《新编跨文化交际英语教程》复习资料U5

Unit 5

Culture and Verbal Communication

Some Ideas Related to verbal communication and culture

1. Different orientations to communication patterns

East Asian orientation

1. process orientation — communication is perceived as a process of

infinite interpretation

2. differentiated linguistic codes — different linguistics codes are

used depending upon persons involved and situations

3. indirect communication emphasis — the use of indirect communication is prevalent and accepted as normative

4. receiver centered —meaning is in the interpretation, Emphasis is on listening, sensitivity, and removal of preconception.

North American orientation

1. communication is perceived as the transference of messages

2. Less differentiated linguistic codes — linguistic codes are not as extensively differentiated as East Asia

3. Direct communication emphasis —direct communication is norm despite the extensive use of indirect communication

4. sender centered — meaning is in the message created by the sender. Emphasis is on how to formulate the best message, how to improve source credibility and delivery skills

2. Direct and Indirect Verbal Interaction Styles

The tone of voice, the speaker’s intention, and the verbal content reflect our way of speaking, our verbal style, which in turn reflects our cultural and personal values and sentiments.

Verbal style frames “how” a message should be interpreted. The direct-indirect verbal interaction dimension can be thought of as straddling a continuum. Individuals in all cultures use the gradations of all these verbal styles, depending on role identities, interaction goals, and situations. However, in individualistic cultures, people tend to encounter more situations that emphasize the preferential use of direct talk, person-oriented verbal interaction, verbal self-enhancement, and talkativeness. In contrast, in collectivistic cultures, people tend to encounter more situations that emphasize the preferential use of indirect talk, status-oriented verbal interaction, verbal self-effacement, and silence.

The direct and indirect styles differ in the extent to which communicators reveal their intentions through their tone of voice and the straightforwardness of their content message. In the direct verbal style, statements clearly reve al the speaker’s intentions and are enunciated in a forthright tone of voice. In the indirect verbal style,

on the other hand, verbal statements tend to camouflage the speaker’s actual intentions and are carried out with more nuanced tone of voice. For example, the overall . American verbal style often calls for clear and direct communication. Phrases such as “say what you mean,” “don’t beat around the bush,” and “get to the point” are some examples. The direct verbal style of the larger . culture is reflective of its low-context communication character.

3. Person-Oriented and Status-Oriented Verbal Styles

The person-oriented verbal style is individual-centered verbal mode that emphasizes the importance of informality and role suspension. The status-oriented verbal style is a role-centered verbal mode that emphasizes formality and large power distance. The former emphasizes the importance of symmetrical interaction, whereas the latter stresses asymmetrical interaction.

The person-oriented verbal style emphasizes the importance of respecting unique, personal identities in the interaction. The status-oriented verbal style emphasizes the importance of honoring prescribed power-based membership identities. Those who engage in status-oriented verbal interaction use specific vocabularies and paralinguistic features to accentuate the status distance of the role relationships ., in parent-child interaction, superior-subordinate relations, and male-female interaction in many Latin American cultures). While low-context cultures tend to emphasize the use of the person-oriented verbal style, high-context cultures tend to value the status-oriented verbal mode.

4. Self-Enhancement and 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, modest talk, and the use of self-deprecation concerning one’s effort or performance.

For example, in many Asian cultures, self-effacement talk is expected to signal modesty or humility. In Japan, when one offers something to another person such as a gift or a meal that one has prepared, verbal self-deprecation is expected. There are set expressions for verbal humility such as “It’s not very tasty” and “It’s nothing special.” The hostess who apologizes to her guests that “There is nothing special to offer you” has probably sent the better part of two days planning and preparing the meal. Of course the guest should protest such a disclaimer and reemphasize her or his gratitude. Self-effacement is a necessary part of Japanese politeness rituals.