跨文化中的交际障碍(英语论文).doc

摘 要当代，新技术、人口的增长及全球经济区域的变换都促进了跨文化交际的增加。因此，跨文化交际在今天变得不可分离。由于在跨文化交际日趋的盛行与交流障碍的频繁发生中，影响交流的因素值得关注，而引起交流障碍的主要因素是文化的差异及对这个问题缺乏了解，因此我们需要找到解决这个问题的方法，如加强文化意识，避免反方向的思维模式及培养跨文化交际的能力，通过这种方式，才能使我们的跨文化交际顺利进行。关键词: 文化差异；跨文化；交流；障碍ABSTRACT Nowadays, new technologies, growth of the worlds population, and shift in the global economic area have all contributed to the increase in cross-cultural communication. Therefore, cross-cultural communication has become indispensable today. Because of the fierce conflicts between the popularity of cross-cultural communication and the frequently happening communication barriers, the factors affecting communication are drawing much more attention. The barriers are mainly caused by cultural differences and lack of awareness about this issue. Hence, we have to figure out some solutions to deal with it, such as strengthen cultural awareness, avoid negative stereotype and cultivate cross-cultural communication competence. Only in this way can we achieve a satisfying result from the intercultural communication.Key Words: Culture difference；Cross-cultural；barrier；communicationContentsChapter One Introduction1 Chapter Two The Relationship among Language, Culture, and Cross-culture22.1 Definition of Culture22.2 Definition of Cross-cultural Communication22.3 Relationship between Language and Culture3Chapter Three The Barriers in Cross-culture Communication43.1 Form of Address 43.2Value Orientation43.3 Politeness43.4 Privacy53.5 Taboos5Chapter Four The Causes of Barriers in Cross-culture Communication64.1 Attitude towards the Relationships of Humans to Nature64.2 Sense of Time64.3 Different Social Relationships7Chapter Five The Ways to Deal With Barriers in Cross-cultural Communication85.1 Raising Awareness85.2 Making Practice85.3 Changing the Viewing Angle9Chapter Six Conclusion10Reference11Acknowledgement 12Chapter One IntroductionLanguage used by human beings is the most basic tool for communication, which plays a crucial role in the process of human historical development. We use words to persuade, to exchange ideas, to express views, to seek information and to express feelings. We make cultural choices when we are using human language to communicate with other people. Culture shapes our ideas and plays a crucial role on influencing our way of using language. At the same time, language can also be considered as a window to the culture. They are closely connected with each other and can never be separated. Therefore, we should not only learn linguistic skills well but also know much knowledge about foreign cultures if we want to master a foreign language and become an effective communicator. But the fact is that many people dont pay much attention to the different cultures and use words to communicate with others in an inappropriate way and inappropriate occasion. In this way, the barriers often occur during the cross-cultural communication.Because of the fierce conflicts between the popularity of cross-cultural communication and the frequently happening communication barriers, the factors affecting communication are drawing much more attention from the researchers. The barriers are mainly caused by cultural differences and lack of awareness about this issue. Hence, we have to figure out some solutions to deal with it, such as strengthen cultural awareness, avoid negative stereotype and cultivate cross-cultural communication competence. Only in this way can we achieve a satisfying result from the intercultural communication.Chapter Two The relationship among language, culture and cross-cultureThe knowledge about definition of culture, cross-cultural communication and the relationship between language and culture are ought to be familiar to us.2.1 Definition of CultureThe word “culture” is a large and evasive concept, very complex and difficult to define. There are hundreds of definitions for culture. Here I present only two concepts which I favor most. The one is “A culture is a collection of beliefs, habits, living patterns, and behaviors which are held more or less in common by people who occupy particular geographic areas.” (H.D.Brown, 40) The other is explained in a more detailed way: “culture is mans medium; there is not one aspect of human life that is not touched and altered by culture. This means personality, how people express themselves (including shows of emotion), the way they think, how they move, how problems are solved, how their cities are planned and laid out, how transportation systems function and are organized, as well as how economic and government systems are put together and function.”（Edward T. Hall, 40）2.2 Definition of Cross-cultural CommunicationAs is known to all, the cross-cultural communication has become increasingly important for humans. The need for cross-cultural communication is as old as humankind. Weve discussed the definition of culture. Now, it is necessary to know something about the concepts of cross-cultural communication. The cross-cultural communication (also frequently referred to as inter-cultural communication, which is also used in a different sense, though) is a field of study that looks at how people from different cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar or different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures.2.3 Relationship between Language and CultureLanguage and culture are closely connected with each other and it is impossible to separate language from our culture. As is known to all, language has been acting as a very important role in the process of human historical development. Just as the American poet Ralph Waldo Emersons simple sentence “language is the archives of history”. His declaration makes us realize that one of the major characteristics identifying us as humans is our ability to use language to make sounds and marks serve as substitutes