Communication Context and Intercultural Communication Competence

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Chapter 2 Communication Context and

Intercultural Communication Competence


Topic 2.1 Communication Context
High Versus Low Context
The formal study of intercultural communication in the United States
originated in 1946, when Congress passed the Foreign Service Act, which
established the Foreign Service Institute to provide language and
anthropological cultural training for foreign diplomats. Outside the Foreign
Service Institute, the study of intercultural communication is generally
associated with the publication of Edward T. Hall's book The Silent Language
in 1959. While associated with the Foreign Service Institute, Hall applied
abstract anthropological concepts to the practical world of foreign service and
extended the anthropological view of culture to include communication
(Leeds-Hurwitz, 1990). In his 1976 book, Hall focused attention on the
communication of high-context and low-context cultures. Recall that context
was defined in Chapter 1 as the environment in which the communication
process takes place and that helps define the communication. Cultures in which
little of the meaning is determined by the context because the message is
encoded in the explicit code are labeled low context. Cultures in which less
has to be said or written because more of the meaning is in the physical
environment or already shared by people are labeled high context. Table 3.1
shows examples of both types.

Think of the difference this way: Upon meeting a stranger, your verbal
communication with that person is highly explicit—or low context—simply
because you have no shared experiences. You cannot assume anything.
However, when you communicate with your sister or brother with whom you
have shared a lifetime, your verbal communication is less explicit because you
make use of your shared context. For example, the mention of a certain name
can lead to laughter. With the stranger, you would have to explain in language
the story that that name represented. Also, with your sister or brother, a certain
facial expression can have a shared meaning, such as “There Mom goes again,”
but the stranger would have no idea what your facial expression

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communicated. Again, you would have to explain in words that your mother's
specific behavior was characteristic, somewhat irritating, but so uniquely her.

In low-context cultures, verbal messages are elaborate and highly specific, and
they tend to be highly detailed and redundant as well. Verbal abilities are
highly valued. Logic and reasoning are expressed in verbal messages. In high-
context cultures, most of the information is either in the physical context or
internalized in the person. Very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part
of the message. High-context cultures decrease the perception of self as
separate from the group. High-context cultures are more sensitive to nonverbal
messages; hence, they are more likely to provide a context and setting and let
the point evolve.

It has been said that language separates people. When understood from the
perspective of high and low context, that statement makes sense. In high-
context cultures, people are brought closer by the importance of their shared
context. Those meanings are often lost in low-context cultures. I have often
shown films of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony to classes in the United
States. The tea ceremony reflects the Zen and Taoist traditions celebrating the
beauty in the mundane, the superiority of spirit over matter, and tranquility
with busy lives. The ceremony unites the host and guest in a concert of
harmony. Though not as commonly practiced as in the past, the tea ceremony
is an excellent example of a high-context experience. Nothing is spoken; all
the meanings are in the context of shared experience, the teahouse, the flower
arrangement, the calligraphy scroll, and the ceramics. A typical response from
a low-context observer is “Hurry up and drink the tea!” In contrast, your social

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experiences over coffee take little meaning from the context; rather it is the
conversation—the words shared—that give meaning to the experience.

The Japanese tea ceremony, or chanoyu, is a revered tradition derived from


Zen Buddhism and is approached with great respect and concentration.
Adherence to time-honored rules is essential, both during the ceremony itself
and in the construction of the tea house, or cha-shitsi, which should appear
rustic, simple, and tranquil.

©iStockphoto.com/oluolu3

In some recent studies, European Americans and Japanese were shown scenes,
each with a background scene and foreground objects (Miyamoto, Nisbett, &
Masuda, 2006). These experiments compared perceptions of changes in the
foreground with perceptions of changes in the background. European
Americans were significantly better at detecting changes in the foreground,
while the Japanese were significantly better at detecting changes in the
background. These studies have argued that Europeans (low context) focus

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attention on objects independent of context (i.e., perceive analytically),
whereas East Asians focus on the context (i.e., perceive holistically).

The concept of high and low context also applies to self-understanding. In low-
context cultures, one speaks of a person as having attributes independent of
circumstances or of personal relations. This self is a free agent who can move
from group to group, from setting to setting, without significant changes. But
in high-context cultures, the person is connected, fluid, and conditional.
Participation in relationships makes it possible to act; completely independent
behavior usually isn't possible, nor even desirable (Nisbett, 2003).

The Concept of Face


High-context cultures place great emphasis on relationships, and in those
societies the concept of face is critical to understand. In Chinese culture, face
is conceptualized in two ways: lien (face) and mien or mien-tzd (image). While
these are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings. Hsien Hu
(1944) defines lien as something that “represents the confidence of society in
the integrity of ego's moral character, the loss of which makes it impossible to
function properly with the community,” whereas mien “stands for the kind of
prestige that is emphasized in this country [United States], a reputation
achieved through getting on in life, through success and ostentation” (p. 45).
Masumoto, Oetzel, Takai, Ting-Toomey, and Yokochi (2000) define
facework as the communicative strategies one uses to enact self-face and to
uphold, support, or challenge another person's face.

Raymond Cohen (1997) provides examples of ways one can lose face:

• A rebuffed overture
• Exposure to personal insult
• Exposure to a derogatory remark or disregard for one's status being
• Forced to give up a cherished value
• Making what may later be seen as an unnecessary concession
• Failure to achieve goals
• Revelation of personal inadequacy
• Damage to a valued relationship

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High-context societies tend to be more hierarchical and traditional societies in
which the concepts of shame and honor are much more important than they are
in low-context societies. High-context cultures thus avoid direct confrontation
or use communication strategies to maintain harmony and reduce the
possibility of conflict. Vargas-Urpi (2013) has shown in one study that Chinese
communicators used forms of smiles and other nonverbal behaviors to avoid
or to soften uncomfortable situations that would threaten a participant's face.

