Intercultural Communication Patterns in the U.S. and UK

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Cultural and Communication practices prevalent in British Culture
Cultural and Communication Patterns Dominant in American Culture
Cultural Differences between the U.S and the U.K
Conclusion and Recommendations
Reference List

Introduction

Today, people live in a pluralistic society with diverse cultures. Culture refers to a set of characteristics common to a particular society. By definition, cultures are different in many aspects viz. beliefs, behavior patterns, social practices, and values.

A particular culture exhibits a distinctive pattern of thought such as social norms and attitudes, definite patterns of behavior, especially in commerce and industry, and specific patterns of cultural artifacts. In a multicultural society, intercultural understanding is essential in creating an atmosphere of tolerance and respect.

In this context, effective communication or sharing of information between people of different cultural backgrounds is critical. Since cultures embody distinctive patterns of behavior and perceptions, the intercultural communication approaches should take into account the cultural differences. In other words, approaches to intercultural communication should be difference-based. Otherwise, misunderstanding is likely to happen particularly when the differences between national cultures are significant.

The misunderstanding may lead to a conflict or strained relations among the involved national cultures. Britons and Americans largely have similar cultures because of a common language and common ancestry (Comrie, 1981, p. 54). However, despite these similarities, subtle cultural differences, which have a far more impact on British-American intercultural communication than the minor linguistic differences, do exist.

In particular, attitude to modesty between the two cultures is evident. While the British culture does not lay much emphasis on self-efficacy or modesty, we, the Americans tend to place a high value on these qualities. These cultural differences have a significant impact on intercultural communication between the Britons and Americans. Understanding and developing awareness of the individual cultures are pivotal in intercultural communication.

Cultural and Communication practices prevalent in British Culture

Amongst the British people, the cultural multifariousness is rather substantial. The British people consist of English, Welsh, and the Scots. Thus, a single national culture in the United Kingdom is hard to define. However, in general, Britons, irrespective of their subcultures, would react similarly when they encounter people from a different culture such as the Americans.

Most notably, the Britons have a tendency to favor individualism, as opposed to group orientation. In this regard, Britons hold a personal opinion or attitude towards many aspects without consideration for others.

Additionally, most Britons place more emphasis on individual privacy. Most often, a Briton’s daily life is confined to his/her home with all visits rearranged rather than on a casual basis. In particular, the old generation dislikes unexpected visits. However, among close friends, there is some degree of freedom as most visits are often casual (Allik, & McCrae, 1998, p. 341).

In addition, certain information, especially regarding personal details, is considered private in the British culture. For instance, the older Britons dislike questions requiring them to reveal their age. Others do not like questions probing their wages or social lives.

Britons also exhibit reservation particularly towards new people. They do not show their deeper feelings or attitudes until they get to know the new person. In particular, Britons most often are not extrovert types especially in public and have a tendency to deliberate before making decisions, as opposed to impulse decision making.

The British people, particularly in the north of the country, are hesitant to try out new things such as food. Additionally, in the British culture, faultfinding or constructive self-scoffing is highly reckoned. For instance, Shakespearean humor is highly regarded among the Britons. The British dislike boasting, either at an individual level or national level; instead, they prefer healthy criticism.

Other notable cultural aspect common among the Britons is their emphasis on punctuality. In fact, punctuality is considered a virtue among the British people especially during meetings or appointments. Britons prefer to prepare in advance for a particular occasion and dislike last-minute arrangements unless it is an emergency. They like being organized in advance both in individual and national matters.

Queues are common in transport points and shops, and failure to queue is considered an uncivilized behavior. Additionally, the Britons prefer a speedy and direct approach when dealing with a situation or making a request. With regard to disability or death, most Britons are unfamiliar with such situations as dead people and specialists take care for the mentally and physically handicapped people. As a result, most Britons express a feeling of uneasiness during such situations as burial.

In British culture, the immediate family consists of the parents and their children. The children are expected to leave their home at the age of eighteen. Additionally, aged parents are cared for under the National Benefit Scheme in homes for the aged. In recent times, the divorce rates are particularly high causing a marked change to the traditional family life.

Interpersonal relationships vary depending on the location within the country i.e. north or south of Britain. The location influences personal attitudes, accent, social background, and nationalistic tendencies. Most often, the northern people are friendlier and open compared to the southerners (Allik, & McCrae, 1998, p. 344). The southerners would less readily start a conversation with a stranger as compared to the northerners.

