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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 Cross-Cultural Communication 3 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 Cross-Cultural Communication 6 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.