跨文化交际学论文

1、Summary of Intercultural CommunicationAbstractThe course of Intercultural Communication is important for our english majors and we can learn a lot from it.This paper summarizes my harvests of study from four parts-introduction,culture,communication and the relationship between culture and communicat

2、ion.Key Words: Definition,Classification,Characteristic,Cultural Patterns跨文化交际学之小结摘要跨文化交际学这门课程对于英语专业学生而言是很重要的,我们可以从中学到很多。这篇论文从四个方面总结了我的学习收获简介,文化,交际以及文化与交际之间的关系。关键词:定义,分类,特点,文化模式Part 1 Brief IntroductionIntercultural communication is defined like this:Face-to face communication between people from di

3、ffering cultural backgrounds.With the developments of new technology and information systems,changes in the worlds population and the international business community ,cross-cultural communication is becoming more and more necessary and important.We need to examine the changes that have taken place

4、throughout the world and at home by learning intercultural communication.Whats more,we should learn t o adapt to these changes.However,the art of intercultural communication is not easy to master.There are some obstacles in the process of study.First,people often fail to recognize the uniqueness of

5、the individual,just like this sentence impliedWe are muc h more than our culture.Second,we are not able to be objective in many occasions,because intercultural communication is not only tentative but also comes from a variety of sources.Third,our ethnocentrism not only impedes intercultural communic

6、ation,but also is difficult to identify because it is unconscious.There also are some problems in intercultural exchange,such as language barriers,different values and different cultural patterns of behavior.Anyway,all of us should aware that intercultural communication plays an important role in ou

7、r lives,although there are so many challenges to conquer.It is not only the necessity of social development, but also the strong driving force to push the world forward.Part 2 CultureThere are various definitions of culture.Most definitions are lengthy and are usually followed by rather detailed des

8、criptions,because culture is complex and difficult to pin down.In the text,culture is defined as the deposit of knowledge,experience,beliefs,values,attitudes,meanings,hierarchies,religion,notions of time,roles,spatial relations,concepts of universe,and material objects and possessions acquired by a

9、group of people in the course of generation throughindividual and group striving.The classification of culture is also multiple based on different standards.The host culture is the mainstream culture of any one particular country.On the contrary,minority cultures are those that are smaller in numeri

10、cal terms in relation to the host culture.And subcultures are smaller,often nonconformist subgroups within the majority culture.In fact,defining a subculture is complicated,because it may be based on lifestyle differences expressed in distinctive codes of dress and speech,and not necessarily on ethn

11、ic or religious differences.Whereas subcultural identity positions people as members of a particular subgroup in relation to the majority culture,multiculturalism is the official recognition of a countrys cultural and ethnic diversity.Next,I will introduce the characteristics of culture.First,cultur

12、e is not innate;it is learned.We learn ou culture in many different ways.Most of what we learn is communicated to us in our interactions with other people.We also learn ou culture from folktales and folklore,what is important that we learn from sources as refined as poetry and art and as commerciali

13、zed as the media.Second, culture is transmitted from generation to generation.For culture to exist and endure,the crucial messages and elements have to be passed on.One things should remember-some of these a culture selects to pass on are universal and others are unique.Third,culture is based on sym

14、bols.The portability f symbols allows us to package and store culture as well as transmit them.Fourth,culture is subject to change,because cultures are dynamic systems that do not exist in a vacuum.Fifth,culture is integrated as result of the nature of language.Sixth,culture is ethnocentric,so diffe

15、rent peoples have their own cultures and these cultures can not be replaced by other peoplescultures totally.Last,culture is adaptive.For example,a person from a foreign country can adapt to some cultures of the local people.The ways of thinking and acting usually reflect diverse cultural patterns.H

16、ere,lets specifically analyze American cultural patterns.The single most important pattern found in the United States is individualism.It emphasizes individual initiative,independence,individual expression and even privacy.Individualism is a strong notion in the hearts of Americans,and they believe

17、that each person has his orher own separate identity,which should be recognized and reinforced.Closely related to individualism is the American value of equality,Which is emphasized in everything from government to social relationship.The third pattern-materialism.For most Americans,materialism is,a

18、nd historically has been,an integral part of life.They consider it almost a right to be materially well off and physically comfortable,and often judge people by their material possessions.Next is the science and technology.Americans believe that they are the major tools for understanding and improvi

19、ng life,nature,and even themselves.Progress and change is also highly valued by Americans so that they seldom fear taking chances or staking out new and exciting territories.Last,work-directed and discipline activity in a regular occupation is a strong pattern in American society.One of the most imp

20、ortant distinctions in American life is that between work and play.Work is pursued t obtain material possession;it is what a person must do,and do with great zeal.Play,on the other hand,is relief from the drudgery and regularity of work;it is in play that they find joy.At last,what I want to emphasi

21、ze is the religion.Religion is the predominant element of culture and gives us our world view.There are many religions in the world and the three largest religions are Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.It is estimated that 87 percent of the U.S,population is Christian.Christian believe in a God who i

