Cultural Adaptation

"Enculturation is the process whereby an established culture teaches an individual by repetition its accepted norms and values"

"Acculturation is the psychological and social counterpart to cultural diffusion"

"Deculturation is the process of unlearning a culture"

(Wikipedia)

Can we really loose our original culture by replacing it by a new one ?

After many years in a foreign society, it is sometimes difficult to come back in the country of origin (see Culture Shock article). The habits changed, friends changed, sometimes the language, even the non-verbal language and generally speaking the behavior changed.
Coming back in the country of origin can lead to a second culture shock.

But how do we adapt ourself to the new culture ?

"The person is faced with situations in which his mental and behavioral habits are called to question"

We are not necessary able to understand some new habits and behavior. Even open-mind, a person is extremely attached to its culture of origin, and unconsciously when a person will encounter a reaction (facing a specific situation) different from the one's of his culture, he will not understand and thinks it is "not normal". Here begins a long process of culture adaptation which can last many years. The person will get used of some habits and behavior and think more and more that this is "normal". This is the acculturation.

Coming back in his country, he will probably try to explain to people why they don't necessary react by the right way, and they will probably not understand... He was subjected to the process of deculturation.

If that person will completely not understand the way the persons from his country of origin react, we can say that he was subjected to an assimilation, which means he totally integrated the new culture...

But I think the assimilation is quite rare, and a person needs to cut all the contacts he has with his country of origin during many years to be totally assimilated to the new culture.


This video is about cross-cultural adaptation and culture shock. Foreign students share their perceptions of their experiences in the U.S. as each of them (plus one specialist in cross-cultural relations and a few American Students) is interviewed about living and studying in a new culture. The focus is on the arrival and immediate postarrival period and the culture shock which, for most of the interviewees, follows on its heels. It becomes clear that central to the problems encountered are major differences in values and behaviors between the foreign students and the Americans they meet. The documentary covers a range of basic characteristics of American culture: openness/directness, privacy, attitudes toward time, friendship patterns, informality, and competitiveness. Culture Shock is an excellent resource for any program wishing to help its participants better understand the cross-cultural adjustment process and the experience of being a foreigner in the United States. Useful in foreign student, refugee, and teaching assistant orientation programs; briefings for Americans dealing with foreign students; and orientation for exchange students.

This is a quite interesting video about culture shock and culture adaptation

Language and Culture

"- What are you going to do today ?
- I have to work
- No way! you have a job ?
- Of course not, I have an exam !
- Ok..."

Here is a classical misunderstanding I encountered a lot
This is a discussion between an English and a French
The Italian don't understand why the French says "I have to work" instead of "I have to study"
The explanation is that in French we use the same word to say "work" and "study" : the verb "travailler", so classically a French who is not perfectly fluent will say "I have to work" instead of "I have to study for my exam". "I have to work" means in English that you have to work for your job...

"Many foreign students on American campuses experience discomfort in communicating with Americans due to;
- Lack fluency in paralinguistic patterns e.g.
- Accent, intonation and placement of pauses
- Inappropriate or awkward kinesic patterns e.g.
- Facial expressions, eye behaviour, hand gestures,
- Body posture, body movement
- Interpersonal spatial behaviour"

Why are we not able to practice perfectly another language than our mother language ?

Nowadays, we do not know yet all the brain mechanisms which are in root of our language practicing. But we know that the language leads to the socialization of everybody, we learn it during our childhood and keep it for the life. By the language the human access to the knowledges, norms, skills and so on.

The language is also a proof of our origin, even within a country. We can easily recognize by hearing the voice of a person, from which part of France he is, even from which part of Paris and its suburb !
Indeed, as we said the language is the proof of socialization, consequently it is a proof of culture and even subculture. A person from the 16th district of Paris (richest district) will not have at all the same language than a young from the north suburb of Paris though they are separated by only several dozens of kilometers !

A language can also be a terrible barrier to the adaptation. I had a friend who traveled from Europe to New-York, he was so confused with his English that he spent all the plane trip without asking any water glass because he was afraid to be confronted to the air hostess !

