s

UNIT 2: COMMUNICATION IN MULTICULTURAL

SETTINGS
OBJECTIVES:

By the need of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Discover intercultural communication and cultural diversity to different countries around the
globe.
• Learn some tips and help when experiencing multicultural communication
• UNIT
Discover unique2: COMMUNICATION
cultural IN MULTICULTURAL
practices and cultural characteristics that shape communication.

Learning Outcome:
SETTINGS

 Write a journal where you or a person you know experience and encounter multicultural
communication.

LESSON 1: COMMUNICATION IN INTERCULTURAL DOMAINS

In the first module, we learned the essential concepts for cultural ignorance, and this time we'll
learn more about its domains and what makes each culture distinct from each other.

One of the greatest things that a person can have is their own identity that represents their own
cultural background and behavior, and every citizen in the society carries that reflection to show the
world what kind of community you have. Culture is the total inherited ideas, values, beliefs, and
knowledge that offer to the shared bases of interaction (culturedictionary.com).

In addition to that statement, it is also referring to the complex collection of knowledge and
awareness—folklore, language, law, occasions, lifestyle, attitudes, and custom that show some links
that gives common identity to a certain group of people or community. We all know and aware that
all of the countries in the world have their own identity, a unique communication style and lifestyle.
We cannot say that because some of us also eat ramen, we can say that we have a Japanese cultural
lifestyle, reasonably speaking, culture is innate since birth, but, adapting different culture from
different countries of the world is possible and acceptable.

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 This topic, we will be talking about intercultural communication, its richness and its importance
to us, in how we carry our culture and beliefs and are able to adapt the culture of different community
and country. So, here are some explanations of the meaning of Intercultural Communication according
to some scholars:

Intercultural Communication

Tin-Tooney (1999) said that the intercultural communication occur when a person starts to
interact, negotiate, and create meanings while showing their unique cultural backgrounds

Other scholar, like Gydykunst (2003), intercultural communication refers to communication

among people from different nationalities.

For Sipacio-Balgos (2016), this scholar sees the intercultural communication as communication
that has a touch of influence by various ethnicities, religions, and sexual orientations from
particular communities.

Characteristics of Competent Intercultural Communicators

What will be shown below are the list of characteristic traits that define one competent intercultural
communicator, these traits are not easy to apply as a competent communicator, however it is not
impossible to gain these traits. This is according to the World Bank (2010):

• Flexibility and the ability to tolerate high levels of uncertainty

• Reflectiveness or mindfulness

• Open-mindedness; creativity

• Sensitivity

• Adaptability

• Ability to engage in divergent thinking (or thinking outside-the-box) and systems-level

thinking (or thinking how each one in a system or organization influences each other)

Remember that culture is not separable to the other elements such as gender, age, religion,
and social status, these must also be taken seriously in the communication especially with a person
you know is not having the same culture that you have, perhaps, that person is living in the other
country or a community away from you.

So, mentioned below will be some tips that will help you to refrain from showing bias when
talking to these kind of people that for sure, you will experience in the future:

• Avoid being stereotypes (or generalizing people) about a certain group of people. For
example, men who cry every time they feel sad and heartbroken are usually generalized
as weak or feminine, because the society have already viewed men as tough and brave
individual in public.

• Challenge gender norms; avoid using too much “he’ and “man” whenever referring to a
general group of people. To practice this, you may use plural nouns to address the group
of people, or in written communication, rewrite a sentence to avoid using pronouns. The

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 • Have some sensitive mindset towards some religious practices and traditions, even
though it is not the same as what you have, being respectful towards different principles
is important.

• Be polite at all times; avoid belittling people you thought to be on a lower social class
than you.

Of course, these are common tips and help to make your behavior have some good reflection
towards other people. Although, we can perceive that these are just common and easy to apply, a lot
of people still struggle and is not wanting to apply these tips because of some certain reasons, like the
attitude that they bear. We all know, our attitude is also rooted in our culture that also reflects our
family, friends, and communities.

