Chapter Overview

Summary--From the Intercultural Perspective

Communication is an element of culture. It is believed that every culture pattern and every single act of social behavior involves communication. When a baby is just born, he usually cries. His crying communicates something. When you graduate, your friends usually say "Congratulations!" toyou. When a driver sees the red light, he/she will stop. All these are cases ofcommunication. Communication is derived from the Latin word communicare, meaning to share with or to make common, as in giving to another part or share of your thoughts, hopes, and knowledge.

However, like culture, the term "communication" has been defined from different perspectives. In fact, the way that people view communication – what it is, how to do it, and reasons for doing it – is part of their culture. Western culture emphasizes the instrumental function of communication. The prior consideration is to achieve the sender's personal goal, while in Eastern culture, in addition to sending and receiving messages simultaneously, communicators take their relationship into account.

The process of communication has nine components: sender/source, message encoding, channel, noise, receiver, decoding, feedback, and context. The sender encodes a message (information that the sender wants to share with other people) by putting it into symbols (usually words or nonverbal gestures) and then sending it through a channel. A channel can be printed media such as magazines and newspapers; electronic media such as television, radio, and the Internet; or sounds traveling through the air when two people speak face to face. Sometimes, it is difficult for the message to reach the receiver. The difficulty is due to "noise". When receivers get the message, they must "decode" or try to understand it. For example, if the sender encodes a message using English, the receivers must use their knowledge of English language to understand it. Often, the sender pays attention to the feedback of the receiver. The communication takes place within a setting or situation called context.

Any communication process demonstrates several characteristics, that is,dynamic, systematic, symbolic, irreversible, transactional, self-reflective andcontextual. 

When communicating with people from different cultures, it is important to remember that culture and communication are strongly connected. Culture is a code we learn and share, and learning and sharing require communication.

      Intercultural communication refers to communication between people whose cultural perception and symbol system are distinct enough to alter the communication event. Intercultural communication as a term was first used in 1959 by Edward T. Hall—an American anthropologist. Intercultural communication includes international communication, interracial communication, interethnic communication and intracultural communication.

Case Analysis for Chapter 2

Critical Thinking Questions

Keywords for Chapter 2

(1) Sender/Source: A sender/source is the person who transmits a message.（信息发出者/信息源：信息发出者/信息源指传递信息的人。）
(2) Message: A message is any signal that triggers the response of a receiver.（信息：信息指引起信息接受者反应的任何信号。）
(3) Encoding: It refers to the activity during which the sender must choose certain words or nonverbal methods to send an intentional message. （编码：编码指信息发出者选择言语或用非言语的方式发出有目的的信息的行为。）
(4) Channel/Medium: It is the method used to deliver a message. （渠道/媒介：渠道/媒介指发送信息的方法。 ）
(5) Receiver: A receiver is any person who notices and gives some meaning to a message. (信息接受者：信息接受者指信息接收者是指注意到信息并且赋予信息某些含义的人。)
(6) Decoding: It is the activity during which the receiver attaches meaning to the words or symbols he/she has received.（解码：解码指信息接受者赋予其收到的言语或符号信息意义的行为。）
(7) Feedback: The response of a receiver to a sender’s message is called feedback.（反馈：反馈指信息接收者对信息源信息所做出的反应。）
(8) Noise: It is a term used for factors that interfere with the exchange of messages, including external noise physiological noise, psychological noise and semantic noise.（干扰：干扰指妨碍信息交流的各种因素。包括外界干扰，生理干扰，心理干扰和语义干扰。）
(9) Context: A context is the setting or situation within which communication takes place, including physical context, social context and interpersonal context.（语境：语境指交际发生的环境，包括自然语境，社会语境和人际语境。）
(10) Intercultural communication: It is the communication between people whose cultural perception and symbol system are distinct enough to alter the communication event. ( 跨文化交际：跨文化交际指的是那些在文化认知和符号系统上存在差异的人们之间的交际。这些差异足以改变整个交际事件。)
(11) International communication: it takes place between nations and governments rather than individuals; it is quite formal and ritualized. (国际交流 / 跨国交流：国际交流是指发生在国家和政府之间而非发生在个人之间的交际；此种交际非常正式和仪式化。)
(12) Interracial communication: It occurs when the sender and the receiver exchanging messages are from different races. (跨种族交际：跨种族交际是指交流信息的信息源和信息接受者来自不同的种族的交际。)
(13) Interethnic communication: It is the communication between or among people from different ethnic groups in a country or culture.（跨民族交际：跨民族交际是指来自一个国家或文化内部的不同民族群体的人们之间的交际。）
(14) Intracultural communication: It is defined as communication between or among members of the same culture.（文化内交际：文化内交际是指同一文化内部的成员之间的交际。）

Now you've finished studying Chapter 2, 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 2.