Intercultural Communication
Chapter 1
Introduction to Intercultural Competence
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The Imperatives for Intercultural
Competence
• Demographic
• Technological
• Economic
• Peace
• Interpersonal
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The demographic imperative for
intercultural competence
• Wave of cultural mixing.
• Increasing cross-border movements.
• Changing the distribution of people.
• Intensifying political and social tensions.
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The technological imperative for
intercultural competence
• Global village and mass media.
• Information technologies.
• Long-distance transportation systems.
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The economic imperative for
intercultural competence
• Economic effectiveness of the U.S.
• Interdependence with other countries.
• The workplace is increasingly diverse.
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The peace imperative for
intercultural competence
• The need to understand and appreciate
others.
• Incidents of hate crimes and other
animosities.
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The interpersonal imperative for
intercultural competence
• Quality of daily life depends on the ability
to communicate competently with others.
• Consequences to maintaining competent
interpersonal relationships.
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Defining Communication
• Communication is a symbolic interpretive,
transactional, contextual process in which
people create shared meanings.
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Speech Communication Process
Speech Communication Process
IDEA
ENCODE
DECODE
IDEA
Channel
Message
Feedback
IDEA
IDEA
Feedback
Feedback
DECODE
SITUATION
ENCODE
Defining Communication
• There are 6 characteristics of
communication:
– Communication is symbolic.
– Communication is interpretive.
– Communication is transactional.
– Communication is contextual.
– Communication is a process.
– Communication involves shared meanings.
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Defining Communication
• Communication is symbolic.
– Uses symbols
– Meaning is a perception, thought, or feeling.
– A message is a package of symbols.
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Defining Communication
• Communication is interpretive.
– Requires interpreting the symbols of others.
– Requires understanding these symbols.
– Agreement is not required.
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Defining Communication
• Communication is transactional.
– Old view saw communication as one-way activity.
– New view sees communication as simultaneous.
– Leads to shared creation of messages and meaning.
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Defining Communication
• Communication is contextual.
– All communication is contextual.
– Context includes physical, social, and
interpersonal.
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Defining Communication
• Communication is a process.
– Communication is always changing.
– Messages are unrepeatable.
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Defining Communication
• Communication involves shared meanings.
– Changing communicators changes message.
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Defining Communication
• Interpersonal communication is
comprised of 4 characteristics:
– IPC occurs between small groups of people.
– IPC involves people interacting exclusively
with one another.
– IPC is adapted to specific others.
– In IPC, the interpretation of messages can
occur essentially simultaneously with their
creation, allowing communicators to adapt
their messages instantaneously.
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The Challenge of Communicating
in an Intercultural World
• No simple answers that guarantee
competent communication.
• Differences among people are reasons to
celebrate and share rather than to fear and
harm.
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