最新跨文化交际学考试名词解释

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跨文化交际学题型名词解释整理：Intercultural communication :intercultural communication
is a face-to-face communication between people from different cultural back-grounds .
Intracultural communication :intracultural communication can be defined as the extent to which
there is shared interpersonal communication between members of the same culture –whether this
is in the majority .or within minority cultures .
Individualism :broadly speaking ,individualism refers to the doctrine theater the interests of the
individual are of ought to be paramount ,and that all values ,rights and duties originate in
individual s ,it emphasizes individual initiative ,independence ,individual expression ,and even
privacy .
Collectivism: it is characterized by a rigid social framework that distinguish between in-groups
and out-groups .people expect their in-group to look after them ,and in exchange for that they fell
they owe absolute loyalty to the group .collectivism means greater emphasis on (1)the
views ,needs ,and goals of the in-groups rather than oneself (2)social norms and duty defined by
the in- group rather than behavior to get pleasure (3)beliefs shared with the in-group; rather than
beliefs that distinguish self from ingroup and (4)great readiness to cooperate with ingroup
membership .
Power distance :it’s the extent to which a society accepts that power in relationships ,institutions,
and organizations is distributed unequally .
Context :it’s the information that surrounds an event ,it is in extricably bound up with the
meaning of the event .
High-context communication :it is a kind of communication in which most of the information is
already in the person while very little is in the coded ,explicitly transmitted part of the
message ,e.g.,Chinese ,Japanese
Low-context communication :it’s just the opposite of high-context communication . it’s the mass
of information is rested in the explicit code ,e.g. American German
High- context culture :it's a kind of culture in which people are very homogeneous with regard to
experiences ,information networks ,and the like ,e.g. Chinese ,Japanese
Low-context culture :it's a kind of culture in which the population is less homogeneous and
therefore tends to compartmentalize interpersonal contacts ,e.g. American ,German
Activity orientation :it is the way a culture views activity ,which is classified by kluckhohns and
strodtbeck as being ,being-in-becoming ,and doing.
Nonverbal communication: nonverbal communication involves all those nonverbal stimuli in a
communication setting that are generated by both the source and his or her use of the environment
and that have potential message value for the source or receiver.
Paralanguage :certain vocal cues provided us with information with which to make judgments
about characters’ personalities’, emotional States ,and rhetorical activity .Paralanguage involves
the linguistic elements of speech ,that is ,how something is said and not the actual meaning of the
spoken words .most classifications divide paralanguage into three kinds of vocalizations vocal
characterizers ;vocal qualifiers and vocal segregates
M-time (monochromic time schedule ):M-time cultures tend to think of time as something fixed
in nature ,something around us and from which we can not escape and ever-present part of the
environment ,just like the air we breathe
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P-time (polychromic time schedule ):P-time cultures deal with time holistically and place great
stock in the activity occurring at the moment .Polychronic time cultures emphasize people more
than schedules .For P-time cultures ,time is less tangible and hence feeing of wasted time are not
as prevalent as M-time cultures .

15. Denotation：the literal meaning or definition of a word --- the explicit, particular, defined
meaning.
16. Connotation：the suggestive meaning of a word --- all the values, judgment, and beliefs
implied by a word the historical and associative accretion of the unspoken significance behind the
literal meaning.
19. Chronemics（时间学）：The study of how people perceive and use time.
20. Proxemics（空间学）： refers to the perception and use of space.
21. kinesics（肢体语言）：The study of body language .
22. Paralanguage(副语言)：Involving sounds but not word and lying between verbal and
nonverbal communication .

23. Monochronic time一元时间观念: means paying attention to and doing only one thing at a
time.
24. Polychronic time多元时间观念: means being involved with many things at once


