Scollon & Scollon: What is culture? Intercultural communication and
stereotyping
Culture and discourse systems
Ideology: history & worldview
Beliefs, values and religion:
These aspects of culture have played a very significant role in the communications between Asians
and westerners. In many cases, a person’s religious beliefs will be quite consonant with those of his
or her culture in general.
Face systems (social organisation)
Kinship:
There are two aspects of kinship which are of direct importance to intercultural discourse: hierarchy
and collectivistic relationship. Kinship relationships emphasize that people are more connected to
each other by having descended from common ancestors. The second consequence is that one comes
to expect all relationships to be hierarchical to some extent. The second aspect of kinship which is
significant for discourse is that individual members of a culture are not perceived as independently
acting individuals but rather they are seen as acting within hierarchies of kinship and other such
relationships.
The concept of the self:
The concept of the person or the self as a unit within that group's organization. Francis L. K. Hsu
believes that the excessive individualism of the western sense of the self has led to a general inability
or unwillingness among the psychological sciences to consider the social aspects of the development
of human behavior. What is important in studying cultural differences is not whether a society is
individualistic or collectivistic in itself, but what that society upholds as its ideal, even when all
recognize that we must all have some independence as well as some place in society.
From an individualistic point of view, face relationships are very much a matter of individual
face. From a collectivistic point of view, however, one's face is really the face of one's group whether
that group is thought of as one's family, one's cultural group, or one's corporation.
In-group/out-group relations:
The problem of establishing relationships between different members of the groups and members of
other groups. One consequence of the cultural difference between individualism and collectivism has
to do with the difference between speaking to members of one's own groups and speaking to others. In
an individualistic society, groups do not form with the same degree of permanence as they do in a
collectivist society. As a result, the ways of speaking to others are much more similar from situation to
situation, since in each case the relationships are being negotiated and developed right within the
situation of the discourse. On the other hand, in a collectivist society, many relationships are
established from one's birth into a particular family in a particular segment of society in a particular
place.
,Individualism vs. collectivism (gemeinschaft & gesellschaft):
There are two major types of discourse system: those into which one becomes a member through the
natural processes of birth and growth within a family and a community, and those into which one
chooses to enter for utilitarian purposes such as one's professional specialization or the company for
which one works.
Forms of discourse
Functions of language
1. Information and relationship:
What is of concern for us is not to establish whether or not the purpose of language is to convey
information or relationship; the use of language always accomplishes both functions to some extent.
The difference between focus on information and a focus on relationship often leads to a
misunderstanding of the purposes of specific communicative events.
2. Negotiation and ratification:
In Asian cultures and societies, human relationships are thought of as being largely vertical
relationships between preceding and following generations. The significant point is that most of the
relationships are understood to be given by the society, not newly negotiated by the participants in the
situation. In contrast to this, in contemporary western society the word "relationship" has come to
mean almost exclusively horizontal or lateral.
Within a traditional concept of vertical and generational relationships, language is thought of
as being used for the purposes of ratifying or affirming relationships which have already been given.
On the other hand, in the contemporary western concept of relationships, language is seen as a major
aspect of the ongoing negotiation of the relationship. The difference in these two views of language is
that in one view the stable condition is seen as the favorable condition and in the other it is the
changing condition that is thought of as being favorable.
3. Group harmony and individual welfare:
Asians will tend to state their positions somewhat less extremely if they feel that not to do so would
disrupt the harmony of the negotiations. Westerners will tend to assume that each party has only in
mind achieving their own best advantage in negotiations, and that they will do so, even if it should
cause a feeling of disharmony.
Non-verbal communication
Many aspects of discourse depend upon forms of communication which cannot be easily transcribed
into words and yet are crucial to our understanding of discourse.
1. Kinesics: the movement of our bodies
From one cultural group to another there is a great deal of variability about when one smiles or laughs
and what it should be taken to mean. Generally Asians tend to smile or laugh more easily than
westerners when they feel difficulty or embarrassment in the discourse. It is the discourse and its
purposes that are different between cultures. If two participants have different goals, they are likely to
interpret the smile within the purview of their own particular goals and, therfore, miss the fact that the
other participant sees that something has gone wrong.
, 2. Proxemics: the use of space
Cultural differences in the use of space are a constant source of misunderstanding and confusion in
preparing the settings for discourse. The concept of personal space is a "bubble" of space in which the
person moves and in which they feel comfortable. Intrusions into that space are acceptable only under
circumstances of intimate contact. Outside of that space is a second "bubble" of space in which
normal interpersonal contacts take place. Then outside of that is a third "bubble" of public space.
