Intercultural Blunders 4u6b2d

Intercultural blunders Multiculturalism is a relation to, reflection, or adaptation to diverse cultures. It has had immense impact to the American society in many ways. Whether it is a positive or negative effect is often debatable. These debates usually take place in school classrooms or on campus and without them a student’s life would not be as exciting. There’s nothing like a good-old onward debate. A synchronized discussion of a proposition between two matched sides is always thrilling and stimulating to the minds of the academic intellectuals. Not only is multiculturalism the outcome of the continuous development to the changes in American society but also, with no multiculturalism there would not be a cause for a change in American society. In most history books the truth about history is always veiled and made pretty for the readers. It is completely transformed for the satisfaction of people. Today, the world we live in is “a global village” where no nation, group or culture can remain anonymous. What happens in one part of the world, affects all parts of the world. As the world is becoming smaller, we are increasingly interacting with people from many different cultures. While modern technology has made it easier for us to communicate, with people anywhere in the world, such interactions can be difficult if we do not know how to deal with people and cultures, different from our own. Here are examples of some of the obvious mistakes politicians and businesses have made when it comes to dealing with other languages’ cultures. a) In Taiwan, the translation of the Pepsi slogan “Come alive with the Pepsi generation” was translated as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.” b) In a Bucharest hotel lobby: “The lift is being fixed for the next day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.” c) On a menu of a Swiss restaurant: “Our wines leave you nothing to hope for.” d) In a Greek tailor’s: “Order your summer suit. Because is big rush, we will execute customers in strict rotation.” e) In a Copenhagen airline office: “We take your bags and send them in all directions. These language and cultural mistakes, can clearly be avoided if we increase our knowledge and understanding of other people and their cultures. The study of intercultural communication addresses this need by examining the communication and interaction between people of different cultures and subcultures. Fundamental to intercultural communication is the belief that it is through culture that people learn to communicate. A Chinese, an Egyptian and an Australian, for example, learn to communicate like other Chinese, Egyptians and Australians. Their behaviour conveys meaning because it is learned and shared. In other words, it is cultural. Thus, the ways in which people communicate, their language patterns, style and non-verbal behaviours are all culturally determined. As cultures differ from one another, the communication practices and behaviours of people will inevitably vary as a result of their different perceptions of the world. Intercultural communication, more precisely then, is defined as the study of communication between people whose cultural perceptions are different enough to alter their communication. The meaning of a message changes when it is encoded by a person in one culture and decoded by a person in another culture in the context of his or her own cultural background. When communicating with someone from a different culture, we can expect cultural differences to have an influence. Cultural differences stem from our differing perceptions which in turn determines how we communicate with people of other cultures. By understanding how people perceive the world, their values and beliefs, we can better understand what they say and can anticipate potential cross-cultural misunderstandings.