Enhance your intercultural communication learning experience! Also available from the esteemed author team… Intercultural Communication: A Reader, 14th Edition Samovar/Porter/McDaniel/Roy ©2015 | ISBN-13: 978-1-285-07739-0 Intercultural Communication: A Reader, explores how communi­ cation values and styles can vary across cultures and communities, providing a thorough introduction to current theory while outlining practical strategies for more effective, culturally aware communication. This broad-based and highly engaging reader, compiled by the authors who ­defined the course, includes a balanced selection of articles—some commis­­sioned solely for this text—that discuss the classic ideas that laid the ground­work for this field, as well as the latest research and ideas. Order your copy today! You can purchase this engaging reader and view additional supplements for your course at www.cengagebrain.com Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Communication Between CULTURES NINTH EDITION Larry A. Samovar San Diego State University, Emeritus Richard E. Porter California State University, Long Beach, Emeritus Edwin R. McDaniel San Diego State University Carolyn S. Roy San Diego State University Australia • Brazil • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). 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Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Communication Between Cultures, Ninth Edition Larry A. Samovar; Richard E. Porter; Edwin R. McDaniel; Carolyn S. Roy Product Director: Monica Eckman Product Manager: Kelli Strieby Content Developer: Karolina Kiwak Product Assistant: Colin Solan © 2017, 2013, 2010 Cengage Learning WCN: 02-22200-203 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 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Manufacturing Planner: Doug Bertke Art and Design Direction, Production Management, and Composition: Lumina Datamatics, Inc. Cover Image: © Josef F. Stueter Library of Congress Control Number: 2015948486 ISBN: 978-1-285-44462-8 Cengage Learning 20 Channel Center Street Boston, MA 02210 USA Cengage Learning is a leading provider of customized learning solutions with employees residing in nearly 40 different countries and sales in more than 125 countries around the world. Find your local representative at www.cengage.com. Cengage Learning products are represented in Canada by Nelson Education, Ltd. To learn more about Cengage Learning Solutions, visit www.cengage.com. Purchase any of our products at your local college store or at our preferred online store www.cengagebrain.com. Printed in the United States of America Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2015 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. 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Brief Contents Preface xix CHAPTER 1 Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society CHAPTER 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 25 CHAPTER 3 The Deep Structure of Culture: Lessons from the Family 68 CHAPTER 4 Worldview: Cultural Explanations of Life and Death 103 CHAPTER 5 Cultural History: Precursor to the Present and Future 161 CHAPTER 6 Cultural Values: Road Maps for Behavior 198 CHAPTER 7 Culture and Identity: Situating the Individual 243 CHAPTER 8 Verbal Messages: Exchanging Ideas Through Language 265 CHAPTER 9 Nonverbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time, and Silence 295 CHAPTER 10 Intercultural Communication in Contexts: Applications in Business, Education, and Healthcare 339 CHAPTER 11 The Challenges of Intercultural Communication: Managing Differences 380 Notes Index 409 446 1 iii Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Contents Preface xix CHAPTER 1 Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society 1 The Interdependent Global Society 1 The Requirement for Intercultural Cooperation 3 Social Challenges 4 Ecological Concerns 8 Humanitarian and Legal Cooperation Political Issues 12 Security Concerns 13 11 Technology 15 Developing Intercultural Awareness 17 Individual Uniqueness 18 Generalizing 19 Objectivity 20 Compromise in Intercultural Communication 21 Communication Is Not the Universal Solution 22 Preview of the Book 23 Summary 23 Activities 24 Concepts and Questions CHAPTER 2 24 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 25 Human Communication 25 The Uses of Communication 26 Communication Communication Communication Communication Helps Fulfill Interpersonal Needs 26 Assists with Person Perception 27 Establishes Cultural and Personal Identities Has Persuasive Qualities 27 27 v Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. vi Contents Defining Human Communication 28 The Ingredients of Human Communication 28 Components of Human Communication 30 Communication Is a Dynamic Process Communication Is Symbolic 30 Communication Is Contextual 31 30 Number of Participants 32 Environmental Context 32 Occasion 33 Time 33 Communication Communication Communication Communication Misconceptions Is Self-Reflective 33 Is Irreversible 34 Has a Consequence 34 Is Complex 35 About Human Communication 36 Communication Can Solve All Problems 36 Some People Are Born Effective Communicators 36 The Message You Send Is the Message Received 37 Culture 37 Culture Defined 39 Characteristics of Culture Culture Culture Culture Culture Culture Is Is Is Is Is 39 Shared 40 Transmitted from Generation to Generation Based on Symbols 41 Learned 43 Dynamic 54 The Elements of Culture Worldview 57 Religion 57 History 57 Values 58 Social Organizations Language 59 41 56 58 Developing Intercultural Competence 61 The Basic Components of Intercultural Communication Competence 61 Motivation 61 Knowledge 62 Skills 64 Summary 66 Activities 67 Concepts and Questions 67 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Contents CHAPTER 3 vii The Deep Structure of Culture: Lessons from the Family 68 The Deep Structure of Culture 70 Deep Structure Institutions Messages 71 Deep Structure Institutions Deep Structure Institutions Deep Structure Institutions Transmit Culture’s Most Important and Their Messages Endure 71 and Their Messages Are Deeply Felt 72 Supply Much of a Person’s Identity 72 Family 73 Definition of Family 74 Forms of Family 75 Nuclear Families 76 Extended Families 76 Globalization and Families 77 Functions of the Family 78 Reproductive Function 78 Economic Function 79 Socialization Function 79 Language Acquisition Function Identity Function 80 79 Cultural Variants in Family Interaction 80 Gender Roles 81 Individualism and Collectivism 88 Individualism and the Family 88 Collectivism and the Family 89 The Elderly 92 United States 92 Latino 93 Arab 93 Asian 93 East African 95 American Indian 95 African American 96 Social Skills 97 Communication Skills 98 Aggressive Behavior 98 Developing Communication Competence Through the Family Summary 101 Activities 101 Concepts and Questions 102 99 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. viii Contents CHAPTER 4 Worldview: Cultural Explanations of Life and Death 103 Worldview and Culture 103 Manifestations of Worldview 104 Constructs of Worldviews 105 Atheism as a Worldview 106 Rejection of God 106 Role of the Individual 106 A Set of Ethical Standards 107 The Finality of Death 107 Spirituality as a Worldview 107 Religion as a Worldview 108 Religion and Human Behavior 110 Religion in the Twenty-First Century 111 Globalization and Religion 111 Violence and Religion 111 Selecting Religious Traditions for Study 112 Common Elements of Religion 113 Speculation 114 Sacred Writings 114 Religious Rituals 115 Ethics 116 Christianity 117 Core Assumptions 118 Cultural Expressions of Christianity Christianity Christianity Christianity Christianity Christianity Christianity Christianity and and and and and and and 118 Community 118 Individualism 119 “Doing” 119 the Future 120 Courage 120 Ethics 121 Notions About Death 122 Judaism 123 Origins 124 Core Assumptions 124 Branches of Judaism 125 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Contents Cultural Expressions of Judaism ix 126 Oppression and Persecution 126 Learning 127 Social Justice 127 Family and Community 127 Judaism and Ethics 128 Jewish Notions About Death 128 Islam 129 Origins 130 Core Assumptions 130 One God 130 The Koran 131 Submission 131 Predestination 131 Judgment 132 Five Pillars of Islam 132 Cultural Expressions of Islam 134 The Message and Response to Jihad A Complete Way of Life 135 Sharia Law 135 Gender 136 Ethics and Islam 137 Islamic Notions About Death 134 137 Hinduism 138 Origins 138 Sacred Texts 139 The Vedas 139 The Upanishads 139 The Bhagavad Gita 139 Core Assumptions 140 Divine in Everything 140 Ultimate Reality 140 Brahman 140 Multiple Paths 141 Cultural Expressions of Hinduism 141 Complete Way of Life 141 Dharma 142 Karma 142 Four Stages of Life 142 Ethics and Hinduism 144 Notions About Death 144 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. x Contents Buddhism 144 Origins 145 Core Assumptions 146 The Four Noble Truths 147 The Eightfold Path 148 Cultural Expressions of Buddhism 149 The Use of Silence 149 Impermanency 149 Karma 150 Buddhist Ethics 150 Buddhist Notions About Death 151 Confucianism 152 Confucius the Man 152 Core Assumptions 153 Analects 153 Cultural Expressions of Confucianism 154 Jen (Humanism) 154 Li (Rituals, Rites, Proprieties, Conventions) Te (Power) 155 Wen (The Arts) 155 154 Confucianism and Communication 155 Confucianism and Ethics 156 Confucianism and Notions About Death 156 Developing Religious Tolerance 157 Summary 159 Activities 160 Concepts and Questions CHAPTER 5 160 Cultural History: Precursor to the Present and Future 161 History’s Influence 161 U.S. History 164 Contemporary Social Issues 167 Russian History 168 Contemporary Social Issues 171 Chinese History 172 Communicating History 175 Contemporary Social Issues 176 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Contents xi Japanese History 177 Contemporary Social Issues 180 Indian History 181 Contemporary Social