Finns in interaction with non-finns: problematic phenomena perceived as critical incidents
Abstract
This study focuses on Finns' perceptions of problematic phenomena in their communication with non-Finns. The aim of the study is to examine intercultural face-to-face encounters experienced as critical incidents by the respondents.
Critical incidents are communicative events which have been experienced as embarrassing, irritating, funny, strange etc. and which are therefore remembered vividly.
People are often not aware of "the obvious" in their own communication. It only becomes visible to them when communicating with somebody whose "obvious" differs from it, as is the case in intercultural encounters. Therefore the study of critical incidents helps to identify "obvious" and therefore invisible features in one's own communication style.
The data consists of 202 critical incidents collected from lecture journals submitted by Finnish open university students in connection with introductory courses to Intercultural Communication. To identify such incidents in the journals, content analysis was used.
The study suggests that phenomena such as different orientations to time, degree of directness, role differences and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication were among those experienced as critical.
Full text article
References
Brown, Penelope and Levinson, Stephen 1978. Universals in language usage: Politeness phenomenon. In: Goody, Esther N. (ed.). Questions and politeness: Strategies in social interaction, 56-310. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Carbaugh, Donal 1995. Are Americans really superficial? Notes on Finnish and American cultures in linguistic interaction. In: Salo-Lee, Liisa (ed.). Language and culture in learning and teaching, Publications 12 of the Department of Communication of the University of Jyväskylä, 53-60.
Flanagan, John C. 1954. The critical incident technique. In: Psychological Bulletin 51: 327-358.
Hiukka, Kristiina 1991. Strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of communication in intercultural business negotiations. How do Finns succeed as negotiators? Unpublished paper, World Communication Association. 1991 Biennal convention. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä.
Hofstede, Geert 1991. Cultures and Organizations. Software of the mind. London: McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Lehtonen, Jaakko and Sajavaara, Kari 1985. The Silent Finn. In: Tannen, Deborah & Saville-Troike, Muriel (eds.), Perspectives on Silence. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 193-201.
Mattinen, Eija 1981. Puhu, kuuntele ja vaikuta. Porvoo: Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö.
Müller-Jacquier, Bernd 1988. Linguistic Awareness of Cultures (LAC). Unpublished handout for Jyväskylä-Workshop.
Sajavaara, Kari and Lehtonen, Jaakko 1997. The silent Finn revisited. In Jaworski, Adam (ed.), Silence: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Sallinen-Kuparinen, Aino 1986. Finnish Communication Reticence: perceptions and self-reported behaviour. Studia philologica Jyväskyläensia 19., University of Jyväskylä.
Salo-Lee, Liisa 1997. Kuunteleminen ja palaute monikulttuurisessa kanssakäymisessä. In: Huotari, Leena (ed.) Puheen maailma. Suomen Puheopiston 50-vuotisjuhlajulkaisu.
Salo-Lee, Liisa and Winter-Tarvainen, Annette 1995. Kriittiset tilanteet kulttuurien kohtaamisessa: suomalaisten ja saksalaisten opiskelijoiden näkäkulma. In: Salo-Lee, Liisa (ed.) Language & culture in teaching and learning. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä, Department of Communication, 12.
Salo-Lee, Liisa, Malmberg, Raija and Halinoja, Raimo 1996: Me ja muut. Kulttuurienvälinen viestintä. Yle-opetuspalvelut.
Scollon, Ron & Scollon, Suzanne Wong 1995. Intercultural Communication. A Discourse Approach. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers.
Authors
Copyright (c) 2020 Kiira Maria Kirra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This journal provides immediate and free open access to all its content and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This means readers are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as proper attribution is given. This policy is consistent with the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) definition of open access.