Communication

between cultures 8TH EDITION

Chapter 2
Communication
And Culture:
The Voice and the Echo

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 1
 Key Ideas
Defining communication
Uses of communication
Characteristics of communication
Characteristics and functions of culture

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 2
 Human communication
Communication is the basis of all human
contact
To understand a culture we must examine
communication first
Communication is the ability to share ideas
and feelings
While verbal and nonveral symbols may be
different reasons people communicate are the
same
Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 3
 Defining Communication

Human communication is a
dynamic process in which people
attempt to share their thoughts
with other people through the
use of symbols in particular
settings.

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 4
 Uses of communication
Communication and identity
Defines who you are
Defines loyalties
Defines where you belong
Communication and person perception
Enables you to learn about another person
Assists in how you will describe yourself to
others

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 5
 Uses of communication
Communication and interpersonal needs
Communication satisfies a basic social need
Provides a sense of inclusion and affection
Communication and
persuasion

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 6
 Components of communication
Source
Encoding
Messages
Channel
Receiver
Decoding
Feedback
Noise

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 7
 Characteristics of communication
It is a dynamic process it is not static
It is symbolic inferences are drawn from the
symbols people produce
It is contextual it is part of a larger system
Location
Occasion
Time
Number of participants

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 Characteristics of communication
It is a learned behavior
Language
Non-verbal
It has a consequence
Messages do something to someone else
You change people when you exchange messages
with them

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 9
 Culture
Culture is communication and communication is
culture. (Hall 1977 p. 14)
Culture is shared and has shared meanings
Culture Defined -Culture is a set of human-made
objective and subjective elements that in the past have
increased the probability of survival and resulted in
satisfaction for the participants in an ecological niche,
and thus became shared among those who could
communicate with each other because they had a
common language and they lived in the same time and
place. (Triandis 1994 p. 23)

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 10
 Culture
Functions of culture
Teaches people how to adapt to surroundings
Passes along previous knowledge and experiences to
future generations
Elements of culture
Religion
History
Values
Social Organizations
Language

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 11
 Characteristics of culture:
Culture is learned
Informal through interpersonal means
Formal teaching often through social
institutions
Teaching through proverb
Teaching through folktales, legends and myths
Teaching through art
Learning culture through mass media

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 Characteristics of culture:
Culture is passed along
Culture is based on symbols symbols tie
people together
People can package, store and transmit
symbols
Symbols can be verbal or nonverbal

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 Characteristics of culture:
Culture is dynamic
Cultures are subject to change
Changes can be brought about by new
technology
Changes today are more prolific
Promoted by rise of American capitalism
Promoted by worldwide population growth
Promoted by large movement of immigrants
Promoted by proliferation of information
technology

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Dynamic culture and Communication

Culture is deeply rooted in tradition

Cultures seek to endure
The deep structure of a culture resists major
alterations
Popular culture may be open to change
Values, beliefs, role of government, ethics, morals,
religious practices etc. persist from generation to
generation

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 Characteristics of culture:
Culture is an integrated system
All parts of a culture are interconnected
You touch a culture in one place and everything
else is affected. (Hall 1976, p. 13-14)
Values can influence things like family size,
work ethic, use of time and spiritual pursuits
Changes in technology can influence other
cultural values, attitudes and behaviors

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 16
Communication
between cultures 8TH EDITION

Chapter 2
Communication
And Culture:
The Voice and the Echo

Cengage 2012 Chapter 2 Communication and Culture: The Voice and the Echo 17