Post on 23-Dec-2015
Intercultural Communication
Lecture 2
Review
Discourse Systems
Based on Ideology (beliefs, values) Relationships Communication patterns Socialization (learning)
Can be big or small
Multiple Overlapping Discourse Systems
Chinese
City U Student
Hong Konger
Youth
Christian
Female
Examples of discourse systems
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Two types of discourse system
Voluntary Goal oriented
Involuntary Based on characteristics that are not chosen
IMPORTANT POINT
Since everyone is simultaneously a member of many discourse systems
Interdiscourse communication is NOT ONLY
Me-----You
BUT ALSO
Me----Me----Me
My new experience
Yoga
Combat!
Task
Watch the video
How does this situation constitute interdiscourse communication?
The Ambiguity of Language
People don’t mean what they say
People don’t say what they mean
We must draw inferences about meaning
Our inferences tend to be fixed, not tentative
Our inferences are drawn very quickly
The Grammar of Context
Two main ways we deal with ambiguity
We make inferences based on the words people say and the way that they say them
TEXT
We make inferences based on the situation
CONTEXT
What is ‘Grammar’
Grammar is a system of shared expectations about how language should be used in a certain community
Grammars which are written down in books are descriptions of how the people who have power use language
Different dialects or varieties may have different grammars
Where are these people from?
My brother really hungry la. Let’s go for makan.
I cannae mind the place where those bairns are from.
Yo mama so bowlegged, she looks like the bite out of a doughnut.
Grammar is a System
BAE She very nice
He a teacher
I run when I bees on my way to school
LV to be omitted
be signals repeated action
SAE
She’s very nice
He’s a teacher
I always run when I’m on my way to school
LV can’t be omitted
always signals repeated action
What’s correct?
Speech is correct as long as it follows the system
Most people never study the grammar of their own language (learned informally)
Nobody follows the system exactly
Variation in usage is not ‘wrong’. Usually it has a purpose
Markedness
Unmarked=the usual way, conforming to the system.
Marked=unusual, not conforming to the system.
Whether something is unmarked or marked depend on the context.
‘What is it?’
‘What it be?’
The Grammar of Context
Just as language has systems, discourse (language in context) also has systems.
language grammars tell you how to arrange words, word endings, etc.
context grammars tell you what to say to whom, when and how.
GOC is ‘learned’ in the same way language grammar is
Shared Expectations
People from the same discourse community have shared expectations about how speech situations, events and acts should be arranged.
People don’t always follow the system exactly. Like language grammar, we use it as a guide-line to assist us in communication.
Grammar of Context
Seven Components Scene Key Participants Message form Sequence Co-occurrence Patterns Manifestation
Scene
Setting Time Place
location use of space purpose topic genre
Genre
A ‘type’ of communication lecture business letter informal conversation novel song TV news report
Lecture: Fixed
Setting Time: Thursday, 9:30-12:30 Place: B5311 Use of Space: L standing in front, S’s sitting in chairs Purpose: to learn Topic: Intercultural Communication Genres: lecture, small group activities
Date: Not as Fixed Time: usually evening
Place: cinema, restaurant, park, karaoke
Use of space: depends on other components of GOC
Purpose: To establish or maintain relationship
Topic: Depends on participants
Genre: dinner, karaoke, picture-taking
Date: Marked Occurrences
Time: Thursday, 1:30-4:30
Place: B5311
Use of space: Boy standing in front, girl sitting in chair
Purpose: to learn
Topic: Intercultural Communication
Genre: lecture
Time and space
Edward T. Hall Famous American Anthropologist Hall, E.T. (1959). The silent language. Garden City, NY:
Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Hall, E.T. (1977). Beyond culture. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Hall, E.T. (1983). The dance of life. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.
Punctuality in Brazil
As a visiting professor in Brazil, Levine (1988) discovered that college students there had a very different conception of class time compared to American students. When the time came to meet his first class, Levine arrived twenty minutes late to an empty classroom (Levine & Wolff, 1985). But, unlike in the U.S.A., that did not mean that the class had already been there and left. Rather, it meant that none of the class had even arrived! Then, when class was over, only a few students left. The rest hung around for an additional half hour.
Punctuality and Values
Levine asked US and Brazilian college students about what makes a successful person
US students rated people who were never late for appointments as more successful
Brazilians rated people who were always late for appointments as more successful
Why?
Time
Different discourse systems have different concepts of time
For some: abstract, measurable, independent of circumstances, synthetic
For others: measured in natural cycles (eg. Crops)
Chronos (‘clock time’)
Kairos (‘appropriate time’)
Metaphors for Time
Time is money
Spend time
Waste time
Run out of time
Save time
Lose time
Urgency
Type ‘A’ personality
‘hurry sickness’
Rural—city
Genders
Generations
Professions
Contexts
Effect of technology
Monochronic vs. Polychronic Orientation towards time
Monochronic
Linear, tangible, divisible
Single focus: Events scheduled one item at a time
Schedule takes precedence over relationships
Emphasis on punctuality
Adherence to plan
Polychronic
Circular, holistic. Flexible
Multiple focus: Simultaneous attention to different things
Greater involvement with people
Change plans easily
Easily distracted
ageric vs. non-ageric
How does one define being ‘busy’
Thinking vs. Doing
Especially important in corporate discourse systems
‘Looking busy’
Variety
Related to sense of time passing
Boredom
Cultural differences
Urban-rural
Generational
Effects of technology
Attitudes towards the past and the future
‘Golden Age’ view
Utopian view
Traditional Chinese/Confucian view
Maoist view
Contemporary Chinese view
Contemporary American view
Your view?
