Barriers to intercultural Communication in Cape Town

Intercultural communication (ICC) is one of the most relevant fields for investigation in post-colonial Africa and post-apartheid South Africa given the movements between people from African countries and the wide range of attractions both economic and social that South Africa holds for people from other African countries. This study reports on intercultural communication in post-democratic South Africa in an era marked by what Appadurai (1990) calls ''flows''. Greenmarket Square in the heart of Cape Town well known as a hub for informal traders local people and tourists was chosen as the site for this study because of the rich cultural diversity of the role-players.