The商务谈判中的语言策略研究

题目TheStudyofLinguisticStrategiesinBusinessNegotiationTheStudyofLinguisticStrategiesinBusinessNegotiationbyLuShuangyuAThesisSubmittedinPartialFulfillmentoftheRequirementsfortheDegreeofBachelorofArtsintheSchoolofForeignLanguagesShanghaiJianqiaoUniversityApril2019TheStudyofLinguisticStrategiesinBusinessNegotiationABSTRACTWiththedevelopmentofeconomicglobalization,internationaltradehasbecomeincreasinglydeveloped.Theprocessofbusinessnegotiationreferstothenegotiatorscommunicationandnegotiationwitheachotherinlanguage,andfinallyreachinganagreement.Languageservesasabridgeinthebusinessnegotiation.Howtocorrectlyuselanguageisofgreatimportance;furthermore,therelationshipbetweennegotiatorswillbeinterfered,andtheultimateresultofnegotiationwillbedirectlyaffectedtosomedegree.Therefore,peopledealingwithbusinessmustattachmoreimportancetosomelanguageskillsinthenegotiationprocess.Businessnegotiationisaprocessinwhichpeopleadjusttheirinterests,reducedisputesandultimatelyestablishcommoninterests.Ifthenegotiationlanguagecommunicationskillsareimproperlyused,notonlywillthetwosidesgenerateconflict,leadingtotradefailure,butalsowillcauseeconomiclosses.However,theprocessoflanguagecommunicationinbusinessnegotiationistheprocessofcommunicationbetweennegotiators.Languagecommunicationplaysanimportantroleinbusinessnegotiationasa"bridge"anddeterminestheoutcomeofthenegotiations.Inbusinessnegotiation,apartfrompayingmuchattentiontotherequirementsofusingcivilizedlanguage,clearspeech,fluentandgenerouslanguage,weshouldalsomastertheartoflanguageexpression.Languageexpressionarthasitselegant,vivid,lively,humorousandinfectiouscharacteristics,whichplaysakeyroleinbusinessnegotiations.Therefore,thisessayfocusesonhowtocorrectlyuselanguagestrategiesinbusinessnegotiations.Keywords:businessnegotiation,linguistics,strategies商务谈判中的语言策略研究摘要随着经济全球化的发展，国际贸易越来越频繁。语言是商务谈判的桥梁,而商务谈判是谈判者用语言进行交流和谈判，最终达成协议的过程。如何正确使用语言是非常重要的，因为谈判者之间的关系和谈判的最终结果将直接受到谈判中语言使用的影响，因此，商务人士在谈判过程中必须注意一定的语言技巧。商务谈判是人们调整自身利益、减少纠纷、最终建立共同利益的过程。如果谈判语言交际技巧运用不当，不仅会使双方发生冲突，导致贸易失败，还会造成经济损失。商务谈判中的语言交际过程是谈判者之间的沟通过程。语言沟通在商务谈判中起着重要的桥梁作用。在商务谈判中，除了要注意使用文明语言、语言清晰、语言流利大方的要求外，还要掌握语言表达艺术。语言表达艺术具有典雅、生动、活泼、幽默及感染力强等特点，在商务谈判中起着核心作用，因此本文将重点探究在商务谈判中如何正确使用语言策略。关键词：商务谈判，语言，策略TableofContents1Introduction 12LiteratureReview 12.1ResearchBackground 12.2ResearchContents 23OriginoftheStudy 43.1ThePreviousStudyonInternationalBusinessNegotiation 43.2TheStudyofLinguisticStrategies 43.3TheIntroductionofInternationalBusinessNegotiationStrategies 53.4TheImportanceofLanguageinInternationalBusinessNegotiation 64LinguisticStrategies 74.1PragmaticFailure 74.2PragmalinguisticFailure 74.2.1VocabularyUsage 74.2.2SentenceUsage 84.3Solution 94.3.1StrengtheningInterculturalAwareness 94.3.2DevelopingCulturalEmpathy 104.3.3GainingLanguageAdvantage 104.3.4DevelopingPragmaticCompetence 115Conclusion 11References 