Time allocation: 4 hoursForm of class: lecture+Q & A

Main contents:What is culture?Instinctive behavior and cultural behaviorCommunication elements and characteristics

Chapter 2 Culture and Communication

• Definition: evasive Which one of the definitions on p. 40 do

you refer and why?

I. What is culture?

• Characteristics of culture: 1. culture is not innate; it is learned Three ways through which

Enculturation takes place:– interaction– observation– imitation 2. culture is transmitted from generation to

generation

3. culture is based on symbols

1) verbal language2) nonverbal language3) iconic language (flags, jewelry, cross)

4. culture is subject to change (adaptive) 5. culture is integrated (various facets of culture are

interrelated) 6. culture is ethnocentric

Levels of culture

• Symbols• Heroes• Rituals• values

II. Instinctive behavior and cultural behavior

Reading on p. 41Questions: Do you know Maslow’s theory? Do human

beings realize all these needs at the same time? Do people all over the world share the same basic needs described by Maslow? Do people realize these needs in the same ways? Is culture conscious or subconscious?

- Instinctive behavior

—innate and universalMaslow: people all over the world share five basic needs:the physiological needsthe safety needsthe belongingness needsthe esteem needsthe self-actualization needs

Cultural behavior—learned and transmitted from generation to generation through the use of symbols People in different cultures satisfy these needs in different ways.Examples: Different ways of eating: para 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, p. 43-44;Difference in treating visitors. p. 38Difference in punctuality p. 45 Difference in taking offers p. 46

• Cultural iceberg: p. 48-49

Conscious or subconscious?

Deep culture—the out of awareness part of a culture

Nine-tenth of an iceberg / culture is out of sight.

Culture – like an Iceberg 　 行为 非语言

语言态度 信仰

价值观念

III. Elements of communication

• Definition of communication: p. 70

A behavior-affecting process in which one person (a source) intentionally encodes and transmits a message through a channel to an intended audience (receivers) in order to induce a particular attitude or behavior.

Characteristics of communication: • Dynamic• Interactive• Irreversible• Taking place in both a physical and social

context

Preconceptions and Stereotypes

p. 50 Reading II

Communication: the essential human connection – verbal, nonverbal, iconic.

Example: a salesperson attending the Monday morning staff meeting.

• Context: • physical setting

– the formality of the conference room– the seating arrangements– lighting– the time of day– the distance between Phil and staff

• historical context– previous communication events

• psychological context– the manner of perceiving themselves and others

• cultural context– communication norms

Participants: roles of sends and receivers

senders form messages-- encodersreceivers process the messages and react to them—decoders

variables affecting participantsrelationships: familiar or unfamiliargender: males or femalesculture: from the same culture or from different cultures

Messages: • meanings

– the meanings may not be transferred successfully • symbols

– words chosen– facial expressions, gestures– tone of voice

• encoding and decoding– message encoded may not be decoded as intended– culture and nonverbal factors

Channelssound, sight, smell, taste, touchthe more channels used, the more successful the communication

Noise: • external noise

– stimuli in the surrounding that distract attention • internal noise

– interfering thoughts and feelings inside a communicator • semantic noise• inappropriate choice of words • (http://blog.hjenglish.com/lvle/archive/2007/02/25/632540.html;

http://blog.hjenglish.com/lvle/articles/544732.html; p. 60)

• 蟹粉小笼： crab pink small cage• 拿铁咖啡： take iron coffee• 一次性筷子： one sex chopsticks• 残迹人电梯： disabled elevator• 小心溺水： careful drowning

• Fuck the fruit area• Chicken without sexual life• Bean curd made by a pockmarked woman• Racist Park• Disabled elevator

• Feedback: – verbal response– nonverbal response

• Assignment:• Discovering Problems: Commercial signs

on p. 60. Collect at least one language abuse in Shanghai. Record where and when it is found.

• Identifying Difference: Little things p. 61• Communication and its characteristics p. 68• Next class check: Fill – in Task p. 59