Face-Negotiation Theory:High & Low Context Cultures

High Context (e.g., Japan)                                            Low Context (e.g., U.S.)
Meaning is implicit in relationship & situation                     Meaning is explicit in the words spoken
Emphasis on the group(collectivism)                                  Emphasis on the individual(individualism)
Indirectness valued                                                           Straight talk valued

Face and Facework

Face: A person’s image in an interactional situation.
Facework: Management of face concerns & face needs in interaction.

Muted Group Theory

• Developed by Cheris Kramarae
• The language of a particular culture does not serve all its speakers equally, for not all speakers contribute in an equal fashion to its formulation. Women (and members of other subordinate groups) are not as free or as able as men are to say what they wish, when and where they wish, because the words and the norms for their use have been formulated by the dominant group, men.   --Kramarae, quoted by Griffin, p. 459

• Men and women perceive the world differently because of different experiences based in the division of labor.
• Does this pertain to Carol Gilligan’s theory of moral development (A Different Voice)?
• Men seek autonomy; they use ethic of justice.
• Women seek connection; they use ethic of care.
• Because of their political dominance, men have shaped the public vocabulary to reflect male-oriented experiences and perceptions.

• “Lexical bias” is in public language: cartoons,          metaphors, terms for women’s speech, terms for sexual activity
• Women are underrepresented in media, textbooks, cyberspace, etc.
• Women must use male oriented systems of expression in public.
• Women use private, “back channel” routes to discuss their experiences.

• To change the “man-made” linguistic system (in the English language).
• Examples:

Muted Group Theory: Some Questions

• Are women a muted group?
• Is a person’s reaction to the theory influenced by her/his own social position?
• Are there other muted groups? Evidence?
• Is this a scientific theory, a humanistic theory, or does it draw from both perspectives?
• Could some communication theories in this course be biased against muted groups? How can that be assessed?

• Developed by W. Gudykunst
• Cross-cultural encounters between cultural in-groups and strangers
• Strangers experience anxiety and uncertainty.
• Strangers often overemphasize cultural identity and cultural difference.

Anxiety/Uncertainty Theory

• Managing anxiety and uncertainty
• Understand yours and others’ motivation
• Increase knowledge
• Improve skills
• Increase sensitivity
• Monitor competence

• Some Questions
• 1.  In what situations are people “strangers?”
• 2.  What are cross-cultural encounters?
• 3.  What are appropriate ways to communicate in cross-cultural situations?  How does one determine appropriateness?
• 4.  Is appropriateness more important than effectiveness when one is a “stranger?”
 

Genderlect Styles

Deborah Tannen

Case #1
 Women seek human conntion

• Friendships
• Intimacy
• True solidarity
• Communion

• Independence
• Hierarchy
• Competitive accomplishment
• Achievement

Case #2
Women talk more in private

• For connection
• To disclose details of life

• To command attention
• To convey information

• Downplay self
• Desire for community

• Especially jokes
• Focus on self

• 1) Nonverbals are used when listeningto acknowledge, “I’m listening”
• 2) Questions establish connection

• 1) Nonverbals are not used because it would mean, “I agree with you”
• 2) Questions are not asked to preserve self-sufficiency and self-respect. 

• Threat to connection

• More comfortable with conflict

 GENDERLECT:
That masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking.

Problem:
*Miscommunication between men and women is all the more insidious because the parties usually don’t realize that they are in  a cross- cultural encounter.

Solution:
:*Tannen believes that both men and women need to learn how to speak in the other’s voice.
*Mutual understanding will bridge the cultural gap between sexes.  

Interestingly…
Tannen mentioned that women needassertiveness trainingandmen need sensitivity training.
 Many companies do offer these trainingsessions
 And they focus primarilyon
What people say and the way they say it.
 
Questions

• Does a chorus of aha’s mean Tannen is right?
• Do you agree with Tannen that genderlect should be taught like French, Swahili, or any other foreign language?
• Do you mind being “labeled” according to gender?
• Can you think of any other ways women are different than men?