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1、1. IntroductionIntercultural communication is a form of global communication. It is used to describe the wide range of communicative problems that naturally appear within an organization made up of individuals from different religious, social, ethnic, and educational backgrounds. It seeks to underst
2、and how people from different countries and cultures act, communicate and perceive the world around them.For the world today is characterized by an ever growing number of contacts resulting in communication between people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, various cultural conflicts
3、 in communication appear nearly everywhere in the communication between people from different cultural background. It is urgent for researchers to be aware of those conflicts and try different communicative methods to solve them in order to have a better communication in different social affairs. Th
4、e writer does several research about different bibliography and make a conclusion from those documents in intercultural communication with the aim of finding effective methods to solve Chinese-Western cultural conflicts in intercultural communication.The paper describes five types of cultural confli
5、cts in intercultural communication and offers three strategies of dealing with these cultural conflicts. It first focuses on culture because it has a significant influence on intercultural communication. The definition and characteristics are both mentioned. Then we comes to five different types of
6、cultural conflicts. They are affective conflict, cognitive conflict, value conflict, goal conflict and conflict of interest. Next we have the analysis of causes of those cultural conflicts. At last, the essay offers two strategies and two skills for dealing with cultural conflicts. They are clearnes
7、s with conflicts, familiarity with other cultures, planning and asking questions 2. CultureIntercultural communication may be said to occur when people of different cultural backgrounds interact, but this definition seems simplistic. To properly define intercultural communication, it is necessary to
8、 understand the world “culture”, for culture is often considered the core concept in intercultural communication.2.1 DefinitionWu and Yan (2009) said that, culture belongs to the mental wealth and the material wealth which are created by human. However, what is the correct definition of culture? Def
9、initions of culture are numerous. E. B. Tylor, for example, a nineteenth-century anthropologist who provided one of the earliest formal definitions of the term, describes culture as “that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits
10、 acquired by man as a member of society” (Lustig & Koester, 1999: 28)Martin and Nakayama (2005: 27) define culture as learned patterns of perception, values and behaviors, shared by a group of people, that is also dynamic and heterogeneous. However, Lustig and Koester (1999: 30) define culture as a
11、learned set of shared interpretation about beliefs, values and norms, which affect the behaviors of a relatively large group of people.According to Varner and Beamer (2005: 5), culture is the coherent, learned and shared view of a group of people about lifes concern that ranks what is important, fur
12、nishes attitudes about what things are appropriate, and dictates behavior.“Culture is like the water fish swim in a reality that is taken for granted and rarely examined. It is in the air we breathe and is as necessary to our understanding of who we are as air is to our physical life. Culture is the
13、 property of a community of people, not simply a characteristic of individuals.” (Varner & Beamer, 2005: 5)Samovar, Porter and Stefani (2000: 36) define culture as the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religions, notions of time, roles, spa
14、tial relations, concepts of the universe, and artifacts acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.2.2 Characteristics of culture Regardless of so many definitions we have examined, there would have been a great deal of agreement concerning the m
15、ajor characteristics of culture. Examining these characteristics will help us become better communicators for two reasons. First, as we move through these characteristics, the strong connection between culture and communication will become apparent. Second, since culture is in the taken-for-granted
16、realm and below the conscious level, learning about culture can therefore be a stimulating awakening as you convey meaning in intercultural communication so that cultural conflicts can be better aware.2.2.1 Culture is Learned.Culture is not something we are born with; rather, it is learned. “All of
17、us are born with basic needs needs that create and shape behavior but how we go about meeting those needs and developing behaviors to cope with them is learned.” (Porter, Samovar & Stefani, 2000: 38) “On the basis of cultural learning, people create, remember, and deal with ideas.”(Kottak, 2004: 86)
18、 Martin and Nakayama (2005:27) give us examples as follows: most Americans eat holding a fork in one hand, but when they use a knife, they shift the fork to their other hand. Europeans think this is clumsy; they simply eat with fork in one hand and knife in the other. Another example is that: while
19、Americans and Japanese share a need to be loved, Americans tend to express feelings of love more overtly, while Japanese are taught to be more restrained. So, when we are born, we do not know how to be a male or a female, American or Chinese, and so on; rather, we are taught. We have to learn how to
