TheSocialPragmaticFailuresinCross-culturalCommunication1IntroductionRecently,thereisawaveofglobalizationduetofactorsincludingmassaccesstointernet,globalizationofindustry,andexpansionofeducationalexchangesandsoon.Newtechnologies,growthoftheworld’spopulation,andshiftintheglobaleconomicareahaveallcontributedtotheincreaseincross-culturalcommunication.Therefore,cross-culturalcommunicationhasbecomeindispensabletoday.Languageusedbyhumanbeingsisthemostbasictoolforcommunication,whichplaysacrucialroleintheprocessofhumanhistoricaldevelopment.Weusewordstopersuade,toexchangeideas,toexpressviews,toseekinformation,andtoexpressfeelings.Wemadeculturalchoiceswhenweareusinghumanlanguagetocommunicatewithotherpeople.Cultureshapesourideasandplaysacrucialroleoninfluencingourwayofusinglanguage.Atthesametime,languagecanalsobeconsideredasawindowtotheculture.Theyarecloselyconnectedwitheachotherandcanneverbeseparated.Therefore,weshouldnotonlylearnlinguisticskillswellbutalsoknowmuchknowledgeaboutforeignculturesifwewanttoconqueraforeignlanguageandbecomeaneffectivecommunicator.Butthefactisthatmanypeopledidn’tpaymuchattentiontotheculturalbackgroundsandusedwordstocommunicatewithothersinaninappropriatewayandinappropriateoccasion.Inthisway,thesocialpragmaticfailuresoftenoccurduringthecross-culturalcommunication.Becauseofthefierceconflictsbetweenthepopularityofcross-culturalcommunicationandthefrequentlyhappeningcommunicationbarriers,thefactorsaffectingcommunicationaredrawingmuchmoreattentionfromtheresearchers.Inthepasttwodecades,therehasbeenanincreasinginterestinthestudyofpragmaticfailuresincross-culturalcommunication.Cross-culturalsocialpragmaticfailureshavebeenanimportantareaofpragmaticsandcross-culturalcommunicationstudies.Thesocialpragmaticfailuresaremainlycausedbyculturaldifferencesandlackofawarenessaboutthisissue.Hence,wehavetofigureoutsomesolutionstodealwithit,suchasstrengthenculturalawareness,avoidnegativestereotypeandcultivatecross-culturalcommunicationcompetence.Onlyinthiswaycanweachieveasatisfiedresultfromtheinterculturalcommunication2TheoreticalBackgroundsInordertohaveacomprehensiveunderstandingofsocialpragmaticfailuresduringtheinter-culturalcommunication,we’dbetterlearnsomebackgroundinformationaboutculture.Theknowledgeaboutdefinitionofculture,cross-culturalcommunication,andthesocialpragmaticfailuresandtherelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureareoughttobefamiliartous..2.1DefinitionofCultureTheword“culture”isalargeandevasiveconcept,verycomplexanddifficulttodefine.Therearehundredsofdefinitionsforculture.HereIpresentonlytwoconceptswhichIfavormost.Theoneis“Acultureisacollectionofbeliefs,habits,livingpatterns,andbehaviorswhichareheldmoreorlessincommonbypeoplewhooccupyparticulargeographicareas.”(D.Brown,40)Theotherisexplainedinamoredetailedway:“cultureisman’smedium;thereisnotoneaspectofhumanlifethatisnottouchedandalteredbyculture.Thismeanspersonality,howpeopleexpressthemselves(includingshowsofemotion),thewaytheythink,howtheymove,howproblemsaresolved,howtheircitiesareplannedandlaidout,howtransportationsystemsfunctionandareorganized,aswellashoweconomicandgovernmentsystemsareputtogetherandfunction.”（EdwardT.Hall,40）2.2DefinitionofCross-culturalCommunicationAsisknowntoall,thecross-culturalcommunicationhasbecomeincreasinglyimportantforhumans.Theneedforcross-culturalcommunicationisasoldashumank...
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