Table Of ContentAmong Cultures
Among Cultures: The Challenge of Communication, Third Edition explores
intercultural communication and the relationship between communication and
culture, using narrative as a common and compelling thread for studying inter-
cultural interactions. Anchored in the position that people make sense of their
worlds through choosing and telling narratives to themselves and others, this text
is replete with narratives and stories. Chapters address key aspects of intercultural
communication, including verbal and nonverbal communication; stereotypes and
bias; identity; conflict; diversity; and ethics. Using an interpretive approach to
intercultural communication, the text helps students understand that although a
person may appear different, his/her common sense is quite reasonable within
a particular interpretive context. Resources are included to help students under-
stand and explain the reasonableness of other cultural systems.
The text includes activities for students to complete while reading, includ-
ing self-assessments and nonverbal self-knowledge tests. Reflection questions
within and at the end of each chapter promote thinking and discussion on
each topic. With its unique approach to studying intercultural communica-
tion via real-life narratives, this text facilitates a deep understanding of the
cultural aspects of communication. In providing the narratives of others, it
encourages students to tell their own stories and build a strong foundation for
communicating across cultures.
New to the Third Edition:
• New chapter—“How Does Culture Impact Applied Contexts?”—explores
intercultural communication as it relates to the environment, health, and
technology.
• New sections on identity, silence, and terms of address as important
communicative practices in intercultural settings.
• Updated sections on honorifics, key terms, social dramas and the golden
approaches to ethics.
Bradford J. Hall is Head of the Department of Languages, Philosophy, and
Communication Studies at Utah State University. He teaches in the areas of inter-
cultural communication and communication theory, focusing on the link between
our talk, thoughts, and actions. His research deals with issues of culture, identity,
membership, conflict, and everyday conversation.
Patricia O. Covarrubias is Associate Professor in the Department of
Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico where she
teaches cult ural and intercultural communication, cultural discourse analysis,
global metaphors, qualitative research methods, and the ethnography of commu-
nication. Her research has been dedicated to understanding the linkages among
culture, communication, and peoples’ unique ways of life.
Kristin A. Kirschbaum is Associate Professor at East Carolina University,
and has taught courses in health communication, intercultural communica-
tion, organizational health communication, interpersonal communication, and
communication theory. Her research includes measures of communication in
physician populations with structured research protocols aimed to increase
collaboration and medical communication among physicians.
Third Edition
Among
Cultures
The Challenge of
Communication
Bradford J. Hall
Patricia O. Covarrubias
Kristin A. Kirschbaum
Third edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2018 Taylor & Francis
The right of Bradford J. Hall, Patricia O. Covarrubias, and Kristin A.
Kirschbaum to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by
them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Harcourt College Pub 2002
Second Edition published by Wadsworth Publishing 2004
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Names: Hall, Bradford J., author. | Covarrubias, Patricia Olivia, author. |
Kirschbaum, Kristin A., author.
Title: Among cultures : the challenge of communication / Bradford J. Hall,
Patricia Covarrubias, and Kristin A. Kirschbaum.
Description: Third edition. | New York : Routledge, 2018.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017004574| ISBN 9781138657816 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781138657823 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Intercultural communication. | Culture conflict.
