Tutorial
Tutorial
Tutorial
Gibson
ENGL 7710
Dr. Kirk St. Amant
A Framework for Successful Intercultural Communication
December 9, 2012
Gibson 1
Introduction
The rapid growth and expansion of global economics has created a need for
experts who can communicate with international audiences. Gone are the
days in which competitive companies market products and services solely
within the confines of their own national borders. Transcontinental sales can
make the difference between a company that thrives and one that survives.
While the relaxing of governmental laws and tariffs has enabled
transcontinental sales to flow with greater ease, the language and cultural
differences have been barriers to overcome. Through the expertise of
technical communicators, companies can successfully and strategically
market goods and services to countries distinctly different from their own in
language, culture, and currency.
This tutorial presents steps to building a framework for intercultural
communication, while considering traditional approaches and exploring new
trends affecting the current and future landscape of communication across
cultures. Specifically, this tutorial aspires to teach technical communicators
essential skills and strategies needed to cultivate a deeper cultural
awareness and sensitivity. Through lectures, handouts, discussions and
practical exercises, this tutorial will reveal some of the strengths and
weaknesses of current approaches to intercultural communication. The
strategies and topics included would be remiss in ignoring the implications of
technology, such as the electronic mail, as well as the strong cultural
traditional beliefs and practices which have held true through a thousand
generations. Both traditional and emerging cultural practices are discussed,
as their impact on intercultural communication is explored.
What is culture? Culture can be seen as a system of thinking and acting
that is taught by, and reinforced by, a group of people (Stringer and
Cassiday, 2009, p. ix). Cultures are dynamic, as cultural practices shift, and
as societal trends emerge and subside. Yet, some features of various
cultures remain static and often lay the groundwork for assumptions and
preconceptions, whether valid or not, that persist over decades of time.
Gibson 2
The first exercise, which follows below, explores hidden or unspoken beliefs
about various cultures. To stereotype others might be deemed as human as
breathing, and perhaps, is just as involuntary. While most people do not
elect to practice cultural bias, beliefs about other cultures are reflected in
attitudes and behaviors, often with negative impact. In this eye-opening
exercise, the names of group participants remain undisclosed to encourage
the most honest and genuine responses possible.
EXERCISE 1
WHAT DO YOU SEE? EXAMINGING STEREOTYPES AND ASSUMPTIONS
Gibson 3
How Do I Say?
Successfully
communicating
across
cultures
requires
more
than
understanding the grammar of the language, with proper translation applied.
Studies of cultural communication show there are distinct differences in the
way various cultures communicate. How one speaks is never more
important than what one speaks as when communication occurs in a crosscultural and international context.
Cultures can be defined as high-context or low-context cultures,
according to social anthropologists Edward T. Hall and Geert Hofstede (St.
Amant & Sapienza, 2011). Low-context cultures prefer direct message
structure and straight-forward diction, while high-context cultures favor a
more indirect approach, where the unspoken message is implied and subtle
(St. Amant & Sapienza, 2011). The Asian and American cultures are best
representative of the high-context and low-context cultures, respectively.
Complicating matters further, the Asian communication style also places
significant importance upon the concept of face, with special emphasis
upon saving face (St. Amant & Sapienza, 2011). Simply stated, face
refers to an emphasis upon honor, respect, power, status, and acquiescence.
This difference in communication style sets the stage for miscommunication
between cultures, as the brusque direct style of Americans is poised to
offend the subtle, indirect, face-seeking niceties of the Asians.
Gibson 4
Gibson 5
Gibson 6
rapidity the electronic mail provides. Also, this same issue of hierarchy
presents a problem for the Asian email writer when multiple recipients may
need to be addressed; these multiple recipients may include managers who
must be properly and formerly addressed based upon rank and stature in the
corporate environment (St. Amant & Sapienza, 2011). Moreover, with the
Asian cultures emphasis on affiliation rather than individualism, for some
business transactions, email could be viewed as an impediment to fostering
and maintaining relationships. A survey of virtual team members in Korea
revealed that when a face-to-face meeting was possible, it was viewed as
optimal, with fax or overnight letter as second choice, and that a strong
preference was expressed for email with peers, while a more respectful
medium was preferred for communication with a manager (St. Amant &
Sapienza, 2011, p. 140).
Gibson 7
EXERCISE 2
THE DIMENSIONS OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION AT WORK
Gibson 8
Gibson 9
box and the first-place blue ribbon may not be equated with the same
meaning in other cultural settings. In the U.K., a red ribbon often signifies
first place, with the blue ribbon denoting a second-place finish (St. Amant,
2009). Such miscommunication, while seemingly small, may have a great
impact, and impede the results desired. In Islamic countries where gender
roles are strictly enforced, graphics depicting a working woman, or any
woman appearing in positions of authority over men, would not be well
received, and any product bearing such symbolism would likely be rejected.
