跨文化交際中的主要障礙及對策

1、跨文化交際中的主要障礙及對策摘 要：隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)全球化的發(fā)展，中國與外界的交往日益頻繁，跨文化交際問題受到了外語界乃至整個(gè)社會前所未有的重視。不同的民族有著不同的文化，不同的文化必然存在有文化的差異，因此可能會導(dǎo)致種種的交際失誤。所以，研究跨文化交際中的障礙問題，以及如何有效地解決，清除這種障礙對于中國的外語教學(xué)和社會經(jīng)濟(jì)文化生活具有極為重要的現(xiàn)實(shí)意義。本文從跨文化交際的內(nèi)涵和意義入手，分析和探討了跨文化交際中存在的主要障礙，并通過對跨文化交際實(shí)例的分析，闡述了障礙產(chǎn)生的原因和消極影響，最后提出了如何克服這些障礙，實(shí)現(xiàn)有效的跨文化溝通的基本策略。通過掌握這些策略，可以逐步提高我們的跨文化意識，成功

2、地進(jìn)行跨文化交際。關(guān)鍵詞：跨文化交際；障礙；策略 contentsintroduction:11.intercultural communication11.1 communication11.1.1 definition of communication11.1.2 components of communication11.1.3 characteristics of communication.21.2 culture31.2.1 definition of culture31.2.2 components of culture31.2.3 characteristics of cult

3、ure31.3 intercultural communication41.3.1 definition of intercultural communication41.3.2 the development of intercultural communication51.3.3 the study of intercultural communication52. obstacles to intercultural communication62.1 assuming similarity7 2.1.1 definition of assuming similarity.7 2.1.2

4、 the performance of assuming similarity.7 2.1.3 the forming reason of assuming similarity82.2 stereotypes92.2.1 definition of stereotypes92.2.2 the performance of stereotypes92.2.3 the impact of stereotypes10 2.3 ethnocentrism.11 2.3.1 definition of ethnocentrism.11 2.3.2 the performance of ethnocen

5、trism.11 2.3.3 the impact of ethnocentrism.13 3. strategies for coping with the obstacles.14 3.1 knowing yourself14 3.1.1 know your culture. 14 3.1.2 know your personal attitudes.15 3.1.3 know your communication style15 3.2 knowing the cultural settings.16 3.2.1 timing.16 3.2.2 physical setting17 3.

6、2.3 customs17 3.3 developing empathy.18 3.3.1 definition of empathy.18 3.3.2 hindrances to empathy18 3.3.3 improving empathy.194. conclusion20 bibliography22中國最大的論文知識平臺introductionwe are now in a world, which is sometimes referred to as a “global village”. with the rapid development of international

7、 trade, improved technologies of communication and the tendency of globalization，more and more exchanges are taking place internationally in almost every line, which may call for a better study on intercultural communication in order to help those intercultural activities result in better effects.i.

8、 intercultural communication1.1. communication1.1.1. definition of communicationit is difficult to find a single definition of human communication. being concerned with the intercultural dimensions of communication, we assent to the definition advanced by rubin and stewart:” human communication is t

9、he process through which individualsin relationships, groups, organizations, and societiesrespond to and create messages to adapt to the environment and one another（rubin and stewart 1998）.” communicationour ability to share our ideas and feelingsis the basis of all human contacts. whether we live i

10、n a city in the usa, a village in india, a commune in israel, we all participate in the same activity when we communicate. the results and the methods might be different, but the process is the same. 1.1.2. components of communicationall communication contains six basic components. first is the sour

11、ce. a source is a sender of information. he or she could send a message with or without knowing his or her actions were communication.the second component is encoding, which describes the producing of a symbolic message. encoding is an internal activity in which verbal and nonverbal symbols are sele

12、cted and arranged. it is the process of translating an already conceived idea into a message appropriate for transmission to a receiver.the third component, a message, is the production of encoding. the message is a set of verbal and nonverbal symbols that represents the feelings and ideas of the se

13、nder. it also includes symbolic messages that the sender is totally unaware of having sent.channel is the fourth communication component. the channel provides that necessary connection between the communication participants. the primary channels are sound and sight. the degree to which an individual

14、 relies on one channel or another is often a product of culture.receiver is the fifth component. the receiver is the person or persons who come into contact with the message. receivers may be those for whom the sender intended or they may be others who, for whatever reasons, come into contact with t

15、he message.decoding is the sixth component. in the decoding process, the receiver interprets what he or she believes the source meant by the message transmitted. this operation is akin to the sources act of encoding since it is also an internal activityan activity often referred to as information pr

