This paper presents pretheory and theory for an approach to the study of intercultural communication and discusses the phenomenological basis of a theory of transaction, applying it to case study and comparative methods of analysis. The unit of analysis is denoted as an ABX paradigm and may be described as a communication dyad in a triadic universe of data. A and B are human agencies from different cultures whose relationship is one of communication interchange. X is the symbol system by which they communicate. ABX is not treated as an objective system but is considered for its analytic uses as an instrument of observation. (Author/RB)