Issues 184 Mexican History 184 Contemporary Social Issues 188 Historical Overview of Islamic Civilization 189 Muslim Demographics 189 The Age of Ignorance 190 The Rise and Spread of Islam 190 The Legacy of Islamic History 193 Developing Historical Memory Competency for Intercultural Communication Interactions 195 Summary 196 Activities 197 Concepts and Questions CHAPTER 6 197 Cultural Values: Road Maps for Behavior 198 Perception’s Influence 200 Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors 201 Beliefs 201 Values 202 Behaviors 203 Understanding Cultural Patterns 203 Choosing Cultural Patterns 205 Applying Cultural Patterns 205 Kohls’ “The Values Americans Live By” 205 Personal Control over Nature 206 Change 207 Time and Its Control 208 Equality/Egalitarianism 208 Individuality and Privacy 209 Self-Help 210 Competition and Free Enterprise 210 Future Orientation 211 Action/Work Orientation 211 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. xii Contents Informality 212 Directness, Openness, and Honesty Practicality and Efficiency 213 Materialism 213 212 Other Cultural Pattern Typologies 214 Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations Human Nature Orientation Person/Nature Orientation Time Orientation 217 Activity Orientation 218 214 215 216 Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Orientations 220 High-Context 220 Low-Context 222 Hofstede’s Value Dimensions 222 Individualism/Collectivism 223 Uncertainty Avoidance 225 Power Distance 227 Masculinity/Femininity 228 Long- and Short-Term Orientation 230 Minkov’s Cultural Dimensions 231 Industry Versus Indulgence 231 Monumentalism Versus Flexumility 232 Exclusionism Versus Universalism 233 Tight and Loose Cultures 234 Face and Facework 236 Cultural Patterns and Communication 238 Developing Cultural Value Awareness 238 Summary 240 Activities 241 Concepts and Questions CHAPTER 7 242 Culture and Identity: Situating the Individual 243 Identity: Defining the Concept 244 The Influence of Identity 246 Examining Social Identities 247 Racial Identity 248 Gender Identity 248 Ethnic Identity 250 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Contents National Identity 251 Regional Identity 252 Organizational Identity 253 Personal Identity 254 Cyberidentity and Fantasy Identity Other Identities 255 xiii 255 Identity Acquisition and Development 256 Multistage Identity Development Models 257 Establishing and Enacting Cultural Identity 259 Globalization and Cultural Identity 261 Competency and Identity in Intercultural Interactions 262 Summary 263 Activities 263 Concepts and Questions CHAPTER 8 264 Verbal Messages: Exchanging Ideas Through Language 265 Functions of Language 266 Social Interaction 266 Social Cohesion 267 Expressions of Identity 268 What Is Language? 269 Characteristics of Language 269 Words Are Only Symbols 269 Words Are Arbitrary 269 Words Evoke Denotative or Connotative Meanings 270 Language and Culture 270 Language and Thought 270 Language Variations 273 Accents 273 Dialect 274 Argot 274 Slang 275 United States 275 Britain 276 Texting 276 Idioms 276 Using Language English 277 277 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. xiv Contents Spanish 278 Brazilian Portuguese 279 Northeast Asian 279 Arabic 281 German 282 Interpreting 283 Cultural Considerations in Interpreting Working with Interpreters 286 285 Preparing for the Session 287 During the Session 287 Interpreting and Technology 288 Developing Language Competence in the Intercultural Setting 288 Learn a Second Language 289 Be Mindful 289 Be Aware of Conversational Taboos 290 Be Attentive to Your Speech Rate 291 Be Conscious of Differences in Vocabulary 291 Attend to Nonverbal Behavior 291 Use “Checking” Devices 292 Be Aware of Cultural Variations in the Use of Language 292 Summary 292 Activities 293 Concepts and Questions 294 CHAPTER 9 Nonverbal Communication: The Messages of Action, Space, Time, and Silence 295 Defining Nonverbal Communication 297 Intentional and Unintentional Messages 297 Verbal and Nonverbal Messages 298 The Functions of Nonverbal Communication 298 Conveying Internal States 298 Creating Identity 298 Regulating Interaction 299 Substituting for Words 300 Studying Nonverbal Communication 300 Nonverbal Communication Is a Multichannel Activity 300 Nonverbal Communication Is Often Ambiguous 301 Numerous Variables Influence Nonverbal Communication 301 Nonverbal Communication and Culture 301 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Contents xv Classifications of Nonverbal Communication 302 Messages of the Body Appearance 302 Judgment of Beauty Skin Color 304 Attire 305 Body Movement 302 303 307 Posture 309 Gestures 310 Facial Expressions 312 Eye Contact and Gaze 314 Touch 317 Scents 319 Paralanguage 321 Space and Distance 323 Personal Space 323 Seating 325 Furniture Arrangement 326 Time 327 Informal Time 328 Monochronic (M-Time) and Polychronic (P-Time) Silence 330 331 Developing Nonverbal Communication Competency 334 Your Interpretations Should Be Tentative Be Conscious of the Context 335 Utilize Feedback 335 Know Your Culture 336 Monitor Your Nonverbal Actions 336 Summary 337 Activities 338 Concepts and Questions 338 CHAPTER 10 335 Intercultural Communication in Contexts: Applications in Business, Education, and Healthcare 339 Culture and Context 339 Assumptions Grounding Communication Contexts 340 Communication Is Rule Governed 340 Context Dictates Communication Rules 341 Communication Rules Vary Across Cultures 341 International Communication in Contexts 342 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. xvi Contents Intercultural Communication in Globalized Business Business Protocol 344 Leadership and Management Decision Making 349 Conflict Management 350 Negotiations 351 342 346 The Role of Language in Globalized Organizations Benefits of Globalized Organizations 354 354 Education in the Globalized Society 355 Culture as a Teacher 358 Learning from Culture 358 Cultural Attitudes Toward Education Language and Education 361 The Multicultural Classroom 362 360 Cultural Considerations in the Multicultural Classroom 362 Multicultural Classroom Communication Strategies 364 Healthcare in a Multicultural Context 365 Globalization and Healthcare 366 Intercultural Communication in Healthcare Healthcare Belief Systems Across Cultures Supernatural/Magico/Religious Perspective Holistic Perspective 368 Scientific/Biomedical Perspective 369 366 367 367 Illness Prevention Across Cultures 370 Language Diversity in Healthcare 371 Death and Dying Across Cultures 373 Developing Intercultural Communication Competence in Contexts 374 Summary 376 Activities 378 Concepts and Questions CHAPTER 11 378 The Challenges of Intercultural Communication: Managing Differences 380 Intercultural Communication in a Dynamic World 380 Entering Another Culture 381 Culture Shock and Its Impact 381 The Process of Acculturation 383 Managing Culture Shock and Enhancing Acculturation 384 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. 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Contents Learn About the Host Culture 385 Learn About the Language of the Host Culture Guard Against Ethnocentrism 385 Stay Connected to Your Own Culture 386 385 Obstacles to Effective Intercultural Communication Tendencies to Seek Similarities 387 Managing Uncertainty 388 Withdrawal 388 Stereotyping 389 Stereotyping Defined 389 Acquiring Stereotypes 390 Stereotypes and Intercultural Communication Avoiding Stereotypes 391 Prejudice xvii 387 390 391 Functions of Prejudice 392 Causes of Prejudice 393 Expressions of Prejudice 394 Avoiding Prejudice 395 Racism 396 Racism Defined 396 Categories of Racism 397 Countering Racism 397 Power 398 Power Defined 398 Power in Intercultural Communication 399 Ethical Considerations 400 Ethics in Communication 400 Relativism 401 Universalism 402 Guidelines for Intercultural Ethics 403 Be Aware That Communication Produces a Response Respect Others 403 Seek Commonalities 403 Recognize and Respect Cultural Differences 405 Be Self-Responsible 405 403 A Final Appeal 406 Summary 406 Activities 407 Concepts and Questions Notes 409 Index 446 407 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Preface Every tale can be told in a different way. GREEK PROVERB Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. JOHN F. KENNEDY Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style. TYLER COWEN T he opportunity to write a ninth edition of Communication Between Cultures offered us both rewards and challenges. The realization that earlier texts had been well received by our peers and students to the extent that another edition was warranted imbued us with a sense of gratitude. We interpreted this degree of success to mean that during the past forty-four years our message regarding the importance of intercultural communication appears to have resonated with a sympathetic audience. We welcomed the prospect of being able to refine and improve upon what we had done in eight previous editions. We did, however, realize the requirement to exercise prudence when advancing new perspectives while concurrently retaining the focus that had contributed to the acceptance of earlier editions. Hence, this current volume seeks to respect the past while allowing us to forecast the future prospects of intercultural communication. In short, we have retained the core concepts of the discipline, added contemporary perceptions and research, and also ventured into new territory. This book still recognizes the synergy between communication and culture and how that interface influences human interactions. More specifically, it is about what happens when people of different cultures engage in communication with the objective of sharing ideas, information, and perspectives. Knowing that the concepts of communication and culture inextricably intertwine, we have endeavored to incorporate the basic principles of both topics throughout the text. Informed by the understanding that intercultural interactions are