Books
Intercultural Communication: A Practical Guide
by Tracy Novinger
- University
of Texas Press 2001
Successfully communicating with people from another culture requires
learning more than just their language. While fumbling a word or phrase
may cause embarrassment, breaking the unspoken cultural rules that
govern personal interac
tions can spell disaster for businesspeople,
travelers, and indeed anyone who communicates
across cultural
boundaries. This authoritative, practical guide for deciphering and
following "the rules" that govern cultures, demonstrates how these rules
apply to the communication issues that exist between the United States
and Mexico. It will help you avoid damaging gaffes.
This
guide begins by explaining how a major proportion of communication
within a culture occurs nonverbally through behavior and manners, shared
attitudes, common expectations, and so on. Then, using real-life
examples and anecdotes, it pinpoints the commonly occurring obstacles to
communication that can arise when cultures differ in their
communication techniques. "Intercultural
Communication" shows how these obstacles come into play in
contacts between the U.S. and Mexico and demonstrates that mastering the
unspoken rules of Mexican culture is a key to cementing business and
social relationships. Novinger concludes with nine effective, reliable
principles for successfully communicating across cultures.1
UT Press website
to see Table of Contents, excerpt, etc.
Communicating with Brazilians: When 'Yes' Means 'No'
by
Tracy Novinger- University of Texas Press 2004
Brazilians are gracious, friendly, fun-loving people, which makes their
country a very inviting place to visit for pleasure or business. So
great is their cordiality that Brazilians will say "yes" to almost any
request--
even when they actually mean "no"--which can be quite confusing
for U.S. visitors who are used to a more direct style of communication.
In fact, as Americans spend time in Brazil, they discover a number of
cultural differences that can hamper their communication with
Brazilians. To overcome these barriers, this book analyzes Brazilian culture and modes of communication and compares them with their American
counterparts to help Americans learn to communicate successfully with
Brazilians and vice versa.
To aid
Americans in understanding the Brazilian perspective, "Communicating with Brazilians"
presents a portrait of Brazil’s history, racial fusion, economy, and
contemporary lifestyles. It focuses on many aspects of Brazilian
culture, such as social organization and ranking systems;
preconceptions, worldviews, and values; sexual behaviors and eating
customs; thought patterns; nonverbal communication such as the use of
time, space, gestures, touch, eye contact, rituals, etc.; and
differences in Brazilian and American point-making styles when
negotiating, persuading, and conversing. For quick reference, the book
concludes with a summary and checklist of the leading Brazilian cultural
characteristics, as well as eight recommendations for enhancing
intercultural communication.2
UT Press website to see Table
of Contents, excerpt, etc.
1http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/novint.html
2http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/novcom.html
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