on the Net which makes them universally acceptable. The typical American “zip your lip” image is placed next to the more Russian sign “don’t talk” encouraging people to use either of them independently from their country tradition.
Although the location of people in space cannot stand in the way while writing, it has its cultural specificity worth mentioning. Being spatially-psychological, the American concept of privacy means a personal space with a radius of at least half a meter. One American student who studied in Russia complained that she could not buy anything in the store without someone jumping in front of her. It turned out that she always kept such a great distance that the other buyers did not realize she was also standing in that very line (or a queue as it is called in Britain). Ironically, but restrained Englishmen hold closer to each other during conversation than open-hearted Americans or Russians.
Thus, mastering the system of nonverbal communicative means is no less important for an adequate Intercultural Communication than knowledge of a foreign language or at least some indispensable words (international or culturally conditioned). It is not only about familiarity with the means themselves, but also about the synchronization of speech and non-speech behavior. Communication is like swimming: your arms and legs must move in harmony and you had better know something about the sea and its creatures’ habits. When first thrown into the water most children experience the ecstasy of being able to swim. Some, however, rush to the shore, never to set foot in the water again. Let everybody get inspired to swim around the world and enjoy it.
“Недоразумений не существует, есть только неспособность общаться”.
Пословица из Юго-Восточной Азии
Александр Македонский, Юлий Цезарь, Марко Поло, Христофор Колумб считаются пионерами в сфере межкультурной коммуникации. Участники первого общения часто применяли силу для преодоления культурных различий. Но когда американцы столкнулись со странным поведением своих союзников (России и Китая) во время Второй мировой войны, они почувствовали необходимость в эффективном диалоге. Как следствие, 7 января 1948 года в Соединенных Штатах был подписан закон Смита-Мундта, который предписывал американскому правительству принимать меры по содействию лучшему взаимопониманию между американцами и народами других стран.