By Mari D. González

This article is in response to a request I received on my blog. Based on the greeting, I assumed it came from a person in India. Please read below:

“Dear ma’am,

Can you please explain the difference between intercultural communication and cross-cultural communication in the Indian context or in the form in which we can make a role- play. It is very important to us but we could not find the proper explanation anywhere on the internet.”

In 2011, while in graduate school, I wrote an article titled, CROSS-CULTURAL vs. INTERCULTURAL, after listening to an awkward, inaccurate, and rather dismissive explanation of these terms at a large O’Reilly marketing conference in San Francisco. This blog article gets an average of 35 views per day from all over the world and I often get contacted with additional questions such as the one today.

Because it sounded as if this was related to a school assignment and because I love these topics, I answered diligently. Please see my reply below:

“Intercultural communication is what happens, for example, when a Punjabi marries a Bengali. Think of the wedding conversations or even the miscommunication ‘between’ the families from both sides.

Cross-cultural communication relates to your own ideas and knowledge about Punjabis vs Bengalis. It does not require interaction, only observation, and interpretation. You could say, Punjabis are very extroverted in the context of Bengalis, for example.

If you read my previous article, you’ll notice that it is merely a cross-cultural analysis of Mexican and Indian philosophies based on my own experience and understanding. It is not an intercultural communication analysis because I am not referring to what happens when a philosopher from Mexico meets another philosopher from India.”

Please let me know if this makes sense. I’ll be happy to continue this conversation. Best wishes on your assignment!”

The response I received was, “Yes, It makes sense, Thank you so much!!.”

You can find more articles in this category, here.

*Picture from From Wikimedia Commons; File: Indian Wedding Ceremony (413).jpg; Author: Benipal Hardarshan