A. Introduction
Culture is an ancestral heritage passed down from generation to generation. Efforts and a strong desire to preserve the culture and customs that have been adhered to for centuries have become the capital of every next generation. Culture is defined as the knowledge, beliefs, values, and meanings that a group, organization, or community believes to be its unique way of life.
Cultural expression is usually through behavior, such as language, norms, habits, and how to interact or communicate with other people. Communication and culture have a reciprocal relationship, like two sides of a coin. Culture becomes part of communication behavior, and in turn, communication also determines maintaining, developing, or passing on culture: "Communication is Culture and Culture is Communication" (Edward T. Hall, 1959).
The introduction of customs, culture, and the history of the development of an area is important not only for that area but also for all Indonesian people. It is important not only in terms of studying the historical past, origins, and noble cultural values but also in terms of its future uses.
Basically, South Sulawesi is one of the provinces in Indonesia which has a diverse culture. There are several different ethnicities, namely the Bugis, Konjo, Makassar, Mandar, and Toraja tribes. Even though they are different, these five ethnicities still uphold the value of difference, which is contained in the four pillars of nationality, one of which is Bhineka Tunggal Ika.
The process of marriage cannot be separated from the culture that is understood by society. Culture can be felt through communication so that it has the meaning of the culture itself. Communication and culture have a reciprocal relationship, where culture becomes part of communicative behavior and communication, in turn, defines, preserves, develops, or transmits culture.
Different ethnic encounters require communication skills to understand and appreciate the differences between the two cultures. The existence of Bugis ethnic couples with Konjo in Bulukumba is a meeting of different ethnic elements. A good communication process can help them understand each other, so not a few people think that communicating with different cultures is not difficult. Conversely, if the communication process is bad, it will also have a bad impact.
Many journals discuss that social and cultural factors can influence divorce. One of them is due to intercultural marriages with different ethnic backgrounds. There are conflicts and barriers in this form of communication. This ethnically different couple experiences misunderstanding barriers based on ways of thinking, differences in perception, and differences in language and non-verbal communication. Nonverbal communication errors are caused by cultural differences.
These cultural differences refer to the emergence of conflict in the context of interpersonal relationships between couples of different ethnicities. Therefore, based on the background that has been described, the formulation of the research problem is as follows:
1. What is the process of intercultural communication to deal with couples of different ethnicities?
2. How are the interactions carried out by these different ethnic pairs in resolving conflict?
