Mar 19, 2013 05:08
11 yrs ago
3 viewers *
English term

Intercultural

English Art/Literary Linguistics General
What is the difference between "intercultural" and "crosscultural"?

Thanks. I am currently studying my master's degree in education (TESOL) in australia.

Discussion

Ms Faith (asker) Mar 25, 2013:
It was when we were discussing about intercultural communication in the classroom, one student raised this question of what is the difference between these 2 words. Thanks Lara, it is true that the context is important.
Lara Barnett Mar 19, 2013:
Context Just out of interest, what is the context? Although these words have legitimate definitions, their usage is also relevant.

Responses

+4
54 mins
Selected

intercultural = interacting; cross cultural = comparing

You haven't really given us a lot to go on, this could refer to communication or communities etc. The meaning could change slightly depending on what it's qualifying, hence only a medium confidence level on my part.

"’CROSS-CULTURAL’ means a comparison and contrast between two cultural groups. For example, my cross-cultural study of Brazilians and Mexicans when they celebrate a birthday shows that Mexicans love to focus on cooking and sharing of the food, while Brazilians love the dancing –even grandmas are dancing the samba.
‘Intercultural’ refers to what happens when people from these two groups come together. As a Mexican, I may complain that there’s not enough food, but I love the dancing and join the group. Thus, INTERCULTURAL is what happens when the two (or more) culturally-different groups come together, interact and communicate.”
http://ixmaticommunications.com/2011/02/03/cross-cultural-vs...

P.S. It's generally written 'cross-cultural' or 'cross cultural' but not 'crosscultural'.


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Note added at 56 mins (2013-03-19 06:04:27 GMT)
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"Intercultural communication focuses on “sharing of meanings” across cultures, whereas cross-cultural communication focuses on comparisons of communication styles."
http://www.studymode.com/essays/Intercultural-Vs-Cross-Cultu...
Peer comment(s):

agree Suncana Kursan
1 hr
thank you Suncana
agree Jenni Lukac (X)
3 hrs
thank you Jenni
agree Veronika McLaren
5 hrs
thank you Veronika
agree Tina Vonhof (X) : They are often used interchangably, which makes it confusing.
8 hrs
thank you Tina. Yes they are (rather like 'translator' and 'interpreter'!)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
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