A Conceptual Framework for Intercultural/International Communication.

The ambiguities of intercultural communication are examined in this paper. The concept posed is that although every culture sees the world according to that culture's heritage and history, immediate contexts also shape meanings. In multicultural contexts, those meanings must be constructed partly anew each time by speakers, writers, listeners, and readers, across their differences of language, culture, and world views. Four concepts of interculturalism are discussed: (1) instability and equivocality of messages that cross cultures, as illustrated by the Coca-Cola bottle in the film, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"; (2) cultural construction (the change of cultural identity); (3) cultural heterogeneity; and (4) dialogue communication and approaches and attitudes that block it (modes of intercultural communication, problems with the transmission model of communication, and intercultural misunderstanding and miscommunication). Contains 18 references. (LB)