Filipinos have the abilities to easily adjust to different communities, partly because of our
country‘s historical experiences when we were being colonized, our language changed and the
lifestyle also changed to fit in what our society needs, even our food choice and fashion, our interest
in lives, and even our government system. When the crisis comes, some Filipinos will include an
option to become Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and through this we unconsciously adjust our
interaction toward people, our empathy and cultural understanding are unconsciously widening. To
avoid complex communication problems, they (OFWs) are mostly required to undergo ‘Pre-
departure Orientation Seminar’ (PDOS) conducted by the Commission on Filipino Overseas (CFO).

According to their regulation, this seminar is not only for the OFWs but also for those people who
want to settle permanently abroad. PDOS covers topics like some important cultural aspects that one
shall be familiar with before leaving. This seminar happened to make Filipinos be prepared for some
uncertain events or culture-shock situation that they may face afterwards, they are being prepared for
multicultural communication. Filipinos still have to undergo to this kind of seminar even though we
can easily adjust to the cultural diversity in the world, because we do not generalize our citizens that
everyone is capable to understand multicultural communication.

But, do not worry. Filipinos are known for being hospitable (well, not everyone these days, but
most of us) and warm to people around the globe. So, whenever we go, culture shock is just a minimal
thing, and we can easily embrace cultural diversity.

As we talk about cultural diversity and intercultural communication, both certainly affect each
other, so, we will be talking about some important information that you need to know when the time
comes that you need to visit and experience the cultures of the following countries.

Communication in China

Language barrier in China is one of the major problems that you will be facing. Greg Rodgers
(2017) wrote in his article that communicating in China is always
the challenge for the visitors, especially for first-time visitors and
people traveling alone without a friend who can translate
strangers‘directions. Beware during meal time, charades usually
fail and in the restaurant, when you move your hands for
chopsticks, you waiter will perhaps bring you a pencil. So here are
some tips when you are communicating with some Chinese people.
In a formal business meetings, because Chinese are known to

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be one of the countries who takes business seriously, one must be aware of the Chinese‘s desire to
preserve harmony (Mclaughlin, 2013). According also to Mclaughin, Hierarchy is very important factor
in Chinese communication. When speaking to a superior or elders, you must generally phrase you‘re
their words carefully. Speaking without giving you permission might give you bad perception.

The concept of face must also be considered when

communicating with the Chinese. Basically, they prefer
to not say negative things as long as they can and
rather will emphasize positive things.

In a usual business dinner meeting,

Chinese businessmen routinely praise one another
with compliments. Giving gifts is a natural thing in any
social and business occasions in China. To
communicate with Chinese, preciseness and accuracy
are important in able to have a clear and better
understanding of the context.
/

Communicating in Korea When you plan to go to South Korea, there are things that you must be
aware of in terms of verbal and nonverbal communication, because their communication pattern is
indirect and at times—verbose. They have the tendency to depend less on words and are very keen at
a speaker‘s gestures, body language, facial expressions, and tone of your voice to know the message
of what you are trying to say. Just like Chinese and most of Asian citizens, they are particular with
maintaining harmony in the country and in the relationship.

They use less gestures and most of the time

silence is an important and useful tool to them. Pausing
and waiting for a moment to respond is an indication
that someone has applied appropriate thought and
consideration in the forums, this is one of their ways to
show their politeness and respect to people. It is kind of
strange that sometimes smiling could mean that one is
feeling embarrassed or ashamed and they are not very
much tactile with each other. Girls are able to walk
hand-in-hand and male friends tend to touch each other - - - /
sometimes. They do not point using their index finger;
they rather use their entire hand to point to someone or
something.

In some friendly conversation scenario, eye-contact is also important for a person you are
communicating with. When receiving some offerings or gifts, you have to use both of your hands or
your right hand. Lastly, sneezing is considered rude in South Korea.

