In this paper, the various aspects of intercultural communication will be analyzed and the mapping that is involved. There will be the discussion of two questions with one looking at the studies of intercultural communication and the other one dealing with the studies that involve cultural and cross cultural communication.
What are the various things that are involved in the studies of intercultural communication?
There are various themes that are covered in this part which are interrelated and often overlap when there is the presence of intercultural communication between people of diverse backgrounds in terms of culture and subculture. These themes are intrapersonal processes that are involved in intercultural communication; communication competence; the adaptation to a new culture; identity in terms of culture and power inequality in intercultural relations. These themes work hand in hand to help organize the various aspects of study and how this type of communication is studied and viewed by scholars (Kim, 2001).
What are the aspects of the study of cultural and cross cultural communication?
This is a very crucial domain when it comes to intercultural communication. It aims at the understanding of a particular culture and at the same time give a glimpse of cross cultural communication (Kim, 2001). There are two aspects that help understand the various aspects in cultural and cross cultural communication. There is the emic perspective which deals with the insider or cultural specific aspects of communication which can be seen to be rooted and grounded in cultural relativism. On the other hand, here is the neopositivist etic aspect which deals with the culturally general or outsider aspects of cross cultural communication and they reflect on the philosophical aspect of cultural universalism. These two aspects can be seen to be complements of each other with each covering the opposite aspect of the other (Kim, 2001).
In conclusion, it can be seen that the mapping of the domain of intercultural communication can be looked into as analyzed by the two questions above with each aspect being a complement of the other so as a better understanding of the topic can be discovered.
References
Kim, Y. Y. (2001). Mapping the domain of intercultural communication: An overview. Annals of
the International Communication Association, 24(1), 139-156.
