Manual for Students

communication among groups speaking different substrate languages. But others (Russenorsk, Chinese Pidgin English, etc.) have arisen in two-language contact situations, and display the characteristics associated with any prototypical pidgin. In short, there is no single formula for pidgin formation, and no fixed or invariant blueprint for pidgin structure.

– Changes in the social ecology of a language can result in quite significant change in the language itself; longitudinal studies of such contact vernaculars as Chinese Pidgin English, Melanesian Pidgin, and others reveal that they go through phases of stability interspersed with periods of fluctuation and sometimes drastic breaks. Changes in the social circumstances of their use also led to drastic elaborative change in all varieties of pidgins, when they became the primary media of interethnic communication in their home territories. Today, languages like Bislama and Tok Pisin are recognized as official languages in Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea respectively. They continue to expand their resources in response to the growing demands placed on them. They demonstrate, in all stages of their history, the ways in which social factors can shape the very character of a language.

PRACTICE

ØThink Critically About the Following Questions:

1) What is the difference between pidgin and creole?

2) A pidgin language becomes a creole when it is: a) nativized;

b)memorized; c) expanded; d) grammaticized.

ØShort Essay: Tell the life story of African American Vernacular English from the Creolists’ view point beginning with its “birth” (resulting from contact between speakers of different languages) and continuing through its history until today. Explain as much as possible what happened and why. Concepts such as “pidgin”, “creole”, “decreolization”, and “postcreole continuum” may be helpful.

ØEssay Questions: Based on the Questions 1 – 5 you are supposed to write a short essay covering main directions introduced by the topic.

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Questions (1 – 3) below focus on the issue of Creoleness for a particular variety or varieties. There is also scope to widen comparisons – e.g., though the Bajan question does not specifically request it, one might make comparisons with another typical Caribbean English Creole, such as Jamaican or Guyanese.

Questions (4 – 5) are more general in scope, and answers are expected to range over more than one pidgin / creole variety for supporting evidence. Each question identifies several directions you might take the selected essay in – but you need not go in all of these directions in one essay.

1)Barbadian Creole English (Bajan): Is Bajan a Creole? How did it develop? Identify and discuss the major issues in this debate.

2)Is Gullah a Creole, and why (or why not)? How different is Gullah from African American Vernacular English (AAVE), and why is it so different? What are the social and historical conditions that led to its status? Is it changing today towards AAVE, or towards Standard English, and why? (Note: do not do extensive description of AAVE as part of this question).

3)Is Tok Pisin a Pidgin or a Creole, and why (or why not)?

(a)Summarise briefly the circumstances of its origin, development and current use. (b) Describe the development of one linguistic feature in some detail as an illustration of your thesis. (c) Discuss the use of the standard distinction between Pidgin and Creole in this context: Is it a useful one in the analysis of Tok Pisin? Are intermediate terms such as “extended pidgin” helpful – in describing Tok Pisin? to the field generally?

4)What has the field of pidgin / creole studies contributed to the field of Second LanguageAcquisition (SLA)? What has SLAcontributed to P/C studies? Identify and trace some of the major themes and issues as they developed, and discuss two.

5)Evaluate arguments for and against the relevance of grammaticalization processes in the development of pidgins / creoles. Discuss the concept in a general fashion; analyse evidence from at least one pidgin and one creole, and consider alternative explanations and processes for the features described.

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ØResearch Paper – General Suggestions:

1)Based on Speech Data: Working from recorded or transcribed materials, you may select a linguistic feature for empirical analysis. Eg, optimality theory (OT) analysis of phonological elements; minimalist/etc. formal analysis of syntactic constructions; discourse analysis of conversational features or discourse markers; instrumental phonetic analysis of vowels, consonants or pitch patterns; variationist analysis of distribution of a linguistic variable, and so on. Important here is to establish early the availability of suitable data, and to be sure you have chosen a type of analysis that you are competent to perform (some types of analysis, of course, may rely on written rather than spoken data).

2)Papers Which Produce New Data: may be correspondingly shorter on analysis. You may record data yourself, if you’re equipped to do so; or work with material from the mass media. A typical paper of this sort would describe the context for the data and the methods used, provide a transcript and key, and then have a section commenting on selected linguistic features and offering analysis of patterns observed.

3)Based on Written or Historical Data: Some non-contemporary or non-mechanically-recorded historical materials exist which can be the subject of, e.g., variationist, discourse or syntactic analyses, or evaluations of historical development. Most such data have their own problems of interpretation, a frequent theme in the literature, and a valid subject for a paper (or part of one) in itself.

4)Applied Issues: Topics including literacy (orthography, reading), education, language testing, access to institutional resources (healthcare, employment, language rights), language attitudes, etc. are very welcome subjects for a paper. Such a paper may be data-based, but is just as likely to be synthetic, drawing on the literature.

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REFERENCES

1.Appel R. Language Contact and Bilingualism / ReneAppel, Pieter Muysken. – London : Edward Arnold Press, 1987. – 369 p.

2.Bynon T. Historical Linguistics / Thomas Bynon. – Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1977. – 578 p.

3.Clyne M. Dynamics of Language Contact / Michael Clyne. – Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2003. – 235 p.

