淺析跨文化交際障礙學位論文

AbstractCross-culturalCommunication(InternationalCommunicationorcrossculturalcommunications)referstothecommunicationofpeoplefromdifferentculturalbackgrounds.Incross-culturalcommunication,incorrectpronunciation,grammarorvocabularymistakesarelikelytoleadtomutualmisunderstandingandcommunicationbarriers.However,whenthepronunciationandthegrammararecorrect,theobstacleswillbecontinuetooccurduetothefactthatonesidecannotexpresstheirideasaccurately,orlackofresponsetotheothersideofthetopic,orsomewordsseemtoodomineering,etc.Atpresent,cross-culturalcommunicationhasbeenregardedasancomprehensivedisciplinecombiningofanthropology,linguistics,psychology,communicationstudies,sociologyandotherdisciplinesbyinternationalscholars.Today’sworldisaneraofglobalization,peoplefromdifferentculturalbackgroundshavingmoreandmorecommunication,interculturalcommunicationisbecomingmoreandmoreimportant.Inthispaper,twotypesoftheunderstandingobstaclesininterculturalcommunication,failuresincross-culturalcommunicationprocessbecauseofthelanguagedifference,orbecauseoftheculturaldifferencebarriers,generalreactionstotheproblemandsomeeffectivesolutionswerediscussed.KeyWords:interculturalcommunication;understandingobstacles;culturaldifferences

中文摘要跨文化交際（國際交流或跨文化交際）是指不同的文化背景的人們之間的溝通?？缥幕瘻贤?，即跨文化交際，不正確發(fā)音，語法和詞匯的錯誤可能導致相互誤解和溝通障礙。但是，當語音和語法是正確的，障礙會繼續(xù)產(chǎn)生由于一方不能準確表達自己的思想；要么對對方的話題缺乏反應；要么說話口氣過于肯定或是顯得盛氣凌人等。目前，跨文化交際學已發(fā)展成為一門被國際學者們充分重視的集人類學、語言學、心理學、傳播學、社會學等為一體的綜合性學科。今天的世界是一個全球化的時代，有越來越多的來自不同文化背景的人溝通，跨文化的溝通變得越來越重要。本文就跨文化交際過程中，對交際雙方由于文化間的差異而造成交際障礙，導致交際失敗的原因及一些有效的解決辦法進行了探討。關鍵詞：跨文化交際；理解的障礙；文化差異1. IntroductionTheso-calledcross-culturalcommunication,thatis,differentculturalbackgroundscometogethertoshareideas,feelingsandinformation.ThestudyofinterculturalcommunicationfirstriseintheUnitedStates.TheUnitedStatesisacountryofimmigrants,acountrywhereculturalcollisionsoccurred.Immigrantsfromallaroundtheworldhaveemphasizedandmaintaintheirownculture,thusformingUnitedStates’multi-culturalpatterns.Sincethenoncross-culturalcommunicationcausedconcernofscholarsandallwalksoflivesintheU.S.Japan,whodonotwanttobeleftbehind,tooktheleadinconveningthefirstsessionoftheInterculturalCommunicationInternationalSymposiumin1972inTokyo,whichwasattendedbyover2000people.Then，in1974,theInterculturalEducationTrainingandResearchInstitute(SIETAR,SocietyforInterculturalEducation,TrainingandResearch)intheUnitedStateswasofficiallylaunched.Ourresearchincross-culturalcommunicationstartedrelativelylate.FamouslinguisticprofessorHuWenzhongfromBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity,begantoengageincross-culturalcommunicationstudiesintheearly80s.Hehascompiledthepublicationof"InterculturalCommunicationStudies,""Cross-culturalandLinguisticCommunication,"andmanyotherbooks.Atpresent,cross-culturalcommunicationhasbeenregardedasancomprehensivedisciplinecombiningofanthropology,linguistics,psychology,communicationstudies,sociologyandotherdisciplinesbyinternationalscholars.(GuoTaotao,2004:118)

