!" # $ % !& !" # $ ' % !" # ( ' ) ' " ' *

+ ! "

' ' ) . ' )

& ' " (!(/ " # '

Definitions and Models of Intercultural Communication Page 2

Definitions and Models of Intercultural Communication:

What does it mean to be a Muslim woman in New York after the terrible terrorist attacks on September 11 ^th , 2001? What has changed in the lives of Muslim people living in the United States? And what does ‘identification’ mean in this context? Starting from this statement of Anika Rahman in the New York Times, the Identity Negotiation Perspective and the Social Identity Perspective will be discussed, especially how human beings respond to threats to their identity. Finally, we will look at the value in diversity and identity negotiation within diverse work groups.

1. Introduction

The need for understanding diversity in cultures is not only essential when negotiating with business partners of other cultures or when going on holidays. Moreover, everybody - be it immigrants like Anika Rahman, expatriates or even people living in their country of birth - has to deal with different cultures everyday. We meet people from diverse cultural backgrounds at school, when we are shopping, at work, when we go out at night, and so forth. The study of intercultural communication gives us the tools to manage the cultural differences and to become more sensitive in intercultural encounters.

1.1 Culture

Edward T. Hall defines culture in interrelation to communication:“ Culture is communication and communication is culture” (Rogers, Hart & Miike, 2002). Culture is there-fore passed on via communication and communication reflects one’s culture. According to Adler (1997, p. 15) culture is

a. Something that is shared by all or almost all members of some social group,

Definitions and Models of Intercultural Communication Page 3

b. something that the older members of the group try to pass on to the younger members, and c. something (as in the case of morals, laws and customs) that shapes behavior, or,…structures one’s perception of the world.

And as stated by Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (1998, p. 20) culture is what keeps us alive just like a fish cannot live without water.

As we see in the existence of hundreds of different definitions of culture, culture must be something very complex. Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner (p. 1) go even further in stating that other cultures can never be understood.

However, in the context of intercultural communication one needs to know that every culture has different cultural artifacts, language, verbal and nonverbal symbols, symbolic meanings, norms, values, beliefs and traditions, but a shared need for security, trust and well-being (Ting-Toomey, 1999). The differences mentioned above account for a great deal in the understanding of different cultures and understanding the other’s culture is the basis for effective intercultural communication. Well, with reference to Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, let’s say, we need to be aware of the existing differences rather than saying ‘understand them’.

1.2 Intercultural Communication 1

Communication exists of both verbal and nonverbal messages with the objective to achieve shared meanings, i.e. both parties understand the same. However, in intercultural communication the chance of really understanding each other is quite low. ‘Intercultural’ includes that at least two parties from different cultural backgrounds are involved. The way we interpret (verbal and nonverbal) messages is based on our culture and this is the major difficulty in intercultural encounters: There are no two cultures which are alike! That means that every culture interprets nonverbal signs, gestures, cues and symbols differently. Not to mention the language itself! Thus, the greater the difference between the two cultures involved, the more difficult it is for the parties to understand each other (Adler, 1997).

¹ The term ‘Intercultural Communication’ was first developed by Edward T. Hall in the 1950s.

His work was influenced by his own experiences when he served for the army during World War II commanding an African

American regiment, and when he worked for the U.S. Indian Service together with the Hopi and Navajo people. The fields of

Psychoanalysis, linguistics, cultural anthropology, and ethology affected his further studies of intercultural communication. Much

of his research concentrates on nonverbal communication, and on communication between American and Japanese (Rogers,

Hart & Miike, 2002).

Definitions and Models of Intercultural Communication Page 4

In intercultural communication, we tend to negotiate the content meaning, i.e. the factual information. However, Ting-Toomey (1999) states, that it is more important to look at the relational meaning and the identity meaning. According to her, it is crucial that the other’s self-concept is supported in order to fulfill successful communication.

2. The Identity Negotiation Perspective

The Identity Negotiation Perspective emphasizes eight identity domains. Four primary identities and four situational identities. Identity is the self-image of an individual. That is, how one perceives him or herself. The identities according to the Identity Negotiation Perspective are shown in the following overview.