20、 eat, walk, talk, and love like other members of our cultural groups and we usually do so slowly and subconsciously, through a process of socialization. For example, a Chinese child adopted by an American family will embrace American cultural values; likewise, a Korean child raised by a Japanese fam
21、ily will exhibit Japanese cultural values.2.2.2. Culture is Shared Culture is shared. Culture is an attribute not of individuals per se but of individuals as members of groups. It becomes a group experience because it is shared with people who live in and experience the same social environments. So
22、our perceptions are similar to those of other individuals who belong to the same cultural groups. Culture is transmitted in society. We learn our culture by observing, listening, talking, and interacting with many other people. Shared beliefs, values, memories, and expectations link people who grow
23、up in the same culture. For example, according to Varner and Beamer (2005: 29), white Americans seem to share a perception that things are getting better for African Americans and that racial attitudes and interactions are improving. By contrast, many African Americans share a perception that, while
24、 equality between races has improved, there is still a long way to go. We share our opinions and beliefs with many other people and we are most likely to agree with and feel comfortable with people who are socially economically, and culturally similar to ourselves. This is one reason why Chinese abr
25、oad tend to socialize with each other, just as Americans and British do when they are abroad. Birds of a feather flock together, but for people, the familiar plumage is culture.2.2.3. Culture is Dynamic and HeterogeneousMartin and Nakayama (2005: 31) said that culture is dynamic, or changing, and ca
26、n often be a source of conflict among different groups. We must recognize that culture is not rigid and homogeneous but are dynamic and heterogeneous.Seeing culture as dynamic and heterogeneous opens up new ways of thinking about intercultural communication. After all, the people from a particular c
27、ulture are not identical and any culture has many intercultural struggles. For instance, when we speak of Chinese culture or French culture, we ignore the diversity that resides in that culture. That “Chinese culture” may refer to the main land Chinese or to the Chinese from Hong Kong, who speak Can
28、tonese. The label “Chinese” thus obscures incredible diversity. Yet, cultures are not heterogeneous in the same way everywhere. Martin and Nakayama (2005:32) gave us two examples as follows: “there are poor people in the most nations. The poor in the United States are open viewed with disdain, as pe
29、ople to be avoided; in many European countries, by contrast, the poor are seen as a part of society, to be helped by government programs. Likewise, gender issues are not framed the same way in all countries. For example, in the United States, gender equality is defined in terms of equal pay and care
30、er opportunities. In some Middle Eastern countries, women may be seen to have equality because they have tremendous power within the home and family but less influence in public arenas.”2.2.4. Culture Involves Perception and ValuesMartin and Nakayama (2005:28) said that cultural groups share percept
31、ion, or ways of looking at the world. Culture is something described as a sort of lens through which we view the world. All the information we receive in a given day passes through this perceptual lens. We select, evaluate and organize information (stimuli) from the external environment through perc
32、eption. Thus, all of our prior learning the information we have already stored in our brains affects how we interpret new information. Some of this learning and perception is related to the values of cultural groups we belong to. Values have to do with what is judged to be good or bad, or right or w
33、rong, in a culture.Martin and Nakayama (2005: 29) also mentioned another metaphor for culture: a computer program. They referred that culture serves as a “program of the mind” that every individual carries within him or herself. These programs of the mind, or patterns of thinking, feeling, and poten
34、tial acting, work just like computer software. That is, they tell people (subconsciously) how to walk, talk, eat, dance, socialize, and otherwise conduct their lives.Culture involves value thus culture affects behavior. “Behavior comes directly from attitudes about how significant something is how i
35、t is valued. Values drive actions.” (Varner & Beamer, 2005: 10) In other words, the shared interpretations about beliefs, values affect the behaviors of large groups of people. Thus cultural differences are evident in the varying ways in which people conduct their everyday activities, as people “per
36、form” their culture in their behavioral routines. (Lustig & Koester, 1999: 32)2.2.5. Culture Furnishes AttitudesVarner and Beamer (2005: 9) defined attitude a tendency to respond the same way to the same object, situation or idea. Attitudes range from positive to negative and attitudes change. You c
37、an have an attitude toward drinking soft drinks, for example, whether it is delicious from the positive side or it is bad for your health from the negative side instead. You can even hold both attitudes at the same time. Culture is an extremely important factor that furnishes attitude. For example,
38、in Chinese culture the death of an aunt is an event that business associates are expected to view as significant to the family member; a boss is expected to have an understanding attitude toward an employee who is not able to get a report done by the deadline because of the funeral and family needs.
