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Cross-Cultural Communication 1
Running head:
CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: THE COMPLEXITIES
Cross-Cultural Communication: The Complexities and Technicalities
Jordan Marshall
Communication 3050
December 8, 2011
Cross-Cultural Communication 2
Cross-Cultural Communication: The Complexities and Technicalities
Introduction
Communication is defined as “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with
either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (Pederson 2008, p. 11).
Communicating with another individual(s) is the basis of life and leads to all things that occur.
Without communication, society would cease to exist. In fact, communication has become an
international commodity as businesses, education, friendships and other foreign affairs are
governed by cross-cultural communication encounters. One must be able to effectively express
his/her feelings in an intercultural setting, which many suggest, can be a difficult task to
accomplish and the different factors that play into an effective multicultural encounter are often
times forgotten. In reality, cross-cultural communication goes beyond simply attempting to
communicate in a second language with another individual(s). Scholars suggest that race and
ethnicity can affect intercultural contact. Others propose that cultural norms and stereotypes can
influence communication apprehension. The significance of this review is to attempt to
understand the complexities of speaking and understanding a foreign language and engaging in
multiracial affairs. This paper is going to address through the use of interviews, questionnaires
and qualitative and quantitative research how ethical differences affect cross-cultural
communication, how understanding and implementing cultural beliefs and traditions can help
bridge the gap between effective and ineffective intercultural communication and what impact
cross-cultural communication can have on the global economy. Further information will be
provided to support the theory that ethical differences can impact cross-cultural communication.
Synthesis of Scholarship
Ethical Differences
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Communication scholars claim that certain ethnic groups anticipate different
communication styles (Halualani 2010, p. 3) during their communicative encounters. Halualani
(2010), also argues that “… interethnic communication studies – [have] revealed extremely
valuable insights about how ethnic groups … expect different … conversational improvement
strategies, verbal and nonverbal codes and conversational rules.” Scholars have determined that
ethical differences impact the manner in which cross-cultural communication occurs. Through a
qualitative, in-depth research project, Halualani collected 250 questionnaires from multiracial
students (White/European Americans, Asian/Asian Americans, Latinos/Latinas, Black/African
Americans and Pacific Islanders) at a university in the Western region of the United States.
These students had been enrolled in social science, liberal arts, business, science and engineering
courses. Of the 250 questionnaires she collected, 80 of those students elected to participate in a
two-hour, in-depth interview with her in which she inquired about the students’ experiences with
intercultural communication on campus and how the students defined and constructed
“intercultural interactions in their own words” (Halualani 2010, p. 7). As a result of her study,
she found that “student[s] define, make sense of, and … value their intercultural interactions
differently depending on the participant's cultural background” (Halualani 2010, p. 8). Whether
positive or negative, every experience the interviewees had was determined by the race and
ethnicity of their counterparts. Together with ethical differences, cultural beliefs and traditions
can impact intercultural communication.
Cultural Beliefs and Traditions
It has been suggested that to express one’s feelings successfully in a second language,
one must adapt to that language environment. Fernando Naiditch (2011) theorizes that feelings
are so embedded in personal and sociocultural experiences that being able to express them in the
Cross-Cultural Communication 4
second language may require a substantial adjustment to the second language environment (p. 1).
It is believed among scholars that cultural beliefs and traditions can determine the amount of
disclosure and personality one reveals during a cross-cultural communication encounter.
Naiditch performed a study in which he paired a group of American English speakers and
Brazilian Portuguese speakers together to provide baseline data and another group of American
English speakers were joined by a group of Brazilian English language learners. His goal was
“to understand … how … Brazilian English language learners of American English acquire[d]
and develop[ed] the sociocultural skills to communicate their meanings in the [second language]
… [and] how their feelings are communicated (or not) and how friendship is established crossculturally” (Naiditch 2011, p. 2). With the help of 24 Native American English speakers, 20
native Brazilian Portuguese speakers and 20 Brazilian English language learners, Naiditch asked
each group to resolve a self-created situation, in which they were to apply the appropriate
language. After conducting one-on-one interviews with volunteers from each group, he was able
to draw some conclusions.