a daily occurrence for an ever-increasing number of people, we designed this book for those individuals whose professional or private lives bring them into contact with members of other cultures or co-cultures. xix Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. xx Preface RATIONALE Global interest in the study of intercultural communication has never been more prevalent and necessary. The concern and significance arise from a fundamental premise regarding how the world changed in the past century. The change can be seen in the fact that you live in a dynamic, rapidly evolving era. This global dynamism is characterized by dramatic alterations in technology, increased world travel, many new economic and political institutions, shifts in immigration patterns, growing demographic diversity, and greater population density. These changes have created a world that requires regular interaction with people of different cultural origins—be they next door, across town, or thousands of miles away. Whether or not you embrace these “conversations,” they will continue to increase in frequency and intensity. Huston Smith succinctly summarized these circumstances when, in The World’s Religions, he wrote, “When historians look back on [the twentieth] century they may remember it most, not for space travel or the release of nuclear energy, but as the time when the peoples of the world first came to take one another seriously.” His reflections on the past century remain correspondingly valid for our current globalized society. APPROACH Our approach is anchored in the belief that all forms of human communication involve some manner of action. Stated in different terms, your communicative behaviors affect you as well as the people with whom you interact. Whether you are generating or receiving words or nonverbal symbols, you are creating and producing messages that influence someone else. Any study of communication must include information about the choices that are made in selecting your messages as well as a discussion of the consequences of those choices. Hence, this book advances the conviction that engaging in intercultural communication is pragmatic (you do something), philosophical (you make choices), and ethical (your chosen actions have consequences). PHILOSOPHY A dual philosophy has guided the preparation of this ninth edition. First, we hold that it is advantageous, if not a requirement, for the more than 7 billion of us sharing this planet’s limited resources to improve our intercultural communication skills. Globalization and demographic alterations within many countries have created a world so small and interdependent that we must rely on each other—whether we want to or not. As simplistic as it may seem, what occurs in one place can now have a major impact on people in countless other parts of the world. However, many of the obstacles to understanding other people can be mitigated through motivation, knowledge, and an appreciation of cultural differences. Our objective is to provide you with all three. We realize that writing about culture and communication involves a series of personal decisions and an explicit approach. As scholars and authors, we have made Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Preface xxi those decisions and developed a point of view regarding intercultural interaction. We contend that the first commandment of any civilized society is the dictum that allows people to be different as long as their differences do not create hardships for others. At times, you will find that we have openly stated our personal positions, and for those convictions, we make no apologies. Concurrently, we have made a concerted effort to check our collective and individual ethnocentrism. For those instances where it unintentionally surfaces, we apologize. NEW FEATURES The ninth edition contains an abundance of new material. As has been the case with each edition, we have remained mindful of the constructive comments made by users and reviewers of previous editions. We combined those suggestions with our own vision of the discipline. Specifically, we were concerned with where the study of intercultural communication has been and our evaluation of its future direction. Combining these two orientations generated some of the following new features: • The most apparent new feature of this edition is the additional chapter, Chapter 11, which directly relates to the philosophy we articulated earlier in the Preface. To repeat—communication is an act people engage in that influences other people. To assist you in making those acts more rewarding and successful, the new chapter aims to enable you to become a more effective participant in the countless intercultural encounters in which you will participate. This new chapter has three main goals. First, the chapter examines the challenges of entering another culture by offering a discussion of selected obstacles that can impede effective intercultural communication. Second, suggestions are advanced that can assist you in overcoming those difficulties. Finally, the chapter concludes with an overview of ethical considerations relevant to intercultural behaviors. • Another visible addition to the text appears at the conclusion of each chapter. Because we consider it essential in this era of intercultural connectedness that you acquire the skills necessary to become a competent communicator and because such competence and skill development is attainable, we now conclude each chapter with a section on developing competency. • To underscore the importance of intercultural communication in the present, Chapter 1 has been completely revised. We emphasize the need to understand and adjust to the many challenges that require collective management by the international community. Social challenges, ecological concerns, humanitarian demands, political questions, and security issues are just a few of the topics highlighted in the first chapter. To facilitate dealing with these matters, we have added a new section to the opening chapter that discusses the need for compromise in intercultural communication. • As the role of contemporary information technology has grown throughout the world, so has our treatment of this important topic. In nearly every chapter we indicate the increasing interconnectivity of people worldwide using technology as a communication apparatus. Our analysis looks at issues such as how technology enables the reconstitution of cultures. We also examine how this new technology contributes to the polarization of some segments of society at the same time it fosters social and cultural changes. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. xxii Preface • While continuing to address globalization, we have not neglected U.S. domestic intercultural issues. The latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau illustrate the dramatic changes in U.S. demographics, and projections of population changes demonstrate the increasing criticality of intercultural communication. • Since it is our belief that communication and culture are inseparable, we have increased our presentation of human communication. Part of the expansion includes a detailed explanation of the importance of a communicator being motivated, knowledgeable, and skilled. • It has long been our conviction that the chief impediments to intercultural understanding are not found in shallow and superficial differences related to food, transportation systems, architecture, and the like. Instead, misunderstandings and conflicts are the product of variances associated with a culture’s deep structure institutions. These institutions, such as family, community, and religion, encompass the most significant definitions and meanings regarding life. These messages are transmitted from generation to generation, carry a culture’s most important values, endure, and supply a sense of identity to its members. Since family is among the most important of these deep structure elements and because the contemporary world order has altered the face of the family, we have increased the scope of our analysis concerning this key institution. We demonstrate how globalization and social changes are having an impact on traditional family structures. Specifically, we address how globalization is affecting gender roles, individual identity, group orientation, perceptions of aging and the elderly, and personal social skills. • Worldview and religion remain relevant issues in contemporary society. Continuing media focus and growing misconceptions mandated that we offer a more indepth examination of religious extremism and conflict. The increasing numbers of people moving away from traditional religion prompted our expanded discussion of atheism and spirituality. We also now include a section related to religious tolerance. • We continue to believe that history provides a picture of where a culture has been and a blueprint for its future. For this reason, our history chapter has undergone significant changes. The “Country Statistics” tables have been updated, as has “Contemporary Social Issues.” We discuss current social conditions and how they may affect both the present and the future. Because of current events, the Islamic history section has been extensively revised. We have also added a new segment to this chapter that explains the connection between historical memory and intercultural competence. • Two new taxonomies (Minkov’s cultural dimensions and Gelfand’s “tight” and “loose” cultures) were added to the cultural values chapter. We have also expanded our treatment of the principal values associated with the U.S. dominant culture. • The language chapter has been completely revised with an emphasis on how language functions and operates in intercultural settings. The discussion of variations within language groups has been updated and amplified. Dissimilarities related to accents, dialects, argot, slang, and texting are presented. The treatment on interpreting has been expanded and now includes material on how new technologies are influencing interpretation and translation. Eight selected cultures are examined as a way of demonstrating how each of them has several unique language Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Preface xxiii characteristics that they employ during interaction. Due to the need to employ an interpreter during many communication events, we have added a detailed section on cultural considerations in these circumstances. A unit on developing competence in using language is also new to this chapter. We explain how understanding in the intercultural setting could be improved by learning a second language, being aware of one’s surroundings, knowing about conversational taboos, monitoring speech rates, becoming aware of vocabulary differences, and knowing about variations in conversational styles. • Chapter 10 concentrates on the setting and context of the intercultural encounter and has been completely restructured. Comprehensive changes in the business, education, and healthcare settings necessitated a revised approach to these three environments. • Finally, because our reviewers asked for more visual images as a way of teaching some of the strategic concepts of intercultural communication, we significantly increased the number of “cultural photographs” in this new edition. