Marginal people’s Struggle in Mainstream culture

Wang yuan

【Abstract】In the title story of David Wong Louies collection Pangs of Love， Mrs. Pang， Chinese immigrant， who fails to communicate with the English-speaking world even with her sons， acts as a marginal woman lost in the west mainstream culture while struggling to hold to her Chinese root. Her world and her sons world seem totally alien and strange to each other， they are unable to bridge their culture gap. Intercultural communication and understanding can never be conducted totally successfully and smoothly. Every culture is a living body， which absorbs similarity easily and rejects difference instinctively.

【Keywords】Marginal peoples；Struggle；Mainstream culture

In Louies short story Pangs of Love， Asian American figures living in the American mainstream society have not overcome their stereotypes that portrait them as effeminate and castrated. Even though they have lived in America for almost their lives like the rest of the white people， the men in this story have not equated with other races， especially the white society. Why intercultural communication fails？

First， Culture influences language by way of symbols and rules as well as the perceptions of the universe. If language is locked above culture， how intercultural communication can make sense？ Therefore， the mother， who speaks little English， becomes alien and strange in the American mainstream society. Without language， she loses the most necessary link with her environment and with her sons， she lives in the margin of the mainstream society.

Second， beneath those cultural differences， there are some psychological factors including stereotyping， values， ethnocentrism， culture shock and prejudice which are very vital to understand those cultural differences and use them correctly in practice. Intercultural communications behaviors are affected by these psychological factors at different degrees.

Stereotyping is a complex form of categorization that mentally organizes our experiences and guides our behavior toward a particular group of people. It is almost found in every intercultural communication situation.

Besides stereotypes， values also count largely in intercultural communication. Values guide both perception and communication and tell people what is right and what is wrong in the specific culture. In intercultural communication， ethnocentrism， prejudice and cultural shock are another psychological factors that affect peoples behaviors in communications with people form other cultures. Every culture is a living body， which tends to protect and enhance itself by absorbing similar elements and reject difference instinctively at the same time to defend its purity. So ethnocentrism， prejudice and cultural shock are inevitable.

References：

[1]Beamer， Linda & Varner， L. 2005 Intercultural Communication In the

[2]David Wong Louie， 1991. Pangs of Love， New York： Alfred A Knopf

Edwin Mcdaniel， Larry A Samovar， Richard. E.Porter 2011. Intercultural Communication： A Reader. Wadsworth Publishing Co. Inc.

作者简介：

王媛，女，汉族，1982年8月，云南玉溪人，硕士学历，昆明学院外语学院讲师，研究方向为英语学前教育。