I'd like to share with you my notes and thoughts after the first lesson of this course.
What is intercultural communication?
- What is communication?
- What does (inter)cultural mean?
In most handbooks, this is the definition of communication:
Communication is the exchange of information between at least two (groups of) people.
As you can see, three elements are very important in this definition:
- exchange
- information
- at least two
If one element is not there, you could not talk about communication whatsoever.
People have four basic skills at their disposal to successfully communicate with one another:
- reading
- writing
- listening
- speaking
Apart from these basic skills we also distinguish between verbal and non-verbal communication:
- verbal: words/sounds
- non-verbal: gestures, ...; (can anyone think of other examples? Feel free to add in the comment section).
As for the term culture the definition is somewhat problematic. In class, we defined culture as:
- indificiation of a group of people
- language
- place, nation
- time area
- traditions
- values
(anything to add? Use the comment section)
Think about this by next time: what makes your culture different from e.g. surrounding cultures? (e.g. Holland vs. Flemish culture; Portuguese vs. Spanish culture - Feel free to add before next week in the comments)
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"ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS DUTCH..or was it (called) Flemish?"
The difference between 'Dutch' and 'Flemish'. In some modern reference works published outside of Belgium, the language of the Flemish people is often identified as a separate language akin to Dutch. The fact is, however, that the languages of Flanders (the Southern Netherlands) and Holland (the Northern Netherlands) have identical roots. Historically and politically, the "Netherlands" referred to the 17 Provinces of contemporary Benelux, including the Lille Region in the North of France. There exist, as everywhere, some dialectic differences, but they are considered by some - mostly citizens of the Netherlands - minimal and localized (just as the differences between American and english accents) and are not considered significant. However, to the Flemish population the difference is all to obvious, especially in intonation. Moreover, the official Dutch Language is closer to the southern than to the northern dialects, due to the fact that the Christian Bible (the basis of the official language) was translated mainly by southern immigrants to the North.
Part of the confusion between "Flemish" and Dutch may stem from the fact that Dutch was banned from official life in Belgium during the 19th century and the early years of the 20th. As a consequence, it was not often heard in public life (although poets and authors published their highly-qualified work in Dutch). Moreover, the ruling French-speaking minority preferred to call the language of uneducated people "Flemish". Even as late as the 1920s, the archbishop of Belgium, enraged by the legal obligation to switch to Dutch in Flemish schools and universities, called 'Flemish' "unfit as a vehicle for scientific, religious, cultural and artistic values." See also: Count of Flanders
Sources: WorldLanguage.com NationMaster.com ; www.translation-services-usa.com/languages/flemish.shtml
@Lieven: Now that you mention it: distance IS very important, indeed. Remind me in class, I have a nice example to illustrate that distance is also a *cultural* thing.
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