5 NM 3413 Audience Analysis DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

5 NM 3413 Audience Analysis DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

OVERVIEW - Barriers to intercultural communication (cont’d) - Dimensions of culture

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication La. Ray M. Barna (1997): § Anxiety § Assuming similarity instead of difference § Ethnocentrism § Stereotypes and prejudice § Nonverbal misinterpretation § Language

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication La. Ray M. Barna (1997): § Nonverbal misinterpretation - Physical appearance (clothes etc. ) - Proxemics (personal space) - Chronemics (time) - Kinesics (gestures) - Haptics (touch) - Oculesics (eye contact) - Vocalics/Paralanguage (voice) - Olfactics (smell)

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication La. Ray M. Barna (1997): § Language Word Order Sample Languages SVO “cats eat mice” English, Chinese, Swahili SOV “cats mice eat” Japanese, Korean VSO “eat cats mice” Classical Arabic, Welsh, Samoan VOS “eat mice cats” Tzotzil (a Mayan language) OSV “mice cats eat” Kabardian (a language of the northern Caucasus) OVS “mice eat cats” Hixkaryana (a language of Brazil) Basic Word Order SOURCE: Matthews, Polinsky, and Comrie (1996).

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication La. Ray M. Barna (1997): § Language Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Benjamin L. Whorf (1897 -1941) and Edward Sapir (1884 -1939) “Culture is controlled by and controls language. ”

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication La. Ray M. Barna (1997): § Language Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis - Vocabulary - Grammar and syntax - Translation problems

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Vocabulary You can assume that if a language has a particular rich vocabulary for a thing or activity in comparison to other language, that thing or activity is important in that culture.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Vocabulary Eskimo language have many words for different kinds of snow: qana falling snow; snowflakes akilukak fluffy fallen snow aput snow on the ground kaguklaich snow drifted in rows piqsirpoq drifting snow qimuqsuq snowdrift

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Vocabulary - The Hanunoo tribe has 92 separate single words to refer to rice. - In most of the languages of Asia, one word means both food and rice. - Speakers of Guguyimadjir in the Australian state of Queensland have no words for “right” or “left”. - The Yanomamo language of southern Venezuela has only three numbers, which correspond to “one, ” “two, ” and “more than two” in English. - In Japanese language, the four seasons are divided into 24 subseasons according to the traditional lunar calendar. And each subseason is divided into the beginning, middle, and end.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Grammar and Syntax - Grammar had an even greater influence than vocabulary. - In the Eskimo language, there is a consistent use of the word if rather than when in reference to the future. - Linguistics have associated the more common use of if in the Eskimo language with the harsh environment that Eskimos live in, where life is fragile and there is little control over nature (Chance, 1966). - In the word order, English places emphasis on a doer, on an action taker. - You are more likely to hear, “I brought my textbook with me” in the United States and hear “Brought book” in Japan.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Barriers to Intercultural Communication Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Translation problems Even when cultures speak the same language – as do Australia and the United States – there can be vocabulary differences. When cultures speak different languages, translation is critical – but always imperfect. - Vocabulary equivalence - Idiomatic equivalence - Grammatical-Syntactical Equivalence - Experiential Equivalence - Conceptual Equivalence

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE DIMENSIONS OF CULTURE

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Dimensions of Culture Geert Hofstede (1980): o Individualism à Loosely structured to tightly integrated. o Masculinity à How a culture’s dominant values are assertive or nurturing. o Power Distance à The distribution of influence within a culture. o Uncertainty Avoidance à A culture’s tolerance of ambiguity and acceptance of risk.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Dimensions of Culture Individualism versus Collectivism This dimension refers to how people define themselves and their relationships with others.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Individualism Collectivism The interest of the individual prevails over the interests of the group. The interest of the group prevails over the interest of the individual. People are integrated into strong, Ties between individual are loose. cohesive in-groups that continue People look after themselves and throughout a lifetime to protect in their immediate families. exchange for unquestioning loyalty. One difference is reflected in who In collectivist cultures, other is taken into account when you set groups are taken into account in a goals. In individualist cultures, major way when goals are set with minimal consideration given to groups other than perhaps your immediate family.