4.Dictionary in Linguistics and Phonetics / Ed. by David Crystal. – London : Blackwell Publishing, 1997. – P. 614.

5.Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics / Ed. by R. E. Asher. – Oxford : Pergamon Press, 1994. – P. 512.

6.Haijer H. Linguistic and Cultural Change / H. Haijer // Language in Culture and Society : A Reader in Linguistics and Anthropology. – University of Pennsylvania : Harper and Row Publishing, 1964. – P. 125 – 141.

7.Hymes D. Language in Culture and Society : A Reader in Linguistics andAnthropology / Dell Hymes. – University of Pennsylvania: Harper and Row Publishing, 1964. – P. 70 – 84.

8.Lado R. Linguistics across Cultures / R. Lado. - Ann Arbor : The University of Michigan Press, 1957. – 287 p.

9.Myers-Scotton C. MultipleVoices:An Introduction to Bilingualism/ C. Myers-Scotton. – London : Blackwell Publishing, 2006. – 314 p.

10.Romaine S. Language and Society. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics / Sizanne Romaine. – Oxford : OUP, 1994. – 418 p.

11.Salzmann Z. Language, Culture and Society. An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology / Zenk Salzmann. – USA : Westview Press, 1998. – 516 p.

12.Sociolinguistics. A Resource Book for Students / Ed. by Peter Stockwell. – London, NY : Routledge, 2002. – 397 p.

13.Sociolinguistics. The Essential Readings. / Ed. by C. Bratt Paulston, G. Richard Tucker. – Oxford : Blackwell Publishing, 2003. – 361 p.

14.Thomason S. G. Language Contact, Creolization and Genetic Linguistics / Sarah G. Thomason, T. Kaufman. – Berkeley : University of California Press, 1988. – P. 76.

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15.Trudgill P. Sociolinguistics: An Introduction / Peter Trudgill. – Harmondsworth : Penguin Books, 1974. – P. 5 – 6.

16.Winford D. An Introduction to Contact Linguistics / Donald Winford. – London : Blackwell Publishing, 2003. – P. 267 – 306.

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Part II

FUNDAMENTALS OF INTERCULTURAL

COMMUNICATION

-1-

INTERCULTURALCOMMUNICATION:

THE BASICS

Overview

The chapter creates the mainframe of the second part of the manual includingmethodology, related fields, significant works and main directions of research. It also introduces main object of upcoming analyses – intercultural human communication.

Topics covered include: Intercultural Communication; Technological Reason; Demographic Reason; Economic Reason; Self-Awareness Reason; Ethical Reason.

Key words: Dialogical Approach, Diversity, Ethics, Ethnocentrism, Global Village, Heterogeinity, Identity Management, Identity Tourism, Immigrants, Intercultural Communication, Mobility, Multinational Corporations, Multiphrenia, Self-Reflexivity.

—————————————————–——————————

1.1 Why to Study Intercultural Communication?

We live in rapidly changing times. Although no on can foresee the future, we believe that changes are increasing the imperative for intercultural learning. Learning about intercultural communication is not about learning a finite set of skills, terms and theories. It is about learning to think about cultural realities in multiple ways. We have to recognize that in many instances people do not want to communicate interculturally. Sometimes people see those who are culturally different as threatening, as forcing them to change. Because of this dynamic, many people have had negative intercultural experience that influences subsequent intercultural interactions. Negative experience can range from simple misunderstandings to physical violence.

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The study of communication is both a science and an art. Because communication does not happen in a vacuum but is integral to the many dynamics that make it possible – economics, politics, technology. The ever changing character of the world means that it is essential to develop sensitivity and flexibility to change. It also means that you can never stop learning about intercultural communication.

Through intercultural relationships, we can learn a tremendous amount about other people and their cultures, and about ourselves and our own cultural background. At the same time, there are many challenges. Intercultural communication can also involve barriers like stereotyping and discrimination.And these relationships take place in complex historical and political contexts. An important goal of this book is to increase one’s understandingof thedynamicsat studies and workin intercultural interaction.

Cross-cultural communication has always been interdisciplinary; the field is now informed by three identifiable and competing paradigms, or ways of thinking. In this part of the manual we attempt to integrate three different research approaches: 1) the traditional social-psychological approach, which emphasizes cultural differences and the ways in which these differences influence communication; 2) the interpretive approach, which focuses on communication in context; 3) the critical approach, which underscores the importance of power and historical context in understanding intercultural communication.

We believe that each of these approaches has important contributions to make to the understanding of intercultural communication and that they operate in interconnected and sometimes contradictory ways. Throughout this manual, we acknowledge that there are no easy solutions to the difficult challenges of intercultural communication. Sometimes our discussions raise more questions than they answer – which we believe is perfectly reasonable at this point in time. Not only is the field of intercultural communication changing, but the relationship between culture and communication is – and probably always will be – complex and dynamic. We live in a rapidly changing world in which intercultural contact will continue to increase, creating a heightened potential for both conflict and cooperation. There are many ways to think about intercultural interactions. One way to learn more about intercultural experiences is to engage in dialogue with others on this topic.

