Intercultural_Communication_Barriers

In intercultural communication settings, it is easy to become trapped by invisible walls or barriers to communication. Although these walls are hard to perceive, they are not imaginary. The only way to “escape” is to learn to see them and avoid making communication mistakes that come from them. By the end of this chapter, students should not only be able to know what are the major barriers and how they impede(阻止)effective intercultural communication, but also fully understand the origins of each barrier and then know how to overcome these barriers. Finally students are expected to find out the intercultural communication barriers from their own experience. 7.1 Common Problems and Barriers in Intercultural CommunicationAs we have already known, communication is the exchange of information. Communication does not always result in understanding because it is a symbolic behavior. The meaning of the message, verbal or nonverbal, based on the communication participants’ cultural background, varies accordingly for each person.Intercultural communication occurs when a person from one culture sends a message to a person from another culture. Miscommunication occurs when the receiver does not receive the sender’s intended message. The greater the difference between the sender’s and receiver’s cultures is, the greater the problem for successful intercultural communication. This chapter deals with some common problems and barriers in intercultural communication. Those lists of barriers are anxiety, assuming similarity instead of difference, ethnocentrism, stereotypes and prejudice, and language problems. 7.1.1 Anxiety Anxiety occurs because of not knowing what one is expected to do, and focusing on that feeling and not be totally present in the communication transaction(处理,交易,事务).For example, people may have experienced anxiety on their first day on a new college campus or in a new job. They may be so conscious of being new — and out of place — and focus so much of t 　heir attention on that feeling that they make common mistakes and appear awkward to others. Case Analysis: Unnecessary Anxiety or Not' Sugawara (1993) surveyed 168 Japanese employees of Japanese companies working in the United States and 135 of their U.S coworkers. Only 8% of the U.S. coworkers felt impatient with the Japanese coworkers’ English. While 19% of the Japanese employees felt their spoken English was poor or very poor and 20% reported feeling nervous when speaking English with U.S. coworkers, 30% of the Japanese employees felt that the U.S. coworkers were impatient with their accent, and almost 60% believed that language was the problem in communicating with the U.S. coworkers. For some Japanese workers, anxiety over speaking English properly contributed to avoiding interactions with the U.S. coworkers and limiting interactions both on and off the job to other Japanese only. 7.1.2 Assuming Similarity Instead of DifferenceTo assume people know how someone else is thinking based on how they see things is called projected cognitive(认知的,认识的)similarity. It occurs when they think they know someone else’s perceptions, judgments, attitudes, and values because they assume others are like their own. Assuming similarity instead of difference refers to the assumption that people are more similar to you than they actually are or that another person's situation is more similar to your own situation than it in fact is. It reflects both a natural and a common process. For instance, a Chinese assumes his or her Japanese colleagues are more like Chinese than they actually are. Based on this assumed similarity, one often acts inappropriately and ineffectively in intercultural situations. When communicating with people from other cultures, the individual, assuming similarities when differences exist, is likely to treat them as "my people" and to assume there is only one way of doing things: that is "my" way. The basis of assumed similarity is a subconscious parochialism (乡土观念,狭隘), related to ethnocentrism. Assuming similarity particularly handicaps people in intercultural communication. This can lead to disrupted communication and even conflict. In 1997, a Danish woman left her 14-month-old baby girl in a stroller(婴儿车)outside a Manhattan restaurant while she was inside. Other diners at the restaurant became concerned and called New York City Police. The woman was charged with endangering a child and was jailed for two nights. Her child was placed in foster care. The woman and the Danish consulate(领事), explained that leaving children unattended outside cafés is common in Denmark while parents were eating inside. The Danish woman had assumed that Copenhagen(哥本哈根)is similar to New York, so that what is commonly done in Copenhagen is also commonly done in New York. Case Analysis: Cultural Misinterpretation Mr. Wang, the Chairman of Board of Directors of a Chinese firm, told a story on CCTV program "Dialogue" of how he once almost lost a valuable Canadian employee working for him in Vancouver. He emailed every day to the Canadian, inquiring for the index number he was most concerned about. To his great astonishment, his Canadian employee turned in his resignation after a week. Mr. Wang was puzzled how he could do that to him as he gave such great attention to his job. A Chinese employee would have been more than happy if his or her boss had showed such great concern for him or her. He then found out that, unlike Chinese employees, the Canadian took what meant great concern to Chinese as distrust. But Mr. Wang assumed unconsciously that the Canadian was more similar to his Chinese employees than he actually was and treated him just as he treated any Chinese employee. 