Intercultural_Communication_in_English

InterculturalCommunicationinEnglishYangHongAppreciatethecommonalitiesanddifferencesbetweenculturestoseetheworldwithanopenmindAnintroductiontoInterculturalCommunicationLeadingpartWhatisinterculturalcommunication(IC)?HowtoimproveICWhystudyIC?CultureCultureisasharedsystemofsymbols,beliefs,attitudes,values,expectations,andnormsofbehaviour.Itreferstocoherentgroupsofpeoplewhetherresidentwhollyorpartlywithinstateterritories,orexistingwithoutresidenceinanyparticularterritory.导读：塞缪尔.亨廷顿：《文明的冲突与世界秩序的重建》（SamuelP.Huntington）Inmy/yourexperience吃饭没?Haveyoueaten?去哪啊?Whereareyougoing?——您的房子很漂亮。——哪里，哪里。Haveyoueaten?Nativespeakersmaythinkyouwillbuythemameal.Whereareyougoing?Thisquestionmaybetoopersonal.WhatisIC?sometimesusedsynonymouslywithcross-culturalcommunication.Itseekstounderstandhowpeoplefromdifferentcountriesandculturesact,communicateandperceivetheworldaroundthem.Itstudiessituationswherepeoplefromdifferentculturalbackgroundsinteract.Interculturalcommunicationplaysaroleinanthropology,culturalstudies,linguistics,psychologyandcommunicationstudies.Cross-culturalcommunicationtriestobringtogetherrelativelyunrelatedareasasculturalanthropologyandestablishedareasofcommunication.Itscoreistoestablishandunderstandhowpeoplefromdifferentculturescommunicatewitheachother.Itschargeistoalsoproducesomeguidelineswithwhichpeoplefromdifferentculturescanbettercommunicatewitheachother.ImprovingInterculturalCommunicationItisessentialthatpeopleresearchtheculturesandcommunicationconventionsofthosewhomtheyproposetomeet.Thiswillminimisetheriskofmakingtheelementarymistakes.Itisalsoprudenttosetaclearagendasothateveryoneunderstandsthenatureandpurposeoftheinteraction.Whenlanguageskillsareunequal,clarifyingone'smeaninginfivewayswillimprovecommunication:avoidusingslangandidioms,choosingwordsthatwillconveyonlythemostspecificdenotativemeaning;listencarefullyand,ifindoubt,askforconfirmationofunderstanding(particularlyimportantiflocalaccentsandpronunciationareaproblem);recognizethataccentingandintonationcancausemeaningtovarysignificantly;andrespectthelocalcommunicationformalitiesandstyles,andwatchforanychangesinbodylanguage.Investigatetheirculture'sperceptionofyourculturebyreadingliteratureaboutyourculturethroughtheireyesbeforeenteringintocommunicationwiththem.Thiswillallowyoutoprepareyourselfforprojectedviewsofyourcultureyouwillbebearingasavisitorintheirculture.WhystudyIC?1.AslanguagelearnersIChasinfluenceontranslationandinterpretation.e.g.我属猪。Iamapig?2.Beingabridgelinkingdifferentcultures3.Aninternationalqualitye.g.EvenatHuaihua,thisremoteandless-developedarea:KFCcase,meetforeignersandmakeyourorderHowtobecomeabridgelinkingtheeastandthewest?LanguageskillsTheunderstandingofthecultures(学贯中西)Rootingonyourownculture(anycomments?HowwillyourespondwhenyouareaskedtosaysthaboutChinesephilosophy,Chinesemedicine,China’slegalsystemandChina’sruralissues?)TextbookTransportation:horse,boat,train,planeCommunication:mail,telegraph,telephone,Internet,e-mail,Globalization:thediscoveryofthenewworld(Oct12,1492),theIndustrialRevolution(1760’s-1770’s),thecolonialage,afterWWIIBookList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》费孝通：《乡土中国》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》柏杨：《丑陋的中国人》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.AbrahamMaslowAbrahamHaroldM