But I think that we can not know the entire culture without knowing the entire language. The culture is so complex and very few people are able to know two or more culture very well...

Stereotypes

"Groundlessly based negative attitudes about certain social groups and their members"

-All French people wear a beret and drink wine-
What a stereotype!
I do not agree so much with the definition about "based negative attitudes"
Actually, I think it can also be based on positive attitudes.

Example of positive stereotype :
The way ‘Hollywood stars’ are treated – like gods with ‘paparazzi’ following them wherever

Example of negative stereotype :
Terrorists, now mainly associated by muslims or Arab looking people

When all the exchange student arrived in Tampere in Finland the first discussion we had where based on stereoptypes, particulary about Finns :
They drink too much
They are all blond hair
They are rude
They are quiet and shy
They always spit
And so on...

When people say that, they say that as "it is not normal, they are strange people". But the fact is, they don't come from the same culture than us, and consequently they are different.
But these kinds of stereotypes are not so rude.

Some are really harmful and it is quite difficult to remove them : we all have that kinds of stereotypes, these are the unconscious stereotypes : since you don’t know that it’s a stereotype, you take it to be true.

Sometimes that stereotypes can be really dangerous as they are very negative, they are about a culture or a group of people, and the people think it's 100 percents true.

But I think stereotype is something normal. We don't necessary have to fight them (particularly positive stereotypes). They can sustain a conversation between a group of people and be compared, as people by comparative their stereotype will build an opinion maybe closer to the reality, and they will learn something more.

Culture Shock

"Culture shock can be described as the physical and emotional discomfort one suffers when coming to live in another country or a place different from the place of origin."

We can also talk about homesickness, but the culture shock is wilder and is not applied in the same situation.
We talk about culture shock when a person leave is country of origin to live in an another (well, not necessary country, but at least a place where the culture is different).


We can find 5 stages in this culture shock, which can be last more than several years :

Stage 1 - Incubation Stage (honeymoon)
This stage makes me think about a "tourist" stage. As we discover everything, we enjoy everything. In my experience, during the first days, it was so amazing for me to discover all the good sides of Finland : price of bars clubs, sauna, landscapes, lakes, safety in the street and so on...

Stage 2 – denial/defensive stage
This is the most difficult stage. People encounter more and more difficulties in the daily life (language, different behaviors, different systems, different administrations) and has an impression of being "down to the mountain" : a lot of things to learn, to know and to practice to be completely integrated. Some people can not stand this situation and have some symptoms of the culture shock such as : sadness, anger, depression, insomnia, unwillingness to interact with the others and so on


Stage 3 – Adaptation
This is the recovery stage. The man learned how to be integrated in this country, his systems, his language, how this country works. He has now local friends and maybe family. Day-by-day the culture of the country becomes his.


Stage 4 – Integration
Total integration

Stage 5 – ‘Re-entry shock’
This may happen. After few years in a country, a man can have some difficulties to return in his country of origin : a culture can replace an other.

In my experience, it was really interesting to study the culture shock, because I had the impression to live the two first stages. And I will admit that after 6 months in Finland, I am still in the denial/defensive stage.

Emotions

Nature of emotions ?

We can distinguish two kind of emotion :

- primary emotions
They are universal, everybody has these emotions, but not necessary display it by the same way
These are : fear, anger, surprise, sadness, disgust, and happiness

- secondary emotions
They are component of the culture and more developed or even nonexistent in some cultures. Here we can find : proud, shame, guilt and so on


Emotions in an intercultural context ?
Would an American be able to identify if a Chinese is sad or ashamed ? Yes or no.

Here we have two views of the problem :

"Emotional communicative behavior posed by one culture can be identified by members of another culture" (universalism)
Let's say that emotions are universal but the displaying of these emotion is not necessary universal. But we can admit that some of facial expression are common and can be interpreted by the same way by few people from different culture. For example the happiness is easily recognizable by the smile. But some factors can interfere by creating a misunderstanding between two cultures like ironical smile, or different way to smile.

