers. With sufficient motivation and language skills, communication exchanges through self-disclosure can then further relational formation. Research has shown that individuals from different countries in intercultural friendships differ in terms of the topics and depth of self-disclosure, but as the friendship progresses, self-disclosure increases in depth and breadth ( Chen and Nakazawa ). Further, as people overcome initial challenges to initiating an intercultural friendship and move toward mutual self-disclosure, the relationship becomes more intimate, which helps friends work through and move beyond their cultural differences to focus on maintaining their relationship. In this sense, intercultural friendships can be just as strong and enduring as other friendships ( Lee ).

The potential for broadening one’s perspective and learning more about cultural identities is not always balanced, however. In some instances, members of a dominant culture may be more interested in sharing their culture with their intercultural friend than they are in learning about their friend’s culture, which illustrates how context and power influence friendships ( Lee ). A research study found a similar power dynamic, as European Americans in intercultural friendships stated they were open to exploring everyone’s culture but also communicated that culture wasn’t a big part of their intercultural friendships, as they just saw their friends as people. As the researcher states, “These types of responses may demonstrate that it is easiest for the group with the most socioeconomic and sociocultural power to ignore the rules, assume they have the power as individuals to change the rules or assume that no rules exist since others are adapting to them rather than vice versa” ( Collier). Again, intercultural friendships illustrate the complexity of culture and the importance of remaining mindful of your communication and the contexts in which it occurs.

Culture and Romantic Relationships

Romantic relationships are influenced by society and culture, and still today some people face discrimination based on who they love. Specifically, sexual orientation and race affect societal views of romantic relationships. Although the United States, as a whole, is becoming more accepting of gay and lesbian relationships, there is still a climate of prejudice and discrimination that individuals in same-gender romantic relationships must face. Despite some physical and virtual meeting places for gay and lesbian people, there are challenges for meeting and starting romantic relationships that are not experienced by most heterosexual people ( Peplau and Spalding ).

As we’ve already discussed, romantic relationships are likely to begin due to merely being exposed to another person at work, through a friend, and so on. But some gay and lesbian people may feel pressured into or just feel more comfortable not disclosing or displaying their sexual orientation at work or perhaps even to some family and friends, which closes off important social networks through which most romantic relationships begin. In June 2020, in Bostock v. Clayton County , the Supreme Court ruled in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that employees shall be protected against discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. There are also some challenges faced by gay and lesbian partners regarding relationship termination. Gay and lesbian couples do not have the same legal and societal resources to manage their relationships as heterosexual couples; for example, gay and lesbian relationships are not legally recognized in most states, it is more difficult for a gay or lesbian couple to jointly own property or share custody of children than heterosexual couples, and there is little public funding for relationship counseling or couples’ therapy for gay and lesbian couples. According to Wikipedia ,  as of July 2022, 32 countries have legally recognized same-sex marriage.

Relationships between gay and lesbian people are similar in other ways to those between heterosexuals. Gay, lesbian, and heterosexual people seek similar qualities in a potential mate, and once relationships are established, all these groups experience similar degrees of relational satisfaction ( Peplau and Spalding ). Despite the myth that one person plays the man and one plays the woman in a relationship, gay and lesbian partners do not have set preferences in terms of gender role. In fact, research shows that while women in heterosexual relationships tend to do more of the housework, gay and lesbian couples were more likely to divide tasks so that each person has an equal share of responsibility ( Peplau and Spalding ). A gay or lesbian couple doesn’t necessarily constitute an intercultural relationship, but as we have already discussed, sexuality is an important part of an individual’s identity and connects to larger social and cultural systems. Keeping in mind that identity and culture are complex, we can see that gay and lesbian relationships can also be intercultural if the partners are of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

While interracial relationships have occurred throughout history, there have been more historical taboos in the United States regarding relationships between African Americans and white people than other racial groups. Antimiscegenation laws were common in states and made it illegal for people of different racial/ethnic groups to marry. It wasn’t until 1967 that the Supreme Court ruled in the case of Loving v. Virginia, declaring these laws to be unconstitutional ( Pratt ). It wasn’t until 1998 and 2000, however, that South Carolina and Alabama removed such language from their state constitutions (Loving Day). The organization and website lovingday.org commemorates the landmark case and works to end racial prejudice through education.

Even after these changes, there were more Asian-white and Latinx-white relationships than there were African American–white relationships ( Gaines and Brennan ). Having already discussed the importance of similarity in attraction to mates, it’s important to note that partners in an interracial relationship, although culturally different, tend to be similar in occupation and income. This can likely be explained by the situational influences on our relationship formation we discussed earlier—namely, that work tends to be a starting ground for many of our relationships, and we usually work with people who have similar backgrounds to us.

There has been much research on interracial couples that counters the popular notion that partners may be less satisfied in their relationships due to cultural differences. In fact, relational satisfaction isn’t significantly different for interracial partners, although the challenges they may face in finding acceptance from other people could lead to stressors that are not as strong for intracultural partners ( Gaines and Brennan ). Although partners in interracial relationships certainly face challenges, there are positives. For example, some mention that they’ve experienced personal growth by learning about their partner’s cultural background, which helps them gain alternative perspectives. Specifically, white people in interracial relationships have cited an awareness of and empathy for racism that still exists, which they may not have been aware of before ( Gaines and Liu ).

