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Intercultural communication Marinel Gerritsen (www.marinelgerritsen.eu , [email protected]) Bachelor Arts and Culture Studies Radboud University Nijmegen September 26th 2017
Intercultural
communication
Marinel Gerritsen(www.marinelgerritsen.eu, [email protected])
Bachelor Arts and Culture Studies
Radboud University Nijmegen
September 26th 2017
Please, describe this picture of Sandro
Del-Prete?
3
Most important…..
In intercultural communication, what matters
is not what you show, but how it is seen, and
not what you say but how you are heard
Overview
• What is Culture?
• The onion diagram of culture
• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values
• Culture shock
• How to deal with cultural differences
5
Two meanings of culture
• In the narrow sense:
“Civilization” or “refinement of the mind” and in particular the
results of such refinement, such as education, art and literature
(culture with a large C)
• In a broader - more anthropological - sense:
– “The collective programming of the mind that distinguishes
the members of one group or category of people from
others”. (culture with a small c)
(Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov, 210: 5-6, also see
http://vimeo.com/29036835)
North-Korean soldier brushes his shoe
with the US flag
dia 7 van 79
Dutch society seen with Spanish eyes: the
marriage proposal(Antonio Ortiz Echagüe, 1920)
Levels of mental programming
personality
culture
human nature
univer
sal
specific to
group
specific to
individual
inherited
learned
inherited and learned
What happens here?
• Voorbeeld 1
• Voorbeeld 2
10
Culture and the ideal of female
beauty
Beauty in an Ethiopian soap and in a
Dutch soap
12
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Culture: Hofstede's onion diagram
Overview
• What is Culture?
• The onion diagram of culture
• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values
• Culture shock
• How to deal with cultural differences
Symbols
Symbols are words, gestures, pictures, objects that carry a
particular meaning that is only recognized by those who
share the culture.
(Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov 2010, p. 8)
Symbols: Flags, Dutch bitterballen,
Western business suits
The Austrian archduchess Marie-Antoinette who will
marry the French king Louis XVI arrives at the French
border in Austrian clothes and with her dog Mops
• .
In a tent, she is re-dressed in Parisian
style
She leaves the tent in French clothes and without
Mops. The lady-in-waiting said "You can have as
many French dogs as you like.",
She enters France clothed as a
Parisienne, but not as a Parisienne
Meaning of words as a symbol
21
Word associations word
marriage
You
The Netherlands
United States
Japan
France
22
Word associations word
marriage
Netherlands: Fidelity, children, love
US: Love, understanding, partner
Japan: End of life, confidence, obligations
France: Love, passion, sex
Gestures as a symbol
24
25
Swimmer Inge de Bruijn in Sydney
2000
27
Inge de Bruijn in Athens 2004
Swedish Ambassador and Iranian President
What is the problem?
Charles Darwin, The Expression of the
Emotions in Man and Animals 1872
Expression of joy, astonishment and
horror (from Darwin 1872)
31
Which facial expression expresses
which emotion?
Paul Ekman:
http://www.paulekman.com/
Fear
Joy
Anger
Disdain
Sadness
Surprise
Disgust
32
Disgust Sadness Anger
33
Fear Surprise Disdain Joy
34
Facial expressions recognized world
wide
Fear, disgust, anger 66%
Disdain 75%
Sadness, surprise 80%
Joy 90%
35
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Culture: Hofstede's onion diagram
Overview
• What is Culture?
• The onion diagram of culture
• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values
• Culture shock
• How to deal with cultural differences
Heroes
Heroes are persons, alive or dead, that are highly prized in
a culture and thus serve as a model for members of a
culture.
(Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov 2010, p. 8)
Who are heroes or heroines in your
culture?
Who are anti-heroes or anti-heroines in
your culture?
Heroes in the Dutch culture
40
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Culture: Hofstede's onion diagram
Rituals
Rituals are collective activities that are technically superfluous to
reach desired ends but that, within a culture, are considered
socially essentential. They are therefore carried out for their own
sake.
(Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov 2010, p.9)
42
Tea rituals in Japan
dia 43 van 79 43
• Voorbeeld 1
• Voorbeeld 2
Eating rituals
Greeting people: Western society, New
Zealand, Tibet, Thailand
Hollande, former president of France
wants to shake hands, but his partners do
not understand that. Why not?
Intercultural misunderstanding
New rituals: graduating in Padua in Italy
48
After the defense of the thesis colleague
students put other clothes on the Master
49
She receives a poster with stories about your
life as a student and has to read that aloud in
presence of her family, friends and professors
50
The poster is hanged on the wall of the
university for at least 24 hours
dia 51 van 79
New rituals: orange streets around
football matches
Breitner, girl in kimono (1895)
The Context theory of Edward T. Hall
Cultures differ in the extent to which they use context
and situation for the interpretation of a message.
In high-context cultures, most of the meaning of a
message is deduced from the context in which the
words occur, for example non-verbal communication,
setting of the communication
In low-context cultures, the meaning of a message is
primarily deduced from the words uttered.
54
High context
Implicit (indirect)
Face saving, harmonie
Interpersonal relations
important
Non-verbal information
Form
Face-to-face communication
Low context
Explicit (direct)
Straightforward
Transparency important
Verbal information
Content
Written communication
55
High and low context cultures
Countries High context Low context
German
Scandinavian
US
France
UK
Middle East
China
Japan
*
**
***
***
****
****
****
***
*
57
An example of a letter from a high context
culture. One starts with something not related
to the topic of the letter, one builds first a
relationship with the reader.
58
High context cultures observe better
Communicating with the fabric
of clothes
60
Communication by means of ducks.
What is the meaning?
Which utterances are low context and
which high context?
