Discourse Analysis &

Intercultural Communication
Group 2A
 GROUP MEMBERS
1. Lê Nguyễn Minh Đức - 21045229
2. Trần Thị Hồng Duyên - 21045230
3. Đặng Hương Giang - 21045231
4. Vũ Thu Giang - 21045232
5. Cao Thái Hà - 21045233
6. Phạm Thị Hà - 21045235
7. Nguyễn Nhật Hà - 21045237
8. Dương Thị Mỹ Hạnh - 21045238
9. Nguyễn Lê Hồng Hạnh - 21045239
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
0 Discourse Intercultural & The coming together
02 cross-cultural 03 of DA & IC
1 & DA in IC
communication

The Viability of the

Culture & Key elements
04 language 05 of IC 06 concept of
“Culture” in IC

0 Different
Approaches to IC
7
views of 08 studies 09 IC at work
culture
1. Discourse and Discourse
Analysis in Intercultural
Communication
Presenter: Lê Nguyễn Minh Đức
 Discourse and DA in IC
1.1. Definition of Discourse
What is Discourse?
What is Discourse Analysis?

1.2. Definition of Intercultural Communication

What is Intercultural Communication
What is the role of DA in Intercultural Communication?

1.3. IC Competence
What is IC Competence?
 1.1. Definition of Discourse

● A complex set of relations including relations of communication between

people who talk, write and in other ways communicate with each other.
● Describe relations between concrete communicative events and more
abstract and enduring complex discursive ‘objects’ like languages,
discourses and genres.
● Not simply an entity we can define independently: we can only arrive at
an understanding of it by analysing sets of relations.
(Fairclough, 2010)
1.1. Definition of Discourse
● Text analysis is an essential part of discourse analysis, but discourse
analysis is not merely the linguistic analysis of texts.
● ‘Oscillating’ between a focus on specific texts and a focus on the ‘order
of discourse’, the relatively durable social structuring of language which
is itself one element of the relatively durable structuring and networking
of social practices.
(Fairclough, 2004)
 1.2. Definition of IC

• The study of distinct cultural or other groups in interaction

with each other.
• The analyst’s role is to stand outside of the interaction and to
provide an analysis of how the participants negotiate their
cultural or other differences.
(Scollon & Scollon, 2001)
1.2. Definition of IC

● Intercultural communication takes place when individuals

influenced by different cultural communities negotiate
shared meanings in interaction.
● What counts as intercultural communication depends in part
on what one considers a culture.
1.2. Definition of IC

● Some authorities limit the term “intercultural communication” to refer

only to communication among individuals from different nationalities.
● Other authorities, in contrast, expand the notion of intercultural
communication to encompass inter-ethnic, inter-religious, and even
inter-regional communication, as well as communication among
individuals of different sexual orientations.
1.3. IC Competence
1.3. IC Competence

● Beamer (1992) defines intercultural communication competence as the

ability to encode and decode meanings in matches that correspond to the
meanings held in the other communicator's repository.
● IC competence involves the knowledge, motivation, and skills to interact
effectively and appropriately with members of different cultures.
(Wiseman, 2002)
1.3. IC Competence

● The foundation of intercultural communication competence is the

capacity to avoid ethnocentrism.
● Ethnocentrism is the inclination to view one’s own group as natural and
correct, and all others as aberrant.
● We tend to think prescriptively, that all groups should behave as our own
group behaves.
● And we are naturally proud of our own group and distrustful of others.
1.3. IC Competence

● It may be possible for individuals to evolve beyond ethnocentrism, to

become ethnorelativistic.
● The Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) is
frequently used in intercultural training and assessment to chart
individuals’ progress toward ethnorelativism.
1.3. IC Competence
Denial
The individual refuses to acknowledge cultural differences.

Defense
The individual begins to see cultural differences and is threatened
by them.
Minimization
While individuals at this stage do acknowledge cultural differences,
they see human universals as more salient than cultural distinctions.
1.3. IC Competence
Acceptance
The individual begins to accept significant cultural differences first in behaviors,
and then in values.

Adaptation
The individual becomes more adept at intercultural communication by shifting
perspectives to the other’s cultural worldview.

Integration
Individuals at this stage begin to transcend their own native cultures. They
define their identities and evaluate their actions in terms of multiple cultural
perspectives.
2. INTERCULTURAL AND
CROSS-CULTURAL
COMMUNICATION

Presenter: Trần Thị Hồng Duyên

Intercultural and Cross-cultural communication

2.1. Definitions of intercultural communication and cross-

cultural communication
2.2. Comparison of the two frameworks
2.1. Definitions - Cross-cultural communication
Definition:
● Cross-cultural communication is “to signal the
independent study of the communicative characteristics of
distinct cultural or other groups”.
(Scollon & Scollon, 2001)
● In cross-cultural studies, groups from different cultural
backgrounds do not interact with each other, but are
studied as separate entities.
2.1. Definitions - Intercultural communication

Definition:
● Intercultural communication is “the study of distinct
cultural groups in interaction with each other”.
(Scollon & Scollon, 2001)
● Intercultural communication takes place when individuals
of different cultural backgrounds negotiate shared
meanings in interaction.
 2.2. Comparison of the two frameworks
Intercultural communication Cross-cultural communication

Topic Discourse norms for opening a meeting between Chinese and British cultural
groups

An analysis of a meeting involving A comparative study on the norms of opening

both Chinese and British a meeting between Chinese participants in
participants Hong Kong and British English norms for
opening a meeting in London.
 2.2. Comparison of the two frameworks

Intercultural communication Cross-cultural communication

Similarity The study of communication of individuals/groups from different cultural

backgrounds.

