culture-and-communication-文化与交际大学论文

PAGEPAGE11CultureandCommunicationAbstractAsisknowntoall,Chinahasalreadyenteredaneraofrapiddevelopmentandcreatedamiracleineconomicfieldintheprocessofglobalization.FollowingthefrequentcommunicationbetweenChinaandotherforeigncountries,ournationisfurtherinvolvedintheinternationalaffairs,mainlyinbusinesspractice.Withtheexpansionoftheeconomicandcommercialcooperation,theculturalenvironmentoftheinterculturalcommunicationhasbeenmoreandmorecomplicated.Allthevaluesystems,thinkingpatterns,andevenbehaviormodeindifferentculturesvariesfrompersontoperson,whichhighlyaffectsbusinessactivities,and,what’smore,itdeterminestheconsequences.Thereforetheculturalfactorshavebeenemphasized.AlthoughtraditionalBusinessEnglishteachinghasbeenconcernedinthelanguageculturaldifferences,itisalwaysinclinedtofocusontheexplanationaboutbusinessknowledgeorlanguagetraining,whichfailstorealizeteachinggoalsduetotheneglectofpassingontheinterculturalknowledge.Asaresult,intheprocessofBusinessEnglishteaching,apartfromtheinitiatingbusinessskills,weshouldalsopaymoreattentiontothecultivationofinterculturalcommunicationcompetence.Inthepast,interculturalcommunicationtheoriesweremoreappliedintoFLTteachingandlesscombinedwithBusinessEnglish.Asamatteroffact,theapplicationofcross-culturalcommunicationtotheteachingofBusinessEnglishinthecontextofChinesecollegesshouldbeoperatedinsuchawaythatstudentscouldbeabletolearntheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandwesterncountries.Atthesametime,studentswillunderstandthebasicideasgoverningtherespectiveculturalentities.Byanalysisandcomparison,businessculturaldifferencesarestudiedthehigherlevelofculturalthinking.AndthismustbethepremiergoalofBusinessEnglishteaching.Generallyspeaking,thethesisconsistsofthefollowingquestions:firstly,whyshouldweteachandlearnBusinessEnglishfromtheinterculturalcommunicationperspective?Secondly,whatcouldweanalyzetherelationshipbetweeninterculturalcommunicationandBusinessEnglishteaching?Thirdly,howshouldwedevelopculturalawarenessandimprovecommunicationability?KeyWords:valuesystems;culturalfactors;BusinessEnglishteaching;interculturalcommunication;culturaldifferences摘要众所周知的是，在经济全球化的浪潮中，中国已然步入了快速发展的时代，并在经济领域创造了一个奇迹。伴随着频繁的国际商业交流，我国越来越多地融入到国际事务中，尤其在商务活动方面。然而，随着国际经贸合作的不断扩展，跨文化交流也处在一个多文化，复杂的文化环境里。不同的人有着不同的价值观、思维方式、行为模式，这些差异会极大地影响商务活动的各个环节，甚至决定商务活动的成败。因此，商务活动中的文化因素越来越受到人们的重视。传统的商务英语教学虽不断涉及到语言中文化差异，但往往注重了商务知识的讲解和语言训练而忽视了商务英语中文化知识的传授，造成了很多商务活动的失败。因此在注重知识讲授的同时更要重视跨文化交际能力的培养。跨文化交际理论传统上应用于外语教学，与商务英语结合相对较少。而跨文化交际研究与商务英语教学的结合点应该落在让学生了解中西文化的差异，探究各自的基本思想和观念。通过分析对比，从更深层次上理解商务中的文化差异。这也必须是商务英语教学最重要的目标。这一论文主要由以下几个问题构成：第一，为什么要从跨文化角度分析商务英语教学？第二，商务英语教学与跨文化交际有何联系？第三，我们该如何培养跨文化意识并提高交际能力？关键词：价值观；文化因素；商务英语教学；跨文化交际；文化差异IntroductionWiththedevelopmentofglobalization,thecontactwiththeworldhasbecomemoreandmorefrequent.Itiswell-knownthatEnglishhasbecomeanimportantinternationallanguageandhasagreatimpactonbusinessaffairs,soBusinessEnglishisanecessityandweattachgreatimportancetoitsteachingandlearningincorrespondencewiththesocialdevelopment.Forthesakeofsatisfyingtheneedforbusinesstalents,lotsofcoursesconcerningBusinessEnglishhavebeensetinmanyuniversities,evenmiddleschools.However,thepresentBusinessEnglishteachingmethodisfarfromsatisfactory.1.1PurposeandScopeoftheThesisGreatlyinfluencedbythetraditionalteaching,BusinessEnglishisstillinclinedtovaluelinguisticknowledgeratherthancommunicativecompetence.Admittedly,greatnumbersoflearnersstillputanemphasisonbusinessvocabularyandgrammaticalrules,leadingtotheconsequencethattheyfailtoexpressideasbymeansofEnglishinpractice,andcausingthemiscommunicationorfailureinthecommunication.Therefore,theurgentneedforthetimebeingistoimprovelearner’sculturalawarenessanddeveloptheirinterculturalcommunicationcompetenceinBusinessEnglishteaching,soastoachievethefinalgoalandrealpurposeofBusinessEnglishteaching.SothewriterchoosesBusinessEnglishteachingandlearningasthetopicofhisthesisinordertohelpstudentsimprovetheirinterculturalcommunicationabilityinbusinessEnglishlearning.1.2TheoreticalFrameworkandMethodologyoftheThesisInspiteofthefactthatvariousmethodshavebeenappliedinthecourseofBusinessEnglishteaching,theresultisstillfarfromexpectation.Therefore,theauthortriestoexploreanewperspective—InterculturalCommunicationtheoriesinanattempttohaveamoreeffectivelearningfeedback.Itiswell-knownthatattitudehasagreatimpactoncommunicationcompetence,andaccordingtotheviewofSocialpsychologists,attitudeshouldbemadeupofcognitive,affectiveandconative.AsGudycunst,oneofthefamouscommunicationexperts,(1984)putit,anefficientinterculturalcommunicatorisexpectedtohavecomponentofcognitive,affectiveandbehavioralsimultaneously.OurscholarofInterculturalCommunication,JiaYuxin(1997)summarizedthetheoryofGudycunstandproposesthatthecommunicationsystemshouldincludestrategicabilityaswell.Basedonthesemodelsandtheories,thewriterwillanalyzetheconstituentofinterculturalcommunicationcompetenceandgiveaninstructioninBusinessEnglishteaching.Thisthesisisprogressedbyaquantitativeapproachbymeansofcollectingandanalyzingconsiderableexamplestakeninbooksorthereallife.LiteratureReviewInthischapter,thestudyofBusinessEnglishanditsteachingwillbeoverviewed,andthestudyoninterculturalcommunicationwillbeintroducedindetail.2.1CharacteristicsofBusinessEnglishBusinessEnglishisregardedasa“mediatinglanguagebetweenthetechnicalitiesofparticularbusinesses…andthelanguageofthegeneralpublic”(Pickett,1989:5).Pickett(1989)suggeststwoparticularaspectstobusinesscommunications:communicationwiththepublicandcommunicationwithinacompanyorbetweencompanies.Communicationwiththepublicislikelytobeinthefirstlanguage.Non-nativespeakersuseBusinessEnglishmainlyforinter-company.Pickett’sdistinctionisusefulbutitfailstocovertheincreasinglywiderangeoftoday’sbusinessactivities,suchasfaxtransmission,complexL/Coperation,etc.Variouscommunicationchannels,differenttopicscoveredanddiverserelationshipswillallaffectthechoiceofBusinessEnglish.BusinessEnglishisclassifiedintoEnglishforGeneralBusinessPurposes(EGBP)andEnglishforSpecificBusinessPurposes(ESBP)(Dudley-EvansandSt.John,1998).EGBPcoursesareusuallyforpre-experiencedstudentsorthoseatveryearlystagesoftheircareer.Studentstakethecourseeitheratuniversitiesoratlanguagetrainingschoolandthecoursearealwaysmassiveintopiccontentsandskillcultivations.ESBPcoursesarepreparedforthosejob-experiencedlearners,inwhichacertainaspectofbusinessorsomeparticularskillswillbefestered.BusinessEnglishintheinternationaltradeplaysanincreasinglyimportantrole.BusinessEnglishlanguagehasitsowncharacteristics;toreallymasterthebusinessanditstranslationinEnglish,notonlyexperiencedinEnglishlanguageknowledge,butalsomustbefamiliarwithbusinessexpertise;inbusinessEnglishtranslationofthetranslationmustfollowcertainprinciples,useofanumberoftranslationstrategies.AfterChinajoinstheWTO,internationalbusinessactivitieshavebecomeincreasinglyfrequent.Manyofthesebusinessareas,suchastechnologytransfer,foreigntrade,investment,foreigncontractingandlaborservicecontracts,internationalfinance,foreigninsurance,internationaltravel,overseasinvestment,internationaltransport,etc,collectivelyknownastheEnglishusedinbusinessEnglish.BusinessEnglishhasbecomethelanguageofeconomicactivityinessentialcommunicationtool.BECtendstobepopularinChina.MoreandmorepeopleareinterestedinbusinessEnglishanditstranslation.BusinessEnglishvocabularyusedinthemostremarkablefeatureisthepreciseuseoftechnicalvocabulary,whichcontainsalargenumberofspecializedvocabulary,withtheordinarymeaningofthewordcommercial,orcompoundwords,acronyms,andotherissuesinvolvingthebusinesstheoryandbusinesspracticeintermsofitslanguagehasaverystrongprofessional.2.2UsersofBusinessEnglishAspreviouslymentioned,Englishhasbecomethemostavailablelanguagetoolinbusinessnegotiation.AFinnconductingbusinessinBangkokusesEnglish;aSudanesedoingbusinesswiththeDutchusesEnglish;theNorwegianinChinaoftenuseEnglish;anAmericanandaGermanprobablyalsoemployEnglish.ThusmostEnglish-mediumcommunicationsinbusinessarenon-nativespeakertonon-nativespeaker(NNS-NNS),andtheEnglishtheyuseisInternationalEnglish,notthatofnativespeaker(NS)ofEnglish-mediumcountriessuchastheUKandAustralia.Forexample,GuyandMattock(1993)usetheterm“offshoreEnglish”fortheEnglishspokenbetweenEuropeanswhodonotsharefirstlanguagesandhavelearnedEnglishforpracticalratherthanacademicpurposes.OneoftheconsequencesoftheroleofEnglishastheinternationallanguageisthat“non-BritishmanagersmaybeabletounderstandeachothermoreeasilywhenspeakingEnglishtogetherthantheycanunderstandanativespeaker”(BarhamandOater,1991)andthenon-nativespeakersmayunderstandeachothermoreeasilythanthenativespeaker(NS)understandsthem.People,whosharethefirstlanguage,mayshareacommonuseofEnglishwhichisnottheNSuse.TheNSmayhavetolearntomovefromaliteralunderstandingtoacontextuallybasedone.Forexample,theNNSmayimmediatelyunderstandthemeaningbehind“Iinsistontheimportanceofthis”and“toresumeone’sideas”.ANSmayhavetoemergefromtheemotionalinfluenceof“Iinsist”andthenrealizethattheimpliedmeaningis“Iemphasistheimportanceofthis”;and,forthesamereason,howeasilyaNScanunderstandthat“toresume”isnot“togoontheearlierideas”but“tosummarizeone’sideas”dependsonthecontextandtheirexperienceaswell.2.3InterculturalCommunicationPeoplecannotlivewithoutCommunication.Communicationiseverywhere.Asisknowntoall,peopleinallfields,especiallybusinessmenhaveencounteredpeoplefromallaroundtheworldsincethebeginningofthetime.AndtheSilkRoadhasjustestablishedatypicalexampleofcross-culturalcommunication.Likecommunication,cultureisprevalenceandhasanencyclopediceffectonhumans.Cultureisalsoinvisiblebutuniversal.Aswegoaboutourdailylives,wedonothaveagreatsenseofourculture’sinfluence.Cultureexistseverywherearoundusbetweendifferentnationsevendifferentcountries.Culturehasadirectinfluenceonthephysical,relationalandsensoryenvironment.Yetmostofourthoughts,emotions,andbehaviorsareprofoundlyaffectedbydifferentcultures.Successfullycommunicatingwithsomeonefromadifferentcultureordifferentcountrieswhichisverydifficulttoourhumanrequiresadegreeofcommunicationcompetence.Mostmodelsofcommunicationcompetenceincludeanaffectiveandbehavioralcomponent,whichisindispensableincross-culturalcommunication.Withtherapidgrowthofthemodernsociety,thebenefitsoftheInterculturalcommunicationareevengreater.Communicatingandestablishingrelationshipswithpeoplefromdifferentculturescanleadtoawholehostofbenefits,includinghealthiercommunities;increasedinternational,national,andlocalcommerce;reducedconflict;andpersonalgrowththroughincreasedtolerance.2.4TheImportanceofInterculturalCommunicationCompetenceinBusinessEnglishTeachingandLearningNowadays,moreandmoreorganizationsandenterprisesaregettinginvolvedinbusinesscommunicationacrosscultures,betweencultures,andamongcultures.Duringthecourseofdoingbusiness,theyneedbefluentinBusinessEnglishindispensably,buttheyarenecessarilyconcernedinbusinessnegotiation.Asamatteroffact,businesscommunicationisinterculturalcommunication.Inordertocommunicatewithanotherculture,youhavetocometotermswithitsomehow.AsScottsuggests,“Effectiveinternationalbusinessskillsarethebackbonethatsupportsthetransactionofbusinessaroundtheworld”.Itisthereforeessentialthatpeoplelivinginbusinessareasdevelopculturalfluencyandacquirecultural-sensitivecommunicationtools.Asaresult,teachersandstudentsshouldputahighervaluationontheincreaseoftheabilityofcross-culturalcommunicationinthecourseofteachingandlearning.TheoreticalFoundation2.1InterculturalCommunicationTheterm“InterculturalCommunication”hasbeenexpressedinmanyways,suchasinterculturalcommunication,cross-culturalcommunication,thestudyofinterculturalcommunication,thestudyofcross-culturalcommunication,interculturalcommunicationstudies,cross-culturalcommunicationstudiesandtrans-culturalcommunication.Amongthem,interculturalcommunicationandcross-culturalcommunicationaremorewidelyadopted.Withregardstoitsdefinition,L.A.Samovar(2004)givesaverybriefdescriptionoftheterm:Initsmostgeneralsense,InterculturalCommunicationoccurswhenamemberofoneculturalandamemberofanothercultureareatodds.Moreprecisely,InterculturalCommunicationinvolvesinteractionbetweenpeoplewhoseculturalconsciousnessandsymbolsystemsaredistinctenoughtoalterthecommunicationevent.Intermsofitsdefinition,itisessentialindeedforustoillustratetherelationshipsamonglanguage,cultureandcommunication.2.2LanguageandCultureTherelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureisdiscussedforalongtimeinlinguistics,anthropology,sociologyandotherfields.Itiswidelyacceptedamonglanguageeducatorsthatthereisacloserelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture.Thetwoareinterwovensocloselythatifoneseparatesintotwo,thesignificanceofeitherlanguageorculturewillbelost.2.2.1LanguageasDeterminedbyCultureEarlyanthropologists,followingthetheorythatwordsdeterminethought,believedthatlanguageanditsstructurewereentirelydependentontheculturalcontextinwhichtheyexisted.ThiswasalogicalextensionofwhatistermedtheStandardSocialScienceModel,whichviewsthehumanmindasanindefinitelymalleablestructurecapableofabsorbinganysortofculturewithoutconstraintsfromgeneticorneurologicalfactors.Inthisvein,anthropologistVerneRayconductedastudyinthe1950's,givingcolorsamplestodifferentAmericanIndiantribesandaskingthemtogivethenamesofthecolors.Heconcludedthatthespectrumweseeas"green","yellow",etc.wasanentirelyarbitrarydivision,andeachculturedividedthespectrumseparately.Accordingtothishypothesis,thedivisionsseenbetweencolorsareaconsequenceofthelanguagewelearn,anddonotcorrespondtodivisionsinthenaturalworld.AsimilarhypothesisisupheldintheextremelypopularmemeofEskimowordsforsnow-commonstoriesvaryfromfiftytoupwardsoftwohundred.Extremeculturalrelativismofthistypehasnowbeenclearlyrefuted.Eskimosuseatmosttwelvedifferentwordsforsnow,whichisnotmuchmorethanEnglishspeakersandshouldbeexpectedsincetheyexistinacoldclimate.Thecolor-relativityhypothesishasnowbeencompletelydebunkedbymorecareful,thorough,andsystematicstudieswhichshowaremarkablesimilaritybetweenthewaysinwhichdifferentculturesdividethespectrum.Ofcourse,therearewaysinwhichculturereallydoesdeterminelanguage,oratleastcertainfacetsthereof.Obviously,theancientRomansdidnothavewordsforradios,televisions,orcomputersbecausetheseitemsweresimplynotpartoftheirculturalcontext.Inthesamevein,uncivilizedtribeslivinginEuropeinthetimeoftheRomansdidnothavewordsfortribunes,praetors,oranyothertrappingofRomangovernmentbecauseRomanlawwasnotpartoftheirculture.Ourculturedoes,sometimes,restrictwhatwecanthinkaboutefficientlyinourownlanguage.Forexample,somelanguageshaveonlythreecolortermsequivalenttoblack,white,andred;anativespeakerofthislanguagewouldhaveadifficulttimeexpressingtheconceptof"purple"efficiently.Somelanguagesarealsomoreexpressiveaboutcertaintopics.Forexample,itiscommonlyacknowledgedthatYiddishisalinguisticchampion,withanamazingnumberofwordsreferringtothesimpleminded.(TheLanguageInstinctbyStevenPinker,p.260.)2.2.2LanguageasPartofCultureFormanypeople,languageisnotjustthemediumofculturebutalsoisapartofculture.Itisquitecommonforimmigrantstoanewcountrytoretaintheiroldcustomsandtospeaktheirfirstlanguageamidfellowimmigrants,evenifallpresentarecomfortableintheirnewlanguage.Thisoccursbecausetheimmigrantsareeagertopreservetheirownheritage,whichincludesnotonlycustomsandtraditionsbutalsolanguage.ThisisalsoseeninmanyJewishcommunities,especiallyinoldermembers:YiddishiscommonlyspokenbecauseitisseenasapartofJewishculture.Linguisticdifferencesarealsooftenseenasthemarkofanotherculture,andtheyverycommonlycreatedivisivenessamongneighboringpeoplesorevenamongdifferentgroupsofthesamenation.AgoodexampleofthisisinCanada,whereFrench-speakingnativesofQuebecclashwiththeEnglish-speakingmajority.Thissortofconflictisalsocommoninareaswithagreatdealoftribalwarfare.ItisevenbecominganissueinAmericaasspeakersofstandardAmericanEnglish-mainlywhitesandeducatedminorities-observethegrowingnumberofspeakersofBlackEnglishvernacular.Debatesarecommonoverwhetheritispropertouse"Ebonics"inschools,whileitsspeakerscontinuetoassertthatthedialectisafundamentalpartofthe"blackculture".2.3CultureandCommunicationItisnecessarytounderstandtherelationshipbetweencultureandcommunicationbeforedefininginterculturalcommunication.Theterm“culture”referstothecomplexcollectionofknowledge,folklore,language,rules,rituals,habits,lifestyles,attitudes,beliefs,andcustomsthatlinkandgiveacommonidentitytoaparticulargroupofpeopleataspecificpointintime.Allsocialunitsdevelopaculture.Evenintwo-personrelationships,aculturedevelopsovertime.Infriendshipandromanticrelationships,forexample,partnersdeveloptheirownhistory,sharedexperiences,languagepatterns,rituals,habits,andcustomsthatgivethatrelationshipaspecialcharacter—acharacterthatdifferentiatesitinvariouswaysfromotherrelationships.Examplesmightincludespecialdates,places,songs,oreventsthatcometohaveauniqueandimportantsymbolicmeaningfortwoindividuals.Groupsalsodevelopcultures,composedofthecollectionofrules,rituals,customs,andothercharacteristicsthatgiveanidentitytothesocialunit.Whereagrouptraditionallymeets,whethermeetingsbeginontimeornot,whattopicsarediscussed,howdecisionsaremade,andhowthegroupsocializesareallelementsofwhat,overtime,becomedefininganddifferentiatingelementsofitsculture.Organizationsalsohavecultures,oftenapparentinparticularpatternsofdress,layoutofworkspaces,meetingstylesandfunctions,waysofthinkingaboutandtalkingaboutthenatureanddirectionsoftheorganization,leadershipstyles,