An Introduction to Intercultural Communication. Fred E. Jandt
and businesses in the afternoons to conserve energy. Such adjustments would make sense. Why, then, do some people attribute sensible midday siestas in hot climates to laziness?
Focus on Culture 2.2 Benjamin Franklin’s Remarks on American Indians
Savages we call them, because their Manners differ from ours, which we think the Perfection of Civility; they think the same of theirs.
Perhaps, if we could examine the Manners of different Nations with Impartiality, we should find no People so rude, as to be without any Rules of Politeness; nor any so polite, as not to have some Remains of Rudeness.… An Instance of this occurred at the Treaty of Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, anno 1744, between the Government of Virginia and the Six Nations. After the principal Business was settled, the Commissioners from Virginia acquainted the Indians by a Speech that there was at Williamsburg a College, with a Fund for Educating Indian youth; and that, if the Six Nations would send down half a dozen of their young Lads to that College, the Government would take care that they should be well provided for, and instructed in all the Learning of the White People. It is one of the Indian Rules of Politeness not to answer a public Proposition the same day that it is made; they think it would be treating it as a light manner, and that they show it Respect by taking time to consider it, as of a Matter important. They therefor deferr’d their Answer till the Day following; when their Speaker began, by expressing their deep Sense of the kindness of the Virginia Government, in making them that Offer; “for we know,” says he, “that you highly esteem the kind of Learning taught in those Colleges, and that the Maintenance of our young Men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are convinc’d, therefore, that you mean to do us Good by your Proposal; and we thank you heartily. But you, who are wise, must know that different Nations have different Conceptions of things; and you will therefore not take it amiss, if our Ideas of this kind of Education happen not to be the same with yours. We have had some Experience of it; Several of our young People were formerly brought up at the Colleges of the Northern Provinces; they were instructed in all your Sciences; but, when they came back to us, they were bad Runners, ignorant of every means of living in the Woods, unable to bear either Cold or Hunger, knew neither how to build a Cabin, take a Deer, or kill an Enemy, spoke our language imperfectly, were therefore neither fit for Hunters, Warriors, nor Counsellors; they were totally good for nothing. We are however not the less oblig’d by your kind Offer, tho’ we decline accepting it; and, to show our grateful Sense of it, if the Gentlemen of Virginia will send us a Dozen of their Sons, we will take great Care of their Education, instruct them in all we know, and make Men of them.”
Source: Quoted in Mott & Jorgenson (1936).
After reading the comments by Benjamin Franklin (see Focus on Culture 2.2), who do you think was being ethnocentric?
In contrast to ethnocentrism, Cultural relativism refers to the view that an individual’s beliefs and behaviors should be understood only in terms of that person’s own culture. It does not mean that everything is equal. It does mean that we must try to understand other people’s behavior in the context of their culture. It also means that we recognize the arbitrary nature of our own cultural behaviors and are willing to reexamine them by learning about behaviors in other cultures (M. N. Cohen, 1998).
Global Voices
The easiest idea to sell anyone is that he is better than someone else.
Source: Gordon Allport, The Nature of Prejudice (1954, p. 372).
A less extreme form of ethnocentrism can be labeled cultural nearsightedness, or taking one’s own culture for granted and neglecting other cultures. For example, people in the United States often use the word Americans to refer to U.S. citizens, but actually that word is the correct designation of all people in North and South America. Its careless use is a form of ethnocentrism.
Cultural nearsightedness often results in making assumptions that simple things are the same everywhere. Designing forms for something as simple as a person’s name is not that simple if you recognize how widely practices vary. For example, in Mexico, people may have two surnames, with the first from the father’s first surname and the second from the mother’s surname. Often, only the first surname is used and the second abbreviated. When a woman marries, she usually retains both of her surnames and adds her husband’s first surname. Consider China, with 1.4 billion people and only about 4,000 surnames, with 85% of the population sharing 100 of them. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, nearly 93 million people share the name Wang—the most common surname in the world. Second most occurring is Li, with some 92 million Chinese. The most prevalent surname in the United States, Smith, is shared by 2.4 million people.
Another example is Eurocentric ethnocentrism. This would include, for example, recognizing only Western holidays in schools or basing curriculum only on Western history, music, and art. The terms the West and the East themselves have been labeled Eurocentric ethnocentrism. Asia is east of Europe, but to call Asia “the East” makes its identity dependent on Europe.
Extreme ethnocentrism leads to a rejection of the richness and knowledge of other cultures. It impedes communication and blocks the exchange of ideas and skills among peoples. Because it excludes other points of view, an ethnocentric orientation is restrictive and limiting.
Stereotypes and Prejudice
Stereotypes and prejudice are a pernicious stumbling block to intercultural communication. Stereotype is the broader term and is commonly used to refer to negative or positive judgments made about individuals based on any observable or believed group membership. Prejudice refers to the irrational suspicion or hatred of a particular group, race, religion, or sexual orientation. The terms are related in that they both refer to making judgments about individuals based on group membership. It’s generally agreed that Racism is prejudice with the exercise of power on or over the group through institutional, historical, and structural means (Hoyt, 2012).
Stereotypes
The word stereotyping was first used by journalist Walter Lippmann in 1922 to describe judgments made about others on the basis of their ethnic group membership. Today, the term is more broadly used to refer to judgments made on the basis of any group membership. Psychologists have attempted to explain stereotyping as mistakes our brains make in the perception of other people that are similar to those mistakes our brains make in the perception of visual illusions (Nisbett, 1980). When information is ambiguous, the brain often reaches the wrong conclusion.
Who stereotypes? And who is the target of stereotyping? The answer to both questions is that anyone can stereotype and anyone can be the target of stereotyping.
Identify the stereotypes in the following examples of sign language and in sports team logos: Until recently, the sign for Japanese in American Sign Language was a twist of the little finger at the corner of the eye to denote a slanted eye. The new sign, taken from Japanese Sign Language, is a hand signal to show the shape of the Japanese islands (Costello, 1995). In Japanese Sign Language, the sign for foreigner is the index finger making a circular motion around the eye denoting “round eye.”
Are American Indian logos and mascots stereotypes? Some say the stereotypes are positive; others find them demeaning. In 2001, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights called for an end to the use of American Indian images and team names by non–American Indian schools. Beginning in 2006, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) prohibited 18 colleges and universities from displaying their nicknames, logos, or mascots based on American Indian imagery or references at postseason games. By 2008, the ban also applied to the uniforms of cheerleaders, dance teams, and band members at NCAA championship sites. Central Michigan, Florida State, Midwestern State, Mississippi College, and the University of Utah retained their eligibility by receiving support from the eponymous tribe. Schools under this ban include the Florida State Seminoles, the Illinois Fighting Illini, and the Utah Utes. The University of North Dakota (UND) was one of the 18 schools