Communication Across African and European Cultures

There are certainly more similarities than differences between human beings from different groups, and this applies to their ways of communicating just like anything. Nevertheless, the differences are significant and affect communication between people from different groups.

One of the definitions of communication would be “the exchange of messages between two or more participants, which is characterized by the intentional, conscious (at some level of consciousness) the use of mutually understandable systems of symbols”. This definition excludes the possibility of communication without conscious intentions and is therefore not widely accepted: habits and emotions are generally considered sources of communication that do not include conscious intentions. Besides, if other cultures interfere in the communication it will produce what’s called “Cross-Cultural Communication” which concerns the exchange of information between people from different cultural backgrounds. It is a well-studied field of research in several disciplines, including psychology, speech and communication, sociology, anthropology and business.

Communication and culture have a great impact on each other. Along with changing times, the socio-economic conditions of individuals also change. The impact of these changes is reflected in people’s communication behavior. Past experience, perception and cultural background have a big impact on how people speak and behave. Culture plays an important role in shaping the style of communication. In general, people respond to what and how we speak rather than what we say. This analysis examines the relationship between culture and intercultural communication style, and verifies the independence of culture and communication.

Communication across the African Culture

African culture differs significantly from European and other cultures. There is a strong connection between communication and the culture in the African environment, it is important to point their symbolic relationship. Culture in Africa determines the code, meaning and context of communication.

The two major systems of communication, verbal and non-verbal, are very operational in the African communication environment. Elders have the right to communicate verbally while the youth and younger generation are expected by tradition to mostly communicate non-verbally; because of their lack of adequate experience in life, they are expected to watch, listen and act according to what is told to be best for them by elders. In an environment full of elders, young ones are not expected to talk, start conversations, or express an opinion during a discussion unless required. An example of this is Senegalese proverb which says, “The child looks everywhere and very often sees nothing, but an elderly man while sitting sees everything.” Transmission of culture in most African societies is almost entirely through interpersonal communication carried out in small groups (family meetings) and large meetings (village or community meetings). The market-place, school, social forums and funerals serve as important channels for disseminating cultural information. Additionally, story tellers and singers relive the exploits and experiences of past and present generations to help educate the youth.

Certain African cultures use various musical instruments as a tool for communication depending on the occasion. Examples are the flute, gong and drum which can be used to deliver a political message, express sorrow or prepare the community for war. Musical instruments are a vital tool of communication in most African cultures. As stated earlier, communication in traditional African communities is a matter of human inter-relationships. In such a setting, it is based on one’s attitude towards his/her neighbor. Communication in such societies follows hierarchical socio-political positions within the community. What a person says is as important as who he is.

Historical, Geographical and Cultural Impacts on Communication

In Eastern Europe there is a variety of languages and language groups, as well as two alphabets: the Latin and the Cyrillic scripts. Eastern Europe is composed of many different ethnic and religious communities too. In this way it is impossible to define a common Eastern European cultural model. In terms of geography, culture, and communication modes, at least three basic cultural communities can be outlined: northeastern European, Central European, and southeastern European. However, despite the big differences between the countries, there are some common discourses due to the fact that all the Eastern European nations are post-communist societies. The first discourse is focused on the social and cultural trauma experienced in the period of socialism and often triggers hate speech. The second is based on nostalgia about the “good things” in the era of communism. And the third discourse is underlined by the constant questioning of “who we are.” This can make the communication complicated between the northeastern, central, southeastern European countries due to their history and background. The second thing is that the communication cannot always be flexible due to the multiple languages and to the education received by the elders, which can create some sort of tension in workplaces, or if group of people from different countries had to communicate. In fact, Europeans have to do some efforts to make the communication effective between the multiple cultures.

Intercultural Communication in Europe

Effective cross-cultural management and communication between the countries is essential in order to work efficiently together and build a strong union. How do Europeans manage to communicate in a context of cultural differences at home and in their foreign and development policies?

In an age of migration fluxes, raging conflicts and rampant populism, managing relations with those whom we think “are not like us” is paramount. Cultural differences between people tend to increase and there is no sign that values will converge towards a global cultural citizenship. Anglo-Saxon countries, including Britain, tend to show more individualistic features. As an example, individualist oriented societies educate their people to be independent. It is quite common for young people in Britain, for instance, to move out of the parents’ home when starting university, whereas in more collectivist oriented cultures, for example in Italy, this is far more unlikely as the family plays an extremely important role here. In collectivist societies group goals are far more important than the individual’s own interests. Individuals do not want to stand out from the group and therefore will avoid achieving better goals, quality or effectiveness than the other group members. This dimension plays a more important role in communication between different European cultures.

Also, some cultures like to break down information, to consider details, while others prefer to see a process as a whole and take a more holistic view of a situation or problem. This certainly can create conflicts in working environments if several different cultures are working together, as some people will concentrate on one specific problem or area whereas others will try to see everything in its context.

There is an obvious overlap concerning the culture of Africa and that of Europe, notably due to a shared history especially after the 18th century, the scramble for Africa was a major turning point which cemented the place of European culture amongst the newly acquired colonies, however it wasn’t a one sided relationship between the conqueror and the conquered, the share of multitudinous tradition between both continents which in turn ensured the growth of the multicultural paradigm we know today. North African migration for instance has caused a surge in the appreciation of Islamic tradition; it is now known that Islam is the fastest growing religion in Europe which serves as a testimony of the significance of the exchange between both civilizations. It’s safe to say that communication across cultures should not be taken lightly, since it can contribute to the alienation of a party or the sense of superiority of another, the emphasis should be put on mutual respect when exchanging with a different culture. We can only look forward with interest as to where this exchange will bring us in the near future.

Authors :

BENTAYBI MOUHCINE
BENARBIA IMANE
CHISULO MARK
DRISSI WALID
EL BAOUDI MED AMINE

REFERENCES

Websites

Books

Matsumoto, D. (2000). Culture and Psychology: People around the World. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth.
Yunxia, Z. (2005). Written Communication Across Cultures: A Sociocognitive Perspective on Business Genres. Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: John Benjamins.