Intercultural Communication Challenges

UNIVERSITATEA TRANSILVANIA BRAOV

FACULTATEA DE LITERESPECIALIZAREA LMAINTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES

LUCRARE DE DIPLOM

Student

Coordonator tiinific

Lector Dr. Mona Arhire

Asistent Lector Ileana Sireeanu

Braov

2007

TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRAOV

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES

B.A. PROJECT

Student

Supervisor

Lecturer Assistant Lecturer Braov

2007

ABSTRACTThe present paper deals with the problems intercultural communication conducts to. Language correlated with cultural traits play a major role in determining the causes but also the means of overcoming intercultural barriers. The theoretical part of the present paper sustains the existence of intercultural communication difficulties, pointing out their roots and determinants, while the practical part reveals the fact that, along with an ever growing number of intercultural encounters, English language has gained its position of intercultural communication mediator. The research in the field of Internet communication and its language gives a much more positive perspective on intercultural communication, showing the path to avoiding cultural and linguistic misunderstandings.

CONTENTS

Introduction .. 7CHAPTER ONE- Determinants of Culture and Identity 9

1.0. Introduction . 9

1.1. Cultural Identity and Diversity . 9

1.1.1. Language . 10

1.1.2. Tradition .. 14

1.1.3. Religion . 16

1.1.4. Society ... 17

1.2. Cultural Transformation and Acquisition ... 18

1.2.1. Family vs. Society 18

1.2.2. Economical and Political Surrounding .. 20

1.2.3. Media Influences .. 21

1.3. Global Identity- Globalization .. 23

1.3.1. Interchange Between Cultures ... 23

1.3.2. Emergence of a Cosmopolitan Culture .. 25

1.3.3. E.U. Integration 27

1.4. Conclusion 28CHAPTER TWO- Different Communication Styles and Values .. 292.0. Introduction ... 29

2.1. Language Usage . 29

2.2. Verbal Communication . 33

2.3. Non-Verbal Communication 34

2.3.1. Body Language 35

2.3.2. Gestures and Mimics ... 38

2.3.3. Cultural Norms and Rules . 40

2.4. Paralanguage . 42

2.5. Conclusion .. 43CHAPTER THREE- Intercultural Communication and Language Variation . 443.0. Introduction . 44

3.1. Differences in Language . 44

3.1.1. Language and Cultural Attachment ... 46

3.1.2. Linguistic Ethnocentrism . 46

3.2. Accents, Dialects and Regional Differences 47

3.2.1. International Regional Variables 47

3.2.2. Language and Dialect ... 49

3.2.3. Accent and Dialect 50

3.2.4. Accent Comprehension . 52

3.3. Cultural Aspects of Language Usage . 53

3.3.1. Recognition of Usage Differences 53

3.3.2. Stereotyping ... 54

3.3.3. High- vs. Low-Context Cultures .. 54

3.4. Intercultural Business Communication and the English Language ... 553.4.1. Sociolinguistical Approach to Business Communication .. 563.4.2. English and International Business . 57

3.4.3. Overcoming Language as a Barrier to Business Communication 59

3.4.4. Intercultural Business Blunders .. 61

3.5. Conclusion 62CHAPTER FOUR- Internet English- New Means of Overcoming Intercultural Barriers 634.0. Introduction . 63

4.1. Online Media and Their Effect on Language ... 64

4.1.1. Email .. 64

4.1.2. Instant Messenger Programs ... 64

4.1.3. Blogging . 65

4.1.4. Usenet . 66

4.1.5. Netiquette for Non-native Speakers .... 66

4.2. Foreign Languages Online .. 68

4.2.1. Learning English Online . 69

4.2.2. The Rosetta Stone . 70

4.2.3. Word 2 Word . 70

4.3. English Internet Slang . 71

4.3.1. Acronyms and Abbreviations .. 72

4.3.2. Emoticons ( Smileys) 73

4.3.3. Noob ... 73

4.3.4. Format Tagging . 73

4.4. English Internet Jargon .. 74

4.4.1. Cyberlingo . 75

4.5. English- the Universal Language on Internet ... 84

4.5.1. Reasons .. 85

4.5.2. The Importance of the Internet and English .. 86

4.5.3. Breaking Down Barriers .. 87

4.6. Internet and the Future ... 89

4.7. Challenges and Opportunities 89

4.8. Conclusion 90 Conclusions ... 92 Glossary of Internet and Web Jargon 94

References ............................................................................................................................... 111Introduction

The world today is characterized by an ever growing number of contacts resulting in communication between people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This intercultural communication takes place because of contacts within the areas of business, military cooperation, science, education, massmedia, entertainment, tourism but also because of immigration brought about by labor shortage or political conflicts.

In all these contacts, there is communication which needs to be as constructive as possible, without misunderstandings and breakdowns. The goal of this project is to present some causes which lead to intercultural communication problems, and the means to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers. It is my belief that research on the nature of linguistic and cultural similarities and differences can play a positive and beneficial role in intercultural communication.

In the first chapter, I developped a number of variables that make cultures different. I pointed out the determinants of culture and identity, reffering to both cultural diversity, transformation and aquisition, as well as the effects of globalization on the society we live in. The connection between culture and language is indestructible, one influencing the other in the complex process of intercultural communication.

During the second chapter, I discussed a variety of communication styles, from verbal communication to non-verbal communication, mentioning as well the importance of paralanguage while communicating. Language is the core of any type of communication, and referring to intercultural communication, proper language usage is the main step in avoiding misunderstandings.

The third chapter looks at the process of language variation strictly related to intercultural communication. Differences in the English language, such as dialects, accents, regional differences, but also cultural aspects of language usage represent possible risk factors which affects negatively intercultural communication. English language has become in the last decades the language of business, facilitating intercultural exchange. For the field of business and not only, learning English has proved to be the easiest strategy in overcoming language barriers. The chapter ends with some examples of intercultural communication blunders which have seriously damaged intercultural collaboration and led to embarassing situations.

The fourth and last chapter deals with the very popular issue of Internet and a language that makes its way out of the computer into the real life: Internet English. Loosened rules of grammar, flexible terminology, informal register, are all traits that make Internet English so popular, especially among youngsters. The new age of Internet opened new doors to a much more simple and effective communication, the advancing technologies transforming online intercultural communication into a pleasant and interesting way of spending time. The flaws of Internet cannot be denied, but the advantages of a more accesible way of communicating on an intercultural level are more obvious.

Encounters between people of different cultural background have existed forever, and equally forever, people were thinking about phenomena that were unusual in other cultures. However, these intercultural encounters were relatively seldom in early times, but in the 20th century society, they are part of everyday life. Along with the growth of intercultural encounters, English has reached the level of universal language, which facilitates intercultural communication, due to its approachable characteristics and its global status.

CHAPTER ONE- Determinants of Culture and Identity

1.0. Introduction

Human language arises from biological evolution, individual learning, and cultural transmission, but the interaction of these three processes has not been widely studied. In the present chapter, I will analyze cultural transmission, which allows people to investigate how innate learning biases are related to universal properties of language. I will show that cultural transmission can magnify weak biases into strong linguistic universals, undermining one of the arguments for strong innate constraints on language learning. As a consequence, the strength of innate biases can be shielded from natural selection, allowing these genes to drift. Furthermore, even when there is no natural selection, cultural transmission can produce apparent adaptations. Cultural transmission thus provides an alternative to traditional nativist and adaptationist explanations for the properties of human languages.

1.1. Cultural Identity and Diversity

Cultural identityis a matter of becoming as well as of being. It belongs to the future as much as to the past. It is not something which already exists, transcending place, time, history and culture. Cultural identities come from somewhere, have histories. But, like everything which is historical, they undergo constant.

As well as the more obvious cultural differences that exist between peoples, such as language, customs and traditions, dress, there are also significant variations in the way societies organize themselves, in their shared conception of morality, and in the ways they interact with their environment. These differences can be considered incidental artefacts arising from patterns of human migration or simply evolutionary trait that is key to our success as a species. Cultural diversity may be vital for the long-term survival of humanity, the conservation of indigenous cultures being as important to humankind as the conservation of species and ecosystems is to life in general.