With regard to communication, the British can tolerate misuse of the English language; nevertheless, they will make no effort towards correcting it. Typically, in contemporary British culture, handshaking is no longer British. However, among the older generation, handshaking when being introduced to strangers is common (Comrie, 1981, p. 56).

Sometimes, hugging among close friends is usual. Additionally, Britons prefer social space during conversations. Usually, a Briton would feel uncomfortable standing close with someone when conversing.

Cultural and Communication Patterns Dominant in American Culture

The essence of intercultural communication is to promote understanding of one’s culture and identify how similar or different it is from another culture. As with the British culture, the American culture is quite diverse such that, no particular beliefs or values are applicable across the board.

However, some core values and beliefs are representative of the American national culture. In general, the American attitude towards age is the same. The American culture emphasizes on concrete achievements and does not value age (Stewart, & Bennett, 1991, p. 67). In this respect, younger people are recruited during hiring as the American culture emphasizes on improved productivity and youthfulness. Additionally, the Americans believe that new is better than the old is.

The American concept of destiny and fate is also most distinctive. In the US, the concept of self-determination is extraordinarily common. Most Americans belief they can achieve whatever they want during their lifetime. Parents advise their children that they can be whatever they dream of, as opportunities are many (Stewart, & Bennett, 1991, p. 76).

Fundamentally, Americans consider people to be inherently virtuous and seek an explanation as to why one would turn into a bad person. As a result, in American courts, a person is deemed innocent until proven guilty. Additionally, Americans are fairly open and friendly to strangers. They are more willing to accept strangers than the Britons are.

The American attitude towards change is another common characteristic of the American culture. Usually, in the US, new is perceived as better and old things can always be improved. In this context, change is viewed as positive in achieving progress and improvements are seen as ways of achieving perfection. Americans have belief in taking risks or experimentation. Low personal savings and bankruptcies are typical among the Americans. In the American culture, failure is considered as only temporary and one can rise and try again.

In the American culture, unlike in the British culture, people usually cheer up and show compassion to suffering individuals or during misfortunes. Americans strive to remain happy in the wake of misfortunes or sufferings (Stewart, & Bennett, 1991, p. 82). Additionally, just like the British, Americans prefer being straight with people.

Given that the American culture is an individualistic culture, Americans can openly voice their personal opinions without worrying about hurting the other’s feelings (Wiseman, Hammer, & Nishida, 1989, p.349). In America, people are judged according to what they have achieved; aspects like seniority, birth, or authority do not confer self-worth or self-esteem; they are one’s achievements. Additionally, the concept of equality is notable in the American culture.

People are treated equally in the US irrespective of class or race save for the few cases of fading racism. The American culture is built around the notion of equality of all citizens regardless of personal wealth, fame, or power. Contrastingly, in the American culture, people are more casual and less formal compared to Britons. Americans have a casual tendency in both professional and social interactions.

Optimism is generally high in the American culture largely because individuals feel that they are in charge of their own destiny. In general, most Americans remain positive that awful situations will get better with time. Moreover, they believe that the unfortunate situations happen for a reason. In other words, Americans have a relatively high degree of realism and optimism in all circumstances. Of particular importance, is their attitude towards doing or being practical in life.

Generally, Americans prefer actions to words or talking. According to Allik and McCrae (1998, p. 346), “pursuits not related to the production of meaningful results”, especially in academia are less valued in the American culture. Americans prefer things or actions that are practical and pragmatic to things that are beautiful or anti-intellectual. In this context, arts are considered not central to life in the American culture but rather an adornment of life.

With regard to the natural world, Americans view the world as a system that is predictable and controllable. In America, many human acts such as building earthquake-proof structures, seeding of rain clouds, dams to control river flow or floods, and sophisticated weather prediction aim at controlling nature.

Cultural Differences between the U.S and the U.K

Statistically, the U.K. is one country that the U.S. has had the most failed expatriate assignments. Given the cultural, political, and linguistic similarities between the two countries, these statistics are surprising. However, the minor differences in cultural and communication patterns in each culture present a greater challenge to effective intercultural communication (McCrae, 2001, p. 819).

The overwhelming similarities between the two cultures mask the subtle differences present. These differences usually revolve around language, cultural values, attitudes, and subsequently on business behaviors.