7.1.3 EthnocentrismA universal response to differences in cultures is: “of course they’re different, but we’re better.” Most cultures assume their own values and practices are superior to those of the rest of the world. Any group of people tend to see their own group and their culture as the best, as of the common sense and view other people habitually, unconsciously and inevitably by using their own customs as the standards for judgments. Because of its habitual nature, ethnocentrism is hard to overcome and often causes miscommunication in intercultural contacts. In addition, prejudice and discrimination usually result from ethnocentrism.a. Ethnocentrism defined Ethnocentrism means, by the definition of the Webster's Third New International Dictionary: (1) a habitual disposition to judge foreign peoples or groups by the standards and practices of one's own culture; (2) a tendency toward viewing alien cultures with disfavor and a resulting sense of inherent superiority.English-speaking cultures encode this assumption of superiority by using words such as backward and primitive, when actually those evaluations are one cultural view, seen through specific cultural windows, not an absolute assessment. A village in Bangladesh(孟加拉国)that lacks most of the technologies taken for granted in the workplaces of other parts of the world-telephones, electricity, automobiles, airplanes-may have a more sophisticated conflict-resolution process than the technologically advanced cultures of the world. So who is “backward”' Such assumption of superiority may lead to ethnocentrism(种族中心主义), People everywhere tend to assume their own culture is right and normal, and to assess all other cultures by how closely they resemble their own. Most people, especially those with little experiences of other culture, believe their own culture is the center of human experience. The further from one’s own a culture is, the more it seems to belong to the fringe(边缘). Conversely, the closer another culture is to their own culture, the truer it seems to be.Another example is Eurocentric ethnocentrism(欧洲种族中心主义). This would include, for example, recognizing only western holidays in schools or basing curriculum(课程)only on western history, music, and art. The terms “the west ”and “the east ” themselves have been labeled Eurocentric ethnocentrism. Asia is east of Europe, but to call Asia “the east ” makes its identity dependent on Europe.b. Various forms of ethnocentric attitudeAs a major barrier to intercultural communication, ethnocentrism may take one form or another in intercultural contacts. The following opinions are typical ethnocentric attitudes:1. Most other cultures are backward compared with my culture.2. My culture should be the role model for other cultures.3. Other cultures should try to be more like my culture.4. Most people from other cultures just don't know what's good for them.5. I have little respect for the values and customs of other cultures.6. Most people would be happier if they lived like people in my culture.7. People in my culture have just about the best lifestyles of anywhere.8. Lifestyles in other cultures are not as valid as those in my culture.9. I do not cooperate with people who are different.10. I do not trust people who are different.11. I dislike interacting with people from different cultures.12. Other cultures are smart to look up to my culture.13. Other people are much the same as my people.14. Our way of doing things is the only right way. Case Analysis: You Are Well Blessed At a dinner given to an American couple from the sister university before they left for the USA in 1991, the Chinese host helped some food to the American lady with the words: Please eat more, Mrs. X, so that you'll put on weight. As a close friend of the American lady, his interpreter didn't interpret his remarks literally and told him that Mrs. X was on a diet to lose weight and that the last thing she would do was to eat more to put on weight. But the host did not take notice of what she said and asked his guests if they had been to Xi'an and if they had heard of Yang Guifei, the concubine of an emperor of the Tang Dynasty. The answer was affirmative. The host then proceeded to tell them that Yang Guifei was one of the four great beauties in Chinese history. She was not thin but plump. She was very handsome. He proceeded to explain: "There are two kinds of beauties in China: the slim beauty and the plump beauty." To reinforce his point, he said, "So putting on weight 'is not a bad thing at all. In Chinese, it is also expressed as 'You are well blessed' (你发福了). It is used as a compliment because it is a blessing, a sign of being healthy and wealthy in China." The American guests laughed at this and said politely: "But we Americans worship thinness".Before long, he went to America to visit the sister university. When the old friends met again, he made the compliment: "You've put on weight, Mrs. X." This time it was interpreted literally and the lady was so embarrassed that in her letter to one of her friend, she wrote: "Mr …played the trick again when he was here. He doesn't know the American saying: 'You can never be too rich; you can never be too thin.' No American would like to hear his compliment".Obviously, he didn't mean to be rude or insulting. The miscommunication was not caused by his lack of knowledge of the cultural differences, but by his judgmental ethnocentric attitude toward cultural differences. 