Intercultural Communication - Definitional

Intercultural communication is defined as “communication between members of different cultures” and culture is a common set of characteristics or a way of life shared by a group of people from generation to generation. Culture is something that is learned. Thus, children of immigrants to the U.S. assimilate better to the American culture as compared to their parents. It may be difficult for others to handle culture shock because they may feel intimidated by a new system of beliefs and practices. Therefore, it is essential to have a better understanding of cultures and the interactions between them to prevent misinterpretations and disrespectful treatment.

There are three effective approaches that have been used to study intercultural communication and they include: the social science approach, the interpretive approach, and the critical approach. The social science approach is the most traditional because it utilizes observation and prediction of human behavior through quantitative methods. The interpretive approach focuses more on the individual’s experience in a qualitative way. The objective is to understand rather than to predict the behavior. Alternatively, the critical approach focuses on the power relationships between cultures with a goal to produce change. With these three approaches intercultural communication can be viewed through three perspectives.

Diaspora is one particular concept that has always been studied, as it is a Greek word associated with dispersal or scattering. One historical example would be the Native Americans as they were made of various tribes who relocated throughout America. Studies have also been done with the Jewish, Black Africans, Armenians, and a few Asian nationalities. Scholars have found it interesting on how diasporas contribute to one’s culture. Mainly, a diaspora only occurs when people scatter to at least two places, they are associated with some sort of “homeland,” the individuals have self-awareness of their group, and it occurs over several generations (at the minimum of two generations). As time goes on, means of communication between cultures have been enhanced through technological techniques and other media.

Part of studying cultures includes identifying different types of relationships, values, roles, norms, and nonverbal messages. Ethnocentrism tends to come up from time to time when one has the belief that their culture is considered ideal and then judges the elements of another culture. However, it may not always have a bad connotation. According to Neulip and McCroskey, ethnocentrism allows for patriotism of a central group. Stereotyping is another concept that typically has a negative outlook because it could to racist remarks. On the other hand, it helps predict some general behaviors of another culture and lead to better tolerance. To live in a world of such diversity it is essential to continue to study intercultural communication so that all of us could share the effort in reducing hostility and increase levels of harmony. In a nutshell, every global citizen has the responsibilities of being committed, mindful, unconditionally accepting, concerned for ourselves and others, understanding, ethical, and peaceful.