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No book is the sole purview of the authors. Many people contributed to this new edition, and we acknowledge them. We are especially pleased with our publisher for the past forty years. While we have experienced and survived numerous changes in ownership, editors, and management and even corporate name changes, the commitment of Wadsworth Cengage to producing a high-quality textbook has remained intact. We begin our specific expressions of appreciation with a sincere “thank you” to Karolina Kiwak, our associate content developer. From inception to completion, she offered us direction and support. Whether our problems, questions, or grumblings were major or minor, Karolina constantly responded with efficiency and infinite patience. Also, we wish to recognize the hard work and contributions of Jyotsna Ojha, content project manager, Sarah Seymour, program marketing manager, and Farah Fard, intellectual property project manager. We also extend our sincere thanks to the reviewers of the previous text. Their suggestions contributed significantly to the many improvements found in this edition. Finally, we express our appreciation to the tens of thousands of students and the many instructors who have used past editions. For forty years they have permitted us to “talk to them” about intercultural communication. By finding something useful in our exchange, they encouraged us to produce yet another edition of Communication Between Cultures. Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel, Carolyn S. Roy Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. CHAPTER 1 Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society Every tale can be told in a different way. GREEK PROVERB If there is one lesson from the past 100 years it is that we are doomed to co-operate. Yet we remain tribal. MARTIN WOLF In a world where security challenges do not adhere to political boundaries and our economies are linked as never before, no nation can go it alone and hope to prosper. CHUCK HAGEL T H E I NTERDEP ENDENT G L O B A L S O C IETY When Euripides wrote, “All is change; all yields its place and goes” in 422 BCE, he probably did not realize that he would be helping to introduce a book on intercultural communication. Yet, the study of intercultural communication is about change. It is about changes in the world and how the people in that world must adapt to them. More specifically, this book deals with the world changes that have brought us into direct and indirect contact with people who, because of their culture, often behave in ways that we do not understand. With or without our consent, the last three decades [1960–1990] have thrust on us groups of people who often appear alien. These people, who appear “different,” may live thousands of miles away or right next door. What is special about them is that, in many ways, they are not like us.1 Written nearly thirty years ago to introduce the first edition of Communication Between Cultures, the above paragraph is more relevant today. The world is now changing at a much faster pace, requiring rapid adjustment to evolving technology 1 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 2 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society Courtesy of Edwin McDaniel New technologies allow people almost anywhere in the world to exchange ideas and information. and changing social conditions. Our interactions with people of different cultures have become common in the classroom, the workplace, and the healthcare setting, and with growing frequency in our neighborhood. The term “globalization” originally implied an emerging development, a work in progress, but can now be characterized as both an existing condition and a continuing dynamic. With rare exceptions, our lives are increasingly dependent on people and events in other parts of the world. As Cabrera and Unruh point out, “Our economy, environment, resources, education, and health systems all interconnect to, rely on, and affect the economies, environments, resources, and health systems in other countries.”2 The reliance on food imports serves as an easily understood example of this international interdependency. Population growth and increasing ethnic diversity in the United States have generated a demand for more and diverse food imports.3 A 2012 government report indicated that “an estimated 15 percent of the U.S. food supply is imported, including 50 percent of fresh fruits, 20 percent of fresh vegetables and 80 percent of seafood.”4 But before any of those items can be imported, international agreements must be reached on innumerable specifications relating to quality, packaging, labels, storage, labor conditions, etc. Food products sent abroad from the United States must also meet import requirements established by the receiving nation, all of which involve cross-cultural negotiations, agreements, monitoring, and inspections. These procedures are carried out and implemented for all U.S. imports and exports, and intercultural communication is the nexus in every step. REMEMBER THIS Since our first edition, we have offered As the world becomes more interconnected, our lives are numerous examples and statistics to conincreasingly dependent on people and events in other parts vince the reader of the importance of interof the world. cultural communication in contemporary Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society 3 © Richard Lord/PhotoEdit Overpopulation presents immense challenges to people throughout the world. society. However, today, most readers of this text will have grown up in an era when the activities associated with “multicultural,” “cross-cultural,” “intercultural,” “cultural diversity,” “ethnic pluralism,” and others were common. Therefore, rather than offering a set of examples to illustrate the role of intercultural communication in your social, professional, and even private lives, we now choose to argue that in the globalized world, effective intercultural communication is an increasingly essential requirement in the critical efforts to ensure world peace, improve relationships between co-cultures and the dominant cultures within each country, assure resource sustainability, and promote ecological viability. T H E R EQU IREMENT FOR I NTERC UL TURA L C O O P E R A T I O N Discussions of “globalization” most frequently focus on economic benefits and the ramifications of interdependence. However, in addition to economic considerations, globalization has raised awareness of existing and emerging conditions that influence many aspects of our planet and society. The global community is currently faced with a broad spectrum of circumstances that present national governments with pronounced demands on financial and physical resources. Moreover, there are conditions looming on the horizon that portend severe consequences for the future unless properly anticipated and managed. Successful resolution of many of these problems will require global governance—a transnational approach to cooperatively engage and solve multistate problems. Table 1.1 presents a menu of particularly salient issues confronting the globalized society, all of which have to be addressed through competent intercultural communication. We will illustrate some of the issues confronting the global society, many of which will likely influence your lives. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 4 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society TABLE 1.1 Challenges for the Globalized Society CONTEMPORARY AND PROJECTED ISSUES REQUIRING INTERCULTURAL COOPERATION Social challenges • • • • • Ecological concerns • Competition for natural resources ■ Raw materials ■ Water shortages ■ Food scarcities ■ Pelagic resources • Environmental changes/degradation Humanitarian and legal cooperation • • • • Political questions • International legal system • Scientific advancement ethics • Human rights issue Security issues • • • • World population growth Mass migration Urbanization Intercultural integration Aging populations/declining birthrates Disease control Disaster relief International mishaps Transnational crime ■ Cyber crime ■ Intellectual property Weapons of mass destruction Terrorism and piracy Peacekeeping missions Emerging threats ■ Sectarian and ethnic tensions ■ Renascent nationalism ■ Contested territorial claims SOCIAL CHALLENGES Scientific and socioeconomic advances in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries resulted in rapid population growth (see Table 1.2). Vastly improved healthcare, increased food production and nutritional knowledge, and greater availability of social support systems contributed to reduced infant mortality and increased life expectancy.5 Accompanying the many improvements and benefits, this population explosion has exacerbated some older problems and given rise to numerous new ones. Perhaps the most pressing is, “What changes must be made in order to ensure the world’s environment can support these levels of human activities?” It is a question that no single organization, government, or nation can answer. It will require shared ideas, interaction, and mutual effort across cultural and state borders. Social and technological improvements have also facilitated and encouraged large population movement from rural areas to urban environments. We have seen mass migration from regions afflicted by poverty, political oppression, or conflict Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Social Challenges TABLE 1.2 POPULATION 1 billion 2 billion 3 billion 4 billion 5 billion 6 billion 7 billion 8 billion 9.6* billion 10.9* billion 5 World Population Growth6 YEAR REACHED YEARS TO REACH 1804 1922 1959 1974 1987 1999 2012 2025* 2050* 2100* 118 37 15 13 12 13 13 25 50 *Estimated. to areas offering personal safety, economic opportunities, and political stability. Immigration issues are a daily topic in the United States and regularly produce a divided electorate. Movement of people from poverty-ridden and violence-torn African and Middle Eastern nations, along with those from Eastern Europe seeking better employment, has altered the complexion of Western Europe. Immigrants from Latin America and Asia have changed the traditional composition of the United States. Minorities now represent more than 37 percent of the U.S. population, almost 13 percent were born in another country, and more than 20 percent speak a language other than English at home. And changes brought by immigrants are expected to continue—studies indicate that “new immigrants and their children will make up 84%” of the 24 million net increase in the U.S. labor force by 2030.7 The magnitude of future immigration, the accompanying challenge, and the attendant need for intercultural skills is clearly pointed out by Professor of Evolutionary Biology Mark Pagel: the dominant demographic trend of the next century will be the movement of people from poorer to richer regions of the world. Diverse people will be brought together who have little common cultural identity of the sort that historically has prompted our cultural nepotism, and this will happen at rates that exceed those at which they can be culturally integrated.8 A majority of new immigrants, both in the United States and in other nations, will seek work and residence in urban areas. According to the United Nations, over half the world’s population currently lives in cities, a figure that is expected to reach 66 percent by 2050. In the United States, 80.7 percent of the population already resides in urban areas.9 Greater population density raises requirements for better waste management, availability of foodstuffs, and reliable freshwater resources. It also places people of different ethnicities, religious practices, worldCONSIDER THIS views, beliefs, values, etc. in closer proximity to each other. In order to What are some reasons that make intercultural cooperation achieve prosperity, they will have to more important than ever? learn to cooperate and respect each other’s differences. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 6 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society Courtesy of Edwin McDaniel Low-cost air travel permits people to experience other cultures with great ease. Globalization has additionally resulted in increasing intercultural relationships. Mounting immigration, urbanization, international employment, study abroad, and ease of foreign travel are facilitating contact between people with different racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. In greater numbers, people are living and working abroad. The resultant extended intercultural contact has led to a rise in international marriages in Asia, Europe, and the United States. According to 2010 census data, 9.5 percent of married-couple households in the United States were interracial or interethnic, an increase of more than 2 percent from 2000. Naturally, these cross-cultural marriages, both internationally and domestically, have produced intercultural children, and 32 percent of U.S. citizens self-identified as multiracial in the 2010 census. This growing international phenomenon of cultural mixing gives added emphasis to the important role of intercultural communication and draws attention to identity issues.10 In the United States, the white non-Hispanic population is forecast to lose majority status by 2043, after which the nation will be a majority of minorities. By 2060, minority groups will represent an estimated 57 percent of the population. Clearly, this will bring changes to the traditionally “dominant” U.S. culture, a product of the beliefs and values of the historically white majority. This transition will demand greater intercultural insight, acceptance, and communication expertise.11 Aging populations represent another emerging problem that will require intercultural communication knowledge and skills. Almost every nation in the world is experiencing an increase in older citizenry (i.e., over 60 years) made more pronounced by declining birthrates. Globally, the older age-group represented 9.2 percent of the total population Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Social Challenges 7 © Bob Daemmrich/PhotoEdit Globalization has caused population shifts as people immigrate seeking new opportunities and escaping oppressive conditions. in 1990, had expanded to 11.7 percent by 2013, and is expected to reach 21.1 percent by 2050. In the United States, those over 65 years of age represented 13.1 percent of the 2010 population, which was a faster rate of growth than the total population, and is expected to increase to 21.4 percent by 2050. There are numerous social and economic consequences arising from this trend toward expanding aging populations, not the least of which is the ratio of working age to elderly dependency age (i.e., the number of working-age people in relation to those in retirement). This imbalance is a concern because most social support programs for older people are dependent on fiscal support generated by the workforce. Fortunately for the United States, in spite of the declining birthrate, overall population growth is robust due to immigration, which also raises the importance of intercultural understanding.12 A prescient summation of concerns about the world’s aging population is contained in a U.S. government report on world aging. The report calls for actions that will clearly require intercultural communication exchanges: Despite the weight of scientific evidence, the significance of population aging and its global implications have yet to be fully appreciated. There is a need to raise Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 8 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society REMEMBER THIS Globalization has resulted in increasing intercultural relationships. Mounting immigration, urbanization, international employment, study abroad, and ease of foreign travel are facilitating contact among people with different racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. awareness about not only global aging issues but also the importance of rigorous cross-national scientific research and policy dialogue that will help us address the challenges and opportunities of an aging world.13 ECOLOGICAL CONCERNS The need and competition for natural resources among nations has a long historical record of creating turmoil and conflict. The globalized economy continues to be characterized by nations seeking to acquire and preserve raw materials needed to fuel their economic engines. In the 1960s and 1970s, Japan scoured the world for needed materials. It was followed by South Korea, and now China is acquiring resources worldwide in order to sustain its industrialization. India’s growing economy is also adding to the demand for raw materials. As other nations’ populations grow, the requirement for various natural resources will expand. In his 2014 report, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence predicted that “Competition for scarce [natural] resources, such as food, water, or energy, will likely increase tensions within and between states and could lead to more localized or regional conflicts, or exacerbate government instability.”14 Demands for energy resources (e.g., natural gas, oil, and coal), the most vital for economic growth, are expected to increase 37 percent by 2040, and much of this demand will be from China, India, and emerging economies—a situation ripe for political tensions. International agreements will be needed to regulate the extraction of resources from regions of disputed sovereignty and common areas outside national boundaries, such as seabed hydrocarbons and minerals. And cooperative policing mechanisms may be necessary to ensure compliance with treaties and pacts. In some cases, disagreements will have to be mediated through international governance organizations, such as occurred in the World Trade Organization’s resolution of a trade dispute between China and the United States over rare earth metals, essential in manufacturing high-tech products, such as smart phones and cameras.15 In every instance, intercultural communication will be key to the success of these international negotiations and agreements. Water represents the most indispensable resource for human, animal, and plant life on our planet. Factors such as overconsumption, misuse, pollution, and climate change threaten existing supplies, and serious water shortages are widely predicted for the future. Studies indicate that by 2050, three-quarters of the world’s population could experience water scarcity. Potable water is already an issue in parts of the United States, particularly Southern California, and “megadroughts” lasting thirtyfive years or more are predicted for the Southwest and Midwest during the latter part of this century. The growing population and increased urbanization are placing enormous demands on existing water sources and creating competition between urban and agricultural populations. In addition to more water for human consumption, increases will be needed for agriculture to grow the necessary food sources. Lack of water has implications for health, economic development, security, and Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Ecological Concerns 9 © GIPhotoStock/PhotoEdit Expanding populations create pollution that crosses national borders requiring interculturally negotiated solutions. environmental sustainability. Intercultural communication will play a role in a number of areas related to managing water shortages. International and domestic agreements will have to be negotiated regarding access to water, water distribution rights, and even water trading.16 An important role for intercultural communication expertise will likely be in developing and implementing educational programs for water management and conservation, especially at the consumer level, where presentations will need to cross multiple cultural lines. The threat of insufficient food resources is yet another problem arising from population growth, urbanization, and changing dietary habits. In addition to increased numbers of people, socioeconomic improvement has enabled millions to begin consuming more animal protein, in turn requiring expanded land area, water usage, and crops for animal feed. Academic research has revealed that world crop production will have to double by 2050 to meet anticipated demand for human and animal consumption and biofuels. However, crop production is not keeping pace with the projected requirements. A reduction in available food resources will drive prices up, place additional burdens on people living near or below poverty levels, and increase the potential for political instability. As insurance, some nations are already acquiring vast Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 10 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society tracts of arable land in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia for agricultural development.17 Adding to the burden of agricultural production is the decline in pelagic resources resulting from fish stock depletion, ocean pollution, and climate change. According to the United Nations, over 10 percent of the world’s population relies on fisheries for a living. However, the industry is facing a number of threats, ranging from “illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing to harmful fishing practices to wastage to poor governance.”18 This has resulted in more than 80 percent of ocean fish being harvested at or above their sustainability levels and the wholesale destruction of the world’s coral reefs.19 Amelioration of this situation will require extensive international agreements covering a broad range of topics, such as quotas, permissible practices, type and extent of punishment for violations, and, most challenging, cooperative monitoring and policing of the ocean commons. The extent of the problem and number of involved nations make this an extremely difficult task but a necessary one if we are to ensure that the oceans remain a reliable source of food. According to the President of the Earth Policy Institute, Lester Brown, “We are entering a time of chronic food scarcity, one that is leading to intense competition for control of land and water resources— in short, a new geopolitics of food.”20 CONSIDER THIS The implications of this evolving situation are multiple. International cooperaHow do you believe we can get people throughout the tion will be required on a grand scale to world, and from a variety of cultures, to engage in humaniguarantee adequate food availability, tarian cooperation? Is such engagement possible? avoid detrimental competition, and ensure continued political viability. In addition to cooperative programs and international agreements, some solutions may have to center around changing traditional dietary practices, a daunting cultural challenge. Evolving conditions are worsened by environmental degradation, pollution, and climate change. The destruction of natural habitats, such as wetlands and woodlands, for industrial and residential development (along with other factors, such as pollution) is contributing to the extinction of plant and animal species at an accelerating pace. Pollution is a significant and continually growing problem throughout the world, including our oceans. A 2015 study revealed that as much as 8 million metric tons of plastic trash enters the ocean every year. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch stretches for hundreds of miles across the Pacific Ocean and consists primarily of nonbiodegradable plastics that only break down into smaller and smaller particles, ultimately to be ingested by marine life. Domestic water pollution is also a growing problem throughout the world. According to a 2014 government report, almost 60 percent of China’s underground water was so polluted that it could not be consumed without treatment. Surveys by the Environmental Protection Agency disclosed that pollution prevented 40 percent of U.S. rivers, lakes, and estuaries from being used for fishing or swimming. The waters are so polluted with runoff sewage and garbage in Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay, site of the 2016 Olympic sailing and windsurfing events, that some officials have registered concern about the health risks to the athletes. Air pollution continues to be an enervating health factor in many parts of the world, especially China and India. Moreover, air pollution does not respect national borders. Recent reports have revealed that industrial emissions produced in Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Humanitarian and Legal Cooperation 11 China are carried by wind patterns all the way to the U.S. West Coast, making it a matter of international concern.21 The ever-increasing force of climate change is another consideration that necessitates competent intercultural interactions. Extreme weather conditions will bring more frequent tropical storms, droughts, wildfires, flooding, health threats, and a host of other maladies that can be managed only by nations working together. For instance, in low-lying areas, complete towns will have to be relocated, and some islands in the South Pacific are likely to be inundated, requiring relocation of entire populations. Increased ocean temperatures will exert pressure on marine habitats and fishing patterns, impacting traditional industries and altering diets. Insect infestations and plant diseases will become more common with warmer temperatures and result in lower agricultural yields. Adaptation to these many changes will require that nations engage in cooperative efforts and share resources.22 We are stressing that ecological changes, both ongoing and in the future, carry the potential to transform many of the beliefs, practices, and habits that have become normal over the past centuries. People, organizations, and states will have to learn new ways of managing and cooperating. Often, this will require reaching across cultural divides. HUMANITARIAN AND LEGAL COOPERATION Advances in communication technologies have enabled rapid notification and dissemination of information concerning humanitarian crises, such as contagious disease outbreaks and natural disasters. Modern transport capabilities have offered a means of expeditiously responding to those crises, and nations and relief organizations around the world mobilize and deploy resources to disaster sites. The 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is a good example of the complexity of responding to such an incident. The disease affected citizens of six West African nations, and infected individuals were also treated in the United States, England, and Spain. In attempting to contain the disease, personnel and materials from around the world were rushed to the area, and coordination required communication across organizational, linguistic, and cultural lines. Additionally, to be successful, the instituted treatment and containment programs had to be culturally sensitive to local customs. For example, caring for the dead traditionally requires touching and even kissing the body in some West African nations. To break the Ebola infection cycle, emergency workers had to identify and implement effective methods of communicating the dangers of this practice to the local inhabitants. Disaster response is another area of international cooperation requiring intercultural communication competence. The worldwide response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami, and the 2013 Philippine super typhoon offer examples of recent endeavors. International assistance in cases of a major accident has also become common. For instance, the 2014 loss of a Malaysian commercial aircraft thought to have gone down in the Indian Ocean and the AirAsia plane that crashed near Indonesia elicited international deployment of personnel and equipment. These types of calamities increase the need for intercultural communication skills among all parties involved. Protection of intellectual property is another legal concern in the globalized economy. The negotiation, enactment, and enforcement of regulations arising from Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 12 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society international legal agreements are often confronted with issues of cultural divergence. As an example, international copyright law is largely based on the Western concept of creativity being primarily an individual effort, but, as