Intercultural encounters Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intercultural encounters - Assignment Example differently to such encounters of cultural difference for instance some people may accept such cultural difference, others may reject while other may make the adaption (Gert et al., 2002). Communication and lingo is one of the mainly common intercultural encounters that a person is likely to face in the world today. Smiling for example is a non-verbal gesture of communication use in the world. However, a smile is often misinterpreted because it has different meanings in different cultures. In the Angolan culture, for instance a smile is used as a friendly gesture of welcoming another person. A smile in Asian cultures may often be used to signify discomfort, confusion, or even embarrassment. In some cultures, a smile is only for family and friends for instance in Germany. A smile in the Middle East has a significant difference from other parts of the world especially a smile from a woman to a man. Such a smile may mean sexual attraction (Deardorff, 2009). Different cultures have different interpretation of a particular aspect of life. Smiling for instance is a communication gesture that may be applicable across the world. Nonetheless, different cultures apply and interpret a smile differently. It is therefore important for a person to understand cultural interpretation and meaning of different aspects otherwise a risk of misinterpretation is very likely. It is obvious that different cultures conflict in a number of ways for instance a smile from a woman to a man in the Garman culture may signify friendship while in the Middle East it signifies a completely different thing and that is sexual attraction (Gert et al.,2002). The conflict and culture is indeed applicable in the day-to-day encounters of an individual particularly with the aspect of globalization and the world becoming a global village. One of my life experience regarding conflict and cultural differences was in Japan. Japanese interpret a smile as a sign of discomfort or confusion while people from