Classification: LCC GN345.6 .H34 2018 | DDC 303.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017004574
ISBN: 978-1-138-65781-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-65782-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-62117-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
Visit the companion website: www.routledge/cw/Hall
Contents
Preface xvi
Acknowledgments xxv
1 What Is Meant by Intercultural Communication? 1
Culture 3
System 4
Historically Shared 6
Symbolic Resources 8
Make Our World Meaningful 11
Selection 11
Organization 13
Evaluation 14
Communication 16
Interdependent 17
Situational 18
Intercultural Communication 19
Intercultural Communication as a Field of Study 19
Hazards of Intercultural Study 20
Oversimplification 20
Overgeneralization 21
Exaggeration 21
Benefits of Intercultural Study 22
Personal Empowerment 22
Freedom from Ignorance 22
Productive Relationships 22
Summary 23
Reflection Questions 24
Activities 24
vi Contents
2 What Is the Relationship between Communication
and Culture? 26
Manifestations of Culture 29
Worldviews 30
Individualism/Collectivism 30
Ascription/Achievement 33
Egalitarian/Hierarchical 35
Good/Evil 38
Mastery/Adaptive 40
Social Lubricant/Information 41
High Context/Low Context 42
Polychronic/Monochronic 44
Final Thoughts on Worldviews 46
Values 48
Norms 51
Two Perspectives on the Culture Communication
Connection 55
Monolithic Force 55
Reflexive Force 56
Sense-Making 56
Situational 56
Summary 57
Reflection Questions 58
Activities 58
3 How Can We Learn about Our Own and
Others’ Cultures? 61
The Learning Process 63
Need 64
Precedent 64
The Etic/Emic Distinction 66
Hymes’ SPEAKING Framework: An Etic Grid 67
Scenes 68
Participants 68
Ends 68
Acts (Substance and Sequence) 69
Keys 69
Instrumentalities 69
Norms 69
Genres 70
Narratives 70
Narrative Teaching Functions 72
Contents vii
The Way the World Works 72
Our Place in the World 75
How to Act in the World 76
How to Evaluate What Goes On in the World 79
Interpreting Narratives 81
Ritual 83
(Mis)impressions about the Nature of Rituals 83
Just the Same Thing Over and Over 83
Outdated, Hypocritical, and Meaningless 84
Reserved for Specialized Settings 86
Engaged in by Those Less Sophisticated Than I 89
Recognizing Rituals around Us 90
The Worth of Rituals 91
Social Dramas 92
Key Terms 95
Summary 96
Reflection Questions 97
Activities 98
4 How Is Culture Related to Our Identities? 100
Identity 103
Social and Personal Identities 103
Expectations Related to Ourselves and Others 109
Role Expectations 109
Language Expectations 112
Communication’s Relationship to Identity 113
Reflective 113
Constitutive 115
Pathways to Identity 118
Avowal 118
Ascription 120
Reactive 120
Proactive 123
Summary 126
Reflection Questions 127
Activities 128
5 Where Can We Look to Explain Verbal
Misunderstandings? 130
Verbal Communication and Context 133
Contextual Frames 134
Frames and Expected Forms of Communication 135
viii Contents
Frames Evoking and Assuming Informal Rules 136
Frames Evoking and Assuming Identities 139
Verbal Communication: Structure and Content 141
Quality 141
Idioms 142
Quantity 144
Silence 144
Elaborated and Restricted Codes 144
Relevance 144
Forms of Address 145
Questions and Answers 145
Manner 146
Code-Switching 147
Gratuitous Concurrence 148
Terms of Address 149
Pronouns 150
Honorifics 152
Face Considerations 154
Direct/Indirect Communication 155
Language and Thought 158
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis 159
Summary 161
Reflection Questions 162
Activities 162
6 Where Can We Look to Explain Nonverbal
Misunderstandings? 165
Roles of Nonverbal Communication 167
Repetition 168
Contradiction 168
Substitution 168
Accentuation 169
Complementary 169
Regulation 169
Forms of Nonverbal Communication 170
Kinesics 170
Facial Expressions 170
Body Movements 173
Five Functions 176
Emblems 176
Illustrators 176
Contents ix
Affect Displays 177
Regulators 177
Adaptors 177
Proxemics 178
Space 178
Touch 179
Paralanguage 180
Silence 183
Silence and Socio-Cultural Identities 186
Silence and Social Relationships 188
Silence and Conflict 189
Other Forms of Nonverbal Communication 192
Living Environment 192
Clothes 193
Food 194
Smell 195
Time 196
Intercultural Listening and Nonverbal Communication 197
Summary 198
Reflection Questions 199
Activities 200
Answers to Facial Expression Test and to Intercultural Kinesic
Cues Quiz 201
7 Why Do So Many People Get Treated Poorly? 205
Stereotypes 209
Categorization 209
Fundamental Attribution Error 210
Five Points of Variance 212
Direction 212
Intensity 212
Specificity 213
Consensus 213
Accuracy 213
Ethnocentrism 215
Concern/Indifference 217
Involvement/Avoidance 218
Enjoyment/Intolerance 218
Prejudice 219
Forms of Prejudice 222
Blatant 222