Differences - relates to interactions of people - involves comparing interactions

from different cultural among people from the same
backgrounds culture to those from another
culture
3. The coming together of
DA & IC
Presenter: Đặng Hương Giang
 Identification
● Gumperz (1982), Tannen (1984, 1986) brought DA to the
service of solving problems of interracial, interethnic, and
intercultural communication.
● DA has to analyze these problems as revealed in
language (vocabulary, grammar, information structure,
turn-taking, etc.)
Identification
● This line of thought was the first to seek to bridge
the gap between DA and IC, (e.g. seeking to
analyze the production of social, economic, and
racial discrimination in and through discourse as
situated social practice).
● Bateson’s (1935 )
● Problem he set out was that of developing an analytical
language by which differences between cultures or groups
would be analyzed as mutually co-constructive

=> Hope to understand the processes by which groups in

conflict could become more harmoniously engaged.
• Much research on intercultural discourse accounting for
miscommunication in terms of different communicative styles
divergent cultural values which interlocutors bring to
interaction.
• Bailey (2004) cautions, however, that “it can be difficult to
determine whether particular social relations particular
communicative patterns, or vice versa”.
Example 1:
Intercultural
miscommunication
A Dutch national who has recently moved to the UK. He is preparing
a report or a presentation and show it to their manager for feedback
they are told, “it’s fine”. However, after handing in the report or
making the presentation they discover the manager is not pleased as
things are missing.

1. What is the source of international miscommunication?

2. What is the social effect of such miscommunication?
3. What can be done to improve intercultural miscommunication
1. Source of international miscommunication:

It’s all about how different cultures communicate.

+ The Dutch are used to being open, frank and honest when giving
opinions. If you say something is ‘fine’, then it’s fine.
+ The British are very different. Saying something is “fine” in the UK
really means it is not fine – it’s the exact opposite.
2. The social effect of such miscommunication:

The Dutch man cannot understand why they are being told something is
fine, to only find out later, it is not fine.

This along with other communication challenges is really bothering the

Dutch national.
3. What can be done to improve intercultural miscommunication in this
case?

The boss should ask the Dutch man to provide missing information to make
the report completed.
Example 2: Pragmatics of
language use can impact
intercultural
communication
● Imagine yourself as a dinner guest in a Pakistani household.
You have just eaten a delicious meal. You are relatively full
but not so full that it would be impossible for you to eat
more if it was considered socially appropriate to do so.
● Consider the following dialogue:
Hostess: I see that your plate is empty. Would you like some more curry?
You :No, thank you. It was delicious, but I'm quite full.
Hostess: Please, you must have some more to eat.
You: No, no thank you. I've really had enough. It was just great, but I can't eat
another bite.
Hostess: Are you sure that you won't have any more? You really seemed to enjoy
the brinjals. Let me put just a little bit more on your plate.
You: ...................
1. What is your next response?
2. What is the socially appropriate answer?
3. Is it considered socially inappropriate for a dinner guest not to accept a
=> Even if you knew Urdu, the language spoken in
Pakistan, you would have to understand the pragmatics of
language use to respond appropriately - in this instance, to
say “no" at least three times.
Example 3: Cultural
differences
- Rie, a native speaker of Japanese points out that the
Japanese avoid expressing their emotion overtly: ‘silence is
beautiful in Japanese society. We try to read an atmosphere’
(Dewaele, 2008).
- Veronica (2004), a Chinese scholar who immigrated to
Australia: ‘We do not place so much emphasis on verbal
expression of love and affection, because they can evaporate
quickly’.
- However, two years later, at the end of a visit home, Ye
decides to give her parents ‘a long and tight embrace’ at
the same airport gate (ibid.: 142)
=> Her exposure to Australian culture seems to affect the
way she interacts with her parents on a return visit to
China.
Q: Do you think that there are
cultural differences among
countries only?
=> Cultural differences among
countries, genders, generations,
occupations, etc.
 Typical interaction scene in discourse
(Kellermann, 1991)
● Conversations among people from other
cultures have a similar structure.
● There are crucial differences in the ways the
conversations of people from other cultures
are organized and sequenced, encompassing
the types of topics discussed and the amount
of time given to each one.
 Example 4:
Typical interaction scene in
discourse
+ In Hong Kong, for instance, conversations among males
often include inquiries about the other person's health and
business affairs.
+ In Arabic countries, you should never ask about
4. Language and
culture
Presenter: Vũ Thu Giang
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4.1 Definition

4.2 Relationship between Language and Culture

4.3 Layers of culture

4.4 Language relativity

 4.1. Definition: What is language?
- Language: the central object of study in linguistics
+ Individual language
+ Language in general
- All individual languages necessarily possess important properties in
common and and every individual language is therefore a
combination of these universal properties with a number of
accidental and often idiosyncratic features.
- It is these universal properties which are of greatest interest, but the
only way we can get at these properties is by scrutinizing individual
languages. (Trask & Stockwell, 2007)
4.1. Definition: What is culture?
One way of thinking about culture is to contrast it with nature.
- Nature: refers to what is born and grows organically
(from the Latin nascere: to be born)
- Culture: refers to what has been grown and groomed
(from the Latin colere: to cultivate).