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Communicating in Japan Firstly, you have to refrain yourself from
pointing when communicating in Japan. Use a wedge hand aimed in a
direction where you wanted to point at. Keeping your voice low and
peaceful is also a sign that you are creating a harmonious ambience in
communication. Whenever you see some errors, you have to present it
carefully so as not to appear that you are pointing out harshly. Secondly,
when communicating with Japanese people and asking questions you do
not pressure them for an accurate answer. This means that if a question
remains unanswered twice, one has to respect the unanswered and silence.

Finally, be reminded that bowing is an important communication ritual in Japan. Traditionally, the
person coming from a lesser social status bows lower than the person coming from a higher social
status, but even a small bow is enough to show respect for the person and the Japanese culture. When
you are travelling alone and you take a train, always be reminded that their train departure is always
on-time, and giving seats to the women and older people is considered rude, because you are showing
them that they cannot bear their endurance of standing, they will interpret that you think they are
already old that they need to sit.

Communicating in America Addressing informally to each other is common in America, they do not
have such honorifics to mind of, and addressing their first name is alright to their community. No
academic or job title are used unless one is formally introduced in business meeting or academic
setting. Most of Americans are energetic and positive in terms of communication. They typically speak
in imperative tense with lots of action-oriented words.

is -

They use expressions such as: ―make it work‖ or ―instant solution‖. Unlike in some Asian
countries, they do not bow down but instead they shake their hands or just say ―hello‖ when entering
a room for a business meeting. Times conscious is one thing that you have to remember to them.
Americans hate it when their time is wasted and so, you have to be at least thirty (30) minutes ahead
of the call time when meeting an American. They expect people with a loud voice.

READING:

Read this short article that tackles about how do different cultures and our culture shape our everyday

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communication in life.

Using English: It’s More Fun in the Philippines!

Cholo Sediaren

I believe that Filipinos have transformed the English language into

something distinctly Pinoy as Mikey Bustos illustrates in his YouTube
video tutorial on Pinoy English. For Instance, a ―dirty kitchen‖ can be
found in many Filipino homes. But this kitchen is not really dirty; it
refers instead to a kitchen located outside the main house, where the
‗dirty work‘ cooking is done. The same word ―dirty‖ is used for ―dirty
ice cream‖ which refer to homemade ice cream that is sold by
wandering vendors on the streets. Another example is the Filipino‘s
use of the word ―salvage.‖ In the dictionary, this word pertains to
being salved. But it refers to something entirely opposite in the
Philippines: to salvage is to kill or murder someone. Interestingly,
because of our nation‘s colonial history under the Americans and our
consequent inclination toward Western culture, we have since
adapted the English language to animate our daily conservations, to
address the needs of our educational and professional settings, and to
enliven our popular culture. Who does know the heartwarming lyrics
of Jose Mari Chan‘s classic ―Christmas in our hearts‖?

Indeed, using English in our local contexts may also reflect our identity
as a people who are creative in adapting the foreign influences around
us. We Filipinos should be proud of our many accomplishments while
using the English language; but we must also remember to be mindful
of our contexts when we use any language so that we do not offend or
confuse anyone carelessly.

Activity: This required an access to internet. Watch the Mikey Bustos Pinoy Lessons
“Pinoy English” and observe how our (Pinoy) English varies as our culture reshape it
in our everyday communication. Click this link or scan this QR Code:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqlFT8zT8V8

Reflective Analysis

1. In your own words, define intercultural communication.

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2. What is the effect of “gender” in communication?

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 _____________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Give one characteristics of one competent intercultural communicator and how are you able
to apply it in the future?
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LESSON 2: EXPLAINING UNIQUE CULTURAL PRACTICES: CULTURAL CHARACTERISITICS THAT

SHAPE COMMUNICATION

In this topic, we will illustrate the essence of what culture is all about. Culture, basically, a way
of life that is rooted and grown in the community or society of people who possess similar beliefs
and traditions. Some said that what we always do every day, what we do to make our task done is
part of our tradition, but, habits are different to culture, all people eat every day, all people work
every day, all students go to school every day and that don‘t differentiate our identity, because culture
is the mirror of our identity which we have learned from our community where we live.

