Intercultural Interactions in Business and Management

It is commonly noted that, owing to technological advances in transportation and communication, the redistribution of production and labour, and other reasons, the potential for intercultural contact is currently greater than it has ever been in human history. Moreover, with an estimated 6,900 languages across the approximately 200 countries of the world (Lewis 2009), it is very likely that intercultural contact will involve encounters between people who speak different languages. Sometimes, these encounters take place between members of groups with a long history of interaction and thus they are rather routine, such that personal and normative expectations regarding language use effectively guide the communication process to predictable, if not mutually satisfying, outcomes. At other times, we are less well acquainted with our interlocutors' practices, and so part of the process of communication involves grappling with the acquisition of new verbal and nonverbal communication systems. Regardless of the level of familiarity, a variety of sociopsychological and sociocultural processes operate within every intercultural interaction. In this chapter, we focus on how the languages we speak are linked to feelings of identity in intercultural encounters. This relation is a reciprocal one: the languages we learn and use open up possibilities for new identities, while at the same time our identities can have implications for engagement in language learning and use. We begin with a review of how scholars in social psychology, communication studies and applied linguistics have defined identity and described its function in intercultural communication. We discuss some prominent themes that reverberate (or not) across disciplines, particularly as they relate to notions of identity, language and culture, and we consider what the various conceptualizations of these constructs imply for research methodology. In so doing, we highlight areas where we believe that theory and research can be informed through interdisciplinary rapprochement. 2. Disciplinary perspectives on identity, language and intercultural communication Social psychology The view on language, identity and intercultural communication taken by many social psychologists might be described as an 'intergroup' perspective, in that it focuses on the social

SHS Web of Conferences, 2021

The importance of intercultural communication in today’s globalised world is undeniable. Scholars from different countries have contributed to the development of this field and created educational materials – textbooks on intercultural communication devoted to classifications and features of different cultures – and textbooks on foreign languages that include exercises devoted to developing intercultural skills in everyday and professional contexts. Teachers of foreign languages are making an effort to use the available materials that provide a wide outlook on various cultures and help students prepare for being a part of intercultural community. However, there is an evident shortage of such materials in languages other than English. The article provides the results of the analysis of online sources that demonstrates that the majority of available resources that are in any way connected with intercultural communication are in English. The article dwells on the reasons for English do...

Proceedings of the conference on current problems of our time: the relationship of man and society (CPT 2020), 2021

Personality development, and accordingly, increasing professional competence occurs as the special activities become more complex, in the course of discourse different types of knowledge interact and a concept is formed as a combination of all types of special knowledge (from naive and ordinary ideas to scientific concepts). Since the knowledge of the special sphere is cumulative, it is possible to talk about the stratification of the concept and the development of various fragments of knowledge in different types of discourse. On this basis, intercultural communication can be viewed as verbally mediated activity, involving the interaction of communicants belonging to different cultures and having different levels of professional competence. An important prerequisite for a qualitatively new understanding of the phenomenon of intercultural communication is the anthropocentric paradigm of modern linguistics. In modern theories, intercultural interaction is interpreted as an activity and is a dynamic system of interactions between the subject and the world, the unity of internal (conceptualization and categorization) and external (objectivity of a special sphere) activities, involves the development of personality as a subject of activity, has a transformative character (spreading the world and objectification of man in it), accompanied by the development of spiritual and material culture. In other words, in the process of activity there are many cultural codes, one of which is language. Based on this, we consider intercultural communication as a verbally mediated activity involving the interaction of communicants belonging to different cultures and possessing different levels of professional competence. We proceed from the hypothesis: the type of discourse determines the specifics of the nomination of the parameters of the subject, place and time of the event of intercultural communication; the Trend is in the dynamics from interpersonal identity of the individual to social identity in the formation of intercultural competence, from ordinary locally-centered activities towards the temporality of professional activity, as well as increasing the abstraction of localization and time. The objectives of this work is to consider intercultural communication modeling and simulation methods discourse (as from literature review it is known that at the moment the conventional model of intercultural communication discourse does not exist); justify the proposed model of intercultural communication discourse based on the criteria of personal professional development and intercultural competence of a person, and also to analyze the discourse of intercultural communication to confirm / disprove postulated model is allocated to the factors of the model elements.