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Students usually come to the field of intercultural communication with some knowledge about many different cultural groups, including their own. Their understanding is often based on observations via television, movies, the Internet, books, personal experiences, news media, and more. But many students have difficult time assimilating information that does not readily fit into their preexisting knowledge base. In this book, we move students gradually to the notion of a dialectical framework for thinking about cultural issues. That is, we show that knowledge can be acquired in many different ways – through social scientific studies, personal experience, media reports, and so on – but these differing forms of knowledge need to be seen dynamically and in relation to each other.

Whyis itimportant tofocus oninterculturalcommunicationandtostrive to become better at this complex pattern of interaction? In Chapter 1, you will learn more about some of these changes and their influence on intercultural communication. We can think of at least five reasons. You can possibly add more.

1.1.1 The Technological Reason

Today, with the explosion of computers and other communication technologies, we truly live in the global village envisioned by Marshal McLuhan. Communication technology links us to events from the most remote parts of the world and connects us to persons we may never meet face-to-face from around the world. Perhaps the most revolutionary advancement has been the Internet.

Technology and Human Communication. In past centuries, social relationships were limited by physical factors such as geographical distance and lack of mobility, but they evolved with each technological advance, such as the railroad, the automobile, the telephone, the radio, TV, and movies. These relationships have now multiplied exponentially. The extent to which the Internet has expanded our interpersonal networks is revealed in a story told by New York Times political writer Thomas Friedman. His 79-year-old mother called him up one day, sounding upset. When he asked what was wrong, she said, Well, I’ve been playing bridge on the Internet with three Frenchmen and they keep speaking French to each other and I can’t understand. When Friedman chuckled a little

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at the thought of his mother playing bridge with three Frenchmen on the Net, she said, do not laugh, I was playing bridge with someone in Siberia the other day [7, p. xvi].

Consider these trends:

Øas of February 2002, there were approximately 445.9 million Internet users worldwide, including 33.7 million users in China and 16.7 million in South Korea (Business Asia, February 2002);

ØInternet access is available in all 54 countries and territories of Africa, mostly in the capital cities. The number of dial-up Internet subscribers there now stands at over 1.3 million;

Øin just seven LatinAmerican countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela), an estimated 16 million people have Internet access;

Øin Scandinavia, 63% of Norwegians use the Internet, as do 62% of Danes. Norwegians use the Web primarily to gather product information (Internet Business News, July 9, 2001);

Øwomen spend less time on the Internet than men. They use the Internet for shopping, travel, banking, and sending e-greeting cards, whereas men use it for browsing, reading content, and downloading software (Internet Business News, March 22, 2002);

Øin the United States, 66.9% of Americans use the Internet, 54.6% use e-mail, 51.7% of Internet users purchase products on-line, 78.7% of adults say that children in their household spend an appropriate amount of time on-line, 70% of adults say that the grades of children who use the Internet stay the same, and 75% of adults say that they do not feel ignored by relatives and friends as a result of chat room activity (Camping Magazine, January 2001, www.findarticles.com).

The advent of the Internet and other communication technologies has tremendous implications for intercultural communication. We will focus on five aspects of culture and technology: 1) increased information about peoples and cultures; 2) increased contact with people who are different from us; 3) increased contact with people who are similar to us and who can provide communities of support; 4) identity, culture, and technology; 5) differential access to communication technology.

Increase in Information. The Internet provides access to information about other cultures and other peoples. We can now

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instantaneously find out almost anything about any group in the world simply by searching the Internet. This should give us a better understanding of our global neighbors, and perhaps some motivation to coexist peacefully in our global village; however, the evidence seems to be to the contrary. Apparently, knowledge about others does not necessarily lead to better communication or heightened understanding. We will tackle issues like this in later chapters.

Increased Contact with People from Different Cultures.

Communication technology brings us in contact with people we might never have the opportunity to know otherwise.And many of these people are from different cultural backgrounds, as was the case with Friedman’s mother’s bridge partners. The Internet / e-mail allows us to have “pen pals” from different cultures and to carry on discussions with these people in virtual chat rooms and on discussion boards.

However, such mediated communication across cultures does present unique challenges. Unlike face-to-face communication, mediated communication filters out important non-verbal cues. When we are talking to individuals face-to-face,weuse non-verbal information tohelp us interpret what they are really saying – tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, and so on. The absence of these cues in mediated contexts (e.g., e-mail, chat rooms) makes communication more difficult and can lead to misunderstandings.And these misunderstandings can be compounded when communicating across cultures. For example, anAmerican professor from Columbia University in NewYork shared her experience of communicating through electronic mail. She stated that she was offended when the e-mails she received from colleagues overseas seemed too brief and to the point. She has since discovered that her colleagues overseas are charged computer time by the minute and so have learned to be very concise in their e-mail messages. What she interpreted as rudeness had more to do with the economic context in which the interaction took place than with the communicators themselves. If she had been able to observe their nonverbal cues while communicating, she probably would have known that they were not being rude. The described experience demonstrates only some challenges of intercultural communication in the virtual space.

Increased Contact with People Who Are Similar. Communication technology also allows us to have more contact with people who are

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