1.1.1. Language

From one point of view language is a part of culture, and yet it is more than that. It is central to culture since it is the means through which most of culture is learned and communicated. Only humans have the biological capacity for language, which allows them to communicate cultural ideas and symbolic meanings from one generation to the next and to constantly create new cultural ideas. The capacity for language separates humans from the other primates. In any language, an infinite number of possible sentences can be constructed and used to convey an infinite number of cultural ideas. Because of this, human language is significantly different from any other system of animal communication.

From the other point of view, cultures are continually undergoing some degree of change, and since language is a part of culture, it is always changing as well. Of course, during ones lifetime, one is not aware of linguistic change, except for changes in vocabulary, particularly slang words and expressions. If we compare our language usage with that of the language in Shakespeares plays, the extent to which English has changed over the past centuries is obvious. It is apparent that present-day dialect differences represent developments from an earlier form of the language. Speech communities are made up of members of a group within a society who interact and speak frequently with one another. One speech community that is very similar to its neighbor will develop slight differences in pronunciation or vocabulary which will differentiate it from the neighboring speech community. As these differences increase, they become the basis for greater dialect differentiation.

Dialect differentiation, over time, leads to divergence and to the development of two separate languages. If one examines French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, one can immediately recognize a host of similarities. Some languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese, are more closely related than others, such as French and Portuguese. Because of the higher degree of mutual intelligibility between Spanish and Portuguese, one could argue that these two languages are more like different dialects of a single language. These languages, along with other languages like Romanian, are daughter languages, descendants of the Latin spoken during the time of Julius Caesar. This was the language spoken by the common people, and it differs from the literary Latin familiar to us from the scholarly works of that time. Dialects of the Latin language spread over large parts of Europe and the Mediterranean world as a result of Roman conquest. These dialects of Latin later developed into separate languages. The Latin of the Roman period is referred to as the Proto-Language, and the present-day languages descended from it are known as Romance languages.

In parallel fashion, English, Dutch, German, and the Scandinavian languages compose the Germanic language family-all descended from a common proto-language called Proto-Germanic. Similarly, all the Slavic languages (Russian, Polish, Czech, etc.) are descended from Proto-Slavic. The European languages we have just mentioned, along with other European and Asian languages such as Persian, Hindi, and Bengali, form a large family of related languages called the Indo-European Language family. All these languages are descended from a common ancestor, Proto-Indo -European. Not all languages spoken in Europe are part of this family. Finnish and Hungarian belong to the Finno-Ugric family, while Basque is completely unrelated to any other language. For example, the languages of the indigenous people of North and South America, Africa, and Oceania can be organized in terms of language families in the same fashion as the European languages discussed above. Some of these language families are very large, encompassing many languages, whereas others may be very small or even isolates, like Basque. Until studied, these languages had not been recorded in written form. For the languages of Europe, where written records existed for millennia, the historical sequence is known. This enables us to know what Proto-Roman looked like; it was the spoken language, similar to the scholarly language.

Languages thought to be related are systematically compared. Words that have the same or similar meanings are examined. This can be illustrated with a simple example from the Germanic languages. The English word dance has as its equivalent the German word Tam, and the English word door has as its equivalent Tur. The forms that have been paired have the same meaning, and their phonemic structures are similar but not identical. These pairs are referred to as cognates. The initial d in English regularly corresponds to the initial t in German. These two forms represent modern divergences from the original of this phoneme in Proto-Germanic. This correspondence operates throughout the two languages, so that everywhere one finds an initial d in English, one would expect to find an initial t in German. This is just a single example of the many sound correspondences to be found between German and English. The morphemic structure of the proto-language could be determined through the same comparative approach. This also provides information about what the culture of the speakers of this proto-language was like. Words in the proto-language for plants, trees, and animals can be used to pinpoint the possible location of the speakers original homeland before they dispersed.

Still another way in which languages change is a result of the diffusion or borrowing from speakers of one language by speakers of another language. This may be the borrowing of words, sounds, or grammatical forms. Contact and borrowing come about in a number of different ways, some of them peaceful, others not. An excellent example of this is what happened after the Norman conquest of England, in A.D. 1066. The Norman invaders, the conquering class, were speakers of an earlier version of French, while the subjugated English spoke Anglo-Saxon, a Germanic language. The effects of that invasion are present today in our own language. The French, famous for their cuisine, introduced a series of terms into the Anglo-Saxon language, referring to different kinds of cooked meat. The cow (Saxon),when cooked, became beef (boeuf in French); calf (Saxon)became veal (veau in French); sheep (Saxon) became mutton (mouton in French); and swine (Saxon) became pork (porc in French).

As Geertz claimed that the difference in language is not a difference in sounds and signs but a difference in worldviews, a new theory emerged, emphasizing on the fact that the worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds. The language habits of a group create its social reality, no two languages being sufficiently similar to be consider as representing the same reality.

The myths and the meanings of public symbols represent shared cultural knowledge. This cultural knowledge is handed down from generation to generation and constitutes an entity beyond the individual bearers of the culture. In all societies, people exhibit individual personality differences, by means of language, as a result of genetic differences, upbringing, and particular life experiences. Each individual has a certain personality, a certain character, which is more or less stable over his or her lifetime. This is not to say that individuals never change. An individuals personality can change, sometimes through his or her own efforts and sometimes with the help of others.

A range of personality types exists in our society, as well as in every society in the world. Though there is a range of personality types in every society, there are personality differences from one society to the next. In any one society a preponderance of individuals with a particular kind of personality is to be found. The attempt to characterize the dominant personality types of different societies and tribes goes back to ancient times. Tacitus, the Roman historian, in his work Germania: On the Origin, Geography, Institutions, and Tribes of the Germans, written at the end of the first century A.D., characterizes the Germans as a race without either natural or acquired cunning, they disclose their hidden thoughts in the freedom of the festivity. He also notes that they represent a strange combination of idleness and sloth and readiness to go to war. Tacitus tried to capture what was distinctive about the personality characteristics of the Germans as a people.

Throughout history, such characterizations of different peoples have been made. One must always be wary of stereotypes based on prejudice, as distinguished from accurate characterizations based on data and observations. Earlier studies of personality and culture focused on personality differences between various cultures, the measures for determining and verifying these differences, the investigation of the cultural institutions that bring about the development of these particular personality types through time, and the other aspects of culture to which these personality differences were related .

1.1.2. TraditionPeople share society-organized life in groups-with other animals. Culture, however, is distinctly human. Cultures are traditions and customs, transmitted through learning, that govern the beliefs and behavior of the people exposed to them. Children inherit these traditions by growing up in a particular society. Cultural traditions include customs and opinions, developed over the generations, about proper and improper behavior. Cultural traditions answer such questions as: How should we do things? How do we tell right from wrong? How do we interpret the world? A culture produces consistencies in behavior and thought in a given society, because through culture people create, remember, and deal with ideas.

The most critical element of cultural traditions is their transmission through learning rather than biological inheritance. Culture is not itself biological, but it rests on human biology. Human adaptation (the process by which organism cope with environmental stresses) involves an interplay between culture and biology; and for more than 1 million years , humans have had at least some of the biological capacities on which culture depends: the abilities to learn, to think symbolically, to use language , and to employ tools and other cultural features in organizing their lives and adapting to their environments.

Cultures have been characterized as sets of control mechanisms-plans, recipes, rules, constructions, what computer engineers call programs for the governing of behavior (Geertz C., The Interpretation of Cultures, New York: Basic Books, 1973, p. 44). These programs are absorbed by people through enculturation in particular traditions. People gradually internalize a previously established system of meanings and symbols which they use to define their world, express their feelings, and make their judgments. Thereafter, this system helps guide their behavior and perceptions throughout their lives. The cultural forms, institutions, values, and customs of the past always influence subsequent adaptation, producing continued diversity and giving a certain uniqueness to the actions and reactions of different groups.

