THE QUESTION OF CHANGE IN CULTURES
Much is written about the constant change cultures undergo. Agents of change, it is said, include global companies like Pepsi or Sony or DaimlerChrysler. It is true that popular taste changes; fads come and go, especially in the marketplace, which is driven by changing tastes. Popular culture, which comprises the products of the culture that are widely consumed—for example, music, food, hairstyles, clothing, recreational activities and their equipment, styles of cars, furnishings—does constantly change. But back-stage culture, the values, attitudes, and behaviors that have been learned from birth, change very little and very, very slowly. Sometimes the shifting emphasis of existing values in a culture is mistaken for cultural change. As if a spotlight first illuminates one and then fades while another is illuminated on the stage, so circumstances—geopolitical, economic, even spiritual—spotlight some values as others recede. All cultures include values that can be in opposition. In the United States, the value of independence is sometimes in conflict with the equally held value of respect for personal property. In Singapore, the value of belonging to a group is sometimes at odds with the value of asserting one's position to accomplish a task. But these values are in the culture all the time. Certain situations bring out one or another value. In Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan, going out for fast food has become an accustomed social pastime for teenagers and for seniors. Students from Korea visiting Taiwan were delighted when, after eating the food of Taiwan for a week, they were allowed to go to one of "their" restaurants—a McDonald's! They are no less Korean because they eat fast food that originated in the United States. Sufferers from migraine headaches in Argentina who consult acupuncturists are no less Argentine for seeking a Chinese traditional treatment. These are instances of popular taste. More significant change in social organization occurs with economic change. In China, a country that has always practiced behaviors associated with the Confucian value of filial piety, economic change is making a shift in family structure. Rather than a son bringing his wife to his parents' home, married couples are increasingly living on their own. This change has come about because young people can afford housing of their own, and their parents can also afford to house themselves. It isn't clear, however, that this change in housing means filial piety is no longer valued in China. Filial piety—the duty children have to look after aging parents and to put their wishes before the children's own—may simply take other forms than living with the parents. A study of many generations' values will be necessary to demonstrate that cultures actually change, in China or anywhere else, and that the change is more than proceeding and receding emphases on values that exist within the culture. In the short term, the older members of a culture always deplore the way young members seem to be abandoning the traditional values. When those children are parents and grandparents themselves, the cultural values they were taught as youths often reassert themselves. Technologyis called an agent of cultural change, and its role deserves some discussion. Technology is the way humans relate to their environment. For example, technology has altered the way space and time affect human communication; cell phones and E-mail have reduced both time and space constraints to almost nothing. Microchips are making smart machines possible in a wide range of applications. The constraints of the human body and the physical environment are disappearing, and activities that were not possible except by great effort and expense are now occurring with ease. Activities as different as online shopping and online academic research are changing the marketplace and the university. Medical innovations include the possibility of surgically embedded microchips in humans who are physically unable to do some things. But this marvelous technology does not change the cultural imprint on the individual member of a culture. Individuals still carry the map of their cultures in their minds and hearts, whatever technological innovations they implement. E-mail messages, for example, appear to favor a direct communication style that is informal. However, members of formal cultures that prefer indirect communication still practice that behavior in E-mail messages. They still begin messages with attention to the relationship they have with the reader, and they may mention family or some shared past experience. They will use courteous language if that is their cultural behavior. In cultures where politeness matters in correspondence, E-mails will exhibit a greater level of politeness than the E-mails of cultures where politeness is not as important as getting to the point. Cultures appear to remain unchanged at deep levels and only change on the surface. This is front-stage behavior, where popular culture thrives. Nor are all cultures becoming alike. Evidence does not suggest that one global culture will one day dominate the planet. A glance at the events in recent years in former Yugoslavia shows how far ethnic groups are willing to go to defend their culture. French Canadians who wanted to defend their culture nearly succeeded in separating from the rest of Canada in 1995 when a national referendum on the question failed by less than half of 1 percent. As societies achieve more economic stability, defending their cultures seems to increase in importance, not decrease. In spite of an increasingly global technology, and in spite of the availability of the same consumer goods in many countries, and even in spite of changing tastes and fads that sweep from continent to continent, the deep values of cultures remain unchanged.
2. Answer the questions based on the text: - How do you understand Hall's words: "Accept the fact that there are many roads to truth and no culture has a corner on the path or is better equipped than others to search for it”? - What challenges of diversity can you name? - Why are intercultural communication skills extremely important for businesspeople? - Some businessmen make the do's and taboos lists when cooperating with foreign partners.. But those lists’ helpfulness is usually limited. Can you explain why? - What are the stages of experiencing a new culture? Describe each stage briefly. - How can you define “cultural shock”. Have you ever experienced something like that? - In what way can one reduce the symptoms of culture shock? - What does popular culture include? - What can you tell about the following statement: “All cultures include values that can be in opposition”? - Why do we call technology an agent of cultural change? - Do you believe that the development of new technologies and the dissemination of popular culture can make all the cultures alike? 3. Complete the following sentences with these words: Partner, acronyms, variety, language, speaker, idioms, background, words and phrases, families, speech.
1.… reflects the environment in which we live. 2.… and … that are commonly being used at one time may be discontinued or their meaning may change over time. 3. … pose special problems because they are based on a particular language. 4. The 14 languages belong to two distinct language …. 5. Speech patterns are affected by a … of factors, among them ethnic …, geographic differences and gender. 6. The interpreter must decode what the … says and to encode the message for the listener. 7. It is amazing how many business people who are usually very careful about business matters rely on the foreign business … to supply the interpreter. 8. Every language has its own unique … patterns, … and metaphors that are difficult to translate.
4. Prepare (in groups) five questions for a short interview on issues of cultural diversity, such as gender, visits, marriage and divorce, education. After this a few interviews will be conducted in class and briefly discussed in the group. For example:
1. How important is it to marry a person whose family is considered respectable by society?
5. Write a short “do's and taboos list” that can be used in communication with Ukrainian people.
DISCOVERING OTHER CULTURES
Religion in Bali [4]
Balinese people have been Hindus for eight hundred years, since the remnants of the Majapahit Empire were forced from Java by the spread of Islam. They follow a branch of Hinduism that owes a lot to that of India, but is quite different. The most obvious discrepancy is that the Balinese eat cows, but there are numerous others. Religion in Bali is interwoven with everyday life. Time and time again, Balinese friends cancel appointments because they have to attend a ceremony, or take other family members to a ceremony. And, ceremonies seem, from the foreigner's viewpoint, to be never ending. As well as the obvious ceremonies for births, deaths and marriages, and celebrating aspects of the rice harvests, there is a day for blessing machinery, one for blessing education, etc... A neighbor recently told me that he has a ceremony every fifteen days! Many of the tourist attractions that busloads of travelers attend have a religious origin. For instance, the Barong dance tells a story of good versus evil, which, actually, is the basic theme in most Balinese dances and legends. It is performed as a part of many holy events. Numerous visitors watch segments of the Ramayana Ballet, a Hindu epic story about good and evil, and love, in many venues around the island. Travellers with a little extra time should consider a side trip to Prambanan temple in East Java. Watching a performance of the Ramayana in the amphitheater there, under a full moon, is truly a religious experience.
Do religious views define the lifestyle of a community, especially a closed one?
Link the religion with the appropriate idea:
Watch video which tells how different well known religions spread around the world over the centuries. Religion is an important part of any culture. How do religious views influence the communication?
UNIT 3 
1. Read the text [5] TYPICAL REACTIONS TO UNFAMILIAR CULTURES [6]
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