Proper Discourse on Cross—Cultural Communication of Chinese School Students

王志勇

Abstract： Via more than 30 years of reformation and opening up， China has had a healthy and rapid development. It has come to center of the world stage from the brink. Intelligent cross-cultural communications of Chinese students will greatly benefit China， even the world， not only because of globalization but because the nation has been on rise. This paper will facially analyze some misleading expressions during cross-cultural communication discourse based on one of the dimensions of Hofstede's paradigm theory- Low versus high uncertainty avoidance. And through such a way， I sincerely hope that there will be more courses on developing cross-cultural communication competence in school education.

Key words：Discourse of cross-cultural communication；Hofstede's theory； Misleading expression； Competence

中圖分類號：G648 文獻標識碼：B文章編號：1672-1578（2016）06-0160-01

1. Introduction

According to a research conducted in America， the number of international students attending universities in the U.S. has increased significantly in the last decade. Although international students can bring talents and diversity to higher education in the U.S.， they inevitably experience challenges as they adjust to the American culture. These challenges range from language barriers， relational issues， to loneliness and racial discrimination. They are all part of the cross-cultural adaptation process that individuals experience while adjusting to the host country. However， such a trend is also applicable in China with its increasing charming in both financial development and political influence.

As stated in the abstract above， the aim of this theoretical paper is to reveal the necessity of assigning a high priority to teaching cultural issues in an English language course in university in order to develop the school students' cross-cultural awareness and communicative competence. The paper rationale stems from the fact that our multicultural society urges teachers and students to pave their educational way for cross-cultural understanding and cooperation， for respecting other cultural values and for taking politically-correct approaches. Teachers and students lay the foundation for coping with the knowledge society， which is multicultural， multilingual and sensitive to politically incorrect approaches. If we are not knowledgeable about the basic communication and behaviour-related rules clinging to the cultures we encounter， we cannot successfully fit in the knowledge society. Just building it from a technological and from an epistemological point of view is not enough.

2. Misleading expression during cross-cultural communication

Due to the educational and cultural background， especially the difference in thinking patterns， communications across cultures are often in dilemma. In fact， mistakes in cross-cultural communication are far more than what we can imagine. All international exchanges are attributed to the communication between human beings. International exchange is the communication of many languages， but we should know that language is only a carrier of culture. Sometimes cultural differences make a distinction even though the language translation is correct.

3. Hofstede's paradigm theory

In order to be effective in communicating across cultures it is not enough to recognize differences in behaviors， rather to understand the underlying factors responsible for those differences. Hofstede's seminal research on cultural dimensions represented the fundamental theoretical course background. According to his research， cultures can be classified according to the following dimensions： Low versus high power distance （Power distance index PDI） - expresses the way people perceive power differences. From this point of view， Anglo-Germanic countries are considered low-power cultures and therefore employers and employees have more democratic attitudes. Individualism （IDV） versus collectivism expresses the degree in which people regard themselves as belonging to a group such as family， religion， profession， etc. Masculinity （MAS） versus femininity， sometimes known as Quantity of Life vs. Quality of Life expresses the worth assigned to male values versus female values. Long-term orientation （LTO） versus short-term orientation assesses if people are oriented towards future rewards.

The final dimension of Hofstede's theory， of which I will use in my paper is Low versus high uncertainty avoidance （Uncertainty Avoidance Index - UAI） estimates how people deal with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty.

4. How to avoid misleading expressions by minimizing uncertainty

Problems can arise especially in face-to-face business communication in future career due to the fact that some cultures are more indirect， formal， reserved and self-deprecating while others are more direct， informal， emotionally engaged and self-promoting. What is acceptable in a business environment and may be perceived as a very positive communication in one culture， may be regarded as improper and poor in another.

As miscommunication points can appear in international business communication due to such issues， it is advisable that students as future businessmen have， if not intercultural competences and skills， at least intercultural awareness of such distinctions. Thus， to have a good cross-cultural communication， it is indispensable to know three points.

