1、Review of Unit 6,What is nonverbal communication? 2. Why is nonverbal behavior significant in intercultural communication?3. Illustrate some cultural differences in nonverbal communication.,Intercultural Communication Unit 7 Time and Space Across Cultures,Warm Up,Please read the story on page 228. W
2、hat can we learn from the story? The American and his son have discovered that Latin American use of time and space is very different from theirs back in the United States. They felt astounded at first because they had not expected that there would be such great differences in these aspects of life
3、between Latin Americans and North Americans. What they have learned there is not just the Spanish language, but also how time and space is to be used when you interact with people in the new cultural environment.,Warm Up,What is your sense of time? Go to answer the questions on Group Work (p235-236)
4、. People who choose very different answers to these questions may find it difficult to communicate and get along with one another, for they are very likely to differ in sense of time and how time should be used. Sometimes we may make unfair judgments on other people and their characters simply becau
5、se their understanding and use of time are different from ours.,Chronemics,Chronemics is the study of how people perceive and use time. The sense of time: 1) Time is linear. Western cultures think time is linear a flow from the past to the present to the future. 2) Time is cyclical. Life on earth ev
6、olved in response to the cycles of day and night and the ebb and flow of the tides.,Chronemics,Monochronic and Polychronic Time (p256-257) 1. What is M-Time and P-Time? Which do you think is the dominating time system in our culture? Monochronic time means paying attention to and doing only one thin
7、g at a time events scheduled as separate items. 2) Polychronic time means being involved with many things at once.,Chronemics,2. What is the philosophy underlying each of the time system? 1) P-time stresses involvement of people and completion of transactions rather than adherence to present schedul
8、es. Appointments are not taken as seriously and, as a consequence, are frequently broken. P-time is treated as less tangible than M-time. Weakness: Matters in a polychromic culture seem in a constant state of flux. Appointments are frequently broken.,Chronemics,2. What is the philosophy underlying e
9、ach of the time system? 2) In M-time system, social and business life is commonly schedule-dominated. By scheduling, we compartmentalize; this makes it possible to concentrate on one thing at a time, but it also reduces the context. M-time is also tangible. M-time scheduling is used as a classificat
10、ion system that orders life. Weakness: Life in general is at times unpredictable. M-time reduces the context and alienate people from themselves and from others.,Reading I,Read the article “The Heartbeat of Culture” (p229-232). 1. What does the author want to tell us from his experience in Brazil an
11、d the questionnaire between students in Niteroi and those in Fresno? In Brazil, people seem to be very flexible in their concepts of time and punctuality. Brazilians are likely to attribute lateness for appointments to unforeseen circumstances that the person couldnt control. They seem less inclined
12、 to feel personally responsible for being late. So they express less regret for their own lateness and blame others less when others are late.,Reading I,Read the article “The Heartbeat of Culture” (p229-232). 1. What does the author want to tell us from his experience in Brazil and the questionnaire
13、 between students in Niteroi and those in Fresno? The Brazilian students believed that a person who is consistently late is probably more successful than one who is consistently on time. They seemed to accept the idea that someone of status is expected to arrive late. Lack of punctuality is a badge
14、of success.,Reading I,Read the article “The Heartbeat of Culture” (p229-232). 2. There arent unanimous perceptions of time among culturally different people. Even within one country, ideas of time and punctuality vary considerably from place to place. Different regions and even cities have their own
15、 distinct rhythms and rules. 3. Appreciating cultural differences in time sense becomes increasingly important as modern communications put more and more people in daily contact. If we are to avoid misreading issues that involve time perceptions, we need to understand better our own cultural biases
16、and those of others.,Identifying Difference: Whats the Rush? (p233-235),People from South America do many things simultaneously, are more concerned with people and the present moment than with schedules, believe that they are in command of time rather than are being controlled by it so they dont rus
17、h to do things and tend to “be late” often. However, people in the United States emphasize schedules, the segmentation of time, and promptness. They prefer to do only one thing at a time and believe that time is money. So, people from South America may think that people in the United States dont und
18、erstand the true meaning of life and have no idea of enjoying it while people in the United States may regard people from South America as lazy or irresponsible.,American Concept of Time,People in the United States emphasize schedules, the segmentation of time, and promptness. They prefer to do only
19、 one thing at a time and believe that time is money. Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe thats Professionals carry around pocket planners-some in electronic form-to keep track of appointments and deadlines. People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time. To Americans, pun
20、ctuality is a way of showing respect for other peoples time. Being more than 10 minutes late to an appointment usually calls for an apology, and maybe an explanation. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Also, people hesitate to call others late at night for f
21、ear they might be in bed.,Reading II,Read the article “The Language of Space” (p239-243) . What are the differences among Americans, the India, the Japanese and the Arab towards space? In the United States, Hall reports that psychologists have identified four zones from which U.S. people interact: t
22、he intimate zone, the personal zone, the social zone, and the public zone. The study of spatial territory for the purpose of communication uses four categories for informal space: the intimate distance for embracing or whispering (6-18 inches), the personal distance for conversations among good frie
23、nds (1.5-4 feet), social distance for conversations among acquaintances (4-12 feet), and public distance used for public speaking (12 feet or more).,Reading II,In India, there are elaborate rules about how closely members of each caste may approach other castes. In Japan, the private bubble and the