16、ocessing.1.1.3. characteristics of communicationcommunication is a dynamic process. it means that communication is an ongoing activity. it is like a motion picture, not a single snapshot. a single word or action does not stay frozen when we communicate; it is immediately replaced with yet another wo

17、rd or action. once a word or an action is employed, it cannot be retracted. what is said cannot be unsaid. and what is done cannot be undone.communication is symbolic. humans are symbol-making creatures. we are able to generate, receive, store, and manipulate symbols. we employ symbols to share our

18、internal states. our words and actions are other sets of symbols through which we convey our messages, ideas and feelings to other people. communication has a consequence. this characteristic implies that when we receive a message, something happens to us. it also means that all of our messages, in

19、one degree or another does something to someone else. we cannot send messages without influencing other people. this is not a philosophical or metaphysical theory but a biological fact. it is impossible not to respond to the sounds and actions of others. 1.2. culture1.2.1. definition of culturethere

20、 are more than one hundred definitions of the english word culture offered by researchers from different perspectives. samovar and porter evolved a definition from the perspective of intercultural communication:culture is the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hi

21、erarchies, religion, notion of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving （samovar and porter 1991）.culture is mental programming, it tells us from ear

22、ly childhood what matters, what to prefer, what to avoid, and what to do. it gives us assumptions about the ideal beyond what individuals may experience. it establishes codes for behavior and provides justification and legitimization for that behavior. 1.2.2. components of culturein spite of the lac

23、k of agreement on one definition on culture, most scholars, chinese and foreign, seem to agree that culture includes three major aspects. almaney and alwan submitted three categories of culture elements:cultures may be classified by three large categories of elements: artifacts (which include items

24、ranging from arrowheads to hydrogen bombs, magic charms to antibiotic, torches to electric lights, and chariots to jet planes); concepts (which include such beliefs or value systems as right or wrong, god and man, ethics, and the general meaning of life); and behaviors (which refer to the actual pra

25、ctice of concepts or beliefs) （rogers and steinfatt 1999）. there is an excellent example of how these three aspects might be reflected within a culture. whereas money is considered an artifact, the value placed upon it is a concept, but the actual spending and saving of money is behavior.1.2.3. char

26、acteristics of cultureculture is learned. culture is not something we are born with. from infancy on, members of a culture learn their patterns of behavior and ways of thinking until they have become internalized. people learn to think, act, feel and believe what their culture considers proper. for

27、instance, humans need food. but what to eat, when, where and how to eat is learned. thats why we use chopsticks while westerners prefer knife and fork, and why we like rice while americans prefer bread.culture is subject to change. cultures, once formed, are stable, but are at the same time changing

28、 with the development of human society. it seldom remains constant. it is not difficult at all for us to think of examples of how social and historical events bring changes in our culture. the founding of new china, the implementation of the policy of opening to the outside world and chinas wto entr

29、y, are all good examples.culture is interrelated. it means that culture is composed of interrelated facets. when you touch one place of a culture, everything else is affected. the outbreak of sars in spring 2003 in china is an illustrative example. it made its effects felt in medical systems, touris

30、m, lifestyle, family life, government policies, environment protection and many others.culture is invisible. most of culture is hidden, like the part of the iceberg under water. culture exists in the subconscious mind of people. people not only learn the cultural behaviors below the level of conscio

31、usness but also perform them almost habitually. therefore they arent aware of the fact that their actions are governed by their own culture, or cultural rules.1.3. intercultural communication1.3.1. definition of intercultural communicationin general terms, intercultural communication occurs when a m

32、ember of one culture produces a message for consumption by a member of another culture. the formal definition given by rogers and steinfatt is that intercultural communication is the exchange of information between individuals who are unalike culturally（rogers and steinfatt 1999）.this is a very broa

33、d definition, involving any type of cultural differences between communication participants. they may differ in nationality, region, race, religion, status, occupation, gender, age, and many others. however, my priority of this paper is given to communication across different national cultures.1.3.2

34、. the development of intercultural communicationintercultural communication studies arose in the united states around the corner of the late 1950s. as an interdisciplinary subject, it has been significantly influenced by anthropology, linguistics, communication, psychology and other disciplines. in

35、recent years, it has extended its study range from writing to thinking, from family to society, from myth to religion, from behaviors to values.in china, intercultural communication began to be seen as an independent discipline for study in the early 1980s. it was first introduced into china by some

36、 english teachers and has made remarkable progress over the years. the main reason for the university english teachers enthusiasm in the study of intercultural communication is the shift from traditional methodology to the communicative approach in efl in china in the late 1970s and early 1980s.as a

