Communication between Population of Germany and German-Speaking Switzerland: Intra- or Intercultural Communication?

Abstract

Abstract The relevance of the research is determined by the contemporary interest to the intercultural communication in the context of the anthropocentric paradigm of modern linguistics. The article is devoted to the analysis of the peculiarities of communicative interaction between the citizens of Germany and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. The systematic analysis of studies on the communicative styles of Germans living in Germany and Switzerland allowed us to determine their main features. The study showed that the communication between the analyzed ethno-cultural communities is complicated by a number of linguistic and culturally-conditioned problems. While the inhabitants of Germany demonstrate the characteristic features of the low-context culture, the communicative style of the German-speaking Swiss is mitigative as they are referred to the high-context culture. The socio-cultural differences in the mutual perception of the analyzed ethnosocial groups lead to the formation of stereotypes and clichés which influence the intercultural communication. The materials of the paper may be used in comparative cultural linguistics, country and cultural studies.