“The meaning behind intercultural communication is to try to bring different world views and meaning attributions closer to each others through and with the help of verbal and non-verbal interactions” . Here is a definition of intercultural communication by Niina Kovalainen that reveals the three main points for intercultural communication, that is to say “culture” (which can correspond to “different world views”), “language” (represented in this definition by the expression “meaning attributions”) and “communication” (which is reflected here by “verbal and non-verbal interactions”). In order to try to answer to the essay question, we will thus focus on each of the three aspects of intercultural communication mentioned previously and replace them in the Baltic Sea Region cultural contexts. In a first part, we will concentrate on the cultural diversity (including languages diversity) that exists across the Baltic Sea Region and try to find out to which extent this diversity (because of its nature, its origins…) can influence intercultural communication in this area. In a second part, we will deal with the evolution of super-modernity in the Baltic Sea Region's societies and with the role it plays as far as intercultural communication is concerned (both in intercultural and intra-cultural contexts).
[...] This evolution is closely linked with the progressive emergence of super- modernity in the course of the 20th century, which has had significant consequences on the intercultural communication across the Baltic Sea area Super-modernity : a key actor in the evolution of intercultural communication across the BSR Super-modernity, which has been defined by Fred Dervin as combination of three super-abundances based on modernity, which dawned in the 18th century : a super-abundance of time and history a rising conscious of the vastness of the space we inhabit an excess and lack of personal identity”[10]. [...]
[...] Eventually, we will relativize the weigh of national cultures in intercultural communication in the Baltic Sea Region A first overview of national and trans-national cultural dimensions across the BSR In this part, I am going to compare the national cultural dimensions that exist across the BSR, on the basis of both the course material and the Hofstede's evaluation results. The national cultures, even if they should not be taken as the most important element when trying to depict ones' culture (which is, anyway, made very difficult, see nearly impossible, by the width and instability of the scope of various identities creating each individual's identity), are in my opinion particularly relevant for a first and approach concerning the possibility of intercultural communication across the BSR. [...]
[...] Eventually, we have emphasized on the fact that the opportunities of intercultural communication across the Baltic Sea region are not to be evaluated on a national basis, but rather on trans or sub-national basis. Bibliography Brown P. and Levinson C. S. Politeness. Cambridge University Press Dervin F. Reflections on the deconditioning of language specialists in Finnish Higher Education. In : Eija Suomela-Salmi and Fred Dervin (Eds) : Visibility andB Collaboration of Researchers in Intercultural Communication in Finland 2005 Geertz C. [...]
[...] In : Eija Suomela-Salmi and Fred Dervin (Eds) : Visibility and Collaboration of Researchers in Intercultural Communication in Finland Fred Dervin : Reflections on the deconditioning of language specialists in Finnish Higher Education. In : Eija Suomela-Salmi and Fred Dervin (Eds) : Visibility and Collaboration of Researchers in Intercultural Communication in Finland 2005, 7-8 Bronislaw Malinowski. The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Languages. In : CK Ogden and I.A. Richards (Eds) : The Meaning of Meaning. Hartcourt Brace 1923, 457-458 Ibid. [...]
[...] As far as the Baltic Sea region is concerned, a key element as regard to the intercultural communication possibilities is the existence of many different languages. Indeed, in addition to the national languages, there are also plenty of local dialects (such as in Oulu in Finland for instance) within the Baltic area's countries. However, a brief overview of the national languages shows that the Finnish and Estonian languages on the one hand and the Lithuanian and Latvian languages on the other hand, belong to the same languages groups. [...]
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