Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Information Analyses (070) Viewpoints (Opinion/Position Papers, Essays, etc.) (120)

intercultural communication are claimed by many, explored by not so many, and understood by perhaps rather few. The most popular references in this area reflect a "maximalist " perspective, generally cross-cultural, which advocates the view that culture is a monolithic and static entity and what people's culture will largely determine their way of interacting with others. A "minimalist " perspective, largely intercultural, allows a greater focus to be placed on the individual and the situation. In their pursuit of descriptions of socio-cultural knowledge in intercultural communication, researchers from different disciplines have approached the area from different angles and some may have fallen victim to myopia resulting from ethnocentricity and ideological self-fulfillment. Four broadly delimited fields cl,aracteri7a present research interests: communication science, social psychology, anthropological linguistics, and sociolinguistics. The pursuit of problem identification and the desire to forward means for problem solution have resulted in a heavy focus on communication breakdown as opposed to communication success. Researchers are faced with a dilemma--they must deal with and explain systematic intercultural differences, but they also have to study each interaction as a separate achievement on its own. Situational adaptability is a means to raise the level of intercultural communication to a higher level of empirical validation and relevance to real people in a real world. An approach to intercultural communication as pertaining to situational parameter