7.1.4 Stereotypes and Prejudice Stereotyping and prejudice represent another series of problems that are often easier to talk about than to arrest, for they often lie below the level of awareness. Both of these problems are rooted in our compulsion to make in-group and out-group distinctions. Although in most cases, stereotypes and prejudice work in tandem(联合), it serves our purposes to examine them separately. a. StereotypesThe word stereotyping was first used by journalist Walter Lippmann in 1922 to describe judgments made about others on the basis of their ethnic group membership. Today, the term is more broadly used to refer to negative or positive judgments made about individuals based on any observable or believed group membership. Psychologists have attempted to explain stereotyping as mistakes some people’s brains make in the perception of other people that are similar to those mistakes their brains make in the perception of visual illusions. PARIS IN THE THE SPRING Figure 7.1 What we see, the most readily available image, is what we expect to see. We can reject any information that challenges that expectation. In Figure 7.1, a sign appears to read “Paris In The Spring”, but it actually has an extra “the.” As we don’t expect to see a double “the” we do not perceive it. In a like manner, if we expect that heads of corporations are tall, slender, white males, we don’t see the disabled, women, and people of color in that group.Stereotyped Chinese northerners Stereotyping is a natural process. Stereotypes are the perceptions or beliefs we hold about groups or individuals based on previously formed opinions and attitudes. Human beings have a psychological need to categorize and classify. The world outside often is too big, too complex, and too transitory for us to know in any detail. Stereotyping is helpful in reducing ambiguity and uncertainty. Hence, each of us stereotypes every day as one way of making sense out of that world and employs existing stereotypes as a way of deciding what we think of the group or person we are confronted with. We learn stereotypes as a part of our culture, as Rogers and Steinfatt (1999) point out: standardized mental pictures held in common by members of a group make it easier to decide what behavior is appropriate and what behavior to expect.Stereotypes are used by all groups. Until recently, the sign for foreigners in Japanese Sign Language is the index finger making a circular motion around the eye denoting(指示,表示)“round eye”.Although stereotypes are considered as being negative judgments, they can also be positive. Some people hold positive stereotypes of other individuals based on their professional group membership. For example, some people assume that all doctors are intelligent and wise. A group of people in the United States who conduct business with persons outside the United States to give one-word descriptors(描述符)of their impression of people of other nationalities. Some of these stereotypes follow:Table 7-1 Stereotypes of Different Nationality Culture ImageEnglish conservative, reserved, polite, proper, formalFrench arrogant(傲慢的,自大的), rude, chauvinistic(沙文主义的), romantics, gourmets(能精选品评美食、美酒的人), cultural, artisticItalians demonstrative, talkative, emotional, romantics, bold, artisticLatin Americans manana attitude, macho(男子气的), music lovers, touchers Case Analysis: Stereotyping Akira is an exchange student from Japan who is spending a semester at an American University. Jim is a student at the same university. Jim was born and raised in Milwaukee. Jim and Akira meet for the first time. Below is an excerpt(摘录,引用)from their initial interaction.Jim: Hi. (Thinks to himself —“Man, he’s so short, he’s just like all the other Asians I’ve seen.”)Akira: Hi. I’m Akira. (Thinks to himself —“Wow, he’s pretty tall.”)Jim: I’m Jim, are you a student here' (Thinks to himself —“He’s probably a math major.”)Akira: Yes. (Thinks to himself —“He probably thinks I’m Chinese.”)Jim: Are you from Japan' (Thinks to himself —“He probably wonders if I drive a Honda. I wonder if he realizes how many Americans are unemployed because of all the imported Japanese cars.”)Akira: Yes, I am. (Thinks to himself—“What will he ask me now. These Americans are so impolite.”)Jim: Yeah' That’s cool. How do you like it in the United States' Have you been here before' (Thinks to himself —“He must love it here … it’s got to be better than his country.”)Akira: I like it here a lot. (Thinks to himself —“I’d better not tell him that the food here is horrible. It might upset him.”) n this brief exchange, both Jim and Akira engage in categorization(分类)and stereotyping. Initially Jim categorizes Akira based on conspicuous(显著的)differences (“Man, he’s short”), familiarity (“He’s probably a math major”), and projection (“I wonder if he realizes how many Americans are unemployed because of all the imported Japanese cars”). Jim also stereotypes Akira as good in math. Akira categorizes and stereotypes Jim in much the same way. Case Analysis: A Tragedy in U.S. History Stereotypes are harmful when they are used as rigid preconceptions and are applied to all members of a group or to an individual over a period of time, regardless of individual variations. A tragedy in U.S. history resulted from this kind of stereotypes. During World War