Every person begins immediately, through a process of conscious and unconscious learning and interaction with others, to internalize, or incorporate, a cultural tradition through the process of enculturation. Sometimes culture is taught directly, as when parents tell their children to say thank you when someone gives them something or does them a favour. Culture is also transmitted through observation. Children pay attention to the things that go on around them. They modify their behavior not just because other people tell them to but as a result of their own observations and growing awareness of what their culture considers right and wrong.

Culture as well as tradition is also absorbed unconsciously. North Americans acquire their cultures notions about how far apart people should stand when they talk not by being told to maintain a certain distance but through a gradual process of observation, experience, and conscious and unconscious behavior modification. Mentioning Latins, they are not taught to stand closer together than North Americans do, but they learn to do so anyway as part of their cultural tradition.

High-context cultures and low-context cultures are the two variables which set the cultural attributes of certain groups, strongly connected to tradition. The context in which communication takes place affects the meaning and interpretation of the interaction. In high-context cultures( like Asia, Africa, Middle East countries) feelings and thoughts are not explicitly expressed, one having to read between the lines from her/his general understanding and make assumptions about the meaning of the message through her/his knowledge of the person or surroundings. In low-context cultures ( North America, Switzerland, Germany) communication must be more explicit, feelings and thoughts being fully expressed in words and information being more available. People in high-context cultures expect others to understand subtle gestures, moods, or surrounding clues that people from low-context cultures cannot perceive. While people from high-context cultures find those from low-context cultures as too talkative, too obvious, the ones from low-context cultures consider high-context people as being sneaky and mysterious. Regarding cross-cultural communication between high- and low-context people, misinterpretation and misunderstanding often result, leading to the arise of conflicts.

1.1.3. Religion

Religion, a cultural universal capable of uniting or dividing social groups, consists of belief and behavior concerned with supernatural beings, powers, and forces. Cross-cultural studies have revealed many functions of religion. Religion helps maintain social order, but it can also promote change. Revitalization movements incorporate old and new beliefs and have helped people adapt to changing environments.

However, a different view of the supernatural also occurs in non-industrial societies. This sees the supernatural as a domain of raw, impersonal power or force (called mana in Polynesia and Melanesia). People can manipulate and control mana under certain conditions. When ordinary technical and rational means of doing things fail, people may turn to magic, using it when they lack control over outcomes. Religion offers comfort and psychological security at times of crisis. In any case, rites can also create anxiety. Rituals are formal, invariant, stylized, earnest acts that require people to subordinate their particular beliefs to a social collectivity. Rites of passage have three stages: separation, liminality or margin, and aggregation. Passage rites can mark any change in social status, age, place, or social condition. Collective rites are often cemented by communities, a feeling of intense solidarity.

The study of religion also leads to the cross-cultural analysis of myths and folktales. These forms of creative expression reveal native theories about the creation of the world and supernatural entities. Myths express cultural values, offer hope, and teach enculturative lessons. The myths typically found in nation-states include cautionary tragedies as well as hopeful tales. Levi Strauss, the inventor of the structural analysis of myth, has argued that people universally classify aspects of nature and culture by means of binary opposition. Such opposition makes phenomena that are continuous seem more distinct. Structural analysis has the aim to discover the unrevealed connections among aspects of culture.

The spiritual beliefs of a society are often so powerful that they transcend other cultural aspects. Religion commonly underlies both moral and economic norms. In the United States of America, the effects of religion upon the workers are limited, excepting their generalized belief in hard work-stemming from the Protestant ethics, whereas in other countries religious beliefs and practices are influencing every day activities. For example, in Islamic countries, the idea of insha Allah, that is, God willing, prevails. Buddhists, Hindus or some Muslims strongly believe in the concept of faith, or destiny. Speaking about some Western countries, it can be noticed the fact that religious organization, such as the Roman Catholic Church, play a major cultural role through moral and political influence.

1.1.4. Society

Societies are grouped together: they contain families, classes, castes, status, elites, etc. All these can still be found in all societies, even though is todays world social structures go through a dynamic change. As well as interactions between groups can vary drastically from culture to culture, also the relationship between the individual and the group is equally instable, both depending on and interacting with each other. Taking in consideration the cultural environment, the emphasis may be more on the individual or on the group the individual belongs to.

The individual to individual interactions, their depth and extend can vary enormously according to the specific type of society, whether it is an open- or closed-society. While for example Americans are considered to be very open, friendly, having a lot of friends, each one for a certain purpose, the Russians are said to be colder, unapproachable, far more selective, but for them friendship extending to a more sincere involvement.

In order to communicate, it is not enough just to know the language, the linguistic system and to produce grammatically correct enunciations. One has to know how to use them according to the social context; we speak differently with other people in function of our intentions or purposes. The know-how of communication refers to the knowledge people require/need to interact with others, to be able to communicate successfully one with the other and to avoid misunderstandings.

Language diversity is combined with social diversity. Inside a culture there has to be a clear distinction between the people who use and the ones who dont use a specific communication code, so that, taking in account the diversity of contexts, to notice all the variants of interpretation of each socio-cultural group. This is not referring to a community speaking the same language, but to a community that shares the same rules which govern the development and interpretation of each act of communication. For example, one can know English from the grammatical and lexical point of view and still not to understand the message due to the ignorance of cultural attributes. The American expression come and see us, which doesnt refer at all to an invitation if it is placed in the end of the conversational act, can actually be an invitation if placed in the middle of the conversational act. A stranger who is not aware of this socio-cultural convention, might misunderstand the verbal message, creating unpleasant situations.1.2. Cultural Transformation and AcquisitionThe world, in which we live, is in a continuous change, with the advancement of technology, and changes in the political and economical structures. The cultural adaptation has, for many, become part of everyday life, without it being almost impossible to integrate and successfully adapt in a community, which has its own set of cultural and social values.

1.2.1. Family vs. Society

The family is still the chief institution in society for transmitting from one generation to another social possessions of all sorts. Property in the form of land or houses or personal property, society permits the family to pass along from generation to generation. Thus, also, the material equipment for industry, that is capital, is transmitted in this way. While it is obvious that the material goods of society are transmitted by the family from one generation to another, it is perhaps not quite so obvious, but equally true, that the cultural possessions of the race are as well transmitted. For example, language is very largely transmitted in the family. Literature, ideas, beliefs on government, law, religion, oral standards, artistic tastes and appreciation- all of these are still largely transmitted in society from one generation to another through the family.

While public institutions, such as libraries, art galleries, universities, scientific museums, and others, are often adopted to conserve and transmit these spiritual possessions of the race, yet it is safe to say that if it were possible for society to depend upon these institutions to transmit knowledge, artistic standards, and moral ideals, there would be great discontinuity in social life. The family has been in the past, and is still, the great conserving agency in human society, preserving and transmitting from generation to generation both the material, but most of all the cultural and spiritual possessions of the race.

The modern society family counts not only as the primary but also as the most important human institution. The family, obviously, is charged by society with the most important task, not only of producing the new individuals in society, but of training each individual as he comes on the stage of life, adjusting him to society in all of its aspects, such as industry, government, culture, tradition and religion. The child gets born into a set of relationships, made up of her/his family members. With their help and through them, the infant experiences the culture of the family. Values like behaviors, norms and values, cultural attitudes, create the process of education.

Education is the great means of controlling habit and character in complex social groups, and as such it is the chief means to which society must look for all substantial social progress. It is the instrument by which human nature may be apparently indefinitely modified, and hence, also, the instrument by which society may be perfected. The task of social regeneration is essentially a task of education.

Along with the age, the individual enlarges her/his relationships outside the family, getting in touch with other contexts like school, friendships, then work place. The individual also enters the wider area of mass media and of politics, a totally different area of influences- the immediate social surrounding. While the context of family is highly personal, the social context and its changes will be reflected more in the cultural attributes of the individual. These changes, of political, economical or social nature, affect the individual directly or indirectly, through the group she/he belongs to.

