跨文化交际 文化与跨文化交际

Culture and intercultural communication

Introduction

Culture

plays

an

important

role

in

intercultural

communication.

“

As

the

basic

building

blocks

of

communicating,

words

communicate

meaning,

but

we

can

see

that

the

meaning

of

words

are

much

influenced by culture. Meanings is in the person, not in the word, and

each

individual themselves is the product of a particular culture that

pass

on

shared

and

appropriate

m eanings.

”

[1]

Cultu re

and

communication

are

closely

linked

and

we

can’t

have

one

without

another. If we want to learn to communicate well in a foreign language,

we must first understand the culture that gives that language we learn

meaning.

And

we

also

should

have

a

good

knowledge

of

the

steps

involved in culture understanding when we realize the importance of

culture in intercultural communication.

The

importance

of

culture

in

intercultural

communication

In order to discuss culture and intercultural communication, we must

first

define

the

concept

of

culture.

We

will

define

culture

from

sociological angle. According to Anthony Giddens, the famous British

sociologist, “culture consist of the values the members of a given group

hold, the language they speak, the symbols they revere, the norms they

follow, and the material they goods they create, rom tools to clothing.

Some elements of culture, especially he beliefs and expectations people

have about each other and the world they inhabit, are a component of

all social relations.

”

[2]

When we use the

term culture in ordinary daily

conversation,

we

often

think

of

the

higher

things

of

the

mind:art,

literature,music,dance.

In

fact,the

concept

of

culture

includes

these

activities but also far more.

“

Culture refers to the ways of the individual

members

or

groups

within

a

society:how

they

dress,

their

marriage

customs

and

family

life,

their

religious

ceremonies

and

their

leisure

pursuits. The concepts also covers the goods they create and the goods

that become meaningful to them-factories and machines, computers,

books.

”

So we can see that “

culture is like an iceberg. The tip of

the

iceberg is easy to see. It include the visible aspects such as the accepted

practices

and

taboos

of

working

in

another

the

remaining

huge chunk of the iceberg hidden blow the surface includes the visible

aspects

of

culture

such

as

the

values,

traditions,

experiences

and

behaviors

that

define

each

culture.

”

[3]

Before

we

have

intercultural

communication,

we

should

understand

that

a

society

is

a

system

of

interrelationships

that

connects

individual

together.

And

no

society

could exist without culture. And each individual in a society l is a social

man,

and

all

his

values,

beliefs,

behavior,

and

ways

of

thinking

are

much

influenced

and

shaped

by

his

culture.

“We

often

use

our

own

culture as the standard to judge other cultures when we communicate

with people from other cultures. This ethnocentrism ways of thinking

and acting often get in the way of our understanding other languages

and

cultures.”

[4]

For

example,

when

I

talked

with

my

French

friend

about the political system in China, he showed his misunderstanding.

He

insisted

that

China

is

not

a

democratic

country

but

a

autocratic

communist

country.

He

said

that

there

was

only

one

party

in

the

country, while there were six main parties in his nation, and he even

asked me if there would be a revolution in China. Then I tried to explain

why we Chinese people choose this special political system and I tried to

explain that there were other small parties in China,and China was not

a communist dictatorship. But I found it hard to make him understand

me. Then I realized that his view of China was formed since he was a

boy.

Just

like

so

many

westerners,

he

learned

that

China

was

a

a

communist

dictatorship

from

his

parents

when

he

was

young,

from

their medias, from the government, from almost all the people around

him. It was impossible to change the view which had rooted in his mind

for over 18 years in few days. This was the first time he came to China,

and he had been to no more than 3 cities in China, and I was sure he

also had almost no chance to communicate with Chinese people from

all classes as many as he could. He have a one-sided understanding of

China. He thought what he had known in his country about China was

true and he took what he thought for granted. Unconsciously he knew

so little about Chinese history and Chinese culture, and unconsciously

he regarded “

culture difference

”

as

“

culture wrong.

”

As a Chinese I have

never thought that China is a autarchy, and also I have never thought

the

political

system

of

western

countries

are

much

better

than

ours.

Then I asked him that why sexual deal was not only legal but widely

accepted by people in his country. He tried to tell me that it was their

tradition

and

it

was

part

of

their

culture.

But

I

could

’

t

understand

him,either. When we two from different countries were talking, we were

blocked not by our different language, but by our different culture. We

could

talk

in

English,

but

we

could

’

t

communicate

in

English.

The

blocks of intercultural communication don

’

t come from the words and

language,but come from the difference of culture. When we are having

intercultural

communication

we

should

remember

that

“even

within

one society or community, values may conflict, and values and norms

vary much enormously across different cultures.”

Each culture has a