INTERCULTURAL SPECIFICITY OF AMERICAN AND UKRAINIAN COMMUNICATIVE BEHAVIOR

Abstract

The article analyzes an exploratory study of American, German and domestic researchers in intercultural communication. It is revealed that the main function of intercultural communication lies in the structural organization of the world - the creation of a spiritual and social environment which ensures proper social life of a person. Intercultural communication can be identified as an attribute of conversation, which takes place in conditions that differ from the culturally determined traditions in the communicative competence of its participants and reflects how these differences impact the success or failure of a communicative event. The article examines the sources and modern interpretation of the term “culture” and the notion of Ukrainian mentality. Apart from the well-known concepts in intercultural communication, there are alternative views on the features of world cultures. The proposed model determines not only the criteria of their typology, but also provides indicators and measurements by which it is possible to differentiate, recognize and analyze the distinctive characteristics of cultures, to combine them into clusters and to assess the efficiency of their application in practice. The article provides the American Peace Corps volunteer survey results on the negative aspects of communicative behavior of Ukrainians, lists common values that would fit most Americans and outlines factors that shape the American character. The authors have generalized the peculiarities of Ukrainian – American communication pattern caused by family relationship factors, attitude towards friendship, power, private ownership, etc. and found their expression in the communicative behavior characteristic of each nation. The article analyzes different features of their communicative behavior and value orientations as well as determines the nature of intercultural differences and the degree of their significance for representatives of Ukrainian and American culture.The auithors have presented the most striking differences in Ukrainian and American communicative behavior, in particular, those aspects in which they do not coincide. At the end of the article, the authors come to the conclusion that the key to effective cross-cultural communication is understanding and respect for cultural diversity.