Communicating Across Cultures
Our society and our workforce are becoming increasingly diverse, both culturally and linguistically, and businesses are exporting more goods and services. As a result, professionals often communicate with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, many of whom are nonnative speakers of English, both in the United States and abroad, and with speakers of other languages who read texts translated from English into their own languages.
The economy of the United States depends on international trade. In 2012, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (2014b), the United States exported over $3 trillion of goods and services. In that year, direct investment abroad by U.S. companies totaled more than $4.6 trillion (Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2014a). In addition, the population of the United States itself is truly multicultural. Each year, the United States admits a million immigrants. In 2012, 13 percent of the U.S. population was foreign born; of those foreign born, more than a third had entered the country since 2000 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014).
Effective communication requires an understanding of culture: the beliefs, attitudes, and values that motivate people’s behavior.
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL VARIABLES “ON THE SURFACE”
Communicating effectively with people from another culture requires understanding a number of cultural variables that lie on the surface. You need to know, first, what language or languages to use. You also need to be aware of political, social, religious, and economic factors that can affect how readers will interpret your documents. Understanding these factors is not an exact science, but it does require that you learn as much as you can about the culture of those you are addressing.
A brief example: an American manufacturer of deodorant launched an advertising campaign in Japan in which a cute octopus applied the firm’s product under each of its eight arms. But the campaign failed because, in Japan, an octopus is viewed as having eight legs, not eight arms (Bathon, 1999).
In International Technical Communication, Nancy L. Hoft (1995) describes seven major categories of cultural variables that lie on the surface:
Political. This category relates to trade issues and legal issues (for example, some countries forbid imports of certain foods or chemicals) and laws about intellectual property, product safety, and liability.
64
Economic. A country’s level of economic development is a critical factor. In many developing countries, most people cannot afford devices for accessing the Internet.
Social. This category covers many issues, including gender and business customs. In most Western cultures, women play a much greater role in the workplace than they do in many Middle Eastern and Asian cultures. Business customs—
including forms of greeting, business dress, and gift giving— vary from culture to culture. Religious. Religious differences can affect diet, attitudes toward particular colors, styles of dress, holidays, and hours of business.
Educational. In the United States, 40 million people are only marginally literate. In other cultures, the rate can be much higher or much lower. In some cultures, classroom learning with a teacher is considered the most acceptable way to study; in others, people tend to study on their own.
Technological. If you sell high-
tech products, you need to know whether your readers have the hardware, the software, and the technological infrastructure to use them. Linguistic. In some countries, English is taught to all children starting in grade school; in other countries, English is seen as a threat to the national language. In many cultures, the orientation of text on a page and in a book is not from left to right.
In addition to these basic differences, you need to understand dozens of other factors. For instance, the United States is the only major country that has not adopted the metric system. Whereas Americans use periods to separate whole numbers from decimals, and commas to separate thousands from hundreds, much of the rest of the world reverses this usage.
| UNITED STATES | 3,425.6 |
| EUROPE | 3.425,6 |
Also, in the United States, the format for writing out and abbreviating dates is different from that of most other cultures:
| UNITED STATES | March 2, 2015 | 3/2/15 |
| EUROPE | 2 March 2015 | 2/3/15 |
| JAPAN | 2015 March 2 | 15/3/2 |
These cultural variables are important in obvious ways: for example, you can’t send a file to a person who doesn’t have access to the Internet. However, there is another set of cultural characteristics—
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURAL VARIABLES “BENEATH THE SURFACE”
Scholars of multicultural communication have identified cultural variables that are less obvious than those discussed in the previous section but just as important. Writing scholars Elizabeth Tebeaux and Linda Driskill (1999) explain five key variables and how they are reflected in technical communication.
65
Focus on individuals or groups. Some cultures, especially in the West, value individuals more than groups. The typical Western employee doesn’t see his or her identity as being defined by the organization for which he or she works. Other cultures, particularly those in Asia, value groups more than individuals. The typical employee in such cultures sees himself or herself more as a representative of the organization than as an individual who happens to work there.
