Communication is the act of communicating one's thoughts and feelings in a way that the other person can comprehend. These could be direct or indirect, vocal or nonverbal, written or unwritten. The location, comprehension, and intention of the sender and the recipient all influence the medium via which the intended message is transmitted. Numerous elements, like as the parties' levels of knowledge, the situation the message is being delivered in, their ages, and even their cultures, have a significant impact on communication. Regarding culture, diverse communication styles and methods exist among different cultural groups. This has a significance that varies depending on the culture. For instance, the dressing, the movements, the languages, the signs of respect and honor which are expressed by many are dependent on the individual’s culture. Understanding the culture of a specific group is the only way to understand their communication ways especially when the message is not verbal.
The Asian versus American communication differences
The Asian community is one that has been observed to have a diverse range of communication methods from their dressing, signs of respect, and ways of living. Although the Asian community is split into different ethnic groups, their culture is almost similar to their means of communication. According to the Asians, maintaining and preserving the existing peace and harmony between the individuals in the society is more important than telling the truth. The unspoken words, in this case, are more powerful than the spoken. Therefore, it is compulsory for every Asian to observe his body language, the tone of speech, eye contact and even the silence. Asians are susceptible to both the spoken and the unspoken words, and their way of decoding the unspoken word is strict.
The Asian community is considered to have a culture that adheres to a high context communication as compared to that of the Americans. The Asians are known not to specify the message and leave the decoding to the recipient to be done through the non-verbal acts (Carol Kinsey Goman, 2011). While to the Asians non-verbal communication is powerful, the Americans find it as just a norm with no meaning. For instance, while pointing to the Americans is done with a single finger, the Asians use the entire hand. It is common for the Americans to hold arguments as the sender and the recipient tries to reach an agreement while arguments never occur with the Asians since the recipient only nods in agreement with the sender even if he does not agree with the sender’s way of thinking. The public display of emotions is also not allowed for the Asians and hence unlike with the Americans, holding hands, touching and public display of affection is prohibited.
The style of communication is seen to have been influenced by Confucianism in the Asian countries. Communication should be related to the creation of harmony within the people’s inter-relationships without considering the outcomes that would be later with the relationships (Gao, 1998). The social expectations and the relationships between individual influence the communication methods between them. The differences between ages, levels of intimacy, the gender of relating parties and the social class standing of an individual affects their communication methods. The Asians are known to use more of indirect communication as the receiver remains quite sensitive to decode the meaning. The Asians are known to adhere to high levels of self-emotional control which is the reason why they use a closed style of communication unlike the Americans whose emotional self-control levels are low leading to an open style of communication. For instance, in the business industry, the Americans language depict them as proud, tough and dominant while the Asians are viewed as calm, composed and understanding.
In a research done in the University of Cambridge on the Communication Differences That Your East Asian Students Will Experience in America, it was noted that there exist major differences between those students from the Asian origin and those of the American origin. The significant differences cited were regarding humor, conflict resolution, and politeness. While the use of courtesy words such as “thank you” and “excuse me” are expected, appreciation is common with the Americans as opposed to the Asians who find it as being exceedingly polite. Seeking way by excusing oneself is still not common with the Asians who expect the act to be natural. It is common for the Americans to be sarcastic and find fun in joking while the interpretation of the Asians finds this as offensive. While seeking to settle a conflict, the Americans are known to hold arguments until a neutral ground is reached. However, arguments are not allowed in the Asian culture, and a third party is considered to be the intermediary (The Cambridge Network, 2016). Other researchers have followed on the differences between the communication styles between the Asians and the Americans and certain conclusions have been made. The Asians politeness and calmness has been attributed to their less talking while the dominant and vigor in Americans has been attributed to their much talking and high tone speeches.
