Culture and Identity: Intercultural Communication and Globalization

Culture and Identity Concepts

Which one is correct? This land is mine: there is the need to claim the land. => This land is me: there is no need to claim the land and the person sees his identity in the land.

Defining Culture

Culture is having things in common and a "we-feeling" reinforced. Culture creates similarities and identifies groups but at same time it emphasizes differences. [ex:] when we deal with people from our own culture, we know how to deal with them. Culture is something that is dynamic and it's part of a person's identity (we don't like it to be criticized).

Culture as a Verb

CULTURE AS A VERB -> Brain Street, a British Anthropologist, said that culture is a verb, which means that culture is something you do and it is something dynamic.

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Sapir and Whorf are both anthropologists and they both said that the LANGUAGE we use is our screen to reality. -> The language gives us a way of seeing the world and nature around us. -> We dissect nature in our native language. The language we speak defines our way of seeing life and the world. NB: after this hypothesis, lots of people disagreed with it by saying that it is all the way round, forgetting that language is often culturally bound.

Types of Communication

INTERCULTURAL, INTERPERSONAL AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: refers to interpersonal communication between individuals who have been socialized in different cultural environments. Cultural differences may include such aspects as age, class, gender, ethnicity, language, race, nationality and physical/mental ability. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION: it denotes a distinctive, transactional form of human communication involving mutual influence, usually for the purpose of managing relationships. This form of communication is concerned with the personal dimension in human interactions such as how people use verbal and nonverbal cues to communicate their ideas and feelings and accomplish their personal and relational goals. This type of communication may occur in face-to-face encounters, through written discourse or online. It often involves a second language, with either one or both interlocutors using a language that is not their mother tongue. CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: it typically compares and contrasts native discourse and communication behaviors in one cultural context with those in another.INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION: it typically investigates interpersonal interaction between individuals from diverse linguistic and cultural back-grounds.

Eight Imperatives for Studying Language and Intercultural Communication

Which are the height imperatives for studying language and intercultural communication? The eight imperatives for studying language and intercultural communication are: globalization, internationalization, advances in transportation and communication technologies, changing demographics, the rise in populism, localism and xenophobia, conflict and peace, ethics and personal growth and responsibility.

1) Globalization

1) GLOBALIZATION -> no matter where we live, we are impacted by globalizing forces. This phenomenon involves a process of removing government-imposed restrictions on movements between countries in order to create an open world economy. In modern societies, humans are affected by "the decisions and actions" of people in other regions that they may never meet. Globalizing forces are triggering profound changes in the social, cultural, political and linguistic dimensions of communities across the globe. It is also altering linguistic codes, in fact there has been a marked increase in code-mixing, which refers to the mixing of two or more languages or language varieties in speech. Globalization could not happen without its own language, which is English. In this age, in many regions, English has become widely used as a lingua franca (a language used in communication between speakers who have no native language in common). Globalizing forces are also creating more interest in the learning of other languages. And on a personal level, events, behaviors, and values from far away are affecting many aspects of our daily habits or ways of being.

Different Ideas on Globalization

DIFFERENT IDEAS ON GLOBALIZATION: some view this growing interdependence of societies and cultures as "an opportunity to be embraced, allowing people to break free from the stifling restrictions of nationality and tradition" . Others think that globalization is a threat, which is going to remove the security of the familiar widening gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots" and argue that the historical legacy of colonization and globalizing forces have exacerbated inequality. They think that the process of homogenization is taking place at the expense of traditional ways of being, including the use of local language. Globalization remains the most powerful force shaping our world today and in the foreseeable future.

2) Internationalization

2) INTERNATIONALIZATION -> accelerating globalization has resulted in increased investment in training from knowledge industries and second or foreign language teaching. The policy-based response of many tertiary institutions in internalization, known also as the intentional process of integrating an international, intercultural or global dimension into the purpose, functions and delivery of post-secondary education, in order to enhance the quality of education and to make a meaningful contribution to society. Internationalization at home refers to "the integration of international and intercultural dimensions into the formal and informal curriculum for all students within domestic environments".Education abroad refers to students who are gaining some form of education outside their home country. This is also a type of internationalization.