It's becoming more and more difficult to recognize emotions as they are secondary. (relativism)
When a French wants to show he is pride of his country, he will sing loudly the national anthem and say that France is the best country in the world. When a Finn wants to show he is pride of his country, he will just show a flag. If he sings his national anthem, he will do it very quietly. He can be interpreted as ashamed of his country by a French, but he is not. The displaying of his proud is just different. Finns do not sing their national anthem so much, but when they do, it really means they are proud...

This is an effect of the difference in displaying the emotion, some rules and norms avoid people from showing some emotion (example of Finn national anthem).

But people from different country will not necessary feel the same emotion in the same situation.
Here, all depend of the cultural experience, the history, the personal experience and so on.
For example, I'm really similar to my brother in terms of emotion, we generally like the same things and hate the same things. We also react often in the same way in some kinds of situation. The first time I did skydive, I was really exited, and not afraid at all, but my brother has never wanted to do it, and when I speak with him about my experience I just can read on his face "How can he do ? I would be so scared"
That shows that everyone does not react by the same way in the same situation.
Another situation which shows a cultural difference is :
"in Finland, child birth brings happiness to the family irrespective of the child’s sex. In
China, the birth of a baby girl may not bring joy to a family"

So let's state that emotion can be universal, relative, personal, misunderstood, similar, cultural and historical.

Identity

Identity = "The set of behavioral or personal characteristics by which an individual is recognizable as a member of a group"

Well, by that way, we will deduce that identities is a story about "similarities" between people.

Let's look at how people introduce themselves. If you ask to someone in the street in your country : "Who are you ?" he will probably begin by his name. But if you ask for some more extra information, he will probably talk about his job.
But let's look at an other context, like an international context. During the beginning of my exchange student semester, I asked to some people who are they, and generally answer "I'm X from Y"

Why do people answer differently in different situations ?

I guess it would be stupid that I answer from which country I am to someone also from France, ok. But I think by enunciating your identity, you also enunciate your desire to be part of a group (to integrate a group) if you are not yet.
But we also enunciate it to underline the difference we have with the other. If you say "I am from France", it also means "I an from France, and you are not"

But anyway, we have to differentiate group identity from personal identity.
I think we have different identities regarding to the situation we are acting at this moment.
For example, during a manifestation of blue collar, all people will claim their common identity of blue collar, they will all act in the same way, and all agree on the question "Why are they there ?". But if you are going in the company, they all will act in a different way, claiming their "personal identity"
Consequently we claim our group identity in an external context (as I will claim that I'm French in Finland", but in one group, we will claim our personal identity (or our other group identity)

I think the personal identity is an accumulation of all our group identity and our characteristic which make us unique (take a look on "My identities", the next article)

Identities can be made of : country, city, district, family, friends, sport, music, association activities, school, university, behavior and so on...

Please take a look on this movie scene (from the movie "The 25th hour") interpreted by Edward Norton. By hating everyone in New-York, the man shows us how much identities and culture can coexist in a city :

My identities

I'm Florent Jolivet

But also :
I'm Flou
I'm French
I'm a Parisian
I'm a Senlisian
I'm a guitar player
I'm an exchange student
I'm a business student
I'm ESCE student
I'm a salesman
I'm an actor
I'm a friend
I'm a lover
I'm skydiver
I'm a tennis man
I'm a joker
I'm a poker player
I'm a geek
I'm a stupid man
I'm a lucky man
I'm a Jolivet
I'm a Obadia
I'm fashioned
I'm a Paris lover
I'm a music lover
I'm a man

Sometimes I would like :
To be an Italian
To be an Finn
To be my friends
To be my parents
To be another


I'm all of that, but you know what it can be summarized by :
I'm Florent Jolivet

Verbal Vs. Non-Verbal Communication

Did you know that only 10 to 20 percents of human communication is verbal?
Of course you perceived that the rest is non-verbal communication.

