論中國英語學(xué)習(xí)者在跨文化交流中的失誤研究

1、裝訂線 本科生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計） 題目： A Research on Cross-culture Communication Failures by English Learners in China 論中國英語學(xué)習(xí)者在跨文化交流中的失誤研究 系 部 外語系 學(xué)科門類 英語 專 業(yè) 學(xué) 號 姓 名 指導(dǎo)教師 2013年5 月2日2合肥師范學(xué)院2013屆本科生畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計）AcknowledgementsThis piece of essay is the result of support and contributions of many people. First and foremost

2、, I cannot go without mentioning the constructive suggestions and technical support from my guider, Mao Yingying. Secondly, my appreciation is given to Zhou Ying and Zou Xiaorong, my English teachers, who have given me all necessary assistance during my studies. Last but not least, I would like to t

3、hank my family, friends and roommates for their unyielding support for encouraging me to overcome the difficulties and complete the paper.AbstractSince Chinas reform and opening up, the past years have witnessed the dramatic and breathtaking changes in China. The opportunities of communication betwe

4、en different countries are ever-increasing. However, the high-frequency of cross-culture communication also gives rise to more failures in interactions of people in different culture backgrounds. These failures, which include large part of pragmatic failure advanced by J.Thomas in early 1980s, are m

5、ajor obstacles of understanding of intercultural communication. In this paper, the author try to explore typical cases of interaction failures of Chinese learners of English in intercultural communication, the substantial reasons of them as well as the according solutions to address the problems. Th

6、rough overall analysis of different cases in intercultural communication situations, various reasons could be revealed, which is helpful to resolve the difficulties and realize successful understanding among people in different culture.Key words: intercultural communication; failures; various reason

7、s摘 要自改革開放以來的幾十年里，中國大地上正發(fā)生著翻天覆地的變革。中國對世界的開放程度越來越高，對外交流的機會也在逐漸增加。但同時，高頻率的對外交流也導(dǎo)致了不同文化背景的人們跨文化交流失誤的上升。在20世紀(jì)80年代，語言學(xué)家托馬斯(J.Thomas)就首先提出了語用失誤(Pragmatic Failure)的概念，這也是我們在跨文化交流中遇到的主要溝通障礙。然而，跨文化交際失誤遠不止語用失誤的范疇，還包括語音、詞匯、語法以及非言語交際等方面。因此本篇論文意在探析中國英語學(xué)習(xí)者在跨文化交際中的各類失誤，主要包含以下幾個方面：跨文化交際失誤的幾個方面，跨文化交際失誤產(chǎn)生的主要原因，中國英語學(xué)習(xí)者

8、在學(xué)習(xí)英語這門語言的時候?qū)τ⒄Z文化的掌握。通過上述方面的分析，望此論文能幫助中國英語學(xué)習(xí)者解決所遇到的跨文化交際的問題與失誤，并促進跨文化交流的順利進行。關(guān)鍵詞：跨文化交際；跨文化交際失誤；產(chǎn)生原因ContentsAcknowledgementsIAbstractII摘 要IIIContentsIVChapter 1 Introduction11.1Significance of the Research11.2Organization of the Paper2Chapter 2 Literature Review3Chapter 3 Performance of Chinese Learn

9、ers of English in Cross-culture Communication Failures53.1 Cross-culture verbal communication failures53.1.1 Performance of failures in pronunciation53.1.2 Performance of failures in vocabulary63.1.3 Performance of failures in grammar63.1.4 Performance of failures in pragmatics63.2 Cross-culture non

10、-verbal communication failures83.2.1 Performance of failures in body language83.2.2 Performance of failures in paralanguage9Chapter 4 Reasons and Solutions for Cross-culture Communication Failures by English Learners in China104.1 About the questionnaire104.2 Reasons for intercultural communication

11、failures114.3 Factors caused by English learners in China124.4 Possible Solutions for Cross-cultural communication failures13Bibliography16Appendix A1跨文化交際能力問卷調(diào)查1Chapter 1 IntroductionThe need for intercultural communication can be dated back to time immemorial when wandering ancient tribes encounte

12、red others different from themselves and exchanged their belongings with each other. In nowadays, intercultural encounters are far more numerous and important than in any previous time. New technology of transportation and communication, globalization of economy and changes in immigration patterns h

13、as accelerated intercultural contact and communications.1.1Significance of the ResearchChina's great changes are happening in the earth after decades reform and opening up. As China's frequency of opening to the world becomes more and more high, foreign exchange opportunities are also gradua

14、lly increasing. But at the same time, the high frequency of foreign exchanges has also given rise to intercultural communication failures among people from different cultural backgrounds. Due to differences in many aspects between Chinese and western language and culture, many Chinese learners of En

15、glish in communicating with English speakers make communication mistakes. For these failures in verbal and nonverbal communication, the reason is mainly because of language differences, cultural differences and communication failures caused by the learners themselves. In the process of human communi

16、cation, different people may receive different information from the same information because of the influence of external factors, and the understanding of the different people for different information also differ in thousands ways. In the same cultural background, the communication failures can oc

