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Unit1CommunicationAcrossCulturesReadingIInterculturalCommunication：AnIntroductionComprehensionquestions1.Isitstilloftenthecasethat“everyone‟squicktoblamethealien”inthecontemporaryworld?Thisisstillpowerfulintoday‘ssocialandpoliticalrhetoric.Forinstance,itisnotuncommonintoday‘ssocietytohearpeoplesaythatmost,ifnotall,ofthesocialandeconomicproblemsarecausedbyminoritiesandimmigrants.2.What‟sthedifferencebetweentoday‟sinterculturalcontactandthatofanytimeinthepast?Today‘sinterculturalencountersarefarmorenumerousandofgreaterimportancethaninanytimeinhistory.3.Whathavemadeinterculturalcontactaverycommonphenomenoninourlifetoday?Newtechnology,intheformoftransportationandcommunicationsystems,hasacceleratedinterculturalcontact;innovativecommunicationsystemshaveencouragedandfacilitatedculturalinteraction;globalizationoftheeconomyhasbroughtpeopletogether;changesinimmigrationpatternshavealsocontributedtointerculturalencounter.4.Howdoyouunderstandthesentence“cultureiseverythingandeverywhere”?Culturesuppliesuswiththeanswerstoquestionsaboutwhattheworldlookslikeandhowweliveandcommunicatewithinthatworld.Cultureteachesushowtobehaveinourlifefromtheinstantofbirth.Itisomnipresent.5.Whatarethemajorelementsthatdirectlyinfluenceourperceptionandcommunication?Thethreemajorsocio-culturalelementsthatdirectlyinfluenceperceptionandcommunicationareculturalvalues,worldview(religion),andsocialorganizations(familyandstate).6.Whatdoesone‟sfamilyteachhimorherwhileheorshegrowsupinit?Thefamilyteachesthechildwhattheworldlookslikeandhisorherplaceinthatworld.7.Whyisitimpossibletoseparateouruseoflanguagefromourculture?Becauselanguageisnotonlyaformofpreservingculturebutalsoameansofsharingculture.Languageisanorganized,generallyagreed-upon,learnedsymbolsystemthatisusedtorepresenttheexperienceswithinaculturalcommunity.8.Whatarethenonverbalbehaviorsthatpeoplecanattachmeaningto?Peoplecanattachmeaningtononverbalbehaviorssuchasgestures,postures,facialexpressions,eyecontactandgaze,touch,etc.9.Howcanafree,culturallydiversesocietyexist?Afree,culturallydiversesocietycanexistonlyifdiversityispermittedtoflourishwithoutprejudiceanddiscrimination,bothofwhichharmallmembersofthesociety.ReadingIITheChallengeofGlobalizationComprehensionquestions1.Whydoestheauthorsaythatourunderstandingoftheworldhaschanged?Manythings,suchaspoliticalchangesandtechnologicaladvances,havechangedtheworldveryrapidly.Inthepastmosthumanbeingswereborn,lived,anddiedwithinalimitedgeographicalarea,neverencounteringpeopleofotherculturalbackgrounds.Suchanexistence,however,nolongerprevailsintheworld.Thus,allpeoplearefacedwiththechallengeofunderstandingthischangedandstillfastchangingworldinwhichwelive.2.Whata“globalvillage”islike?Asourworldshrinksanditsinhabitantsbecomeinterdependent,peoplefromremoteculturesincreasinglycomeintocontactonadailybasis.Ina―globalvillage‖,membersofonceisolatedgroupsofpeoplehavetocommunicatewithmembersofotherculturalgroups.Thosepeoplemaylivethousandsofmilesawayorrightnextdoortoeachother.3.Whatisconsideredasthemajordrivingforceofthepost-1945globalization?Technology,particularlytelecommunicationsandcomputersareconsideredtobethemajordrivingforce.4.Whatdoestheauthormeanbysayingthat“the„global‟maybemorelocalthanthe„local‟”?Theincreasingglobalmobilityofpeopleandtheimpactofnewelectronicmediaonhumancommunicationsmaketheworldseemsmaller.Wemaycommunicatemorewithpeopleofothercountriesthanwithourneighbors,andwemaybemoreinformedoftheinternationaleventsthanofthelocalevents.Inthissense,“the‘global’maybemorelocalthanthe‘local’”5.Whyisitimportantforbusinesspeopletoknowdiverseculturesintheworld?Effectivecommunicationmaybethemostimportantcompetitiveadvantagethatfirmshavetomeetdiversecustomerneedsonaglobalbasis.Succeedingintheglobalmarkettodayrequirestheabilitytocommunicatesensitivelywithpeoplefromothercultures,asensitivitythatisbasedonanunderstandingofcross-culturaldifferences.6.Whataretheseriousproblemsthatcountriesthroughouttheworldareconfrontedwith?Countriesthroughouttheworldareconfrontedwithseriousproblemssuchasvolatileinternationaleconomy,shrinkingresources,mountingenvironmentalcontamination,andepidemicsthatknownoboundaries.7.WhatimplicationscanwedrawfromthecaseofMichaelFay?Thiscaseshowsthatinaworldofinternationalinterdependence,theabilitytounderstandandcommunicateeffectivelywithpeoplefromotherculturestakesonextremeurgency.Ifweareunawareofthesignificantrolecultureplaysincommunication,wemayplacetheblameforcommunicationfailureonpeopleofothercultures.8.Whatattitudesarefavoredbytheauthortowardsglobalization?Globalization,forbetterorforworse,haschangedtheworldgreatly.Whetherwelikeitornot,globalizationisallbutunstoppable.Itisalreadyheretostay.Itisbothafactandanopportunity.Thechallengesarenotinsurmountable.Solutionsexist,andarewaitingtobeidentifiedandimplemented.Fromaglobalisticpointofview,thereishopeandfaithinhumanity.CaseStudyCase1Inthiscase,thereseemedtobeproblemsincommunicatingwithpeopleofdifferentculturesinspiteoftheeffortsmadetoachieveunderstanding.WeshouldknowthatinEgyptasinmanycultures,thehum