Intercultural communication

Abstract

Intercultural communication plays an important role in every country, including the United States, with its expanding emphasis on immigration and diversity. This chapter focuses on the relationship of culture and communication, and how these concepts are interrelated. Studying intercultural communication encompasses cross-cultural communication, centering on elements of ethnicities, ethnographic methods, and qualitative/quantitative distinction, and international communication, incorporating mass-mediated communication and interpersonal communication. A sample study is provided to illustrate application of a specific social interaction within an immigrant family examining a unique cross-cultural situation.