Culture In Intercultural Communication Research Articles

Multiracial Korean Americans negotiating Korean and English

AbstractUsing the case of multiracial Korean Americans, who are positioned across/between the boundaries of language and race, we explore language choice and use as sites for reimagining intercultural communication. Analyzing in‐depth autobiographical interviews, we ask how cultural difference and sameness are constructed and how understandings of English as a world language shape multilingual interactions. Findings reveal how, despite being familiar with cultural norms of Koreanness, multiracial Korean Americans are still constructed as cultural others by Korean speakers and rely on understandings of English as a world language to resist the metapragmatic frames their interlocutors would inscribe onto them. Use of English became a method for protecting their Korean identity, thus challenging the notion that use of a heritage language is essential for maintaining the ethnic identity. Consequently, we discuss the intersections of multiraciality and multilingualism to refine understandings of race and culture in intercultural communication and the globalization of English.

Characteristics and translation of metaphorical language in traditional Chinese medicine texts

This article is devoted to the study of the characteristics of metaphorical language and its translation in the texts of traditional Chinese medicine. The research subject of this article is metaphorical language in TCM texts. The characteristics of the metaphorical language of TCM texts determine that translation should focus on cross-cultural communication and meaning interpretation. The purpose of the study is to investigate, learn how to accurately decipher metaphorical language and convey the connotation of these metaphorical expressions, so as to promote the effective dissemination of TCM culture in intercultural communication. And also - to reduce misunderstandings caused by cultural and linguistic differences, to improve the quality and accuracy of translations of TCM texts, to build a better linguistic bridge for TCM to the world. In terms of research methodology, this paper uses the method of literature study - extensive collection of relevant information and detailed interpretation of typical metaphorical expressions, as well as the method of comparative analysis - comparing the differences in the use of metaphorical language in different literatures. Scientific novelty is reflected in the in-depth interpretation and translation of TCM metaphors. Through an in-depth study of TCM theories and practices, the scientific principles underlying metaphors are revealed and presented to readers in a clearer and more accurate way. At the same time, innovative translation methods such as the method of literal translation with commentary, the free translation method, etc., allow readers to better understand the unique meaning of TCM metaphors. Through in-depth analysis, it is found that metaphorical language has important characteristics such as imagery, cultural relevance and polysemy, and is an important cognitive approach and tool in Chinese medicine and at the same time not only embodies a special description of physiological phenomena, but also a unique cognitive marker of alternative psychophysiological communication.

How do Japanese and Chinese view each other? Understanding the meaning of low‐context culture in intercultural communication

AbstractAlthough Easterners are assumed to have a high‐context culture, Yamashina found that Japanese believe the Chinese to engage in a low‐context cultural communication style. We interpreted her results as follows: the Chinese whom Japanese know are likely to engage in intercultural communication that is used in low‐context cultural situations (code‐switching). To test this interpretation, we used a 17‐item online questionnaire on context dependency for participants (Japanese university students, Chinese university students, and Chinese international students living and studying in Japan) to score the self, average Japanese, and average Chinese. Hence, the design was 3 (culture) by 3 (object). The results showed that both Japanese and Chinese students rated people in their counterpart countries as having a low‐context communication style, supporting our interpretation. However, this effect was not evident among Chinese international students. These results confirmed that low‐context cultural situations may arise when people engage in intercultural communication.

Language and Culture in Intercultural Communication

Language is probably the best way of conveying a culture, both oral and written, in human societies. Language, written or oral, plays an essential role in developing a form of social knowledge, which is common sense thought, socially developed and shared by members of the same social or cultural characteristics. This common knowledge is sometimes called a social representation. Through language, man assimilates culture, perpetuates it or transforms it. Nevertheless, like every language, each culture implements a specific apparatus of symbols with which each society identifies. Culture is defined as the body of knowledge and behavior that characterizes a human society or a human group within a society. Different languages are necessary in order to preserve things such as culture; heritage and getting people from different cultures to dialogue may require intercultural mediation. These intercultural communications can be regarded as translation. Therefore, the relationship between language and culture is rather complex. Our article will discuss the relation between language and culture in intercultural communication which is translation in our case. Many ideas will be presented with examples to prove that language and culture are two faces to one coin. This research shows that language and culture are not competitors and not interdependent but complete each other.