1.2.2. Economical and Political Surrounding

At the end of the 20th century, the authoritarian society of Latin America or Europe was defeated by the Western model of liberal democratic society. In our societies, the changes in political groups and activism are obvious: politics no longer presents itself as a controlling mechanism and binding means of democratic legislation and social cohesion, but as a regulator of the world economy. The way in which many political and social elites think is strictly correlated to the terms of a cost-benefit-analysis and utility preferences regarding problems such as social integration and democratic legitimacy.

Together with this new world-order, the cultural integrity and social reality of the individual are threatened by new means of information flow and international communication. The dominance of global players in the media is a phenomenon that is continuously increasing. Modern media offers great support to the politic system, economic interest factors, rather than intellectual matters, rule behind most TV stations. Culture has suffered serious transformations, being regarded today as a cost-benefit factor for the attainment of the global information society.

Major political and economical changes have a big impact on national cultures. The last century has seen a magnitude of rise and fall of economical and political power, social and structural changes. Speaking about Europe, which went through rough periods such the decline of the colonial power, the rise and fall of totalitarian, nationalistic and socialistic regimes, the devastating World Wars, the birth of democracy, experienced these fundamental changes as well as on a social level, cultural identities and beliefs being radically changed. When it comes to America, the series of events such as the Vietnam war, the Gulf war, and the most recent the Iraq war, had a major impact upon the self-conscious of the nation, giving birth to a sense of national integrity and moral regeneration.

The changes in communication technologies, the changing business environment, political shifts, all these encourage the emergence of a global industry and cosmopolitan markets. With the arise of a global economy, the export of business interests as well as business culture is more and more visible, American or Asian business culture, for example, and their respective values being massively exported.

1.2.3. Media InfluencesA related form of communication is through mass media. This is paradoxically both public and private communication. It is available to the public, but consumed more often in the confines of the home. Thanks to the advancement of technology in the last century new methods of mass communication have grown dramatically. Before the late 19th century, there was only the printed word to convey information to the masses. Since then, the world has seen the invention of radio, television, and most recently the internet. One of the most powerful means of communicating ideas is through the use of mass media.

The media works in many ways in our society. It is a tool for promotion, news, information, a platform for sharing ideas as well as serving as a local and national mouthpiece for many organizations. It is one huge factor in our environment that influences decisions and acts to inspire our youth. Sometimes the messages that the media projects, however, are not all positive. Many theorists suggest, with evidence, that media has an influence on or affects our society, the way we think and the things we do. Examples are large billboards with ads that display the names or images of alcohol, television or print ads that portray women as sexual objects, etc.

As it can be easily noticed, media represents an extremely powerful tool, a promoter of social and cultural change, a role model for the society of the 21st century. Given its power potential, media is able to structure and shape reality, most of the times for its own benefits. The objective of the media is not to send correct and precise information, but to gain the audience. Persuasion is the successful attempt to influence feelings, opinions and public actions, by means of manipulation, constraint or simply shocking.

Referring to audience, the media plays a crucial role in forming and reflecting public opinion: it reproduces modern society's self-image and presents the world to the individuals. Critiques in the early-to-mid twentieth century suggested that the media influences the individuals behavior and destroys her/his capacity to act autonomously . Later empirical studies, however, suggest a more complex interaction between the media and society, with individuals actively interpreting and evaluating the media and the information it provides. Still the way that information and images of reality is transmitted and displayed can have a significant impact on people.

But the audience is the product. You have to sell a product to a market, and the market is, of course, made up of advertisers (that is, other businesses). Whether it is television or newspapers, or whatever, they are selling audiences. Corporations sell audiences to other corporations. In the case of the media, its a big businesses. In the commercial world, marketing and advertising are typically needed to make people aware of products. When it comes to propaganda for purposes of war, for example, professional public relations firms can often be involved to help sell a war. In these cases, media management may also be used to promote certain political policies and ideologies. Modern media offers audience-attracting programs featuring sex and violence, all according to the market logic. The commercial media has become, out of necessity for its own survival, the driving force behind the change of the public sphere, its tendency towards banalization and depolitization.

The real mass media is basically trying to divert people. Media presents itself as a global form of entertainment, the concepts of talk shows, game shows, soap operas and films mirror the same things, same characteristics of a multinational hybrid culture. What works in one country is heavily exported throughout the world, providing forms of global entertainment such as the famous soap opera Dallas or Dynasty or game shows like The Price is Right which are examples of universally distributed programs on TV.

The cinema industry together with television is certainly one of the most powerful types of media, having a significant impact on its audience. People like Brad Pit, Pamela Anderson or Tom Cruise are role model for millions of people, their behavior being thoroughly digested and imitated, while cultural values and norms, the morals of the society being left aside.

1.3. Global Identity GlobalizationThe world is becoming more globalized, there is no doubt about that. While that sounds promising, the current form of globalization, free trade and open markets are coming under much criticism. The interests of powerful nations and corporations are shaping the terms of world trade. In democratic countries, they are shaping and affecting the ability of elected leaders to make decisions in the interests of their people. Elsewhere they are promoting narrow political discourse and even supporting dictatorships and the stability that it brings for their interests. This is to the detriment of most people in the world, while increasingly fewer people in proportion are prospering.

1.3.1. Interchange between cultures

Fundamental changes in an entire society have a big impact upon the individuals, but, when exposed to a society with a fundamentally different culture, the individual is exposed to 'foreign' concepts of life, such as, for example, a capitalist view of economy, a hierarchically structured society with deep respect for authority, a deeply individualistic society. While adaptation is not necessarily the outcome, the individual will start reflecting on the concept, and may choose to adapt parts or all of the new outlook.

Being exposed to new ideas or a new environment, the society culture changes significantly at all levels, resulting in a shift in culture over time. Shifts in culture can of course initiate in the own society, but are more likely to be brought in by an outside culture, with a different set of assumptions, norms, values, etc. Shifts can of course be significant, or subtle, they can be fast or slow. The significant shifts are easily determined, changing society structure as a whole while taking place, and over a relatively short period of time.

Slow shifts are those shifts that occur over a long period of time, at least relatively spoken. The feminist movement is such a slower shift, taking some hundred years and more to change the basic assumptions, the values and attitudes of society. Fast shifts are dramatic like revolution developments: the end of the Third Reich was a fast shift, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe etc. The shift is abrupt, and changes society values fundamentally over a very short period of time.

The encounter of the individual with foreign concepts of a diverse society can easily give birth to serious complications and misunderstandings. A major problem of the individual regarding intercultural encounters is language. Language can be considered a barrier when it comes to communication, because conversation is fundamentally interactive and it requires response. This in turn requires a mutual understanding of conversational patterns/conventions. Conversational patterns are highly structured and very difficult to shift. Even when one speaks another language well, one probably still uses your native language conversation strategies.

Immigration, or the migration of a people into a country, along with its correlative emigration, or the migration of a people out of a country, constitutes an important social phenomenon. The issue of linguistic survival or the assimilation of individuals and groups into another language continues to be one of the most debated subjects regarding social and cultural matters.

The language assimilation patterns of today are not precisely those of the early 20th century, but they do not appear to pose any threat to English as the language that sets the bases of the nation and its culture. Bilingualism is more common today than in the past. Most children of immigrants speak to some extent in the mother tongue at home, especially if their parents have come from Latin America. However, if they are born and raised in the U.S., they are highly likely to speak English well or very well. We conclude that both the anxieties about the place of English in an immigration society and the hopes for a multilingual society in which English is no longer hegemonic are misplaced. Other languages, especially Spanish, will be spoken in the U.S., even by the American born; but this is not a radical departure from the American experience. Yet the necessity of learning English well is accepted by virtually all children and grandchildren of immigrants.

It is compulsory to study the relationship between globalization and contemporary culture, explaining the importance of time and space concerns, "deterritorialization," the impact of the media and communication technologies, and the possible growth of more cosmopolitan culture. Differences between speakers in any of these elements can lead to irritation, moral judgments, or misreading of intent. When there are tensions between the participants already, these conversational differences can cause serious confusions.

