Communication Is Linked to Culture

If you’ve ever traveled abroad, or even through the different neighborhoods of a large city, you know that communication is linked to culture. Culture refers to the shared beliefs, values, and practices of a group of people. A group’s culture includes the language (or languages) and other symbols used by group members as well as the norms and rules about appropriate behavior.

Most people are members of several co-cultures simultaneously. Co-cultures are smaller groups of people within a larger culture who are distinguished by features such as race, religion, age, generation, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, educational level, occupation, and a host of other factors.

Consider Anna, who identifies with a number of co-cultures: she is an American, an African American, a midwesterner, a married lawyer with two children, a person with an income over $100,000 a year, a Democrat, and a Baptist. Each of these co-cultures carries different meanings for Anna and affects her communication—including the languages she speaks, how she presents herself to others, and how she interprets others’ behavior (Chen & Starosta, 1996). Cultural identities can even form around interests and hobbies. For example, a music critic at Blender magazine might distinguish among rock, soul, and hip-hop and might even break those styles down further, using terms like old-school, freestyle, classic, punk, techno, and R & B. For someone less involved or less interested in the music scene, such distinctions might seem unimportant—it’s all just popular music.

Culture and You

Can you name several co-cultures that you belong to? How have these different co-cultures affected your communication? Are there people in your life who are easier to communicate with because of shared culture? Do you have friends or family who you communicate with differently because of differing cultures or co-cultures?