Ch. 2 Culture & Intercultural Comm.

• Culture• Why Cultures Differ• Intercultural Communication

Culture

• Culture is – Learned– Set of shared interpretations– Beliefs, norms, values, & social practices– Behavior– A group of people

Terms• Ethnicity: relating to a person or to a large group of people who

share a national, racial, linguistic, or religious heritage, whether or not they reside in their countries of origin

• Acculturation: A process of intercultural borrowing between diverse peoples resulting in new and blended patterns

• Cultural Identity: based on several traits and values learned as apart of our national or ethnic origin. To include religion, gender, age, socioeconomic level, primary language, geographical region, rural or urban living, and handicapping or exceptional conditions.

• Cultural Relativism: An attempt to understand other cultural systems in their own terms, not in terms of one’s cultural beliefs.

• Enculturation: The process of acquiring characteristics of a given culture by learning and generally becoming competent in its language

• Ethnocentrism: the inability to view other cultures as equally viable alternatives for organizing reality. One’s own group is the center of everything and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it.

• Race: 200 years ago this term was used to describe groups of people by their physical attributes, including hair texture, shape of nose, etc.

• Sub-cultures: Sub societies with their own rules, values, beliefs and norms that are quite apart from the “normal” Culture/society.

• Pop-culture: refers to cultural practices employed by the majority classes in society.

Why Cultures Differ

• History• Ecology• Technology• Biology• Institutional Networks• Interpersonal Comm. Patterns

IV. Intercultural Communication

• A. Nature of:1. All messages originate from a specific & unique cultural context

2.You receive messages through the filters imposed by your

cultural context

S R

culture

S R

culture

Messages

Fig. 3.1

B.Principles of Intercultural Communication

• 1. prepare yourself• 2. recognize and face fears• 3. recognize differences between yourself and

the culturally different• 4. recognize differences among the culturally

different group• 5. recognize differences in meaning• 6. follow cultural rules and customs

Exercises

• Pg. 46-51• Video: Understanding Race 52 minutes• Q&A