英语系论文的文学综述.doc

Literature review Abstract: With the development of globalization, communication becomes frequent among countries, especially in China and the U.S.A. The accelerated process of globalization and the increased communication across borders made the understanding of multiple cultures a must. When mentioning intercultural communication, we would consider various differences from the culture background to language diversity. But actually, in intercultural communication, as a partial reflection of culture, faith and value of a society, taboo becomes increasingly important. It is the biggest barrier that keeps people far away from smooth communication. To avoid clashes in cross-culture communication, we should not mention words or convey ideas related to taboo. Scholars have spared no efforts to explore the origin and classifications of taboos and have found ways to solve communication problems caused by taboos accordingly. This article demonstrates the definition, origins and classifications of taboos from different perspectives and aims to promote successful communications in most fields between two countries. By the comparison study of taboos between China and the U.S.A, we can easily find their differences and similarities so that we can get closer to taboos and avoid embarrassing and unhappy conditions when communicating with foreigners. With the help of understanding “taboo”, the cross-cultural communication can be easier. Key words: taboo, intercultural communication, cultural difference 1. Introduction In 1971, America President Nixon paid a visit to China. It has been a trail marker for the Sino-American relationship. These changes made people take cross-culture communication into account. As America plays a growing important role in the international trade market, the culture of American should be taken into consideration so as to promote a better economical and political relationship between China and the U.S.A. From the cultural perspective, taboo is the bigge