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Incident 1:
A family has just checked in at a luxury hotel and plans to use it as its base for a 10-day holiday. The first thing on their agenda is to visit the concierge to plan their itinerary. As it is a busy season, there is a queue of guests waiting to be served. At first, the father of the family stands in the queue. Minutes later, he decides to go to the front trying to make a case to the Concierge as to why he has priority over the others. The Concierge explains that some of the guests in the line had been waiting for some time. As he sees his arguments cannot achieve what he wanted, he attempts to get his way by promising the Concierge a generous tip. The Concierge finds himself in an awkward position but politely asks him to go back to the queue and wait for his turn.
In some cultures where there is a strong distinction of social classes, people from the upper classes feel they deserve better treatment than others. In addition, certain practices/tactics may seem the norm in order to achieve their objective.
Ethnocentrism means you use your own culture as the centre and evaluate other cultures based on it.
The above incident shows how some people think that are entitled to better treatment than others, thinking they are superior due to their own ethnic group or culture. Having the Concierge explaining the logical thing to do and by refusing the bribery shows that all the guests were equally treated and respected.
Ethnocentrism means to apply one’s own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge, interpret or evaluate other cultures, practices, behaviours, beliefs and people, instead of using the standards of the particular culture involved. In simple words, thinking one’s own group ways are superior to others or judging other groups as inferior to one’s own. This can often results in an inability to adequately understand cultures that are different from one’s own and value judgements that preference the in-group and assert its inherent superiority, linking the concept of ethnocentrism to nationalism, xenophobia, racism, sexism, discrimination. Judging people or traditions and believing that the way you are used to do things is the only right and acceptable way, hence people or other cultures that do things differently are wrong, is offensive and incorrect. Cultures cannot be evaluated or graded as higher and lower, superior or inferior, since the elements of a culture are not to be understood and judged be anyone.
That unpleasant situation would be easily avoided if the father of the family waited in the queue like the rest of the hotel guests, without feeling entitled to be served in priority due to his class or social status. Furthermore, by trying to bribe the Concierge in order to skip the line, should have been avoided, sparing him the unpleasant and awkward moment he experienced in front of the other guests.
Bizumic, B. (2014). Who coined the concept of ethnocentrism? A brief report. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2, 3-10.
Hammond, R. A., Axelrod, R. (2006). The evolution of ethnocentrism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50 (6), 926-936.
Incident 2:
At check-in, a smiling female receptionist welcomed a nice couple and their two kids to the hotel. A couple of days later and after some pleasant small talk between the man of the family and the receptionist about his kids, the guest started addressing her by her first name asking her if she had any children. The fact the level of conversation became personal, and the wrong use of words created an uncomfortable situation. The receptionist blushed, gave him a surprised look, and left the scene.
The guest may have wanted to find a common ground between the receptionist and himself, but the personalised communication style and his body language were misinterpreted.
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is Language Usage. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways.
The man of the family in an attempt to have a friendly conversation with the female receptionist of the hotel made the mistake of asking her personal questions. The use of language and the personal level of the conversation made the receptionist to feel uncomfortable due to her professional capacity.
Language is transmitted culturally and always carries meanings and references beyond itself. The meanings of a particular language represent the culture of a particular social group. In order to understand and to interact with a language means to do so with the culture, which is its reference point. A language is does not just consist of learning the alphabet, the meaning of the words, the grammar rules and the arrangement of words, but it is also learning the behaviour of the society and its cultural customs. Hence, we could not understand a culture without having direct access to its language because of their intimate connection. Language teaching should always contain some explicit reference to the culture, the whole from which the particular language is extracted. There are specific phrases, proverbs, tongue twisters in each language that even if you learn that language you will not be able to understand, like the poetic phrase in English ‘once in a blue moon’ that refers to something extremely rare in occurrence, a term commonly used for a second full moon that occasionally appears in a single month. The problem of misunderstanding lies when cross-cultural interactions take place, when message producer and message receiver are from different cultures.
Therefore, despite the man of the family’s good intentions to be friendly, sociable with the female receptionist, his approach, use of language, and thematic led to an uncomfortable situation for the receptionist. That would have been avoided if the he kept the conversation on a professional level avoiding any personal questions.
Jandt, F. E. (2003). Intercultural communication: An introduction, London: Sage Publications.
Ager, D. (1993). Language education for intercultural communication, U.S: Multilingual Matters LTD.
Incident 3:
Later, when talking with the hotel manager, the employee is reprimanded for wasting too much time with one guest while others are waiting.
