cultural identity

Cultural identity

Abstract:

When

people

from

different

cultures

come

together

to

share

ideas

，

，

and

information

，

then

intercultural

communication

occurs.

Intercultural

communication

is

the

circumstance in which people from different diverse cultural backgrounds interact with another.

What

is

significant

and

critical

to

this

kind

of

interaction

is

the

extreme

cultural

diversity

of

backgrounds, experiences, and assumptions which constitute the unique identity of communicators.

So, it is important for us to appreciate what constitutes memberships in the cultures and how that

membership influence the manner in which we approach, perceive and interact with other cultures.

Key words

：

cultural identity

communication

摘要：

跨文化交流源于来自不同文化的人们在一起交流分享信息，

在该 情境下，

不同文化背

景的人产生互动。不同的文化背景，

文化经历，文化假设，对于这种跨文化的交流互动是非

常关键的，

同时它也构成了交流者的特殊特征。

因此，

跨文化交流对于我们理解构成交流关

系的成分以及这种交流关系怎么影响交流者之间的互 动和洞察具有重要意义。

关键字：

文化特征

交流

1 what is cultural identity?

To talk about our identity, we try to answer the question: who am I

? One’s

identity consists

roughly of those attributes that make one unique as an individual and different from others. Or it is

the way one sees or defines oneself.

Cultural

identity

is

bureaucratically

or

self-ascribed

membership

in

a

specific

culture

[1]

.

Cultural identity is the feeling of identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as he or

she is influenced by his or her belonging to a group or culture. Cultural identity may refer to the

membership

of

a

racial,

ethnic,

regional,

economic,

or

any

other

social

community

exhibiting

characteristic

patterns

of

behavior

sufficient

to

distinguish

it

from

others.

Cultural

identity

can

stem from the following differences: race, ethnicity, gender, class, religion, country of origin, and

geographic region

[2]

. we are all of course members of many overlapping communities: speakers of

our native language, citizens of the same city or neighborhood, members of the same sports teams ,

churches or political groups, fellows of university students or co- workers of a particular profession

or occupation, or friends of the same sex or the opposite sex, etc.

Cultural

identity

is

important

in

intercultural

communication,

because

there

are

cultural

differences in the structures of expectation to identity. Each community implies certain types of

culture which might be shared with other members and which communicators must seek to infer

as they interact. When people from different cultures come in contact, if one perceives himself in

one way, and the people with whom he interacts perceive him in another way, serious problems

can arise. In this case, a single term used to define a particular culture is often exclusive; therefore,

2 Cultural identity and communication

Everyone

has

multiple

identities.

And

those

identities

connect

the

individual

to

cultural

groups

and

the

main

institutions

of

the

culture.

A

person's

cultural

identity

exerts

a

profound

influence on his or her communicative style, because communication constitutes identity and also

reflects identity. So, the relationship between identity and communication is reciprocal.

2.1 Communication constitutes identity

People who identify themselves as members of a social group acquire common ways of viewing

the

world

through

their

interactions

with

other

members

of

the

same

group

[3]

.

Communicative

practices are themselves a crucial means through which cultural identity is constituted, exercised,

resisted, and contested. Once discovering their identities, people learn what they need to know to

become

members,

with

a

particular

ideological

position,

and

with

quite

specific

forms

of

interpersonal relationships among members of those groups and will use the linguistic resources

and

social

strategies

to

affiliate

and

identify

with

many

different

cultures

and

ways

of

using

language in communication.

2.2 Communication reflects identity

All communication is communication that divides us into different memberships of different

groups.

has

multiple

identities

which

may

compete

with

or

reinforce

each

other:

kinship,

occupational,

cultural,

institutional,

territorial,

educational,

partisan,

ideological,

and

others

[4]

. And those identities connect the individual to cultural groups and the main institutions

of the culture. A persons made of a multiplicity of social roles or

occupy

selectively,

depending

on

the

interactional

context

in

which

they

find

themselves

at

the

time.

In communication, persons with many identities

may select different communicative styles

according to the different context. So,

many factors--- socioeconomics

status, sex, age, length of residence in a locale education---each of which will have an impact on

cultural practices as well. Finally, individuals may differ by the degree to which they choose to

adhere

to

a

set

of

cultural

patterns,

some

individuals

identify

strongly

with

a

particular

group:

others combine practices from several groups.

given

society,

all

those

who

share

a

common

culture

can

be

expected

to

behave

correctly,

automatically and predictably because common attitudes, beliefs, and values are reflected in the

way how members of the culture behave. And people learn to expect certain behaviors of others as

well. So

“a

person's cultural identity exerts a profound influence on his or her life ways

3 Construction of cultural identity

A

person's

identities

can

be

used

to

identify

similarities

and

differences

in

behaviors,

interpretations,

and

norms.

So,

we

identify

ourselves

in

relation

to

others.

An

identity

is

established

in

relation

to

a

series

of

differences

that

have

become

socially

recognized.

These

differences are essential to its being. Identity requires differences in order to be, and it converts

differences

into

otherness

in

order

to

secure

its

own

self- certainty

[5]

.

If

they

did

not

coexist

as

differences, it would not exist in its distinctness and solidity.

Any

culture

defines

itself

in

relation,

or

rather

in

opposition

to

other

cultures.

Common

characteristics

and

ideas

may

be

clear

markers

of

a

shared

cultural

identity,

but

essentially

it

is

also

determined

by

differences.

The

shared

conventions

on

which

identity

is

based

are

often

implicit.

In

order

to

make

the

internal

functioning

of

a

culture

possible,

certain

basic

rules

and

meanings underlying its production are generally taken for granted by the participants. We feel we