Chapter 3 : Communication and Culture
Vocabulary
Uncertainty Avoidance - were members of culture feel threatened by ambiguous or uncertain situations and try to avoid them
High Uncertainty Avoidance -ideas are dangerous; intolerance high. clearly defined rules are necessary.
Low Context - use language primarily to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas directly
Low Uncertainty Avoidance - welcome people who don't fit the norm
High Context - relies heavily on subtle, non-verbal cues to maintain social harmony
Power Distance - gap between social groups who possess resources and influence and those who do not.
Context - set of circumstances that surround a situation and gives it meaning
Low Power Distance - minimize difference between rich and poor; educates and uneducated; challenging authority is acceptable.
Collective Cultures - loyalty and obligation to an in-group; putting the group about ones self
High Power Distance - freedom to make your own and it decisions makes people uncomfortable; dutiful and submissive people are hesitant to show initiative or creativity
Individualistic Cultures - primarily responsible to help themselves ; cultures valuing the individual more
Ethnocentrism - attitude that ones own culture is superior to others
Out-group - groups we view as not like ourselves
Prejudice - unfairly biased attitudes towards to those in an out-group
In-groups - are groups with which we identify with
Stereotyping - exaggerated generalizations about a group
Salience - describes the weight we attach to cultural characteristics
Coculture - a group within a culture
Culture - is the language, values, beliefs, traditions and customs people share and learn.
Book Examples
Life examples
Key Ideas
Troublesome Language
- Can be something of a curse, which can end up with misunderstanding, disruptive and evasive language
Gender and Language
- The difference between men and women
The Power of Language
- Allows us to satisfy basic functions like attitudes, the power of it and the interest
Culture and Language
- Communication across cultures can be challenging
- Choosing the right words won't guarantee that non-native speakers will use an unfamiliar language correctly
The Nature of Language
- A collection of symbols governed by rules and used to convey messages between individuals
Women view indirect statements as equivalent to saying, "no," men were not likely to interpret them as less clear-cut request to stop.
In Japan, apologizing is a traditional way to express goodwill and maintain social harmony. But in the United States, an apology can taken as a admission of guilt.
Adam's dominion over animals was demonstrated my his being given the power to give hem names.
Sign language is a form of symbolic language
Cyclist that use the "bonking" are referring to running out of energy, Rapsters know that "bling bling" refers to jewelry and a "whip" is a nice-looking car.
Telling my friends, "You're annoying," when the are teasing me and trying to be funny is okay. But when I tell my grandparents it's disrespectful.
Kids who use the word, "filthy," in Seattle means nice and cool.
Seeing my nephew chew up his food in his mouth then spitting it out because the texture, then putting it right back it because he was hungry.
My mom and her sisters spend time gossiping while my dad and uncles watch the game.
The principal's power over all the student
What intrigued me about the reading?
What intrigued me was the men and women accomplish goals with communication, differently.
What surprised me in the reading?
Something that surprised me that is said in the book that only in the U.S and Canada use male and females use language to build and maintain social relationships.
What Confused Me?
What confused me was that people from different countries take things differently than we do in the U.S. I thought just a little that things would be interpreted the same.