Communication in the Real World by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted. This chapter was adapted and updated by Elizabeth Robertson Hornsby.

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Formed between people with different cultural identities and include friends, romantic partners, family, and coworkers.

Made it illegal for people of different racial/ethnic groups to marry.

Fundamentals of Communication Copyright © 2022 by LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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What is Intercultural Communication and Why is it Important?

Intercultural Communication is a mammoth topic.

It has so many facets, angles and sub-topics that doing it any real justice requires lengthy and considered research.

So, rather than try to give some sort of all-encompassing guide to Intercultural Communication , with all its ins and outs, we’re going to keep it simple.

We’re going to focus on 10 answers to 10 commonly asked questions about Intercultural Communication that will offer some great initial insights and answer the question posed, “ What is Intercultural Communication and why is it important?”

You’ll find plenty of links to further reading along the way if you want to take your learning to the next level.

DON’T MISS THE FREE SAMPLE OF OUR ELEARNING COURSE IN QUESTION 10!

Click Below to Skip to a Question or Scroll On

• What is the Definition of Intercultural Communication?
• What is Intercultural Communication in Simple Terms?
• What are Some Examples of Intercultural Communication?
• What is the Purpose of Intercultural Communication?
• What Makes Intercultural Communication Important?
• What are Intercultural Communication Skills?
• What is the Role of Intercultural Communication in Work Life?
• What is Intercultural Business Communication?
• What Can I Do to Improve My Intercultural Communication Skills?
• What are Some Essential Books About Intercultural Communication?

1. What is the Definition of Intercultural Communication?

“‘Intercultural Communication’ is one of those terms that everybody uses, and in many different and not necessarily compatible ways. ” (Intercultural Communication: A Critical Introduction. Ingrid Piller. 2017)

“Loosely, an umbrella term for interaction between people from different cultural or subcultural backgrounds intended to lead to shared understandings of messages.” (Oxford Reference)

“Intercultural communication is a discipline that studies communication across different cultures and social groups, or how culture affects communication.” (Wikipedia)

“Intercultural communication is the study and practice of communication across cultural contexts.” (Milton J. Bennett, Ph.D. Intercultural Development Research Institute)

There is no formal definition of ‘Intercultural Communication’.

As you can see from the quotes above, there is a fuzzy agreement as to what it does and what it looks like , but there are also differences in definitions, meanings and assumptions.

As training practitioners within the Intercultural field, we define Intercultural Communication as the study, research, awareness, training, skills, and practicalities of communicating across cultures – whether those cultures be foreign cultures, i.e. American culture vs. Indian culture , or some other sort of culture, such as organizational culture, i.e. Military Culture vs. Private Sector Culture .

Cultural differences exist between many types of cultures, including generational. We can see this expressed in lots of ways including differences in the way they dress, walk and, of course, communicate. Photo by Benjamin Ranger

2. What is Intercultural Communication in Simple Terms?

Simply put, Intercultural Communication is about understanding what happens when people communicate with one another when they come from different cultures.

It’s about an awareness of many different factors such as how messages are delivered (e.g. listening and speaking ), differences in areas such body language (e.g. eye contact , touch, gestures, etc.) and non-verbal communication (e.g. silence, proxemics, social cues, etc.).

Intercultural Communication, as well as being its own discipline, overlaps with many others including sociology, psychology, anthropology , biology, political science, economics, and public policy.

An easy way to think about Intercultural Communication is that it tries to teach us about ourselves, as individuals and as a species, by using the concept of ‘culture’ to analyze how we create meaning and express that with other cultures.

“Intercultural communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual process, in which people from different cultures create shared meanings.” (Lustig & Koester, Intercultural competence 2007)

At its most basic, as the above quote illustrates, Intercultural Communication is as simple as a conversation or an interaction between two or more people from different cultures.

Intercultural Communication also covers the ways in which we, as cultures, meet and greet people. Learning how other cultures do it, teaches us about our similarities and differences. Photo by Bob Brewer

3. What are Some Examples of Intercultural Communication?

Let’s look at some examples of Intercultural Communication to help consolidate our understanding of the definition and meanings associated with it.

We mentioned above the example of communication differences between national cultures . Well, let’s explore that further.

American and Indian cultures share certain cultural traits when it comes to communication. For example, they both tend to value politeness and friendliness. However, they also have differences. For example:

• Americans tend to communicate explicitly whereas Indians to be implicit.
• Americans are comfortable with dealing with conflict openly whereas in Indian culture it requires subtlety.
• In the USA, “yes” may have very limited interpretations whereas in India, “yes” can mean many things.
• Strong eye contact is a positive behavior in the USA whereas in India it can be disrespectful or aggressive.
• Personal space is expected in the USA whereas in India keeping your distance from someone could be interpreted as rude or cold.

The key learning point here is that different national cultures communicate in slightly different ways.

