Culture & Communication

Question 1

Co-evolution of language and culture

Answer 1

Language is a universal psychological ability in humans.
Evolution of human cultures associated with evolution of ability for verbal language.
Language facilitates creation of shared intentionality.
Human cultures exist because of the ability to have language.
Each culture creates its own unique language.
Language reflects differences and reinforces cultures.

Question 2

Human culture

Answer 2

a unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations, that allows the group to meet the basic needs of survival, pursue happiness and well-being and derive meaning from life.

Question 3

7 structures of language

Answer 3

Lexicon
Syntax & Grammar
Phonology
Semantics
Pragmatics
Morphemes
Phonemes

Question 4

Lexicon

Answer 4

Words contained in a language

Question 5

Syntax & grammar

Answer 5

System of rules governing word forms and how words should be strung together to form meaningful utterances

Question 6

phronology

Answer 6

system of rules governing how should sound

Question 7

Semantics

Answer 7

what words mean

Question 8

Pragmatics

Answer 8

system of rules governing how language is used and understood in social contexts

Question 9

morphemes

Answer 9

most basic units of meaning
E.g.
1 morpheme – friend
2 morphemes – friends (friends + s)
2 morphemes – friendly (friend + ly)
3 morphemes: friendliness (friend + ly + ness)

Question 10

Phonemes

Answer 10

basic units of sound

Question 11

Culture and lexicons

Answer 11

Culture influences self-other referents (what we call ourselves and others).
American English: simple use of self-other referents.
Japanese: more complex self-other referents.

Question 12

Culture and pragmatics

Answer 12

Culture influences pragmatics (rules for how language is used and understood in different social contexts).

High-context vs. Low-context cultures.

Honorific speech: denotes status difference

Question 13

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Answer 13

(linguistics relativity)
speakers of different languages think

Question 14

Challenges to Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

Answer 14

Berlin and Kay (1969): 11 basic colour terms form a universal hierarchy.
Pinker (1995): thought can be formed without words and language.
Fishman (1960): Sapir-Whorf hypothesis ordered by levels of complexity.

Question 15

Non-verbal behaviour

Answer 15

Facial expressions, nonverbal vocal cues, gestures, body postures, interpersonal distance, touching behaviours, gaze and visual attention.

Question 16

Bulk of messages conveyed nonverbally

Answer 16

Nonverbal channels more important in understanding meaning and emotion states.

Most people consciously attend to verbal language.

Question 17

Gestures

Answer 17

hand movements used to illustrate speech and convey verbal meaning.

Question 18

Speech illustrators

Answer 18

movements directly tied to speech; illustrate/highlight what is being said.

Cultures differ in both amount and type of various illustrative gestures.

Question 19

Embelms

Answer 19

culture-specific gestures convey meaning without words.

Question 20

Gaze

Answer 20

powerful nonverbal behaviour w/evolutionary roots in animal behaviour
Gaze associated w/dominance, power, aggression, affilitation and nurturance.
Cultures create rules concerning gazing and visual attention.
“Contact cultures” vs. “noncontact cultures”
Gaze often used as nonverbal sign of respect.
- e.g. direct eye contact:
- Sign of rudeness/disrespect to many Indigenous Australians.
- Sign of respect for Non-Indigenous Australians.

Question 21

paralinguistic cues

Answer 21

Tone of voice, intonation, pitch speech rate, use of silence, and volume.

Question 22

Cultures differ in facilitating voice and …

Answer 22

verbal style to illustrate and amplify speech.
- Expressive cultures vs. Less expressive cultures.

Question 23

Proxemics

Answer 23

use of space in interpersonal interactions
- Cultures differ in interpersonal spaces they allot to intimate, personal, social, and public situations.
- Interpersonal distance helps to regulate intimacy by controlling sensory exposures.

Question 24

Haptics

Answer 24

non-verbal behaviour involving touch.
- “Contact” culture vs “noncontact” culture.
Violations of space and touch produce aversive consequences.

Question 25

Messages

Answer 25

information and meaning exchanged when people communicate.

Question 26

Encoding

Answer 26

process by which people select, imbed messages, and send signals to others.

Question 27

Signals

Answer 27

observable behaviours carrying messages encoded during communication.

Question 28

Channels

Answer 28

specific sensory modalities by which signals are sent and messages retrieved.

Question 29

Decoding

Answer 29

process of receiving signals and translating signals into meaningful messages.

Question 30

Cultural decoding rules invovle:

Answer 30

Ethnocentrism, filters, emotions, value judgements, stereotypes/expectations, and social cognitions.

Question 31

Cultures share encoding and decoding rules; thus

Answer 31

People of same culture develop set of expectations about communication.
Decoding rules, with emotions/value judgements, form basis of “filters” used in viewing world.

Question 32

Intracultural communication

Answer 32

communication among people of same cultural background

Question 33

Intercultural communication

Answer 33

communication between people of different cultural backgrounds

Question 34

Improving intercultural communication

Answer 34

Mindfulness:
- Allows for ethnorelativism.

Uncertainty reduction:
- Allows for focus on content of signals and messages.

Face:
- Important to be mindful of appearances and potential shame associated with threat to those appearances.

Emotion regulation:
- Controlling negative emotions will allow for more constructive intercultural process.

Question 35

Code frame switching

Answer 35

avigating back and forth from one cultural meaning system to the other when accessing one language or another.
Bilinguals have 2 mental representations of culture encoded in their minds.

Bilinguals show different personalities depending on if responses are in first language.

Question 36

Perceptions of Bilinguals

Answer 36

Perception that bilinguals lack intelligence:
- Takes time to respond in second language and thus appearance of having cognitive difficulties.

Foreign language processing difficulties:
- Arise due to lack of fluency in speaking language, and because of uncertainty/ambiguity about intended meaning of messages.

Foreign language effect:
- Temporary decline in thinking ability of people who use second language.

Question 37

Monolingualism

Answer 37

the state of understanding or having the knowledge to speak or write in only one language.
Americans are notoriously ignorant of lanuages others than English/

Ignorance of other cultures often accompanied by ethnocentric view rejecting need to learn, understand and appreciate other languages, customs, and cultures.

Americans are most monolingual of all peoples of the world

Thus, language is intimately tied to culture.

Question 38

Ethnocentric

Answer 38

measuring or judging one’s own culture against another culture and can lead to judging someone else’s culture negatively. Ethnocentrism is also the belief that one’s own cultural rules are the best and often better than another culture’s rules.