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

 4.1. Definition: What is culture?
- Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting,
acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive
achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts: the
essential core of culture consists traditional (i.e. historically derived and
selected) ideas and specially their attached values (Kluckhohn, 1951)

- Culture at its most basic level can be defined as share symbols, norms, and
values in a social organization (Walsham, 2002)
4.2 Language-Culture relationship

+ Language expresses cultural reality:

+ Language symbolizes cultural reality

+ Language embodies cultural reality:

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.2.1 Language expresses cultural reality
- Language is used to express common experience. They express
facts, ideas or events that are communicable because they refer to a
stock of knowledge about the world that other people share.
- Language also reflect their authors’ attitudes and beliefs, their
point of view, that are also those of others.

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.2.1 Language expresses cultural reality
4.2.2 Language embodies cultural reality
- Members of a community or social group not only express experience
but also create experience through language.
- They give meaning to it through the medium they choose to
communicate with one another (face-to-face, letter, email,etc)
- The way in which people use the spoken, written or visual medium
itself creates understandable meaning to the group they belong to.
(accent, conversational style, etc)

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.2.2 Language embodies cultural reality
Young generations use some words that are understandable in
their age group:

+ trà xanh kem cheese

+ sinh tố lúa mạch
4.2.3 Language symbolizes cultural reality

- Language is a system of signs that is seen as having itself a cultural

value.
- Speakers identify themselves and others through their use of
language; they view their language as a symbol of their social
identity.
- The prohibition of its use is often perceived by its speakers as a
rejection of their social group and their culture.
(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)
4.3. Layers of culture

SOCIAL HISTORICAL IMAGINATION

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.3. Layers of culture: SOCIAL
- Social conventions, norms of social appropriateness, are the
product of communities of language users.
- People of a social group acquire common ways of viewing
their interactions with other members of the same group.
- These views are reinforced through institutions like the
family, the school, the workplace, etc.

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.3. Layers of culture: SOCIAL
- Common attitudes, beliefs and values are reflected in the way
members of the group use language.

-> Discourse community = speech community composed of

people who use the same linguistic code + the common ways in
which members of a social group use language to meet their social
needs.

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.3. Layers of culture: SOCIAL
Example:
- The age or social hierarchy is often highly valued in
Vietnamese culture. => language use
- Personal pronouns: “Ông - cháu”, “bác - cháu”...
- Words like “dạ”, “vâng”, “ạ” => respect
4.3. Layers of culture: HISTORICAL
- People identify themselves as members of a society to the extent
that they can have a place in that society’s history.
- A social group represents itself and others through its material
productions over time that punctuate the development of its
historical identity.
- This material culture is reproduced and preserved through
institutional mechanisms that are also part of the culture
(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)
4.3. Layers of culture: HISTORICAL
Example: “Tem phiếu” - The State subsidy period
4.3. Layers of culture: IMAGINATION
- Discourse communities are characterized not only by facts
and artifacts but by common dreams, fulfilled and unfulfilled
imaginings. These imaginings are mediated through the
language, that over the life of the community reflects, shapes
and is a metaphor for its cultural reality.

(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)

4.3. Layers of culture: IMAGINATION
Tản Viên Sơn Thánh
(Sơn Tinh) - The god of
mountain
=> the resilience and
fortitude of Vietnamese
people when faced with
natural disasters.

https://vietnamisawesome.com/
4.4 Language relativity
(Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
- The strong form (linguistic determinism) the idea that the
language you speak determines how you think.
- You can never really conceive of culture and language you
speak as one because your language does not give you a single
word to represent them.

(Ralph & Jeff, 2006)

4. Language relativity
(Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
- Weak form (linguistic relativity) a language makes it easier to
conceive of ideas for which is has words or obligatory
grammatical categories, but it is still possible to think on other
ways; it just take more effort.
- “A language frames the way you see the world”

(Ralph & Jeff, 2006)

4.4 Language relativity
(Sapir-Whorf hypothesis)
- Different people speak differently because they think
differently, and that they think differently because their
language offers them different ways of expressing the
world around them.
- The structure of the language one habitually uses
influences the manner in which one thinks and behaves.
(Kramsch & Widdowson, 1998)
English Vietnamese

Rice Lúa (rice plant)

Thóc (rice seeds)
Gạo (raw rice)
Cơm (steamed/boiled rice)
5. Key elements of
ntercultural communication

Presenter: Cao Thái Hà

Table of Contents

5.1. Complementary schismogenesis

5.2. Contextualization cues
5.3. Inequality
5.4. Prejudice
5.1. Complementary schismogenesis
Schismogenesis
The creation of
seperation
(sự đứt gãy)

