Intercultural communication: A critical introduction provides a comprehensive, critical, and up-to-date introduction to intercultural communication. The core question of “how culture is made relevant by whom in which context for which purposes” is raised throughout the book as the central issue in the study of intercultural communication. Combining both discourse analysis and sociolinguistic perspectives, the book not only treats cultural identity, differences, and similarities as discursive constructions, but also makes use of languages and language varieties that are prominent in intercultural communication.
From the outset, Piller engages readers in reflecting upon intercultural communication in real life, embedded in socioeconomic and cultural globalization and in transnationalism. She argues that culture should be viewed not as existing beyond and preceding intercultural communication, but as an ideological construct that is concerned with the social life of different national and ethnic groups. Rapid colonization and imperialism on the part of the UK and the US in the nineteenth century contributed greatly to shaping the meaning conveyed by culture, multiculturalism, and intercultural communication. From its crucial roles in colonization and imperialism, intercultural communication has become a means to overcome cultural difference. In intercultural communication, the interplay of language and culture is highlighted, as intercultural communication often occurs in situations of communicative inequality. Piller criticizes the ideology of banal nationalism, exposing the dangers of essentialism and national stereotyping that continue to flourish in intercultural business communication. She argues that intercultural communication should be understood in the context of mobility resulting from globalization and transnationalism rather than through nation-based approaches. Most interestingly, Piller points critically to the existence of a “global nonlanguage,” a growing international phenomenon that involves the use of words and phrases that have no linguistic or cultural meaning in commercials and brand names. This nonlanguage has resulted in uniformity in how diversity is indexed in the globalized world. Piller also criticizes the commoditization of intercultural romance, which results in gender inequalities, and highlights the problem of differences in cultural and language proficiency, which can serve as an excuse for racism and discrimination in employment and in the pursuit of equal rights in society. From a sociolinguistic perspective, intercultural communication can be best understood as being shaped by language proficiency and language choices embedded in language ideologies and practices, and in the political economy of languages. A real-language perspective, therefore, should be applied to understand misunderstandings in intercultural communication which are due to linguistic rather than cultural problems. Finally, the author argues for a material-linguistic approach, critical sociolinguistic ethnography, and a commitment to social justice in future research on intercultural communication.
This book is definitely worth reading, as it successfully deals with unresolved contradictions in intercultural communication, using both discourse analysis and sociolinguistics to answer the core question about intercultural communication. The book is highly recommended not only for scholars in the field, but also as an excellent textbook for classroom use or self-study that provides students with clearly stated objectives, key points, case studies from around the world, and further reading and interesting activities on intercultural communication.