Culture also reflects our sets of behavior that are expected to be accepted, although we
cannot deny that some certain instances there will be disrespectful and discrimination going on in a
situation, and that can be the effect of misinterpretation and lack of knowledge in a multicultural
setting. We, Filipinos, we always demonstrate our endeavor respect to our elders or even older people,
we are showing them through our gestures of mano po, with reaching their hands to put it on our
forehead, and this is not because it is required to do as a role of younger person, but because it is
innate to us—the characteristic of being magalang (respectful) to them

In our language (Filipino) we do not recognize to use gender language in our grammatical
structure, it‘s impossible to translate an English word or sentence that has a pronoun of he or she,
because Filipino language doesn‘t have an accurate translation for those kind of pronouns: I love him,
in Filipino translation it is, Mahal ko siya, stating that siya is masculine, but in our language context it
can be recognized as feminine, therefore, it is gender neutral. How cool it is! We even have an
accurate translation for big brother, kuya, and big sister, ate. That is because we truly respect our
elders that it led the Filipinos to create honorific as to reflect our identity being respectful and kind
citizen.

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 Remember that communication does not always achieved through verbal language and
gestures, to learn how to value the culture you are behaving, and value other‘s culture, the
communication you wish to occur will process unconsciously through the behavior that carried your
culture throughout the days that you are showing it to your friends and classmates.

Food as Language

Do you believe that food also speaks? And when I say speak, it means it communicates and can say
something that only you, perhaps, only a certain group of people can understand. Do you believe that
food is part of our language and culture? As we eat every day, do you notice that the food you eat is
carrying a message that reflects our cultural identity? Well, in fact, Doreen Fernandez said that ―Food
speak, and not only to the palate and senses‖ but it also delivers messages.

For example, when you did something wrong with your high school teacher, it was typical for
high school students to be guilty and start to gather money from classmates and buy a cake as an
apology gift for your teacher. When you were going to a formal meeting, you would bring something
nice to your boss, something pleasant and convenient to eat, perhaps, cookies? Brownies? During all-
souls day, Filipino families are traditionally making delicacies like kakaning malagkit (rice cake),
which gives message and meaning for us and for the soul that passed away. It derives from the
tagalog word kain (to eat) and kanin (rice). Big celebration sometimes forced us to prepare and have a
grand feast. And we have different impact and feeling in the rarity of the gift, when someone gave
us a home-made food and you know that they made an effort to cook it for you, you feel so special.

Certainly, we are also going to talk about some foreign food that Filipinos adopted and
recreated to suit our taste and identity of being a Filipino. Observe the pictures below, one does not
just become like that without the origin of its terminology and story of the culture they represent.

Photo was retrieved from

https://www.yummy.ph/recipe/easy
Photo was retrieved from:
https://simply-delicious- pinoy-pancit-bihon-recipe
food.com/easy-chicken-adobo-recipe/

The famous Adobo is originally derived from the Spanish food called Adobado which is a stewed

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meat dish in Mexico, which somehow close in how to cook it, Filipinos just adapted it in a creative way
where we mix olive oil, garlic, laurel, oregano, paprika, salt, soy sauce and vinegar together, it can
have a chicken or pig meat, and because in our country, we treat rabbits as pets, we do not include it
in our option that it can be a meat to eat because in other countries, they sometimes eat rabbit meat.
We all know that Pancit was originated from Chinese food and culture, the term Pansit comes from
Hokkien: pian + e + sit, which still can be recognized as Chinese, but the meaning is not what you
think it is, there has no noodles‘ significance in the origin but it really means: something that is
conveniently cooked (Kirshenblatt-Bimblet & Fernandez, 2003) which can be a general food that
indicates a process of frying since it was convenient and easy to cook through frying. However, the
Philippine style of pansit is creatively different, we do not cook it as instant as it is but rather, we put a
lot of effort in order to prepare it to some very special occasions or events.