for things and feelings. In the past, people usually regarded language as simply a neutral medium, which did not influence the way people experienced the world. It was merely a vehicle by which ideas were presented, rather than a shape of very substance of those ideas. This view was denied by later linguists. The new point is that language and culture are closely linked with each other. Language is the reflection of culture and culture is a reflection of language.Culture influences language by way of symbols and rules as well as our perceptions of the universe. Each time we select words, form sentences, and send a message, either oral or written, we also make cultural choices. If we select language without being aware of the cultural implications, we may be at best not to communicate well and at worst send the wrong message. At the same time, language is the most symbolic reflection of culture. Members of the culture have created the language to carry out all their cultural practices, to identify and organize all their cultural products, and to name the underlying cultural perspectives in all the various communities that comprise their culture. The words of language, its expressions, structures, sounds and scripts reflect the culture, just as the cultural products and practices reflect the language. Language, therefore, is perceived as window to the culture. In a word, it is impossible to separate language and culture apart.Hence, in our process of intercultural communication not only the linguistic usage of certain language should be emphasized but also how to use the language in the right time as well as the right occasion. If we fail to do this, communication barriers must occur.Chapter Three The barriers in cross-culture communicationBecause of the negative transfer of native culture to target culture, barriers often occur in cross-culture communication. 3.1 Form of AddressIn China, its quite natural for students to call their teachers by combing the title of the profession and the first name. For example: Zhang Ling is a Chinese teacher, so its right to call her “Zhang Laoshi”for her students. But in western countries, especially in America, “teacher” is just a profession but not a form of address. The right way to greet teachers is to add Mr/Mrs/Miss in front of ones family name, or call their name straightforwardly.3.2 Compliments and Praise There are many differences between Americans and Chinese in replying to compliments. Americans tend to accept the compliment while Chinese generally murmur some reply about not being worthy of the praise.To English-speaking people, praise is to be accepted, generally with a remark like “Thank you.” It is assumed that the compliment is sincere. Therefore, there should be no show of false humility, no pretended modesty. To Chinese, however, the customary reply to a compliment would be to claim that one is not worthy of the praise, that what one has done is hardly enough, or that success was more a matter of luck or some other circumstances. Acceptance of a compliment would imply conceit or lack of manners.3.3 PolitenessBeing polite is one of the main signals of human civilization. Different cultures have different ways of showing politeness to others. In China, people pay much attention to behaviors and tend to express courtesy in an indirect way. But for westerners, they are likely to use language to express their politeness orally in a very direct way. They are often saying “Hello”, “Nice to meet you”, “You are so pretty” or “You are so cute” to strangers even without thinking about it. Chinese people would feel confused about their words and think that they are so flippant. On the contrary, westerners would consider Chinese people as conservative and stubborn. Imagine that, if an American young boy saw a beautiful girl in the street, and he said loudly to the girl, “you are so pretty today!” The girl must be quite uncomfortable and feels bashful. 3.4 PrivacyPeople must live and interact together to survive. In doing so, they must develop a balance between showing concern for themselves and concern for others. Unlike those western countries which tend to hold the individual orientation, Chinese people prefer a collectivist orientation. Thus, privacy in China has not been placed in a position as high as in western cultures. Westerners have much stronger sense of privacy than Chinese people do. Thats why some foreigners feel quite uncomfortable and embarrassed about those “intruded” questions. Actually, Chinese people who ask those questions didnt mean to offend them. Its only a way of showing care and affection to the foreign friends. Therefore, wed better choose some public topics when we communicate and interact with people from different cultures, such as “weather”, “sports”, or “news”. It would certainly do a great help to our success of intercultural communication.3.5 TaboosIn Chinese traditional culture, old people were given great respect by younger generations. Because we maintain that old people usually have a rich experience and can always give us many constructive suggestions when we want to achieve some progress. Hence, we are apt to call people “Laozhang”, “Laoshifu”, and “Dajie” to show our respect to those people. The word “old” is greatly appreciated and widely accepted in China. But in western countries, the word “old” is a taboo for them; they usually avoid this word by using some euphemisms. For instance, people are more likely to use the term “senior citizen” rather than “old people” when they refer to someone with an old age. So we should try to avoid those cultural taboos and respect others cultures. In this way, we would keep our communication going smoothly and some embarrassing situations can be avoided effectively.Chapter Four The Causes of barriers in cross-culture communication This problem