A Study Of Stereotype And Prejudice In Intercultural Communication

As is known to all, culture is ubiquitous, multidimensional, complex and all-pervasive. It influences our lives from all aspects, among which communication is one important dimension. As Hall (1977:14) reminds us"Culture is communication and communication is culture."The relationship between culture and communication has been well demonstrated by many scholars. In order to improve understandings between people with different cultural backgrounds, scholars and researchers have developed a brand-new subject -- Intercultural Communication(IC), which is defined as"communication between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event". (Larry A. Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Lisa A. Stefani, 2000)Since the inception of IC, a great many achievements have been made. However, the inherent problems are still there. As the two major obstacles in Intercultural Communication, cultural stereotype and prejudice probably stand out most prominently and therefore deserve special attention in the study of intercultural communication. However, before we get into it, a clear distinction must be made between stereotype and prejudice. As a way of definition, only negative stereotypes can change into prejudice, which will definitely do great harm to our communication. Equally important, due attention must be paid to the paradox of cross-cultural communication, namely the contradiction of establishing and breaking stereotypes, which was brought forward by Gao Yihong (1995). It provides a totally new perspective on stereotypes in IC.For language learners, it is more important to understand the manifestations of cultural stereotype and prejudice in English study, namely Gender Stereotype and Linguistic Sexism. The removal of these problems is a matter of great urgency. However, because they are historical problems, to eliminate these problems thoroughly seems an unachievable mission. Still, we must spare no effort to improve the current situation, in an attempt to use language equally and non-sexually, thereby improving the effectiveness of intercultural communication and strengthening people's ability to communicate between cultures.The main purpose of the present study is to explore and expound the most widely acknowledged obstacle to intercultural communication—stereotype. In this thesis, the specific form of stereotype, namely gender stereotype, is discussed from the perspective of English learning. And, linguistic sexism, which is caused by gender stereotype and prejudice, is described in detail. Through careful analysis and close examination, the author attempts to draw up a clear picture of the characteristics and manifestations of stereotype so as to raise people's awareness of them and thereby improve their intercultural communication.