There are many barriers to effective intercultural communication. These include cultural differences in worldviews, communication styles, language barriers, and power dynamics. Additionally, there are often cognitive and emotional obstacles to understanding and working with others from different cultures. To overcome these challenges, individuals must be aware of them and develop strategies for overcoming them.
Barriers to Effective Intercultural Communication Essay
Anxiety
Anxiety is a common phenomenon among both individuals and communities. It is a human emotion which is normal and a healthy one. However, anxiety may sometimes lead to miscommunication. Intercultural communication is often based on understanding what the other person is feeling and not just what the other person is saying.
Therefore, if there is a cultural barrier that leads to an individual feeling anxious it could lead to communication problems. An individual may feel anxious for a number of reasons. Sometimes, people may feel anxious because of past experiences. Intercultural communication should always be borne in mind when individuals from different cultures have experienced different things.
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism is a form of miscommunication where one individual from a particular culture assumes that their way is best and the only way for others to act. This can lead to distrust and mistreatment of individuals from other cultures. Ethnocentrism can also come in the form of stereotyping when one assumes that all people from other cultures are ignorant and act in a certain way.
Assumption of Similarity
This is one of the most common forms of miscommunication and is often the foundation of all the other forms. Assuming similarity is when one individual assumes that because they are from a particular culture that the other individual will also be of the same culture. This is a form of ethnocentrism and leads to misunderstanding and miscommunication on the part of the individual.
Prejudice
This is a common form of miscommunication that comes in the form of prejudice. Prejudice is a form of ethnocentrism where one assumes that the other individual is inferior or dangerous. This can lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding between individuals from different cultures. People from different cultures may have different views on what is good and bad.
Language barrier
This is a barrier that is often related to the first three forms of miscommunication. It is a difficult subject to discuss and understand. It can take a lot to learn another language and it is often hard for people who have grown up speaking their mother tongue to learn another language. The language barrier can be caused by age, gender, education and other factors.
Cultural relativism
This is a form of miscommunication that is often related to the fourth form of miscommunication. Cultural relativism is when one assumes that one culture is better than another culture and that there is a right and wrong way to act in all cultures. They may assume that because one culture is western and rich that it is the best. This can lead to miscommunication and misunderstanding.
Conclusion
Effective communication is a skill that few people posses and even fewer people can get their point across when there is a cross-cultural barrier. Cross cultural or intercultural communication is a part of the interaction of different people from different backgrounds and heritages.
There have been a number of studies in the field of intercultural communication with a number of experts studying ways different people from different backgrounds interact with each other and how they conduct their day to day activities. The subject also researches the barriers that an individual faces regarding communication between individuals from various cultures and heritages. In particular, this paper would look at the number of barriers that one faces with inter cultural communication.