Individualism Rankings for 50 Countries and Three Regions SOURCE: Hofstede (2001, Exhibit 5. 1, p. 215). 1 United States 36 Malaysia 2 Australia 37 Hong Kong 3 Great Britain 38 Chile 4/5 Canada, The Netherlands 39/41 Thailand, Singapore, West Africa 6 New Zealand 42 El Salvador 7 Italy 43 South Korea 8 Belgium 44 Taiwan 9 Denmark 45 Peru 10/11 Sweden, France 46 Costa Rica 12 Ireland 47/48 Pakistan, Indonesia 13 Norway 49 Colombia 14 Switzerland 50 Venezuela 15 Germany 51 Panama 16 South Africa 52 Ecuador 17 Finland 53 Guatemala

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Dimensions of Culture Masculinity versus Femininity Hofstede (1980) found that women’s social role varied less from culture to culture than men’s. He labeled as masculine cultures those that strive for maximal distinction between what women and men are expected to do.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Masculinity Femininity Masculine cultures strive for maximal distinction between what women and men are expected to do. Those labeled as feminine cultures are those that permit more overlapping social roles for the sexes. Cultures that place high values on masculine traits: Cultures that place high value on feminine traits: - Stress assertiveness - Competition - Material success - Stress quality of life Interpersonal Relationships Concern for the weak

Masculinity Rankings for 50 Countries and Three Regions SOURCE: Hofstede (2001, Exhibit 6. 3, p. 286). 1 Japan 37/38 Spain, Peru 2 Austria 39 East Africa 3 Venezuela 40 El Salvador 4/5 Italy, Switzerland 41 South Korea 6 Mexico 42 Uruguay 7/8 Ireland, Jamaica 43 Guatemala 9/10 Great Britain, Germany 44 Thailand 11/12 Philippines, Colombia 45 Portugal 13/14 South Africa, Ecuador 46 Chile 15 United States 47 Finland 16 Australia 48/49 Yugoslavia, Costa Rica 17 New Zealand 50 Denmark 18/19 Greece, Hong Kong 51 The Netherlands 20/21 Argentina, India 52 Norway 22 Belgium 53 Sweden

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Dimensions of Culture Power Distance The way the culture deals with inequalities. Hofstede (1997) defines power distance as “the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally”

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE High Power Distance Low Power Distance Children are expected to be obedient toward parents versus being treated more or less as equals. In the low power distance workplace, subordinates expect to be consulted, and ideal bosses are democratic. People are expected to display respect for those of higher status. In more democratic organizations, leaders are physically more accessible. - Power is centralized. - There is a wide salary gap between the top and bottom of the organization.

Power Distance Rankings for 50 Countries and Three Regions SOURCE: Hofstede (2001, Exhibit 3. 1, p. 287). 1 Malaysia 35/36 Argentina, South Africa 2/3 Guatemala, Panama 37 Jamaica 4 Philippines 38 United States 5/6 Mexico, Venezuela 39 Canada 7 Arab countries 40 The Netherlands 8/9 Ecuador, Indonesia 41 Australia 10/11 India, West Africa 42/44 Costa Rica, Germany, Great Britain 12 Yugoslavia 45 Switzerland 13 Singapore 46 Finland 14 Brazil 47/48 Norway, Sweden 15/16 France, Hong Kong 49 Ireland 17 Colombia 50 New Zealand 18/19 El Salvador, Turkey 51 Denmark 20 Belgium 52 Israel 21/23 East Africa, Peru, Thailand 53 Austria

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Dimensions of Culture Uncertainty Avoidance The extent to which people in a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situation. Hofstede explains that this feeling is expressed through nervous stress and in a need for predictability or a need for written and unwritten rules (Hofstede, 1977). In these cultures, such situations are avoided by maintaining strict codes of behavior and a belief in absolute truths.

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE High Low Uncertainty Avoidance Cultures strong in uncertainty avoidance are active, aggressive, emotional, compulsive, security seeking, and intolerant. Cultures weak in uncertainty avoidance are contemplative, less aggressive, unemotional, relaxed, accepting of personal risks, and relatively tolerant. - Need for rules, precision and punctuality - No more rules than are necessary - Precision and punctuality have to be learned.

Uncertainty Avoidance Rankings for 50 Countries and Three Regions SOURCE: Hofstede (2001, Exhibit 3. 1, p. 287). 1 Greece 35 The Netherlands 2 Portugal 36 East Africa 3 Guatemala 37 Australia 4 Uruguay 38 Norway 5/6 Belgium, El Salvador 39/40 South Africa, New Zealand 7 Japan 41/42 Indonesia, Canada 8 Yugoslavia 43 United States 9 Peru 44 Philippines 10/15 France, Chile, Spain, 45 India Costa Rica, Panama, Argentina 46 Malaysia 16/17 Turkey, South Korea 47/48 Great Britain, Ireland 18 Mexico 49/50 Hong Kong, Sweden 19 Israel 51 Denmark 20 Colombia 52 Jamaica 21/22 Venezuela, Brazil 53 Singapore

NM 3413 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS CULTURE Reference: Jandt, Fred E. An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2010.