Chapter Overview

Summary--From the Intercultural Perspective

    There are several barriers to intercultural communication — anxiety and uncertainty, assuming similarities instead of difference, ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice, racism and translation problems.

Anxiety and uncertainty, as well as assuming similarities instead of differences belong to the emotional problems.

Anxiety occurs because of not knowing what one is expected to do, and focusing on that feeling and not being totally present in the communication transaction. Anxiety may also affect your ability to communicate your ideas to others, for you pay too much attention to your uncomfortable feelings. Uncertainty refers to our cognitive inability to explain our own or other’s feelings and behaviors in interactions because of an ambiguous situation that evokes anxiety.

Assuming similaritiesinstead of differences is a natural thing to do if you do not have any information about a culture. It refers to the idea that people coming from another culture are more similar to you than they actually are or that another person’s situation is more similar to yours than it in fact is. Assuming that a culture is similar to your own can cause you to ignore important differences. This assumption always leads to disrupted communication and even conflict.

Ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice and racism belong to the attitudinal problems.

Ethnocentrism is negatively judging another culture by your own culture’s standards. To make ethnocentric judgments is to believe that the ways of your own culture are better than those of others.

Stereotyping is used to refer to negative or positive judgments made abouti ndividuals based on any observable or believed group membership. It assumes that a person has certain qualities (good or bad) just because the person is a member of a specific group. Stereotypes vary along five major dimensions, namely: direction, intensity, specificity, consensus, andaccuracy.

Prejudice refers to the irrational dislike, suspicion, or hatred of aparticular group, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Prejudiced attitudes can take many forms.

A specific kind of prejudice, racism, refers to any policy, practice, belief, or attitude that attributes characteristics or status to individuals based on their race. Racism involves not only prejudice, but also the exercise of power over individuals based on their race.

Ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice and racism continue to exist because of socialization and the apparent social, economic, and psychological benefits that come from it.

Due to language differences and cultural differences, translation can become a barrier to intercultural communication. Five elements that typically cause problems in translation are the lack of equivalences invocabulary, idioms, grammar and syntax, experiences, and concepts. 

Case Analysis for Chapter 4

Critical Thinking Questions

Keywords for Chapter 4

(1) Anxiety: It occurs because of not knowing what one is expected to do, and focusing on that feeling and not be totally present in the communication transaction.（焦虑：当人们不知道如何迎合他人对自己的期待，过多的关注自己情绪以至不能全心投入到交际事物中去时，就会产生焦虑。）

(2) Uncertainty: It refers to our cognitive inability to explain our own or other’s feelings and behaviors in interactions because of an ambiguous situation that evokes anxiety. (不确定：不确定是指人们无法从认知的角度去解释交际活动中自己或他人的感觉及行为，这种认知角度解释能力的欠缺是某种引起焦虑的含糊情境导致的。)

(3) Assuming similarity instead of difference: It refers to the idea that people coming from another culture are more similar to you than they actually are or that another person’s situation is more similar to yours than it in fact is. （假定一致性：假定一致性是指认为来自另一文化的他人和自己相似或他人的处境与自己的处境相似，而事实上却并非如此。）

(4) Ethnocentrism: It refers to negatively judging aspects of another culture by the standards of one’s own culture.（民族优越感：民族优越感指从本国文化的标准出发，消极地审视另一文化。）

(5) Stereotypes: They refer to negative or positive judgments made about individuals based on any observable or believed group membership.（文化定势：文化定势指基于明显的或受到认可的群体身份，对目标群体中的个体成员所持有的正面或反面的判断。）

(6) Prejudice: It refers to the irrational dislike, suspicion, or hatred of a particular group, race, religion, or sexual orientation.（偏见：偏见是指对于某一特定群体、种族、宗教、或性取向的无端地憎恶和怀疑。）

(7) Racism: It refers to any policy, practice, belief, or attitude that attributes characteristics or status to individuals based on their race.（种族主义：种族主义是指基于种族把性格特点或地位归因于个人的任一政策、做法、信仰或态度。）

Now you've finished studying Chapter 4, have you mastered all the key points in this chapter? If the answer is YES, move on to Assessment to check your comprehension and mastery of Chapter 4.