Linguistic Impediments to Cross-Cultural Communications: Chinese Hassles with the Hypothetical

Abstract

This paper attempts to reach a preliminary conclusion, based on developmental and cross-cultural research re the nature of the impact the distinct lexical divisions and relational structures of a language are likely to have on the thought processes of its native speakers and, thereby, re the nature of the barriers to cross-cultural communication and conflict resolution which are likely to result from the fact that participants in such processes come from distinct linguistic backgrounds. The paper argues that such barriers take the form of differences in the conscious organization of experience and draws on two examples from a comparative study of English and Chinese native speakers in further support of this view.