Choice Reviews Online

It is commonly noted that, owing to technological advances in transportation and communication, the redistribution of production and labour, and other reasons, the potential for intercultural contact is currently greater than it has ever been in human history. Moreover, with an estimated 6,900 languages across the approximately 200 countries of the world (Lewis 2009), it is very likely that intercultural contact will involve encounters between people who speak different languages. Sometimes, these encounters take place between members of groups with a long history of interaction and thus they are rather routine, such that personal and normative expectations regarding language use effectively guide the communication process to predictable, if not mutually satisfying, outcomes. At other times, we are less well acquainted with our interlocutors' practices, and so part of the process of communication involves grappling with the acquisition of new verbal and nonverbal communication systems. Regardless of the level of familiarity, a variety of sociopsychological and sociocultural processes operate within every intercultural interaction. In this chapter, we focus on how the languages we speak are linked to feelings of identity in intercultural encounters. This relation is a reciprocal one: the languages we learn and use open up possibilities for new identities, while at the same time our identities can have implications for engagement in language learning and use. We begin with a review of how scholars in social psychology, communication studies and applied linguistics have defined identity and described its function in intercultural communication. We discuss some prominent themes that reverberate (or not) across disciplines, particularly as they relate to notions of identity, language and culture, and we consider what the various conceptualizations of these constructs imply for research methodology. In so doing, we highlight areas where we believe that theory and research can be informed through interdisciplinary rapprochement. 2. Disciplinary perspectives on identity, language and intercultural communication Social psychology The view on language, identity and intercultural communication taken by many social psychologists might be described as an 'intergroup' perspective, in that it focuses on the social

Propósitos y Representaciones, 2021

Intercultural communication is considered a progressively developing trend, both abroad and in modern Russia. The concept of Western research on this topic is interdisciplinary approaches this situation is conditioned by the need for a multilateral analysis of the processes taking place in this field. Attention is focused on studying the barriers to communication of representatives of many socio-cultural systems. The information reflects the experience of using Western methodology to analyze the problems of intercultural interaction. The main barriers that reduce the effectiveness of interactions are the differences in cognitive schemes that are relevant for representatives of certain cultures (in particular linguistic and non-verbal schemes, moments of public consciousness). The results of the study do not allow the dissemination of conclusions to an extremely broad social context. But due to the experience of interpreting the problems of intercultural communication, information is...