This is also true within countries themselves – you often find subtle regional differences within a country or culture in terms of communication styles.

For example, in the UK , the people of the North are widely recognized as being much more open and friendly than their guarded countrymen in the South and London. In the USA, you will also see differences between the East and West coasts as well as the South.

The other example we mentioned above was between Military Culture and Private Sector Culture . Again, as with national cultures, we can also see different communication styles between organizations within a country.

Military organizations are highly hierarchical, conservative and formal. This is reflected in the communication style where seniors are spoken to according to protocols, where messages are transactional and the language, tone and vocabulary are highly regimented.

This starkly contradicts the communication style of the Private sector where organizations are more egalitarian, open to change and informal. As a result, the communication style is much more informal, messages are personalized and people are allowed to express themselves.

Such differences, created by different cultures, can even be found within an organization itself. For example, salespeople generally tend to have a very different communication style to their colleagues working in accounts or at leadership levels. The reason behind the difference is cultural and also due to values .

Organizations, like countries, develop their own cultures due to many factors such as the environment, threat, philosophy, leadership and history. Culture is a complex patchwork of influences. Photo by Bao Menglong

4. What is the Purpose of Intercultural Communication?

Well, there isn’t one single purpose. Intercultural Communication is something that is researched, read about and taught for many reasons.

For starters, understanding how culture impacts communication helps us understand more about the areas of culture and communication. On top of that, it helps us understand more about ourselves as people and as a species.

On a personal level , Intercultural Communication can help us understand our own preferences, strengths and weaknesses when it comes to communicating and how these can help or hinder us when communicating across cultures.

On a wider level, Intercultural Communication can help us understand all manner of things about ourselves as human beings from how we create meaning to the mechanics of the brain (neuroscience) to the use of language(s) for social cohesion.

As practitioners of Intercultural Communication Training , ‘the purpose’ for us is to help professionals understand how culture impacts their effectiveness when working abroad or in a multicultural workplace.

For example, when we train an executive moving to the UAE , we will help them appreciate their own way of communicating, what they like and don’t like as well as possible biases they may hold. On top of this, they would also learn about the communication style in the UAE and potential areas of culture clash.

So, in this context, the purpose of Intercultural Communication is to try and prevent miscommunication and a mismatch of communication styles . Through raising awareness of this through training, it helps promote more successful communication.

Another example would be of a multicultural team we provide training for. In such a training course we would help the different team members understand the various communication styles within the team. Through creating an awareness of the difference, and the reasoning behind it, we help colleagues overcome issues and put into place different ways of doing things.

So, in this context, Intercultural Communication is about understanding how to effectively navigate various communication styles found in the various cultures you work with.

With more and more of us working remotely with people around the world, learning about Intercultural Communication has become necessary for both personal and organizational success. Photo by Katsiaryna Endruszkiewicz

 5. What Makes Intercultural Communication Important?

A few reasons why Intercultural Communication is important have already been covered; namely, it helps people understand each other and avoid confusion.

Let’s give this a bit more context by looking at why Intercultural Communication is so important for many people in the workplace.

a. Intercultural Communication and Teamwork

Many of today’s companies and organizations are multicultural. Employees come from around the world. This is not only the case with global and international brands but also domestic companies and organizations (including the Third Sector) which have culturally diverse employees. Learning to communicate and work with people from different cultures is essential if these organizations want to be successful. So, in this regard, Intercultural Communication is important because it helps teamwork .

b. Intercultural Communication and the Military

Believe it or not, many militaries spend a lot of money on teaching their troops Intercultural Communication. Why? Because when they spend time in foreign countries, they must learn to adapt their communication style in order to ingratiate themselves with the locals, or at least, in order to gain intelligence . In the USA, for example, the Army , Navy and Marine Corps (plus others) all offer training in Intercultural Communication or similar. I n this context, Intercultural Communication is important as it could be the difference between life or death.

c. Intercultural Communication and Healthcare

Another field in which Intercultural Communication can mean life or death is in healthcare. Doctors, nurses and medical professionals are now given training in Cultural Competence in order to improve healthcare for all patients . An ignorance of someone’s culture and how they communicate can lead to poor care, misdiagnosis and potential damage to health. For example, if a doctor doesn’t understand that in some cultures the elderly won’t divulge intimate details in front of family members, that Doctor is not going to get the information they need when a son or daughter brings in an elderly parent. They need to understand this and ask the child to leave so a private conversation can be had. So, in this example, Intercultural Communication is important as it ensures good care.

d. Intercultural Communication and Teaching

For teaching professionals working in multicultural schools, learning about Intercultural Communication is essential as it otherwise can lead to discrimination, bias and alienation of children from different backgrounds. Some cultures teach their kids to be quiet and respect authority, others to be expressive and challenge ideas. Some cultures wait to be asked to speak, others speak when they have something to say. The point is, as a teacher if you don’t understand the different ways your students communicate , you can make some bad judgement calls. In the context of school and education, Intercultural Communication is important because it prevents bad teaching.

e. Intercultural Communication and Marketing/Advertising

A final example of the importance of Intercultural Communication is the marketing and advertising industry. A failure to understand differences in communication around the world can lead to all sorts of marketing fails and PR disasters. A lack of awareness over cultural issues can even lead to claims of cultural appropriation and similar. Today the industry is much more culture-savvy, understanding that to run a successful ad or marketing campaign, it has to be in tune with the target audience and their values. So, in this regard, Intercultural Communication is important because it helps brands reach their audiences.

