Intercultural Communication Vocabulary

Front 1

Assimilable

Back 1

The degree to which one gives up their cultural identity to adapt to to the one they live in.

My Chinese friend used to have a Chinese accent, but when she was little, she was embarrassed by it, so she trained herself to have an American accent. Now, she prefers the Chinese accent, but she can't remember how to make it unless she's around Chinese people with the same accent.

Front 2

Class structure

Back 2

The structure that defines upper, middle, lower, and other social classes.

My family is a middle class family.

Front 3

Cross-cultural trainers

Back 3

Those who train people to become familiar with other cultural norms and to improve their interactions with cultures to which these norms belong.

Because I wish to be a missionary, I can look forward to learning from many cross-cultural trainers.

Front 4

Demographics

Back 4

The characteristics of a population.

Front 5

Diversity

Back 5

Made up of elements that are not alike.

Front 6

Enclaves

Back 6

Regions that are surrounded by another country's territory.

Front 7

Ethics

Back 7

A system of moral rules that govern a particular group.

My personal ethics often conflict with those of most of the cultures I find myself in including various Christian sub-cultures which often assume ethical rules that aren't supported by scripture.

Front 8

Global village

Back 8

A term coined by Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s that refers to a world in which communication technology links people from remote parts of the world.

Front 9

Globalization

Back 9

The increasing tendency toward international connections in media, business, and culture.

Front 10

Heterogeneity

Back 10

Consisting of different or dissimilar elements.

Front 11

Maquiladoras

Back 11

Foreign-owned plants that use domestic labor.

Front 12

Immigration

Back 12

Movement from one region to another.

My great grandfathers - one from my mom's side and one from my dad's side - immigrated to America through Wales at around the same time. It has not yet been confirmed whether or not they took the same ship.

Front 13

Melting pot metaphor

Back 13

The concept that all immigrants will completely blend into American society.

Front 14

Self-awareness

Back 14

Awareness of one's own cultural identity.

Front 15

Universalist position

Back 15

Stress similarities across cultures.

Front 16

Relativist position

Back 16

The view that a behavior can only be judged within the cultural context that it occurs in.

Front 17

Self-reflexivity

Back 17

The process by which we learn about ourselves and our positions in society.

Front 18

Communication

Back 18

A symbolic process by which meaning is shared and negotiated.

I am terrible at communicating with people. When I fail to relate certain words with certain concepts, I make up a word or substitute a word of a different meaning. However, I often forget to define my new (use of the) word thus causing constant, frequently embarrassing, misunderstandings.

Front 19

Intercultural communication

Back 19

When people with different cultural backgrounds interact.

Intercultural communication is something that I will be dealing with every day if I manage to make it to my dream career: being a missionary.

Front 20

Perception

Back 20

A way of looking at the world.

Everyone's individual perception is different, but similar enough to function in their cultures and co-cultures as a whole. Sometimes, I feel as though mine is some sort of a freak mutant perception, since I find it rather difficult to function in any culture or co-culture I ever remember being exposed to.

Front 21

Embodied ethnocentrism

Back 21

Feeling comfortable with the familiar places, behaviors, and actions of others of your own culture.

I have trouble getting too comfortable. At the same time, I already am.

Front 22

Values

Back 22

Deep beliefs shared by a culture that reflect a perception of what should be rather than what is.

Spiritual growth is my most important value. Every one of my other values are a result of this one. Without it, my entire value system is pointless.

Front 23

Worldview

Back 23

A particular way of looking at the world.

Front 24

Individualism

Back 24

A value that places importance on the individual rather than the whole.

Sometimes, I can be very focused on myself. However, when I have to make hard decisions, I find it rather difficult to value only myself.

Front 25

Power distance

Back 25

The extent to which people will accept an unequal distribution of power.

Front 26

Masculinity / femininity

Back 26

The degree to which gender-specific roles are valued and a cultural group values masculine or feminine values.

Believe it or not, I like gender equality and prefer feminine values. That doesn't mean I'm a feminist.

Front 27

Uncertainty avoidance

Back 27

The degree to which one feels threatened by ambiguous situations.

I'm terrified by uncertain situations, but I'm also uncomfortable with the lack of freedom that comes with too many rules.

Front 28

Context

Back 28

The situation in which communication occurs.

I believe that context is essential to understanding things and using them to prove a point. If you try to prove something with an out of context example, the moment someone points out the mistake, your entire argument will be considered invalid by most people (including those who may agree with you, but still think your version of proof is crap).

Front 29

Power

Back 29

The extent to which an individual can control social situations.

I have very little power in every group I find myself in.

Front 30

Ethnocentrism

Back 30

The belief that one's own cultural group is superior to all other cultural groups.

I don't think that my own cultural group is superior. However, I've observed that if you're proud to be a part of any minority group, you're considered strong, but if you're proud to be white, you're considered racist.

Front 31

Stereotypes

Back 31

Widely held beliefs about a group of people.

I am frequently a victim of racial profiling. Since I'm white, many black people assume I'm racist if I'm just a bit too aware of their presence.

Front 32

Prejudice

Back 32

An attitude toward a particular group based on little or no evidence.

Front 33

Discrimination

Back 33

The behavior that results from stereotyping or prejudice.

I am often discriminated against for being short and childlike in social situations. Those who discriminate against me assume that looking like a kid and acting like a kid in informal situations automatically means I'm not responsible enough to do anything (or they're afraid that customers won't take me seriously because I look and sound much younger than I am).