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Culture and Communication

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Culture and

Communication
MODULE 2 GNED 05: Purposive Communication
Objectives:
1. define culture;
2. explain how culture relates to
communication and vice versa;
3. determine the basic elements of culture;
4. identify the characteristics of culture; and
5. examine one's culture and communication
practices.
Hall (1977) pointed out that
"culture is communication and communication is culture."

Why do you think so?


When looking at communication and culture, it is hard to decide
which is the voice and which is the echo.

But the main point is that we learn about our culture via
communication, while at the same time, communication is a
reflection of our culture.
What is culture?

"Culture consists of how we relate


to other people, how we think, how
we behave, and how we view the
world" (Rodriguez, 1999).

Culture is...

"to a human collective what


personality is to an individual"
(Hofstede, 2001).
Indigenous people as protectors of the forest

Culture is a group worldview that a particular society has created over


time. It is sharing of a common reality that gives people within a particular
culture a common fund of knowledge.
drag culture Black Lives Matter
Kalamay Buna in Indang, Cavite
Defined in more detail,
culture is...

"...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 participant 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 at the same time and
place" (Triandis, 1994).
The Basic Functions
of Culture
1. to improve adaptation to a social
environment,
2. to pass on hard-learned knowledge and
experiences,
3. sets limits on behavior and guides it along
predictable paths, and
4. shields people from the unknown by
providing them with a blueprint for all life's
activities
As Smith (1966) told,

"In modern society, different people


communicate in different ways, as do
people in different societies around the
world; and the way people communicate
is the way they live."
Culture clearly differentiates, let's say East and West, the
communicative differences they display.

Cross-cultural communication generally compares


the communication styles and patterns of people from
very different cultural/social structures, such as nation-
states.

Intercultural communication deals with how people


from these cultural/social structures speak to one
another and what differences or difficulties they
encounter over and above the different languages they
speak.
Elements of Culture
While all cultures share a common set of components, the
acting out of these often distinguishes one culture from
another.

History
It is a diagram that offers direction about how to live in the
present. It highlights the culture's origins, "tells" its members
what is deemed important, and identifies the accomplishments
of the culture of which they can be proud.
Kilusang Propaganda, mosquito press, and Martial Law
Religion

All cultures possess "a dominant, organized religion within


which salient beliefs and activities (rites, rituals, taboos, and
ceremonies) can be given meaning and legitimacy" (Parkes,
Lagani, & Young, 1997).
Sanghiyang in Alfonso, Cavite
In films, Devil in Ohio and Midsommar
Values
These are "culturally defined standards of desirability, goodness,
and beauty that serve as broad guidelines for social living"
(Macionis, 1998)
Pagmamano, hospitality, bayanihan
Social organizations
These are sometimes referred to as social systems or social
structures that represent the various social units contained
within culture, including the family, government, schools, and
tribes.
Monarchy Sultanate of Sulu
Language
Language is yet another feature that is common to all cultures.
Haviland and his colleagues (2005) pointed out that "without
our capacity for complex language, human culture as we know it
could not exist."
Philippine languages
Jeje words

Swardspeak
Characteristics of Culture

Culture is learned.

Hofstede (2001) views culture as consisting of mental programs, calling it


software of the mind, meaning each person “carries within him or herself
patterns of thinking, feeling, and potential acting which were learned
throughout their lifetime.”
Enculturation

It is the conscious or unconscious conditioning occurring within that process


whereby the individual, as child and adult, achieves competence in a particular
culture (Hoebel & Frost, 1976).

can be through formal or informal learning


We learn culture through

Proverbs: maxims, truisms, or sayings that reunite listeners to their ancestors,


are used to teach a lesson, and offer the culture's worldview.

"One who does not honor the penny is not worthy of


the dollar."

"A penny saved is a penny earned."


"The quacking duck is the first to get shot."

"Loud thunder brings little rain."


We learn culture through

Folktales, legends, and myths: These are stories that contain the wisdom,
values, and experiences of a culture.
We learn culture through

Art: Art explains the social elements of culture such as gender, identity, and
status.

Manunggul jar Barrel man Laya at Diwa


Apo Whang-od, a mambabatok
We learn culture through

Mass media: It carries images and stories that contribute to a sense of identity
at the same time that it shapes beliefs and values.
Culture is shared.
The means of transmitting the culture can take a variety of forms (proverbs,
stories, art) and can have numerous "carriers" (family, peers, media, schools,
church), but the key elements of culture must be shared by all members of the
culture.
Culture is transmitted from generation to generation.

If a culture is to endure, it must make certain that its crucial messages and
elements are not only shared, but are passed on future generations.
Culture is based on symbols.

The easy transition of culture from one generation to another is to discuss the
method of that exchange: symbols.
Culture is dynamic.

Cultures do not exist in a vacuum because other elements continuously flow


in, and thus, are subject to change. Much of culture is habitual and deeply
rooted in tradition and often adopts those outside elements that are
compatible with one's existing values and beliefs.
Culture is an integrated system.

Culture functions as an integrated whole. If you touch one part of a culture,


you touch all of that culture. Culture is an integrated whole, the parts of which,
to some degree, are interconnected with one another.
Sources Used
E. T. Hall, Beyond Culture (Garden City, NY: Anchor Doubleday, 1977), 14.

G. A. Rodriguez, Bringing up Latino Children in a Bicultural World (New York: Fireside,


1999), 20.

G. Hofstede, Culture's Consequence: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and


Organizations Across Nations, 2nd ed. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001), 10.

G. Smith, ed., Communication and Culture: Readings in the Codes of Human Interaction
(New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1966), 1.
H. Triandis, Culture and Social Behavior (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1994), 23.

C. M. Parkes, P. Laungani, and B. Young, eds. Death and Bereavement Across Cultures
(New York: Routledge, 1997), 15.

J. J. Macionis, Society: The Basics, 4th ed. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998),
34.

W. A. Haviland, H. E. L. Prins, D. Walrath, and B. McBride, Cultural Anthropology: The


Human Challenge, 11th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005), 89.
Thank You!

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