Warming – up

1. What is culture?

2. How can you explain the meaning of the words collectivism and individualism?

3. Do you know anything about high power distance countries and low power distance countries? Can you guess what it means?

Text 1. Culture in Interpersonal Communication

Vocabulary notes

value

challenge

modest

polite

respectful

Influence

goal

responsible

conscience

competition

cooperation

Implicit

explicit

breach

- ценность

- вызов

- скромный

- вежливый

- почтительный

- влияние

- цель

- ответственный

- совесть

- состязание

- сотрудничество

- подразумеваемый

- ясный

- нарушение

Culture refers to the relatively specialized lifestyle of a group of people – consisting of their values, beliefs, artifacts, ways of behaving, and ways of communicating.

Culture is passed on from one generation to the next through communication, not through genes. Thus, culture does not refer to color of skin or shape of eyes since these are passed on through genes, not communication. Culture does refer to beliefs in a supreme being, to attitudes toward success and happiness, and to values placed on friendship, love, family, or money since these are transmitted through communication.

There are at least 3 ways in which cultures differ that are especially important for communication: collectivism and individualism, power distances and high(low) context.

Individual and collective Orientation.

In an individualistic-oriented culture members are responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family. In a collectivist culture members are responsible for the entire group.

Success, in an individualistic culture is measured by the extent to which you surpass other members of your group; you would take pride in standing out from the crowd. And your heroes – in the media, for example, - are likely to be those who are unique and stand apart. In a collectivist culture success is measured by your contribution to the achievement of the group as a whole; you would take pride in your similarity to other members of your group. Your heroes, in contrast, are more likely to be team players who do not stand out from the rest of the group members.

Differences in individual and collective cultures

Individual cultures Your own goals are most important	Collective cultures The group’s goals are most important
You are responsible for yourself and to your own conscience	You are responsible for the entire group and to the group’s values and rules
Success depends on your surpassing others	Success depends on your contribution to the group
Competition is emphasized	Cooperation is emphasized
Clear distinction is made between leaders and members	Little distinction is made between leaders and members. Leadership would normally be shared.
Information is made explicit; little is left unsaid	Information is often left implicit and much is often omitted from explicit statement
Personal relationships are less important; hence, little time is spent getting to know each other in meetings and conferences	Personal relationships are extremely important; hence, much time is spent getting to know each other in meetings and conferences

Power distances

In some cultures power is concentrated in the hands of a few and there is a great difference in the power held by these people and by the ordinary citizen. These are called high power distance cultures (Mexico, Brazil, India). In low power distance cultures power is more evenly distributed throughout the citizenry (Denmark, Sweden). These differences impact on interpersonal communication and relations in a variety of ways. For example, friendship and dating relationships will be influenced by the power distance between groups. In India (high power distance) friendships and romantic relationships are expected to take place within your cultural class; in Sweden (low power distance)a person is expected to select friends and romantic partners on the basis – not of class or culture – but of individual factors such as personality, appearance, and the like.

In high power distance cultures you are taught to have great respect for authority. In low power distance cultures there is a certain distrust for authority; it is seen as a kind of necessary evil that should be limited as much as possible. This difference in attitudes toward authority can be seen right in the classroom. In high power distance cultures there is a great power, distance between students and teachers; students are expected to be modest, polite, and totally respectful. In low power distance cultures students are expected to demonstrate their knowledge and command of the subject matter, participate in discussions with the teacher, and even challenge the teacher.

High power distance cultures rely more on symbols of power. For example, titles (Dr, Professor, Chef, Inspector) are more important in high power distance cultures. Failure to include these in forms of address is a serious breach of etiquette. Low power distance cultures rely less on symbols of power and less of a problem is created if you fail to use a respectful title. But, even in low power distance cultures you may create problems if, for ex, you call a medical doctor, police captain, military officer, or professor Ms or Mr.

Also, in the US, two people quickly move from Title plus Last Name to First Name. Similarly, in low power distance cultures less of a problem is created if you are too informal or if you presume to exchange first names before sufficient interaction has taken place. In high power distance cultures too great an informality – especially between those differing in power – would be a serious breach of etiquette. Again, in even the lowest power distance culture, you may still create problems if you call your English professor Pat.

EXERCISE 1.

Find the definitions of the following words in the English-English dictionary. Put them down.

Collectivism, individualism, competition, cooperation, implicitly, explicitly.

EXERCISE 2.

Choose 5 words or word –combinations from the glossary list and make up your own sentences with them.

EXERCISE 3.

Make up nouns out of the verbs from the text.

To refer, to believe, to compete, to cooperate, to influence, to respect, to distribute, to succeed, to depend, to impact.

EXERCISE 4.

Find sentences in Passive Voice in text 5, put them down and translate into English.

EXERCISE 5.

Find the definitions of the following in the text:

What is culture?

Differences in individual and collective countries.

High power distance countries

Low power distant countries

EXERCISE 6.

Give examples of individual and collective countries, high power distant countries and low power countries.

Using the information from the text speak about our country. What kind of culture do we have? Has our country high power or low power distance culture?

EXERCISE 7.

Write a short essay and characterize our country using the information from the text.