Cultural Differences between the West and China and Their Implications for Cross—cultural Communication

刘英尧

【Abstract】Cultural differences can easily lead to misunderstandings， embarrassments， shocks and even conflicts when it comes to cross-cultural communications. It is， therefore， imperative that those engaged， or to be engaged in international communications should understand the inherent differences between different cultures and develop a cultural sensitivity in order to ensure a smooth and free communication of ideas. This essay herein seeks to explore the developmental history of western and Chinese cultures and their cultural disparities， as well as analyze their implications for communicative efforts between peoples of the two cultures.

【Key words】cultural differences； agrarian civilization； nomadic civilization； cross-cultural communications

1. Introduction

Evidently， with the increasing globalization and growing international trade， business and social exchanges， it is inevitable that different cultures are also increasingly interacting with one another. As a result， people from different cultures are realizing that communication is not only a matter of language， but also heavily influenced by cultural factors. Whereas people in individualistic cultures such as America and west Europe where independent personality plays a leading role pursue differentiations from others， people in interdependent cultures like Asian nations where an interconnected role is valued are more concerned with their interrelations with other people and the environment， since existence is only meaningful when put in a social context. To a certain degree， the effects of cultural differences overshadow those of languages in social contacts. Grasping the differences of cultural styles is therefore essential to meeting the challenges in cross-cultural communication. The subject of cross-cultural communication has， as a result， become a subsidiary field of applied linguistics and is being taught in ever more institutes of higher learning.

2. The Importance of Cross-cultural Communication to Contemporary China

With a fast growing number of Chinese people and businesses venturing beyond the borders， cross-cultural communication between them and their foreign counterparts is becoming more and more prevalent. One particular force to consider is the overseas M&A spree of Chinese corporations witnessed in recent years. According to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of China， Chinese corporations made 459 acquisitions of offshore businesses in 63 countries and regions from January to July 2016， spending a total of 54.3 billion dollars on deals covering 15 sectors such as information， telecommunications， software， and information services. The Report on Business Management of Overseas Financial Risks 2016 pointed out， however， barely 20% of those overseas M&A deals by Chinese corporations succeeded partly due to cultural issues in the integration process. According to the worlds biggest business consultancy provider， Accenture， 58% of the M&A deals have so far created values to companies globally， but the figure is only 46% for Chinese companies. In the words of Mirko Dier， head of Accenture Global M&A Division， the biggest challenge for Chinese corporations operating offshore projects remains to be cultural differences.endprint

Because of cultural differences， people think of and interpret the world differently and it is often reflected on the languages. The same expression may mean totally different things in different cultures. While to Chinese people， the expression ‘quite good definitely means ‘very good， to the British people， nevertheless， it means ‘a bit disappointing. You can imagine what such a kind of misunderstanding will imply in a business negotiation.

3. The Cultural Differences between China and the West and Their Implications for Cross-cultural Communication

The Chinese civilization has long been influenced by a strong agrarian culture， while the western civilization was historically dominated by a nomadic one， as a result of which， the Chinese people were more family-oriented and concerned with domestic affairs， but their western counterparts more independent， nature-inclined and outwards-looking. Naturally， the most famous historic figures in China were often writers and poets， whereas in the west， those most revered were often scientists.

The Chinese people thus care more about the connotations but westerns the logics in their communication approach， so grammar is valued in their language. If you want to know if someone has had dinner， for example， the expression in English is rather fixed to be ‘have you had dinner？， whilst in Chinese， you can say ‘你吃飯了吗，‘吃饭了吗你，‘吃了吗，or ‘饭吃了吗. Can you image the confusion that will give to foreigners？endprint