12Acknowledgements……………………131IntroductionWithglobalizedworldeconomy,moreandmorefactorieshavebeguntolookformarketsfortheirproductsabroad,whichhasledtothegrowthofinternationaltrade.Inordertomaximizetheirowninterestsormakerulesfortheeffectoforders,businessnegotiationsbecomeinevitable.Internationalbusinessnegotiationreferstotheinternationalbusinessactivitiesofdifferentinterestsubjects,inordertoreachadeal,tradingandtheconditionsfortheprocessofnegotiation.Internationalbusinessnegotiationisanimportantpartoftheinternationalprocessofbuyingandselling,andapartoftheprocessofsigningacontract.Asweallknowthattheinternationalbusinessnegotiationsaremoreinvolvedindifferentcountries,diverseculturalbackgroundsandeconomicinformation,thusitismorelikelyforournegotiatorstoencounterconflictsinforeigncountriesthaninthedomesticsituations.Sometimeswhatispopularinonecountrymaynotbeacceptabletonegotiatorsinanotherone.Negotiationisessentiallyalanguagegame.Experiencednegotiatorsaremorelikelytosucceedbecausetheycanskillfullyusenegotiationskills.However,duetothediversityofculturalvalues,religiousbeliefsandsocialcustoms,pragmaticmistakesoftenoccurininternationalbusinessnegotiations,andsometimesevenleadtothefailureofnegotiations.Inordertoreducepragmaticerrorsinfuturenegotiations,thisthesiswillanalyzetheircausesandexamples,andproposestrategiestoavoidsomepragmaticerrors.2LiteratureReviewSo,Iwillstudythecurrentresearchresultsfirst.IthinkIwillfindoutwhatbusinessnegotiationneednow.2.1ResearchBackgroundInternationaltradeistheinternationaltransferofgoodsandservices.Fromtheperspectiveofacountry,internationaltradebelongstoforeigntrades,whichisconducivetotheexchangeofdifferentproductsintheworld,toenrichthediversityofconsumerproductsinourcountry,tosatisfytheconsumerneedsofthecountry,andtoimprovethequalityoflifeinthecountry.Theworldtodayisaworldofeconomicglobalization,politicalmulti-polarizationandculturaldiversity.Economicandtradearedevelopinginallcountriesaroundtheworld,andfactorsofproductionarefreelycirculatedandallocatedthroughtheglobalmarkets.Enterprisesarealsofacingcompetitionfromallenterprisesintheworld.Atthesametime,throughtheinternationaltradeenterprisescansearchforthebestintheglobalcompanyaddress,thebestrawmaterial,thebestproductmarket,sothatwecanmaketheenterpriseoflowestcost,theprofitmaximization,benefitenterprisedevelopment,learnandintroduceothercountriesoutstandingenterprisesofadvancedtechnologyandmanagementconcept,improvethetechnicallevelandmanagementleveloftheenterprise.Ininternationaltrade,everyenterpriseshouldcompetewithnotonlydomesticenterprises,andalsoforeignones,soforcingfirmstoimproveproductiontechnology,improveproductquality,reduceproductioncost,andpromotetheevolutionoftheenterprise,isconducivetotheself-improvementoftheenterprise,andimprovingtheinternationalcompetitivenessoftheenterprise.2.2ResearchContentsThisthesiswillmakeasystematicanalysisofnegotiationstrategiesininternationalbusinessnegotiationsandapplytypicalcasesofpragmaticerrorstothestudyofinternationalbusinessnegotiations.Mostofthepreviousstudieshavebeenintermsofcross-culturalinteraction,tryingtodiscussspecificnegotiatingstrategiesandmethods.However,veryfewscholarscombinedthetheoriesofpragmaticswithinternationalbusinessnegotiations,therefore,theresearchoninternationalbusinessnegotiationwillbebasedonanewperspectives;ontheotherhand,bythetheoreticalanalysisofthelanguagefailureinthepracticesofnegotiationofinternationalbusiness,theconcretemethodofavoidinglanguagefailureisputforward,andthelanguageskillsandnegotiationstrategiesofthenegotiatorcanbeimproved.Itisexpectedtomakesomecontributiontoincreasingthechancesofsuccessinfuturenegotiations.Inaddition,thestrategiessummarizedinthisthyesiscanalsobeusedastipsorguidanceforbeginnersininternationalbusinessnegotiations