22、s manifest in the Trinity of the Father,the Son,and the Holy Spirit.Jesus,the Son of God the Father,is the perfect man,the Christ.Worship,ethics,save and judgment,and courage are the major dogmas of Christianity.Buddhism is a kind of Eastern religion.The basic assumption behind this world view is th

23、at life is suffering.Unhappiness,pain and suffering are the result of having an ego,so among the creeds of Buddhism,ego is ignored.Buddha is the father of Buddhism.He is not a god but a man,After achieving enlightenment,he devoted his life ti help others achieve Nirvana.Much of Buddhas message can b

24、e found in the Four Noble Truth and the Eightfold Path.The first truth is that life is suffering;the Second Noble Truth concerns the origin of suffering;the Third Noble Truth grows out of the Second;and the Fourth Noble Truth indicates the way to remove the suffering is by means of the Eightfold Pat

25、h.The Eightfold Path include:Right view,Right thought,Right speech.Right conduct,Right livelihood.Right effort,Right mindfulness and Right meditation.The two forms of Islam are Sunni andShia.Both of them believe that Muhammad is the heir to the religious mantle passed down by the prophets of the Bib

26、le.Islam means to submit in Arab verb.A Muslim is one who accepts and submit to the will of Allah.Like Christians,Muslims worship a personal god with a profound interest in moral behavior.Islam follows the Five Pillars of Islam.Here are them:Repetition of the creed,Prayer,Almsgiving,Fasting and Pilg

27、rimage.Part Three CommunicationIf communication is complex and multidimensional,then it can be defined in the following way:communication occurs whenever meaning is attributed to behavior or the residue of behavior.There are seven components in communication.An entire communication have to go throug

28、h these seven components.They are:the resource,encoding,the message,the channel,the receiver,decoding and feedback,so the process of a communication can be described generally like this:a person has a need to communicate,then he or she selects and arranges verbal and nonverbal symbols to produce a m

29、essage,and this message is moved to a receiver by a channel,then the receiver decodes the raw energy he or she takes in from the external world and converts it into meaningful experiences and make qualitative judgments about the communication while it is taking place.Next,lets see the characteristic

30、s of communication.A rather obvious and universal characteristics of communication is that it is impossible to share our feelings and experiences by means of direct mind-to mind contact,so we can only infer what others are experiencing inside their individual homes.Whats more,symbols are at the core

31、 of communication,because all culture use symbols and they usually assign their own meanings during a communication.The next characteristics of communication is that it has a consequence:when we receive a message,something happens to us.In many cases,we talk to people in a particular situation, and

32、our conversation is an ongoing activity that can change,That is to say,communication is dynamic and contextual.The last point that can not be ignored is that to think about ourselves and to reflect on our past,present and future are our unique ability,and this king of abilitymakes our communication

33、self-reflective. In general,communication can be classified into two categories:verbal communication and nonverbal communication.The similarities between them are that both use a culturally agreed upon set of symbols,they are both products of individuals and in both systems,someone is attaching mean

34、ing to the symbols we produces.On the other hand,there are obvious differences between them,First,biological forces govern many of our nonverbal actions.Second,we learn nonverbal communication much easier in life,but nonverbal communication can be more emotional than their appeal and impact than ver

35、bal ones.Wherever in the United States,China,or South America,people tend to have similar meanings for behaviors such as smiling,crying and waving,so it is to conclude that nonverbal communication is universal than verbal. Verbal communication is quite easy to understand,then,what is the nonverbal c

36、ommunication?And what functions does it have in our life? Nonverbal communication involves all those nonverbal stimuli in a communication setting that are generated by both the source and his or her use of the environment and that have potential message value for the source or receiver. At the same

37、time,nonverbal communication has many functions.It can repeat and complement our messages.For example,we can pat someone on the shoulder to repeat and complement our pleasure with his or her performance,We can also use nonverbal communication to substitute or regulate our messages.For example,when w

38、e are not willing to say something,we can use substitution in nonverbal communication,and before a speech,we can remain silence for a moment to control the situation. Part Four Relationship between Culture and Communication The relationship between communication and culture is a very complex and int

39、imate one. First, cultures are created through communication; that is, communication is the means of human interaction through which cultural characteristicswhether customs, roles, rules, rituals, laws, or other patternsare created and shared. It is not so much that individuals set out to create a c

40、ulture when they interact in relationships, groups, organizations, or societies, but rather that cultures are a natural by-product of social interaction. In a sense, cultures are the bridge of social communication. Without communication and communication media, it would be impossible to preserve and

41、 pass along cultural characteristics from one place and time to another. One can say, therefore, that culture is created, shaped, transmitted, and learned through communication. The reverse is also the case; that is, communication practices are largely created, shaped, and transmitted by culture.At last,communication may break down if there is too much cultural noise,so learning about different cultures well and respecting the differences among cultures are crucial for all of us to complete a communicat