Transcript Communication 1A

Communication 1A
An introduction to interpersonal communication
WEEK 12
Intercultural communication
1
What is culture?
“Cultures are templates for living that have
certain basic characteristics. Cultures are
learnt, shared, multi-faceted, dynamic, and
overlapping”.
Trenholm, J. (2005). Thinking through communication: An introduction to the study of
human communication. (4th ed.). Boston: Pearson. p.322
2
What is going on here?
3
Possible interpretations
Hofstede and his colleagues showed this image to a range of people, across many cultures. Here are some of
the interpretations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Prayer before a meal; two people don't want to pray
People thinking hard to solve some problem
Difficult conversation
A meeting about to begin
A family has just received a sad letter
A meeting. Two women on the left are talking on the side about a mobile phone
The person on the left just bought some bread and is offering a piece to everybody
People looking for a solution to come problem. The guy on the left is hiding the important evidence and
showing something unimportant to the others
The man in the middle presides over the debate. One guy is not involved
A religious ritual
List of interpretations directly cited from Hofstede, G., Pedersen, P., & Hofstede, G. (2002). Exploring culture:
Exercises, stories and synthetic cultures. Maine: Intercultural Press. p. 10.
4
What is going on here?
5
Possible interpretations
Hofstede and his colleagues also showed this image to a range of people, across many cultures. Here
are some of the interpretations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Two women are walking and a man threatens one of the women with a piece of wood
Two men are attacking a woman
A woman steps aside to let a blind man pass
A beggar and a woman
Gardening
A farm family working on their land
Two people helping each other do something
Poor people. The man is digging for something and the woman is waiting to take it
A man cleaning the floor
A man is digging a hole and a woman is dropping in seeds
List of interpretations directly cited from Hofstede, G., Pedersen, P., & Hofstede, G. (2002).Exploring
culture: Exercises, stories and synthetic cultures. Maine: Intercultural Press. p. 8.
6
Cross cultural barriers
Often we view different cultures through perceptual distortions.
“Unconsciously, you bring your own cultural frame of interpretation to
any situation” (Hofstede, Pedersen, & Hofstede, 2002, p. 7).
7
So…What is going on here?