ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the following Problem Question is posed: ‘What happens to cultural meanings as they are performed and enacted?’
It is shown how people create cultural maps that contain beliefs, attitudes, values, norms, and worldviews. It is also shown how ethnocentrism need to be viewed as the central point of reference that every culture needs in order to understand the world and itself. Two dangers of ethnocentrism are noted—ethnocentric reduction and ethnocentric negation, while successful intercultural communication is equated with ethnocentric affirmation. Based on these ideas, the Positionality Principle of intercultural communication is introduced.
It is shown that cultures occupy specific positions, this process presented as grounding. Also, positionality is discussed as a matter of power relations between different cultures. In this sense, every culture claims authority over its understanding of the world by creating narratives.
Thus, it is emphasized that it is impossible for a culture to determine its real position without engaging other cultures’ perspectives.