So, as you can see, Intercultural Communication is important for lots of reasons; probably too many to count.

Pretty much every facet of modern-day life needs some awareness of Intercultural Communication , whether that’s for tourists travelling abroad on vacation, businesspeople negotiating a merger or a lecturer with students from around the world.

Self-reflection is critical for those who want to improve their Intercultural Communication skills. Photo by Laurenz Kleinheider

6. What are Intercultural Communication Skills?

Intercultural Communication requires multiple skills, some of which can be learned, others that all of us possess and just need working on.

Let’s examine a few of the most important Intercultural Communication Skills that focus more on personal competencies rather than communication skills such as listening, speaking, body language, etc.

a. Self-Awareness

The key to understanding how other cultures communicate is to understand how you, yourself communicate and how your culture has shaped you. Once you are more aware of your own preferences, habits and possible biases and stereotypes, then it’s much easier to understand how you may influence or impact a conversation or communication. Intercultural Communication is not only about being aware of ‘the other’ but also yourself .

Appreciating that you have been shaped by your culture and other influences, helps create understanding, compassion, mindfulness and empathy . Empathy is critical to Intercultural Communication as it helps you put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand what they may be going through. Intercultural Communication relies on empathy as it creates a two-way street as opposed to being dominated by one or the other party.

With understanding and empathy, respect should be the natural logical progression. Respect means that you may not agree or like everything about someone else or their culture, but that you acknowledge their right to express themselves, their culture or values. Also, without showing respect it is also hard to receive it. Intercultural Communication can only ever be effective if respect is the foundation.

d. Emotional Intelligence

Working across cultures means learning to tune yourself into much of the unseen, intangible and subtle aspects of communication. It’s about using all your senses and engaging your self-awareness and empathy to understand what’s being communicated, or not. The Japanese have a great term for this, ‘Reading the air’ ( kuuki o yomu in Japanese) which brilliantly captures the mindset needed. Intercultural Communication requires intuition and the ability to move beyond words.

e. Adaptability

In some ways, the essence of Intercultural Communication is to help people adjust their communication styles to promote clarity, harmony and collaboration in exchange for confusion, weak relationships and competition. Therefore, we need to be adaptable – adaptable not only in how we talk and listen and use body language but adaptable in how we think, react and engage with people. Intercultural Communication gives us the insights and tools we need to be flexible and adapt our ways.

f. Patience

“Acquaintance without patience is like a candle with no light,” is a Persian proverb that perfectly captures why this is such an important skill when it comes to communicating across cultures . Things work slightly differently around the world; this means things might take more time than you’re used to, or less! Whichever end of the stick you’re dealing with, patience is necessary for effective Intercultural Communication as it moderates expectations and emotions.

g. Positivity

When engaging with people from different cultures, it’s always important to keep things positive. 99% of the time when miscommunication happens it’s not because anyone purposefully tried to confuse someone else. Most people are just trying to do what’s right. Sometimes, if we lack cultural awareness , we misread what’s being communicated. That’s why we need to always frame any sort of intercultural interaction positively. To be fruitful, Intercultural Communication must come with positive intentions.

There are of course many other skills that are an important part of Intercultural Communication but hopefully, this has given you some solid points to consider.

So, to quickly recap, 7 important Intercultural Communication skills are:

• Self-Awareness
• Emotional Intelligence
• Adaptability

Many workplaces today are culturally diverse, making Intercultural Communication skills essential. Photo by Arlington Research

7. What is the Role of Intercultural Communication in Work Life?

The answer to this question really depends on what ‘work’ you’re thinking about. We like to speak from experience, so let’s look at some examples of Intercultural Training we have provided for clients .

These will give you an idea of some of the common challenges professionals in various contexts have to deal with in the workplace and how learning about Intercultural Communication helps them.

a. Intercultural Communication and Meetings

We did some training for a global fashion brand and its team of international managers. Various members of the team were frustrated with the way online virtual meetings were being run. For example: “The Americans give you zero time to think and move onto the next point.” vs. “The Chinese never give their opinions which is really frustrating.”

This came down to cultural differences around expectations of meetings. The Americans wanted frank, open discussions whereas the Chinese preferred non-confrontational meetings that focused on face. Due to a lack of awareness, the team meetings were not working. By raising awareness through training, the team learned to find a balance that worked for all.

So, the role of Intercultural Communication here was to help people understand their differences and find common ground.

b. Intercultural Communication and Management

Another example that shows how communication styles differ across cultures and why it’s necessary to be adaptable, is some Intercultural Training we did for a German organization. With staff all over the globe, German managers were consistently receiving positive feedback from some countries and terrible feedback from others. In many parts of the world, they were seen as ‘distant’ and ‘impersonal’.

