Stumbling Blocks inIntercultural Communication
1. Why is it that contact with persons from other cultures is so often frustrating and fraught with misunderstanding? Good intentions, the use of what one considers to be a friendly approach and even the possibility of mutual benefits don't seem to be sufficient to ensure success-to many people's surprise. Sometimes rejection occurs just because the group to which a person belongs is\changes in the international scene to take a look at some of the reasons for the disappointing results of attempts at communication. They are actually stumbling blocks in intercultural communication.
2. Assumption of similarities
One answer to the question of why misunderstanding or rejection happens might be that many of us naivety assume there are sufficient similarities among peoples of the world to enable us tosuccessfully exchange information or feelings, solve problems ofmutual concerns, cement business relationships, or just make the kind of impression we wish to make. The tendency for all peopleto reproduce, group into families or societies, develop a language, and adapt to their environment is particularly deceiving because it leads to the expectation that the forms of these behaviors and the attitudes and values surrounding them will also besimilar. It's comforting to believe that\we're all alike,\a determined search for proof of this leads to disappointment.
3. Promising are the cross-cultural studies seeking to supportDarwin's theory that facial expressions are universal and researchers found that the
particular visible pattern on the face, the combination of muscles contracted for anger, fear, surprise, sadness, disgust, and happiness is the same for allmembers of ourspecies, but this seems helpful until it is realized that a person’s cultural upbringing determines whether or notthat emotion will be displayed or suppressed, as well as on which occasions and to what degree. The situations that bring about the emotional feeling also differ from culture to culture, for example, the death of a loved one may be a cause for joy, sorrow, or some other emotion, depending upon the accepted cultural belief.
4. Since there seems to be no universals of “human nature” that can be used as a basis for automatic understanding, we must treat each encounter as an individual case, searching for whatever perceptions and communication means are held in common and proceed from there. If we realize that we are all culture bound andculturally modified, we will accept the fact that, being unlike, wedo not reallyknow what someone else\5. The aura of similarity is a serious stumbling block to successful intercultural communication. A look-alike facade is deceiving when representatives from contrasting cultures meet, eachwearing Western dress, speaking English, and using similar greeting rituals. It is like assuming that New York, Tokyo, and Tehran are all alike because each has the appearance of a moderncity. Without being alert to possible differences and the needto learn new rules for functioning, persons going from one city tothe other will be in immediatetrouble, even when acting simple roles such as pedestrian and driver.
6. Theconfidence that goes with the myth of similarity is much more comfortable than the assumption of differences, the latter requiring tentative assumptions and behaviors and a willingness toaccept the anxiety of\knowing.\with the assumptionof differences, however, can reactions
and
interpretations
be
adjusted
to
fit\
happening.\someone is likely tomisread signs and judge the sceneethnocentrically.
7. The stumbling block of assumedsimilarity is a “troublem,”as one English learner expressed it, not only for the foreigner but for the people in the host country with whom the internationalvisitor comes into contact. The native inhabitants are likely to be lulled into the expectation that, since the foreign person isdressed appropriately and speak some of the language, he or she will also have similar nonverbal codes, thoughts and feelings. Thus, nodding, smiling, and affirmative comment will probably be confidentlyinterpreted as meaning that they have informed,helped, and pleased the newcomer. It is likely, however, that theforeigner actually understood very little of the verbal and nonverbal content and was merely indicating polite interest or trying not to embarrass himself or herself of the host with verbalized questions. 8. Language Difference
The second stumbling block is so obvious that it hardly needs mentioning--language. Vocabulary, syntax, idioms, slang, dialects, and so on all cause difficulty, but the person strugglingwith a different language is at least aware of being in this kind oftrouble. A worse language problem is thetenacity with whichsomeone will cling to just one meaning of a word or phrase in thenew language, regardless of connotation or context. The variations in possible meaning, especially if inflection and tonal qualities are added, are so difficult to cope with that they are oftenwaved aside. The reason this problem is worse than simple struggling to translate foreign words is because each person thinks heor she understands. The nationwide misinterpretation of Khrushchev's sentence \example.Even\
cause
trouble.
When
a
Japanesehears,\you have some tea?\or she listens to the literalmeaning of the sentence and answers,\that he orshe wants some.\host or hostess that there may be a misunderstanding. Also, in some culture, it is polite to refuse the first or second offer of refreshment. Many foreign guests have gone hungry because their US host or hostess never presented the thirdoffer—another case of “no\
9. Nonverbal misinterpretations
Learning the language, which most visitors to foreign countries consider their only barrier to understanding, is actually onlythe beginning. The third stumbling block is nonverbal misinterpretations. People from different cultures inhabit different sensory realities. They see, hear, feel, and smell only that which has some meaning or importance for them. They abstract whatever fits into their personal world of recognition and then interpret itthrough the frame of reference of their own culture. For example, a Saudi Arab would nonverbally signal that he liked a girl by smoothing back his hair, which to an American girl would be justa common nervous gesture signifying noting.
10. The lack of comprehension ofnonverbal signs and symbols that are easy to observe--such as gestures, postures, and otherbody movements--is a definite communication barrier. But it is possible to learn the meanings of these observable messages, usually in informal rather than formal ways. It is more difficult tonote correctly the unspoken codes of the other culture that are further from awareness, such as the handling of time and spatialrelationships and subtle signs of respect of formality. 11. The Presence of Preconceptions and Stereotypes
The fourth stumbling block is the presence of preconceptions and stereotypes. If the label\inscrutable\thus we explain the Japanese constant and inappropriate smile. The stereotype that Arabs are\”may cause the US students to keep their distance or even alert authorities when an animated and noisy group from the Middle Eastgathers. A professor who expects everyone from Indonesia,Mexico, and many other countries to%unfairly interpret a hesitation or request from an international student as amove to manipulate preferential treatment.
12. Stereotypes help do what Ernest Becker says the anxiety--prone human race must do--reduce the threat of the unknownby making the
world predictable. Indeed, this is one of the basicfunctions of culture: to lay out a predictable world in which the individual is firmly oriented. Stereotypes are overgeneralized, secondhand beliefs that provide conceptual bases from which to\whether or not they are accurate or fit the circumstances. In a foreign land theiruse increases our feeling of security and is psychologically necessary to the degree that we cannot tolerate ambiguity or the senseof helplessness resulting from inability to understand and dealwith people and situations beyond our comprehension.
13. Stereotypes are stumbling blocks for communicators becausethey interfere with objective viewing of stimuli--the sensitivesearch for cues to guide the imagination toward the other persons' reality. Stereotypes are not easy to overcome in ourselves or tocorrect in others, even with the presentation of evidence. Theypersist because they are firmly established as myths or truisms byone's own national culture and because they sometimesrationalize prejudices. They are also sustained and fed by the tendency toperceive selectively only those pieces of new information that correspond to the image held.
14. ThePractice ofImmediate Evaluation
The fifth stumbling block and another deterrent to understanding between persons of differing cultures or ethnic groups isthe tendency to evaluate, to approve or disapprove, the statements and actions of the other person or group. Rather than to try to comprehend completely the thoughts and feelings expressedfrom the world view of the other, we assume our own culture or way of life always seems right, proper, and natural. This biasprevents the open-minded attention needed to look at the attitudes and behavior patterns from the other’s point of view.
15. Fresh from a conference in Tokyo where Japanese professorshad emphasized the preference the people of Japan for simple natural settings