Good Culture, Communication, And Conflict Essay Example

People have been travelling throughout history across cultural boundaries due to reasons such as colonization and the search for resources (Martin and Nakayama, pp.305-345). In the modern world, people migrate in search of employment, education, or because of war or famine (Martin and Nakayama, pp.305-345) and also for tourism. A look at my family reflects how intercultural transitions depend on various dialectical tensions. My great grandparents migrated to America from Canada in the early 20th century due to economic reasons. Similarly, my parents and I have migrated from different states in America due to their demanding jobs. I found it hard to relate to different cultures every time we moved to a new state. Understanding the process of adapting to different cultures and dialects requires critical examination of intercultural transitions on a personal and contextual level (Martin and Nakayama, pp.305-345). On a personal level, people often find themselves behaving in ways that are different to their individual identities as they struggle to adapt to new cultural contexts. For instance, when an American woman travels to a Muslim country, she has to wear a headscarf and behave in a manner that is acceptable to the host country. The dialectic calls for a balance between the individual and contextual demands (Martin and Nakayama, pp.305-345). There are two types of migrants; there are voluntary migrants and involuntary migrants. Voluntary migrants are people who travel for a particular purpose and a limited period, but involuntary migration is when an individual migrates permanently to escape a situation (Martin and Nakayama, pp.305-345). For example, refugees from Somalia often flee their homeland and move to the neighbouring country Kenya. On the other hand, Americans travel to Kenya of their volition for tourist purposes. To understand intercultural transitions, one needs to evaluate the culture, language and historical entanglements of their new surroundings.

Works cited

Martin, Judith N, and Thomas K Nakayama.Intercultural Communication In Contexts. 5th
ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.