Rajan points out, this conceptualization is not consistent across all cultures: A strongly individualistic conception of creativity may not be relevant to cultures which place a higher value on group or communal creation, or locate the work of individual authors within a strong, community tradition of educated understanding and appreciation. They may also be difficult to reconcile with traditions which do not accord primary importance to the identity of the author.23 More succinctly, the Euro-American cultural value is on individual ownership and creativity, but many non-European “traditions tend toward a more communal conception.”24 As a result, to reach successful agreements in instances where these varied cultural perspectives collide, the involved individuals will need a strong appreciation for the role of culture in communication. POLITICAL ISSUES As globalization has driven the international community into greater economic interdependency, it has presented nations with issues that on occasion conflict with domestic politics. For example, domestic political divisions have kept the United States from becoming a participant in the International Criminal Court, established to prosecute serious crimes against humanity, despite more than one hundred other nations taking part. Due to its opposition to capital punishment, Mexico has been reluctant to extradite criminals to the United States when there is a possibility of the death penalty being imposed. It was only through international pressure that in 2013, the Japanese government ratified an international agreement, first established in 1980, that is used to adjudicate international child custody disputes.25 Japan’s reluctance to sign was due to the strong cultural belief that child custody is the mother’s prerogative. Scientific advances are another area that can become politically divisive. During a period in 2013–2014, the Chinese government halted imports of U.S. genetically modified corn, citing health risks. The national value-related attitude toward genetically modified food also varies between the United States and the European Union, making imports and exports subject to international negotiations and trade agreements. Studies have shown that opinion on research employing human embryo stem cells can also vary internationally based on religion, ideology, and personal values. China and the United States often trade barbs about human rights, and much of their disagreement can be traced to divergent views about human rights. For the United States, human rights are anchored in a legal tradition of political and civil rights. China, on the other hand, grounds its approach to the topic on a perspective that assigns the highest priority to social and economic rights.26 These few illustrations should provide ample evidence of the many contentious political issues dividing states in the globalized society. Dissimilar cultural values and attitudes are at the base of many of these controversial issues, and the only prudent course of resolution is through dialogue and agreement—in other words, through employing competent intercultural communication. Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Security Concerns 13 SECURITY CONCERNS Peace and stability in the age of globalization is under constant assault by multiple complex threats, many of which can be countered only through international governmental and military cooperation. To illustrate the continuing need for intercultural communication in the national security arena, we will address a few of the ongoing challenges and operations in the following paragraphs. You should try to keep in mind the many different languages and cultures involved among participants in the programs and operations discussed. Weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), which include nuclear, chemical, and biological armaments, carry the potential to inflict the greatest number of causalities and are a concern for almost every nation. The desire to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons is exemplified in the multinational efforts to dissuade Iran from further development and to terminate the North Korean program. Negotiations with Iran involve representatives from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition to North Korea, the Six Party Talks involve China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. The removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical arsenal in 2013–2014 involved Syria’s acquiescence, an agreement between the United States and Russia, a UN Security Council Resolution, and supervision by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Ships from Norway and Denmark provided transport services. Logistic sites were used in Cyprus and Italy. The chemical weapons and associated materials were destroyed aboard a U.S. merchant ship and at sites in Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.27 The role of intercultural communication in these cases is selfevident. We are constantly reminded of the danger of global terrorism as it spreads around the world. With the exception of Antarctica, acts of terrorism resulting in loss of life occurred on every continent in 2014. Nor is there any indication that the threat will diminish anytime soon. The ability ultimately to meet the challenge of terrorism will require the cooperation of the entire international community. The Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) offers an example of how the international community can successfully engage and neutralize an asymmetrical threat. Composed of naval units from 30 nations, the CMF maintains a presence in the Arabian Gulf, Northern Arabian Sea, and the Indian Ocean, encompassing “approximately 2.5 million square miles of international waters.”28 This all-voluntary force conducts continuous security operations and has effectively quelled Somali-based maritime piracy. The implementation of these hugely complex operations takes an extraordinary degree of coordination, all anchored in communication that must pass through numerous language and cultural filters. The UN peacekeeping operations offer another example of international cooperation that must overcome countless cultural and language obstacles. As of January 2015, more than 120,000 uniformed and civilian personnel from 128 nations were deployed to 16 international locations. These men and women were working to maintain peace, protect civilian populations, sustain the environment, and promote human rights at 16 sites in Africa, the Balkans, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South Asia.29 Just as globalization has changed the economic and social landscape, it has given rise to a series of emerging security threats. These include extant and developing Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 14 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society sectarian and ethnic tensions. Renascent nationalism has exhibited itself as both a political instrument and an aspirational force. Old and new contested territorial claims are coming between nations. Differences in cultural and ideological perceptions are at the heart of many of these situations, and cooperative mutual interaction to dispel those differences is the key to peaceful resolution. Religion remains a potent source of divisiveness around the world. A Pew Research Center study revealed that 77 percent of the world’s population “was living in countries with a high or very high overall level of restrictions on religion in 2013.”30 These restrictions include government-imposed regulations and acts of social harassment due to religious affiliation. Of the 198 nations in the study, 30 percent had government restrictions against minority religions, and in 61 percent of the countries, religious groups experienced some form of social harassment.31 After two decades of conflict between Muslims in the north and Christians/Animists in the south, Sudan was divided into two separate states in 2011, but tensions persist. Professed Muslims belonging to the Boko Haram terrorist group seek to impose Islamic law (Sharia) throughout Nigeria. Although it takes many forms, the Sunni–Shia divide is the underlying cause of conflict in the Middle East, with entire nations taking different sides (e.g., Sunni Saudi Arabia vs. Shia Iran). India’s enduring Hindu– Christian and Hindu–Muslim animosities give no indication of diminishing, and occasional low-level violent eruptions are not uncommon. Since 2009, Hindus and Buddhist in Sir Lanka have engaged in an uneasy peace following a debilitating civil war lasting more than twenty-five years. The Chinese government has officially banned the Falun Gong religious group. Beginning in 2012, Buddhist mobs have engaged in violent attacks on Muslim-minority Rohingya communities in Myanmar. Nor is the West immune to sectarian conflict, as demonstrated by recent attacks in Denmark, France, and the United Kingdom, part of an alarming rise in antiSemitism across Europe.32 Although not as frequently mentioned in the news as religiously based conflicts, ethnic violence is also an expanding challenge for the international community. The following examples are but a short list of ongoing ethnic struggles. Soon after gaining independence, peace in South Sudan was shattered by conflict between members of the Nuer and Dinka tribes contesting control of land and resources. Since the removal of Muammar Qaddafi as Libya’s leader, the country has devolved into a civil war with various tribal, religious, militia, and governmental groups vying for power. Yemen has long been riven by intertribal conflicts, the most recent occurring in early 2015, when rebels from the Houthi tribe overthrew the sitting government. Ethnic strife continues its long history in Myanmar, where Kachin, Shans, Chins, Karens, Mons, and numerous other minority ethnic groups contest the central government for control of their homelands, access to resources, and preservation