4.1 Recognition of diversity in culture.The first one point is that the diversity of culture exists forever. Under the condition of economic globalization， cultural diversity in today's world is still one of the basic characteristics， and will be the same way. Values， beliefs and the way of thinking about languages can only be expressed through the words and deeds， through the carrier of culture. Without contacting literature， music， dance， drama， you don't know what a strange nation believes， what kind of value it holds. As students， especially university students， it is of great importance to respect different cultures. It is much easier to say than do on the ground that people are inclined to look down upon some customs in poor countries while admiring grand festivals of rich nations.

4.2 Express in accuracy when in a different culture.The second point is accuracy. On one hand， we are supposed to express Chinese culture accurately. Every person in this country is in the Chinese characteristic socialism. As a special social system， there are new words of Chinese characters. From aspects of world politics or philosophy， it is creative and for sure will make contributions to the world. Furthermore， the most important thing to be accurate is to express naturally. It needs a good master of foreign language. Last but not the least， accuracy in daily life is extremely significant. From scenery spot to streets， foreigners will spend a whole day finding where we will go considering that there are no accurate names of the destinations.

On the other hand， students are supposed to understand foreign cultures accurately. Let us take English for example. Do you remember the "sour grapes" story at the beginning of the speech？ It is an idiom. There are many proverbs and idioms in English， as well in other cultures like "play it by ear"， which means" it depends". Besides， Chinese students must acquire some knowledge about foreign history and customs. When referring to "Independent Day"， we should have something in mind to talk about. Communication is mutual. It fails when one can not understand another. Only by accurate communication， will China really have great effect on international affairs and play an important role in world peace.

4.3 Learn how to treat different cultures.The third point is that during the cross-cultural communication， students should treat native culture and foreign culture reasonably. On one hand， via thousands of years' history， excellent traditional culture survived and passed down from generation to generation. But during the process， the sensitivity of its identification becomes weaker and weaker. "Traditional" gradually turns into "additional". Traditional culture is restated and emphasized in recent days because of the reconstruction of social morality. Although it is said that when economics develops to some extent， the construction of culture will be on the way， and there is no need and no possibility to return to traditional culture.

On the other hand， young students can not restrict themselves in traditional culture. As students of a great century， they should be insightful， creative and imaginative. They should be armed with the courage of facing the conflicts of different civilizations and bracing the excellent culture of outer space. They must be confident enough to show China's excellent culture to the alien culture and proudly pass it down to the descendants. They must be able to distinguish the good and bad about foreign culture. Historically， there were many cultures that were once prosperous but later went into a decline. Investigating its reason， it is partly because of its lack of a sound creative update system. Without breaking through the traditional restriction， culture can not breathe fresh air and soon flow away with the history. Because of various factors， especially lacking in cultural contact with the outside world， culture communication proceeds slowly and is shortage of new life and vitality. Today， the world lies in several main cultures， which have the powerful update ability， prospering ceaselessly. They survive in foreign cultural exchanges and draw nutrition， and constantly strengthen themselves. Therefore， it is no exaggeration to say， culture development and cultural exchanges are inseparable. Without culture exchanges， culture can not go far before extinguish.

5. Conclusion

In conclusion， it needs great wisdom for Chinese students to go on well with cross -cultural communication. Cultures of countries in the world have something in common， as well as its individuality. Countries' culture situations have some imbalances objectively. China's development is inseparable from the peace and stability of the world， the harmonious development of the world can also promote and influence China. With Economic cooperation becoming frequent； trade done internationally， intercultural communication has become an important content of the relationship among countries. With science and technology developing， tourism turning into a useful tool， communication has become increasingly indispensable between China and other regions in the world. And with exchange of mutual culture deepening， the challenge of the new pattern of world economic globalization has put forward new request of wisdom in culture communication for Chinese student of the contemporary.

Through the selection of history， Chinese culture has survived so as some of the greatest cultures in the world. Chinese students are required the ability to deal with problems that may confront with during the cross-cultural communication. Armed with this ability， we will be confident when sharing culture； with this ability， we are no more fear of bringing in alien culture； with this ability， we will proudly say Chinese culture is really great. China is really strong in the world.

References

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