Schism (Greek) : a split ot

division Genesis (Greek) : the
History: the Great Schism - origin or mode of
the breach between the formation of something
Eastern and the Western Religion: the first book of
Churches the Bible
Complementary Schismogenesis
“The processes in social
interactions by which small initial
differences become amplified in
response to each other through a
sequence of interactional moves
and ultimately result in a
RUPTURE IN THE SOCIAL
INTERACTION”
(Bateson, 1972).
 Complementary Schismogenesis

Two opposing want to adjust small initial

The rupture i
types of aware of the the other by difference
communicatio
communication differences acting out the become more
interacts previous action intensified.
 5.1. Schismogenesis
Example

American remains a
Back-and-forth
1 American student fixed space
situation
1 Brazil student Brazil shortens the
=> Rupture
space
5.1. Schismogenesis
5.1. Schismogenesis
Example 3

One speaks loudly Quiet speaker lowers voice

One speaks quietly Loud speakers speaks louder
(to hint the partner)

Difference becomes
more vivid
5.1. Schismogenesis

Vietnamese boy asks

American boy:
- How old are you?
- How much do you
weigh?
- What is your present
monthly salary?
=> American boy think
Vietnamese boy is impolite.
5.2. Contextualization cues
Definition of contextualization :
● refers to the fact that linguistic signs need embedding in a
context in order to be fully interpretable.
(Cook-Gumperz, 1976)
Definition of contextualization cues:
● Contexts are not given but are said to be invoked, or made
relevant, by participants through so called contextualization
cues.
5.2. Contextualization cues
❖ For example:
“ I LOVE THAT IDEA”
⮚ a speaker indicates whether she really appreciates the idea (i.e., that
her utterance should be interpreted literally)
⮚ if she actually dislikes it (i.e., that her utterance should be interpreted
as sarcasm or joking)
5.2. Contextualization cues
 5.2. Contextualization cues
Functions of contextualization cues

Index or evoke CONSTRUCT the contextual Help interactants make inferences

interpretive ground, when processed in co- about TURN-TAKING and
SKEMAS or occurrence with other cues and FLOOR MANAGEMENT, on
FRAMES within grammatical and lexical signs, for the one hand, and about what
which inferential situated interpretation and actions or activities are being
understanding can thereby AFFECT HOW carried out, and how this might
be achieved. PARTICULAR MESSAGES ARE impinge upon participants’ face,
UNDERSTOOD. on the other.
(Gumperz, 1982)
(Gumperz,1982) (Gumperz, 1982)
5.2. Contextualization cues

Analyzing misinterpretation of contextualization is one

of the ways to identify breakdowns in communication
cues and to find the sources of the breakdowns in the
language.
5.3 Inequality

“Inequality is conceived as resulting not from difference

itself but from intolerance of difference.
(Cameron, 1995)
 5.3. Inequality

Inequality with women migrant workers abroad, especially in Covid19

Pandemic:

• Be underpaid

• do simple jobs

• have little access to social security benefits

• and have little choice in support services

5.3 Inequality

PRE-EXISTING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CULTURES

& POWER DIFFERENCE

Power asymmetry in immigrant Power asymmetry in colonial

situations and post-colonial situations
5.4. Prejudice

Prejudice refers to negative attitudes toward other people

that are based on faulty and inflexible stereotypes
(Lustig & Koester, 2009)
5.4. Prejudice
● A thought that someone has about specific
types of individuals that may or may not
accurately reflect reality.
01 Stereotypes ● Example: When you meet a Japanese
person for the first time, you think this
person must be very punctual and
perfectionist.

● An opinion - usually an unfavorable

one - that was formed before having
02 Prejudice any evidence that is not based on
reason or experience.
t
5.4. Prejudice
- We often hear some statements like:
“tuy là người dân tộc nhưng học rất
giỏi”, hoặc “là người dân tộc nhưng
học rất thông minh”…
- Or ethnic minorities often call:
“mày, tao…”
- Or speak with a lisp (nói ngọng).
=> Stereotypes about ethnic minority.
 5.4. Prejudice
Prejudice attitudes includes:

irrational feelings of biased perceptions and beliefs a readiness to behave

dislike and even that are not based on direct in negative and
hatred experiences unjust ways

toward certain groups (based on their nationalities, senses of belonging,

class, occupation, gender,…)
(Lustig & Koester, 2009)
6. The viability of
the Concept of
“Culture” in IC
Presenter: Phạm Thị Hà
 Table of contents
6.1 – Aspects of culture
6.1.1 Kinship
6.1.2 Individualism and collectivism
6.1.3 Behavior and Beliefs
6.1.4 Ethnocentrism

6.2 – Culture in Intercultural Communication

6.2.1 Culture is fluid
6.2.2 Culture is dissolved
 6.1 Aspects of culture
6.1.1 Kinship:
- Kinship terminology describes a system of familial relationships.
- Kinship terms are a set of terms used by a group to name relationships, a
system of names applied to categories of kin in relation to one another.
- There are five principal kinds of kinship terminologies: use to describe
people with whom one is connected, either by descent from a common
ancestor or by marriage (members of one’s family, extra-familial kin
(relatives of blood) and one’s relatives by marriage…)
Schapera (1977)
 6.1 Aspects of culture
6.1.1 Kinship:
- Most kinship terms distinguish between genders and between generations.
- Languages indicate these distinctions differently. Whereas translators in
some societies may find it easy to translate the kinship terms of one
language into another, others may find it difficult when the languages use a
different organisational system.
 6.1 Aspects of culture
6.1.1 Kinship:
Example:

Kinship terms "con, cháu, em, Everyone uses “I”, and “you”
bác, cô, chú, ... can be used as without distinction of kinship
address pronouns: relationship:
“Con đã về rồi” “I come home now”
“Bác đang làm gì đấy ạ?” “What are you doing?”
 6.1. Aspects of culture
6.1.2 Individualism and collectivism
- Individualism emphasize the separation of the individual from any other socia
commitments.
- Individualism concern about their freedom of activity than their connections t
other members in the groups.
- In intercultural communication, highly individualistic culture would pay more
attention to personal face needs >< collectivistic culture would always have th
face of others foremost.
 6.1. Aspects of culture
6.1.2 Individualism and collectivism
Example:

- Individuals can influence the - Cooperation, conformity, &

future. Individuals should be compromise are important.
realistic in their aspirations. - Vietnamese people often use the
- People usually use the first- first person plural “We” to
person singular “I” when giving express more opinions.
more opinions.
 6.1. Aspects of culture
6.1.2 Individualism and collectivism
Difference between speaking to members of one’s own group and members of other
groups.
Individualistic society Collectivist society

- the relationships are - special forms of discourse are carefully

being negotiated and preserved the boundaries of inside and outside
developed right groups.
within the situation of Example: a Chinese person’s given name alone is
discourse rarely used at all, but if it is used, it is generally only
within ingroup communication.
 6.1. Aspects of culture
6.1.3 Behavior and Beliefs
- Cultural differences causes behavior and personality differences like body
language, thinking, communication, manners, norms, etc. which leads to
miscommunication.
Example: in some cultures eye contact is important whereas in some it is rude
and disrespectful.
- Appropriate amount of emotion that must be displayed is also different in
different cultures. Roles are defined by culture. Good communication only
occurs between people with different cultures if both accept their differences
with open mind.
 6.1. Aspects of culture
6.1.4 Ethnocentrism
- The people of someone’s own culture are categorized as in-group and the
other culture is out-group. There is always greater preference to in-group.
There is an illusion of out-group as evil and inferior. This evaluation is mostly
negative.
- Other’s culture is evaluated and assessed with the standard being their own
culture. Ethnocentrism affects the understanding of message, and encourages
hostility.
- Example: the books in schools use reference of their own culture to describe
other cultures by either showing common things or differences.
 6.2. Culture in IC
6.2.1 Culture is fluid
- Cultures are in a constant process of change, some deliberate and some accidental,
through the transactional communication of their members. (Baldwin, Coleman,
González, & Packer, 2014)
- Samovar and Porter (2004) outlined three ways of change:
+ invention or innovation
+ diffusion (the spread of artifacts, behaviors, and ideas across – the result of
globalization)
+ hybridity (a notion that describes cultural blending between two cultures in
contact)
 6.2. Culture in IC
6.2.1 Culture is fluid
Example:
When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965, the two countries were at roughly
the same level of development. But Prime Minister Ly Quang Dieu made English the
national language in 1970 and completed it in 1984 - and this is one of the very
important factors for the success of this island nation.
 6.2. Culture in IC
6.2.2 Culture is dissolved

- Within discourse analysis and intercultural communication, cultural units have

been dissolved into boundaryless forms of intertextuality and interdiscursivity.
- Intertextuality: the shaping and understanding of a text’s meaning by another
text. Example: Today, Vietnamese in daily communication have proficiently used
the vocabulary with derived words from Chinese, accounting for about 67% of the
language of our country. And a series of words of French origin have been
Vietnamese such as “xà phòng, ba gác, xích, tăm,...”

(Fairclough, 1992)
 6.2. Culture in IC
6.2.3 Culture is dissolved.
Interdiscursivity (constitutive intertextuality): shaping of a text’s meaning by
another text.
- All communications are positioned within interdiscursivity.
Example:
One is simultaneously a woman, a professional, a mother, and a member of a
charity’s management board.
=> Each of these roles has an expected set of forms of discourse, face relations,
and patterns for socialization and often they are in conflict with each other.
7. Different views
of culture
Presenter: Nguyễn Nhật Hà
Table of contents

7.1 Essentialist & reductive view of culture

7.2 Non-essentialist view of culture

 7.1
Essentialist and reductive
view of culture
“Chinese people are
“Americans love guns and
good at math, have
are excessively meddling in
squinty eyes, and always
social affairs.”
eat rice.”