What the managers needed to learn to do was become a bit more relationship-focused in their communication as opposed to focusing on tasks and agendas. In some parts of the world, ‘getting down to business' is not dealt with positively and people expect a bit more ‘warmth’. The managers just needed to be shown what was happening and they learned to adapt their communication style accordingly.

So, the role of Intercultural Communication here was to help managers communicate more effectively with their staff and get more positive feedback.

c. Intercultural Communication and Working Abroad

A final example would be one of the many training courses we provide for professionals relocating to a foreign country for work. Moving to another county means learning a new culture and if you fail to appreciate cultural differences, it can result in some bad decisions. For example, one manager from Europe working in Saudi Arabia nearly got the sack for berating his staff!

Professionals who fail to invest some time and energy in understanding the new host culture can take longer to settle in, make more initial mistakes and generally don’t’ make a great first impression. The statistics show that this is also one of the key reasons why relocations fail, i.e. why people return ‘home’ quicker.

So, the role of Intercultural Communication here is to give people the tools they need to navigate a new culture and to help them settle into a country or job.

By way of summarizing, the role of Intercultural Communication in work life is in helping people understand how culture shapes the different ways we communicate, collaborate and coordinate.

We can use this understanding to help us recognize what is being communicated to us and how we communicate with others.

Doing business successfully across the globe requires the ability to communicate and convince effectively. Photo by Cytonn Photography

8. What is Intercultural Business Communication?

‘Intercultural Business Communication’ refers specifically to interpersonal and structural communication within a professional business context.

The examples above from our Intercultural Training courses were all focused on Intercultural Business Communication as opposed to communication taking place within social services, the military, diplomatic services or healthcare.

Different industries and sectors have very different needs. Yes, there may be some overlap between the needs of a surgeon, a taxi driver , a police officer and a politician, however, when it comes to the specifics, you need focus.

Therefore, Intercultural Business Communication is treated separately as the needs of people within business are specific to the way trade, commerce and enterprise are conducted around the world.

Business as a whole understands that they have their own challenges when it comes to the 'culture question' . This is being reflected in the number of University Degrees now entitled “Intercultural Business Communication” which have been developed to fill the need of global businesses looking to hire people with the skills they need.

Courses focus on key business areas to prepare learners for international careers including topics such as:

• Human Resource Management
• Developing Intercultural Competence
• Global Marketing
• Business Communication
• International Business Event Management
• Organizational Change and Management
• Understanding Language in the Global Workplace

‘Intercultural Business Communication’ covers everything from the big (such as how to launch retail products in a foreign market ) to the small (such as how to avoid using humor inappropriately ) and everything in between.

If you're looking for a good book on Intercultural Communication for your next vacation, we've got plenty to recommend! Photo by Dan Dumitriu

9. What are Some Essential Books About Intercultural Business Communication?

If you’re looking for good books on Intercultural Business Communication, you’re spoilt for choice! There are many tens of books published on the subject looking at it from lots of different angles.

If there’s something you’re specifically interested in, then we recommend you do a search to see what books come up. You can also do a search for academic publications, for example with JSTOR .

If you want a decent overview of some of the important books on Intercultural Communication, then we recommend this list by Good Reads which is very comprehensive.

If you want our opinion on some essential books about Intercultural Business Communication , then here’s our top 5 (in no particular order or rank).

• Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication: Paradigms, Principles, & Practices . Bennett, Milton Boston, Intercultural Press 2013
• The Silent Language . Hall, Edward T. Garden City: Doubleday 1959
• Understanding Intercultural Communication . Ting-Toomey, Stella & Chung, Leeva., Oxford University Press 2011
• Intercultural Business Communication. Robert Gibson, Oxford University Press 2000
• Use Your Difference to Make a Difference: How to Connect and Communicate in a Cross-Cultural World . Tayo Rockson, Wiley 2019

Improving your Intercultural Communication skills means you need to be culturally curious. Photo by Yingchou Han

10. What Can I Do to Improve My Intercultural Communication Skills?

If you want to improve your Intercultural Communication skills, then there are several things you can do to get started.

Obviously travelling abroad , learning a language and mixing with people from different cultures are all excellent ways of improving your Intercultural Communication skills, however, these aren’t very easy for most people. Plus, it takes a lot of time.

So, we’re going to focus on giving you some more simple and tangible things you can do instead.

a. Learn about Culture

Learning about other cultures, their values and their communication preferences will offer a lot of insight into differences around the world. There are plenty of websites that offer cultural overviews which you can find online, including our award-winning culture guides . As well as learning about other cultures , it’s also a good idea to learn about some of the basics of Intercultural Communication. A good place to start is this self-study guide to intercultural communication.

b. Watch TV Shows

Most of us like to watch TV shows, so why not watch TV and learn about different cultures at the same time? Rather than listen to a poorly dubbed foreign movie in English, listen to it in its native language so you can hear how people from that country communicate. Streaming services today such as Netflix have TV series from around the world, so if you want to learn about Indian culture , Turkish culture or Chinese culture, it’s all there!