It is often hard for people from different countries and cultures to fully understand the customs, meanings, ideas, and emotional changes of people coming from diverse cultures. Arguably, some cultures are oriented towards the details. This might nonetheless create distress to people coming from other cultures that perceive this as micro-management.
Cultural misunderstandings occur when two or more people speak the same language but mean or understand different things. This is usually due to their cultural background and different experiences. Our experiences, which often relate to our cultures, influence our understanding of words.
The Japanese tour guide in order to ensure that everything will go smooth with his group and in order to have the best experience possible was checking everything, something that made the Eastern European receptionist annoyed and upset after a while. That kind of behavior on behalf of the receptionist made the Japanese tour guide to complain.
Cultural misunderstanding happens when two or more people speak the same language, but they mean or understand different things, usually due to their cultural background and experiences that shape their understanding of words. The causes of intercultural misunderstandings are often complex and multifaceted. People tend to view other cultures through their own culture, judging them by the standards and norms they are accustomed to. In doing so, it is very easy to misinterpret others’ actions and behaviors, which inevitably most of the times leads to conflict. Another frequent cause of intercultural misunderstandings relates to the fact that what does someone considers being right or wrong. Different cultures communicate in very distinct ways. This includes differences in speech patterns, etiquette, and verbal and nonverbal communication. Consequently, these divergences can lead to confusion, mishaps, and disputes. More education and greater awareness are essential for preventing intercultural misunderstandings. It is important to recognize that there is no single right way to do something, but instead there are many different ways. In addition, it is only by understanding how and where these misunderstandings might occur that we can take steps to eliminate them.
What led to the whole misunderstanding is the lack of knowledge of other people’s customs and traditions. Both the Japanese tour guide and the Eastern European front-office employee resorted to making false assumptions about each other due to their different cultural backgrounds. A little patience from both sides would help avoid disappointment and frustration.
Hinner B. M. (2017). Intercultural misunderstandings: Cause and solutions. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 21 (4), 885-909.
Blum-Kulka, S. and Weizman, E. (1988). The inevitability of misunderstandings: Discourse ambiguities. Text, 8 (3), 219-241.
Incident 1:
A family has just checked in at a luxury hotel and plans to use it as its base for a 10-day holiday. The first thing on their agenda is to visit the concierge to plan their itinerary. As it is a busy season, there is a queue of guests waiting to be served. At first, the father of the family stands in the queue. Minutes later, he decides to go to the front trying to make a case to the Concierge as to why he has priority over the others. The Concierge explains that some of the guests in the line had been waiting for some time. As he sees his arguments cannot achieve what he wanted, he attempts to get his way by promising the Concierge a generous tip. The Concierge finds himself in an awkward position but politely asks him to go back to the queue and wait for his turn.
In some cultures where there is a strong distinction of social classes, people from the upper classes feel they deserve better treatment than others. In addition, certain practices/tactics may seem the norm in order to achieve their objective.
Ethnocentrism means you use your own culture as the centre and evaluate other cultures based on it.
The above incident shows how some people think that are entitled to better treatment than others, thinking they are superior due to their own ethnic group or culture. Having the Concierge explaining the logical thing to do and by refusing the bribery shows that all the guests were equally treated and respected.
Ethnocentrism means to apply one’s own culture or ethnicity as a frame of reference to judge, interpret or evaluate other cultures, practices, behaviours, beliefs and people, instead of using the standards of the particular culture involved. In simple words, thinking one’s own group ways are superior to others or judging other groups as inferior to one’s own. This can often results in an inability to adequately understand cultures that are different from one’s own and value judgements that preference the in-group and assert its inherent superiority, linking the concept of ethnocentrism to nationalism, xenophobia, racism, sexism, discrimination. Judging people or traditions and believing that the way you are used to do things is the only right and acceptable way, hence people or other cultures that do things differently are wrong, is offensive and incorrect. Cultures cannot be evaluated or graded as higher and lower, superior or inferior, since the elements of a culture are not to be understood and judged be anyone.
That unpleasant situation would be easily avoided if the father of the family waited in the queue like the rest of the hotel guests, without feeling entitled to be served in priority due to his class or social status. Furthermore, by trying to bribe the Concierge in order to skip the line, should have been avoided, sparing him the unpleasant and awkward moment he experienced in front of the other guests.
Bizumic, B. (2014). Who coined the concept of ethnocentrism? A brief report. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2, 3-10.