Technical communicators with expertise in localization, translation and
internationalization provide specialized services immeasurable in the scope
of contribution they provide to cross-cultural communication and the
globalization of goods and services, alike.
Writing for translation involves writing documents that are considered
translation friendly. The four steps below outline the process for creating
translation-friendly documents.
1. The writer must replace any figures of speech, and culturally specific
wording, with more generic terms that could be understood by a wider
international audience. The expression Its raining cats and dogs
would be replaced with a statement such as its raining very forcefully
or very hard.
2. The drafter of the document needs to include words that make the
relationship between items in a sentence or a paragraph clearer. In
short, the writer must remove ambiguity. For example, the statement,
This is a bad idea is ambiguous, since the translator may be unsure
what this refers to.
3. The writer must write in such a way that the words used can have only
one meaning throughout the text. For example, the word invalid may
mean not valid or it may refer to a sick person.
4. The writer needs to supply the translator with a glossary of terms,
containing the following kinds of words:
Gibson 10
EXERCISE 3
DOUBLE MEANING, CULTURAL PROVERBS, AND FIGURES OF SPEECH
Gibson 11
16. The truth rises to light as the oil above the water.Romania
17. Better to take what is certain than aim for the uncertain.Sweden
18. The one who is not right is the one who screams the loudest.
Romania
(Stringer and Cassiday, 2009, p. 193)
Gibson 12
they shed the traditional practices of their cultures in exchange for a generic
international one-size-fits-all? What two cultures stand in greater opposition
than the polite, honor-preserving, face-saving, niceties of the Asians and
the often crude, vulgar, misogynistic and aggressive, in-your-face lyrics of
the hip hop movement and music? Surprisingly, Asian youth are as obsessed
with the hip hop phenomenon as the urban American youth who birthed it.
Only time will tell if Asian youths will dispense with hip hop and rap as they
cross the threshold into adulthood and don the business attire of their
forefathers before them. None can predict where cultural boundaries will lie
in the future, and if or when the need for localization will cease to be as
important as it is today. Clearly, products and services geared toward teens
and young adults may require a more globally generic marketing strategy.
Nonetheless, appeals directed at older international audiences must adhere,
still, to the traditions, expectations and practices that have defined these
cultures for centuries.
Change is certainly on the horizon, but a massive cultural blending and
osmosis has yet to occur, such that all cultural boundaries are erased. With
this realization in mind, technical communicators will continue to write with
consideration for the cultural differences that divide us, identify us, and
make us inherently unique. Concurrently, however, all must remain alert to
theories espoused by the likes of Huatong Sun: in the age of globalization,
culture is a dynamic process in which cultural meanings, objects and
identities flow across institutions, nations, and generations (Sun, 2009,
para. 7).
Gibson 13
Donna M.
Culture,
Communication
and
Cyberspace:
Rethinking
Technical
Communication for International Online Environments. Kirk St. Amant and
Filipp Sapienza, Editors.
Technical Communication, Mike Markel, Author.
Gibson 14
References
Markel, M. (2010). Technical Communication (9th ed.). Boston, M.A.:
Bedford/St. Martins.
St. Amant, K. & Sapienza, F. (2011). What We Have Here Is a Failure to
Communicate: How Cultural Factors Affect Online Communication
Between East and West in St. Amant, K. & Sapienza, F. (Eds.), Culture,
Communication and Cyberspace (pp. 131-141). Amityville, N.Y.:
Baywood Publishing.
St. Amant, K. (2003). Localization, internationalization, and translation.
Retrieved December 9, 2012 from
https://blackboard.ecu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?
tab_tab_group_id=_6_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute
%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_334926_1%26url%3D.
St. Amant, K. (2009). The role of rhetoric in localization and Offshoring.
Retrieved December 9, 2012, from
https://blackboard.ecu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?
tab_tab_group_id=_6_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute
%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_334926_1%26url%3D.
Stringer, M. & Cassiday, P. (2009). 52 Activities for Improving Cross-Cultural
Communication. Boston, M.A.: Intercultural Press.
Sun, H. (n.d.) Why cultural contexts are missing: A rhetorical critique of
Localization Practices. Retrieved December 9, 2012, from
https://blackboard.ecu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?
tab_tab_group_id=_6_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute
%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_334926_1%26url%3D