When we travel to a new place it is important to understand what cultures and c0-cultures we are going into. In every country there are many different co-cultures. Although you as a tourist you might not think you’re responsible for knowing about certain cultures, it is important that you do your research to learn the common practices within that co-culture. There are many examples of places people travel to that even tourists have to respect. One example is women wearing certain dress and even head scarfs in some places like Dubai. Here we will discuss the co-cultural theory and how to apply it to places you may travel to. When traveling we experience many different cultures. Some people you interact with will be part of a co-culture and some will be part of the dominant culture. When traveling to a city you are also part of a co-culture group because you are an outsider in a dominant culture. For example, if you were to be traveling to Spain, being tourist makes you part of a co-culture be cause you are not a native Spaniard.
Mark Orbe’s co-cultural theory discusses Nine Communication Orientations. These orientations are ways to describe how a co-culture choses to approach a conversation with a dominant culture. There are three preferred outcomes and within those three communication approaches. The three preferred outcomes are Assimilation, Accommodation, and separation. The three communication approaches are Aggressive, Assertive, and Nonassertive. Assimilation is “the co-cultural process of fitting into the dominant culture while shedding the speech and nonverbal markers of the co-cultural group” (pg. 451). Accommodation is “the co-cultural process of working to change dominant culture rules to take life experiences of co-cultural members into account” (pg. 454). And finally, Separation is “the co-cultural process of working to create and maintain an identity distinct from the dominant culture and promote in-group solidarity” (pg. 455). Using these definitions and Orbe’s theory people of both dominant and co-cultural groups can learn to be better communicators and create better environments for people to have unbiased conversations.
Using and understanding the co-cultural theory while traveling we can better experience other cultures without having to worry about harming or offending others. If we take Orbe’s theory into account while interacting with other cultures we can gain a better grasp of what people live like in the cities we are visiting. My advice to the people reading this vlog would be to encourage yourself and others to do your research on co-cultures in the cities you are visiting. That way you can have the best experience and interactions with locals possible.
Citations:
Griffin, Emory A., et al. A First Look at Communication Theory. McGraw-Hill Education, 2019.