Your grandparents’ view?
Different dimensions of time
WHICH ARE YOU?
Urgency vs, non-urgency
Monochronism vs. polychronism
Ageric vs. non-ageric
Variety vs. regularity
Golden age vs. utopian
Use of space
Proxemics
The Hidden Dimension (1966)
human perceptions of space are molded and patterned by culture
differing cultural frameworks for defining and organizing space can lead to serious failures of communication and understanding in cross-cultural settings
personal spaces that people form around their bodies
cultural expectations about how streets, neighborhoods and cities should be properly organized.
Use of Space: Business
North Americans big boss has the corner office on the top floor, deep
carpets, an expensive desk, and handsome accessories. The most successful companies are located in the most prestigious buildings.
France the highest-ranking executives sit in the middle of an
open area, surrounded by lower-level employees.
Middle East fine possessions are reserved for the home, and
business is conducted in cramped and modest quarters.
Personal Space
Intimate space the closest "bubble" of space surrounding a person.
Entry into this space is acceptable only for the closest friends and intimates.
Social and consultative spaces the spaces in which people feel comfortable
conducting routine social interactions with acquaintances as well as strangers.
Public space the area of space beyond which people will perceive
interactions as impersonal and relatively anonymous.
Personal Space
According to Hall…
In the United States people engaged in conversation will assume a social distance of roughly 4-7’
in many parts of Europe the expected social distance is roughly half that
Americans traveling overseas often experience the urgent need to back away from a conversation partner who seems to be getting too close..
Personal Space
The distance one keeps with the other person may influence the response one will get
If you are too close to a person who is used to keeping a certain physical distance in conversation, this person may feel threatened.
If you keep the same distance with a person who is used to physically closer interaction, physical distance may be interpreted as psychological distance.
Elevator Rules
What are the rules are for standing in the elevator? Which way should you face?
Where do people stand when there are only two or three people?
What happens when a fourth person enters the elevator.
How would you feel if there were two people on the elevator and a third person entered and stood right next to you?
What do people look at in a crowded elevator?
When is it permissible to talk to the other people?
Participants
Number
Who they are
What roles they take
Different roles in different situations
Performatives: Speech acts which can only be performed by certain people in certain places
‘I now pronounce you husband and wife’
Participants
Different discourse systems have different ideas about participant roles
Japanese vs. American decision making
American vs. Chinese classrooms Chinese: Teacher always introduces topics American: Students often introduce topics
Key
From music: minor key/major key
Mood
Key of a Wedding: Happy
Key of a Funeral: Sad
Key of a Lecture: ?
Intercultural Differences laughter = relaxed/ laughter = nervous crying at weddings/dancing at funerals
Message Form
Speaking
Writing
Silence
Other media Video Overhead projection,
slides Amplification Recording
‘The Medium is the Message’
The message form we choose changes the message
Breaking up
What’s the best way and the worst way to break up and why face to face conversation telephone Letter Email Facebook (relationship status) Weibo or Twitter text message (SMS) instant messaging (MSN) Silence a combination of the above
Sequence Set Agenda
Open Agenda
Conventional Ordering
Proposing Marriage
Preparation: ‘I have something to talk to you about...’
Reasons: ‘We’ve been going out for a long time...’
Main Point: So, would you like to get married?
Sequence
Associated with ‘scripts’
McDonald’s script
Yum Cha script
Western Restaurant script
‘Hey man, don’t eat my shit’
Co-occurrence Patterns
Things that usually go together
joke--humorous key
apology--serious key
lecture--lecture theater
meeting--set agenda
conversation on date--open agenda
Manifestation
Explicit (rules stated in a very clear way) (often the case in ceremonies)
E.g. ‘Please rise’
‘You may now kiss the bride’
Tacit (rule not stated but understood)
Manifestation of GOC is usually tacit
So people from different DS’s have problems
What’s the GOC in your discourse system for ...
Taking your boyfriend home to meet the parents
playing mahjong
robbing a bank
breaking up with a lover
____________________
Task
Compare the GOC for a school assembly and a pop music concert
Context
Hall
High vs. low context cultures
meaning
Infor-mation
context
LC
HC
High vs. Low Context
Low
Most of the meaning in the words
Background information more explicit/verbalized
Narrower social networks
‘New couple’
High
Most of the meaning in the context
Background information more implicit/tacit
Wider on social networks
‘Old couple’
Context and Culture
Which of the following countries do you think Hall categorizes as High Context and which as Low Context? (List in order of high to low)
France
Brazil
Japan
USA
Context and culture
While these terms are sometimes useful in describing some aspects of a culture, one can never say a culture is "high" or "low" because societies all contain both modes. "High" and "low" are therefore less relevant as a description of a whole people, and more useful to describe and understand particular situations and environments.
Task
High or Low Context Situations
A meeting of a small religious group
A party with friends
A sport or game where rules are clearly laid out
Eating at a neighborhood restaurant with a regular clientele
Taking a flight at an airport
Eating at a cafeteria/canteen