.2.3StructureoftheThesisBusinessEnglishisusuallydefinedasabranchofESP(Englishforspecificorspecialpurposes),apartfromtaking(generalEnglish),thetodayofeconomicglobalization,BusinessEnglishisforEnglishlanguage(EnglishasaLinguaFranca)ofthepart,andgraduallydevelopedintoBusinessEnglishlanguage.Fromtheperspectiveoflinguistics,businessEnglishhasduality:(1)externalfeatures:thelanguageusedbyprofessionalstocommunicatewiththepublicinthecontextofbusiness;(2)internalcharacteristics,onlyprofessionaldiscourseusedbyprofessionalandtechnicalpersonnelsinthefieldofbusiness.AbusinessEnglishisalanguagethathasabusinesscontext,andit'salanguagethathasbothuniversalEnglishandaregularbasis,andalanguagethatembodiesthecorecharacteristicsofthelanguage.Thecharacteristicsofthelanguagecorecanberepresentedintermsofthebreadthanddepthofthespecializedvocabulary,thestructureofsyntax.BusinessEnglishgoesfromthegeneralpurposetothespecialpurpose,includingthreelevels:(1)commoncoreofgeneralEnglishlanguage,suchasEnglishpronunciation,commonvocabulary,phraseandgrammar;(2)generalbusinessEnglish.WhengeneralEnglishisusedinabusinessenvironment,words,phrasesandsyntacticstructureswithdifferentmeaningshavespecificmeaningsinthebusinessenvironment,suchasbaddebtsboom,invoicestock,onlyinthebusinessactivitiestoformaspecificlanguage(Pickett,1989:9).(3)professionalbusinessEnglish,finance,transportation,trade,investment,professionalstrongwordsandphrases,suchassecurities,capitalturnover,appreciateanddepreciate.BusinessEnglishlinguisticsisanemergingdisciplinederivedfromforeignlinguistics.Itssubjecttheoryisstillintheexploratorystageandstillneedstogothroughaprocessofcontinuousdevelopmentandimprovement.ThelanguageofbusinessEnglishisfromadifferenttheoreticallinguisticperspectiveonhowEnglishisappliedtointernationalbusiness,whichisacrossbetweenEnglishlinguisticsandinternationalbusiness.Basedonthisidea,13businessEnglishlinguisticscancomprisethefollowingparts:businessEnglishlexicology,businessfunctionallinguistics,cognitivelinguistics,pragmatics,discourseanalysis,businesstranslationstudy,interculturalbusinesscommunication,businesssociallinguistics,contrastivelinguistics,corpuslinguisticsofcommerce,businessEnglisheducation,businessEnglishresearchmethods.GuidedbythelinguistictheoryofbusinessEnglish,eachtheorycanbeappliedtothepracticalfieldofinternationalbusiness.3OriginoftheStudyInthischapter,Iwillfindandstudyexistingresearchfindingsaboutinternationalbusinessnegotiations.ThenIwillsumupexperienceandputforwardmyownpointofview.3.1ThePreviousStudyonInternationalBusinessNegotiationThestudyofinternationalbusinessnegotiationsbeganveryearlyinthewest.Mostofthesreserachonlyfocusedonnegotiationskills,whileothersstudynegotiationskillsfromtheperspectiveofcross-culturalcommunication.Forexample,Brettsuggestedthatculturemayinfluencewhynegotiatorstakepositionstheyhave,orwhyoneissueismoreimportantthananotherinhiscultureandnegotiations.In1991,Salacuseidentified10factorsthathadimpactsonthenegotiationprocessandwereinfluencedbypersonalculture.Weissidentified12variablesinthenegotiationprocessin1998,eachofwhichrepresentedthefocusofculturalinfluence.AfterChina’sentryintoWTO,thecommercialintercoursewithforeigncountrieshasbecomemoreandmorefrequent,whichhasalsopromotedmoreuniversalcommercialnegotiations.Thestudyofinternationalbusinessnegotiationoriginatedfromwesterncountries.Butinrecentyears,ithasarousedtheinterestofsomedomesticscholars,whograduallyrealizetheimportanceofinternationalbusinessnegotiations.However,mostscholarsfocusonnegotiationskillsandstrategies,suchasBaiYuan.Inhisinternationalbusinessnegotiations,hedescribesdifferenttypesofnegotiationstrategies,atthesametime,healsoattachesgreatimportancetothecharacteristicsofnegotiatorsfromdifferentcountriesandpointsoutthatitisnecessarytoadoptappropriatestrategiestonegotiatewithpeoplewithdifferentpersonalities.Finally,heanalyzestherelationshipbetweencultureandnegotiationaswellassummarizesthenegotiationmethodswithpeoplefromdifferentcountries.3.2TheStudyofLinguisticStrategiesInthecontextofbusinesspragmatics,itisdesignedtobeakeytheory,anditisdesignedtolookatabusinesscontextinwhichtousetheappropriateandproperlanguagetoachievesocialgoals,andintermsoftheexpressionandrecognitionofthemeaningofthelanguage,thecognitiveprocessesofthebusinesscontext,thecognitiveprocessofthepeople.Inbusinessactivities,discourse,languageenvironmentandcommunicatorarethefocusesofpragmaticstudiesofbusinessdiscourse,specifically,theexpressionandrecognitionofpragmaticmeaning,theconstraintofbusinesscontext,andthecognitiveprocessofcommunicators.Thesethreedimensionsdeterminehowtodobusinesspragmatics,whichisaresearchpointofview:theuseoflanguage,thesociallanguage,thecognitiveuseoftheperspective,theintegrationofthreeanglesintotheentiretheoreticalsystem.Personalcontextinbusinessactivitiesisdividedintothreekindsofknowledgestructure:businesscultureknowledge,businessorganizationknowledgeandbusinessgenreknowledge.Businesspragmaticcompetenceistheabilitytoproduceandunderstandlanguage,includingtwoaspects:(1)declarativeknowledge,thatis,languagepragmaticknowledgeinbusinessactivitiesandsocialpragmaticknowledge,referstotheknowledgeofbusinesscommunicationthroughdiscourse(oralcommunicationandwrittencommunication)andtheknowledgeofbusinesscontext;(2)proceduralknowledge,namely,theabilitytousetheabovedeclarativeknowledgetosetcommunicativegoals,analyzebusinesscontext,anduselanguageappropriatelytoachievecommunicativegoals.Businesscontextisgeneralandspecialinitscharacteristicsandcomposition.Itnotonlysharesthesamestate,attributeandlawofchangeanddevelopmentwithotherformsofcontext,butalsohasitsownuniquestate,attributeandlawofchangeanddevelopment.3.3TheIntroductionofInternationalBusinessNegotiationStrategiesBusinessnegotiationstrategyisthegeneralnameofvariousways,measures,techniques,tactics,meansandtheirreverseandcombineduseadoptedbynegotiatorstoachievespecificnegotiationgoalsintheprocessofbusinessnegotiation.Itisacomprehensivestrategicdeploymentandplaysacrucialleadingroleinwhetherthenegotiationcanachievethesetgoals.LiuShaoguang(2008)tooktheconcessionstrategyasanimportantstrategytobreakthroughthedeadlockinnegotiations,andproposedsixprinciples,namely,theprincipleofmaximizingobjectives,theprincipleofrigidityanddecisiveness,theprincipleofappropriatetiming,theprincipleofclarity,theprincipleofmutualcompensationandtheprincipleofflexibility,toaccuratelyandvaluablyapplytheconcessionprinciple,soastoavoidandbreakthroughthedeadlockinnegotiationsmoreeffectively.3.4TheImportanceofLangueinInternationalBusinessNegotiationAbusinessnegotiationisbasedoneconomicinterests,avaluenegotiationatthecore,andtheconfidentialityandaccuracyofthecontract,dividedintostatementsofvalue,creatingvalue,creatingvalue,andcvercomingbarrierstothethreeprocesses,theprincipleofwin-win,equalprinciples,legalprinciples,time-sensitiveprinciples,minimumobjectiveprinciples,andtheprincipleofnegotiation.Throughcommunication,consultation,compromise,cooperationstrategyiesandotherwaystosolvethedifferencesbetweenbuyersandsellersduetodifferentinterestsortomeettherequirementsoftheotherparty,thepossiblebusinessopportunitiestodeterminetheprocessofactivities,isanenterprisetoachieveeconomicgoalsmeansandaccesstomarketinformation,aswellasanimportantforceinthedevelopmentofthemarket.Languageisthemostessentialhumancommunicationtoolandthemainwayofpeopletocommunicate,includingfourparts,thatis,dialogue,monologue,writtenlanguageandinternallanguagewithsymbolization,systematization,arbitrariness,theinvarianceofthelines,variability,inheritanceandcommunicationcharacterics,whichhastwoaspects,thatis,thesocialfunctionandmentalfunction.Language,asanimportantpartofbusinessnegotiations,hasaverycloserelationshipwithbusinessnegotiationsandplaysavitalroleinbusinessnegotiations,whichmainlyreflectsinthefollowingthreeaspects:firstly,languageexpressioncancompletelyandaccuratelyexpresstheintentionofnegotiators;secondly,theartofusinglanguagetopersuadeeachother;finally,controlingandgraspingthenegotiationatmosphere.4LinguisticStrategiesNowIwilldiscusswhenwearemakingInternationalBusinessNegotiationwhatLanguageandbehaviorwillcausePragmaticFailure,andhowtosolvethisproblem.4.1PragmaticFailureInviewofthemisunderstandingandconfusionincross-culturalcommunication,JennyThomasfirstproposedpragmaticerrorsin1983.Inherarticlecross-culturalpragmaticfailure,shedefinedpragmaticfailureas"inabilitytounderstandwhatissaid".(Thomas,1983:91)incross-culturalcommunication,participantsfromdifferentcountriesmayspeakthesamelanguage,buttheircommunicationmayfailduetodifferentwaysofthinking,socialcustoms,speakingrulesandunderstanding.Failurehasnothingtodowithgrammaticalerrors,butwithunconventionalexpressionsthatresultfromimproperwaysofspeaking,orfromdifferencesofopinionaboutwhatisappropriatelinguisticbehavior.Asshepointedout,"aspeakerwhodoesnotoperateaccordingtothestandardgrammaticalcodeistheworstcondemnedas"seriousspeaker",andonewhomakespracticalbusinessprinciplesaccordingtodifferentpeopleislikelytobeaccusedas"deviant"isanunreal,false,orinsincereperson"(Thomas,1998:107).Ininternationalbusinessnegotiations,negotiatorsfromdifferentcountriesarepronetopragmaticfailure.Negotiatorsmayhaveagoodcommandofaforeignlanguage,butthisisnotenoughtomakethemsuccessfulinthenegotiations.Duetothelackofproductknowledge,thenegotiatorsarenotfamiliarwiththeirculturalbackgroundsandlackofcross-culturalawareness,whichislikelytoleadtopragmaticerrorsinthenegotiation,ormisunderstandings,conflicts,andeventhefailureofthenegotiation.Inthepasttwodecades,moreandmoreattentionhasbeenpaidtothestudyofpragmaticerrorsincross-culturalcommunication.Furtherresearchonpragmaticerrorsmakesusrealizetheimportanceofsensitivitytoculturalbackgrounddifferencesininterculturalcommunicationandhelpstodevelopnegotiators'pragmaticcompetence.4.2PragmalinguisticFailureNowIwillstudyspecificPragmaticFailureandusesomeexamplestoexplainwhyitwillhappen.4.2.1VocabularyUsageVocabularyisthebasicelementoflanguage.Itsrelationshiptolanguageisoftencomparedtotherelationshipbetweenbrickandarchitecture.Everylanguagehaswords,andwordsareprobablytheeasiestlanguageunitsforlaypeopletounderstand.Ofallthelanguageconstructs,thiswordisprobablyclosesttothephysicalobjectwearefamiliarwith.Withthedevelopmentofsociety,manynewwordsareusedtorefertonewtechnologyornewthings.Eachlanguagehasitsownwayofproducingnewwords.Englishformsnewwordsthroughderivationandinflection.Thereareotherways,suchascompoundwords,newwords,abbreviationsandsoon.ThesemethodsarealsousedtoenrichChinesevocabulary.Forexample,‘qing’inChineseisaverypoliteword.Whenyougivesomethingtoothers,youwilladd‘qing’aheadofthesentencetoexpressyourpoliteness.However,inEnglish,‘please’sometimescannotworklikethat.Inthesimilarcircumstances,itwillbemorecommontosay‘wouldyouliketo’insteadof‘please’inEnglish.Lackingoftheknowledgeaboutthiswillresultintopragmalinguisticfailureininternationalbusinessnegotiation.Inthefollowingexample,wewillgettolearnsomepragmalinguisticfailurescausedbywronguseofwords.AChinesenegotiatorfromacarfactoryishavinganegotiationwithhisAmericanpartner.Heexpectshimtobuysomecars.Theirconversationisasfollows:C:Mr.Smith,pleasehavesomeproductcatalogues.Onthem,youwillfindyourexpectedinformation,suchastheparameterfortheengineandetc.F:Well,thanks.(Alittleconfusedwiththe‘please’)C:Ourcarsellsverywellinourdomesticmarketandsomeforeignmarkets.Perhapsyoucouldordersomeunitstohaveatry.Ibelieveitwillgetpopularinyourcountry.F:Maybe.(Alittleunhappywith“perhapsyoucould”)Intheabovedialogue,wecanseetwopragmaticfailures.Theword"please"soundsstrangetoAmericannegotiators,whotendtobeadvisedtosay"youdo."Sometimes,"please"hasanorderlymeaninginEnglish.WhenweinvitepeopleinChina,weareusedtosaying"qing",butwearenotusedtousingEnglish.Anothersimilarexampleis"maybeyoucan".InChinese,givingadviceisapolitewayofsayingit.ButifyougiveadviceinEnglishinthisway,itwillmakethelistenerunhappy,forthisphraseismoreorganizedthanadvice.Inthiscase,theforeignerwillinferfromthewordsofhisChinesepartnerthathisChinesepartnerisaskinghimtobuysomecarsinsteadofadvisinghimtobuy.4.2.2SentenceUsageManylinguistsbelievethatsentencesconstitutethe"largest"objectunderthelinguisticgenerativemethod.Inthispart,wewillturnourattentiontopragmaticerrorsinsentences.InChinese,therearemanysentenceswhoseliteralmeaningissimilartothatofEnglish,butwithdifferentpragmatics.Thispracticalfailureisprovidedinthefollowingexample.AforeigncustomerfromPanamaishavinganegotiationwithhisChinesepartnerinanautomobilefactory,theirconversationisasfollows:C:Mr.Bogdan,thisyearwehaveexploredsomenewmodelsaccordingtothefeedbackfromyourmarket.WebelievethatthenewmodelswillhaveagoodsellinPanama.F:Oh,really.Doyouhaveanycataloguesofthesenewmodels?C:Ofcourse,wehave.(WithoutgivingcataloguestoBogdan)F:(Alittlepuzzled,forhispartnerhasnotgivenhimthecatalogues,sohewantstotryagain)Mr.Chen,doyouhavethecataloguesnow?C:Yeah,wealreadyhavesomeinouroffice.Andwhenyouorderthenewmodels,wewillputsomecataloguesinthevehiclesforyoutodopropagandainyourmarket.F:Mr.Chen,Imean,couldyougivesomecataloguestousnow?Iwouldliketogetsomespecificationsaboutthenewmodels.C:Oh,yes.Iwillgivesometoyounow.