Il, anti-Japanese propaganda convinced many people in the United States that the Japanese were cunning, tricky and willing to fight to the death to win. The negative stereotype was mainly formed by news accounts carried by the media about the war. However, it created an atmosphere in 1942 in which the U.S. federal government put 110,000 citizens of Japanese ancestry into internment camps. Japanese-Americans were forced to leave their homes, with their business, and their possessions behind because the stereotype portrayed them as threats to the U.S. country. b. Prejudice Prejudice refers to the irrational(无理性的)dislike, suspicion, or hatred of a particular group, race, religion, or sexual orientation. Prejudice involves an unfair, biased, or intolerant attitude towards another group of people. An example of prejudice would be the attitude that women should not be in positions of power because they are not as logical or competent as men.Prejudice, again like stereotypes, can take many forms, ranging from those that are almost impossible to detect to those that are very obvious. For example, some people believe that members of a given cultural group are inferior according to some imagined standards and that the group members are not worthy of decent treatment.Whatever form it might take, the root of prejudice is seeing differences as a threat. Prejudiced attitudes prevent people from seeing reality accurately and often lead to the indecent treatment of others. For instance, a prejudiced employer might say: "Workers from rural areas are not as competent as those from cities." or "Employees from other cities than Guangzhou are difficult to communicate with." Prejudices like these can create avoidance and interpersonal conflict — and prevent effective communication between culturally different people. Prejudice often leads to discrimination, which is overt behavior. Prejudice is a negative attitude.In the United States, only 15% of the poor are African-American. Most of the violent criminals, drug users, prostitutes, drunks, illiterates(文盲), high school dropouts, juvenile delinquents(少年罪犯), jobless, and poor in the United States are neither African-American nor Hispanic but White. The majority of African-American and Hispanic are none of the above, yet the press, gives African-Americans and Hispanics predominantly negative coverage. Case Analysis: An Interesting Experiment An interesting experiment was conducted to identify the presence of prejudice. E.S. Bogardus asked people to rate on a scale from 1 to 8 how favorably they felt toward groups of people according to their national identity. The most favorable, number 1, indicated a willingness to have a daughter or son marry someone of that group; an 8 meant not being willing to allow someone of that group into the country, let alone into one’s home. The interesting thing was that the list of more than 60 nation-Italians, Czechs(捷克人[语]), Moroccans(摩洛哥人), Nigerians(尼日利亚人), Thais, and Turks(土耳其人), for example—included three fictitious(假想的,编造的)ones: Danireans, Pireneans, and Wallonians(瓦龙人). Bogardus found that the people who were more unwilling to admit members of other nations into close relationships were unwilling to admit the unknown nations’ members also. And conversely, tolerance toward many nations included tolerance toward the three unknown and nonexistent nations. This finding implies that intolerant people are intolerant across the board, while tolerant people are tolerant even of unknown nationalities. c. RacismRacism is any policy, practice, belief, or attitude that attributes characteristics or status to individuals based on their race. Racism involves not only prejudice, but also the exercise of power over individuals based on their race. Racism can be conscious or unconscious, intentional or unintentional. Racism exists worldwide. The harmful nature and damaging effect of racism are too obvious. Racism can not only prevent communication but also lead to physical attack when carried to its extreme. Unfortunately, racism of one form or another are still very common, though most people are against any racism against any particular group or individual, may it be the poor, or the disabled, or others.d. The role of communication When studying stereotypes, prejudice, and racism, people may be struck with the role that communication can play in either spreading the beliefs or stopping their spread. Ethnocentrism, prejudice and racism are commonly viewed as being rooted in the child’s early socialization and fostered(培养)in communication with other people who are prejudiced or racist.¬ The persistence of ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and racism Researchers have suggested various reasons for the persistence of ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and racism: 1. Socialization Ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and racism are learned. Many prejudices are passed on from parents to children, sometimes in subtle messages such as “we don’t associate with people like that ” or “be careful when you are with them”.2. Social benefits Expressing an ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and racism may bring support from others who share that prejudice. It is difficult for people to break away from the prejudices of their families and friends, as rejecting the prejudice can be perceived as breaking away from the association. 