=> “The essentialist view of culture is that, for any specific culture,
the individuals of the culture are assumed to possess a particular
set of attributes or traits.”
(Vandenberg, 2010)
7.1 Essentialist view
Definition

“By essentialist, we mean presuming that there is a universal

essence, homogeneity and unity in a particular culture.”
(Holliday, Hyde & Kullman, 2010)
7.1 Essentialist view
Characteristics

The essentialist view sees national culture as a concrete social

phenomenon which represents the essential characters of a
particular nation.
➔ The behaviour of a person is confined by the constraints of a
national culture.
(Holiday, 1999)
7.1 Essentialist view
Characteristics

The essentialist view attempts to

fit the behaviour of people into
pre-conceived, constraining
structures, hence lead to racism,
sexist, …. (Holiday, 1999)
7.1 Essentialist view
Characteristics

Essentialist approach leads to reductionist, overgeneralization

and otherization of foreign societies.
(Holliday, 1994)

=> Stereotypical notion of Asian parenting

7.1 Reductive view
Definition

Reduction is “where the different aspects, the variety of possible

characteristics and the full complexity of a group of people are
ignored in favour of a preferred definition”.
(Holliday, Hyde & Kullman, 2010)
“By reductive we mean reducing cultural behavior down to a
simple causal factor.”
(Holliday, Hyde & Kullman, 2010)
7.1 Reductive view
Characteristics

Reductionist thinking leaves little room for variety, cultural traditions,

living urban environments, or religion, thus reducing our worldview to
a mere minimalism of several of the most glorious achievements of
evolved human civilization.
(Bhat & Salingaros, 2013)
 7.1 Reductive view
Characteristics

Reductionist thinking erases underlying complexity and reduces people

and cultures to a one-dimensional definition.

“Japanese students behave

like this (are disciplined)
because this is how the
Japanese are.”
 7.2
Non-essentialist view of culture
7.2 Non-essentialist view
Definition

A non-essentialist view of culture “focuses on the complexity of

culture as a fluid, creative social force which binds different
groupings and aspects of behaviour in different ways, both
constructing and constructed by people in a piecemeal fashion to
produce myriad combinations and configurations”.

(Holliday, Hyde & Kullman, 2010)

 7.2 Non-essentialist view
Definition
=> ‘Culture’ is a movable concept used by different people at different
times to suit purposes of identity, politics and science.
(Holliday, 1999)
7.2 Non-essentialist view
Characteristics
Statements about culture are
themselves artefacts of how
people see themselves and
others, and how they wish to
be seen.
(Holliday, 1999)
7.2 Non-essentialist view
Characteristics

● It allows social behaviour to speak for itself.

● It provides the resource of an overall understanding of how
culture per se works, which provides a framework for
analysis of behaviour, but it does not impose pre-definitions
of the essential characteristics of specific national cultures.
(Holliday, 1999)
 Strategies for intercultural communication
● Essentialist view of culture:

To communicate with someone who is foreign or

different, we must first understand the details or
stereotype of their culture.

E.g: In U.S, it is normal for men to shake hands

when they meet, but it is quite unusual for men to
kiss when they greet each other.
 Strategies for intercultural communication
● Non-essentialist view of culture:

To communicate with anyone who belongs to a group

with whom we are unfamiliar, we have to understand
the complexity of who they are.

E.g: A Middle Eastern girl we meet does not conform to

the stereotype of Middle Eastern women that we see in
the media, which she considers false and ignorant. In
reality she is different to what we expected.

=> While the essentialist side provides an answer, the

non-essentialist side poses more of a problem which is
complex and requires an understanding of things which
are not at all clear, and different to what we imagine.
8. Approaches to IC
studies
Presenter: Dương Thị Mỹ Hạnh
Approaches
8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

What is inter-discourse communication?

8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

⇒ All communication is communication across some lines which

divide us into different discourse groups or systems of discourse
⇒ simultaneous internal and external contradictions.
8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

Example: In a business meeting between Hong Kong Chinese and Anglo

North American businessmen, one of the Chinese businessmen might say
the following:

“Because most of our production is done in China now, and uh, it’s not
really certain how the government will react in the run-up to 1997, and
since I think a certain amount of caution in committing to TV
advertisement is necessary because of the expense. So, I suggest that we
delay making our decision until after Legco makes its decision.”

⇒ What is the speaker’s main point?

8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

Example: In a business meeting between Hong Kong Chinese and Anglo

North American businessmen, one of the Chinese businessmen might say
the following:

“Because most of our production is done in China now, and uh, it’s not
really certain how the government will react in the run-up to 1997, and
since I think a certain amount of caution in committing to TV
advertisement is necessary because of the expense. So, I suggest that we
delay making our decision until after Legco makes its decision.”
8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

Each side is using different principles of discourse to organize its presentations.

Asian: topic-comment Western: comment (main point) - topic

because of
Y (topic, background, or reasons) X (comment, main point, or action suggested)
because of
X (comment, main point, or action Y (topic, background, or reasons)
suggested)
8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

The Westerner might expect something more like the

following :

“I suggest that we delay making our decision until after

Legco makes its decision. That’s because I think a certain
amount of caution in committing to TV advertisement is
necessary because of the expense. In addition to that, most
of our production is done in China now, and it’s not really
certain how the government will react in the run-up to
1997.”
8.1. Discourse Approach to IC (Scollon & Scollon, 1995)

The Westerner might expect something more like the

following :

“I suggest that we delay making our decision until after

Legco makes its decision. That’s because I think a certain
amount of caution in committing to TV advertisement is
necessary because of the expense. In addition to that, most
of our production is done in China now, and it’s not really
certain how the government will react in the run-up to
1997.”
8.2. IC Approach to DA (Scollon & Scollon, 1995, 2001)

- Individuals are members of different cultural groups and their

communication can be studied as a problem in communication through a
discursive analysis of the characteristic communication of members of those
groups.
- An intercultural approach would begin with the problem that a German was
to communicate with a Chinese.
8.2. IC Approach to DA (Scollon & Scollon, 1995, 2001)

Western culture: people

view themselves as
independent entities.