Communication in high-context cultures such as China is hence more indirect


or implicit and is more likely to use intermediaries. Social harmony and face
maintenance are crucial, so communication through intermediaries is
especially functional because using intermediaries eliminates face-to-face
confrontation and reduces the risk of losing face.

In interviews conducted in central China, Ringo Ma (1992) confirmed that


unofficial mediation is common in situations involving interpersonal conflict.
The mediator is usually a friend of the two parties in conflict or an elderly
person respected by both. Intervention by the friend or respected elder is either
self-initiated or in response to a request by a person not connected with the
competing parties. Impartiality and face maintenance are considered the two
key factors in successful mediation.

In low-context societies, individuals are guided more by personal


responsibility rather than by shaming one's group. Ting-Toomey (1985) has
proposed that low-context cultures, such as the United States, with a greater
concern for privacy and autonomy, tend to use direct-face negotiation and
express more self-face maintenance, whereas high-context cultures, such as
China, with a greater concern for interdependence and inclusion, tend to use
indirect-face negotiation and express more mutual-face or other-face
maintenance.

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Topic 2.2 Intercultural Communication
Competence
You've read how high-context and low-context cultures differ and how high
and low context affects perception. Understanding this doesn't mean that we
would automatically know how to communicate to be effective.
Communicating effectively in intercultural settings is known as intercultural
communication effectiveness or intercultural communication competence. For
the purposes of this textbook, let's agree to define intercultural
communication effectiveness as the degree of the source's success in
accomplishing the goals set out for the interaction. (Review the Western model
of communication in Chapter 1.) It would seem that one way to define
intercultural communication competence places emphasis on the two
behaviors of encoding and decoding (Monge, Bachman, Dillard, & Eisenberg,
1982). Encoding includes expressing ability, and decoding includes listening
ability.

The term intercultural communication competence has a broader meaning.


For the purposes of this textbook, let's agree to define this term as the ability
to communicate effectively and appropriately with people of other cultures
(Spitzberg, 2000). This concept adds to effectiveness consideration for
appropriateness, that is, that relationship maintenance is valued. Intercultural
communication competence requires understanding others' perceptions and
values. There have been many attempts to identify the specific skills needed
for intercultural communication competence. Chen (1989, 1990), for example,
identifies four skill areas: personality strength, communication skills,
psychological adjustment, and cultural awareness.

Personality Strength.
The main personal traits that affect intercultural communication are self-
concept, self-disclosure, self-monitoring, and social relaxation. Self-concept
refers to the way in which a person views the self. Self-disclosure refers to the
willingness of individuals to openly and appropriately reveal information about
themselves to their counterparts. Self-monitoring refers to using social

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comparison information to control and modify one's self-presentation and
expressive behavior. Social relaxation is the ability to reveal little anxiety in
communication. Competent intercultural communicators must know
themselves well and, through their self-awareness, initiate positive attitudes.
Individuals must express a friendly personality to be competent in intercultural
communication.

Communication Skills.
Individuals must be competent in verbal and nonverbal behaviors. Intercultural
communication skills require message skills, behavioral flexibility, interaction
management, and social skills. Message skills encompass the ability to
understand and use language and feedback. Behavioral flexibility is the ability
to select an appropriate behavior in diverse contexts. Interaction management
means handling the procedural aspects of conversation, such as the ability to
initiate a conversation. Interaction management emphasizes a person's other-
oriented ability to interact, such as attentiveness and responsiveness. Social
skills are empathy and identity maintenance. Empathy is the ability to think the
same thoughts and feel the same emotions as the other person. Identity
maintenance is the ability to maintain a counterpart's identity by
communicating back an accurate understanding of that person's identity. In
other words, a competent communicator must be able to deal with diverse
people in various situations.

Psychological Adjustment.
Competent intercultural communicators must be able to acclimate to new
environments. They must be able to handle the feelings of culture shock, such
as frustration, stress, and alienation in ambiguous situations caused by new
environments.

Cultural Awareness.
To be competent in intercultural communication, individuals must understand
the social customs and social system of the host culture. Understanding how a
people think and behave is essential for communication with them.

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Chen and Starosta's (1996) model of intercultural communication competence
includes three perspectives:

1. Affective or intercultural sensitivity—to acknowledge and respect


cultural differences
2. Cognitive or intercultural awareness—self-awareness of one's own
personal cultural identity and understanding how cultures vary
3. Behavioral or intercultural adroitness—message skills, knowledge
of appropriate self- disclosure, behavioral flexibility, interaction
management, and social skills

The definition of communication itself reflects the culture defining it. In a like
manner, the understanding of intercultural communication competence reflects
the culture defining it. Consider how it might be defined in high-context,
collectivistic cultures. C. M. Chua (2004) showed that intercultural
communication competence in collectivistic Malaysian culture differs from
Western definitions in that in Malaysia there is more emphasis on relational
issues. Komolsevin, Knutson, and Datthuyawat (2010) explain this by showing
that people in high-context cultures are hesitant to engage in communication—
that is, they are reserved and silent—until they have sufficient information to
encode messages appropriate for the receiver. So being quiet and reserved in
Malaysia and Thailand is a necessary first step for the competent intercultural
communicator. But that same behavior might be evaluated negatively in more
individualistic cultures.

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