Communication in individualistic cultures focuses on the writer’s and reader’s needs rather than on those of their organizations. Writers use the pronoun I rather than we. Communication in group-
oriented cultures focuses on the organization’s needs by emphasizing the benefits to be gained through a cooperative relationship between organizations. Writers emphasize the relationship between the writer and the reader rather than the specific technical details of the message. Writers use we rather than I. Distance between business life and private life. In some cultures, especially in the West, many people separate their business lives from their private lives. When the workday ends, they are free to go home and spend their time as they wish. Although many employees are increasingly expected to be available by email or phone outside official working hours, those in the West still usually think of themselves primarily as individuals rather than as part of an organizational body. In other cultures, particularly in Asia, people see a much smaller distance between their business lives and their private lives. Even after the day ends, they still see themselves as employees of their organization.
Cultures that value individualism tend to see a great distance between business and personal lives. In these cultures, communication focuses on technical details, with relatively little reference to personal information about the writer or the reader.
Cultures that are group oriented tend to see a smaller distance between business life and private life. In these cultures, communication contains much more personal information—
about the reader’s family and health— and more information about general topics— for example, the weather and the seasons. The goal is to build a formal relationship between the two organizations. Both the writer and the reader are, in effect, on call after business hours and are likely to transact business during long social activities such as elaborate dinners or golf games. Distance between ranks. In some cultures, the distance in power and authority between workers within an organization is small. Supervisors work closely with their subordinates. In other cultures, the distance in power and authority between workers within an organization is great. Supervisors do not consult with their subordinates. Subordinates use formal names and titles—
“Mr. Smith,” “Dr. Jones”—when addressing people of higher rank. 66
Individualistic cultures that separate business and private lives tend to have a smaller distance between ranks. In these cultures, communication is generally less formal. Informal documents (emails and memos) are appropriate, and writers often sign their documents with their first names only. Keep in mind, however, that many people in these cultures resent inappropriate informality, such as letters or emails addressed “Dear Jim” when they have never met the writer.
In cultures with a great distance between ranks, communication is generally formal. Writers tend to use their full professional titles and to prefer formal documents (such as letters) to informal ones (such as memos and emails). Writers make sure their documents are addressed to the appropriate person and contain the formal design elements (such as title pages and letters of transmittal) that signal their respect for their readers.
Need for details to be spelled out. Some cultures value full, complete communication. The written text must be comprehensive, containing all the information a reader needs to understand it. These cultures are called low-
context cultures. Other cultures value documents in which some of the details are merely implied. This implicit information is transmitted by other forms of communication that draw on the personal relationship between the reader and the writer, as well as social and business norms of the culture. These cultures are called high- context cultures. Attitudes toward uncertainty. In some cultures, people are comfortable with uncertainty. They communicate less formally and rely less on written policies. In many cases, they rely more on a clear set of guiding principles, as communicated in a code of conduct or a mission statement. In other cultures, people are uncomfortable with uncertainty. Businesses are structured formally, and they use written procedures for communicating.
In cultures that tolerate uncertainty, written communication tends to be less detailed. Oral communication is used to convey more of the information that is vital to the relationship between the writer and the readers. In cultures that value certainty, communication tends to be detailed. Policies are lengthy and specific, and forms are used extensively. Roles are firmly defined, and there is a wide distance between ranks.
As you consider this set of cultural variables, keep four points in mind:
Each variable represents a spectrum of attitudes. Terms such as high-
context and low- context, for instance, represent the opposite end points on a scale. Most cultures occupy a middle ground. The variables do not line up in a clear pattern. Although the variables sometimes correlate—
for example, low- context cultures tend to be individualistic— in any one culture, the variables do not form a consistent pattern. For example, the dominant culture in the United States is highly individualistic rather than group oriented but only about midway along the scale in terms of tolerance of uncertainty. 67
Different organizations within the same culture can vary greatly. For example, one software company in Germany might have a management style that does not tolerate uncertainty, whereas another software company in that country might tolerate a lot of uncertainty.
An organization’s cultural attitudes are fluid, not static. How an organization operates is determined not only by the dominant culture but also by its own people. As new people join an organization, its culture changes. The Motorola of 2015 is not the Motorola of 1995.