can be analyzed from different view angles because of its diversity and complexity. Here, only three of the most brief and easily understood causes are listed below.4.1 Attitude towards the Relationships of Humans to NatureChina is a country which holds a view that man should be harmonious with nature and seek for peacefulness. We believe that nature would treat us well if we treat nature well, so the relationship between humans and nature is respect and fear. Since our culture teaches integration with nature, harmony and balance, we are likely to seek harmony and balance in social relationship as well. Whats more, the substance of Confucianism in China is peace. Confucianism advocates that people should be modest and keep a balanced relationship with the outside world.On the contrary, westerners, especially Americans see a clear separation between man and nature and man is clearly held to be in charge. Thus, they usually have an insatiable drive to subdue, dominate, and control their natural environment. Because of this, they think they are separate from others and can use scientific methods to control people and events. Thats the reason why westerners are so progressive and pay much attention to self-development and place privacy on a very high level. Therefore, the barriers can be aroused easily in cross-cultural communication.4.2 Sense of TimeThe majority of Chinese people hold the belief of both future and past orientation. Our cultural memories are rich and deep, people usually look back to a period when they wanted to make changes for the sake of absorbing the past experience. In China, old people were greatly respected by youngsters. In traditional Chinese family, important decisions have to be agreed by the oldest people in the family. But in western countries, old people dont enjoy a status as high as Chinese old people do. Most westerners are dominated by a belief in progress. They are future oriented, and they have an optimistic faith in the future. They tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and consider a rapid rate of change as normal. So it is not uncommon to find out that westerners usually have a negative feeling towards old people. They are trying to avoid referring to the word “old” in their daily conversation. Thats why there are a large number of euphemisms in the English vocabulary. If we dont pay much attention to this particular phenomenon, the barriers can certainly not be avoided and solved.4.3 Different Social RelationshipsChinese peoples behavior reflects the group pattern of social relationships. In the group pattern of social relationships members of groups may be relatively equal. Each persons social identity comes from their group memberships. People feel dependent on the group, safe within it, proud and competitive with other groups. The groups need time to find out what each member is thinking and feeling. Once the group has made the decision, the whole group rather than one person is responsible for it. But in western countries, people pay great attention to the importance of the individual and the equality of all people. Stress on the individual begins at a very age when the American child is encouraged to be autonomous. It is an accepted rule that children should make decisions themselves, develop their own opinions, solve their own problems, and have their own possessions. Friendly, informal, outgoing, and extroverted are their characteristics. They are so independent from other people that they pay great emphasis on privacy. They hope they can have their own personal space and not to be invaded by others. Hence, the different social relationships can also be regarded as one of the most important reasons of causing barriers in cross-cultural communication.Chapter Five The Ways to Deal With barriers in cross-cultural communicationAs is known to all, the cross-cultural communication has become an inevitable trend in todays society. In order to solve the problems of cross-cultural communication and have an effective cross-cultural communication, we should adopt many different kinds of methods and try to solve this problem effectively.5.1 Raising AwarenessFirst of all, raise our awareness about this issue. Many people dont know the fact that different people from different backgrounds may have quite different values. Some people just assume that other people must think and behave in the same way as they do. Many barriers occur frequently during the process of cross-cultural communication because of this improvident view. Therefore, we should bear in mind the reality of cultural differences if we want to understand other people better who come from different cultural backgrounds. This is the very first step for us to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings during our interaction with people from different cultures. 5.2 Making PracticeSecondly, doing practice is the best way to know other countrys culture and help us avoid barriers during the communication. For instance, wed better read more English novels, listen to English songs, or watch English movies as often as we can. The final goal of these practices is to help us form a way of English thinking and to have a deeper understanding of foreign cultures, which is an essential factor to influence the success of inter-cultural communication. Besides, grasping or even creating every possible chance to communicate with foreigners. Only after much practice can the problem of barriers be raised and solved successfully. 5.3 Changing the Viewing AngleFinally, another strategy you can use is to practice seeing your culture the way others who are not a part of it see it. Foreign observers are usually far from objective, but they often notice things that you have never noticed. They were able to see things that the natives took for granted. When we try to lo