17、cur sometimes, so its inevitable that people in different culture backgrounds make more errors in communication.It is hoped that this research for Chinese learners of English in communication can provide some help to avoid communication failures, so as to achieve better and more effective communicat

18、ive purpose and the best effect of communication. In addition, this article is counted to offer some practical suggestions for people who learn English as a second language and a tool for communication. Language knowledge and culture knowledge are of equal importance while learning English. Conseque

19、ntly, its beneficial for prompting spread of English knowledge and western culture.1.2Organization of the PaperThis thesis consists of 5 chapters. Chapter 1 is the introduction of the thesis. In this chapter, some background knowledge is introduced. It is mainly about the diversity of cross-cultural

20、 communication failures, responding reasons and possible solutions. Chapter 2 sets out to review the literature in intercultural communication field, including foreign and domestic theoretical works. In Chapter 3, the author explores major performance of the communication failures. There are two par

21、ts that comprise verbal communication failures and non-verbal communication failures. In the verbal part, it consists of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and pragmatics. Meanwhile, body language and paralanguage are included in the non-verbal part. In Chapter 4, the author does an analysis in subs

22、tantial reasons for the above communication failures of English learners in China in chapter 3 for the purpose of resolving these failures. Chapter 5 contains practical suggestions and advices summarized by the author to avoid communication failures.Chapter 2 Literature ReviewIntercultural communica

23、tion has been a kind of common phenomenon since immemorial times, but its history is short as an independent and new subject which formed in the United States in the 1950s. The symbol is the publication of Edward Halls Silent Language in 1959. In the 1980 s, linguist, J.Thomas, took the initiatives

24、to put forward the concept of Pragmatic Failures that is also our main communication disorders encountered in the cross-cultural communication. From then on, intercultural communication failure has become an important part of the study of cross-cultural communication. To make the concept of intercul

25、tural communication more easily be understood, Linell Davis puts forward five metaphors about intercultural communication: iceberg, software, water a fish swims in, the story we tell ourselves about ourselves, grammar of our behavior. Spair and Worf related that language functions not only as a tool

26、 of transmitting messages but also a factor which influences our awareness for objective reality. Namely, people who speak different language have different ways of observing the world.Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily unde

27、rstood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language, which has become the medium of expression for their society. The real world is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as represent

28、ing the same social reality. (Spair, 1931:28)that the linguistic system (in other words, the grammar) of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individuals mental activity, for his analysis of imp

29、ression, for his synthesis of his mental stock in trade.(Whorf, 1952:36)“Pragmatic failure” is first contributed by British famed pragmatist, Jenny Thomas. In her article “Cross-cultural Pragmatic Failure”, she defined it “the inability to understand what is meant by what is said” (Jenny Thomas, 198

30、3:1).Many domestic scholars are committed to investigate students' cross-cultural communication competence in our country and the culture differences between English and Chinese, or study on attribution of cross-cultural communication failures. With the rapid development of cross-cultural commun

31、ication in our country, new academic theories and views in the world can be punished on academic journals in our country so as to facilitate its presentation and spread. In addition to papers, there are also many monographs such as Guan Shijies Cross-cultural Communication (Peking university press),

32、 Introduction to Intercultural Communication of Hu Wenzhong and Cross-cultural Communication of Jia Yuxin. Jia in his book Introduction to Iintercultural Communication Study said that on current study of intercultural communication failures, the general discussion is far more than research based on

33、large amounts of data. As international communication becomes more and closer, cross-cultural communication as a discipline in China is in rapid progress, many cross-cultural communication failures have been noticed. An article, Communication Error Types and the Reasons in the journal of PLA institu

34、te of foreign languages expounds that the factors leading to communication failures are various, and distinguishes between nonverbal and verbal factors. (Ding Xin, 1998:34) Zhang Ming at its master's graduation thesis On Verbal Communication Errors, respectively, from nonverbal factors, linguist

35、ic factors and pragmatic factors and cultural factors four aspects discusses the communication failures. (2006:56)Chapter 3 Performance of Chinese Learners of English in Cross-culture Communication Failures 3.1 Cross-culture verbal communication failuresVerbal communication is a process of informati

36、on control system, information transfer, and message send as well as acceptance when people in communication. However, verbal communication failure refers to misunderstandings of people in the process of communication. As the communication is achieved by both sides of communicators, but in the proce

37、ss of information transfer, some extent changes and misinterpretations often happen on account of various restricted conditions. Thus speaker's communicative intention is not fully implemented. We usually call this phenomenon as verbal communication failure.3.1.1 Performance of failures in pronu

38、nciationChinese and English belong to two different language families. The disparity brings a great difficulty to Chinese learners of English. In the process of learning English, they are often affected by Chinese habit, particularly in terms of voice. Due to lack of knowledge of English phonetics,

39、many English learners in China tend to replace Chinese phonemes which are similar to English phonemes while speaking. In mandarin, there is no difference about length of the sound. It is easy for Chinese learners of English to choose the pronunciation close to Chinese according to their speaking hab

