Language and communication Flashcards
Language, culture and evolution
Evolution of human cultures coinced with evolution of ability for verbal language
language ability is universal
- facilitated shared intentionality
- aids communication of intetions and beliefs
existence of human cuktures is based on this ability, language differences help reinforce culture
Lexicon
words contained in a language
Syntac and grammar
System of rules governing word forms an how words should be strung together to form meaningfl utterances
Phonology
System of rules governing how words should sound in a language
Semantics
Meaning of words
Pragmatics
System of rules governing how language needs to be used and understood in social contexts
Language <-> culture
- infants produce the same range of phonemes across cultures
- infants’ sound production is shaped and reinforced through intractions with others
- culture provides the rules (of phonology, syntax and grammar, semantics, and pragmatics)
Culture influences self-other referents in language
- self-other referents: what people call themselves and others
–> self-other referents in Japanese is elaborate
Culture influences pragmatics of language
- high-context (rely on context) and low-context cultures
- honorific speech: denotes status differences among interactants
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
Speaker of different languages think differently because of the differences in their languages –> linguistic relativity
Challanges to Sapir-Whorf
- Berlin and Kay (1969) - Suggested that 11 basic color terms form a universal hierarchy
- Pinker (1995) - Thoughts can be formed without words and language
- Breugelmans & Poortinga (2006): Rara ́muri Indians in Mexico use 1 word for guilt and
shame but nevertheless differentiate between shame and guilt characteristics
Nonverbal communication
- facial expressions and vocal characteristics
- gestures and body postures
- interpersonal distance
- touching behaviors
- gaze and visual attention
Speech illustrators
Nonverbal behaviors that accompany speech
Emblems
Culture-specific gestures that convey meaning without words
- ear rubbing as an apology in Nepal
Effect of being multilingual
If you can manage two languages and you can fluidly switch between one and the other, then this will train your cognitive skills
- superior social skills and perspective taking tasks. Delay of Alzheimer when you are a bilingual speaker
- better stroke recovery if you are bilingual
-> switching languages = switching perspectives
Starting point of bilingualism
- language is an important cue for cultural meaning systems
- language influences thought
Cognitive advantage of bilingualism
- superior social skills and persepctive taking tasks
- delay of Alzheimer
- better stroke recovery
Who benefits from intercultural competence in language
- sojourners (exchange/international students)
- employees of internationally operating businesses
- employees throughout mainstream contexts that are often in contact with people from diverse cultural context
Nimwegen, Soeters and van Luijk
- A banking dilemma
- Consequences of group piloting
–> Dutch scores best out of the 17 nations - gift giving can be quite a dilemma
- in Hong Kong, people give money as ‘lucky money’. You hand this out to everybody
- The Dutch and UK was insulted
- in Brazil, people have issues with small gifts
Message
Information and meanings exchanged when people communicate
Encoding
Process by which people select, imbed messages, and send signals to others
Signals
Observable behaviors carrying messages encoded during communication
Channels
Specific sensory modalities by which signals are sent and messages retrieved
Decoding
Process of receiving and translating signals into meaningful messages
Encoding and decoding
- rules learnt as children
- includes ethnocentrism, cultural filters, emotions, stereotypes, etc.
- cultures share encoding and decoding rules
Obstacles with encoding and decoding
- assumption of similarities
- language differences
- nonverbal misinterpretation
- stereotypes
- different evaluations
- stress/anxiety
- uncertainty/ambiguity
Intercultural competence
- apprecaite diversity and to work effectively in multicultural settings
- the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately in intercultural situations base
- embodied the skills and knowledge necessary to live, survive, and thrive in a particular culture
- intercultural competence does not automatically develop in multicultural settings
Approaches to intercultural competence
A. Awareness - of own assumptions, belifs, values, and biases
B. Knowledge - understanding of the worldview of others
C. Skill - appropriate intervention strategies and techniques
Intelligence
The ability to grasp and reason correctly with abstractions (concepts) and solve problems
–> apply to other areas, based on Sternberg’s theory of intelligence
Motivational cultural intelligence
Intrinsic, extrisic, self-efficacy
Cognitive cultural intelligence
Cultural systems, cultural norms and values
Metacognitive cultural intelligence
Awareness, planning, checking
–> what to do when
Behavioral cultural intelligence
Verbal, nonverbal and speech acts
Development and testing
Intercultural effectiveness
1. cultural judgement and decision making (CJDM)
2. cultural adaption
3. task performance in culturally diverse settings
Cultural judgement and decision making (CJDM)
Culturally appropriate vs. inappropriate
- predicted by cognitive and metacognitive
Cultural adaption
How do people do after being in a context for a certain time?
- predicted by motivational and behavioral
Task performance in culturally diverse settings
Actual task performance in culturally diverse settings
- all four dimensions are important
Development study 1
Student US and singapore
Assess: CJDM / adaption / CQ / cognitive ability / EQ / Big5 / CCAI
Results: CQ explained additional variance / CJDM predicted by cognitive + metacognitive (above controls) / Adaption (well-being) predicted by motivational + behavioral (above controls)
Development study 2
Executive development rpogram / non-student / multidimensional
Assess: CJDM / task performance / CQ / conitive ability / controls
Results: CQ explained additional variance over controls / CJDM predicted by cognitive + metacognitive (above controls) / Task performance predicted by metacognitive + behavioral (not others)
Development study 3
Field setting / foreign professionals and supervisors
Assess: supervisor rated task performance and adaptation (multiple indicators) / self-reported adaptation / CQ / controls
Results: Total CQ increased explained variance in supervisor rated task performance (above other vars) / percentAdaptation (self-rated + supervisor) predicted by motivational + behavioral / Task performance predicted by metacognitive + behavioral (not cognitive/behavioral)
Intercultural effectiveness
- cultural judgement and decision making (CJDM)
- cognitive
- metacognitive but not behavioral or motivational - cultural adaption
- motivational
- behavioral but not cognitive or metacognitive - task performance in culturally diverse settings
- all four dimensions
Relevance of validity for ICC assessment tool
- criterion validity / latent structure
- breadth of samples
- mixed methodology (behavioral > self-report)
- time of assessment (predictive > concurrent)
- incremental validity
Tests for ICC assessment tool
- intercultural adjustment potential scale (ICAPS); Mastumoto and colleagues
- MPQ by van der Zee and van Oudenhoven
- CQ
Operationalizing differences in intervention tools
- Personal experiences (simulation games, cultural assimilators)
- discussions with culturally different others
- our course
- language course
Simulation games
Game: simulated foreign culture
- the alfa culture is a warm, friendly, patriarchal society with a strong in-group, out-group identity
- the beta culture is a foreign speaking, task oriented culture
Assessment tools and interventions ahead of ICC
- change in behavior, satisfaction, evidence
- problematic self-reports - inflated, biased, invalid
- resistance - know-it all, know othing, political/moral
- introspection and contact - cognitive capacity and unprejudiced interaction
