After defining and describing communication from a cultural perspective, this paper then proposes two areas--shared meaning and shared identity--as being relevant in and rich for communication inquiry. The paper addresses these two areas by (1) specifying assumptions for a cultural perspective on communication, (2) defining culture as a…

Reports the results of four studies examining how Afro-Americans perceive interethnic communication with Whites. Uses an interpretive, cultural perspective in questionnaires and interviews as well as quantitative and qualitative analyses to identify seven issues of communication satisfaction and five conversational improvement strategies,…

A study investigated the issues that Blacks perceive as salient to their satisfaction and dissatisfaction with communication with Whites, and whether these issues were independent of age, biological sex, and income. Two groups of subjects, selected from economically determined working class students in a large introductory speech communication…

This paper suggests that language training should be founded on an initial student familiarization with the dimensions of intercultural communication. Using as exemplars problems encountered by Japanese familiar with English but unfamiliar with communication theory, the paper argues that while limited linguistic competency may make it difficult…

A study investigated the listening experiences of American university students who interviewed people from other cultures as part of a class project. A total of 103 individuals from African, Asian, European, Latin American, and Middle Eastern cultures were interviewed. Each of the American interviewers described his/her perceptions of five…

The high attrition rate among North American expatriate executives has become a significant problem for firms doing business in foreign countries. A review of the literature reveals a number of factors contributing to attrition, including culture shock, family problems, managerial style and practice differences, insensitivity to host cultures, and…

Presents an inductive, holistic method of analysis of face-to-face communication based on simulated business negotiations between Japanese and American businesspeople. (JC)

Examines the Japanese concept of "ma" (a gap or interval representing a collapse of time and space). Compares it to the Western perception of time and space. Discusses the implications it carries for the study of intercultural and intracultural communication. (SR)

Reviews four essays in this issue of the journal. Restates the contributions of the functionalist and interpretive models represented in these essays and demonstrates how the "interparadigmatic" dialog can work. Extends the dialog beyond its current boundaries by bringing the insights of critical and postmodern scholarship to the analysis of…

Examines how various cultural communication practices and perceptions affected the way in which individuals from different cultures perceived the same negotiation process. Demonstrates that culture affected how Dutch and Chinese observers perceived and interpreted the same videotaped Chinese-Dutch negotiation. (SR)

A study examined Japanese-American intercultural communication at the beginning stage from the perspective of Japanese participants. Data were collected in interviews with 50 Japanese visiting students to a large southwestern university for their account of their short-term (5-week) experience in America, which consisted of incidents, events, and…

A study examined the extent to which existing data on communication apprehension (CA) can be employed to accurately reflect the cultural differences observed. The impact of those findings on the understanding of the nature of CA as it occurs in multiple cultures was also examined. Ten research reports that contained quantitative information that…

It has been widely acknowledged in language acquisition research that cultural learning is an inseparable part of language learning. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the culture of classroom learning which involves both teachers' and learners' cultural values, beliefs, roles, expectations, and conceptions of teaching and learning.…

The field of intercultural communication study may be best explored by analyzing sojourners, individuals who leave their homes and travel abroad to learn as students, workers, or occupational trainees. A review of the early research reveals that the similarities of well-traveled sojourners' communication behavior and general outlook is greater…

Compiled for Japanese teachers of English who are interested in intercultural communication, this bibliography is broken down into 16 subcategories. Most items in the bibliography come from primary sources, and for each source available at the Michigan State University Library, the bibliography provides call numbers. The first section lists books…