According to me, intercultural communication means language interactions between individuals and groups perceiving themselves as belonging to different cultures. Formerly, the cultural factor was hardly recognized as capable of affecting communication and social relations. But now cultural identity is one of the main reasons of all relational or communication difficulties.
The world today is characterized by an ever growing number of contacts resulting in communication between people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This communication takes place because of contacts within the areas of business, military cooperation, science, education, mass media, entertainment, tourism and also because of immigration brought about by labour shortage or political conflicts.
One intercultural scenario which comes to my mind is Pepsi Cola's "Come Alive With Pepsi" campaign, which when translated for the Taiwanese market, conveyed the unsettling news that, "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave."
Communication needs to be as constructive as possible, without misunderstandings and breakdowns. Lack of knowledge of another culture can lead to embarrassing or amusing mistakes in communication. At the worst, such mistakes may confuse or even offend the people we wish to communicate with.
Every act in this world has both a positive and a negative side. The negative aspects should not hamper our lead towards the support for intercultural communication which helps widen our arena of knowledge, wisdom and the understanding of the value of diverse cultures.
“I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any”. – Mahatma Gandhi
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Hi Abbinayaa,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. Your definition has given me a clear outlook on what culture is about, and it is indeed important since we’ll be working in a team made of people with different culture. The quote describes what everyone should be doing: learning the different culture around you, and still believing in your very own culture.
Your example with the slogan used in the Pepsi Cola campaign brings out how language can mean different things to people of different culture. Though it is comical to some other people, it is really a sensitive issue with regards to the Chinese as it is offensive, especially since it involves their ancestors.
Knowing the culture of others is really important. As I was ignorant when I was young, I have offended some of my friends from other culture. It a mistake on my part, and I gradually learned a few aspects of their culture which helped me greatly even till now. As we were all young, they were not able to understand that I am unfamiliar with their culture and hence the misunderstandings.
Your post have given me a lot to learn from, and reflect upon my own actions in the past. It is not easy to maintain a good relationship with people from other culture, and we need to put in effort to make sure that it does not get worst. This is why we need to learn about intercultural communication.
Regards,
Ryan
Hi Abbinayaa,
ReplyDeleteThat was an extremely insightful post. Your definition of culture was clear and it addressed different aspects of culture. I liked how you ended your post with such a magnificent quote. It truly brings out the essence of intercultural communication by teaching us to learn about other cultures and hold true to your own culture at the same time. Cultures exist in many forms and as Singaporeans we are exposed to a wide variety of cultures due to the multi-racial nature of our country. Therefore we cannot overlook the importance of intercultural communication in our society. This is even more so as we progress onto different stages of our lives where we encounter more people who share different cultures and beliefs and the skills that we learn now would proof to be useful when we are tasked to work together as a group.
The translation of Pepsi’s slogan in Taiwan was absolutely hilarious. This goes to show the importance of using proper language to achieve effective communication.
Miscommunications often occur when we are not sensitive about the cultures of others. Even a simple act of pointing at something may be an insult to others. Hence it is always better to have a basic understanding of the cultures of our fellow peers to avoid saying or doing the wrong things by accident. All in all, your post greatly inspired me especially the quote and once again it is a job well done and I look forward to your next post.
Regards,
Jay
Hi Abbinayaa,
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed with how you started off with your post. It was an extremely commendable effort to define intercultural communication in your own words. It is true that cultural differences were once not considered as one of the reasons that caused communication breakdowns and bad human relationships. However, as we both know, this is not the case in the present situation.
The Pepsi Cola’s example was pretty shocking as well. I personally went to google it myself and found out that there was more than one mistranslation. “Come alive out of the grave with Pepsi” and “Bring dead ancestors back from Heaven” were the more atrocious ones. However, it was a very honest mistake from Pepsi.
It is situations like this that encourages people to start learning more about other cultures. Such mistakes might be a joke to others, but some might take it seriously. Therefore, it is important for us to be self-aware in situations where different cultures are present
In summary, I feel that your post is very well-structured and the importance of intercultural communication is well illustrated with the Pepsi Cola example. It is an excellent quote at the end by Mahatma Gandhi. Looking forward to your next post!
Regards,
Hao Tan
Hi Abbinayya,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very well-organized and interesting post.I really learn a lot from reading your post.
Firstly you gave a very concise definition of intercultural communication.You also managed to compare the role of culture nowadays with that in the past to show there is a growing needs for us to get to know the other cultures besides our own culture.However,one point I want to raise is that maybe you do not define intercultural communication as purely language interaction since there are many other aspects of culture besides language.
Although you only have one short example,but it really reflects a lot of things for us to ponder.There are more and more people using English nowadays,but language difference is still a main cause of ineffective communication.In your example,the Taiwanese either misunderstood the meaning of "Come Alive with Pepsi" or translated it in the wrong way.However,the whole idea of the campaign has changed which may affect the sales of Pepsi Cola.
I agree with you that we should not be stopped by the negative effects of our acts to widen our cultural knowledge.It would be essential for us to equip ourselves with the ability to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds as the whole world is fast globalizing.As a result,it will benefit us in building our interpersonal relationship and achieving success in teamwork.
By Likai
Hi Abbinayaa,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very appealing and exciting to read. In agreement with Likai I also felt that your post was very well organized. And in addition your points were very clear and precise.
In reference to your introduction its very true that specially in todays world most of the issues caused are because of cultural identity. However on the other hand the different inter-cultural groups like United Nations etc are helping the world to develop.
Your example of pepsi cola was very interesting and amusing. These kind of issues are becoming very common in todays world. Hence communication has to be done very clearly. There are many aspects of different culture which are sensitive to the people that is why one should be very clear and aware of what one says to the other person.
Overall i felt that your post was very informative and highly relevant to todays worlds. I would really like to appreciate your optimistic writing style. I really enjoyed reading your post and i hope to read more of your ideas in the future.
Regards
Ayushi Sisodiya