ABSTRACT
Workplaces in many countries are increasingly culturally diverse and in these contexts the challenges and affordances of intercultural communication are not always acknowledged. This chapter reviews the literature on intercultural communication in the workplace, considers some theoretical approaches and methodologies for collecting data on intercultural workplace interaction, and draws on the Wellington Language in the Workplace Project corpus to illustrate some of the challenges that workplace interaction raises for people in different roles in workplace interaction. The chapter demonstrates the crucial importance of contextual factors as well as cultural norms in accounting for miscommunication as well as successful intercultural communication.