Cross cultural understanding simply refers to the basic ability of people to recognize, interpret and correctly react to people, incidences or situations that are open to misunderstanding due to cultural differences. Because, a genuinely cosmopolitan culture is unlikely to emerge unless we respect cultural differences and share a common sense of commitment about the world.

1.3.2. Emerge of a Cosmopolitan Culture

Globalization, the increasing mobility of people and ideas and the potential of science and its applications hold out both promises and challenges for a constantly evolving society. Globalization remains the dominant driving force in the world economy, reshaping societies and politics as it changes lives. Moreover, an expanding high-tech, information-based economy increasingly defines globalization and shapes the business cycles within it. Much of the flow of capital, labour, service, and goods among Asia, America, and Europe are technology- based. How nations respond to globalization defines whether they prosper from it or not. At a minimum, policymakers have to be able to devise and implement sophisticated macroeconomic fiscal and monetary policies that control inflation and take advantage of global flows of capital, direct investment, and trade.

The big technologically advanced societies must be aware of the different cultures and civilisations they get in touch with, in order not to give birth to conflicts, leaving behind the usual arrogance and ignorance. The contemporary global situation, with the accelerated mobility of innovations and merchandise floats, as well as immigration and emigration, leads to a restless, continuous search of stability. The world is aiming for a unique economical and political marketplace, as far as countries economies are interdependent one of the other.

For a successful and prosperous business, companies must take in consideration the cultural factor. An international market involves different cultural background countries, with different sets of values, norms, traditions. One of the key changes this has triggered is the need to communicate effectively with different people in different languages and from different cultures. In order for companies to maintain a proper relation with foreign countries in this international marketplace and to function effectively in diverse and multiple cultures simultaneously, they must look at intercultural communication trainings as to a necessity, for their own benefits and prosperity.

It is obvious the need and importance of understanding different cultures and to study their manifestations, in order to conclude successful business. The need for increased intercultural understanding and improved intercultural communication has become increasingly important to a world of blending cultures, experiences, and business practices. It is now recognised that linguistic and cultural knowledge are two of the most vital areas of knowledge that organisations must acquire if they are to integrate, progress and succeed in the marketplace.

In order to be competitive in this global market, large companies must improve their awareness and understanding of other cultures. Business strategies and communication skills are vital when working with people representing foreign companies. It is sometimes the simple mistakes we make, like showing the ok-sign with our hands or giving a thumb up, when dealing with different cultures that can ruin a relationship or months of hard work. Misunderstanding and unpleasant situations can be easily avoided by learning the simple cultural do's and don'ts, helping us set the grounds for respect and understanding.

Each culture has its own set of values, which determine what people think to be right or wrong, good or bad, legal or illegal. It is difficult for many people to accept values of another culture when they differ from theirs. For example, Americans like to take quick decisions when it comes to concluding a business, while Japanese value time, they like to think thoroughly until they take a decision. To communicate competently and fit in is equally important for us to understand what characterize the culture, as well as the language. To fully understand a culture, one needs to be aware and fully understand all the experiences that guide its individual members through life, such things as language and gestures, social relationships, cultural values, religion, family customs, lifestyle, education, work, health, politics, etc.

1.3.3. Globalization- EU Integration

The efforts for maintaining the peace at the end of the second World War were based on the facts that only through the European union we could put an end to a period represented by wars, blood baths, sufference and destruction all over Europe. That is why the fundamental aim of the European Union formulates as supreme objectives, on one hand maintaining and ensuring peace all over its territory, and on the other hand, the economical unification, for all the Community citizens. Regarding the fulfilling of the mentioned objectives, the European Community thought of the birth of an internal European market, the path to a political union and of the reinforcement of its social and economical cohesion.

The European merge refers also to elements of a social and political nature. The Communities objectives include also policies which insure a better life style and work places. But there were problems regarding the so-called communitarian social politics, defining the differences of opinion about the birth of the common market which will automatically lead to a global adjustment of the social costs, to the adjustment of the social and national structures, and to the social identity of the European community.

Experience proved that the economical mechanisms of the common market do not automatically produce social progress or insure for example the extinction of unemployment. The European members realized that, to reach a common social concept the answer is represented by the community transformation, from economical issues to political ones. The social politics started to be directly connected to the internal market, referring to the fact that an economical growth as well as a more rough competition must come along with a more just benefits distribution around the Community.

The advent of the global economy is changing the fundamental nature of our governments, businesses, organisations and populations. In short, we are no longer constrained by state boundaries but have all become part of an interdependent international network. The European Union will definitively continue to be the merging idea which represents the answer to a common, coherent and global conception on the progressive integration process of the European people and countries, from economic to politic, and from national to federal.

1.4. Conclusion

Just as natural selection does not select for or against a species, it does not select for or against a culture. However, also as biological evolution may have trends that allow one species to thrive and another to go extinct, cultural evolution has trends that allow certain cultures to supplant other when they compete for the same "resources" of adherents.The same process happens with language, due to its strong connection to culture. This phenomenon can be seen in the "Americanization" of immigrants and in the adoption of Western (i.e. American) cultural and linguistic traits by many non-Western nations.

Cultural changes compel us to accept linguistic change as well. Cultural and social surroundings define our future mentality and attitude towards intercultural encounters, while globalization sets the grounds for new interchange between cultures. All these items emphasize on the fact that cultural and linguistic awareness and sensitivity show the path to satisfying intercultural communication.CHAPTER TWO- Different communication styles and values2.0. IntroductionHuman communication has a dual nature; it develops on two distinctive levels: the level of contents and the level of relation. This two levels of communication explain, for example, why two different people can or cannot like each other, even though words and language are used in a positive way. In practice, language deals with a complex set of stimuli, made up of three big categories of communication:

- verbal communication (words, phrases)

- non-verbal communication (body language, gestures and mimics)

- paralanguage ( the tone, volume and rhythm of the voice)

This extension of the sphere of comprehension of language is signaling the fact that the human voice and body add, to the process of communication, something more than just the actual meaning of the words and of the verbal contents. When communicating with the others, words transport ideas and concepts, while the body language, the gestures transmit attitudes, emotions and feelings.

2.1. Language UsageLanguage and culture are at the core of all human society. When dealing with cross-cultural and intercultural communication, one can notice the multitude of ways people use language to communicate. Through language, human beings generate collective meanings, actions, thoughts, feelings, social organization, they record, store, disseminate that knowledge across time, across space, between people. Language is an endlessly creative vehicle for self expression, group expression, and entertainment, and gives people the opportunity to express information, ideas, emotions, attitudes. With the help of language, people form an identity, belong to a group, maintain boundaries between groups.

Another characteristic of language is that it offers frames for taking in the reality of the world one lives in. By means of language, children develop cognitive skills, while adults develop concepts and theories. But one of the most important trait of language is that human beings use it to act, perform and control the reality. For example, the phrase I pronounce you husband and wife is preceded by the words I do.

We are all aware that different languages have different words for the same concept, as when French 'chien' shows up in Spanish as perro or in Japanese as inu. And we are all aware that different languages are pronounced in different ways, so that the strongly trilled 'r' of French arroser is alien to most varieties of English. But equally important is the fact that languages differ from one another in grammar.

A straightforward illustration of this can be seen by comparing the way in which different languages order the various parts of a sentence. In an English sentence, the usual order is for the subject to come first, then the verb, then the object. In Japanese, by contrast, the usual order is first subject, then object, then verb:

gakusei ga hon o katta.

student (subject) book (object) bought (predicate)

The student bought the book.

In Welsh, the usual order is for the verb to come first, followed by the subject, followed in turn by the object:

prynodd y myfyriwr y llyfr

bought (predicate) the student (subject) the book (object)

The student bought the book.

