Intercultural Communication Barriers Essay

Words: 1547
Pages: 7

Humans have been communicating since four million years. On the other hand, the birth of culture is estimated to have token place about 35,000 years ago. Today, both culture and communication have evolved considerably and have become interdependent of one another, to the point that communication is considered to be a product of culture. Thus, our own culture has a deep impact on our thoughts and behaviors. Since each culture has its distinct aspects, intercultural communication can be the cause of conflict and disorder. There are three main issues which are at the root of the problem of intercultural miscommunication : language as a barrier, cultural diversity and ethnocentrism. I will analyze these three notions in situations in which …show more content…
Values correspond to the general states of affair which are considered which are regarded as desirable. We might perceive that values are regarded equally internationally, but it is simply not the case. Even though each culture condemns killing and embraces love, they do not value them in the same manner. For example, Szalay and Maday found that Americans rated love and friendship as their most important life concerns, health as 5th , while Koreans ranked these respective values as 12th , 14th and 19th . In some cases , values which are accepted in one culture, are totally dismissed in another culture. Similarly, the pattern of social relationships at work, at home and with friends differs between cultures. For example, in China great respect is paid to older generations : regular visits are paid, financial contribution … Therefore, a second generation Chinese-American visiting his grandfather in China would have trouble communicating with him, if he does not show the proper respect. In addition to all theses differences, we must take into account three main issues that characterize a culture : religion, politics and economy. These three do not constitute small diversities that can be an obstacle to communication, but actually represent a total barrier to the ladder. For example, poverty-stricken will not interact with representatives of wealthy cultures.

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