TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DIVISION OF LINGUSITICS, CULTURE & LITEARTURE

001174 – INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

CHAPTER 4

Cultural Patterns and Communication:

Foundations

Designed by Vu Cong Danh

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 CONTENTS

• 4.1. Defining Cultural Patterns

• 4.2. Components of Cultural Patterns
• 4.3. Characteristics of Cultural Patterns
• 4.4. Cultural Patterns and Intercultural Competence

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 DEFINING CULTURAL PATTERNS

• Stable beliefs, values, norms, social practices

 Similar behaviors across similar situations
 Cultural patterns
• Primarily inside people
• Shared mental programs governing specific behavior
choices

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 COMPONENTS OF CULTURAL PATTERNS

1. Beliefs

2. Values

3. Norms

4. Social practices

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 BELIEFS

• Idea assumed to be true about the world

• Learned interpretations

• Basis for what is right

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 BELIEFS

• Central beliefs:
• What reality is
• How it works

• Peripheral beliefs:
• Unique ideas
• Personal expectations

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 VALUES

• Good or bad
• Right or wrong
• Fair or unfair
• Beautiful or ugly
• Valuable or worthless
• Kind or cruel

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 VALUES

• Desired characteristics of a culture

• No actual behaviors or characteristics

• Valence: posivitivity / negativity

• Intensity: strength, importance, significance

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 NORMS

• Socially shared expectations of appropriate behaviors

• Variable importance and intensity
• Changeability
• Guide for good behaviors

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 SOCIAL PRACTICES

• Predictable behavior patterns

• Manifestations of beliefs, values, norms
• 2 types:
• Informal, everyday
• Formal, prescriptive

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 CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURAL
PATTERNS

1. The functions of cultural patterns

2. An overview of cultural patterns

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 THE FUNCTIONS OF CULTURAL
PATTERNS
1. Common human problems
2. Limited number of alternative solutions
3. Preferred solutions & other solutions
4. Preferred solutions shaping cultural patterns

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 THE FUNCTIONS OF CULTURAL
PATTERNS
5 problems / orientations cultures must address:
• Activity
• Relationships
• Human nature
• People-nature
• Time

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 AN OVERVIEW OF CULTURAL PATTERNS

• Activity orientation
• Social relations orientation
• Self-orientation
• World orientation
• Time orientation

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 CULTURAL PATTERNS AND
INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
Cultural patterns influence:
• Judgments of competence
• Interpretation of all symbols
• Definition of relationship
• Characteristics of appropriate, effective communication
• Mental programming of the people

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 HOMEWORK

Read the assigned materials :

[3] Pages: 81 – 86

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