Intercultural communication obstacles and their countermeasures

1、intercultural communication obstacles and their countermeasuresabstractintercultural communication competence plays an important role in learning spoken english. a good amount of english major students do well in english examinations, however, they are not skilled enough to communicate with native s

2、peakers from other cultures. this paper is aimed to analyze some obstacles in intercultural communication and put forth the countermeasures. keywords intercultural communication; culture; communication; obstacles; countermeasurescatalogue1 communication and culture 41.1 what is communication? 41.2 w

3、hat is culture? 52 features of cross-cultural communication 53 patterns of chinese-english communication 64 potential problems in intercultural communication74.1 seeking similarities 74.2 ethnocentrism84.3 stereotypes104.4 mental maladjustment114.4.1 withdrawal114.4.2 anxiety124.4.3 uncertainty redu

4、ction 125 improving intercultural communication135.1 know yourself135.2 acquisition of cultural knowledge145.3 cultivate a nonjudgmental attitude155.4 overcome simplistic self-fulfilling stereotypes165.5 develop flexibility and adaptability16summary 18references191 communication and culture 1.1 what

5、 is communication?communication is the exchange of information between the sender and the receiver. the potential for communication exists in all communicative transactions, especially in intercultural communication. all communication involves six basic ingredients: the source, the encoding, the mes

6、sage, the channel, the receiver, and the decoding. culture has an impact on all the ingredients, especially encoding an decoding. understanding of the basic ingredients and certain characteristics of communication helps enhance awareness of possibility of misunderstanding and therefore avoid it. the

7、 following are some characteristics of communication common to all human beings.communication is symbolic. symbols are at the core of communication. but no symbol means the same thing to everyone because different cultures often employ different symbols and usually assign special meaning to them.com

8、munication can be intentional and unintentional behavior. it is important to be aware of the possibility of sending wrong messages unintentionally.communication has a consequence. that means all the messages we send, in one degree or another, have influence on others. on the other hand all the messa

9、ges we receive influence us one way or another.communication is dynamic; it is ongoing and ever changing.communication is contextual and governed by rules. there are regulations for each context and all phases of communication are rule-governed.1.2 what is culture?communication and culture are intri

10、nsically inseparable. culture is the foundation of communication.scholars have suggested far more than 100 definitions of culture. from the perspective of intercultural communication, samovar and porter define culture as the deposit of knowledge, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, re

11、ligion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. understanding the components and characteristics of culture is very important for interc

12、ultural communication. we should understand that bulk of culture is unobservable, which we should make great effort to learn.culture is learned, not innate. culture is dynamic and seldom remains constant; the various facets of culture are interrelated. culture is invisible and ethnocentric. you touc

13、h a culture in one place and everything else is affected.2 features of cross-cultural communicationfirstly, cross-cultural communication requires a large space. different nations and cultures are all based on certain space. hence, necessarily, cross-cultural communication is a cross-space communicat

14、ion.secondly, there must be a process for the both sides of the cross-cultural communications to adapt to each other. thirdly, cross-cultural communication is composed of comprehensive contents and various ways. 3 patterns of chinese-english communication ab1bb2c1cc2b1bb2d(chinese pattern)a: communi

15、cator b：communication media b1b2:submedia c: communication purpose c1c2: sub-purpose d: communicator abcbd(english pattern)a: communicator b：communication media c: communication purpose d: communicator from whichever angle, we can see a number of differences in communication patterns of diverse cult

16、ures. 4 potential problems in intercultural communication4.1 seeking similaritieswalk around your campus and you will notice how people who share similar interests and cultures are usually clustered in groups. or think for a moment about the meaning of the following proverb, which, in one form or an

17、ther, is found in nearly every culture: “birds of a feather flock together.” the meaning of this proverb should be clear-most people seek to be near others with whom they share common outlooks, habits, and traits. ask yourself the following two questions: what group of people do you choose to be aro

18、und? how do you select those people? we are in no way passing a value judgment on the degree to which people seek out others who, consciously or unconsciously, remind them of themselves. the development of friendships has revealed an overwhelming tendency among everyone to seek out people whom they

19、perceive to be much like themselves. it is a very natural inclination when meeting someone to talk about a topic that both parties might enjoy; and, should those talks prove interesting, it is equally natural for friendships to form and evolve. the more points of contract you can establish, the more