The primary identities play a great role throughout our lives whereas the situational identities depend on the situation we interact in. The primary and the situational identities mutually influence one another. Depending on the situation, events in the environment, or the affiliation to one’s cultural or ethnic background, one or more identities become more important for an individual’s self-perception (Ting-Toomey, 1999). Ting-Toomey uses the term ‘salience’ to refer to a prominent identity. For example, role identity can refer to the role of a mother. This identity is most likely to be salient for a woman who has just given birth to a child. The same woman can also feel like a

Definitions and Models of Intercultural Communication Page 5

business woman as soon as she starts working again after a break. These identities then surely vary depending whether the woman is at home with her child (the mother) or at work (the business woman).

Kay Deaux, Professor of Psychology at the City University of New York analyzed the impact of threats to one’s identity and the outcomes of identity negotiation based on the examples of Anika Rahman’s statement concerning the impact of the terrorist attacks on September 11 ^th (Deaux) and based on a research with first-year Hispanic students at an U.S. American university (Ethier & Deaux, 1994).

2.1 Identity Negotiation of Muslims and Arab-Americans 2 after September 11 th

2.1.1 The Impacts of threat to one’s identity:

As we all know, the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington have changed the lives of many people, and not only the lives of the families of the victims! Innocent Muslims and colored people struggle with the resemblance they may have with the terrorists (the enemy). Rahman (2001) even brought up the case of a professor at Princeton University who got attacked because he wears a turban and was mistaken for a Palestinian. Arab-Americans and Americans with Indian and Pakistani origin are scared and do not want to leave their children unattended. And it was probably last winter when I heard in the news of a local radio station that the police was looking for Osama bin Laden driving on the Autobahn 8 near Stuttgart in a black BMW. Some hours later the same day, they said that guy was just looking like bin Laden and he was often mistaken for him. All day I heard in the news ‘the chase for bin Laden’. Anika Rahman can feel the hate towards ‘her people’, i.e. the people of the same cultural or religious background. It changed the attitude towards her self. Her ‘identity’. Before the attacks her gender and personal identities were salient, she felt like “a lawyer, a feminist, a wife, a sister, a friend, a woman on the street” ³ (Rahman, 2001). After the attacks, her ethnic and cultural identities became salient. She started

² The terms Arab-Americans and Muslims usually have to be distinguished. First, most of the Arab-Americans are not Muslims, and second, most Muslims do not come from Arab countries (ARIS Report No. 2). However, the groups that suffer from threats

since Sept. 11 ^th are of Arabian origin, Muslims, and those who may look like Arabs.

³ During my research about Anika Rahman in the world wide web, I found out that she is a lawyer in the United States and committed herself to fight for women’s rights especially those of Muslim, Indian, and African women.

Definitions and Models of Intercultural Communication Page 6

to feel like a Muslim woman. Her cultural background had not played a great role in her live so far.

This can be explained by the identity negotiation theory. According to Ting-Toomey (1999) our cultural or ethnic identities become salient under the following circumstances: when the group we are affiliated with is threatened, when our group is positively evaluated, when our group is negatively evaluated or when we are confronted with positive and negative stereotypical remarks about our group. Attitudes toward Arab immigrants in the U.S. have not been given a great deal of attention until now. Indeed, there was not a special image of Arabs and Muslims. However, something that is new or unfamiliar is usually associated with negative images, Thus, before September 11 ^th , the stereotype of Arabs and Muslims was somewhat negative but not well articulated. On such a weakly defined concept, it is easier for the non-Arab, and non-Muslim Americans to establish a negative image of Muslims that is vivid and lasting. It lays a dangerous groundwork for prejudices and discrimination toward the target group.

In this newly-defined context, Anika Rahman and others start to think more about their identity and how their ethnicity is valued by others.

There are at least three possibilities, how an immigrant to the U.S. can primarily view him or herself. First, primarily as an American, second as an American with another ethnic origin (e.g. an Arab-American), and, third, as some combination of these identifications. He or she identifies with a group (groups) that he or she perceives to belong to.

The meaning of ethnic identity can have various resources, e. g. the traditions of one’s country, the social practices, and the degree of affiliation to one’s origins (Deaux, Ethier & Deaux, 1994).

If we want to define the term ‘evaluation’ we have to distinguish between the evaluation of the society and our own evaluation. The society’s evaluation describes the relative feeling of goodness or badness about a group. Our own evaluation of our group is usually positive. However, early theorists assumed, that the evaluation of the society is reflected in our own evaluation. That means, in the case of a numbing negative event such as that of September 11 ^th , even basic tendencies for positive regard may be challenged since Muslims and Arab-Americans experience great negative attitudes towards their groups.