Incross-culturalcommunication,theincorrectpronunciation,syntaxerrorsorinsufficientvocabularyarelikelytoleadtomisunderstandingorcommunicationbarriers.However,whenthepronunciationiscorrect,theexchangeamongnon-nativespeakersandnativespeakerswillcontinuetocreateanobstacle:eitherbecauseoftheirinabilityonexpressingtheirownideasaccurately;orbecauseofanycommunicatingpartywhoislackofresponsetothetopic;orbecauseofthetoneofvoicewhichistoostrongortooarrogant,etc,.Theseactsareoftenberegardedasuneducatedperformancebynativespeakersorberegardedasanaffrontingandinsultingperformance,whichleadtomisunderstandingandevenhatred,eventuallyleadtocommunicationfailure.Thisobstacleincross-culturalcommunicationprocess,linguistscallitcross-culturalPragmaticFailure.(LiuJinfang:2005:88)ThisconceptwasintroducedbyaculturalanthropologistObergintheUnitedStatesasearlyasthe20thcentury,andbecomepopularafter50years.Throughallaccesstodifferentculturalenvironments,peoplewillexperiencecultureshockthatcausedbyobstacles,butthedegreevaries.InLayman'sterms,apersonfromoneplacemigratetoanother,theoriginalfamiliarsetofsymbols,customs,behaviorpatterns,socialrelationsandvaluesisreplacedbyanothernewsetofunfamiliarsymbols,customs,behaviorpatterns,socialrelations,valuesreplaced,thusleadtothepsychologicalanxiety,emotionalinstability,andevendepressed.Inseverecases,avarietyofpsychologicalandphysicaldiseases,andevenmentaldisordersandsuicideswillbeproduced.Thisiscalledthecultureshock.(GuoTaotao,2004:188)

Languageisnotonlytheproductofculturalenvironment,butalsothecarrierofculture.Asarecordofhumanhistoryandhumanthought,eachlanguagehasitsownuniqueculturalcharacteristics.ChineseandEnglish,producedindifferentculturalenvironments,thebearerofthesetwocultures

2. TwoTypesofUnderstandingObstaclesinInterculturalCommunication2.1Non-understandingNon-understandingmeansthelistenercouldunderstandthewordslimitedlyorcompletelydidnotunderstand,orduetoasuddenencounterofthetopicswitch.Thiscouldcausedisasterinsomeoccasion,takePolandPresidentAirplaneCrashaccidentasanexample,someexpertsaidthisdisasterwasbecauseofPolandpilot’snon-understandingofRussianwhentheRussianairplaneplatformdirectorsendingthewarningsignal.

2.2MisunderstandingWhenthespeakershavepartialorcomplete,temporaryorlong-termunderstandingillusions,misunderstandingsareproduced.Misunderstandingmeansnativelanguageusersandthenon-nativelistenersgiveadifferentmeaningtothesamelanguageunit.Inthiscase,thelistenerthoughtthatwhatheheardwaswhathethought,butasamatteroffactitisnotwhatthespeakerwantedtoexpress.2.3ConclusionTheproblemofnon-understandingsormisunderstandingsininterculturalcommunicationmayhavedifferentresults.Whentheprobleminthecommunicationarefoundbyoneorbothparties,oneorbothpartiesmayaddresstheissueandresolveditfurhter,theexchangemaycontinuetobecarriedout.Insomecases,whentheunderstandingproblemcannotbesolved,suchasaforeignlanguagespeakerdidnotunderstandthewordsoftheirmothertonguespeaker,communicationwasinterrupted.Thereisalsoapossiblescenariointheexchangeofdialogue,bothsidesdonotrealizethattheexistenceofmisunderstanding,theexchangeofideasisnotinterruptedbutcontinuesevenfurther.Forexample,intheFrench-speakingChileanslaundryBertaaskedcurtaincleaningproblems,andaFrenchmothertongueistheowneransweredherbedspreadprices.Theydonotrealizetheexistenceofmisunderstanding,thuscommunicationcontinued.Whetheritisnon-understandingormisunderstanding,thedistinctionbetweentwosituationsisnoteasytodiscover,andthereisnoabsoluteboundariesbetweenthetwo.Misunderstanding,inparticular,isoftenthesituationthatthespeakerwhospeakaforeignlanguagedidnotunderstandthecontentbutjustmaketheirownhypothetical,subjectiveassumptions.