These spheres of space are one aspect of culture which comes into play in intercultural
communication. Where norms are different, you will find the person with the smaller sphere
constantly moving closer to the other, and that other person constantly moving back a bit to increase
the space.
3. Concept of time
The most important aspect of this sense of time is that in discourse it will almost always produce a
negative evaluation of the slower participants by the faster participants in a communicative situation.
Behind the concept of time urgency is the idea that what lies ahead in the future is always better than
what lies behind in the past; it is based solidly on the belief in progress.
From the point of view of intercultural communication, the main point we want to consider is that if
two people differ in their concept of time between the Utopian and the Golden Age, they will find it
very difficult to come to agreement in many areas of their discourse. The main point of disagreement,
however, will have to do with the concept of time urgency. Those who hold a Utopian concept of time
will push for the quicker realization of their goals. Those who hold a Golden Age concept of time will
not be in a hurry to rush forward, because to them most movements forward are actually just getting
away from the better conditions of the past.
Socialisation
We will use the term "socialization" to refer to the process of learning culture.
Education, enculturation, acculturation
The distinction between education and socialization is based upon whether or not the procedures for
teaching and learning are formally worked out by the group or society and systematically applied to
new members. Education tends to be periodic or formally structured into units of instruction, whereas
socialization tends to be continuous. Education and socialization are often, perhaps nearly always,
mixed. "Acculturation" is used for situations in which two different cultural or social groups come
into contact. When one group is more powerful than the other and therefore produces a strong
influence on that second group to forget or put aside its own culture and to adopt that to the more
powerful group, that process of enforced culture learning is called acculturation. Generally speaking,
acculturation is seen as something negative since the process of cultural loss is considered by analysts
to be an unfortunate one.
Primary & secondary socialization
"Primary socialization" refers to what anthropologists would be more likely to call "enculturation";
primary socialization consists of the processes through which a child goes in the earliest stages of
becoming a member of his or her culture society. Secondary socialization refers to those processes of
socialization that take place when the child first goes to school and begins to interact with other,
non-familial children. The great majority of the basic syntactic and phonological structures of one's
language are learned as a part of one's primary socialization. Patterns of behavior are also given a
firm cast during the period of primary socialization. While a person may undergo changes later in life,
those changes are set up against this early learning as modifications and revisions more than simply
stereotyping
Culture and discourse systems
Ideology: history & worldview
Beliefs, values and religion:
These aspects of culture have played a very significant role in the communications between Asians
and westerners. In many cases, a person’s religious beliefs will be quite consonant with those of his
or her culture in general.
Face systems (social organisation)
Kinship:
There are two aspects of kinship which are of direct importance to intercultural discourse: hierarchy
and collectivistic relationship. Kinship relationships emphasize that people are more connected to
each other by having descended from common ancestors. The second consequence is that one comes
to expect all relationships to be hierarchical to some extent. The second aspect of kinship which is
significant for discourse is that individual members of a culture are not perceived as independently
acting individuals but rather they are seen as acting within hierarchies of kinship and other such
relationships.
The concept of the self:
The concept of the person or the self as a unit within that group's organization. Francis L. K. Hsu
believes that the excessive individualism of the western sense of the self has led to a general inability
or unwillingness among the psychological sciences to consider the social aspects of the development
of human behavior. What is important in studying cultural differences is not whether a society is
individualistic or collectivistic in itself, but what that society upholds as its ideal, even when all
recognize that we must all have some independence as well as some place in society.
From an individualistic point of view, face relationships are very much a matter of individual
face. From a collectivistic point of view, however, one's face is really the face of one's group whether
that group is thought of as one's family, one's cultural group, or one's corporation.
In-group/out-group relations:
The problem of establishing relationships between different members of the groups and members of
other groups. One consequence of the cultural difference between individualism and collectivism has
to do with the difference between speaking to members of one's own groups and speaking to others. In
an individualistic society, groups do not form with the same degree of permanence as they do in a
collectivist society. As a result, the ways of speaking to others are much more similar from situation to
situation, since in each case the relationships are being negotiated and developed right within the
situation of the discourse. On the other hand, in a collectivist society, many relationships are
established from one's birth into a particular family in a particular segment of society in a particular
place.
,Individualism vs. collectivism (gemeinschaft & gesellschaft):
There are two major types of discourse system: those into which one becomes a member through the
natural processes of birth and growth within a family and a community, and those into which one
chooses to enter for utilitarian purposes such as one's professional specialization or the company for
which one works.