24、personal space are more a creation of the mind than an actual existence. The Japanese connect privacy with mental space. In crowds each Japanese becomes an island and he is alone as long as he does not acknowledge any of the other people. In Arab, Arabs of the same sex do stand much closer than Nort
25、h Americans. An Arab entering an elevator may stand right next to another person and be touching even though no one else is in the elevator.,Supplement: Proxemics,A fascinating area in the nonverbal world of body language is that of spatial relationships, or proxemics, the study of mans appreciation
26、 and use of space. As a species, man is highly territorial but we are rarely aware of it unless our space is somehow violated. Spatial relationships and territorial boundaries directly influence our daily encounters. Maintaining control over such space is a key factor in personal satisfaction; obser
27、ving spatial interactions in everyday life is a key to personal awareness.,Supplement: Proxemics,(i)The study of proxemics includes three aspects of space: (a) fixed features of space. (b) semifixed features of space, and (c) personal space (a) fixed features of space For example, a person in the Un
28、ited States can drive on a highway for miles and never see a sign of people or dwellings. Therefore, he may be amazed at the closeness of people in China. (b) semifixed features of space Semifixed features of space refer to spatial arrangements of movable objects within a room, such as furniture arr
29、angement and seating.,Supplement: Proxemics,(c) personal space or private space (p239-241) Behavioral study indicates that individuals perceive a distance that is appropriate for different types of messages; they also establish a comfortable distance for personal interaction and nonverbally define t
30、his as their personal space. Research supports the hypothesis that the violation of this personal space can have serious adverse effects on communication. Thus, if an individual is to be mutually satisfied in a communication encounter his/her personal space must be respected. Should an intruder inva
31、de this personal space while also trespassing within territorial boundaries he placed himself in double jeopardy and must compensate for the others increased anxiety.,Supplement: Territoriality,Territoriality refers to how space can be used to communicate messages. Territorial claims differ from per
32、sonal space in that the personal zone accompanies the individual while territoriality is relatively stationary. Semi-fixed feature space is often the criteria used to establish a territory within any environment; it becomes a mans safety zone where he rests from the rigors of defending personal spac
33、e from invasion, the dramatic or sudden entry into anothers personal zone. Humans, like animals, indicate their ownership of this established territory and will consequently defend it against all invasions.,Supplement: Territoriality,Compare the differences among the cultures of the countries mentio
34、ned in “Home in Various Cultures” (p244-247). America: showing visitors around home; people are not allowed to lock doors except the bathroom door; kitchen is the place for negotiation between the mother and the children; the parents bedroom is mostly off-limits. Germany: requires a wide area of pri
35、vacy, formal and regimented; doors are firmly shut between rooms; an entrance hall to lead visitors into the house without showing specific rooms and spoiling the familys privacy. Northern European countries: rude if not call in advance; not to expect the tour of the hosts home.,Supplement: Territor
36、iality,France: never drop in unannounced; no tour of the house; guests are usually received in the living room, with the doors to the other rooms closed. Italy: you can drop in anytime without calling first, except for the resting hours of 2:00 to 4:00 pm. Spain: call ahead; normal visiting hours ar
37、e 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Latin American countries: guests, even dropping in without warning, are greeted warmly, often with hugs and kisses; to communicate in the dining room. The Middle Eastern countries: the layout of the salon;,Case Study,Case 25 (Page 250-251) In this case, to the Chinese director as
38、well as many other Chinese people, it is natural to handle the other things which needed to be dealt with immediately. He may have thought that, in this way, he utilized the time best. But to Katherine and most Westerners, its quite different. They tend to do things strictly according to their sched
39、ule and appointments with others, which is their concept of using time best.,Case Study,Case 26 (Page 251) Jack felt his privacy violated and Jack immediately showed his emotion as a conditioned reflex, which wrote on the look ,saying “I am completely not happy to see you”. A few seconds later, he s
40、miled and said, “Hi, Magid, come on in.” This obvious change on his face was certainly noticed by Magid. Jack had to pretend he was very happy to see Magid, but he was so displeased with this dear old friend for not having phoned to say he was coming that he might have expressed his unhappiness from
41、 time to time through nonverbal messages, such as facial expressions, hand movements and body postures. These messages might contradict his words. Magid could more or less perceive this subtle awkwardness that he might be perplexed about.,Case Study,Case 27 (Page 252) We Chinese people usually attac
42、h great importance to taking good care of our guests. We often go out of our way to make a guest feel comfortable, and our kindness often knows no bound when it comes to a foreign visitor. But westerners including North Americans are trained to spend time alone and to do things for themselves from t
43、he time they are still very young. Therefore, they may feel uncomfortable when they are always surrounded by people attempting to be kind to them. Hospitality itself may be something universal, but the form and amount of hospitality differ greatly from culture to culture.,Case Study,Case 28 (Page 25
44、3) The most striking feature of the Japanese house was lack of privacy: the lack of individual, inviolable space. It is impossible to live under such conditions for very long without a common household identity emerging which naturally takes precedence over individual wishes. Although it has become
45、a standard practice in modern Japan for children to have their own rooms, many middle-aged and nearly all older Japanese still live in this way. They regard themselves as “one flesh”, their property as common to all; the household is constituted according to a principle of indivisibility. The system of moveable screen means that the rooms could be used by all the family and for all purposes.,Homework,Read “Cultural Conceptions of Time (p253-257)”. Some say that time is money while others say that time is life. What do you think of the two sayings? Are they very different from each other?,