3. TheCauseoftheProblem3.1FromlanguageaspectTheunderstandingobstacleininterculturalcommunicationcanbeattributedtolanguage,conversationprinciplesandculturaldifferences.

Firstofall,theunderstandingobstaclemayappearinthelanguagelevel,suchasthevocabularylevel.Iftherearenobasicvocabularyforthecommunication,theconversationwillabsolutelybeblocked,ofcoursethen,understandingproblemoccurs.Thecommunicationcanbecontinuedwhentheunderstandingobstaclewascausedbysomeindividualwords.Forexample,TurksMahmutAppliedajobinabakeryinNetherlands,thedialoguehasbeenverysuccessful,butwhentheownertoldhimthat"youmustfirstundergoamedicalexamination"(moetnoggekeurdworden),butMahmutdonotknowthemeaningof"gekeurd"(check),thecommunicationwastemporarilyinterrupted.Whentheownerhimselfasannativespeakergiventhephrase"Checkthatyouwanttoseeadoctortoseeaphysician,"asanexplanation,theinterpretationwasfixed,andthecommunicationwenton.3.2FromculturalaspectFirst,Mis-listentoanintegralpartofthevocabularyleadtomisunderstandings.Mis-listencanberegardedasasituationofmisunderstanding.Suchissueshavethecommoncharacteristic:Theknowledgeofthelistenertothetopicisbiased.Forexample,AngelinawhoisanItalianintheinterview,shemis-listenedtheGermanzuerst(firstthing)aszuessen(eat).Thisisherownhypotheticalguess.Whenthehearerthinkitisthecontinuationofthecontentofthecommunication,say,thehearerspeakmorefluentthanthespeakerhimselfwouldleadtothemis-listen,andthenthehearerwillcontinuetoansweraccordingtowhathethinkisright(asamatteroffact,itisonlyhisownhypotheticalassumption).Ingeneral,mis-listenhasmanyincentives,forexample,whenthecontentofthemother-tonguespeakerwasassociatedwiththepreviouscontentthatthelistenerdidnottakepartin(duetothetimeorspace,etc.),thuscouldgeneratemis-listentothelistener.Theseelementswillbringthesenseofmis-listentothetheforeignlanguagespeaker,astheywerenotabletofullyunderstandthecontent,sotheirunderstandingwerebasedontheassumptionthatconnectedtowhattheyheard.Besides,whennative-speakerspeaktoofastorthetoneorvoicewastoovaguewillgeneratemis-listentotheforeignlanguagespeaker.Otheraspectsofthelanguagewillalsobringdifficultiestoforeignlanguagespeakerincross-culturalcommunicationinunderstanding.Suchas,embeddedsentenceswithmorecomplexgrammaticalstructures,theuseofpronouns,suchasomittedwords,spokenintheabbreviatedstyle,aweakreadingofthevowelsetc.Second,theverbalcommunicationhiddenbehindtheratherambiguousconversationprinciplescanbringunderstandingproblemofinterculturalcommunication.Pragmaticscientistsfoundthatpeopleinthechatsessionfollowcertainprinciples,suchastheprincipleofcooperation(cooperativeprinciple)andtheprincipleofpoliteness(politenessprinciple).Inparticular,theunderstandingobstaclecausedincross-culturalencounterduetotheprincipleoffaceandpolitenessisuniversal.Politenessprincipleintheconversationisactuallytheconcernsshowedtothefaceissuebybothsides.Faceisourself-imagebeforethepublic,thiskindofself-imagepositivefaceandnegativeface.Positivefacemeansweneedtobeacceptedandbelovedbyothers,peoplearesocialanimalsandneedtogetassentsfromothers,facecanbestreflectthis.Negativefacemeanswhenweareusingtherightsindependently,ourbehaviorswillnotbethreatenedbyotherpeople,etc.Politenessistheconsciousnessinprotecttheirfaceorpublicimage,therearepositivepolitenessandnegativepolitenesstoo.Positivepolitenessmeanstheneedofbeingaccepted,respectedandlikened.Negativepolitenessmeansthemaintenanceoftheself-imageasafreemanandwillnotbeaffectedbyother’swillwhichagainsttheirownwill.Politenessprincipleiswhenwearehavingconversationwewillshowconcernsonthefaceissuetothecounterpart,fromtheangleofpolitenessdonotthreatentotheirface,donotmakethemloseface.Atthesametime,theyalsoneedtoshowconcernstoourfaceanddonotmakeusloseface.