1. What are the four trends that lead to the development of the global village？ P8~9
Four trends that lead to the development of the global village: Convenient transportation systems
Innovative communication systems Economic globalizationWidespread migrations
2. What are the three aspects where cultural differences exist?
Verbal difference: language, thought patterns…
Non-verbal communication: body- language, time concept, spacious language, paralanguage,
environment…
Perception: values, worldviews, beliefs, attitudes
3. What are three ingredients of culture? 文化的三个成分（three Ingredients）P5~6
An shared artifact（the material and spiritual products people produce）
shared Behavior（what they do）
shared Concepts（beliefs, values, world views……what they think）
4. How to understand cultural Iceberg?P6~7
Like an iceberg what we can see about culture is just the tip of the iceberg; the majority of it is
intangible, beyond sight. and the part of culture that is visible is only a small part of a much bigger
whole. It is said nine-tenth of culture is below the surface.
(Just as an iceberg which has a visible section above the waterline and a larger invisible section
below the waterline, culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be
suspected and imagined. Also like an iceberg, the part of culture that is visible is only a small
part of a much bigger whole. It is said nine-tenth of culture is below the surface. (P7))
5. What are the tour characteristics of culture? Dynamic shared learned ethnocentric
Culture is shared. All communications take place by means of symbols.
Culture is learned. Culture is learned, not inherited. It derives from one’s social environment, not
from one’s genes. Enculturation(文化习得): All the activities of learning one’s culture are called
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enculturation .
Culture is dynamic. (P6)Culture is subject to change. It’s dynamic rather than static, constantly
changing and evolving under the impact of events and through contact with other cultures.
Acculturation(文化适应): the process which adopts the changes brought about by another culture
and develops an increased similarity between the two cultures.
Culture is ethnographic(文化中心主义). Ethnographic is the belief that your own cultural
background is superior. Ethnocentrism: the belief that your own culture background is superior.
6. What are the six characteristics of communication?
Dynamic irreversible symbolic systematic transactional contextual
Communication is dynamic.
Communication is ongoing, ever-changing activity. A word or action does not stay frozen
when you communicate; it is immediately replaced with yet another word or action.
Communication is irreversible.
Once we have said something and someone else has received and decoded the message, the
original sender cannot take it back.
Communication is symbolic.
Symbols are central to the communication process because they represent the shared meanings
that are communicated. Symbols are vehicle by which the thoughts and ideas of one person can be
communicated to another person.
Communication is systematic
Communication does not occur in isolation or in a vacuum, but rather is part of a large system.
It takes place in a physical and a social context; both establish the rules that govern the
interaction.
Communication is transactional. (P8)
A transactional view holds that communicators are simultaneously sending and receiving
messages at every instant that they are involved in conversation.
Communication is contextual. (P8)
All communication takes place within a setting or situation called a context. By context, we
mean the place where people meet, the social purpose for being together, and the nature of the
relationship. Thus the context includes the physical, social, and interpersonal settings.
7. How is Chinese addressing different from American addressing?(三方面)P22~24
In Chinese the surname comes first and is followed by the given name but in English this order
is reversed.
Addressing by names: In China seniority is paid respect to. Juniors are supposed to address
seniors in a proper way. The use of given names is limited to husband and wife, very close friends,
juniors by elders or superiors Nowadays, more and more English-speaking people address others
by using the first name, even when people meet for the first time. (intimacy and equality)
Addressing by relationship: Chinese often extend kinship terms to people not related by blood
or marriage. These terms are used after the surname to show politeness and respect The English
equivalents of the above kinship terms are not so used. Even with relatives, Americans tend to use
just the first name and leave out the term of relationship.
Addressing by title, office, profession: Another common Chinese form of address is the use of
a person’s title, office, profession to indicate the person’s influential status. In English, only a few
occupations or titles could be used. (P24) Americans tend to regard titles as trivial unless they
have a clear idea of what kind of work a person does and what his responsibilities are.
8. How is the Chinese writing style different the American writing style?
The Chinese employ a circular approach in writing. In this kind of indirect writing, the
development of the paragraph may be said to be ‘turning and turning in a widening gyre’. The
circles or gyres turn around the subject and show it from a variety of tangential views, but the
subject is never looked at directly. A paragraph is set off by an indentation of its first sentences or
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by some other conventional devise, such as extra space between paragraphs.
In contrast, the Americans are direct and linear in writing. An English expository paragraph
usually begins with a topic statement, and then, by a series of subdivisions of that topic statement,
each supported by example and illustrations, proceeds, to develop that central idea and relate that
idea to all other ideas in the whole essay, and to employ that idea in proper relationship with the
other ideas, to prove something, or perhaps to argue something.
9. What are the different feature of m-time and p-time? P97

M-time is noted for its emphasis on schedules, segmentation, punctuality and promptness. It
features one event at a time and time is perceived as a linear structure.
P-time is less rigid and clock-bound. It features several activities at the same time and time is
perceived as more flexible and more human-centered.
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10. What different worldview can be drive from Buddhism and Christianity?
Buddhists do not believe in a god or gods who created the world. However, they do believe that
there is a supreme and wonderful truth that words cannot teach, and ritual cannot attain.
Buddhists are not favorably disposed to the notion of free enterprise and the pursuit of material
well- being. Seen from a western worldview, having no desires adversely affects motives for
personal enrichment and growth generally. Thus, little support is accorded to free enterprise.
Christianity recognizes the importance of work and free ownership of property. Protestant, in
particular, sees the salvation of the individual through hard work and piety.
11. What is the American cultural value like in terms of value orientation?
As far as the human nature is concerned, the American culture holds that it is evil but perfectible
through hard work.
As to the relation of man to nature, they think mankind can conquer the nature.
They also have a linear time concept and therefore they are future-oriented.
They focus on doing and think that only actions can solve the problem.
They are quite individualistic and therefore they focus less on the benefits of the group.
12. What is the Chinese cultural value like in terms of value orientation?P
What is the character of innate human nature?
What is the relation of man to nature?
What is the temporal focus of human life?
What is the mode of human activity?
What is the mode of human relationships?
11. It is evil but perfectible Man can conquer the nature present being- oriented a
non-developmental model of society Competitive
12. Good but corruptible harmony with nature Past being-and-becoming is a kind of spiritual
good of inner harmony and peace cooperation
13. How is gender different from sex? P119~120
Sex: biological, permanent, with a individual property
Gender: socially constructed, varied over time and across cultures, with a social and relational
quality
14. What are the two primary influences processes of Gender Socialization? P121
Family communication
Recreational interaction
15. Identify the features of each of four Hofsted’s cultural dimensions and the contrast
between high-context and low-context culture. （语境案例分析）P192~193
Individualism VS collectivism Masculinity VS femininity Power distanceUncertainty avoidance
High-context VS. low-context
High-context cultures assign meaning to many of the stimuli surrounding an explicit message. In
high-context cultures, verbal messages have little meaning without the surrounding context, which
includes the overall relationship between all the people engaged in communication.
Low-context cultures exclude many of those stimuli and focus more intensely on the objective
communication event, whether it be a word, a sentence, or a physical gesture. In low-context
cultures, the message itself means everything.
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