Intercultural Specialized Communication

Abstract

In the globalized world of the 2020s, much of the communication in specialized fields is intercultural. Diversity, variations, and differences can be seen as a source of innovation and new ways of thinking or, alternatively, as a source of communication problems that need to be solved. Today, the traditional theorizations of culture as a static and stable system of values, communicative traits, and cognitive patterns typical of nation-states or ethnic groups fail to explain the complexities of specialized communication in professional contexts. Alternative solutions such as cross-cultural comparisons are needed as they may open new perspectives and alternative ways of thinking. In this article, three approaches to intercultural communication research, cross-cultural, intercultural, and inter-discourse approaches, are illustrated by presenting one example study representing each category and discussing the potential of a specialized communication approach in each case. As specialized communication contexts form an important part of the social world, it is crucial that the explanatory power of specialized communication research is taken into consideration when studying intercultural communication in such contexts.