Third,faceissuesarefullyreflectedinunderstandingproblemofinterculturalcommunication,sometimesthetwosidesinordertopreserveeachother'sface,inordertopresenttheirpoliteness,theywillchoosetoterminatetheconversation.Forexample,theChileansBertainaFrancewoodshop,shewantedtobeprocessedtheshelfintothesizeshewant,butshedidnotunderstandwhatthelumberstoreowneraskedheraboutthesizeprofessionalissues.Duetounwillingnesstoadmithernon-understandingbeforethepublic,shetriedtosaveface,althoughshedidnotunderstandshestillgaveirrelevantanswersabouttheideasoftheseshelvesinstalledonthewall.Heranswerwasinconsistentwiththeowner’srequesting,Berta'spauseandhesitationexposedherunderstandingproblemfully.Astheownersawherembarrassinghesitationandsilence,inordertotakeaccountofherface,hedidnotaskheranymore.Bertaisveryembarrassedforfearofthesituationoflosingfaceagainbecauseofhernon-understanding,shedidnotwanttorepeatherownquestions,anddidnotwanttoaskanyquestions.Thusmadetheirconversationendwithnothing.

Fourth,fromtheangleofforeignlanguagespeaker,theculturalbackgroundfortheimpactontheinterculturalcommunicationshouldbetookintoconsiderationtoo.Forexample,MoroccanFatimawiththeofficialswhowasresponsibleforhousingissuestalkinginDutch,foralongtimeFatimakeptsilenttoshowhisunwillingnesstocooperate,forhethoughtitisakindofinsultwhentalkingwithunknownofficialabouthisownprivatelife,suchashowmanychildrensleepinaroom.BecauseofFatima'ssilence,theofficerdidnotknowwheretheproblemoccurs,exchangehasbeenhampered.Understandingproblemthatcausedbyculturaldifferencesismostdifficulttobesolved.IftheofficialsFatimakeptsilencebecauseofhisinsufficientforeignlanguageability,themisunderstandingwillnotbesoserious.However,iftheofficialsthoughtFatimahassufficientforeignlanguageabilitytoanswertheirquestionsbuthechoosetokeepsilent,themisunderstandingcouldberelativelyserious.

