Japanese Culture as Element of Intercultural Space

Abstract

This article introduces a definition of intercultural communication, understood as an important skill in creating social bonds in times of globalization. Mutual understanding in an intercultural space is based, among other things, on language, a point which the author underlines by using the Japanese language as an example. Moreover, she points out how the Japanese belief in ethnocentrism and the main cultural differences in fields such as nonverbal communication are considered problematic in facilitating outsiders both to understand Japanese society and to function within it. The analysis is based on the author’s own research focused on students attending a course at the Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland on the cultural adaptation process in Japan, including reflections on the usefulness of the Japanese language in this process.