Intercultural Communication

Communication involves more than exchanging words between people. Gestures, postures, facial expressions and even eye contacts are important during communication. Both verbal and nonverbal cues are important during communication and can help a person understand the speaker or listener’s emotions, attitudes or status. Understanding the existence of various cultures is necessary since different cultures have varying ways of communication (Lustig & Koester, 2012). Therefore, a communication style that is perceived as bad by a culture may be good in another culture. Besides, characteristics that may be essential for a particular culture may be quite irrelevant for another. In line with this dissimilarity, individuals need to adapt carefully and understand communication preferences and desires among cultures.

The United States is the third most populated country in the world. This country holds about 4.5% of the world’s population. The U.S. population is currently estimated to have 308.7 million persons. This number is more than double of the population from 1950. Besides the fact of the population has doubled its size, the population has also become qualitatively different from the one from 1950. As noted by the Population Reference Bureau, “The U.S. is getting bigger, older, and more diverse.” The growth of the population is the result of the trends over time in the relationship of increased births, decreased deaths, and increased net immigration.

Have you ever question yourself how two close countries can share a lot of differences? Well Mexico and the United States it’s an example of one. Yet so close to each other, they both have their differences when it comes to their culture and the way they live. Some of the differences between the Mexican culture and the American culture are the different type of food they eat, the many different types of holidays they celebrate, and the traditions they have.

This text is a good reference point. This text is used to understanding communication within culture. This source also gave a better understanding

You know that feeling of home whether it’s with family members or even your loved ones? I don’t think that home is something that is automatically there, I believe that it is something that’s created. I learned that lesson through the eyes of one of my older friends who came from India with his brother when he was 16 in order to make a living. My friend Vikas, told me everything he had to do and the struggles he conquered in order to make his own successful business here in the U.S. Some things he told be reminded me of interpersonal communication, intercultural communication, and intracultural communication. He had to have a lot of communication with his friend who also happened to be from India and some new friends and colleagues he met through his journey. Of course there was homesickness and the occasional depression, but that didn’t stop him from creating his now successful business.

Today, we live in a culturally diverse society due to globalization. As our world grows, expands and become increasingly more interconnected, the need for effective interpersonal communication among differing cultures has become apparent. When people from different cultures interact with one another there is intercultural communication because different cultures create different interpretation and expectations about what is seen as competent behaviors that will enable the construction of shared meanings.

key to understanding a culture is to examine how the individuals communicate with one another. The culture characteristic of a county is influenced by the country 's population 's values, heritage, and perception of life all of which influence how people choose to communicate. There are many differences between American and Mexican cultures but these differences define and highlight the unique views of each individual country.  People of the Mexican culture are very proud of the country 's long history as well as it’s traditions and exhibit strong nationalistic opinions and thoughts.  Different from the Mexican culture, the American culture is more patriotic and focuses on the love and pride in the nation with specific emphasis on values

At the moment that individual are comparing Mexico and United States of America what are some of the first things that pop in to one's head? I personally think about food, I absolutely love food. But that is due to the fact that I am a food fanatic. Just like both foods have a different style so does their values they might have similar ingredients but there style is different. Furthermore , it’ll will be exciting to talk about their values in: equality, individualism, and competition.

It does not matter if you are a second or third cousin you will always be welcomed as if you a first-born child. Most of the time their cousin is actually someone who has family connections. In the United States we are all about our work, mothers and fathers who work 40 plus hour jobs. The family dinner devises little conversation and our heads buried head first into our smart phones. Most American families rarely even cook dinner every night, substituting with fast food or something easy. The Mexican model of family life is one to be envied, not perfect however, it is just another way we can learn from one another. They still have the mother who fills the domestic role with men being the workforce and still caring themselves as the dominant sex. One thing we do share is our nationalism, in a way. Like Americans the Mexican people are very nationalistic but just a little more. Were Americans have a new tendency to ashamed of our history and fighting daily to rewrite the history books, the Mexican people are proud of everything they have done and many of them Identify by it. Whether it’s Cinco de Mayo or also known as the battle of Puebla, or their Independence Day on September 16th. One day we share Is Christmas, thanks to their Catholic backgrounds. The Mexican people are very religious and one thing that held dear to their heart. Where is American it is considered taboo to talk about

Previous researchers have found that for a person to achieve better and more effective communication competence, it is necessary to develop skills that allow an appropriate participation in specific situations. The ability to listen, ask questions, and express concepts or ideas effectively is an important part of communication competence. Intercultural communication presents an unexplored and challenging field that needs to be understood for a better development in communication. (Dillon and McKenzie, 1998). The variables of listening depend on the different perceptions that a person obtains through their cultural background. Furthermore, culture often affects the structure of consciousness in the act of listening. When a person seeks to

Intercultural communication: A discourse approach attempts to explain the discourse approach and points to the authors ' distinction between cross-cultural communication and intercultural communication. The chapter underlines the authors ' approach and theory to intercultural communication. It covers several explanations and the distinction between cross-cultural communication and intercultural communication. The chapter discusses the many varieties of culture that exist. It also clarifies that intercultural communication can occur in conversations not necessarily when two people are from different countries.

Intercultural communication is commonly explained as an interaction between people of 'different cultures whether defined in terms of racial, ethnic or socioeconomic differences.' Human communication consists of verbal and nonverbal messages (language and gestures) which are shaped by gender, social class or culture. Thus, what perimeters define the intercultural exchange and what primary messages do we need or try to convey?

Intercultural communication competence refers to the ability of an individual to adapt and communicate appropriately and effectively across a wide array of cultural contexts. That is to say, for an individual to be considered an intercultural communicator they must understand other’s cultures as well as they understand their own, and apply this understanding to communication (Chen 1-2). With the increasing diversity at the workplace, school and other social settings, it has become increasingly important to learn how to communicate with people from a diverse array of cultures. More importantly, adapting to a more effective intercultural communication competence model provides us with learning opportunities occasioned by the interaction with people from other backgrounds. The intercultural communication competence model comes with some key components including tolerance for uncertainty, self-knowledge, and motivation. The greatest and most important of these aspects is motivation. An individual must be willing to foster relationships with people from a different cultural background. If an individual lacks the willingness to promote intercultural relationships, then other aspects of the intercultural communication model become moot.

In the United States, Mexican-Americans comprise 14.5 percent of the total U.S. population. Today, while most Mexican-Americans live in urban areas, significant numbers comprise both the north and south, across the United States. However, one misconception is that all Spanish or Latino cultures are the same. The differences between Mexico and other Latin American countries include 500 years of separate histories and their specific customs. These specific customs were present prior to their submission to the Spaniards. Although Spanish is the principal language spoken by most Hispanics, regional pronunciations and dialects differ in their speech patterns. Similarly, the Mexican cultures each have different dietary patterns.

"We didn 't all come over on the same ship, but we 're all in the same boat."- Bernard Baruch