More often than not, people seem to know who they are, who others are, and what to

expect from each other . Sometimes, however, individuals find that their friend in a certain
interaction has presumptions about their ethnic identity which is not consistent with their own.
My interest in this problem come from past experience. When communicating with individuals
whose cultural backgrounds are different from mine, sometimes I find that they do not realise
how I wish to be perceived ethnically in that interaction.Most of the time they have had little
effect on the interaction. However, this miscommunication can lead to consequences as a
benign conversation now has become an argument. I wonder about these miscommunications
and whether the negative ones could have been avoided. Driven by these issues i aim to inform
about this identity misperception, identify causes, and reflect on solutions.

I maintain the understanding of identity as the concept of who we areMartin and

Nakayama (2010:162). Thus, Roosens (1989: 16) reasons that in certain contexts, an individual
will view him or herself as Belgian first, then Flemish, then a conductor, then a Catholic, et
cetera. The order in which ones identities are arranged is contingent upon time and context. In
a Flemish demonstration the Flemish identity will be prioritised over the identity as a pilot, a
vegetarian, or a baker. This concept allows us to more clearly define your circle of
communication into smaller sub-circles. The main focus will be specifically ethnic identity which
defined by Martin and Nakayama (2010:185) is a sense of belonging to a group and knowing
something about the shared experience of the group. Ethnicity is often linked with nationality,but
ethnicity encompasses more than just nationality. Ethnic traits such as language, skin colour,
religion, dialect etc.

In the case of immigrants, migration has created complex cultural relationships. For this
group of people ethnic identity has two sides. How they identify in relation to their ethnic
heritage and how they identify in regards to the host society. According to Eriksen and Rheim
(2003: 23) in 2003 approximately 150 million people resided outside of their native countries a
figure which is expected to have risen since. When opportunities provided by tourism and
modern technology are added the to the above, it is of little surprise that the majority of
Americas population has in one context or another communicated with someone with a different
ethnic background. The impressions we form about entire groups of people based on limited
interactions are very strong, and easy to generalize.These impressions are commonly called
stereotypes. Many people will recognize the stereotype of Southern charm and politeness.
Charleston, South Carolina, for example, was ranked as the nations most polite city for the 10th
straight year in a row. At the same time, this reputation for politeness contradicts a reputation for
violence in the South. Consistent with this reputation, homicide rates in the South and West
have been shown to be higher than they are in the North for argument-related homicides.
Southerners are so violent, or Southerners are so polite as examples of stereotyping, with
the evidence seen in the fact that these overgeneralizations contradict each other. Often times
we dont even know we are changing the way we communicate based incorrect stereotypes,
this could be described as a mindless action. In context with intercultural communication
mindlessness entails making use of wide categories like peoples culture, ethnicity or gender to
predict their behaviour.According to Langer (1989: 154) mindless, automatic behaviour is to be
avoided.

After a interaction goes sour because of mindless stereotyping you might find yourself
thinking How can I avoid this in the future? Dont Assume, as broad categorizations can have a

negative influence on the communication. So then the logical solution would be to make multiple
categories, differentiate more. In regard to ethnic groups this entails not only viewing someone
as German, Muslim or Black, but also keeping in mind that the person in question is a man, a
father, or a plumber as well. Another way you can avoid these misperceptions is to get
educated. Learning as much as you can about other cultures and understanding how
stereotypes affect others. The more you know the less likely you are to participate in this
behaviour.

Everyday we participate in intercultural communication whether we know it or not. With

that in mind the possibility for conflict is inevitable. This study aimed to describe the common
conflicts, what causes them, and how we could solve ethnic identity dilemma. Ethnic identity is
just a small section of identity which is only scratching the surface of intercultural
communication. Next time you have a negative encounter try to reflect on what went wrong and
more likely than not the solution just comes down to understanding. Everyones identity is
unique to them,remember we are all human at the end of the day.

Roosens, Eugeen E. (1989). Creating ethnicity: The process of ethnogenesis. Frontiers of

anthropology, Vol. 5.Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

Martin, J., & Nakayama, T. (2010). Chapter 5: Identity and Intercultural Communication.
Intercultural Communication in Contexts (5th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Eriksen, T., & Rheim, T. (2000). Kulturforskjeller i praksis: Perspektiver pa det flerkulturelle
Norge. Oslo: Ad Notam Gyldendal.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and

organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Langer, Ellen J. Reading (1989) Mindfulness.

MA: Addison-Wesley/Addison Wesley Longman.