3. Economic benefitsEthnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and racism can be strong when there is direct competition for jobs. When Chinese immigrants worked on building the transcontinental railroad across the United States when jobs were plentiful, Chinese were perceived as hardworking, industrious, and law-abiding. But after the railroad was completed and jobs dwindled(缩小), Chinese were perceived as criminal, crafty, and stupid.4. Psychological benefits Ethnocentrism, stereotypes, prejudice and racism can be used to generate a feeling of superiority and to explain a complex world in terms of simple causes as in saying “those people are the source of all our problems.”¬ Hate speech Out of such realization that speech can cue prejudiced behavior in others, some have attempted to restrict that type of speech often referred to as hate speech. Hate speech includes threats or verbal slurs directed against specific groups or physical acts such as burning crosses or spray–painting swastikas on public or private property. 7.1.5 Language ProblemsLanguage is a set of symbols by a community to communicate meaning and experience. The idea that culture and language are connected may not be obvious at first. When people learned their native language, they also unconsciously learned their culture. However, if a person learned another language or grows up speaking more than one language, the person may become aware of the different ways that each language allows a speaker to perceive and describe reality. These differences in perception are differences in culture, so the relationship between language and culture is that they are like mirrors to each other. Each one reflects and is reflected by the other. Case Analysis: Misinterpretation of Common U.S. Phrases American Phrase“See ya later.”“Y’all come for another visit.” “You’re on a roll.”“Let’s use a shotgun approach.”“Let’s organize this like a Chinese menu.”“Send me your response ASAP.” “I have to find a bathroom.”“It’ll take me the better part of the day to finish this report.”“We need to cover all the bases.” Foreign InterpretationTo schedule a definite future contact.Bring more people next time.“Y’all” interpreted to mean “more.”I look like a hot dog or hamburger'Shoot our competition'Very offensive to Chinese counterparts.Have no idea what you’re talking about.You’re going to take a bath now'Which is the better part'Morning, midday, or evening'Do we need a blanket' a. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis The relationship between language and culture is described in Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The hypothesis holds that the structure of a language affects the perceptions of reality of its speakers and thus influences their thought patterns and worldviews.Later, the hypothesis was divided into the linguistic determinist interpretation and the linguistic relativity interpretation.The view from linguistic determinist is that language structure controls thought and cultural norms. Each of people lives not in the midst of the whole world but only in that part of the world that their language permits them to know. Thus, the world as each of them knows it is to a large extent predetermined(预定,预先确定)by the language of their culture. And the differences between languages represent basic differences in the worldview of diverse cultures. Linguistic relativity is more scientific. It holds that culture is controlled by and controls language. Language provides the conceptual categories that influence how its speaker’s perceptions are encoded and stored. b. Translation problemsWhen cultures speak different languages, translation is critical — but always imperfect. Five translation problems become barriers to intercultural communication. Axtell (1991) identifies a number of U.S. translation problems: 1) General Motors automobile "Nova" in Spanish means "doesn't go"; 2) Pepsi-Cola's "Come Alive with Pepsi" when translated in Taiwanese is "Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave"; 3) Electrolux, a Swedish manufacturer, used "Nothing sucks like an Elecrolux," which failed because of the slang meaning of suck in the United States; 4) Bich pens were originally named Bich by their French manufacturer. The word or concept may not have an exact duplicate(复制品,副本)in the other language. All languages do not have the same verb tenses and many verbs have multiple meanings. In English, for example, the verb "get" can mean to buy, borrow, steal, rent, or retrieval(恢复). When a language is the person's second language, slang, euphemisms(委婉语), and cultural thinking patterns can cause problems.1. Vocabulary equivalenceFirst is the lack of vocabulary equivalence. Languages that are different often lack words that are directly translatable. One frequently quoted example of the lack of vocabulary equivalence is from World War II. The Allies had issued the Potsdam Ultimatum(最后通牒)demanding the surrender of the Japanese military to end the war. At a press conference, Prime Minister Suzuki was asked for his opinion. He responded, “the government does not see much value in it. All we have to do is mokusatsu it”. The Japanese cabinet had carefully chosen that word to convey their intended meaning. Later, Japanese cabinet officials said they intended to convey a bland(不痛不痒的)“no comment ”at that time, as these are negotiating a surrender and more time was required for discussions. Unfortunately, the word mokusatsu can mean anything from “ignore” to “treat with silent contempt”. Western translators used the latter meaning and the