Ever since the horrifying realization of the Great War’s final count led to the formation of the League of Nations, countries have sought to unite in mutual security and trade, thus disincentivizing aggression by making it mutually harmful. This policy from its inception had limited success, as the outbreak of World War II and the Cold War will show, however, since the Glasnost period, a remarkable phenomenon has made these goals a reality: globalization.
The advent of technology like the Internet has opened up the world to international trade and in response; the nations have embraced this opportunity wholeheartedly. The result is that what the League of Nations and later the United Nations failed to achieve, has been achieved through international trade.
As an example I cite the interdependence of the US and China. China exports gigantic amounts of goods to the United States. The funds that China receives as payment are then reinvested in US Treasury Bonds that support the US economy. If the US were to attack China or its allies, China could sell these bonds and decimate the US economy. The US, however, would result in the destruction of the value of its foreign holdings ($) and thus of its economy all other things being equal. measure.
Although, as shown, there are undoubted benefits of globalization, it also brings with it obstacles that must be overcome…globalization unites cultures that may never have interacted to any great extent and brings an imperative for intercultural communication. While the perceived solutions to this are many and could be debated ad-infinitum, an awareness of the problem and its manifestations would serve us well…this awareness could very well turn out to be a solution in its own right.
First, let’s make some general observations about other cultures to give us an awareness that we can use as a basis for a common understanding:
o To know any culture, first-hand experience is necessary. People often miss out on the opportunity to gain this experience because the interaction often leads to apprehension, lack of trust, feelings of fear, threat, or loneliness. This is common in all cultures.
o Different cultures emphasize and value different things, so while we may value one principle, it may seem irrelevant to another culture.
o A single race or country often contains many different cultures, so generalization is inappropriate. Take India as an example; the view most of us imagine is that of a ‘jewel in the crown’ vignette. While this might be accurate in a very small region in northwest India, the rest of that vast continent is culturally completely different.
o The last point, and perhaps the most important, is that to really understand a culture you need to learn the language of that culture.
Now that we have a framework for understanding the characteristics of other cultures, let’s look at some practical manifestations of cultural differences:
o Other cultures often have different conversational frameworks, such as when to open or close a conversation, or points of interjection, interruption, or response.
o The use of tone, silence or non-verbal communication will vary greatly between cultures.
o Too free expression of opinions or comments is normal in many cultures as a sign of honesty, while other cultures find it inappropriate.
o The appropriate use of humor varies greatly between cultures and can be unintentionally offensive.
o Showing respect by not looking away during a conversation is common in the West, but in many African countries this is not a recognized social construct and therefore could inadvertently cause misunderstanding outside of their culture.
Having gained a comprehensive overview of cultures and their manifestations, we have a good foundation with which to interact successfully with any other culture, and provided this understanding is combined with genuine honesty and sincerity and a desire to move forward, we will have mastered the riddle of intercultural communication.