c. Ask People

If you work with people from different countries or have neighbours from abroad, you have excellent untapped resources. Speaking to people about their cultures and about any ‘culture shock’ they may have experienced living in your country, can give you all sorts of rich information and insights. As long as it’s done with respect, most people around the world love to share their opinions and thoughts.

d. Listen & Observe

When it comes to actual communication, there are all sorts of tips to help you improve your Intercultural Skills. For example, learning to ask open and closed questions where needed or avoiding humor. Here’s a list of 10 simple tips if you want to read more . Perhaps the two most important tips when it comes to communication are to listen more than you normally would and also actively observe what others are doing . 

e. Take a Course

Finally, if you want to start peeling away your own cultural make-up, address your own cultural biases and preferences, plus start to learn more about Intercultural Communication, then why not take a course? There are plenty of courses available online which looks at various aspects, however, to get you started you can watch the free video from our eLearning course on Cultural Awareness. It’s a fantastic introduction to the topic of cultural differences, communicating across cultures and working with cultural diversity.

You can watch it below or if you visit the course page you can also access some free course resources and find out more about the contents .

THANKS FOR READING OUR INTRO TO INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION! WE HOPE YOU FOUND IT USEFUL.

IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OTHER CULTURES, THEN CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT ALL OUR FREE RESOURCES !

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The Advantages of Intercultural Communication

Types of College Classes Required to Be a CEO

Global interconnectivity has made intercultural communication critical for any organization. Intercultural communication takes place with people of different cultures discussing and communicating. Businesses intending to operate globally should invest in intercultural training for their staff to enjoy the immense benefits. Effective intercultural communication produces benefits such as employee productivity and teamwork.

Productivity and Proficiency

Intercultural communication helps employees from different ethnic backgrounds to communicate effectively with one another. It also guides the management competencies to design policies that incorporate the diversity in the team, allowing every member to be productive and proficient in their tasks. Since employees are well trained in intercultural communication, it eliminates misunderstanding and dissatisfaction that may arise if employees’ needs are not put into consideration while developing policies, planning for meetings, and designing incentive schemes. Satisfied employees are able to focus on their duties, thereby increasing productivity.

Intercultural communication fosters teamwork in an organization. It helps staff to understand each other’s cultural differences, and to communicate effectively without misunderstanding. With successful intercultural communication, employees understand the influence of culture on peoples' behavior and communication tendencies. This enhances teamwork, as colleagues respect one another’s cultural background, unique talents and capabilities, which is key to the smooth running of business. Since employees are aware of their colleagues’ cultural influences, intercultural communication eliminates stereotyping -- a danger to effective communication and team work.

Global Business Edge

Successful intercultural communication gives an organization a global business edge. Training employees in intercultural communication gives an organization successful negotiation skills in the global market of diverse cultures. A company venturing its business in Africa will have a receptive welcome if it understands important cultural factors crucial to business transactions. Some cultural traits important to transacting business in Africa are time, religion, handshakes, communication tactics and respect towards seniors. A company that understands the importance of cross-cultural communication has advantages in launching its business globally over a company that has not invested in it.

Effective Leadership

Intercultural communication also fosters effective leadership in an organization. Modern organizations are composed of diverse people, and managers are expected to lead their teams by creating understanding of the company’s policies while accommodating the diverse views of his team. A company that equips its leadership team in intercultural training enables them to motivate their teams, regardless of their cultural background. Intercultural training builds effective communication, which is a step toward effective leadership.

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• University of Göteborg, Department of Linguistics: Intercultural Communication

Intercultural Communication Essay Topics Examples?

Delve into the engaging world of Intercultural Communication Essay Topics & Examples . This comprehensive guide, enriched with enlightening Intercultural Communication Examples , is your gateway to understanding and exploring the multifaceted aspects of intercultural interactions. Whether you’re a student crafting an essay, a teacher seeking topic inspiration, or a curious learner, these examples and topics will ignite your creativity and deepen your insight into the complexities and beauty of intercultural communication.

What are Intercultural Communication Essay Topics, Examples?

Intercultural communication essay topics and examples refer to ideas and scenarios that are used to write essays about how people from different cultural backgrounds communicate and interact with each other. These topics often explore the challenges, strategies, and importance of understanding and respecting different cultures in communication. Examples might include real-life situations, like how businesses from different countries negotiate deals, or theoretical discussions, like the role of language in bridging cultural gaps. These topics and examples help students and writers understand and analyze the ways in which our cultural backgrounds influence the way we communicate and interact with others in a diverse world.

20 Intercultural Communication Essay Topics, Examples

Discover a diverse range of Intercultural Communication Essay Topics & Examples , ideal for deepening your understanding of global communication. These topics, rich in cultural insights, are perfect for exploring the nuances of cross-cultural interactions. From business negotiations to personal relationships, these examples illustrate the complexity and beauty of communicating across cultures. Whether for academic essays or personal growth, these topics and examples provide a thorough understanding of the challenges and strategies in intercultural communication.

