The Cultural Context

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If you love soccer—or football, as most of the world calls the game—you probably followed the World Cup in 2010. If so, you heard the monotone buzzing sound emanating from the crowds, as tens of thousands of fans blew on long plastic horns called vuvuzelas. But how you perceived the noise depended significantly on your cultural background. For American broadcasters, the buzzing was a nuisance and a technological hurdle; for some international players, it was an annoying distraction. But for South African fans, it was part of the game. As one commentator put it, the vuvuzela is the “recognized sound of football in South Africa . . . [and] absolutely essential for an authentic South African footballing experience” (Mungazi, 2009).

Culture profoundly shapes how we perceive ourselves and the people around us. It’s why something seen as delightful by South African fans could seem inappropriate and irritating to fans from other cultures.

Think back to the competent communication model you saw in chapter 1. The ring representing the cultural context consists of variables that make our perceptions unique: race, ethnicity, religion, politics, gender, sexual orientation, age, education, role, occupation, abilities/disabilities, geography, and so on. These differences constitute diversity (Loden & Rosener, 1991). To communicate effectively and appropriately today, you must appreciate that people from other cultures may perceive things differently than you do and that your own background affects your perceptions.