According to Stella in her book, agrees that our languages shapes who we become and how we think (Stella Ting-Toomey, 2011). The major functions of language include giving one an identity of where he belongs and her relational circles and giving a platform for the content of our thoughts. The idea of understanding the unspoken language is vital in high-cultures context communication where the Asian community lies. Understanding the differences between the low culture and high culture context communication helps one while dealing with individuals from these cultures. It is also important to understand the different forms of non-verbal communication to avoid the drawing of conclusions and stereotyping on the different cultures. The Asians are considered as the silent and of a collective societal interest while the Americans are seen as arrogant and selfish.
The Asians are also known to use technical jargons, and short speech words while communicating. Most of the information communicated by the Asians are either manifested physically or internalized by the sender with less data being explicit. The pre-existing knowledge by the Asians helps more in interpretation other the verbally spoken words. The responsibility of inference lies wholly with the recipient of the message. The expectations of the Americans are different as the recipient expects the sender to use simple language and give detailed descriptions because pre-existing knowledge does not come in to play. The sender is entirely responsible in cases of misunderstanding or misinterpretation for he is considered to have failed in being clear, precise and upfront for the listener to decode easily.
A holistic approach dictates the evaluation of speech by the Asians. The words communicated are considered not final and are inseparable from the context of the discussion including the relationship between the sender and the recipient. This context is unnecessary with the Americans where the verbal words are final and independent of the context of the discussion. The relationship and the environment of discussion are irrelevant in this case. The age, gender, social class and the non-verbal responses by the recipient are also not considerable by the Americans while for the Asians they are a vital component in message inferencing.
Cultural communication similarities
Although differences have been cited in these cultures, some similarities are noted. The evaluation of the support goals, attitudes, beliefs and the communication intentions are similar in both contexts. Globalization and trade have been cited to be the biggest unifying factor in these cross-cultural communication differences. The sender intends to give a message through a proper terminal that the recipient will easily understand. Though barriers would sometimes affect these understanding, the recipient is aimed at decoding and giving feedback in line with what was intended to start a conversation. The channels of communication in both cultural contexts are similar, be it through telecommunication channels, word of mouth or even the sign language.
Though the low context communication and the high context communication cultures vary regarding direct and indirect communication styles, they share other communication styles such as the written and the formal styles. Having an open mind has also been observed with most people understanding the other easily, and communication-based on cultural contexts found relaxing. As the world evolves and dynamics in cross-cultural relationships crop, the challenges, and the differences are over time diminishing.
While other forms of communication would include dressing and physical appearance, different cultures communicate similarly through their appearance and dressing. The Asians are known to dress in certain ways for specific functions just as the Americans do. Inferences made on occasions of attendance from the way an individual is dressed similarly in both the Asian and American cultural context. This normally is depicted in colors, levels of coverings, seasons and degree of jewelry use.
Conclusion
The differences between the intercultural differences have brought about many conflicts with people failing to understand each other. Prejudice, ethnocentrism, discrimination and stereotyping have been found to arise due to these differences. It is important to note that these conflicts mindful listening and cultural empathy are necessary for solving these cross-cultural communication differences. The expectations of an individual vary depending on his cultural background and miscommunication, or poor inference of meanings would highly affect these expectations and relationships. Although technology is highly impacting on the different cultures and the revolution of these cultures is currently progressive, the context under which culture influences communication remains strict and the identity of the high context and low context communication influential. The debate on what is ethical and what is unethical remains as different cultures give different standards which one must adhere to. While seeking recommendations and solutions for the same, the complexity and the heterogeneity of the cultures should be put into consideration as well as the traditions and the American Paradigm.
References
Carol Kinsey Goman. (2011). Communicating Across Cultures. ASME.
Gao, G. (1998). ‘‘Don't take my word for it.’’—understanding Chinese speaking practices. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 22(2), 163-186.
Stella Ting-Toomey, L. C. (2011). Understanding Intercultural Communication. US: Oxford University Press.
The Cambridge Network. (2016). Communication Differences That Your East Asian Students Will Experience in America. New York: The Cambridge Network.
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