37、 matter of fact, intercultural communication is not a new thing, but something that has always taken place. a typical example is the famous “silk road” in chinese history through which peoples of asia, africa and europe interacted with each other. nowadays, we dont have to go abroad to interact with

38、 people of other cultures. even at home, we can watch overseas movies, attract overseas tourists, and employ overseas teachers, and so on. intercultural communication has become more frequent, more abundant and, therefore, more significant than ever before.1.3.3. the study of intercultural communica

39、tionintercultural communication is becoming an important part of our daily work and life. we will conduct more and more intercultural communication, the problem we are facing is how to do it, and how to do it well. a good knowledge of a foreign language, mainly englishthe most widely used language i

40、n the world today, is of course indispensable. but only the language does not ensure successful intercultural communication. therefore, intercultural communication competence has become an important quality for successful individuals in todays china.in the process of studying intercultural communica

41、tion, we can understand chinese culture better from new perspectives and learn to be aware of many cultural differences of other countries. if we are better intercultural communicators, we might do things cross culture more confidently. if each of us can better understand others who are culturally d

42、ifferent, it will be more productive under circumstances concerned. if individuals can attain a higher degree of intercultural communication competence, they will presumably become better government officials, entrepreneurs, teachers and so forth when they are having intercultural communication acti

43、vities. we study intercultural communication to communicate effectively with people from different cultures. through the study of intercultural communication we can gain insight into different cultures. meanwhile, it can broaden our horizons and open our minds to different perspectives and experienc

44、es. the study of intercultural communication can also awaken our cultural sensitivity and help the cultivation of an open attitude and the development of a healthy personality. ii.obstacles to intercultural communicationas we mentioned in part one, communication is the exchange of information. the u

45、nderstanding of the message, verbal or nonverbal, is largely based on the communication participants cultural background and varies accordingly for each person.however, due to different social backgrounds, social systems, ways of thinking, norms of behaviors and customs, people may have difficulties

46、 and obstacles in communicating successfully with each other. identification of these problems will help us to avoid or to reduce obstacles in intercultural communication. here in this part some major obstacles to successful intercultural communication are to be discussed.there are many obstacles to

47、 intercultural communication indeed. from hu wenzhongs point of view, who is a famous scholar in intercultural communication, the following three seem to be the most outstanding ones. they are assuming similarity, stereotypes and ethnocentrism. we are going to discuss about them in the following wri

48、ting.2.1 assuming similarity 2.1.1. definition of assuming similaritythe assumption of similarity is one of the biggest barriers in intercultural communication. it refers to the assumption that people are more similar to you than they actually are or that another persons situation is more similar to

49、 your own situation than it in fact is （alder 1996）. for instance, a chinese assumes his or her japanese colleagues are more like chinese than they actually are. based on this assumed similarity, people often act inappropriately and ineffectively in intercultural communication.when you assume simila

50、rity between cultures you can be caught unaware of important differences. when you have no information about a different culture, you might assume there are no differences so you behave as you would in your own culture. however, each culture is different and unique to some degree. 2.1.2. the perform

51、ance of assuming similarityin the art of crossing cultures，craig storti (1990) thinks that in the process of intercultural communication, people generally experience several stages:1) expecting others the same as themselves2) facing gap between reality and expectation, thus resulting in cultural con

52、flicts3) feeling anger and fear4) deciding to turn backthe following is an example to illustrate it. li ying, a chinese student who went abroad for the first time was invited to attend a party by his american friends. he arrived on time, only to find that many people were late and dressed in a very

53、casual way. at the party, there was only some drink and simple food, but no decent dishes. few people there knew him, and he at last found mark, his friend, and began to talk with him. they talked about only ten minutes before mark said that he had to talk with another friend and left. li ying was v

54、ery disappointed. then, the host introduced him to a couple of people and left too. two hours later, li ying left the party. when he was back at home, he was still hungry, so he had to cook some noodles himself. he decided not to take part in this kind of party again.this party was an unsuccessful i

55、ntercultural communication for li ying. why did he fail? it has something to do with his original ideas. in his opinion, people should arrive on time at party and should wear formal clothes, the host should prepare a lot of food and make a good arrangement for him, and mark should talk with him all

56、the time. li ying had a typical chinese expectation for a western party. at a western party, the friends and the host, have their own things to do. li ying thought it was the same situation as in china and did not see the difference between chinese and american styles in social intercourses. the lac

57、k of intercultural communication awareness and experience resulted in the failure.2.1.3. the forming reason of assuming similaritywhen communicating with people from other cultures, the individual, assuming similarity when differences exist, is likely to treat them as” my people” and assume there is only way of doing things: that is “my” way.it is u