20、 comfortable you feel.the connection between intercultural communication and your inclination to solicit friends and acquaintances that mirror your personality should be obvious. as the world gets more complex, and people feel overwhelmed by events, we find that “many millions of people believe that

21、 their best haven of certainty and security is a group based on ethnic similarity, common faith, economic interest or political like-mindedness.” im not suggesting that there is anything wrong with seeking ethnic or culture similarity; in fact, im already mentioned how common it is to seek out the f

22、amiliar. when communicating with people from other cultures, the individual, projecting similarity when differences exit, is likely to treat them as “my people” and assume there is only one way of doing things: that is “my way”. the problem arises when the pull of similarities exclude those who are

23、different. in short, many people deal with the unfamiliar by withdrawing from interaction with strangers or by experiencing feelings of anxiety.4.2 ethnocentrismethnocentrism refers to the habitual disposition to judge foreign peoples or groups by the standards and practices of ones own culture of e

24、thnic group and the tendency toward viewing alien cultures with disfavor and a resulting sense of inherent superiority. ethnocentrism is a major source of cultural variance in attitudes that affect intercultural communication the most. people from one culture might view people who eat raw horse meat

25、 as being barbarous and abnormal. but the people who eat raw horse meat might consider people in other cultures as cruel and uncaring because they habitually confine the elderly to convalescent homes. both attitudes are ethnocentric. at the core of ethnocentrism are judgments about what is right, mo

26、ral, and rational.anthropologists generally agree that ethnocentrism, with varying degrees, is found in every culture in that “most people in the world regard their own culture as superior.” and like culture, ethnocentrism is usually learned at the unconscious level. man is a culture animal. from an

27、thropologist perspective, there is no natural man in the world because human beings live in the environment of man-created beliefs, customs, knowledge, and practice. put it in another man is to be cultured. a child learning his native language is learning his own culture. much of his behavior, way o

28、f thinking, living and believing, values and goals are culturally determined and taken so far granted that they normally do not enter into consciousness. for example:when you study the accomplishments only of white males, you are quietly learning ethnocentrism. students exposed to limited orientatio

29、ns develop the belief that america is the center of the world, and they learn to judge the world by america standards. what is true about america ethnocentrism is true about other cultures. and when the chinese, for thousands of years, place themselves in the center of the world, refer to their nati

30、on using a chinese character that literally means center state. they are teaching ethnocentrism. because of its habitual nature, ethnocentrism is hard to overcome and often causes miscommunication in cross-culture contacts. in addition, prejudice and discrimination usually result from ethnocentrism.

31、4.3 stereotypesstereotypes are the perceptions or beliefs we hold about groups or individuals based on previously formed options and attitudes. stereotyping is a natural process. human beings have a psychological need to categorize and classify. the world outside of us is too big, too complex, and t

32、oo transitory for us to know in any detail. stereotyping is helpful in reducing ambiguity and uncertainty. hence, each of us stereotypes every day as one way of making sense out of that world employs existing stereotypes as a way deciding what we think of the group or person we are confronted with.a

33、s an initial guide to reality stereotyping can be positive and useful. but it may also be negative, as many stereotypes are completely incorrect and others greatly distort reality. for example, many cantonese have a stereotype of shanghainese as calculating and of beijingnese as talkative. this ster

34、eotype is generalized from well-known examples. while there may be some truth in the stereotype, it is greatly exaggerated. a stereotype is often self-filling. by self-filling, we mean that one tends to see only evidence that supports the stereotype and to overlook the frequent exceptions to it. the

35、refore, it will distort what we see and accept the stereotype as one of the “common problems”.stereotypes are harmful when they are used as rigid preconceptions and applied to all members of a group or an individual over a period of time regardless of individual variations.stereotypes can also be da

36、ngerous if they are oversimplified, overgeneralized, and exaggerated , and if they are beliefs that are composed of half-truths, distortions, and often untrue premises. as we often meet people from different cultures, about whom we have very little knowledge, it is easy to take the short cut and emp

37、loy stereotypes. it is both effortless and comfortable to say quickly, “all japanese are” or “he is american; therefore he must ”. such conclusions take very little energy, and also exonerate the individual from any other serious thinking. people are able, often without ever knowing a japanese or an

38、 american, to act as if they know all about these groups of people. if we are not careful enough, the intercultural context can become an environment that cultivates negative stereotypes. this, of course, is a dangerous situation and we should avoid it.4.4 mental maladjustment4.4.1 withdrawalproblem

