After comparing the
management of cultural issues in companies to the management of a multicultural
city thanks to the academic article “Managing Multicultural Teams” published in
the Harvard Business Review in November 2006, I decided to analyze another
academic paper, but, this time, on intercultural
communication. A lot of material is available on that topic, as it a
challenge face more and more nowadays with the globalization phenomenon. First
papers about communication between different cultures have started to appear in
the 60s and they have been growing and multiplying since them.
When two persons from
different cultural background communicate, frustration and misunderstanding
often happen, even with good intentions from both sides. What is the cause of
that? The answer is that, cultural differences may cause obstacles to
communication (by the word “communication”, I mean: exchange ideas and
information, manage to make the kind of impression we want to make and live and
work together...).
In this blog article,
we will focus on the paper called “Stumbling
blocks in intercultural communication” written by Laray M. Barna, published
in 1994. This article is referencing several authors that were mastering the
subject, such as Paul Ekman, pioneer in the study of non-verbal communication.
In his paper, Barna
identified six obstacles to intercultural communication. As he’s pointing out: “Learning
the language, which most visitors to foreign countries consider their only
barrier to understanding, is actually only the beginning.”
Through this blog
article we’ll analyze the six “stumbling blocks” (as Barna call them) and try
to relate intercultural communication with the management of a multicultural
city.
Stumbling block 1: Assumption of similarities
The first obstacle
identified in this paper that will lead to frustration and misunderstanding is
that “many people naively assume there are sufficient similarities among
peoples of the world to make communication easy.” They presume that because
their basic needs as Human Beings are the same (according to Maslow’s hierarchy
of needs: physiological and safety needs) their way of communicating should be
identical. “Unfortunately they overlook the fact that the forms of adaptation
to these common biological and social needs and the values, beliefs, and
attitudes surrounding them are vastly different from culture to culture. The
biological commonalities are not much help when it comes to communication [...]”.
Misunderstandings
mostly come from nonverbal communication (nodding, smiling, etc.). Indeed, even
if facial expressions were considered as universal, someone’s culture impacts
on what, when and to what degree emotions are displayed.
Assuming that our
interlocutor communicates similarly than us, is always easier than trying to deal
with differences. Unfortunately, dealing with differences is necessary to avoid
frustration and misunderstandings. “Since there seem to be no universals or
“human nature” that can be used as a basis for automatic understanding, we must
treat each encounter as an individual case, searching for whatever perceptions
and communication means are held in common and proceed from there.”
On the other hand,
when no similarities are expected, it often results in exclusionary attitudes.
What is important, to face that obstacle, is to deal with cultural differences
by making efforts toward mutual understanding. It can only happen if
differences and similarities are both acknowledged. Without the assumption of
differences, signs and symbols are likely to be misread and the scene could be
judged ethnocentrically.
The key to face this
obstacle is not gather information about customs in other countries, as we
could easily think so; it is to study the history, political structure, art,
literature, and language of other countries. Context is really important to
understand current situations, customs, etc. It provides “a framework for
on-site observations”. What’s important is to understand the assumptions and
values of other culture by observing and interacting.
At the scale of a city,
we could easily think that people who traveled a lot, studied abroad and
immigrants dealing daily with locals for their jobs, would be more willing to
understand different cultures. But, researches and tests showed that,
surprisingly, they’re not! The reason could come from the fact that they
regularly face the challenges and stress of dealing with cultures different
from theirs. Their counterparts who remain in ethnic enclaves without attempting
to adjust to their new homeland would then seem to suffer less than them. Would
this means that not adjust to a culture is the key to face this challenge? Of
course not! But it definitely means that dealing with differences is tiring and
not easy psychologically. Thus, efforts from the other side are always welcome!
Stumbling block 2: Language differences
The second obstacle is
obvious. It is the basis of communication: language. Whether it is because of
the vocabulary, the syntax, the idioms, slang and dialects used, language
differences, of course, make communication difficult. Considering this, even
persons speaking the same language can experience communication troubles.
Besides words and
grammar; context, connotation, tone and inflection are really important to
consider when communicating.
As we saw in previous
articles, language differences are quite a big obstacle to communication and
access to information, that is why translations are important in key places of
a city such as transports, tourist spots, restaurants, etc. so foreign visitors
don’t feel lost.
Stumbling block 3: Nonverbal misinterpretations
“People from different
cultures inhabit different sensory realities. They see, hear, feel, and smell
only that which has some meaning or importance for them. They abstract whatever
fits into their personal world of recognition and then interpret it through the
frame of reference of their own culture.”
Among nonverbal
communication, body movements (gestures, postures…) are usually easily
identifiable and learn their meanings is possible. On the other hand, “it is
more difficult to note correctly the unspoken codes of the other culture that
are less obvious such as the handling of time and spatial relationships and
subtle signs of respect or formality.”
Stumbling block 4: Preconceptions and
stereotypes
No need to explain
what stereotypes are. I think at this point, every reader of this blog must
know what they are. What Barna highlight in his paper is that they exist to
“reduce the threat of the unknown by making the world predictable.” They
increase the feeling of security and are psychologically necessary for most
people.
The question is: why
stereotypes are considered as an obstacle to intercultural communication?
According to the author, “they interfere with objective viewing of stimuli” and
are not easy to overcome. They sustain the “tendency to perceive selectively
only those pieces of new information that correspond to the image held.”
Stumbling block 5: Tendency to evaluate
The fifth stumbling block to intercultural communication is the tendency that
people have to “approve or disapprove, the statements and actions of the other
person [...] rather than to try to comprehend completely the thoughts and
feelings expressed from the world view of the other.” The fact that each
person’s own culture and way of life always seems right, proper, and thus best
than others’, prevents open-minded attention that is needed when communicating
with a person with a different cultural background.
What can be retained from this, is that empathy is needed in intercultural
communication while judgments prevent from achieving a fair and total
understanding. “Once comprehension is complete it can be determined whether or
not there is a clash in values or ideology.”
Stumbling block 6: High anxiety
“Stress, is common in cross-cultural experiences due to the number of
uncertainties present.” Stress is said to be an obstacle to intercultural
communication as it disturbs the internal equilibrium of the individual system.
Anxiety and tension require “some form of relief which too often comes in the
form of defenses, such as the skewing of perceptions, withdrawal, or
hostility.”
This stumbling block is linked to the others previously explained, like the
assumption of similarities and stereotypes, for example. They are defense
mechanisms for people to alleviate the stress of the unknown.
Manage stress, regains internal balance and have positive attitudes will help
people carrying out the communication process successfully. “Accept cultural
diversity with interest instead of anxiety and manage normal stress reactions
by practicing positive coping mechanisms, such as conscious physical
relaxation” would the key attitude to have here.
As we previously seen in this blog, communication is a key element in culture
differences. It’s seems to be the first step of adaptation and acculturation.
Learning how to communicate with native people from the country we currently
live in, enable to avoid culture shock.
Acknowledging and understanding those 6 stumbling blocks to intercultural
communication is the first step to face them. “For most people it takes
insight, training and sometimes an alteration of long-standing habits or
thinking patterns before progress can be made. The increasing need for global
understanding, however, gives all of us the responsibility for giving it our
best effort.”
References:
Barna, L. M. 1994. Stumbling
Blocks in Intercultural Communication.