These differences would surely be soon noticed by anyone involved to any depth with the languages in question. But there are other differences in grammar between languages that are much more subtle. Let us take the English sentence I saw you, and came here. The first part of the sentence (before the 'and') is a complete sentence in its own rightthe subject of the verb saw is overt, appearing as the word I. But the second part of the sentence is not complete in itself; its subject is missing. However, as speakers of English we have no hesitation in interpreting the second part to mean I came here, and not to mean you came here, although there is no logical reason, other than the requirements of English grammar, that this second interpretation should be excluded.

In Dyirbal, an almost extinct Australian Aboriginal language of northeast Queensland, the sentence Ngadya nginuna buran, baninyu looks very much like the English sentence. Indeed, the first part of the sentence, before the comma, does mean I saw you. However, the second part is interpreted to mean you came here, not I came here:

ngadya nginuna buran, baninyu

I you saw came here

I saw you and you came here.

Dyirbal is just as strict in insisting on this interpretation as English is in insisting on the other interpretation: both languages have strict conventions that are followed by speakers of the language; it just happens that the conventions are different in each of these two languages.

As far as languages can differ from one another in these ways, there are some general properties that are common to all human languages. For instance, many languages use differences in the order of elements to carry differences in meaning. In English, one difference between the statement My mother cooks peaches cake. and the question Can my mother cook peaches cake? is a difference in the order of elements of this kind, more specifically inversion of the subject and the auxiliary verb. But no language is known to relate sentences by inverting the order of sentences of indefinite length (so that the question would appear as peaches cake cook can mother my?). Linguists believe that such a relation would violate constraints on humans' linguistic ability. In other words, while languages can be astonishingly different from one another, there are nonetheless features that unite all languages as different manifestations of the human language ability.

Speaking about resemblances and differences between languages, the subject of misuse of words and expression must not be left aside. Intercultural encounters constraint people to speak other languages than their native ones, leading to the misuse of unknown or unfamiliar terms. For example, the words affect and effect. In common usage affect is always a verb. It is used as a noun only in fields like psychology and psychotherapy. Affect means to influence or to make a show of or to pretend (e.g. She affected cheerfulness to hide her concern.). Effect is most often used as a noun. It means result (e.g. His warning had no effect.). As a verb, effect means to bring about or to accomplish (e.g. We can effect change only through compromise.). Or, for instance, the modal verbs can and may, where confusion is extremely common. Can is used to indicate ability to do something and may to indicate permission to do it.

Other similar confusions take place when the words from the foreign language are pronounced or spelled similarly, but they are different in meaning. The below set of words demonstrate it:- to allude (refer to indirectly) - to elude (avoid)

- council (assembly of persons) - counsel (advice; lawyer) - consul (foreign service officer)

- to flounder (to move clumsily) to founder (to fail utterly; to collapse)

- principle (basic truth) - principal (foremost in importance; chief or head)

Nevertheless language is merely a discipline where meaning is created by the universal adoption of the rules of spelling and grammar. When it comes to intercultural communication, one should be aware of these rules, and try to follow them as much as possible in order to achieve a better understanding and cooperation.

2.2. Verbal CommunicationVerbal communication is situated at the center of the social performance and competence. Most parts of the signals and gestures are verbal, being incorporated in a conversational sequence. Even the shortest sentence must be comprehensible for the receiver, as to ensure complete understanding. Conversations between two people with two different cultural backgrounds infers the adoption of a common verbal style, a change in voice, mimics, body language.

The casual exchange of opinions that occurs as part of daily life is represented by conversation. By communicating an individual discovers the reality he lives in or his interlocutors reality. In the same time through conversation people confirm their identity (the image of ourselves is revealed by the opinion of others). The impression of ones senses is confirmed or corrected by the responses of others, who reveal if it was an invention or a fevered imagination, or if it actually occurred. The responses of others help people determine their opinions, feelings.

Conversation is fundamentally interactive. It requires response. This in turn requires a mutual understanding of conversational patterns/conventions. Conversational patterns are highly structured and very difficult to shift. Even when one speaks another language well, one probably still uses her/his native language conversation strategies.

Every culture has its rituals for entering or closing a conversation. One can't just launch into a subject without preamble or suddenly hang up. Timing when to jump in or out of a conversation can be difficult if one doesnt know the local rhythms and rules. Here are some of the cues used to get out of a conversation in mainstream American culture:

- Give less frequent feedback and eye contact

- Sigh, cough, shift gaze away, glance at your watch

- Shift intonation

- Indicate urgency (invoke the polite fiction " We're both busy people" )

- Reprise of the main points of what people promise to do next

- Say "I have to go" or "bye-bye" but add reassurance that you intend to continue a pleasant connection, such as "See you soon." "Call me sometimes."

An exceedingly polite conversation ending can draw out for many minutes.

American conversation resembles a volleyball match. One can either serve a new idea, or aim for the ball another player just hit. One has to move quickly, otherwise someone else may get there first. In contrast, Japanese conversation is like bowling. Everybody watches respectfully and quietly and takes turns. One is not expected to respond to the previous statement, but to aim at the conversation goals.

Verbal communication is an imperative social action. Communication by means of language is a human characteristic which must not be disregarded. People who stop using language as means of communication lose the ability to speak in words, and as words are understanding, this suggests that our ability to think clearly needs exercise through communicating with others, otherwise it atrophies.

2.3. Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication might be thought of as any form of communication which is not directly dependent on the use of language. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to separate the verbal and the non-verbal forms of communication. But, most of the non-verbal aspects of communication, like for example nodding the head in approval or disapproval, most often accompany speech and are an integrated part of the verbal system of language use.

Communication can also take place without the use of words, behavior or presentation being perceived as a means of communication. The way a person dresses for a meeting , for example, may suggest to the other participants how she or he is prepared to participate in it.

2.3.1. Kinesics

Kinesics is the interpretation of body language such as facial expressions and gestures or, more formally, non-verbal behavior related to movement, either of any part of the body or the body as a whole. Nonverbal communication takes place by means of facial expressions, head movements, eye contact, hand gestures, body positions and acts, tones of voice, and so on. In general, body language expresses an individual's emotions, feelings, and attitudes.

Kinesics is an important part of non-verbal communication behavior. The movement of the body, or parts thereof, conveys specific meanings, and many interpretations are culture bound. As many movements are carried out at a subconscious or low-awareness level, kinesics movements carry a significant risk of being misinterpreted in an intercultural communication situation. Sometimes body language even contradicts the messages conveyed by spoken language. Some nonverbal expressions are understood by people in all cultures; other expressions are particular to specific cultures. A significant example is the one of the so popular American OK sign, which in Tunisia means Ill kill you and in Japan means money. Or, if one rubs the lower part of her/his ear, in Spain this means you rotten sponger, in Greece it means youd better watch it, while in Italy it is considered an insulting gesture.

People send and receive non-verbal signals all the time, although they are generally not aware of it. These signals can indicate what they are truly feeling. The technique of 'reading' people is used frequently. For example, the idea of mirroring body language to put people at ease is commonly used in interviews. It sets the person being interviewed at ease. Mirroring the body language of someone else indicates that they are understood.

Regarding daily life, one may encounter many forms of kinesics gestures, these are a few examples:

- Defensive: crossing of arms is often considered to be a defensive, closed posture

- Self-confidence: hands behind the back, hands clasped in front

- Stress: shaking of legs

- Superiority: hands clasped behind the head

Communication by means of kinesics is one of the most obvious non-verbal communication form. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most confusing areas of non-verbal communication behavior as the various meanings communicated through body movements seem endless across cultures. Often, body movements that are clearly understandable in one culture make no sense in another. Yet often enough, frequently used kinesics movements in one culture may be highly offensive in another culture. Keltner and Ekman in their work on kinesics Facial expression of emotion classify kinesics into five categories: emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators and adaptors, which will be shortly presented below.

