Intercultural communication

Definition

Intercultural communication is defined as situated communication between individuals or groups of different linguistic
and cultural origins. This is derived from the following fundamental definitions: communication is the active
relationship established between people through language, and intercultural means that this communicative
relationship is between people of different cultures, where culture is the structured manifestation of human behaviour
in social life within specific national and local contexts, e.g. political, linguistic, economic, institutional, and
professional. Intercultural communication is identified as both a concept and a competence. Intercultural competence
is the active possession by individuals of qualities which contribute to effective intercultural communication and can
be defined in terms of three primary attributes: knowledge, skills and attitudes. In the context of this document, the
acquisition of skills and human attributes likely to enhance intercultural communication is viewed exclusively as a
component of language programmes, i.e. as an accompaniment to the practical acquisition of language itself.

https://www.lanqua.eu/theme/intercultural-communication/

What is language?
Essentially, language is a tool that aids in the expression and conveyance of thought and feelings of two individuals.
The expression of feelings and thoughts can be sent through sounds, symbols, such as written or spoken words,
posture, gesture or signs, wherein the receiver interprets a specific meaning.
For humans, the prime communication medium to convey or exchange emotions, opinion, views or ideas, is
language. It gives order, meaning and coherence to abstract and complicated thoughts. Different people living in
different communities or localities use distinctly separate languages for communication. Language is described as a
tool which helps in the transmission of feelings and thoughts, from one person to another. It is the means of
expression of what a person feels or thinks, through arbitrarily produced symbols or sounds, such as words (spoken
or written), signs, sounds, gesture, posture, etc., that convey a certain meaning. Language is sole medium of
communication between two persons, through which they can share their views, ideas, opinions and emotions with
one another. It is aimed at making sense of complex and abstract thought and that also without any confusion. As a
system of communication, different languages are used by people residing in different areas or belonging to a
different community.

What is communication?

Communication involves action. It’s a process of exchanging ideas, message or information from one individual (the
speaker) to another (the receiver) through signs or words (language) that are comprehensible between the two
parties. Communication is essential for a community or organization so that their members will be able to work in
concert. Communication can flow horizontally, diagonally, downward or upward. Communication is described as an
act of interchanging ideas, information or message from one person or place to another, via words or signs which are
understood to both the parties. Communication is vital for the organisation because it is a principle means by which
organisational members work with each other. It flows in various directions, such as upward, downward, horizontal or
diagonal.

Communication is a pervasive process, i.e. it is needed in all the levels and types of the organisation. It is a two way
activity, which consists of seven major elements, i.e. sender, encoding, message, channel, receiver, decoding and
feedback. Getting feedback, in the process of communication is as much important as sending the message,
because only then the process will be completed. There are two channels of communication, which are:

1. Formal Communication
2. Informal Communication

Further, communication can be classified as:

 Verbal Communication

o Oral Communication
o Written Communication
 Non-verbal communication

Comparison Chart

Basis for language communication

Comparison
Meaning Language implies the system of communication
which relies on the verbal or non-verbal codes, Communication refers to the way of exchanging message or in
used in transferring information.
What Is It? Tool Process
Stresses On Signs, words and symbols Message
Occurs In Primarily, in auditory channels All sensory channels
Change Dynamic Static

https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-language-and-communication.html

What is culture?
Culture is the characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, encompassing language, religion,
cuisine, social habits, music and arts. The Center for Advance Research on Language Acquisition goes a step
further, defining culture as shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs and understanding that
are learned by socialization. Thus, it can be seen as the growth of a group identity fostered by social patterns unique
to the group. 

"Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe
is right or wrong, how we sit at the table, how we greet visitors, how we behave with loved ones, and a million other
things," Cristina De Rossi, an anthropologist at Barnet and Southgate College in London, told Live Science.
The word "culture" derives from a French term, which in turn derives from the Latin "colere," which means to tend to
the earth and grow, or cultivation and nurture. "It shares its etymology with a number of other words related to
actively fostering growth," De Rossi said.

https://www.livescience.com/21478-what-is-culture-definition-of-culture.html

 Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings,
hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects
and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group
striving.
 Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of people.
 Culture is communication, communication is culture.
 Culture in its broadest sense is cultivated behavior; that is the totality of a person's learned, accumulated
experience which is socially transmitted, or more briefly, behavior through social learning.
 A culture is a way of life of a group of people--the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept,
generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one
generation to the next.
 Culture is symbolic communication. Some of its symbols include a group's skills, knowledge, attitudes,
values, and motives. The meanings of the symbols are learned and deliberately perpetuated in a society
through its institutions.
 Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols,
constituting the distinctive achievement of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the
essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems
may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, on the other hand, as conditioning influences
upon further action.
 Culture is the sum of total of the learned behavior of a group of people that are generally considered to be
the tradition of that people and are transmitted from generation to generation.
 Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of
people from another.

http://people.tamu.edu/~i-choudhury/culture.html

Cultural Relativism

Cultural relativism is the ability to understand a culture on its own terms and not to make judgments using the
standards of one’s own culture. The goal of this is promote understanding of cultural practices that are not typically
part of one’s own culture. Using the perspective of cultural relativism leads to the view that no one culture is superior
than another culture when compared to systems of morality, law, politics, etc. [11] It is a concept that cultural norms
and values derive their meaning within a specific social context. This is also based on the idea that there is no
absolute standard of good or evil, therefore every decision and judgment of what is right and wrong is individually
decided in each society. The concept of cultural relativism also means that any opinion on ethics is subject to the
perspective of each person within their particular culture. Overall, there is no right or wrong ethical system. In a
holistic understanding of the term cultural relativism, it tries to promote the understanding of cultural practices that are
unfamiliar to other cultures such as eating insects, genocides or genital cutting.

There are two different categories of cultural relativism: Absolute: Everything that happens within a culture must
and should not be questioned by outsiders. The extreme example of absolute cultural relativism would be the Nazi
party’s point of view justifying the Holocaust.

Critical: Creates questions about cultural practices in terms of who is accepting them and why. Critical cultural
relativism also recognizes power relationships.

Absolute cultural relativism is displayed in many cultures, especially Africa, that practice female genital cutting. This
procedure refers to the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other trauma to the female
reproductive/genital organs. By allowing this procedure to happen, females are considered women and then are able
to be married. FGC is practiced mainly because of culture, religion and tradition. Outside cultures such as the United
States look down upon FGC, but are unable to stop this practice from happening because it is protected by its
culture.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/culturalanthropology/chapter/cultural-relativism/