But even if the verbal communication is only a small part of the communication, let's take a look on it.

There are different kinds of verbal communication : small talk, topics, vocabulary, adressing, using names, expressing opinion, asking questions and so on

What is the small talk ?
"chatting about things that won’t offend anybody but share ideas etc..."
-that won't offend anybody- it sounds like we use that kind of communication to deal with people we don't know, yes that's true. Actually that sort of verbal communication is more important than it looks like. In some countries, business managers can not conclude any contract with the partnerships before having at least 30 to 60 minutes of small talk. Well, some people consider you should know people before negociating with them...

And what about non-verbal communication ?

So as i said, it represents more than 80 % of our communication ! In that kind of communication the body language is quite important.
Indeed, I would not be able to speak without moving, the face, the hands, even the legs are quite important ! Some statements need to be pushed by the legs actually :) ! Some words need to be mimed by the hands and so on.
Try to focus on the movement of a person who is speaking (espacially a person from a mediterranean or african country), if that person wants to explain for example :
"yesterday I went to the swimming pool, it was a huge swimming pool", when that person pronounces the word huge, his hands are miming the notion of hugeness, his eyes and his mouth are full-opened, and so on. It is not something we use to focus on, but without that, the communication will be very less dynamic.
The meaning of the words can be even very different because of the body language, some jokes can be interpreted very easily with the body language, but if you say it in another way, it can be interpreted as a disrespect...

Some persons use that body language as a way to make people laughing, as very famous humourists like Benny Hill (picture)

Intercultural Communication and culture ?

Intercultural Communication :
"This is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds make an effort to communicate"

Here is a definition quite explicit and non-explicit in the same time.

Let's have a look on the real meaning of Culture

I particulary like this definition of culture :
"Culture is everything you learn through interaction with others during your lifetime"

In that way, I guess it means that we need to communicate with the other to share some cultural minds and aspect in order to build our own culture. Because by this way, it means that everybody owns his personnal culture, indeed, I can not compare my vision of the world with my neighbor's. But the culture also gathers everyone in one identity built during many years and many period of history.

Indeed the culture is a product of history :
We can easily explain why French people are so much "addicted" to the strike !! Did you know that France has lived one of its biggest strike of its history for few weeks ? Public transport, universities and so on. Is it not a product of the culture which is a product of history? France was the first country to have its own revolution in 1789, I guess it makes us quite dissenting !!

As I just demonstrated French culture is not only "good food, fashion clothes, cheese and wine". These aspect of the culture is only the visible aspect, we can easily find an invisible culture (the art of the strike as i described !)

A culture can hardly been summarized within a blog article or even a 10.000 pages book, some aspect of a culture can even not been described by some words and hardly explained, a culture is overall felt.


So now, let's take back the definition of "Intercultural communication" :
"This is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds make an effort to communicate"

-Effort- I think that is a quite important word in that definition. Well, it deals like two people from different cultures have normally some difficulties to communicate together. That is not wrong of course, generally a French from Paris will have more difficulties to talk with a man from the countryside than someone else from Paris, and why ?
A country can even owns so much different cultures, someone from Paris will not employ the same language than somebody from the south of France, the feelings are different, and so on...

But why does intercultural communication exist ?
In my mind, the goal is to learn, no culture is "better" than another...
Maybe if people took a look on other cultures more often, the world would be better...


Picture : Benetton advertising campaign ("Hearts", 1996)

Welcome on icexperience !

Hello !

After one exchange student semester in Tampere, I had this assignment to do :
Create some diaries of a course I had : Intercultural Communication
As I found these lectures quite original, I chose an original way to make this assignment.

Indeed, I really wanted to share my intercultural experiences and though to everyone, and not only giving to my teacher a word document which will be only readen by one person.

I hope you will enjoy the way I did it !

Thank you and enjoy the reading !

Florent Jolivet

Picture : Autumn semester 2007, exchange student group in Tampere (Finland) : a very international group