Comparative Study of Cultural Value Orientation between China and America

In today's world, cultural exchanges have become more and more frequent because of the economic integration and technological globalization, but people from different countries may have different culture values. China and the United States, as representatives of the East and the West, also have great differences in value orientation. Therefore, understanding the differences between each culture has both theoretical and practical significance for their inter-cultural communication. This paper analyzes the differences between Chinese and American cultural values from five aspects: nature, humanity, time, relationship, and human actions. It will have an important guiding role in eliminating cultural barriers and promoting the development of Chinese and American culture in inter-cultural communication.

Strategies of Native Culture Integration in College English Teaching Based on “Education of Chinese Ethics and Culture in All Courses”

Language is one of the carriers of culture. Language teaching cannot be divorced from cultural teaching. As an important compulsory course of general education in university, college English has long largely ignored the teaching of native language nature, which affects students’ cultural consciousness and confidence. The aphasia of Chinese culture in inter-cultural communication has caused wide concerns and worries in the field of foreign language teaching. Based on the concept of education of Chinese ethics and culture in all courses, the first part of this paper introduces the basic idea of education of Chinese ethics and culture in college English teaching and the problem of aphasia of English expression for Chinese cultures which leads to the lack of cultural consciousness and confidence. Then in the second part, the paper deeply discusses and explores the reasons for Chinese culture aphasia in college English teaching from the perspectives of teaching syllabus, teachers and students, textbooks and teaching materials and assessment systems. The third part of the paper puts forward a series of efficient strategies from the aspects of teaching and learning ideas, teaching mode, curriculum setting and evaluation mechanism. Finally, conclusions and reflections that need further consideration and research are discussed in the fourth part of this paper.

Farzad Sharifian, (Ed.) The Routledge Handbook of language and culture. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015. Pp. xv-522. ISBN: 978-0-415-52701-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-79399-3 (ebk)7

Farzad Sharifian, (Ed.) The Routledge Handbook of language and culture. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2015. Pp. xv-522. ISBN: 978-0-415-52701-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-79399-3 (ebk)7

Forms of Students’ Intercultural Communication Development in a Multicultural Academic University

The objective of the article is to study the concept of “intercultural communication”, different ways of its application, the role and related concepts. The article presents basic forms of intercultural communication of students as well as the importance of the process in a multicultural environment of a university. The authors chose a descriptive method of observation and classification of the material as a leading approach alongside with the analysis and synthesis of the data obtained through interviews and polls. The findings suggest that interethnic interaction plays an important role, thus its formation should be integrated into the learning process. The authors also note the role of folk culture in intercultural communication and optimization of a multicultural university in terms of such communication. The research introduces forms of students’ intercultural communication in a multicultural university that will contribute to a more effective communication of representatives of different cultures and pupils at multi-ethnic schools.

Culture and complexity through English as a lingua franca: rethinking competences and pedagogy in ELT

Abstract English as a lingua franca (ELF) research highlights the complexity and fluidity of culture in intercultural communication through English. ELF users draw on, construct, and move between global, national, and local orientations towards cultural characterisations. Thus, the relationship between language and culture is best approached as situated and emergent. However, this has challenged previous representations of culture, particularly those centred predominantly on nation states, which are prevalent in English language teaching (ELT) practices and the associated conceptions of communicative and intercultural communicative competence. Two key questions which are then brought to the fore are: how are we to best understand such multifarious characterisations of culture in intercultural communication through ELF and what implications, if any, does this have for ELT and the teaching of culture in language teaching? In relation to the first question, this paper will discuss how complexity theory offers a framework for understanding culture as a constantly changing but nonetheless meaningful category in ELF research, whilst avoiding essentialism and reductionism. This underpins the response to the second question, whereby any formulations of intercultural competence offered as an aim in language pedagogy must also eschew these simplistic and essentialist cultural characterisations. Furthermore, the manner of simplification prevalent in approaches to culture in the ELT language classroom will be critically questioned. It will be argued that such simplification easily leads into essentialist representations of language and culture in ELT and an over representation of “Anglophone cultures.” The paper will conclude with a number of suggestions and examples for how such complex understandings of culture and language through ELF can be meaningfully incorporated into pedagogic practice.