The negative transfer of native culture in intercultural communication.docVIP

The negative transfer of native culture in intercultural communication 　　【Abstract】In intercultural communication， the negative transfer of native culture is a universal phenomenon that may induce communicative barriers， misunderstandings and even conflicts. This paper touches upon the nature and causes of the negative transfer of native culture， and elucidates cultural empathy as one way to diminish such negative transfer with the purpose of improving intercultural communication quality. 　　【Key words】negative transfer； native culture； intercultural communication 　　Introduction 　　Culture is embedded in all aspects of humans and human lives. In intercultural communication， culture marks a person， where he comes from， what he believes， how he behaves and of course， how he communicates with others. As Edward T. Hall （1977） presented， “culture is communication， communication is culture”. The two are combined together closely so that while communicating with people from other cultures， one tends to show his own culture unconsciously. And he is apt to observe and judge others’ behavior according to his native cultural conventions. As a result， the negative transfer of native culture will emerge， directly influencing the efficiency of intercultural communication. 　　The nature of cultural negative transfer 　　Originating from the field of psychology， the term “transfer” means that during the learning process， one kind of study will affect another kind of study. It can be divided into two categories―positive transfer and negative transfer. If one kind of study promotes another， it is called positive transfer. And if interference or inhibition， it is negative transfer. “Cultural transfer” is relative to native culture， referred to as the phenomenon that when acquiring the target language or carrying out intercultural communication， people resort to the habit of native language and culture to think and express. 　　Similar to the definition of “transfer” in psychology，