1. Cross-Cultural Business Negotiations : Explore how businesses from different cultural backgrounds negotiate deals. Understand the importance of cultural sensitivity, non-verbal cues, and the role of hierarchy in business discussions.

2. Language Barriers in Healthcare : Analyze the impact of language barriers in healthcare settings and the importance of interpreters. Discuss the challenges faced by healthcare providers and patients in understanding each other’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

3. Intercultural Marriage Dynamics : Examine communication in intercultural marriages. Focus on the importance of mutual cultural understanding, respecting differences, and adapting communication styles.

4. Global Team Management : Discuss the challenges of managing a culturally diverse team. Highlight strategies for effective communication, conflict resolution, and leveraging cultural diversity to enhance team performance.

5. Intercultural Education in Schools : Evaluate the role of schools in fostering intercultural communication among students. Discuss initiatives like exchange programs and multicultural events that promote cultural understanding.

6. Cultural Adaptation in Expatriate Assignments : Explore the experiences of expatriates adapting to a new culture. Discuss the importance of cultural immersion, coping strategies, and the role of cross-cultural training.

7. Media’s Role in Shaping Cultural Perceptions : Analyze how media influences perceptions of different cultures. Discuss the impact of stereotypes, cultural representation, and the need for culturally sensitive media content.

8. Tourism and Cultural Sensitivity : Examine the role of cultural sensitivity in tourism. Discuss how tourists can respect local customs and traditions while exploring new cultures.

9. Diplomatic Communication Challenges : Explore communication challenges in international diplomacy. Discuss the importance of cultural intelligence, protocol understanding, and maintaining international relations.

10. Cultural Stereotypes and Miscommunication : Investigate how cultural stereotypes lead to miscommunication. Discuss ways to overcome stereotypes and promote understanding.

11. Language Learning and Cultural Immersion : Discuss the role of language learning in cultural immersion. Highlight the importance of language in understanding a culture and effective communication.

12. Cultural Shock and Adaptation : Explore the concept of cultural shock and strategies for adaptation. Discuss personal experiences and coping mechanisms in a new cultural environment.

13. Intercultural Competence in Global Business : Evaluate the importance of intercultural competence in global business. Discuss strategies for developing cultural awareness and sensitivity in a business context.

14. Social Media’s Impact on Intercultural Communication : Analyze the role of social media in bridging or widening cultural gaps. Discuss the opportunities and challenges social media presents in understanding different cultures.

15. Non-verbal Communication Across Cultures : Examine the role of non-verbal communication in different cultures. Discuss how gestures, eye contact, and body language vary and affect communication.

16. Intercultural Communication in Conflict Resolution : Explore the role of intercultural communication in resolving conflicts. Discuss strategies for mediating and understanding different cultural perspectives in conflicts.

17. Cultural Exchange Programs and Their Impact : Analyze the impact of cultural exchange programs on students and professionals. Discuss how these programs enhance cultural understanding and communication skills.

18. Intercultural Communication in Marketing : Explore how marketing strategies are adapted for different cultural audiences. Discuss the importance of understanding cultural nuances in creating effective marketing campaigns.

19. Multicultural Workforce and Corporate Culture : Examine the influence of a multicultural workforce on corporate culture. Discuss strategies for creating an inclusive workplace that respects cultural differences.

20. Cultural Norms and Their Influence on Communication Styles : Investigate how cultural norms influence communication styles. Discuss the importance of understanding these norms for effective intercultural interaction.

Intercultural Communication Essay Discussion Topics

Embark on a journey of cultural discovery with these Intercultural Communication Essay Discussion Topics . Perfect for fostering insightful debates and deep analysis, these topics are designed to engage students and enthusiasts in the complexities of intercultural dialogue. From exploring the role of technology in bridging cultural divides to understanding the impact of cultural identity on communication, these topics offer a rich ground for exploration and discussion, enhancing one’s intercultural awareness and skills.

1. Impact of Globalization on Cultural Identities : Discuss how globalization affects cultural identities and communication. Consider both positive and negative impacts on cultural preservation and exchange.

2. Cultural Intelligence in Leadership : Explore the role of cultural intelligence in effective leadership. Discuss how leaders can cultivate this skill to manage diverse teams.

3. Role of Intercultural Communication in Conflict Zones : Analyze the importance of intercultural communication in resolving conflicts in multicultural regions. Discuss techniques and strategies used.

4. Digital Platforms as Tools for Intercultural Understanding : Evaluate how digital platforms can foster intercultural understanding. Discuss both the opportunities and challenges they present.

5. Intercultural Communication Barriers in Online Education : Explore the barriers faced in online education settings. Discuss strategies to overcome these challenges for a more inclusive learning environment.

6. The Influence of Culture on Consumer Behavior : Discuss how culture influences consumer behavior. Explore implications for international marketing and advertising strategies.

7. Intercultural Misunderstandings in the Workplace : Examine common intercultural misunderstandings in the workplace. Discuss strategies for prevention and resolution.

8. Ethical Considerations in Intercultural Communication : Analyze the ethical dimensions of intercultural communication. Discuss the balance between cultural respect and freedom of expression.

