Even speaking one language may not be enough to completely understand each other if you represent different cultures and perceive communications differently. I conducted a short interview about verbal and nonverbal communications, language, vocabulary, and gender in communications with my friend, whose culture is in many ways different from mine. The result is an analysis of similarities and contrasts between Hispanic and Swedish cultures and a brief guide based on that analysis that is made to ensure the effectiveness and positivity of interactions between parties. While people of different cultures can all communicate effectively on the surface level, it turns out that the deeper one researches, the more nuances, and distinctions between representatives of different cultures can be found.
Firstly, non-verbal communication varies a lot between the mentioned cultures. It was easily observable during the interview, and thus the topic was discussed to greater length. A superficial observation detected differences in the dynamics of non-verbal communication – Hispanic culture is associated with more active and illustrative gestures, facial expressions, and body language. In comparison, representatives of Swedish culture seem to be more reserved and self-restrained. On a deeper level, the difference may be explained by the fact that Swedish society does not encourage active asserting of one’s self, and people expect to be respected regardless of their assertiveness. Therefore, Swedish people do not perceive “overconfident” and “pushy” behavior as something positive; hence they are not comfortable with being too active and dynamic during conversations. On the other hand, in Hispanic culture, being comparatively more active, emotional, and direct is a norm, as it is believed that each person is self-responsible for their own “noticeability.” These ideas are further confirmed by the study of Spanish and Scandinavian communicative behaviors by Fant (2015), where some of the same patterns were observed as well. Overall, it can be said that these patterns are common both for verbal and non-verbal communication, yet they can be observed easier in the non-verbal form. Moreover, these ideas can affect the conversation style as well – a rather reserved style of Swedish people can be interpreted as a lack of interest from the representatives of Hispanic culture. On the contrary, interruptions during a conversation, which are more common and normalized for Hispanics, can be considered rude by Swedish.
Regarding the gender roles in the mentioned cultures, some differences are also apparent. People of Hispanic culture tend to be closer to their families, and the families tend to be bigger overall. This closeness means that people spend more time with their families, engage more in family affairs, and even do business with the members of their families. This implies more fixed gender roles in Hispanic societies, which directly influences communications as well. Men and women may play more stereotypical roles in this relatively traditional framework. On the contrary, Swedish people and Scandinavians overall tend to be more separated from their families, and there are extremely high levels of gender equality in society. This means that gender roles are much less pronounced in Swedish society, and the stereotypical communication patterns between genders are not common.
Finally, I would advise two main points regarding the recommendations to ensure positive and effective communication between the representatives of these two cultures. Firstly, people of Hispanic cultures can be advised to be more considerate during the conversation and give more time for their interlocutors to speak and voice their opinion. On the other hand, it may be essential for Swedish people to take into account different ethical norms and not consider their interlocutors to be rude or too “pushy.” At the same time, it can be effective for Swedish to be a little more direct and active in the dialogue to convey their intents and attitudes clearly. Secondly, Hispanic people need to remember that there is much higher gender equality in Swedish society, and standard communication patterns between genders can be considered rude.
Reference
Fant, L. (2015). Cultural mismatch in conversation: Spanish and Scandinavian communicative behaviour in negotiation settings. Hermes (Denmark), 3(3), 247-265. Web.