39、 However, “in Britain the attitude toward a business associates loss of an aunt is that this is a private affair, regrettable and perhaps very sad but something that should not affect work to a great extent. In fact, for a business person handling the situation well means keeping it from having an i
40、mpact on work. Reports should come in on time if possible.” (Varner & Beamer, 2005: 10)3. Culture Conflicts3.1 ConnotationAccording to Martin and Nakayama (2005: 195), “Conflict is usually defined as involving a perceived or real incompatibility of goals, values, expectations, processes, or outcomes
41、 between two or more interdependent individuals or groups.” One thing we can be sure of is that conflict is unavoidable. Conflicts are happening all around the world, as they always have. Thus cultural conflicts are the conflicts occurring in intercultural communication which is caused by cultural d
42、ifferences that can also not be avoided.3.2 Types of Cultural Conflicts Common categories of cultural conflict include affective conflict, cognitive conflict, value conflict, goal conflict and conflict of interest.3.2.1 Affective Conflict“Affect conflict occurs when individuals become aware that the
43、ir feelings and emotions are incompatible.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2005: 197) “Suppose someone finds out that his or her romantic feelings for a close friend are not reciprocated.” More detailed, such as our Chinese are not used to say “thank you” after our family members or close friend had helped us,
44、 but Americans always appreciate others who have given them the help. Thus the affective conflict may occur when a Chinese and an American are in their intercultural communication.3.2.2 Cognitive Conflict“Cognitive conflict describes a situation in which two or more people become aware that their th
45、ought process or perceptions are in conflict.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2005:198) For example, suppose that Mary and David argue frequently about whether Marys friend Bob is paying too much attention to her. David suspects that Bob wants to have sex with Mary, but Mary doesnt agree. Their different perce
46、ptions of the situation constitute cognitive conflict. Deng and Jia (1991: 169)gave us another example as follows. Chinese are likely to say “Have you eaten yet?” when we meet a friend. It is one way of expressing “Hello” or “Hi”. But after hearing this the westerners are tend to think that their Ch
47、inese friends arre afraid they have not money for eating. This kind of cognitive conflict offen occurs in intercultural communication.3.2.3 Value Conflict“Value conflict is a more serious type. It occurs when people have different ideologies.” (Martin & Nakayama, 2005: 197) For instance, in Chinese
48、culture, people like a modest and polite person who can accommodate himself to circumstances but more westerners think this kind of people lack passion and ambition. Martin and Nakayama illustrate us an example of value conflict: Ruben and Laura have been married for several months and are starting
49、to argue frequently about how to raise their children. Laura believes strongly that one parent should stay at home with the children when they are small, so she would like to wait until they have saved enough money and she can stop working for a few years. Ruben wants to have children immediately but does not want Laura to stop working; he thinks their children will do fine in day care.3.2.4 Goal Conflict“Goal conflict occurs when people disagree about a preferred o