3) Advances in Transportation and Communication Technologies

3) Advances in transportation and communication technologies: innovations in transportation and communication technologies now link the far corners of the globe. Reductions in the physical barriers of time and distance have facilitated the exchange of people, commodities, information, and ideas. The modern transportation systems enable the movement of people and goods within countries and from one country to another. Today, vast geographical distances can be covered in far less time. Telecommunication and the mass media are also enabling the dissemination and exchange of information over significant distances. The mass media and rapid advances in digital communication technology are enabling more people to connect in virtual space, while they are in their home environment or abroad (this can lead to what is called a "global village", a term used to describe the "shrinking" of the world, since many people have become increasingly interconnected through media and other communication advances.

4) Changing Demographics

4) Changing demographics: human migration entails physical movement by people from one place to another. While only a few groups have retained a nomadic lifestyle in modern times, various forms of migration have persisted and even increased in the last few decades. Migration can take many forms. It may involve voluntary movement or involuntary (ex: ethnic cleansing or human trafficking). Immigration is one of the consequences of economic instability and armed conflicts. Also, in countries with a large immigrant population, romantic intercultural relationships are becoming much more common.

5) Rise in Populism, Localism, and Xenophobia

5) The rise in populism, localism and xenophobia: in some parts of the world, economic recession, a widening gap between the haves and have nots, a rejection of globalization and the global elite and mounting questions about the benefits of democracy are spurring a rise in populism, which refers to words and actions that appeal to ordinary people, who believe that their concerts are ignored by established groups in power. Contemporary populism is inflaming anti-immigration sentiment, stoking resistance to international free trade agreements, and testing long-held global alliances. Populism is closely tied to identity politics and belongingness. Populism is close to localism, that is, a range of political philosophies and strategies that prioritize the local. Of particular concern to interculturalist, populism has triggered a dramatic increase in divisive, highly emotive, "us vs them" discourse and xenophobia, that is a fear or hatred of foreigners. Currently, we observe a normalization of nationalistic, xenophobic, racist and antisemitic rhetoric, which probably works with "fear" (fear of change, of globalization, of loss .. ).

6) Conflict and Peace

6) Conflict and peace: divisions between nations and conflict between "co-cultures and the dominant cultures within each country" have led to a troubling rise in intercultural and interracial tension. As communities become more diverse and the world more independent,the mutual understanding of people from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds becomes even more vital to cooperation, harmony and stability. Conflict is an unavoidable feature of human interaction. Although technological advances and globalizing forces are enabling more interactions between people from different parts of the world, wars, terrorism, environmental devastation and massive changes in the world economic order have resulted in greater political and social fragmentation. One of the most pressing problems confronting humans today is climate. Climate change refers to a broad range of global phenomena created predominantly by burning fossil fuels. Intercultural conflict is defined as the perceived or actual incompatibility of cultural values, situational norms, goals, face orientations etc. If inappropriate or ineffective conflict negotiation strategies are continuously employed, misunderstandings can quickly evolve into a complicated and protracted intercultural conflict situation. In today's globalized world, learning to manage intercultural conflict is not just an imperative for world leaders. In our academic, social and professional lives it is becoming increasingly important for all of us to develop intercultural conflict competence (that is mindful management of emotional frustrations and conflict interaction struggles due to cultural, linguistic, or ethnic group membership differences). To accomplish this, we need both "conflict fluency" and "cultural fluency".

7) Ethics

7) Ethics: The term "ethics" refers to the study and practice of what is good, right or virtuous, that is, the principles of conduct that help determine or govern the behavior of individuals and groups within a particular cultural context. Ethics provide direction for how we live our life and this can vary depending on our environment. A code of ethics consists of guidelines that spell out what is right or wrong behavior in everyday life as well as in professional contexts. Throughout the world, religious codes of ethics serve as life guides for believers. While some ethical principles may be below our level of awareness, they are still giving us messages about what is appropriate or inappropriate. Fundamental notions about what is right and wrong not only affect our behavior in our personal and professional lives, they impact our attitudes toward those who have divergent beliefs and traditions.

8) Personal Growth and Responsibility

8) Personal growth and responsibility: When we encounter individuals who have different ideas about what is right or wrong, this may cause us to question our own beliefs, values and patterns of behavior. The study of language and intercultural communication offers significant possibilities for personal growth and expansion. Enhancing our intercultural communication understanding and skills necessarily means building awareness of ourselves as well as learning more about individuals who speak a different first language and have different values and habits.

Characteristics of an Ethical Intercultural Communicator

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ETHICAL INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATOR An ethical intercultural communicator is someone who:

• regards people as equal.