I chose Sweden as a country, and culture for my semester paper (because my mother is Swedish & I'm interested in the culture of my ancestors). The main aspects I've focused are culture, language, and food in Sweden. Then locating similar cultural characteristics to the United States and comparing and contrasting the results. Sweden has 25 provinces each with their individual set of values, religious beliefs, and historical differences.
An aspect that both the United States and Sweden have is the idea of an individualistic culture. This typology reinforces that the people of the society focus more on their individual needs rather than collectivistic culture. The aspect of individualistic culture is seen through their work ethic, their willingness…show more content… The complications arise when someone who wasn't born speaking Swedish tries to join in with the language. Swedish people act like they have no idea what you're talking about if you're just barely off on the intonation" (Ritcher, pg.1). Communication is complex, and the misunderstanding of word use can easily happen. Therefore, understand a culture will enable confidence when communicating. McCroskey (etal.) states, "Obtaining knowledge about the communicative styles and orientations of persons in other cultures will help us to recognize and control behaviors and orientations considered appropriate in our own culture which may be offensive to a person from another culture" (McCroskey, Burroughd, Daun, Richmond pg.…show more content… The Hofstede model states, "The dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where the quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable" (Hofstede pg.1). Meaning, Sweden is not a masculine or patriarchal culture. According to the article, Do Swedish Mothers Have Sex-Stereotyped Expectations and Wishes Regarding Their Own Children, "found that gender concepts of Swedish women were more traditionally ‘masculine'—instrumen- tal/agentic (e.g. competent, rational, assertive)—than those of American women, and that the gender concepts of Swedish men were more traditionally ‘femi- nine' — expressive/communal (e.g., warm, caring, sensitive) — than those of American men" ( Servin Bohlin, pg. 199). As with American culture, the prevalence of gender roles plays heavily on the behavior of the