Forms of discourse
Functions of language
1. Information and relationship:
What is of concern for us is not to establish whether or not the purpose of language is to convey
information or relationship; the use of language always accomplishes both functions to some extent.
The difference between focus on information and a focus on relationship often leads to a
misunderstanding of the purposes of specific communicative events.
2. Negotiation and ratification:
In Asian cultures and societies, human relationships are thought of as being largely vertical
relationships between preceding and following generations. The significant point is that most of the
relationships are understood to be given by the society, not newly negotiated by the participants in the
situation. In contrast to this, in contemporary western society the word "relationship" has come to
mean almost exclusively horizontal or lateral.
Within a traditional concept of vertical and generational relationships, language is thought of
as being used for the purposes of ratifying or affirming relationships which have already been given.
On the other hand, in the contemporary western concept of relationships, language is seen as a major
aspect of the ongoing negotiation of the relationship. The difference in these two views of language is
that in one view the stable condition is seen as the favorable condition and in the other it is the
changing condition that is thought of as being favorable.
3. Group harmony and individual welfare:
Asians will tend to state their positions somewhat less extremely if they feel that not to do so would
disrupt the harmony of the negotiations. Westerners will tend to assume that each party has only in
mind achieving their own best advantage in negotiations, and that they will do so, even if it should
cause a feeling of disharmony.
Non-verbal communication
Many aspects of discourse depend upon forms of communication which cannot be easily transcribed
into words and yet are crucial to our understanding of discourse.
1. Kinesics: the movement of our bodies
From one cultural group to another there is a great deal of variability about when one smiles or laughs
and what it should be taken to mean. Generally Asians tend to smile or laugh more easily than
westerners when they feel difficulty or embarrassment in the discourse. It is the discourse and its
purposes that are different between cultures. If two participants have different goals, they are likely to
interpret the smile within the purview of their own particular goals and, therfore, miss the fact that the
other participant sees that something has gone wrong.
, 2. Proxemics: the use of space
Cultural differences in the use of space are a constant source of misunderstanding and confusion in
preparing the settings for discourse. The concept of personal space is a "bubble" of space in which the
person moves and in which they feel comfortable. Intrusions into that space are acceptable only under
circumstances of intimate contact. Outside of that space is a second "bubble" of space in which
normal interpersonal contacts take place. Then outside of that is a third "bubble" of public space.
These spheres of space are one aspect of culture which comes into play in intercultural
communication. Where norms are different, you will find the person with the smaller sphere
constantly moving closer to the other, and that other person constantly moving back a bit to increase
the space.
3. Concept of time
The most important aspect of this sense of time is that in discourse it will almost always produce a
negative evaluation of the slower participants by the faster participants in a communicative situation.
Behind the concept of time urgency is the idea that what lies ahead in the future is always better than
what lies behind in the past; it is based solidly on the belief in progress.
From the point of view of intercultural communication, the main point we want to consider is that if
two people differ in their concept of time between the Utopian and the Golden Age, they will find it
very difficult to come to agreement in many areas of their discourse. The main point of disagreement,
however, will have to do with the concept of time urgency. Those who hold a Utopian concept of time
will push for the quicker realization of their goals. Those who hold a Golden Age concept of time will
not be in a hurry to rush forward, because to them most movements forward are actually just getting
away from the better conditions of the past.
Socialisation
We will use the term "socialization" to refer to the process of learning culture.
Education, enculturation, acculturation
The distinction between education and socialization is based upon whether or not the procedures for
teaching and learning are formally worked out by the group or society and systematically applied to
new members. Education tends to be periodic or formally structured into units of instruction, whereas
socialization tends to be continuous. Education and socialization are often, perhaps nearly always,
mixed. "Acculturation" is used for situations in which two different cultural or social groups come
into contact. When one group is more powerful than the other and therefore produces a strong
influence on that second group to forget or put aside its own culture and to adopt that to the more
powerful group, that process of enforced culture learning is called acculturation. Generally speaking,
acculturation is seen as something negative since the process of cultural loss is considered by analysts
to be an unfortunate one.
Primary & secondary socialization
"Primary socialization" refers to what anthropologists would be more likely to call "enculturation";
primary socialization consists of the processes through which a child goes in the earliest stages of
becoming a member of his or her culture society. Secondary socialization refers to those processes of
socialization that take place when the child first goes to school and begins to interact with other,
non-familial children. The great majority of the basic syntactic and phonological structures of one's
language are learned as a part of one's primary socialization. Patterns of behavior are also given a
firm cast during the period of primary socialization. While a person may undergo changes later in life,
those changes are set up against this early learning as modifications and revisions more than simply