andsoon.Themostrichandcomplexculturesarethosethatareassociatedwithasocietyoranation,andtheterm“culture”ismostcommonlyusedtorefertothesecharacteristics,includinglanguageandlanguage-usagepatterns,rituals,rules,andcustoms.Asocietalornationalculturealsoincludessuchelementsassignificanthistoricaleventsandcharacters,philosophiesofgovernment,socialcustoms,familypractices,religion,economicphilosophiesandpractices,beliefandvaluesystems,andconceptsandsystemsoflaw.Thus,anysocialunit—whetherarelationship,group,organization,orsociety—developsacultureovertime.Whilethedefiningcharacteristics—orcombinationofcharacteristics—ofeachcultureareunique,allculturessharecertaincommonfunctions.Threesuchfunctionsthatareparticularlyimportantfromacommunicationperspectiveare(1)linkingindividualstooneanother,(2)providingthebasisforacommonidentity,and(3)creatingacontextforinteractionandnegotiationamongmembers.2.3.1TheRelationshipbetweenCommunicationandCultureTherelationshipbetweencommunicationandcultureisaverycomplexandintimateone.First,culturesarecreatedthroughcommunication;thatis,communicationisthemeansofhumaninteractionthroughwhichculturalcharacteristics—whethercustoms,roles,rules,rituals,laws,orotherpatterns—arecreatedandshared.Itisnotsomuchthatindividualssetouttocreateaculturewhentheyinteractinrelationships,groups,organizations,orsocieties,butratherthatculturesareanaturalby-productofsocialinteraction.Inasense,culturesarethe“residue”ofsocialcommunication.Withoutcommunicationandcommunicationmedia,itwouldbeimpossibletopreserveandpassalongculturalcharacteristicsfromoneplaceandtimetoanother.Onecansay,therefore,thatcultureiscreated,shaped,transmitted,andlearnedthroughcommunication.Thereverseisalsothecase;thatis;communicationpracticesarelargelycreated,shaped,andtransmittedbyculture.Tounderstandtheimplicationsofthiscommunication-culturerelationship,itisnecessarytothinkintermsofongoingcommunicationprocessesratherthanasinglecommunicationevent.Forexample,whenathree-persongroupfirstmeets,themembersbringwiththemindividualthoughtandbehavioralpatternsfrompreviouscommunicationexperiencesandfromotherculturesofwhichtheyare,orhavebeen,apart.Asindividualsstarttoengageincommunicationwiththeothermembersofthisnewgroup,theybegintocreateasetofsharedexperiencesandwaysoftalkingaboutthem.Ifthegroupcontinuestointeract,asetofdistinguishinghistory,patterns,customs,andritualswillevolve.Someoftheseculturalcharacteristicswouldbequiteobviousandtangible,suchthatanewpersonjoiningthegroupwouldencounterongoingcultural“rules”towhichtheywouldlearntoconformthroughcommunication.Newmemberswouldinturninfluencethegroupcultureinsmall,andsometimeslarge,waysastheybecomeapartofit.Inareciprocalfashion,thisreshapedcultureshapesthecommunicationpracticesofcurrentandfuturegroupmembers.Thisistruewithanyculture;communicationshapesculture,andcultureshapescommunication.2.3.2CharacteristicsofCultureCulturesarecomplexandmultifaceted.Asisapparentfromtheabovediscussions,culturesarecomplex“structures”thatconsistofawidearrayofcharacteristics.Theculturesofrelationshipsorgroupsarerelativelysimplecomparedtothoseoforganizationsand,especially,societies.EdwardHall(1959,1979)isoneofthemostsignificantcontributorstothegeneralunderstandingofthecomplexityofcultureandtheimportanceofcommunicationtounderstandinganddealingwithculturaldifferencesatthesocietallevel.Cultureschangeovertime.Infact,culturesareeverchanging—thoughthechangeissometimesveryslowandimperceptible.Manyforcesinfluencecultural