1. Chapter 5 Verbal Intercultural Communication 第五章 言语跨文化交际

2. Chapter outline Verbal Intercultural Communication
Significance of verbal communication
Language and culture
Language as a reflection of the environment
Language as a reflection of values
The meaning of words
Verbal communication styles
Direct/indirect
Self-enhancement/self-effacement
Elaborate/exacting/
succinct
Personal/contextual
Instrumental/affective
Language diversity
Dialect and sociolect
Pidgin and lingua franca
Taboo and euphemism
jargon
Written communication
Direct plan
Indirect plan

3. Text A Significance of Verbal Communication
verbal: consisting of words
Language, spoken or written, is a means of verbal communication.
Verbal communication happens when people from different cultural backgrounds communicate with each other by using language.

4. We use words to communicate with the outside world, form images of the future, share an experience, and exercise control over the present.
By words the mind winged.

5. Text B Language and Culture
In Chinese 房子 In English house In Spanish casa In Thai ban We name the same object differently and words are different in various languages.

6. The relation between word and its meaning is arbitrary.
And words in themselves do not carry the meaning. The meaning comes out of the context.
Translate the next sentence, please.
One boy is a boy, two boys half a boy, three boys no boy.
一个和尚挑水吃，两个和尚抬水吃，三个和尚没水吃。

7. 1.Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
The relation between language and culture The structure of a language affects the perceptions of reality of its speakers and thus influences their thought patterns and worldviews.
linguistic determinist interpretation
linguistic relativity interpretation

8. e.g. 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”.

9. 2. Language as a Reflection of the Environment
Language reflects the environment in which we live and we label the things that are around us.
e.g. People in the Amazon area do not have a word for snow.
Most Americans use terms such as snow, powder snow, sleet, slush, blizzard, and ice.

10. 3. Language as a Reflection of Values
Language reflects cultural values.
eg. The Navajo do not have the differentiated vocabulary connected with time and clocks.

11. eg. Businessmen in the United States are typically frustrated with the mañana mentality of Spanish speaking countries: For Americans “tomorrow” means midnight to midnight, a very precise time period. To Mexicans, in contrast, mañana means in the future, soon.

12. 4. The Meaning of Words
eg. For the American, “administration” in the
university context means
department chair or dean.
For the French, “administration”
means upper-level clerical staff.
Sometimes different cultures use identical words that have rather different meanings.

13. Chapter outline Verbal Intercultural Communication
Significance of verbal communication
Language and culture
Language as a reflection of the environment
Language as a reflection of values
The meaning of words
Verbal communication styles
Direct/indirect
Self-enhancement/
self-effacement
Elaborate/exacting/
succinct
Personal/contextual
Instrumental/affective
Language diversity
Dialect and sociolect
Pidgin and lingua franca
Taboo and euphemism
jargon
Written communication
Direct plan
Indirect plan

14. Text C Verbal Communication Styles
Culture influences the style of communication at great level and the communication style is concerned with the use of language.

15. 1. Direct and Indirect Styles
2. Self-Enhancement and Self-Effacement Styles
3. Elaborate, Exacting and Succinct Styles
4. Personal and Contextual Styles
5. Instrumental and Affective Styles

16. 1.Direct and Indirect Styles
In the direct verbal style, statements clearly reveal the speaker’s intentions.
eg. U.S. Americans tend to use a straightforward form of request.
In the indirect verbal style, verbal statements tend to hide the speaker’s actual intentions.
eg. Chinese tend to ask for a favor in a more roundabout and implicit way.

17. 2. Self-Enhancement & Self-Effacement Verbal Styles
The self-enhancement verbal style emphasizes the importance of boasting about one’s accomplishments and abilities.
The self-effacement verbal style, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of humbling oneself via verbal restraints, hesitations and modest talk.

18. e.g. Asian cultures Japanese: “This is not very delicious, but…”
Chinese: “It is not very tasty.”
“It is nothing special.”

19. e.g. U.S. culture vs Asian cultures
American: “A handsome, athletic
male with a good sense of humor
seeks a fun-loving partner…”
Japanese: “Although I am not very good looking, I’m willing to try my best.”

20. 3. Elaborate, Exacting and Succinct Styles
The elaborate, exacting and succinct communication styles deal with the quantity and/or volumeof talk that is preferred across cultural groups.
An elaborate style emphasizes flashy and embellished language.
Arab, Middle Eastern, and Afro-American cultures

21. 3. Elaborate, Exacting and Succinct Styles
An exacting style---where persons say no more or less than is needed.
Americans

22. 3. Elaborate, Exacting and Succinct Styles
A succinct style is characterized by the use of concise statements, understatements, and even silence.
Japan, China, and some Native American cultures

23. 4. Personal and Contextual Style
The personal communication style emphasizes the individual identity of the speaker. It stresses “personhood” and relies on the use of pronouns in sentence construction.
eg. “It’s nice to meet you.”
The contextual style highlights one’s role identity and status. In such cultures, the social context dictates word choice, especially personal pronouns.
eg. 你/您

24. 5. Instrumental and Affective Style
receiver and process oriented
sender-based
goal-outcome based

25. Thank you!