Stella Ting-Toomey: Understanding Culture, Communication, And Language

According to West, Richard, and Lynn H. Turner in the book Interpersonal Communication culture is learned, multileveled, and creates a community.

In the textbook , “An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in Global Community,” by Fred E. Jandt, the author defines culture as the, “sum total of ways of living, including behavioral norms, linguistic expression, styles of communication, patterns of thinking, and beliefs and values of a group large enough to be self-sustaining and transmitted over the course of generations.” In a culture

Culture has its important in comprehending communication since culture is figurative communication, and the connotations of the symbols can be learned and continued through establishments of a specific society.

Culture is a convenient way of describing the ways members of a group understand each other and communicate that understanding “Culture is not only race or ethnicity; it includes gender, sexual orientation, education and literacy level, profession, hobby, or life experience that may include violence, trauma, or disease. Each of these cultures has their own language or slang, and group behavior and beliefs”

Culture refers to the behaviors and interactions of a people and the representative structures in which give such behavior meaning. Human nature, history, and environment have impacted and resulted in the many differences and similarities amongst the various cultures that exist today. A culture is inclusive of shared language or system of communication, beliefs,

Culture can be defined as behavioral norms, meanings, and the values used by members of a particular society as its reference point for the construction of their view of the world and ascertain their identity in their way. Traditions, language, values, religious beliefs are all part of culture. There is lots of need to understand the cultural manifestation

That will be the first communication element we will discuss. Culture is distinctive ideas, customs, social behavior, products or way of life. There are many difference in national culture, such as individualism

The term culture was defined over time by different scholars and writers. Though each one of them had his/her own dimensions and criteria in order to explain the word culture. Hofstede claimed in 1994: “[Culture] is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.”( Spencer-Oatey 3). He considers culture as an aspect that distinguishes groups from others. Indeed, Matsumoto and Hofstede agreed that culture is a distinctive of a group of people. Matsumoto confirmed that : “ ... the set of attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors shared by a group of people, but different for each individual, communicated from one generation to the next.” (Spencer-Oatey 3). Also, Matsumoto added to what Hofstede has claimed, that even if culture is a common among a community, it is distinctive for each singular among the same community. All in all, what I wanted to explain is that a

Culture is defined as the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to another (Staff, 2015). Culture effects the way a person perceives, communicates and behaves in the world, what is “socially” acceptable in one culture is not necessarily acceptable in another. Common language, gestures and signals are used to communicate within each culture and are therefore an extension of culture and how you speak is effected by what you were taught and how you view the world. Communicating is a give and take process and it is an experience that you share with someone.

Society embraces the systems and symbols created to communicate in the search of belonging. The systems and symbols are used to convey information and assigns meaning and values to our lives. Often culture is defined as the symbols society uses to express themselves as individuals or groups. Culture is the practice that allows individuals to either agree or disagree with the values and ideas that are portrayed and communication helps to circulate these values.

Culture directs human actions and the way person present themselves in the society in order to remain in the culture boundaries and accepted by the common community as a respected member of the society. According to David (2001) “Culture is often used to refer to ideas, beliefs, representation, behaviour pattern, practices, artifacts and so forth that are transmitted socially across generations within a group, resulting in pattern of within-group similarity and between group differences”. Moreover, culture is transmitted on an unconscious level from generation to generation, influencing day-to-day behavior and ensuring a people 's survival (Norma, 2001).

One universal aspect of the human condition is communication. Finding some way to convey the abstract concepts of our minds in such a way they can be understood by others is a fundamental necessity of being a human in culture as we understand it. It is with this understanding that the question has been asked; if language is the medium through which our perceptions are channeled, how much are our perceptions distorted by language? How much is our language distorted by our perceptions? Is this relationship something that could be manipulated, and how effective would it be? Thankfully, these are questions that

The definition of culture offered in one textbook is “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man person as a member of society.”

Imagine walking down the street of a busy city and stopping each person to shake their hands and ask their favorite food. How each person reacts and their response is the result of culture. Every single person has a deep, complex culture whether it is visible to them or not. The word “culture” is so broad and overused. What is culture? To put it simply, culture is the behaviors and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic, or age group. Our culture shapes the way we see and interact with the world on a huge scale. Our culture affects our personality and our actions. Education develops and molds one's culture. Culture forces reason behind having to assimilate and change due to a new environment filled with different cultures. Each individual

The concept of culture is something that defines many aspects of one’s life. From physical objects to different ways of thinking, culture adds significance to human life and makes groups of people distinct from one another. Culture is essentially a group of people who come together with similar interests and points of view. According to the Center for Advanced Language Acquisition of the University of Minnesota, “culture is defined as the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization.” From a more sociological perspective, culture is a way in which people come together in order to fulfill their needs. These shared patterns and ideas identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group.” Culture is one of the things that sets the United States apart from the rest of the world. Not that the rest of the world is not cultural, but the circumstance here is different. Many people of different cultural backroads come to this country in search of a better life. As a consequence, the United States has become a place where many cultures merge together like a colossal pot soup.