Britain is historically a significant colonial power in the world. In this respect, the differences that contributed to violent confrontations between the U.K. and its colonies remain, and are largely, the source of misunderstanding when the Americans and the British try to work together.

In Britain, a culture of imposition of authority or monarchic leadership, i.e. Queens and Kings, is quite prevalent. In contrast, the American culture is built around equality for everyone (Hofstede, & McCrae, 2004, p.52). The culture empowers all citizens based on their levels of competency with less regard to their class or social status.

Although Britain has highly developed democratic institutions, it simultaneously holds on to aristocratic leadership; it is one of the surviving old monarchies of the modern day. In many aspects, social activities are based on social class and privilege. As a result, when the American and British cultures clash, the Americans, with a culture that empowers individual persons, feel a profound disconnect. In addition, Americans are more honest and forthright with their opinions and views when compared to the Britons.

In contrast, Britons are reserved especially in their business interactions. Consequently, during business meetings, most commonly, Americans feel that their input is not welcome. On the other hand, Britons feel that American meetings are merely brainstorming sessions with individuals offering competing views that hinders progress or solution finding.

In effect, a conflict arises from these two contrasting styles or perspectives apparent in these two cultures. While the British meetings are often solution-oriented with strong recognition of authority or hierarchy (Hofstede, & McCrae, 2004, p.81), American business meetings involve competing views from all attendants before arriving at a final decision.

Misunderstandings are also likely to arise with regard to the English language. Many differences exist between the American and the British English (Basso, 1979, p. 78). Some English expressions in the British culture can mean differently or even oppositely in American culture. For instance, an expression like, “let us table this idea” in British culture means to begin a discussion on a particular subject; however, for Americans it means discussing the idea later (Basso, 1979, p. 81).

In addition, minor differences in social practices, in both cultures, exist (McCrae, 2001, p. 841). For example, Americans keep right when driving while the Britons keep left, and in correspondence, Britons usually use “day-month-year” date format while the Americans use “month-day-year” date format. Thus, the two cultures, in many ways tend to conflict each other leading to misunderstandings that affect upstanding business relationships.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Despite the cultural similarities between the American and British cultures, especially with regard to linguistic, political, and socioeconomic aspects, subtle differences exist. Differences in attitudes, values, and social practices pose a challenge towards achieving meaningful business relations between the two cultures.

More importantly, the British emphasis on authority conflicts with the American belief on equality. In the American culture, brainstorming sessions are held in high regard whereas in the British culture discussions are under the control of an authoritative figure and are solution-oriented. These minor differences have a substantial impact on British-American interactions and can lead to misunderstandings.

Therefore, to achieve a more competent intercultural communication between the British and the American cultures, education on intercultural communication is indispensable (Scollon, & Wong, 2001, p.97). Creating awareness regarding the subtle cultural differences and communication patterns between the American and British cultures is one way of achieving competent intercultural communication. In this respect, overall information should be made available, not only on similarities between the two cultures, but also the differences.

Another way of avoiding misunderstandings between the two cultures is developing flexible attitudes towards the differences in communication and cultural patterns (Wiseman, Hammer, & Nishida, 1989, p.369). In this way, negative attitudes and stereotypes can be removed. In essence, to achieve cultural competence, creating awareness of the inherent similarities and differences between the two cultures is paramount.

Reference List

Allik, J., & McCrae, R. (1998).Towards a Geography of Personality Traits: Patterns Of Profiles Across 36 Cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31(3), 341-347

Basso, K. (1979). Portraits of’ The Whiteman’: Linguistic Play and Cultural Symbols among the Western- Apache. London: Cambridge University Press.

Comrie, B. (1981). Language Universals and Linguistic Typology. Oxford, Basil: Blackwell.

Hofstede, G., & McCrae, R. (2004). Personality and Culture Revisited: Linking Traits and Dimensions of Culture. Cross-Cultural Research, 38(1), 52-88.

McCrae, R. (2001). Trait psychology and culture: Exploring intercultural Comparisons. Journal of Personality, 69(6), 819-846.

Scollon, R., & Wong S. (2001). Intercultural communication. Oxford: Blackwell. P. 97

Stewart, E., & Bennett, M. (1991). American Cultural Patterns: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. P. 67-83

Wiseman, R., Hammer, M., & Nishida, H. (1989). Predictors of intercultural communication competence. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 13(3), 349-370.

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