(Gotofetchsomecatalogues)Intheabove-mentionedexample,wecanclearlyseethatMr.ChenfromChinahasmisinterpretedthemeaningof‘Doyouhaveanycataloguesofthesenewmodels?’Mr.Chenjustgottheliteralmeaningofthissentenceandinterpreteditasaquestionsentence.However,thissentenceisoftenusedbyforeignerstorequestsomething,andactuallytheforeignerfromPanamaisaskingMr.ChenfromChinatoshowhimthecataloguesnow.4.3SolutionTherearefoureffectivesolutionsabouthowtoavoidPragmaticFailureandhowtomakeasuccessfulbusinessnegotiation.4.3.1StrengtheningInterculturalAwarenessCulturalawarenessreferstotheunderstandingthatthecustomsofthehostcountryaffectpeople'sthoughtsandbehaviors.Whencommunicatingincross-culturalbusinessnegotiations,negotiatorsshouldbesensitivetoculturalawareness.Negotiatorswillhaveastrongabilityofcross-culturalbusinessnegotiationandcommunicationaswellasahighdegreeofculturalawareness,includingunderstandingofsocialvalues,socialcustoms,socialnormsandsocialsystemsofothercultures.Whatwemustpreventincludesthedeliberatelyrudeorsubservientbehaviorinordertotrytoavoidpragmaticfailureinthenegotiationpracticalprocess.Culturalconsciousnessinvolvesthetwodimensionsoflanguageandnon-languagecultureandpaysattentiontothetransformationfrommonoculturetointercultural.Culturalawarenesshelpsustointerpretsituationsconstructivelyfromcontextclues.Interculturalsensitivityisakindofpositiveadaptationthatpromotesappropriateandeffectivebehaviorininterculturalcommunication4.3.2DevelopingCulturalEmpathyEmpathyisconsideredasanimportantfactorinthesuccessofcross-culturalcommunicationandaneffectivecommunicationskill.Samover(Samover,2000:261)oncepointedoutthat,"successfulinterculturalinteraction,youhavetocultivateempathy,youcancultivateit,andonlywhenyoubecomesensitivetothevaluesandcustomsoftheculturewithwhichyouareinteracting."Inthepracticeofbusinessnegotiation,empathyplaysanimportantroleinanticipation,avoidingthemanagementofconflict.Ifweunderstandnegotiatorsfromtheotherpartyabouttheirfeelingsonthenegotiation,thenwecanbetterunderstandwhatishappeninginthenegotiationandcommunication.Empathy,Rubenobserves,isseenas"essentialtothedevelopmentandmaintenanceofpositiverelationshipswithinandbetweencultures."Inordertoavoidethnocentrismandculturalhypothesis,Chinesenegotiatorsneedtorethinktheirownculturalsystemfirst.Theyneedtobeawareofvalues,beliefs,andsocialnorms,andhowtheseaffectthewaytheythinkandact;theyalsoneedtobeculturallysensitiveandkeepinmindthatforeignnegotiatorsdifferfromnativespeakersnotonlyinappearancebutalsoinmotivation,beliefsandvalues.Awisenegotiatorshowsinterest,understanding,respect,andappreciationfortheothernegotiator'sculture.Here’sanexample.Whennegotiatorsfrombothsidesmetatthenegotiatingtable.TheAmericannegotiatormightextendhishandinordertoshakehandswiththeChinesenegotiator.TheAmericanbehavedinawaythatwascompatiblewiththetraditionalChinesehandshake,ratherthanhugging,whichisoftypicandhabitualbehaviorfromAmericans.Thus,theplacingofoneselfinanotherperson’sexperienceorperspectivecancontributetoasmoothandsuccessfulcommunication.4.3.3GainingLanguageAdvantageLanguageisamajorobstacleincross-culturalbusinessnegotiations.Evenifthereisathirdpartyortranslatorinvolvedinbusinessnegotiations,masteringtheotherparty'slanguageisamajoradvantage.Masteringeachother'slanguagemeansthatwegainmoretimetothinkandrespondtoeachother'squestions.Inaddition,itisnotsafetorelysolelyontheinterpretertoconveythemeaning,whichmaysometimesleadtounnecessarymisunder