Intercultural Communication and Barriers of Communication

Question 1

Defined as communication that involves interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the “communication event”

Answer 1

Intercultural communication

Question 2

Studying intercultural communication is important because the world is increasingly becoming a _______.

Answer 2

“global village”

Question 3

Reflects how a particular group interprets meaning or makes sense of the world

Answer 3

Culture

Question 4

Also constitute a particular group’s language use and communication styles and practices

Answer 4

Cultural values

Question 5

Present among people who live in the same community and speak the same language

Answer 5

Cultural differences

Question 6

Cultural identities that influence how people think, behave, and interact with others:

Answer 6

Gender identity, age identity, class identity, religious identity, national identity

Question 7

How one culture assigns different social roles to men and women; “the meanings and interpretations we hold concerning our self-images and expected other-images of femaleness and maleness”

Answer 7

Gender identity

Question 8

Characterized to be more direct, competitive, aggressive, and controlling

Answer 8

Language of men

Question 9

Tends to be more sympathetic, tentative, and emotional

Answer 9

Language of women

Question 10

Involves behaving in a particular manner expected of one’s age; determines how one may present himself or herself in terms of appearance, clothing, and activities

Answer 10

Age identity

Question 11

Defined by one’s social or economic status; affects how one interacts towards people

Answer 11

Class identity

Question 12

Influences how one behaves (ethics, moral standards) and what one believes; may also be related to one’s racial or national identity, and influence one’s gender identity

Answer 12

Religious identity

Question 13

Refers to one’s national citizenship or legal status in a country or nation

Answer 13

National identity

Question 14

Barriers to intercultural communication:

Answer 14

Ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination

Question 15

The belief that one’s own culture is better than the others; illustrated when people evaluate others based on their own cultural beliefs and practices

Answer 15

Ethnocentrism

Question 16

Prefer your own culture over other people’s culture

Answer 16

Positive level of ethnocentrism

Question 17

Involves the belief that one’s own culture is superior and that the behavior of others must be evaluated through one’s cultural standards

Answer 17

Negative level of ethnocentrism

Question 18

Imposing your cultural beliefs on other people

Answer 18

Extremely negative level

Question 19

Mental categorization or general, often inaccurate, representation of a particular group of people depending on one’s observations and experiences in interacting with its members; determine how you interact or behave among a certain group of people

Answer 19

Stereotyping

Question 20

A positive or negative feeling held towards individuals belonging to a particular race, social class, religion, sexual identity, among others

Answer 20

Prejudice

Question 21

Refers to negative behaviors that are caused by prejudice or stereotyping

Answer 21

Discrimination

Question 22

Opposite of ethnocentrism

Answer 22

Xenocentrism

Question 23

Ability to interact effectively with members belonging to another culture

Answer 23

Competence in intercultural communication

Question 24

Five components of intercultural communication competence:

Answer 24

Motivation, cultural knowledge, communication skills, sensitivity, character

Question 25

Refers to the desire to communicate and understand the culture of others

Answer 25

Motivation

Question 26

One’s awareness and understanding of another culture’s rules, traditions, and behavior, as well as how to communicate appropriately

Answer 26

Cultural knowledge

Question 27

Ability to listen, observe, and comprehend nonverbal and verbal symbols

Answer 27

Communication skills

Question 28

Characterized by being open to cultures, demonstrating empathy, and having the ability to adapt to certain situations

Answer 28

Sensitivity

Question 29

Evaluated through trustworthiness, respect, and honor among others

Answer 29

Character

Question 30

Occurs when the message or the feedback is not sent or received properly

Answer 30

Breakdown in communication

Question 31

Results when a sender and a receiver do not speak the same language, or even if they do, they speak at inappropriate levels; happens when there is wrong word choice, faulty syntactic structure, or mispronunciation

Answer 31

Semantic/language barrier

Question 32

Happens when either one of them is easy to jump to conclusions about something without allowing the other to explain further; evidenced when either participants in the communication process does not give full attention to the source of information

Answer 32

Psychological/emotional barrier

Question 33

The participants are prevented from using their skills at their maximum due to physical constraints; distributed by the environment they are in

Answer 33

Physical/environmental barrier

Question 34

When our body becomes a hindrance to good communication; our bodily conditions that compromise our ability to send or receive a message; result from performance characteristics and limitations

Answer 34

Physiological barrier

Question 35

Technical sources of interference in the communication process; stem from a problem in machinery or instruments used to transmit the message; also includes machine used by those with hearing or speech impairments

Answer 35

Mechanical barrier