Naiditch (2011) said the following:
[N]ative speaker production … [is] more sophisticated and elaborate … compared
… [to] ESL [Brazilian English language learners] participants. There were
aspects of their linguistic production transferred from their [first language] … but
there were also instances where they used more target-like forms. (p. 22)
It is apparent through this study that the native American English speakers and the native
Brazilian Portuguese speakers were able to express themselves more effectively through
sophisticated and elaborate terms while the Brazilian English language learners often times
transferred their linguistics from their native language. He was able to “identify the role feelings
Cross-Cultural Communication 5
played in establishing and developing cross-cultural communication and friendship” (Naiditch
2011, p. 6). It is imperative that individuals understand the personal and cultural boundaries of
others while attempting to construct multicultural friendships. Additional information will be
given in the next section as to how this can impact the global economy.
The Global Economy
As the global economy becomes more esteemed, it is necessary that translators, writers
and business people gain a precise and accurate knowledge of language and cultural differences.
Effective cross-cultural communication in business terms is of utmost importance and a lack
thereof could result in business failure.
Pinfan Zhu (2010) of Texas State University in San Marcos told the following story:
Mountain Bell Company tried to promote its telephone services to Saudi’s. Its ad
portrayed an executive talking on the phone with his feet propped up on the desk,
showing the soles of his shoes—something an Arab would never do! With such a
cultural blunder, naturally their business venture could only result in failure. (p. 1 – 2)
Understanding cultural beliefs and traditions are of the utmost importance when engaging in
cross-cultural affairs. It is also of significance to apply a sound understanding of word choice.
According to Zhu (2010), “to achieve a good understanding of cultural [and language]
differences and [to] avoid cultural blunders, one needs to study cultures [and languages]
carefully” (p. 2). In fact, during an ethnographic field study at a “Saudi subsidiary of a Danish
Corporation … [which] employed around 400 individuals of 14 different nationalities—mainly
from India (251), Egypt (80), and the Philippines (37) … [including], 16 Danish expatriates”
(Lauring, 2011, p. 11), it was determined that the Danish expatriates (whom were considered as
such because they were living outside of their native country) felt that cultural differences, along
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with language barriers, had an impact on their managerial responsibilities. If not addressed,
cultural unawareness can lead to ineffective multicultural communication, negatively impacting
the global economy.
Theoretical Discussion
Essentially, there are two prominent theories that framed the research of this paper—
ethical differences, cultural beliefs and traditions and cross-cultural communication and the
global economy. Theoretically, scholars believe that a focus on how individuals define and
interpret contact may portray how intercultural contact is lived, experienced and perceived.
They state their hypothesis by saying that contact should extend beyond the immediate situation.
Intercultural affairs must go beyond the original position to allow the participants the opportunity
to recognize the historical background of their counterparts. The recognition of one’s origin is
vital for the development of a conversation, for it can lead to effective communication in the
second language.
Conclusion
As determined through the studies outlined in this review, there exist many complexities
of cross-cultural communication. The understanding of these complexities is the first step to
develop efficient multicultural communication skills. First, learning, understanding and
implementing the obtained knowledge of ethical differences can positively impact intercultural
communication. Second, being appreciative of personal and cultural boundaries while applying
language manner and timing can result in effective cross-cultural communication and friendshipmaking. Finally, understanding the magnitude of operative intercultural communication in
international business can positively transform the global economy. Hopefully, with the
application of these principles, “an individual’s level of fear or anxiety associated with either real
Cross-Cultural Communication 7
or anticipated communication with another person or persons” (Pederson 2008, p. 11), can
become greatly reduced.
References
Pederson, J. (2008). How perceived situational frequency and situational importance affect
communication apprehension: A cross-cultural analysis. Journal of Intercultural
Communication Research, 2008, Vol. 37.
Halualani, R. (2010). Interactant-based definitions of intercultural interactions at a multicultural
university. Howard Journal of Communications, 2010, Vol. 21.
Naiditch, F. (2011). Friends or foes? Communicating feelings through language in cross cultural
interaction. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2011, Vol. 2011.
Zhu, P. (2010). Cross-cultural blunders in professional communication from a semantic
perspective. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication, 2010, Vol. 40.
Lauring, J. (2011). Intercultural organizational communication: The social organizing of
interaction in international encounters. Journals of Business Communication, 2011, Vol.
48.