For you as a communicator, this set of variables therefore offers no answers. Instead, it offers a set of questions. You cannot know in advance the attitudes of the people in an organization. You have to interact with them for a long time before you can reach even tentative conclusions. The value of being aware of the variables is that they can help you study the communication from people in that organization and become more aware of underlying values that affect how they will interpret your documents.
CONSIDERING CULTURAL VARIABLES AS YOU WRITE
The challenge of communicating effectively with a person from another culture is that you are communicating with a person, not a culture. You cannot be sure which cultures have influenced that person (Lovitt, 1999). For example, a 50-
A further complication is that when you communicate with a person from another culture, to that person you are from another culture, and you cannot know how much that person is trying to accommodate your cultural patterns. As writing scholar Arthur H. Bell (1992) points out, the communication between the two of you is carried out in a third, hybrid culture. When you write to a large audience, the complications increase.
No brief discussion of cultural variables can answer questions about how to write for a particular multicultural audience. You need to study your readers’ culture and, as you plan your document, seek assistance from someone native to the culture who can help you avoid blunders that might confuse or offend your readers.
For books and other resources about writing to people from other cultures, see the “Selected Bibliography.”
Start by reading some of the basic guides to communicating with people from other cultures, and then study guides to the particular culture you are investigating. In addition, numerous sites on the Internet provide useful guidelines that can help you write to people from another culture. If possible, study documents written by people in your audience. If you don’t have access to these, try to locate documents written in English by people from the culture you are interested in.
68
Figure 4.2 provides a useful glimpse into cultural variables. The excerpt, from a training manual used by Indian Railways, describes a medical exam that prospective applicants are required to take.
Figure 4.2 Statement from an Indian Railways Training Manual
The passage sounds as if it was written a hundred years ago, full of complicated sentences and formal vocabulary. The writing style is closer to that of the British (who colonized India) than that of the United States.
However, the explanation of why the exam is used is particularly candid: to save the government from having to support employees who become ill and therefore cannot perform the tasks for which they were hired.
The wording of this note, which follows a table showing the minimum height requirements for male and female applicants, would likely be considered offensive in most cultures. In India, a culture made of many ethnic groups and with a rigid caste system, most readers would not be offended.
Writing for Readers from Other Cultures
The following eight suggestions will help you communicate more effectively with multicultural readers.
Limit your vocabulary. Every word should have only one meaning, as called for in Simplified English and in other basic-
English languages. Keep sentences short. There is no magic number, but try for an average sentence length of no more than 20 words.
Define abbreviations and acronyms in a glossary. Don’t assume that your readers know what a GFI (ground fault interrupter) is, because the abbreviation is derived from English vocabulary and word order.
Avoid jargon unless you know your readers are familiar with it. For instance, your readers might not know what a graphical user interface is.
Avoid idioms and slang. These terms are culture specific. If you tell your Japanese readers that your company plans to put on a “full-
court press,” most likely they will be confused. - Use the active voice whenever possible. The active voice is easier for nonnative speakers of English to understand than the passive voice.
For more about voice, see “Choosing the Right Words and Phrases” in Ch. 6.
For more about graphics, see “Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural Readers” in Ch. 8.
Be careful with graphics. The garbage-
can icon on the Macintosh computer does not translate well, because garbage cans might have different shapes and be made of different materials in other countries. Be sure someone from the target culture reviews your document. Even if you have had help in planning the document, have it reviewed before you publish and distribute it.
69
USING GRAPHICS AND DESIGN FOR MULTICULTURAL READERS
One of the challenges for writing to people from another culture is that they are likely to be nonnative speakers of English. One way to overcome the language barrier is to use effective graphics and appropriate document design.
For more about multicultural readers, see “Designing Online Documents” in Ch. 7. For more about graphics for international readers, see “Creating Effective Graphics for Multicultural Readers” in Ch. 8.
However, the most appropriate graphics and design can differ from culture to culture. Business letters written in Australia use a different size paper and a different format than those in the United States. An icon for a file folder in a software program created in the United States could confuse European readers, who use file folders of a different size and shape (Bosley, 1999). A series of graphics arranged left to right could confuse readers from the Middle East, who read from right to left. For this reason, you should study samples of documents written by people from the culture you are addressing to learn the important differences.