4. GeneralReactionstotheProblemConcerningtheunderstandingproblemininterculturalcommunication,bothsidesbearsomeresponsibility.Infact,onunderstandingproblems,neithersidewilltakeindifferentattitude.Theywilltakecertainreactionstotheproblem.Ingeneral,inforeignlanguageconversation,therearefourkindsofreactionswhenculturalobstacleoccurs.4.1SeekforthehelpofmothertonguespeakerIfhisforeignlanguageabilityissufficienttomakehimawareofhisownunderstandingproblemandnotafraidoflosingface,hewillchoosethepositive,efficientstrategywhichcanexpresshisunderstandingproblem,suchasasking"Whatdoesitmeantby…"Thisiscalledseekinghelpfrommothertonguespeakerstrategy.4.2Concealhismisunderstandingornon-understandingIfhisforeignlanguageabilityislimitedandisaccountableforhisface,astheexampleabove,whichhappenedinthewoodshop.Althoughcannotunderstandtheproblemandawareoftheproblem,hechoosestogiveirrelevantanswerstocovertheproblem.Thisiscalledconcealmisunderstandingornon-understandingstrategy.4.3AvoidcommunicationWhenbothsidesareconservativeandbeingafraidofmakingmoremisunderstandingsornon-understandings,theychoosetoavoidcommunication.Thisstrategyisveryusefulinmanyimportantoccasions.4.4Look-onorwait-and-seeNomatterhowhisforeignlanguageabilityis,headoptedawaitandseestrategy.Ignoretheunderstandingproblemfirst,justkeepwaitingandexpectingtheproblemcanbesolvedlater.Inaddition,aforeignlanguagespeakerissometimeschoosenottoshowthattheproblemormakevague,ambiguousresponse,becausehewantthemother-tonguespeakertodecidewhethertoconductconsultationsornot,whentheywanttosaveface,orfearingthattheirownlanguagetocommunicateagainwillbenotinthepropertime,thereforetheywilluselook-onorwait-and–seestrategy.5.Suggestions5.1BasictechniquesforavoidingunderstandingobstaclesininterculturalcommunicationinforeignfirmsinparticularGettoknoweachother’sculture,historicalbackground,getfamiliarwitheachother’scustomandbetolerant.NomatterChinesestafforforeignstaff,nomattersupervisororemployee,theyhavetogettoknoweachother’sculturalinitiativelyforthesakeofabettercommunication.Inaword,knowingeachotheristhefoundationofagoodcommunication.Atthesametime,themethodorwayintheprocessofcommunicationisveryimportanttolessenthefriction.Forexample,whenthebossisinrage,oneshouldnotarguewithhimfacetofacebutcansende-mailtoexplainetc..Europeanenterpriseisveryhumanized.Theboundaryofprivatetimeandworkingtimeisveryclear.Nomatterwhathappeninthecompany,ifitisnotworkingtime,noonehastherighttointerfereemployee’spersonallife.IfyourbossisanEuropean,youshouldnotvisithimafterworkorontheweekendfortheissueofwork.IfyouremployeeisEuropeantoo,youshouldnotgivehimanyassignmentduringthenon–workingtime,oryouwillgetalotoftroublesforyourself.AmericanenterpriseisalittledifferentfromEuro’s.Americanwillnevertalkaboutpersonalissuestohiscolleaguesintheworkingtime.IfyouareworkingwithanAmerican,socontrolyourcuriosity,neveraskhisprivateissue,andyoualsodonotneedtocareabouthisfamily,oryourcaringwillincurthehostility.Germanworkingstyleisquitestrict,youshouldneverhavefunormakingjoysinthecompany.Theorderfromthebossmustbeobeyedwithoutanyexcuses.InJapaneseenterprise,theoppressedatmosphereisratherseverethanGermanenterprise,youhadbetternottospeakorlaughaloud.Eventhesoundfromthedialoguemustbeundercontroltoanextentthatwillnotinfluencethethirdparty.5.2GuidelinestogoodinternationalcommunicationandmethodstoresolvethesebarriersforbusinessmaninparticularItisdifficultforpeoplewithdifferentculturalbackgroundstocommunicatebecauselanguagebarriersexistamongthem.Thehugechallengesarefacedbypeopleofdifferentgender,ageandracewhencommunicating.Nowadays,anyonewhoentersintothecommercialcircleoughttoknowwellaboutthepotentialcommunicationbarriersaswellasthemethodstoovercomethesebarriers.Aneffectiveguidelineforabusinessmanwhencommunicatingwithanotheronewithdifferentcultureistogettoknowhisculture.Manyhelpfulinformationisavailabletoyou.Theemployeesinthecompanieswhichhasfrequenttradeaffairswithmanyforeigncountriesareoftensenttothetrainingclass.Becausethekeytoblendintootherculturesistolearntheirlanguage.Anotherguidelinerequiresyoutoshowenoughpatiencewithyourselfandothers.Itunavoidablytakesmoretimeandbringsmorecommunicationbarrierswhenconversingwithforeigners.Bybeingpatientwithmistakes,makingsurethatallquestionsareanswered,andnothurrying,youaremorelikelytomaketheoutcomeoftheconversionpositive.Youmustalsolearntobepatientandtolerantofambiguity.Beingabletoreacttonew,different,andunpredictablesituationswithlittlevisiblediscomfortorirritationwillproveinvaluable.Thethirdbasicguidelineforcommunicatingistogethelpwhenyouneedit.Ifyouarenotsurewhatisbeingsaid—orwhysomethingisbeingsaidinacertainway—askforclarification.Ifyoufeeluneasyaboutconversingwithsomeonefromanotherculture,bringalongsomeoneyoutrustwhounderstandthatculture.Youwillhavearesourceifyouneedhelp.ApopularwayincurrentEuropeandAmericanistheinterpretationoverthephone,whichcanbeusedasaneffectivewaytoovercomelanguagebarriers.Theinterpretersofsuchdonothavetobeonspot.Aslongasthetelecommunicationdevicesareprovided,theinterpretersarecapabletohelpovercomethelanguagebarriers,whichleadtosmoothcrossculturalcommunication.6. Conclusion6.1ThesubstanceofthisproblemIntheinterculturalcommunication,althoughitisalanguagecommunicationforbothsides,itpassesthroughnotonlythelanguageinformation,butalsotheculturalinformation.Expertsthought:theoretically,everyaspectthatformsthelanguagecangenerateunderstandingobstacle.Whethertheutteranceitselfandthemeaningthespeakerwantstoexpressandthecontentthelistenerexpectsareconsistentornotmakeakindof“force”,thiskindofforcedecidingone’sunderstanding.Theunderstandingofalanguagedependsonmanyfactors.Itisinevitablethattheunderstandingobstacleoccursduetothedifferenceinculturalbackground.However,understandingobstacleduetomanysimplefactorsarenotdifficulttobeseen.Undermostcircumstances,misunderstandingandnon-understandingareduetomanyreasonsfromdifferentaspects,suchaslanguagedifferenceandculturaldifferencebetweenbothsides,orrelationshipbetweenthenon-nativespeakerandthenativespeaker.

Theunderstandingininterculturalcommunicationisthedynamicchoicethatmadebythemothertonguespeakerandthenon-nativespeakerwhichincludinglanguageandculturalaspects.Tothepointofchoice,theyhavenotsomanyalternatives,theonlyalternativeistheycandecidegooncommunicatewithusingthelanguageorkeepsilent,interrupt,orstopcommunicating.Bothsidesneedtomakechoiceongeneratingofunderstandingthelanguage,thischoiceincludesmanyaspects,suchas,choosingthestyleofthelanguage,thevocabulary,thephraseorgrammar.Assoonastheunderstandingproblemoccurs,bothsidesneedtomakedynamicchoices,suchasraisethequestiondirectly,look-on,oravoidtheproblem.

Theunderstandingininterculturalcommunicationisratheranculturalchoice.Ifonedonotknowthecultureandtabu,theembarrassmentorthedissatisfactionbecomeinevitable.Onthecontrary,ifbothsidesknoweachother’sculture,theircommunicationcanavoidbeingtrappedinthetabu,oreventherearesomeembarrassments,theotherpartywillnottakeitasandeliberateinsult,butregarditasthedifferentexplanationtotheobject.

Thesucces