Chinese culture stresses

interdependence between
human beings.
8.2. IC Approach to DA (Scollon & Scollon, 1995, 2001)

The Western The Chinese

-Stand up and speak up -Behave in a calm and attentive way

-Do what is more convenient for
them -Listen quietly and process
-Smile to show interest or approval information while listening
-Direct way for communication -Indirect way for communication

⇒ Differences in values, perceptions, the typical structures of genres, rates of

speaking and of turning over turns, gestures and other nonverbal communication
systems, or of worldview or ideology.
8.3. Intercultural/ interactional sociolinguistic approach

-This approach would identify people from these different groups who are
in social interaction with each other.

-Through a close analysis of the discourse actually produced, the analyst

would first identify breakdowns in communication, then try to find the
sources of the breakdowns in the language used as well as in the
misinterpretation of contextualization cues.
8.3. Intercultural/ interactional sociolinguistic approach

-Differences between the participants would be most likely understood as arising from a history
of socialization to different groups and therefore a misunderstanding of contextualization cues in
the actual situation of communicating with each other.

Doctor - patient communication:

+“doctors may express empathy and open friendly dialogues with patients to achieve their
satisfaction and success in medical care,” (Davis, 2010)
+the asymmetric relationship may result from Chinese culture in which doctors, lawyers and
teachers hold professional power which comes from respect for their expertise. (Yin, et al, 2013)
8.4. Mediated discourse approach

- A mediated discourse perspective shifts from a focus on the individuals

involved in communication, and from their interpersonal or intercultural or even
inter-discursive relationship, to a focus on mediated action as a kind of social
action.

- The central concern is now not persons but social change.

- The primary question would be: what is the social action in which you are
interested and how does this analysis promise to focus on some aspects of
social life that is worth understanding?
8.4. Mediated discourse approach

-Discourse is just one of the ways in which social action may be

mediated, albeit commonly a very significant one.

⇒ culture is possibly relevant when it is empirically an outcome (or

means) of actions taken by social actors

⇒ groups such as cultures are taken to be the outcomes of social

actions and of histories but to have no direct causal status in themselves
 9. IC at work
Presenter: Nguyễn Lê Hồng Hạnh
Table of contents

9.1 9.2
Speech acts
in IC discourse IC barriers in workplace

9.3
Overcome IC barriers
 9.1 Speech acts in IC discourse

Searle (1979) set up the following classification of

speech acts: representatives, directives,
commissives, expressives, declarations.
Declarations

These are words and expressions that change the world by their very
utterance. They usually need to be uttered by a speaker of a special institutional
role: blessings, firings, baptisms, arrests, marrying or juridical speech acts.

“You are fired!”

Representatives

These are acts in which the words state what the speaker believes to be the
case. These allow the speaker to assert, confirm or describe something.

Typical functions of this group include describing, claiming, hypothesizing,

insisting, and disagreeing.

“The Earth is flat.”

Commissives

This group includes acts in which the speaker commits him/ herself to doing
something with words.

Typical functions of this group are promising, offering, threatening, refusing,

vowing, and volunteering.

“I will complete the task by tomorrow.”

For example

In the situation refusing the boss’s invitation to a party:

American says:

- We already have a prior engagement.

- We will be out of town that day.
- We already booked on that day.

Iranian says:

- I need to take my wife to dentist.

- I have to attend my brothers’ weddings.
- We arranged to see my grandmothers that day.
Directives

This category covers acts in which the words uttered by the speaker are aimed at
making the hearer do something.

Directives can be used to perform commanding, requesting, inviting,

forbidding, suggesting, advising, and questioning.

“Send us email at once.”

Expressives

This last group includes acts in which the words state what the speaker feels.
In other words, it is used to express the speaker’s emotions.

Representatives of the group include apologizing, praising, congratulating,

regretting, accepting, complaining, and so on.

“You did a good job!”

 When receiving compliments:

Disagree with compliments.

Say “Thank you!” immediately.
Even if the compliments are accepted, it would be
Accept compliments and express
in the form of a downgrade.
“No, not at all.”/“You speak too highly of me.” gratitude, politeness at once.

“I will continue to work hard. Please continue to

look out for me.”
(Han, 1992)
9.2 IC barriers in workplace
Language

Not speaking the same language can cause misunderstandings and is considered the
most crucial barrier in intercultural communication.

Verbal communication is important in every context, but the meaning of words can
literally get lost in translation. If one person isn’t aware of the exact meaning of a
word, it may be misunderstood or misinterpreted by the other person and lead to
a conflict of ideas.
The Japanese “Yes” (Hai)

A Japanese businessman responds with “hai” after being told by an American

businessman that his product is the best in quality and price.

After all, the American businessman gets confused because if the Japanese
businessman agrees that the American product is the best in both quality and price,
why wouldn't he sign the deal?
The Japanese “Yes” (Hai)

Its purpose is not to show full agreement, but to show that the person is listening
and cares about what has to be said.
Stereotypes

Stereotypes are preconceived notions about a specific community, group or

culture. The basis of stereotyping can be many things, though the most common
are nationality, gender, race, religion or age.

