大学英语跨文化交际chapter5 Intercultural Communication.ppt

大学英语跨文化交际 Chapter 5 Verbal Intercultural Communication Questions for Chapter 4 How can we effectively overcome intercultural communication barriers? Please comment on the saying “we are more alike than unlike” and give facts or examples to support your viewpoint. What is ethnocentrism? An idiom Lead-in case: Success Story Verbal intercultural communication happens when people from different cultural backgrounds communicate with each other by using language. We frequently overlook the significant influence language has on human behaviors and take speaking and writing for granted. We use words to communicate with the outside world. share the past. exercise some control over the present. form images of the future. By words the mind winged. ------Aristophanes Our task is to develop an understanding and appreciation of verbal language as it functions in intercultural communication. Diversity in language behavior is perhaps one the of most difficult and persistent problems encountered in intercultural communication. Text B Language and Culture Word differences are obvious in various languages. The relation between word and its meaning is arbitrary. For example, in Chinese, we live in a 房子. In English, we live in a house. In Spanish, we live in a casa. In Thai, we live in a ban. 1. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis The hypothesis holds that the structure of a language affects the perception of reality of its speakers and thus influences their thought patterns and worldviews. linguistic determinist interpretation---Language structure controls thoughts and cultural norms. linguistic relativity interpretation---Culture is controlled by and controls language. 1. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis Eg. In Arabic, the camel plays significant roles in people’s life, so there are more than 40 words for “camel”. Nothing is more important than rice to the Chinese, so we have expressions like “人是铁，饭是钢” and “铁饭碗”.