Diverse cultural beliefs and traditions that people have across the world have significant influence on intercultural communication. While some cultures have unique cultural beliefs and traditions, others have common beliefs that anyone can easily adopt and apply in intercultural communication.
The variation in cultural beliefs and traditions among various cultures portrays the extent of intercultural communication that occurs in a given population. Since tourists often face difficulties in intercultural communication, examination of the cultural beliefs and traditions of the native population is imperative. To establish how cultural background influences intercultural communication, this essay examines Alexander Mathew’s experiences with tourists in New Jersey.
Alexander Mathew is a resident of the Atlantic City in New Jersey. He is a White American who has lived in the Atlantic City since his birth in 1970. This implies that Alexander Mathew has purely adopted cultural beliefs and traditions that are dominant in Atlantic City.
Hence, Alexander Mathew has beliefs and traditions that reflect White American culture. Alexander Mathew works in a tourist resort in Atlantic City, and thus he interacts constantly with tourists. The experience of interacting with tourists makes him an appropriate candidate for the interview.
From the interview, one can learn that Alexander Mathew greatly cherishes his cultural background because he happily shares his beliefs and traditions with tourists that he interacts with daily.
When asked what makes him communicate effectively with tourists from various cultural backgrounds, A. Mathew (personal communication, August 18, 2013) says that he uses English mostly when communicating with tourists and he has learned French, Germany, Spanish, Portuguese, and Jerriais. In this view, it is evident that to communicate effectively with tourists from diverse cultural backgrounds, one must understand different languages.
The attitude of Alexander Mathew is not typical because he is proud to be a resident of Atlantic City in New Jersey. Unlike other people in New Jersey, Alexander Mathew has a friendly attitude towards tourists, as he likes sharing his cultural beliefs and traditions with different people. With his friendly attitude, A. Mathew (personal communication, August 18, 2013) says “I enjoys interacting with all tourists no matter their cultural backgrounds while teaching them to learn White American culture and language.”
Additionally, Alexander Mathew continually learns other cultures, which has helped him communicate effectively with people from diverse cultures. Thus, Alexander Mathew gives good treatment to the tourists by encouraging them to adopt a White American culture while learning from diverse cultures.
The Alexander Mathew’s experience with tourists has stretched the comfort zone of the writer in intercultural communication. As a resident of New Jersey, the writer perceives that residents of Atlantic City, New Jersey, have unfriendly attitude, and thus unable to provide favorable treatment to tourists by teaching their culture or learning from diverse cultures.
In this view, the writer has learned that sharing of cultures occurs through the process of teaching and learning that occurs when members of different cultures interact as it happens when natives and tourists interact.
Reference
- Mathew. (Personal Communication, August 18, 2013). Atlantic City.