Emblems are non-verbal messages that have a verbal counterpart. For example, the British sign for victory (forefinger and middle finger erect) symbolizes the letter V, a sign for victory often seen painted onto house walls during the second World War. However, the same movement may symbolize the number two in America and may be seen as insulting in Australia. Illustrators on the other side are less clearly linked to specific sayings or words being used. Illustrators are used more consistently to illustrate what is being said. Again, the usage and the amount of illustrators used is different from culture to culture. For example Latin cultures in general make more use of illustrators than Anglo-Saxon cultures. And again, Anglo-Saxon cultures make more use of illustrators than many Asian cultures. In terms of influence on business communication the importance of illustrators usage is quite significant. Dealing with certain Asian cultures, the extensive use of illustrators is often interpreted as a lack of intelligence, whereas in Latin cultures, the absence of illustrators is easily construed as a lack of intelligence.Affective displays are body, or more frequently facial, movements that display a certain affective state, such as emotions. Affective displays are often less conscious than illustrators, but also occur less frequently. A lack of such affective displays may well be understood as a lack of emotion, which in turn is probably wrong. There has been a long standing stereotype of hot-tempered and cold cultures, much of which can be attributed to the extend to which emotions are expressed, especially by using affective displays. An Italian, for example, who makes extensive use of affective displays to express his anger at a certain situation, may well have the same degree of anger as a Japanese person. Yet, a Japanese person in this situation would be expected to show significantly fewer affective display movements than his Italian counterpart. This, however, does not suggest or infers that the Japanese person is less angry than his Italian counterpart, or not at all angry.

Regulators are non-verbal signs that regulate, modulate and maintain the flow of speech during a conversation. These can be both kinesics, such as the nodding of a head, as well as non-kinesics, such as eye movements. Regulators are vital to the flow of information. Therefore a misinterpreted regulatory non-verbal sign may be highly confusing in international business communication, and lead to serious problems.

Adaptors include postural changes and other movements at a low level of awareness, frequently made to feel more comfortable or to perform a specific physical function. Because adaptors are usually carried out at a low level of awareness, they have been hailed as the secret to understanding what the conversation partner really thinks. The importance given to adaptors seems however overstated, as well as oversimplified. Many adaptor movements, such as moving in a chair, may be employed more frequently to resolve a specific physical situation, rather than being an indicator of someones secret thoughts.2.3.2. Gestures and mimics

Body language encompasses along with gestures, also mimics, facial expressions, eye-contact, which provide important social and emotional information; people, perhaps without consciously doing so, probe each other's eyes and faces for positive or negative mood signs. Intercultural encounters, such as the one presented below, are endless sources of interpreting human feelings strongly connected to gestures and mimics.

Mr. Smith: My name is Jonathan Smith, my friends call me Johnny. Pleased to meet you.

Mr. Won: Pleased to meet you too, Mr. Smith. My name is David Won. This is my business card.

Mr. Smith: No, no, call me Johnny. I think well be doing good business together.

Mr. Won: Yes, I hope so.

Mr. Smith ( reading Mr. Wons card) : Won, Hon-fai. Hon-fai, Ill give you a call tomorrow to discuss some other details.

Mr. Won ( smiling): Yes. Ill expect your call.

From one cultural group to another there is a great deal of variability about when one smiles or laughs, and what it should be takes to mean. When these two men separate, they leave each other with two very different impressions about the situation. While Mr. Smith feels like having gotten off to a very good start, being reassured by his interlocutors smile, Mr. Won feels rather uncomfortable with Mr. Smith, considering him in sensitive to cultural differences. When Mr. Smith thinks he had treated Mr. Won with respect for his Chinese background, calling him Hon-fai rather than using his western name, David. Mr. Won is bothered that Mr. Smith used his given name, Hon-fai, instead of David or Mr. Won. That name is rarely used by anyone, Chinese having a complex structure of names which depends upon situations and relationships. It was this embarrassment that cause Mr. Won to smile.

Shaking hands is considered the most common form of greeting in western countries, especially when being introduced to somebody, while in Asia there is a considerable variety in practices, which includes bowing as the main form of greeting in Korea and Japan, clasping ones hands before the chest while making a short bow in China, but also sometimes shaking hands when westerners are involved.

In some parts of the world, particularly in East Asia (Korea, Japan, and China), eye contact can provoke major misunderstandings between people of different nationalities. Keeping direct eye contact with elderly people leads them to assume one is being aggressive and rude - the opposite reaction of most Americans or British, who assume that people avoiding eye contact cannot be trusted and they are less open. Hence, people from Asia may tend to shift their eyes during conversations much more than some Westerns expect.

Emphasizing differences between cultures, in Islam, eye-contact is considered taboo for the Muslim people. They must lower their gaze and try not to focus on the opposite sex's faces and eyes after the initial first eye contact, other than their family members or partner, in order to avoid potential unwanted desires. Eye contact between any man and woman is allowed only for a second or two. This is a must in most Islamic schools, with some exceptions depending on the case, like when teaching, testifying, or looking at a girl for marriage.

In many cultures, it is a sign of respect not to look the dominant person in the eye, but referring to Western culture, this may be interpreted as being shifty-eyed, and the person misjudged because of the lack of eye contact.

Facial expressions can provide important information that may not be contained in the verbal portion of the communication. Facial expressions are especially helpful as they may show hidden emotions that contradict verbal statements. For example, an employee may deny having knowledge of a problem, but also have a fearful expression and glance around guiltily. Or, a manager who puts his feet up on the desk may convey an impression of status and confidence, while an employee who leans forward to listen may convey interest.

Gestures can add emphasis and improve understanding when used sparingly, but the continual use of gestures can distract listeners and convey nervousness. Cultural and linguistic differences between speakers can lead to irritation, moral judgments, or misreading of intent. Being involved in a cross-cultural or high conflict situation, one must try to be aware of how her/his conversational habits may be affecting the situation.

2.3.3. Cultural norms and rules

Cultural norms are behavior patterns that are typical of specific groups. Such behaviors are learned from parents, teachers, peers, and many others whose values, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors take place in the context of their own organizational culture. Some norms are healthy and some are not. Some contribute to the betterment of individuals, families, and communities, others are precisely the kinds of high-risk behaviors that societies would like to reduce or eliminate.

Cultural norms often are so strongly ingrained in an individual's daily life that the individual may be unaware of certain behaviors. Until these behaviors are seen in the context of a different culture with different values and beliefs, the individual may have difficulty recognizing and changing them.

Some common traditional Asian, Hispanic and European cultural values are presented below:

Asian cultural norms:- family is very important - family, rather than the individual, is the basis of society

- a deep respect for elders - age is approached with dignity, pride, and respect

- men are considered more important than women - men are the decision makers, women are very modest

- sisters and brothers never touch or kiss each other

- when talking, people must not look directly into a respected person's eyes

- people don't show emotions, taught to conceal stress - there are definite nonverbal cues, but you need to know what they are to be able to recognize them

- time is flexible - there is no need to hurry except for extreme cases

- education is highly valued, politeness is situated before progress

- spirituality is extremely important, harmony with nature, not dominance

- patience, perseverance, avoiding conflict

- dignity, pride, respect, duty - all key words

Hispanic cultural norms:

- being a mother infers pride, virtue, respect associated with it

- husband subordinate in home except for public view - woman has her power behind closed doors

- family is extended - multi-generational, even beyond blood

- godparents extremely important

- respect is very important - of many by his family, of elders, of people in general

- machismo a term which means taking responsibility for providing food, shelter, and protection for family

- people are very physical - ritualistic handshakes and hugs

- both Catholic Church and native spirituality very important

White cultural norms:

- nuclear family is ideal unit - man is seen as the head of household, female is seen as homemaker and subordinate to husband

- parent/child interactions are based on democratic ideal: parents have rights, children have rights, but structures hierarchical, with parents above children

- physical contact is limited, emotions are controlled, strong emphasis on written tradition, direct eye contact is used

- "time is money" - working hard brings success

- individualism, independence, autonomy

- status is measured by economic possession, credentials, titles, positions

- people must master and control nature, to have a pragmatic view of life

- older people are not held in high esteem - youthfulness is emphasized

- competition is highly valued

- religion is head-centered, intellectual

2.4. Paralanguage

Paralanguage refers to the non-verbal elements of communication, used to convey emotions and to modify meaning. Paralanguage may be expressed consciously or unconsciously, and it includes volume, pitch and intonation of speech. The definition may be restrained to vocally-produced sounds.

