Intercultural Communication in English

InterculturalCommunicationinEnglishYangHongAppreciatethecommonalitiesanddifferencesbetweenculturestoseetheworldwithanopenmindInmy/yourexperience•吃饭没?Haveyoueaten?去哪啊?Whereareyougoing?——您的房子很漂亮。——哪里，哪里。•Haveyoueaten?Nativespeakersmaythinkyouwillbuythemameal.•Whereareyougoing?Thisquestionmaybetoopersonal.•Cross-culturalcommunicationtriestobringtogethersuchrelativelyunrelatedareasasculturalanthropologyandestablishedareasofcommunication.Itscoreistoestablishandunderstandhowpeoplefromdifferentculturescommunicatewitheachother.Itschargeistoalsoproducesomeguidelineswithwhichpeoplefromdifferentculturescanbettercommunicatewitheachother.•Cross-culturalcommunication,asinmanyscholarlyfields,isacombinationofmanyotherfields.Thesefieldsincludeanthropology,culturalstudies,psychologyandcommunication.Interculturalcommunicationprinciples•Interculturalcommunicationprinciplesguidetheprocessofexchangingmeaningfulandunambiguousinformationacrossculturalboundaries,inawaythatpreservesmutualrespectandminimisesantagonism.•Forthesepurposes,cultureisasharedsystemofsymbols,beliefs,attitudes,values,expectations,andnormsofbehaviour.Itreferstocoherentgroupsofpeoplewhetherresidentwhollyorpartlywithinstateterritories,orexistingwithoutresidenceinanyparticularterritory.•Hence,theseprinciplesmayhaveequalrelevancewhenatouristseekshelp,wheretwowell-establishedindependentcorporationsattempttomergetheiroperations,andwherepoliticiansattempttonegotiateworldpeace.ImprovingInterculturalCommunication•Itisessentialthatpeopleresearchtheculturesandcommunicationconventionsofthosewhomtheyproposetomeet.Thiswillminimisetheriskofmakingtheelementarymistakes.Itisalsoprudenttosetaclearagendasothateveryoneunderstandsthenatureandpurposeoftheinteraction.Whenlanguageskillsareunequal,clarifyingone'smeaninginfivewayswillimprovecommunication:•avoidusingslangandidioms,choosingwordsthatwillconveyonlythemostspecificdenotativemeaning;•listencarefullyand,ifindoubt,askforconfirmationofunderstanding(particularlyimportantiflocalaccentsandpronunciationareaproblem);•recognisethataccentingandintonationcancausemeaningtovarysignificantly;and•respectthelocalcommunicationformalitiesandstyles,andwatchforanychangesinbodylanguage.•Investigatetheirculture'sperceptionofyourculturebyreadingliteratureaboutyourculturethroughtheireyesbeforeenteringintocommunicationwiththem.Thiswillallowyoutoprepareyourselfforprojectedviewsofyourcultureyouwillbebearingasavisitorintheirculture.Howtobecomeabridgelinkingtheeastandthewest?•Languageskills•Theunderstandingofthecultures(学贯中西)•Rootingonyourownculture(anycomments?HowwillyourespondwhenyouareaskedtosaysthaboutChinesephilosophy,Chinesemedicine,China’slegalsystemandChina’sruralissues?)BookList•马克斯.韦伯：《新教伦理与资本主义精神》（MaxWeber）•刘宗坤：《诸神时代的智者——马克斯.韦伯》•塞缪尔.亨廷顿：《文明的冲突与世界秩序的重建》（SamuelP.Huntington）•鲁思.本尼迪克特：《菊与刀》（TheChrysanthemumandtheSword）•费孝通：《美国与美国人》•胡适：《中国的文艺复兴》（TheChineseRenaissance）•易中天：《帝国的惆怅-中国传统社会的政治与人性》•LinYutang:MyCountryandMyPeopleUnit2CultureandCommunicationItisthehistoryofacountrythatdevelopsthecharacterandcultureofitspeople.TimesofSilence•YoumayfindyourselfatameetingorothereventwherethosepresentstandandrecitethePledgeofAllegiancetotheAmericanFlag.Theproperthingforyoutodoatthistimeistostandrespectfullyandremainsilentwhiletheothersrecitethispledge.•Anothertimeforsilencemayoccurbeforeamealinaprivatehomeorinameeting.ChristianAmericansoftenbowtheirheadsandsayaprayer,called“grace”beforeameal.Theynormallysay“amen”attheend.IfyouarenotaChristian,thenitisacceptableforyoutobowyourheadasasignofrespectandremainsilent.Ifyouareaskedtosaythegrace,itisallrighttodeclineunlessyouknowwhattodoandwouldliketotakepartinthis.CaseStudy•InChina,itiscommontoturnontheTVwhenvisitorscometoyourhome.Theintentistobesurethatyourvisitorsareproperlyentertained.•ThisisacasewheretheoppositeistrueintheUnitedStates.IfapersonorafamilyiswatchingtheTVwhenvisitorsarrive,itisexpectedthattheTVbeturnedoff(oratleastthesoundturneddown)immediatelysothatone’sfullattentionmaybegiventothevisitors.Whatis“culture”?Culture(fromtheLatinculturastemmingfromcolere,meaningtocultivate)isdifficulttodefine.However,thewordcultureismostcommonlyusedinthreebasicsenses:•excellenceoftasteinthefineartsandhumanities•anintegratedpatternofhumanknowledge,belief,andbehaviorthatdependsuponthecapacityforsymbolicthoughtandsociallearning•thesetofsharedattitudes,values,goals,andpracticesthatcharacterizesaninstitution,organizationorgroup.(fromwikipedia)文明和文化•文明和文化都涉及一个民族全面的生活方式，文明是放大了的文化。它们都包括价值、规则、体制和在一个既定社会中历代人赋予了头等重要性的思维模式。•Aculturecanalsobeunderstoodasaparticularwaytosatisfyourhumanneeds.AbrahamMaslowAbrahamHaroldMaslow(April1,1908–June8,1970)wasanAmericanpsychologist.Heisnotedforhisconceptualizationofahierarchyofhumanneeds,andisconsideredthefatherofhumanisticpsychology(人本心理学)AdditionalReadingATheoryofHumanMotivationA.H.Maslow(1943)•Maslow'shierarchyofneedsisatheoryinpsychology,proposedbyAbrahamMaslowinhis1943paperATheoryofHumanMotivation,whichhesubsequentlyextendedtoincludehisobservationsofhumans'innatecuriosity.MakinguseofMaslow’s