9. The Role of Language in Cultural Identity : Explore the relationship between language and cultural identity. Discuss the impact of language loss on cultural heritage.

10. Cultural Adaptation vs. Cultural Assimilation : Discuss the difference between adaptation and assimilation in intercultural contexts. Consider the implications for individual identity and cultural preservation.

Intercultural Communication Examples in Everyday Life

Intercultural Communication Examples in Everyday Life illustrate how cultural diversity enriches our daily interactions. These examples showcase real-life scenarios where understanding and adapting to different cultural contexts enhance communication and relationships. They offer insightful glimpses into the practical application of intercultural communication skills, proving invaluable for those looking to navigate our diverse world with greater empathy and effectiveness.

1. Ordering Food in a Multicultural Restaurant : Navigating menu choices and communicating dietary preferences in a multicultural restaurant. Understanding and respecting culinary traditions and practices.

2. Participating in a Cultural Festival : Engaging in a local cultural festival, learning about traditional customs, and communicating respectfully with participants from different cultural backgrounds.

3. Multilingual Signage in Public Spaces : Observing and understanding multilingual signage in airports or public transport. Appreciating linguistic diversity in communal areas.

4. Cultural Norms in Public Greetings : Adapting to different greeting customs in public interactions. Understanding varying norms for handshakes, bows, or verbal greetings.

5. Intercultural Dynamics in Sports Teams : Playing in or supporting multicultural sports teams. Communicating and collaborating with team members from diverse cultural backgrounds.

6. Shopping in Ethnic Markets : Shopping in ethnic markets, understanding cultural significance of products, and interacting respectfully with vendors.

7. Cultural Nuances in Neighbourhood Gatherings : Participating in neighbourhood gatherings with residents from diverse cultures. Sharing and respecting different cultural perspectives and traditions.

8. Watching Foreign Language Films with Subtitles : Watching and understanding foreign language films with subtitles. Gaining insights into different cultural narratives and expressions.

9. Intercultural Exchanges in Language Learning Classes : Engaging in language learning classes with students from various cultures. Sharing cultural insights and learning from each other.

10. Cultural Representation in Art Exhibitions : Visiting art exhibitions showcasing works from different cultures. Appreciating the diversity in artistic expressions and cultural stories.

In conclusion, this comprehensive guide on Intercultural Communication Essay Topics, Examples, How to Write & Tips provides invaluable insights and practical examples for anyone keen to explore the rich tapestry of intercultural communication. It serves as an essential resource, offering guidance, inspiration, and a deeper understanding of how to navigate and articulate the complexities of communicating across diverse cultural landscapes.

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10 Intercultural Communication Essay Topics, Examples

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Intercultural Communication: Problems and Benefits

Culture is a notion, which has a huge amount of meanings in different spheres of human activity. It is the object of study of such sciences as philosophy, history, linguistics, pedagogics, and others. In general, culture means human activity in all of its aspects, including all means of a persons self-expression and self-knowledge.

As a rule, the word culture is used in several common cases. When it is necessary to distinguish the peculiarities of the particular nationality, as a pattern of human belief and behavior, or for the estimation of such criteria as human morality and values.

It goes without saying, that there is a huge difference between the cultures of different nationalities. The difference is not only in customs and traditions but is also in the persons mentality and its world outlook. While visiting another country, a stranger may feel some kind of discomfort and disorientation when he or she runs into an unfamiliar way of living. Another tradition, which may seem strange, another customs, another religion – all these facts may cause cultural shock.

The most common problems, which foreigner faces in another country, are the language barrier, the technological gap, the information gap, the job dependency, and so on.

It is obvious that the stranger, who knows a foreign language, has a big advantage in comparison with the foreigner who does not. However, the knowledge of a foreign language does not allow to avoid all the problems of the cultural gap. The languages of the different countries are so complicated, and they vary so much, that sometimes only one word has many meanings. The problem occurs when a person, who thinks he knows a foreign language, translates the phrase word to word, without suggesting that this phrase obtains another meaning. Sometimes this situation may cause misunderstanding and even provoke conflict.

In different countries, the same gestures mean different notions and it is rather difficult for a stranger to get used to it. Different cultures imply different traditions. In the cultures of many countries, it is possible to offend a person by refusing food, no matter how grimly this dish may seem for a stranger. At the same time, there exist products that are strongly forbidden for eating in certain cultures.

Sometimes differences between various cultures may cause anxiety. They may give way to the feelings of frustration and anger because the stranger considers events he witnesses as offensive for his world perception. Such factors as the language gap, food accessibility may cause a sense of loneliness. A person feels homesick because he is not used to the new environment, which he considers to be hostile for him.

A lot of existing prejudices also emphasize the cultural gap. There is a tendency for a person to perceive only that information, which corresponds to his vision of the world and his cultural frame. There are many examples of a hostile attitude to a person only because of his or her nationality.

In spite of all the difficulties in intercultural communication, there are exist, of cause, many advantages of it. It is a good opportunity for people for the cultural interchange, for obtaining new knowledge and new experience, for studying foreign languages. The world culture may be compared with a flower, and the cultures of different nationalities are its petals.

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