1998

A discussion examines the importance of communication between non-native speakers (NNS/NNS), reviews relevant theories and issues in intercultural interactions and NNS/NNS interactions, and explores methodological issues in interpreting linguistic and interactional data. The intent is to explore features of communication between NNSs from different linguistic backgrounds by reviewing theories and research concerning Interactions in Multicultural Contexts 3 Exploring Intercultural Interactions in Multicultural Contexts: Proposal and Research Suggestions As the growth of intercultural contacts around the world increases, the medium of communication used in various intercultural and international encounters to achieve political, diplomatic, business, or technological goals is often different from the mother tongues of either party involved. The phenomenon of non-native speakers from different language backgrounds communicating in a common foreign language is described by Meeuwis (1994) as "third-tongue communication." Little research has been done on such non-native/non-native (NNS/NNS) phenomena. "Third-tongue communication" deserves study due to the increasing reliance on one common language (mostly English) for exchanging information on various institutional and social occasions along with the increasing emphasis on teaching and learning English as a second language. According to Truchot (1994), about 2 billion people make up the English-speaking world. In addition to people who speak English as their native language, at least 350 million people have English as a second language, and many more have some knowledge of or contact with English. English is very often the lingua franca in business, science, teclmology, cultural, and sports and leisure activities. The growing importance of English in Europe and other countries can be seen by looking at international organizations, academic occasions and publications, and educational curricula in all the countries of the European and Asian communities (Truchot, 1994, p. 145; Meeuwis, 1994). English is used in international organizations to maintain the flow of communication between the branches of a company or in the presence of executive members of different linguistic origins. In Europe, 85% of the scientific research is published in English; in conferences taking place in foreign countries (other than their native countries), 95% of European scholars delivered their papers in English, even when conferences were taking place in Europe; and at international conferences, 76% of scholars converse in English (Truchot, 1994). English has become an obligatory subject in most of the educational curricula in Europe and other countries. English lessons occupy from four to six hours a week in these curricula; and the starting age for learning English as a second language has decreased to the age of 8, 9, or even younger. In Asia today, English has become the preferred second tongue. In a recent survey of senior Asian executives by Dow Jones Asia Dialogues (a joint venture of The Far Eastern Economic Review, The Asian Wall Street Journal, and Asian Business News), fully 93% agreed that English will retain its place as the language of Asian business. English is not only the language of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the Association of Southeast 4 Interactions in Multicultural Contexts 4 Asian Nations, of customs declarations and arrival cards, of air-traffic controllers and maritime agreements, of international contracts and teclmical journals, but of the future, of opportunity, of money (McGurn, March 21 1996). Unlike the situation in Europe, where French still holds an official status, in Asia English has no serious rival because the many dialects in China and Southeastern Asia make the unification of Asian language impossible. Nowadays, McGurn writes, "Asians who learn English today are learning it not to speak with Americans or Britain but to talk to one another" (p. 41). Within Asia alone, however, many quite distinctive forms of English have been flourishing for years, such as Japlish, Chinglish, and Singlish. All these mix the normal form and grammatical structure of English with their own accents, dialects, and local jargons. "Third-tongue" (NNS/NNS) communication, though often treated as an intercultural interaction like native speaker/non-native speaker (NS/NNS) interactions, is a phenomenon which has not yet been explored. While NNS/NNS communication shares many common features with NS/NNS interactions, the two kinds of interactions should not be treated as one phenomenon. In NNS/NNS interactions all participants attempt to establish new communication strategies and speech conventions through linguistic symbols which none of them are familiar with; when their communicative performance and participation will not be evaluated or determined by the majority culture, the intercultural interactions are almost certain to be different from NS/NNS interaction. When economic or political needs force people to communicate with people speaking in a different language and living by different niles and norms, they must become capable of managing or adapting to diverse communicative situations, as well as interacting with people with whom they have no personal acquaintance, to acquire a small measure of personal and social control (Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz, 1982a). They must set aside their old identities and establish new communication strategies and speech conventions to gain attention or power in the majority society. Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz (1982a) claim that new communication strategies and speech conventions usually symbolize group membership and a set of values mixing old ties with new. When one party in an interaction is native to the language being used, Gumperz and Cook-Gumperz (1982a) fmd that the right to speak and the obligation to answer are either predetermined or at least strictly constrained even though an illusion of equality, mutuality, and cordiality may prevail. Communicative performance in such NS/NNS occasions is subjectively evaluated and interpreted by the native speakers. While the importance of English as a communication medium in intercultural contexts grows, research exploring the linguistic problems in such intercultural encounters comes mostly from second language (L2)

Fuel and Energy Abstracts, 2006

2014

This paper is concerned with a methodology for the study of intercultural communication. We argue that intercultural communication should be regarded and analyzed as ordinary com-munication. Intercultural communication is often analyzed as a type of communication in which meanings and communicative practices are not shared between the participants, thus leading to miscommunication. Still, intercultural communication, as any type of communica-tion, is only possible when interactants construct a common ground of meanings and practices that are oriented to as shared, and which we have called ‘intercultural discourse’. We there-fore propose an analysis of intercultural communication which aims at the reconstruction of the ‘common ground ’ and of the process of its construction. This process can, but need not be characterized by misunderstandings. In this paper, we illustrate this reconstruction method with an analysis of the construction of word meaning in Dutch-Surinamese work-meetings of

Intercultural Pragmatics, 2011

Intercultural communication is perceived as being somewhat problematic, given the varied cultures that come into contact with one another. Misunder-standing and communication breakdown are said to mark many intercultural encounters as participants rely on the norms of their ...