Intercultural Communication (Language in Society) [Paperback]

Suzanne Wong Scollon (Author), Ron Scollon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 13, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0631194894 | ISBN-13: 978-0631194897 | Edition: 1

This newly revised volume is both a lively introduction and practical guide to the main concepts and problems of intercultural communication. Viewed from within the framework of interactive sociolinguistics associated with Tannen, Gumperz, and others, the authors focus in particular on the discourse of westerners and of Asians, the discourse of men and women, corporate discourse and the discourse of professional organizations, and intergenerational discourse

Editorial Reviews

Review

" The theoretical discussions are excellent. The Scollons provide a unique combination of all the essential topics in cross-cultural communication, a sophisticated and original theoretical framework, and an unusually well-organized and concise presentation of the material. The book is extremely well written: it is clear and full of telling examples. I can't imagine a better treatment of the topic." Deborah Tannen, Georgetown University

" The Scollons mix contemporary linguistic anthropology with modern concerns over intercultural communication and forge a creative, important blend. Their lively and accessible approach will enlighten anyone who lives and works in our culturally diverse world." Michael Agar, University of Maryland

"I was faced with the quandary of how to communicate to my students all that I wanted to teach them about face, politeness, power, communicative style, and discourse - without having to ask them to purchase a very expensive packet of readings. It seems that academic providence took care of me, because at that point the Scollons' book was published. Since then I have used it with great success in my class, which serves students across the spectrum of disciplines." Christina Kakava, Mary Washington College

From the Back Cover

This volume is both a lively introduction and practical guide to the main concepts and problems of intercultural communication. Viewed from within the framework of interactive sociolinguistics associated with Tannen, Gumperz, and others, the authors focus in particular on the discourse of westerners and of Asians, the discourse of men and women, corporate discourse and the discourse of professional organizations, and intergenerational discourse.

In this newly revised edition, the first chapter now includes a section which sets out the authors' distinction between cross-cultural communication and intercultural communication. Another section outlines the methodology of ethnography which is the practical basis of the authors' research. In the new final chapter, the authors return to this methodology and show how they and others have been able to use it and this book to do new research in intercultural communication and how this work has been used in conducting training and consultation programs.

While making use of research in pragmatics, discourse analysis, organizational communication, social psychology, and the ethnography of communication, this book presents students, researchers, and practitioners with a comprehensive and unified framework for the analysis of intercultural discourse.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (December 13, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631194894
• ISBN-13: 978-0631194897
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,143,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Making a complex issue simple when most books treat the complex as simple, August 25, 2005

By 

J. Brady "reading enthusiast" (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach (Language in Society) (Paperback)

This book provides excellent insights into the complexity of intercultural communication. In comparison to the simplistic treatment given by other authors, this book provides the understanding needed for daily events: how to understand why miscommunications occur in so many different situations, whether with speakers of languages other than english, members of different business units, or members of a different gender. It is very well written, developing arguments logically and providing excellent, identifiable examples. If you only have the time or money for one book on this topic, make your purchase this book (and I don't get any royalities).

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very little information for 300 pages, March 2, 2010

By 

Robertson Thomas (Hapcheon, Gyeongnam, South Korea) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach (Language in Society) (Paperback)

The book discusses everything under the sun except what the title of the book promises. There is an entire chapters on the history of individualism, collectivism, and Utilitarianism. There is an entire chapter reviewing the latest EFL curriculi. There is still another entire chapter on gender differences in thinking. If you're interested in that last topic, get "You Just Don't Understand" by Deborah Tannen, because that's where the authors get most of their information.

Here is the sum total of the valued information which I got from the book:

--the term "lumping fallacy"

--the terms "Gemeinschaft" and "Gesellschaft"

--the words "taciturn" and "voluble"

--Asians prefer being addressed by their adopted English names than by their Asian names.

--Asians tend to state the premises first and the conclusion last, whereas Westerners tend to state the conclusion first and the premises last.

--In Asian society, it is considered improper for a student to introduce a new topic in class.

For a North American who lives in South Korea and who has a serious need to communicate better with the people, this is disappointing.