Papuan Student Communication Ethics in Aceh: An Intercultural Communication Analysis

Ethical communication has now become an important issue in message delivery as cultural exchanges taking place in the community may lead to dispute and conflict. This study, thus, wants to know how the communication ethics between Papuan students during their stay in Aceh. Considering the fact that Aceh and Papua are representations of the cultures of westernmost and easternmost provinces in Indonesia respectively, moreover, there must be some kind of communication barriers and cultural differences. The method used in this study is a qualitative research design with descriptive approach by conducting in-depth interviews with Papuan students studying in Banda Aceh, the capital city of Aceh Province, Indonesia. The results of this study indicate that the communication ethics practiced by Papuan students are really nice, such as starting to learn the Aceh culture, language and getting along with Acehnese students, being polite and ethical, even though most of the Papuan students are relatively quiet and shy. On the other hand, this study also reveals the fact that there are cultural barriers in the communication ethics of Papuan students caused by wrong perceptions of the Acehnese people. This study can contribute to the existing body of knowledge and practices of how communication ethics between the two most constrasting culture, religious backgrounds and tradition in diversed but united Indonesia.