40、its. Impacted by dialects around China's vast land, there are eight major dialect areas among which the gap is huge. The most distinctive feature embodies in the pronunciation.There is no pronunciation of ai and , thus learners tend to use ei and z instead. In some areas of Hunan, Sichuan and Yu

41、nan, h and f are confused. People in there say chihuan when they means having dinner and guahong for wind, fukou for household register. When they are reading English, they would mix fight as fait and height as hait. Due to the interference of native dialect, many learners naturally choose alternati

42、ve ways of pronunciation in learning English.李瑩瑩，2012，來華美國留學(xué)生跨文化交際的失誤及原因分析D。黑龍江大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文。3.1.2 Performance of failures in vocabularyBesides differences in linguistic form and language characteristics, the Chinese and English are in totally disparate culture. Naturally, many words culture implication

43、also is. For instance, word owl means unlucky in Chinese culture while it is regarded wisdom for Americans. Since there exist great disparity in culture significance, lots of communicators easily employ inappropriate words in daily intercultural communication by accident and thereby result in failur

44、es. Words with similar denotations may have connotations that vary widely.3.1.3 Performance of failures in grammarGrammar is the structure of language. If there is no grammatical structure and oral and written expression will appear disorderly, and even can't form complete language. Jeremy Harme

45、r once said: "the function is achieved by applying language which is on the basis of grammar. Students who don't understand grammar can only speak some pieces of English." 李瑩瑩，2012，來華美國留學(xué)生跨文化交際的失誤及原因分析D。黑龍江大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文。. Compared with Chinese grammar, the most distinctive characteristic in

46、 English is many changes of morphology. Chinese learners always pay little attention to changing the language morphology in English studies because of their first language speaking habits. That also results in intercultural communication failures.Maybe someone hold the view that in daily intercultur

47、al communication some keywords are enough to express themselves. But on official occasions and writing English, correct and appropriate use of grammar is a necessity. Among all English grammar, one of special cases is English tense. Taking an example, if one says “I have gone to Shanghai.” the meani

48、ng is that the speaker is now in Shanghai. However, once the sentence is changed into “I went to Shanghai” the speaker just narrates this thing of going to Shanghai.3.1.4 Performance of failures in pragmaticsThe publication of Edward Halls Silent Language in 1959 is the symbol of intercultural commu

49、nication as a subject. In the 1980 s, linguists (J.Thomas) took the initiatives to put forward the concept of Pragmatic Failures that is also our main communication disorders encountered in the cross-cultural communication. Thomas considers that in verbal communication, mistakes in pronunciation, vo

50、cabulary and structure belong to external failures. However, if one deals with words violating due pragmatic principles in English, he/she will be thought to be dishonest. And its more likely to cause emotional unpleasant between communicators in different culture (Hu Wenzhong, 1994).In China, we ge

51、nerally greet guests who come from afar by saying “yi lu xin ke le”. If the guest hold English as mother tongue, then the greeting should be “Did you enjoy your trip?” or “How was your trip?” instead of “I am afraid you must have had a tiring trip.”左峰，2005， 跨文化交際中的語用失誤現(xiàn)象研究J。鄭州輕工業(yè)學(xué)院學(xué)報（5）:55-57。Wester

52、ns take their age, marriage, income as well as religious as their privacy. Many learners of English tend to talk with them in accordance with Chinese culture habits and chat in a questioned tone: “Whats your name?”, “How old are you?” and “Are you married?” These questions reflect care and friendlin

53、ess. Whereas, for westerns, they would feel confused or getting hurt because of privacy infringement.Culture tattoos which directly decide the language is a very unique cultural phenomenon. They also differ in different races and culture. In intercultural communication, if enough attention is not pa

54、id to disparity among various culture tattoos, some contradiction and misunderstandings would arise. When Nixon, president of the United States, had a state visit in Shanghai in 1972 with his officials, our authorities arranged some of the officials resting on the 13th floor of hotel. That made them

55、 unpleasant. It turned out that the number 13 bear the meaning of “unlucky” in American culture.Learners in China regard the similar English structures as the totally same expressions. They seldom think about the pragmatic functions of these expressions. Here is an example. When a Chinese student as

56、ks his foreign teacher to tutor his essay, such an expression is employed, “Perhaps you read through my paper”. Obviously, the student uses the sentence pattern “Perhaps you could ” as an inquiry. However, this is an order not inquiry in English world. Under this circumstance, “Could you possibly” c

57、an be employed as an expression. These two expressions have similarities. They contain the word, “could”, and “possibly” and “perhaps” can both refer to the things that may happen. Actually, the pragmatic functions of these two expressions are different.3.2 Cross-culture non-verbal communication fai

58、luresIn our communication process, just verbal communication cannot achieve communication effect on many occasions, so generally nonverbal communication is needed to achieve perfect effect. Nonverbal communication varies as different situations. Massachusetts watts once said: "The majority of communication research expert regards that, in face-to-face communication, speech act accounts for only about 35% of the information of social content, and the rest are all passed through the no