The tone, rate, and volume of a speaker's voice can convey different meanings, as can sounds like laughing, throat clearing, or humming. It is also important to note that perfume or other odors contribute to a listener's impressions, as does physical contact between the speaker and the listener. Silence, or the lack of sound, is a form of nonverbal communication as well. Silence can communicate a lack of understanding or even hard feelings in a face-to-face discussion.

For instance, the example used by Watzlavick in his book Une logique de la communication (1972) refers to a dialogue between two women, one of them wearing a pearl necklace, the other one uttering the following words: genuine pearls. Until the tone and gestures which accompanied this utterance are unknown, one cannot be sure of its real meaning. It could mean: genuine pearls? (question), genuine pearls?!(irony), genuine pearls!!(amazement) . Another significant example is the one of the next set of words: forgive him we cannot condemn him to death. Two different situation come out of this utterance: either the case where the subject is condemn to death forgive him we cannot, condemn him to death!, or the case where the subject is not condemned to death forgive him, we cannot condemn him to death!. It is obvious that without knowing the intonation, the tone of voice, or the gestures made, one can only suppose the real meaning of these words.

2.5. ConclusionsWords people utter when communicating, even if they bear informational contents, represent just one face of the speech. The way people utter words, meaning the tone, rhythm and voice modulation, as well as gestures of the body make up the other face of the speech, which is far more complex and complicated than the simple meaning of the used words.

CHAPTER THREE- Intercultural Communication and Language Variation3.0. Introduction

Forget the saying the world is getting smaller - it has gotten smaller. Advances in transport and communications technology combined with the development of a world economy have resulted in people from different nations, cultures, languages and backgrounds now communicating by means of English language, meeting and doing business with one another more than ever.

Few businesses can escape the need to at some point in time deal with foreign colleagues, clients or customers. Business is international and if an organization wants to develop and grow it needs to harness the potential an international stage offers. Twenty years ago British, European and American organizations doing business abroad had very little competition due to the lack of rival industrialized nations. Back then it was easy to do business our way. Today some of the worlds largest economies include Japan, China, Mexico, Brazil, India and Korea. As a result there has been a small shift from our way to lets try and understand your way. Why? Because western organizations are feeling the impact a lack of cultural sensitivity can and does have upon business performance.

The main focus of this chapter is represented by the impact of English language on intercultural business communication. Dealing with the regional differences in language, such as dialects and accents, the first two sub-chapters set the grounds for the third and fourth sub-chapter, where Ill discuss the influence of culture on business encounters, offering as well some hints/directions on how to overcome language barriers in intercultural communication.

3.1. Differences in language

Perhaps no other element of international business is so often noted as a barrier to effective communication across cultures than differences in language. Language is neither the only, nor even the most important communication impediment in cross-cultural and intercultural encounters. Nevertheless, it remains the most obvious difference that international business communicators are likely to face. Language is so significant an obstacle in international as well as domestic cross-cultural business dealings precisely because it is so fundamental. Unless the two parties understand a common language, communication is essentially impossible without a translator or interpreter. Without a shared language, direct communication is at best filtered through a third party and at worst altogether impossible.

Although the inability to understand what one party communicates in a foreign language is the most fundamental problem that differences in language pose, lack of a shared language presents many less obvious pitfalls as well. While a set of minor problems may occur when crossing linguistic lines, four of these are most likely to affect business. First of all, language shapes the reality of its speaker. Certain phrases and turns of thought depend on the many associations linked to a specific language and to the culture intertwined with it. As a result, the subtle nuances of a language are often lost in translation, even when the speaker of the second language is fluent. Secondly, the usage of a language may carry social implications of belonging to a common group that for many cultures establishes the trust necessary for long-term business relationships. This trust is often delayed or never available to the business people who do not speak the language and who are viewed with suspicion as outsiders or, at the least, as not committed to the home market of the native speaker. Thirdly, the degree of fluency among speakers of any foreign language varies, even among the best of translators and interpreters. But unless the speaker of the second language makes frequent grammatical errors, any lack of comprehension on his or her part may go unrecognized. It is easy, therefore, for native speakers of English to assume erroneously that anyone speaking their language fully understands the conversation.

Finally, cultural attachment to variants or dialects of English often communicate messages of which the person who learns the language as a second tongue is unaware. Even though the words exchanged are understandable to both parties, the underlying sociolinguistic implications conveyed by the accent used or the choice of words may communicate unintended messages.

3.1.1. Language and Cultural AttachmentBarriers other than simple accuracy of communication exist when dealing with speakers of different languages. Even in situations in which excellent interpreters or translators are employed or in which all parties speak English with fluency, the social implications of the language used still remain a factor. Thus even where language differences pose no problem in comprehension, the selection of one language over another, such as English instead of French, may create goodwill or resentment independently of any message actually spoken or written.

Cultural attachment to language most often manifests itself, at least in intercultural business communication, in three variations: linguistic ethnocentrism, insider-outsider relationships, and alliances in linguistically determined group dynamics.

3.1.2. Linguistic EthnocentrismAll people are subject to some degree of ethnocentrism, or the belief that their own culture is better than other cultures. To some extent, linguistic ethnocentrism, or the belief in the superiority of ones native language to other tongues, is less delimiting than many other forms of ethnocentrism. The reason is that in many cases, the language spoken by the members of a particular society is not confined to that culture alone. For example, while Spain, Bolivia, and Mexico differ culturally, they all share Spanish as their native tongue. A Bolivians linguistic ethnocentrism therefore would not apply to a Spaniard or a Mexican. Indeed, the belief in the superiority of Spanish may actually persuade the Bolivian to look beyond the countrys borders to other Spanish-speaking cultures. Linguistic ethnocentrism in this case may have a broadening rather than a narrowing effect.

Some cultures demonstrate a stronger attachment to their language than do others. It is relatively easy for businesspeople who rely on an interpreter to attribute to him or her an understanding of their negotiation strategies, product or service, and other business knowledge. As the expertise of most interpreters is in language skills rather than in business, this is a dangerous assumption.

When the two sides appear to be equally fluent in each others languages, the difficulty arises as to which language both parties should use. The issue of cultural attachment and, to a lesser extent, of ethnocentrism may provide a stumbling block to effective interaction unless the communicator approaches this matter cautiously. Regardless of the degree of fluency, it is important to remember that in any interaction involving participants who speak different languages, the possibility for misunderstanding exists. In any of the configurations described or in any variation of them, international business communicators should be aware that they may receive no feedback that what they have said or written may not have been fully understood by the speaker of a foreign language.

3.2. Accents, Dialects and Regional Differences

The dialects and accents used among speakers of English often vary from region to region. How the individual views these differences may colour the communication between the two speakers of the language: speakers of one dialect may differentiate themselves from speakers of a different dialect by the usage of certain pronunciations, words, and grammatical forms. The frequent first reaction of a person who hears un unfamiliar dialect is that the strange sounds and words are a chaotic mess.

Dialects, far from being a "chaotic mess," represent a means for people to identify other members of their geographical group. Such regional variations can exist between national cultures (internationally) or within the same nation (sub-nationally).

3.2.1. International Regional Variables

Modern developments in communications - telephone, radio, motion picture, tape recordings, satellite television, the Internet - have united English speakers, retarding dialectal differences, familiarizing all speakers with the sound of other English varieties, and superimposing a kind of world standard over regional varieties. All that does not mean that there are no differences among the English varieties used around the world. Differences in phonology (especially of vowels and of intonation patterns) and differences in vocabulary as well as in semantics of the same vocabulary are more extensive than variation in morphology and syntax, and they affect mutual intelligibility more seriously than grammatical differences.

English has been affected by its division throughout the world; phonologically, one can discern the influence of other languages spoken or formerly spoken in the regions, which have affected the pronunciation of English sounds and modulated the contours of the intonation in terms of pi