An Exploration of Ireland and Intercultural Communication

  Ireland's Various Familial Structures  Although Ireland adheres to the “nuclear family,” many families embrace non-traditional structures, which influences how their children understand the relationship between family roles and cultural expectations (“Family,” 2022). Larry Samovar, author of Communication Between Cultures, claims that families provide children with their earliest exposure to cultural norms, which shapes how they view the world (Samovar, 2017, p.74). For example, in rural Ireland, children learn traditional “gender roles” because they view their fathers as a provider and their mothers as “caretakers” (“Family,” 2022). However, in urban areas, children learn non-traditional gender expectations because both parents are viewed as providers and “caretakers” (McGinnity and Russell, 2008, p.xi). These competing structures imply that families teach children how to interact in a society that values traditional religious values while accepting nontraditional changes (...

  Why I Chose to Study Ireland   I chose to study Ireland because I want to explore how learning about another culture will improve my “intercultural communication” skills (Samovar, 2017, p.19). Milton J. Bennett, author of “Intercultural Communication,” defines this idea as “the study and practice of communication across cultural contexts” (Bennett, 2013). “Intercultural communication” encompasses a person’s attempts to assign “meaning” to “cross-cultural” “communication” (Bennett, 2013; Samovar, 2017, p.13). For example, when I communicate with someone from Ireland, I may judge their culture based on pre-determined behaviors or assumptions, such as an Irish “accent” (Maguire, 2020). These predetermined judgements cause inaccurate “generalizations” about Irish culture, which damages “cross-cultural” “communication” skills (Bennett, 2013; Samovar, 2017, p.19). I can avoid these common pitfalls by understanding how culture influences “communication” styles (Samovar, 2017, ...