The effect of Culture on Communication

Culture is based on values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms.

Each group member shares these values, beliefs, attitudes, and
norms, which makes communication between each group much
easier. However, when we are talking about two different cultures,
we will have a lot of conflicts and misconceptions between the
different groups members, which will make communication hard.
When experiencing another culture, a culture shock might happen
to the person who is experiencing the new culture, which will
cause a big discomfort. I remember when I moved from my
country to the U.S., I was not so comfortable about the personal
space when I talked to Americans.
One of the things that affects communication is the diversity
in some dimensions.These dimensions can tell us more about the
people from this specific culture, so we can expect how we can
deal with them. One of the dimensions is the power distance.
When you come from a Western culture you might not understand
how important the Islamic scholars are in an Eastern country.
Another conflict might also happen if you are from a place where
people use words to convey the meaning, and you go
somewhere, where people understand you from your context. In
that case some people might think you are being sarcastic.
Moreover, people from collective culture will find it so hard to live
in an individualistic culture just like what happened to me when I
came to the U.S., and I thought that I would be surrounded by
some friends in some cases just like home, but I realized that
there is a big difference.For example, when I was in Austin, my
knee was injured and none of my American friends came with me
to hospital, but the same thing had already happened to me when
I was home, and six of my friends were with me all the time.There
are a lot of other dimensions that also might affect communication

like long-term orientation, masculinity/ femininity, uncertainty

avoidances, and chronics.