Now, that we are aware that food and language are inseparable, and it affects our culture that
is reflecting in our behavior, here, I am going to show you an interesting article that answered the
question why does tea only has two-word translation in the whole world?

READING:

Tea if by Sea, Cha if by Land: Why the World Only has Two Words for
the Tea
By Nikhil Sonnad
To see the image in colored: https://qrgo.page.link/DoW3P

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1. With a few minor exceptions, there are really only two ways to say “tea” in the world. One
is like the English term—té in Spanish and tee in Afrikaans are two examples. The other is
some variation of cha, like chay in Hindi.

2. Both versions come from China. How they spread around the world offers a
clear picture of how globalization worked before ―globalization‖ was a term
anybody used. The words that sound like ―cha‖ spread across land, along the
Silk Road. The ―tea‖-like phrasings spread over water, by Dutch traders
bringing the novel leaves back to Europe.

3. The term cha (茶) is “Sinitic” meaning it is common to many varieties of

Chinese. It began in China and made its way through central Asia, eventually
becoming “chay” (‫ )یاچ‬in Persian. That is no doubt due to the trade routes of
the Silk Road, along which, according to a recent discovery, tea was traded
over 2,000 years ago.

4. This form spread beyond Persia, becoming chay in Urdu, shay in Arabic, and
chay in Russian, among others. It even made its way to sub-Saharan Africa,
where it became chai in Swahili. The Japanese and Korean terms for tea are
also based on the Chinese cha, though those languages likely adopted the
word even before its westward spread into Persian.

5. But that doesn‘t account for “tea”. The Chinese character for tea, 茶, is
pronounced differently by different varieties of Chinese, though it is written the
same in them all. In today‘s Mandarin, it is chá. But in the Min Nan variety of
Chinese, spoken in the coastal province of Fujian, the character is pronounced
te. The key word here is “coastal.”

6. The te form used in coastal-Chinese languages spread to Europe via the Dutch,
who became the primary traders of tea between Europe and Asia in the 17th
century, as explained in the World Atlas of Language Structures.

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 7. The main Dutch ports in East Asia were in Fujian and Taiwan, both places
where people used the te pronunciation. The Dutch East India Company‘s
expansive tea importation into Europe gave us the French thé, the German
Tee, and the English tea.

8. Yet the Dutch were not the first to Asia. That honor belongs to the Portuguese,
who are responsible for the island of Taiwan‘s colonial European name,
Formosa. And the Portuguese traded not through Fujian but Macao, where chá
is used. That‘s why, on the map above, Portugal is a pink dot in a sea of blue.

9. A few languages have their own way of talking about tea. These languages are
generally in places where tea grows naturally, which led locals to develop their
own way to refer to it. In Burmese, for example, tea leaves are lakphak.

10. The map demonstrates two different eras of globalization in action: the
millenia-old overland spread of goods and ideas westward from ancient China,
and the 400-year-old influence of Asian culture on the seafaring Europeans of
the age of exploration. Also, you just learned a new word in nearly every
language on the planet.

ACTIVITY: Did you know that French fries are not originated from france? Open this link for the short
article: https://qrgo.page.link/hf8Z7 or scan this QR code to view the article even without an access to
internet.

Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

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REFLECTIVE ANALYSIS

1. How does food speak in our palate and senses?

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2. How are there only two words for the tea?

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3. Share an experience that you actually use food as communication in a situation.

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Activity: Write a journal where you or a person you know experience and encounter multicultural
communication. Tell a story how you or the person you know faced and went through it. Write your
response on the space provided below.

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