Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
CHAPTERONE
Culture–Communication–Intercultural
Communication
YakivBystrov,AnastasiyaYermolenko
1.1.UnderstandingCultureandCommunication
Communicatingacrosscultureshasbecomeachallengethattheworldhasnever
knownbefore.Withtheadventofelectronictoolsofcommunicationandtheeaseof
travellingaroundtheglobe,peoplewhopreviouslyco-existedinfairlyhomoge-
nouscommunitiesnowfindthemselvesinunfamiliarculturalterritorieswhere
therulesofcommunicatingareunclear.Globalizationisminimising,perhapseven
erasingdifferences,therebypotentiallyreducingcross-culturalmisunderstandings.
Butthese"erasures”onlygosofar.Culturaldifferencescanneverbe,norshould
theybe,fullyobliterated.Thus,chancesformisunderstandingscontinuetooccur,
attimesinunprecedentedforms.
Werelyexcessivelyontheprocessesofglobalizationifweassumethatany
differenceswillceasetomatter.Contactwithanotherculturecanevokescepticism,
fear,anddefensiveness,bothinface-to-facecontactandremotely.Culturesdiffer,
andsensitivitytoandunderstandingofanothercultureisarequirementbothfor
successfulcommunicationandglobalcitizenship.
Tounderstandtheprocessesandprinciplesofinterculturalcommunication,
weshouldexplaintheterms"culture”and"communication.”"Culture”isanotion
takenfromthefieldofanthropology.Itreferstothepracticesandproductsof
aparticulargroupofpeopleorsociety.Thus,cultureissaidtoreflectagroup's
wayoflife,itscustomsandbeliefs,itsideas,customs,achievementsandart.We
mayalsoidentifyculturesbynationalorigin.Normally,acultureisfixedwithin
agiventimeperiod,whichmaybedefinedbroadly,e.g."ancientGreekculture,”
ormorenarrowly,e.g."1980'spopculture.”Wemayalsospeakofthecultureof
aspecificsegmentofsociety,e.g."youthculture,”"working-classculture,”"mass
culture.”
Theterm"communication”referstoanactionoractivity.Itisanexchangeof
information,ideas,orfeelingsthatmayoccurbetweenpeople,e.g.communication
betweenteachersandstudentsorbetweenlivingthingsingeneral,e.g.antshavean
effectivesystemofcommunication.Inadditionto"communication”wemayalso
speakof"communications,”atermwhichreferstothemechanismsorprocesses
usedforexchanginginformation."Communications”broadcasttheinformationby
suchmediaasradio,telephone,electronicandsatellitenetworks.Thus,wemaysay,
"Communicationsinsidethecountryhavebeendisrupted.”"Communications”