Potsdam Ultimatum was then considered to have been rejected. After-the-fact reasoning argues that translation led to the continuation of the war and the first use of atomic weapons.2. Idiomatic equivalenceThe second barrier to successful translation is the problem of idiomatic equivalence. The English language is particularly replete(充满的)with the idioms. Take the simple example of “the old man kicked the bucket”. Native speakers know that this idiom means the old man died. If the sentence is translated word for word, the meaning conveyed would be literally that the old man kicked bucket —— quite different from the intended meaning. It’s easy to think of many idioms in common use in spoken U.S. English that can be misunderstood. This is one reason why English is a difficult language to learn as a second language. However, learning the idioms of a language can be an effective way of learning the culture.3. Grammatical-syntactical equivalence Third is the problem of grammatical-syntactical equivalence. This simply means that languages do not necessarily have the same grammar. Often people need to understand a language’s grammar to understand the meaning of words. For example, words in English can be nouns or verbs or adjectives depending on their position in a sentence. In English, people can say “book a place ” and “place a book”. An example of grammatical-syntactical equivalence is the following story:A devout(虔敬的)Catholic, David drove south from Minnesota to celebrate the papal(罗马教皇的)visit to Mexico. Overcome with emotion upon seeing His Holiness, David ran through the streets of Mexico City shouting “Viva la papa! Viva la papa!” David’s newfound Mexican friend, while sharing in his excitement, thought it prudent to correct David’s Spanish. “The Spanish word for ‘pope’ is ‘el papa’,” the Mexican explained. “You’re shouting ‘Long Live the Potato’”.4. Experiential equivalence Fourth is the problem of experiential equivalence. If an object or experience does not exist in one’s culture, it is difficult to translate words referring to that object or experience into that language when no words may exist for them. Think of objects or experiences that exist in one’s culture and not in another. “Department store” and “shopping mall” may be as difficult to translate into some languages.5. Conceptual equivalence Fifth, the problem of conceptual equivalence refers to abstract ideas that may not exist in the same fashion in different languages. For example, people in the United States have a unique meaning for the word freedom. The meaning is not universally shared. Speakers of other languages may say they are free and correct in their culture, but the freedom they refer to is not equivalent to what others experience as freedom in the United States. One way to improve translation is to use back translation. Back translation involves first translating into the second language, then translating back into the first language, and then comparing the result to the original. 7.2 Overcoming Intercultural Communication BarriersPerhaps a substantial way to conclude these barriers in intercultural communication is to give some helpful suggestions on how to interact with people from different cultures. 7.2.1 Raise AwarenessFirst of all, one should be aware of the importance of the competence to overcome intercultural communication barriers.a. Self-awarenessThis first competence requires people to move from being culturally unaware to becoming aware of the way their own lives have been shaped by the culture into which they were born. This should also be accompanied by learning to respect and be sensitive toward others who are culturally different.b. Consciousness of one’s values and biases and their effectThis second competence requires a conscious awareness of one’s own values and biases and how they affect the way one interacts with culturally different people. This can at least help people monitor their ethnocentrism.c. Necessity of becoming comfortable with differencesIt is not possible nor is it healthy for individuals to adapt themselves to every value system in which they find themselves. Individuals should not be afraid to recognize and admit that there are differences. In addition, they should feel comfortable with the awareness that they may not be able to correctly behave in an appropriate manner according to other values.d. Sensitivity to circumstancesBeing sensitive to circumstances implies that human beings are not infallible(没有错误的)and that there may be certain cultural groups in which some people have a very hard time interacting with others, instead of denying this difficulty, sometimes it is wiser to refer the client (or business partner) to someone else who is better able to serve the client. 7.2.2 Obtain Knowledge Knowledge refers to the cognitive information needed to have about the people, the context, and the norms of appropriateness that operate in a specific culture. Without such knowledge, it is unlikely that one is able to interpret correctly the meanings of other people’s messages, nor will he be able to select behaviors that are appropriate and that would allow him to achieve his objectives. Consequently, he will not be able to determine what the appropriate and effective behaviors are in a particular context.