This creates prejudice among people of different cultures and causes judgmental
attitudes towards one another. People look at other cultures with certain
stereotypes as “bad” or “difficult to work with”, or “incomprehensible” and treat
them with contempt and disrespect.
 Stereotypes about Japanese

Love sushi Love anime, manga

A Japanese girl works with an American guy who assumed everyone in Japan
was a manga fan and played video games all day.

He tried to talk to her about his favorite games and manga characters from the
90’s. She had no idea what the guy was talking about and would just give him a
blank stare or awkward smile. He would act surprised whenever she told him
she’s never heard about the stuff he was talking about.
Signs and Symbols

Non-verbal communication like signs and symbols differ from culture to

culture and can therefore not be relied upon in communication.

While not quite as easily misconstrued in a team environment as the other factors,
it can still lead to cultural faux-pas that may take time to smooth over and could
be avoided in the first place.
“Thumb -up” gesture

In Western world and America:

A sign of approval, a universally positive gesture.

In Iran and neighboring countries like Afghanistan,

Bangladesh:

Equivalent to the middle finger - seen as an insult.

Different behaviors

Cultural differences cause behavioral and personality differences like body

language, gestures, mindsets, communication, manners, and norms, which may
lead to miscommunication.

People’s varied religious or spiritual beliefs can also lead to conflict and
intercultural barriers.
Eye contact during conversation

Eye contact shows interest, pays

Constant eye contact is considered rude.
attention to conversation.
They are taught to focus on the neck or It is a sign of self-confidence.
chin of the other person.
9.3 Overcome IC barriers in workplace
Become Aware

On a personal level, one should make an effort to acknowledge his own implicit biases
and assumptions that affect the way he interacts with others. He can start by making a
conscious attempt to empathize with his audience and gain a better understanding of
others’ point of view.
Be open-minded

Closed-mindedness is another barrier to intercultural communication that can hinder

the success of an organization.

Being exposed to new viewpoints and making the effort to understand them can
have an impact on how a person make decisions moving forward.
Facilitate Meaningful Conversation

A lack of communication in an organization can exacerbate cultural differences

between individuals. In an environment that does not allow for open communication,
people tend not to speak up or share comments and feedback with one another.

Not only will this allow people to gain an understanding and appreciation for
another person’s perspective, but it will also help to build strong relationships in
the workplace.
QUIZ
1. According to Canale and Swain’s model, which field does IC
Competence belong to among 4 fields of Communicative Competence
Q4. Language and Culture

- Relationship between Language and Culture?

express - embody - symbolize

- Layers of culture

social - historical - imagination

Q7. Decide whether the following statements are indicative of the essentialist
(E) or non-essentialist (NE) view of culture.

a. No matter how long she lives in Italy, she belongs to Austrian culture.
b. In Chinese culture, people’s behaviour is determined by Confucianism.
c. The people I find most culturally strange are my children’s friends and the
village where I was a child.
d. School around the world have a lot of cultural similarities.
Q7. Decide whether the following statements are indicative of the essentialist
(E) or non-essentialist (NE) view of culture.
a. No matter how long she lives in Italy, she belongs to Austrian culture.
=> E (People belong exclusively to one national culture.)
b. In Chinese culture, people’s behaviour is determined by Confucianism.
=> E (People’s behavior is defined and constrained by the culture in which they live.)
c. The people I find most culturally strange are my children’s friends and the village where
I was a child.
=> NE (People can move through a complex multiplicity of cultures both within and
across societies.)
d. School around the world have a lot of cultural similarities.
=> NE (Cultures can flow, change, intermingle, cut across and through each other,
regardless of national frontiers, and have blurred boundaries.)
Q9. What types speech acts do these sentences belong to?

“I am so sorry for not helping you out in our group projects and letting you
do all the work.”
A. Declarative C. Expressive
B. Directive D. Commissive

“From now on, I will participate in our group activity.”

C. Representative C. Directive
D. Commissive D. Declarative
Q9. What types speech acts do these sentences belong to?

“I am so sorry for not helping you out in our group projects and letting you
do all the work.”
A. Declarative C. Expressive
B. Directive D. Commissive

“From now on, I will participate in our group activity.”

C. Representative C. Directive
D. Commissive D. Declarative
 References
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Baldwin, J., Coleman, R., González, A., & Packer, S. (2022). Intercultural Communication for
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Holliday, A., Hyde, M., & Kullman, J. (2010). Intercultural communication: An advanced
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Jenifer, D et al. (2015). Cross Cultural Communication Barriers in Workplace.

Searle, J. R. (1976). The classification of illocutionary acts. Language in Society.
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Beamer, L. (1992, June 1). Learning Intercultural Communication Competence. The Journal of
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Canale, M., & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second
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Fairclough, N. (2010), Critical Discourse Analysis, 2nd edn.
Fairclough, N. (2004), Analysing Discourse, Taylor & Francis e-Library
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 References

Kramsch, C., & Widdowson, H. G. (1998). Language and Culture (Oxford

Introductions to Language Study) (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.

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THANK YOU