The Connection of Culture and Face and the Role of Intercultural Competence

Case Study from the year 2020 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Kassel, language: English, abstract: Since globalisation leads us to interact more with people from all over the world, it is a logical consequence that we get in touch with an increasing number of people from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, it is important to be aware that every person has their own concept of face, which refers to one’s values, belief system and behaviour. Thus, it is of critical significance to analyse to what extent the different concepts of face of certain people differ in order to make clear why intercultural misunderstandings might appear. As culture is one of the most significant factors that have an impact on a person’s concept of face, this term paper is going to deal with the connection of culture and face and will provide a comparison of the German and Japanese face concepts. Following this analysis, a model developed by Claudia Finkbeiner will be introduced to demonstrate how these cultural differences including one’s concept of face might be overcome in order to ensure successful intercultural encounters.