39、s occur when you withdraw from face-to-face interactions. although it is a rather somber commentary of our times, it happens that “modern life,” with its rapid pace, urbanization, massive institutions, and mediated contacts, has created a sense of bewilderment, alienation, and detachment. a common r

40、esponse to disaffection is to retreat rather than confront the cause of the separation. college students barely can raise a talk with foreigners naturally because of a lack of courage.4.4.2 anxiety feelings of anxiety associated with the unknown represent yet another reason people are attracted to s

41、imilarities and avoid the unfamiliar. the immediate psychological result of being in a new situation is lack of security. the lack of security can make you anxious. we may try not to be prejudiced against people from other cultures, but we notice, usually with tiny internal feelings of apprehension,

42、 the physical characteristics of others that make them different from us. all of us find differences threatening to some extinct.4.4.3 uncertainty reduction next potential problem is in many ways a corollary of our first in that it too deals with the anxiety associated with communicating with strang

43、ers. however, in this instance the focus is on the uncertainties inherent at the beginning of an encounter. people have a desire to reduce the uncertainty built into every new meeting. you know from personal experience that when you meet someone for the first time you can only speculate on how you s

44、hould act and how the other person will respond to your action. the problem is that we base our interpretation on our life experiences, cultures, or ethnic group memberships. since our life experiences differ from the other persons, our interpretation of that persons behavior may be incorrect. what

45、is being suggested is that uncertainty is magnified when you meet people from different cultures. if the amount of uncertainty present in initial interactions is not reduced, further communication between the people will, in all likelihood, not take place.5 improving intercultural communication5.1 k

46、now yourselfan essential first step toward improvement is you. as obvious and simplistic as it sounds what you bring to the communication event greatly influence the success or failure of that event-and what you bring is you. knowing yourself is a crucial element in becoming a competent intercultura

47、l communicator. it is easier to state the advice than to practice it. as culture is subconscious, we are generally least aware of our own culture characteristics. having a good understanding of the internal logic of our culture and its socioeconomic, political, and historic roots helps understanding

48、 of other cultures. lacking in self-awareness negates cross-cultural awareness. the hidden personal premises are often the cause of many of our problems.knowing ourselves can gain power over our perceptions and reactions and help control our behavior and our reactions to others behavior. examining o

49、ur dislikes, bias, prejudice and degree of personal ethnocentrism enables us to avoid ethnocentric attitude and to modify our behavior. examining our communication styles will enable us emphasize our most appropriate and affective characteristics and minimize those least helpful. by discovering what

50、 image we convey to others, we will understand why people respond to us as they do.try to ask yourself questions such as the following: do i seem at ease or tense? do i smile often? do i interrupt repeatedly? do my actions tend to lower the other persons self-esteem? by doing so, you can adjust your

51、 communication style to create an conducive atmosphere that tell other people you are interested in them and in what they want to say.5.2 acquisition of cultural knowledgeas we all know that it is different to communicate effectively if you and your communication partner speak different languages. f

52、rom our experience we know the greater language proficiency we have, the better we can express ourselves and understand others.when communicating, you attempt to let your communication partners know what you mean and at the same time you try to get their meaning, not only their words. as the meaning

53、 of words (symbols) are determined by culture, culture knowledge is essential to the understanding of your communication partner with a different culture. different cultures have different sets of knowledge, social systems, life styles, values, and distinct communication features. to develop intercu

54、ltural communication competence, learning a foreign language should go hand in hand with acquisition of these noteworthy culture facts, especially attitudes, beliefs and values that influence the meaning of the language.5.3 cultivate a nonjudgmental attitudein order to prevent ethnocentrism from blo

55、cking effective communication, we need to cultivate a nonjudgmental attitude towards culture differences. it is an important skill for successful communication across all cultures. the following approaches are recommended in order to be nonjudgmental in intercultural communication. first, we should

56、be highly aware of the habitual and subconscious nature of our ethnocentric tendency and on guars against it. second, assuming differences until similarities are proven. assuming differences prevents projecting similarity and helps enhance culture awareness and sensitivities. third, emphasizing desc

57、ription by observing what is actually said and done, rather than interpreting or evaluating on ones own culture so that accurate information can be gathered.fourth, accepting and respecting culture differences. it means overcoming the unconsciousness and habitual tendency of judging other culture as inferior to our culture, or judging others by our cultural standards, instead, respecting values and customs of other cultures. fifth, developing empathy, the ability to see the world through other persons eye is called empathy.