of their culture. In Russia, ethnic tensions have long been a national concern, and the northern Caucasus region is a site of continuing ethnic violence. Nationalism, another divisive ideology, has historically been used as a populist call to rally support against such multicultural issues as immigration, foreign products, or involvement in international organizations or pacts. Globalization, with its focus less on individual nations and more on internationalization, has opened the door for emerging, divisive nationalist movements in several areas of the world over the past decade. In Europe, economic recession, unemployment, immigration issues, and sectarianism have promoted nationalist political movements in the United Kingdom, Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Security Concerns 15 Denmark, France, and Germany. Since 2012, Russia has invoked emotional nationalistic appeals in its domestic political pronouncements and used nationalism as part of the rationale for movement into the Crimea and eastern Ukraine. In India, ardent Hindu nationalists continue to define themselves in contrast to the nation’s Muslim population. As a justification for retaining power and to garner support for political policies, the Chinese Communist Party instills nationalism through the educational system and popular media. There have also been recent indicators that nationalism is growing in Japan. Nor is the United States exempt from nationalism, as demonstrated when some politicos conflate “American exceptionalism” with nationalism.33 When faced with any nationalistically based call, one should always keep in mind that a fundamental function of nationalism is the creation of an “us” and a “them.” Conflicting territorial claims have been a historical constant due to fluctuating borders arising from wars, treaties, political intrigues, and mass migration. Many of the world’s established borders are seen as being unilaterally imposed by former colonial powers or viewed through the perspective of divided historical memory. Today, most historically based disagreements lie dormant, confined to occasional rhetorical exchanges between the disputants. However, in several areas, these ongoing territorial differences remain active and carry the potential to disrupt the greater social order. For example, the absence of a clearly defined demarcation between Israeli and Palestinian territory has been festering almost 100 years and remains an extremely volatile situation today. An inability to agree on a border in the Kashmir region following the 1947 Partition has left Indian and Pakistani armed forces aligned along the Line of Control in Kashmir. The situation is made more dangerous due to both nations possessing nuclear weapons. Only a little farther to the north, since their 1962 border war, Indian and Chinese forces have been separated by an imaginary line extending over 2,500 miles through an area of disputed territory. In more recent conflicts, China has used vague historical documents and indistinct claimed boundaries to assert sovereignty over as much as 90 percent of the entire South China Sea, a claim that conflicts with the maritime economic boundaries of six other littoral nations. Incidents between Chinese and Vietnamese ships in the South China Sea in 2014 led to riots and the destruction of Chinese properties in Vietnam. Russia’s military takeover of the Crimea, the support of rebels in eastern Ukraine, and President Putin’s jingoistic pronouncements have unsettled the entire European continent.34 The foregoing discussion of the numerous challenges confronting the globalized community was designed to provide you with a broad overview of the current and evolving circumstances that carry the potential to create friction, instability, and even conflict between nations. The purpose was to demonstrate the requirement for international cooperation and, when needed, global governance in managing these problems. The root cause of conflict often lies in an overemphasis on differences between the groups involved. This book aims to develop your intercultural skills so that you may play a role in resolving some of the conflicts in the globalized world. TECHNOLOGY Information technology (IT) has globalized and democratized access to information! No longer are literary, scientific, legal, and educational materials the provenance of circumstantially advantaged segments of society. With minimal investment in either Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. 16 CHAPTER 1 • Intercultural Communication: A Requirement for the Interdependent Global Society money or time, anyone in almost any place in the world can access the Internet for knowledge, entertainment, communication, and other reasons. No longer does The use of social media networks has expanded far beyond one have to travel to a library, locate an private citizens and now includes government officials, corexpert, purchase a book, send a letter, or porations, nongovernmental organizations, and government organizations. For example, in early 2015 the U.S. Naval even reason out a problem for oneself. A Academy held an important debate on the future of aircraft vast body of knowledge is readily availcarriers. The debate was broadcast simultaneously on able. Even when it is written in another Twitter.35 language, a translation can often be obtained online. The ubiquity and accessibility of information has made “I don’t know, but I can look it up” the mantra of the digital generations. The ability to communicate with people around the world is a source of cohesion as well as polarization. Technology has enabled ordinary citizens to form and organize groups quickly around a common interest regardless of veracity or social benefit. The role of social media in the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings that occurred in part of the Middle East is well known. The Internet and social media also played a critical role in the 2013–2014 “Euromaidan” protests, which ultimately drove the Ukrainian president from office and set in motion the chain of events leading to armed conflict between Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatist forces. According to one study, Internet news sites and social media were central in the dissemination of information about the protest and are believed to “have been highly influential—perhaps even at unprecedented levels compared to prior protests internationally—in motivating people and framing their protest claims.”36 Unfortunately, IT is only a medium and is unable to distinguish between use for purposes of positive or negative gain, good or evil intent, or benign or malicious content. ISIS, for example, has employed various modes of IT to distribute videos and messages intended to recruit converts, propagandize its claims, and intimidate opponents. As a result, ISIS has been able to use social media, especially Twitter, to create a virtual image that exceeds actual capabilities. In a more positive vein, while almost 90 percent of the residents of Bell, California, speak a language other than English, the city’s website relies on Google Translate to translate city documents into 64 different languages.37 The Internet has also launched “international classrooms” by allowing students from different countries to meet for online discussions as part of formal class activities. The “Global Class,” conducted by Durham College, is a “live 90-minute class between [sic] four countries, typically three different post-secondary classes and a guest speaker.”38 During these classes, the role of intercultural communication becomes especially salient. In some instances, media technology is also leading to a more polarized society, particularly in the United States. The availability of varied information sources on the Internet is enormous, making it quite easy to find material that confirms and solidifies almost any conviction. One author ably described this unfortunate trend: CONSIDER THIS Out in cyberspace, facts are movable objects, pushed aside when they don’t fit beliefs, political leanings or preconceived notions. Everybody’s an expert. The likeminded find each other and form communities online, reinforcing their biases and their certitude.39 Copyright 2017 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Security Concerns 17 According to Achenbach, current IT venues, which include radio and television, permit people to inhabit a “ ‘filter bubble’ that lets in only the information with which [they] agree.”40 Additionally, the Internet provides a degree of anonymity that can be used to strip away social civility and allows individuals to post shrill, demeaning, discriminatory, and even untrue information. Individuals no longer find it necessary to seek compromises with people who hold perceptions and attitudes that differ from their own. Although written in 2009, Nicholas Kristof’s comment remains valid today: “Americans increasingly are segregating themselves into communities, clubs and churches where they are surrounded by people who think the way they do…. The result is polarization and intolerance.”41 Evidence of this is seen on a wide range of issues, such as conservative versus liberal, pro-life versus freedom of choice, anti-immigration versus immigration rights, reduced government spending versus social welfare programs, and the schism surrounding gay marriage rights. It is also evident in the vitriolic exchanges often posted on entertainment blogs, even on such mundane issues as what is a good or bad YouTube music video. Amelioration of these divergent perspectives will be achieved only by understanding that people have varying values and worldviews and by acquiring the ability to communicate across those differences. The continuing growth of digital technologies is also bringing about profound social and cultural changes. For example, users are turning away from hard-copy publications such...
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