Download I. What is culture?

Chapter 2 Culture and Communication
Time allocation: 4 hours
Form of class: lecture+Q & A
Main contents:
What is culture?
Instinctive behavior and cultural behavior
Communication elements and characteristics
I. What is culture?
• Definition: evasive
Which one of the definitions on p. 40 do
you refer and why?
• Characteristics of culture:
1. culture is not innate; it is learned
Three ways through which
Enculturation takes place:
– interaction
–
observation
– imitation
2. culture is transmitted from generation to
generation
3. culture is based on symbols
1) verbal language
2) nonverbal language
3) iconic language (flags, jewelry, cross)
4. culture is subject to change (adaptive)
5. culture is integrated (various facets of culture are
interrelated)
6. culture is ethnocentric
Levels of culture
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•
•
•
Symbols
Heroes
Rituals
values
II. Instinctive behavior and
cultural behavior
Reading on p. 41
Questions: Do you know Maslow’s theory? Do human
beings realize all these needs at the same time? Do
people all over the world share the same basic needs
described by Maslow? Do people realize these needs
in the same ways? Is culture conscious or
subconscious?
- Instinctive behavior
—innate and universal
Maslow: people all over the world share five basic needs:
the physiological needs
the safety needs
the belongingness needs
the esteem needs
the self-actualization needs
Cultural behavior—learned and transmitted from
generation to generation through the use of symbols
People in different cultures satisfy these needs in different
ways.
Examples:
Different ways of eating: para 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, p. 43-44;
Difference in treating visitors. p. 38
Difference in punctuality p. 45
Difference in taking offers p. 46
• Cultural iceberg: p. 48-49
Conscious or subconscious?
Deep culture—the out of awareness part of
a culture
Nine-tenth of an iceberg / culture is out of
sight.
Culture – like an Iceberg
非语言
行为
语言
态度
价值观念
信仰
III. Elements of communication
• Definition of communication: p. 70
A behavior-affecting process in which one person
(a source) intentionally encodes and transmits a
message through a channel to an intended
audience (receivers) in order to induce a
particular attitude or behavior.
Preconceptions and Stereotypes
Characteristics of communication:
• Dynamic
• Interactive
• Irreversible
• Taking place in both a physical and social
context
p. 50
Reading II
Communication:
the
essential
human
connection – verbal, nonverbal, iconic.
Example: a salesperson attending the Monday
morning staff meeting.
• Context:
• physical setting
–
–
–
–
–
the formality of the conference room
the seating arrangements
lighting
the time of day
the distance between Phil and staff
• historical context
– previous communication events
• psychological context
– the manner of perceiving themselves and others
• cultural context
– communication norms
Participants:
roles of sends and receivers
senders form messages-- encoders
receivers process the messages and react to
them—decoders
variables affecting participants
relationships: familiar or unfamiliar
gender: males or females
culture: from the same culture or from
different cultures
Messages:
• meanings
– the meanings may not be transferred
successfully
• symbols
– words chosen
– facial expressions, gestures
– tone of voice
• encoding and decoding
– message encoded may not be decoded as
intended
– culture and nonverbal factors
Channels
sound, sight, smell, taste, touch
the more channels used, the more successful the
communication
Noise:
• external noise
–
•
stimuli in the surrounding that distract attention
internal noise
–
interfering thoughts and feelings inside a
communicator
•
•
semantic noise
inappropriate choice of words
•
(http://blog.hjenglish.com/lvle/archive/2007/02/25/632540.html;
http://blog.hjenglish.com/lvle/articles/544732.html; p. 60)
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蟹粉小笼：crab pink small cage
拿铁咖啡：take iron coffee
一次性筷子：one sex chopsticks
残迹人电梯：disabled elevator
小心溺水：careful drowning
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•
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Fuck the fruit area
Chicken without sexual life
Bean curd made by a pockmarked woman
Racist Park
Disabled elevator
• Feedback:
– verbal response
– nonverbal response
• Assignment:
• Discovering Problems: Commercial signs
on p. 60. Collect at least one language abuse
in Shanghai. Record where and when it is
found.
• Identifying Difference: Little things p. 61
• Communication and its characteristics p. 68
• Next class check: Fill – in Task p. 59