1. That is a very interesting viewpoint
2. This proposal deserves further consideration
3. I heard another story about that
4. Can we move on to the next topic?
5. Do you have another one?
6. I don’t agree
7. Propose something else
8. You are wrong
9. We need to consult with people not in the room before we can decide
10. I don’t agree with what you said about that
11. We need to talk more about this
Overview
• What is Culture?
• The onion diagram of culture
• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values
• Culture shock
• How to deal with cultural differences
63
Values
Rituals
Heroes
Symbols
Culture: Hofstede's onion diagram
64
Dilemma: Which kind of company is normal?
A. One way is to see a company as a system designed to perform
functions and tasks in an efficient way. People are hired to perform
these function with the help of machines and other equipment. They are
paid for the tasks they perform.
B. A second way is to see a company as a group of people working
together. They have social relations with other people and with the
organization. The functioning is dependent on these relations.
Which option do you choose, A or B?
(Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner 2013)
dia 65 van 79
Percentage of respondents opting for a
system rather than a social group
Dilemma: Painting the house of the boss
A boss asks a subordinate to help him paint the house. The
subordinate, who does not feel like doing it, discusses the
situation with a colleague.
A. The colleague argues: “You don’t have to paint if you
don’t feel like it. He is your boss at work. Outside, he has
little authority.”
B. The subordinate argues: “Despite the fact that I don’t
feel like it, I will paint it. He is my boss and you can’t ignore
that outside work either.”
(Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner 2013)
Percentage of respondents who would
refuse to help the boss
Culture seen as a floating
iceberg (Edward T. Hall)
Symbols
heroes
rituals
Values
manners, customs,
language, history etc.
Vision of the world,
presumptions,
way of thinking etc.
1/9
8/9
69
Six basic values (Kluckhohn & Strodtbeck) with the subvalues (16 values in total)
1. Human nature
2. Human Relations
Collectivism-Individualism
Power distance
Particularism-Universalism
Neutral-Affective
Achievement
3. Activity
Uncertainty Avoidance
Masculinity-Feminity
Indulgence-Restraint
4. Time
Past, present, future
Polychrony-monochrony
Short versus long term orientation
5. Space
Personal space
Private-Public
Specific-Diffuse
6. Person-Nature
Overview
• What is Culture?
• The onion diagram of culture
• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values
• Culture shock
• How to deal with cultural differences
Culture shock and reverse culture shockhttps://kultureshock.wikispaces.com/DEFINING+CULTURE+SHOCK
Overview
• What is Culture?
• The onion diagram of culture
• Symbols
• Heroes
• Rituals
• Values
• Culture shock
• How to deal with cultural differences
73
Dealing with cultural differences: Africa
in the fiftees of the 20th century
Dealing with cultural differences:
three options1. Continue with the separation
2. Assume that the other culture will adapt to your culture
Evolués in Leopoldstad (Kongo,
Africa)
75
American
advertisement
for washing
powder
1880-1920• American can
American
advertisement
for soap
(1920?)
American advertisement
for paint 1935
Dealing with cultural differences:
three options
1. Continue with the separation
2. Assume that the other culture will adapt to your culture
3. Adapt to the other culture, but to which extent?
a. Adapt completely
b. Set limits
– The seller is expected to adapt to the buyer
H&M ads
adapted to
Middle East
(left picture) • M
Ikea ad
US Saudi Arabia
Advertisement for underwear in Islam
countries
Ann Currey of the American broadcast-sender
NBC interviews president Rohani of Iran(www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctrBLkVBEEUhttps://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=ctrBLkVBEEU)
Dealing with cultural differences:
three options
1. Continue with the separation
2. Assume that the other culture will adapt to your culture
3. Adapt to the other culture, but to which extent?
a. Adapt completely
b. Set limits
– The seller is expected to adapt to the buyer
– The visitor is expected to observe local customs
Hillary Clinton meets Birman leader
of the opposition Aung San Suu Kyl
(2-12-2011)
Royal Dutch family in Muscat and
Abu Dhabi
Obama phones Rohani, president of Iran
Obama: “Goda Hafez”
Rohani: “Have a nice day”
Adaptation in Iran that was not appreciated
(Marietje Schaake June 2015)
Sometimes people adapt for you …Michelle
Obama attends the presentation of the Oscar
for the film Argo February 17th 2013
The real picture The manipulated picture in Iran.
Picture of the American-Iran mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani who won the
prestigious Fieldsmedaille (2014). Left the real picture, right the manipulated
picture that appeared in Iran: ears, neck and part of her hair disappeared.
Dealing with cultural differences: three
options1. Continue with the separation
2. Assume that the other culture will adapt to your culture
3. Adapt to the other culture, but to which extent?
a. Adapt completely
b. Set limits
– The seller is expected to adapt to the buyer
– The visitor is expected to observe local customs
c. Empathy
- Do unto others as they themselves would have done unto
them
92
Dealing with cultural differences
Never:
• Automatic pilot
• ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do’
• Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself
Try: Empathy
Do unto others as they themselves would have done unto them
93
Most important to realize…..
In intercultural communication, what matters
is not what you show, but how it is seen, and
not what you say but how you are heard
Further reading
• Academic literature
– Marinel Gerritsen & Marie-Thérèse Claes,
(2016) Culture Waarden en Communicatie in
internationaal perspectief. Coutinho: Bussum,
4e totaal herziene druk.
– Fred E. Jandt (2007), An introduction to
Intercultural Communication. Identities in a
global community. Sage:Thousand
Oaks/London/New Delhi)
• The novel
– Eva Hoffman (1989), Lost in translation.
Penguin.
ShukranGracias HvalaMulþumesc