“Knowledge” here is divided into culture-general and cultural-specific knowledge. The former refers to specific theories or themes that are commonly encountered in intercultural interactions regardless of the cultures involved. It provides insights into the intercultural communication process abstractly and can therefore be a very powerful tool in making sense of cultural practices. The latter refers to customs, etiquettes(礼节), and rules that are specific to the various cultures. Such information is used to understand a particular culture. In addition, knowledge of one’s own cultural system will definitely help one to understand another culture. 7.2.3 Enhance Motivation Motivations include the overall set of emotional associations that individuals have as they anticipate and actually use in intercultural communication. As with knowledge, different aspects of the emotional terrain contribute to the achievement of intercultural competence. Human emotional reactions include feelings and intentions. The former refers to the emotional or affective states that people experience when communicating with someone from a different culture. Feeling involves one’s general sensitivity to other cultures and one’s attitudes towards the specific culture and individuals with whom one must interact. The latter refers to the goals, plans, objectives and desires that focus and guide one’s choices in a particular intercultural interaction. If one’s intention is positive, accurate, and reciprocated by the people with whom one is interacting, one’s intercultural competence will likely be enhanced. 7.2.4 Master Skills The last competence involves mastering skills which refers to how well the behaviors are regarded as appropriate and effective are actually performed. Understanding the theories and concepts in intercultural communication does not automatically lead to culturally sensitive behaviors. Individuals who are aware of the need to take swimming lessons, understand the basic ideas behind swimming (knowledge), and who have overcome emotional barriers and who are strongly motivated are still unable to swim! The prior steps are necessary, but alone are insufficient to make competent swimmers. In the same way, people who are emotionally prepared and knowledgeable about intercultural issues are not necessarily competent communicators until they also have actually practiced the appropriate skills.“Skills” can also be divided into cultural-general and cultural-specific skills. Cultural-general skills, such as the ability to tolerate ambiguity, manage stress, establish realistic expectations, and demonstrate flexibility and empathy are helpful tools in all types of intercultural adjustments. Cultural-specific skills, however, cover a much larger area. These skills can be learned and developed mainly through people’s daily lives and business practices. The key element here is experience.In short, overcoming intercultural communication barriers requires sufficient awareness, knowledge, motivation, and skills. As has been mentioned earlier, each of these components alone is insufficient to achieve to overcome intercultural communication barriers, but taken together, a synergistic, holistic and effective experience can be gained. Summary: From the Intercultural PerspectiveThere are six barriers to communication — anxiety, assuming similarities instead of difference, ethnocentrism, stereotypes and prejudice, and language problems. Anxiety is the state of feeling nervous, which can affect communication when you focus so much on your own feelings that you do not pay attention to what other people are telling you. Anxiety may also affect your ability to communicate your ideas to others, for you pay too much attention on your uncomfortable feelings. Assuming similarities instead of differences is a natural thing to do if you do not have any information about a culture. Assuming that a culture is similar to your own can cause you to ignore important differences. Ethnocentrism is negatively judging another culture by your own culture’s standards. To make ethnocentric judgments is to believe that the ways of your own culture are better than those of others.Stereotyping is assuming that a person has certain qualities (good or bad) just because the person is a member of a specific group. An example of a stereotype is the belief that one group of people is stupid or that another produces good athletes.Prejudice is feeling hatred for or expressing suspicion toward people who belong to a certain group, race, religion, or sexual orientation. A specific kind of prejudice, racism, refers to having feelings of hatred for or expressing suspicion toward all members of a particular race and denying this group its rights.Hate speech refers to hostile words and/or actions that people say or do against a certain group because that group is different.Stereotypes, racism, Prejudice continues to exist because of socialization and the apparent social, economic, and psychological benefits that come from it. Unique aspects of cultures are reflected in the languages spoken by their population. Language can become a barrier to communication when these unique aspects interfere with translation. It can also become a barrier when a group of people are forced to speak a language they do not want to.Five elements that typically cause problems in translation are the lack of equivalences in vocabulary, idioms, grammar and syntax, experiences, and concepts. One way to avoid translation problems is to back translate, which is to first translate the concept into one language and then translate it back into the original language. Doing so makes it possible to check a translation for accuracy.