CHAPTER 9

(Social) Inclusiveness or exclusiveness – acceptance; preventing out groupers

Barriers to intercultural relations: (Limited contact opportunities, Unmet expectations, Disparate
motives, Different degrees of investment, Anxiety, Different communication styles, Differing
values, Stereotypes, Language barrier)
Benefits of intercultural relations: (Heightened self-awareness, Confronting stereotypes,
Sensitivity of others, learning new skills, Better communication skills, Appreciation of stereotypes)
Communication accommodation theory (CAT) – the adjust of speech to adapt to speaking
environments
Communication competence
 Convergence (facilitates relationship building) ; divergence (distancing of oneself)
Cyber friendships (netizens)
Ethnicity – cultural marker indicates shared traditions, heritage and ancestral origins
Interfaith marriage (marriage of people with difference religion) Monogamy, Polygamy, co-
habitation
International relationships – bridge national cultural and citizenship lines
Interracial, interethnic, interfaith
Pluralistic society – make up of people from numerous cultural and ethnic backgrounds (religious
pluralistic society)
Sexual orientation – homosexual (gay, lesbian), heterosexual; bisexual
Similarity-attraction Hypothesis (we are attracted to those similar to us)
Social class prejudice – negative views towards another class
Types of intercultural relations: (Racial differences, Ethnic differences, International differences,
Religious differences, Social class differences, Language differences, Age differences, Ability
differences, Gender differences, Sexual orientation differences)
Willingness to communicate (WTC) – language anxiety
Uncertainty reduction theory (URT) – the more we can predict communication partners’ behavior,
the more we have a chance to be intimate.
Uncertainty/ anxiety management theory (AUM) – the more we understand communication
partner, the less stress we have.
Social penetration theory – the more we self-disclose, the more our relationship becomes
intimate.
Contact hypothesis – increase contact of different cultural and ethnic grps increases mutual
acceptance and reduces levels of tension/ prejustice.
Expectancy violation theory – Negative perceptions can harm intercultural friendships. Insufficient
knowledge of culture hinders intercultural relationships.
 CHAPTER 11
Globalization (multinational business, global business)
Diversity (surface level – differences that are easily seen, e.g. race, skin colour etc. ; deep level –
not so easily observable, e.g. sexuality, attitude etc.)
Global English (dominance of English)
Challenges of diversity: (language barrier, conflicting communication styles, differences in
personality, differences in values, opposition to change, resistance to integration, differences in
social categories, ethnocentricism and discrimination)
Power (authority or strength); power imbalance
Geert Hofstede’s Cultural dimension theory: looks at unique aspects of culture and compares
them.
Power distance: less powerful grps of society accept and expect to have power distributed
unequally.
Individualism vs. Collectivism: prefer closer bond (interpersonal relationships) or being left
alone (individualism more found in America).
Masculinity vs. Femininity:
(Masculinity): Heroism, assertiveness, material reward for success.
(Femininity): cooperation, modesty (down-to-earth), caring for the weak, quality of
life.
Uncertainty avoidance: degree in which individuals feel uncomfortable with ambiguity or
uncertainty.
Long-term vs. short term orientation
(Long-term): dealing with the society’s search for virtue (美德)
(Short-term): establishing the absolute truth
Neoliberalism: Under neoliberalism, the state’s primary responsibility is to ensure the financial
health of the free market (Monetary policies, Laws that ensure “good” business practices)
 requires deregulation and privatization
 subscribes to the belief that society as a whole benefits from privatization (what works
in the private sector will also work in the public sector)
 Has led to knowledge-based economy (new capitalism), which English is the language of
new capitalism.
English globalism – colonization of the English Language
 may possibly lead to English commodity (as a product)
Problem with commodification: The value of English is determined by the market
• global spread of English
• Neoliberalism: free market principles (let the market dictate…); Capitalism:
exploitation of labor and commodity production; Cosmopolitanism: the notion that
 we belong to a single (global community); Transnationalism: the ostensible need to
communicate with other across geographic boundaries and time zones; White
saviorism: the notion that America (and the West) can save the world
Orientalism: biased view of the East by the West (creates static images; creating ahistorical [lacks
history background] images)
 It is a kind of essentialization
Linguistic Imperialism
Has the potential to lead to language death/attrition/decay; Will lead to Orientalism if only certain
varieties of English are promoted; Forces individuals to think about their unique life experiences in
a different language; Forces individuals to spend an enormous amount of money to conform the
language expectations of those in power; Can create unrealistic expectations at work (English
teachers in Asia/Africa/etc.)
Linguicism (Language discrimination)
Ching Chong reduces the language of billions of people to two words/last names; Ching Chong
creates the discourse that Chinese speakers are foreign/alien; Ching Chong creates the discourse
that “the Chinese language” is not only incomprehensible, but can be used to ridicule large groups
of people; Ching Chong delegitimizes the language of billions of people => creates a language
hierarchy that privileges English while devaluing “the Chinese language.”
PREVIOUS CHAPTERS
Culture: people and places, practices and actions
Big C Culture: defined as ‘products’ of society (e.g., science and literature and arts) with historical
significance, often associated with people, regions, nation states…
Little C Culture: Often defined as shared norms, conventions, beliefs, and values, often associated
with practices and actions
 They overlap and complicates things
Poststructuralism: (1) A rejection of “binary structural oppositions” (collectivism vs. individualism)
(2) Celebrating or promoting “ambiguity and openness of linguistic and cultural signification”
 Types
of nonverbal communication: Paralanguage (sound); Kinesics (body); Oculesics (eye); Proxemics
(distance); Haptics (touch); Olfactics (smell); Semiotic (physical); Chronemics (time)
Identity is relational: Self-identify, Other-identify
Hypermodernity is the world that we currently know
Essentialism: behavior of socially defined groups can be determined by cultural characteristics
Othering: objectifying people of outgroup
Ingroup and outgroup
Ethnocentricism – thinking your outgroup (e.g race) is of superior
Cultural relativism – opposite of ethnocentricism (no race/ culture) is superior
Xenophobia – fear of foreigners or strangers