Hammond, R. A., Axelrod, R. (2006). The evolution of ethnocentrism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 50 (6), 926-936.
Incident 2:
At check-in, a smiling female receptionist welcomed a nice couple and their two kids to the hotel. A couple of days later and after some pleasant small talk between the man of the family and the receptionist about his kids, the guest started addressing her by her first name asking her if she had any children. The fact the level of conversation became personal, and the wrong use of words created an uncomfortable situation. The receptionist blushed, gave him a surprised look, and left the scene.
The guest may have wanted to find a common ground between the receptionist and himself, but the personalised communication style and his body language were misinterpreted.
The way people communicate varies widely between, and even within, cultures. One aspect of communication style is Language Usage. Across cultures, some words and phrases are used in different ways.
The man of the family in an attempt to have a friendly conversation with the female receptionist of the hotel made the mistake of asking her personal questions. The use of language and the personal level of the conversation made the receptionist to feel uncomfortable due to her professional capacity.
Language is transmitted culturally and always carries meanings and references beyond itself. The meanings of a particular language represent the culture of a particular social group. In order to understand and to interact with a language means to do so with the culture, which is its reference point. A language is does not just consist of learning the alphabet, the meaning of the words, the grammar rules and the arrangement of words, but it is also learning the behaviour of the society and its cultural customs. Hence, we could not understand a culture without having direct access to its language because of their intimate connection. Language teaching should always contain some explicit reference to the culture, the whole from which the particular language is extracted. There are specific phrases, proverbs, tongue twisters in each language that even if you learn that language you will not be able to understand, like the poetic phrase in English ‘once in a blue moon’ that refers to something extremely rare in occurrence, a term commonly used for a second full moon that occasionally appears in a single month. The problem of misunderstanding lies when cross-cultural interactions take place, when message producer and message receiver are from different cultures.
Therefore, despite the man of the family’s good intentions to be friendly, sociable with the female receptionist, his approach, use of language, and thematic led to an uncomfortable situation for the receptionist. That would have been avoided if the he kept the conversation on a professional level avoiding any personal questions.
Jandt, F. E. (2003). Intercultural communication: An introduction, London: Sage Publications.
Ager, D. (1993). Language education for intercultural communication, U.S: Multilingual Matters LTD.
Incident 3:
Later, when talking with the hotel manager, the employee is reprimanded for wasting too much time with one guest while others are waiting.
It is often hard for people from different countries and cultures to fully understand the customs, meanings, ideas, and emotional changes of people coming from diverse cultures. Arguably, some cultures are oriented towards the details. This might nonetheless create distress to people coming from other cultures that perceive this as micro-management.
Cultural misunderstandings occur when two or more people speak the same language but mean or understand different things. This is usually due to their cultural background and different experiences. Our experiences, which often relate to our cultures, influence our understanding of words.
The Japanese tour guide in order to ensure that everything will go smooth with his group and in order to have the best experience possible was checking everything, something that made the Eastern European receptionist annoyed and upset after a while. That kind of behavior on behalf of the receptionist made the Japanese tour guide to complain.
Cultural misunderstanding happens when two or more people speak the same language, but they mean or understand different things, usually due to their cultural background and experiences that shape their understanding of words. The causes of intercultural misunderstandings are often complex and multifaceted. People tend to view other cultures through their own culture, judging them by the standards and norms they are accustomed to. In doing so, it is very easy to misinterpret others’ actions and behaviors, which inevitably most of the times leads to conflict. Another frequent cause of intercultural misunderstandings relates to the fact that what does someone considers being right or wrong. Different cultures communicate in very distinct ways. This includes differences in speech patterns, etiquette, and verbal and nonverbal communication. Consequently, these divergences can lead to confusion, mishaps, and disputes. More education and greater awareness are essential for preventing intercultural misunderstandings. It is important to recognize that there is no single right way to do something, but instead there are many different ways. In addition, it is only by understanding how and where these misunderstandings might occur that we can take steps to eliminate them.
What led to the whole misunderstanding is the lack of knowledge of other people’s customs and traditions. Both the Japanese tour guide and the Eastern European front-office employee resorted to making false assumptions about each other due to their different cultural backgrounds. A little patience from both sides would help avoid disappointment and frustration.
Hinner B. M. (2017). Intercultural misunderstandings: Cause and solutions. Russian Journal of Linguistics, 21 (4), 885-909.
Blum-Kulka, S. and Weizman, E. (1988). The inevitability of misunderstandings: Discourse ambiguities. Text, 8 (3), 219-241.