Gender Differences In Communication From A Cross-Cultural Perspective

In recent years, the research on gender differences in communication is attracting the attention of more and more scholars. Like many other cross-cultural communication activities, misunderstandings come up easily in inter-gender communication. Only when people acquire a proper understanding of the conversational rules and strategies of both genders can they reduce the possibility of misunderstanding and conflicts in communication. Thus the research on gender differences in communication is of great significance to inter-gender communication. However, preliminary studies on this subject are based on Western cultures and focused on language forms. Therefore, this thesis tries to make clear gender differences in communication from an inter-cultural (gender culture and mainstream culture) perspective, on the basis of classical theories and empirical studies on inter-cultural communication and with the help of a survey conducted in HIT.This thesis comprises of five parts. The first part mainly introduces the background information and significance of this research. It also identifies three key words in the title and accentuates two principles that should be adhered to throughout this research, concerning stereotype and context. The second part discusses gender differences in communication under the influence of one mainstream culture-Western culture typified by American culture. On the one hand, it is pointed in this part false conclusions and interpretations of people on gendered ways of speech and reveals the truth with the support of ample research results. On the other hand, this part also analyses distinct conversational styles of males and females in a direct manner. In the third part of the thesis, source of gender differences in communication is concluded to be gender culture, which is constructed through communication. Part Four discusses the influence of mainstream culture on communication styles of males and females, with Chinese culture as an example. Meanwhile, a survey is conducted so as to provide empirical evidences to the research. The last part draws a conclusion to the whole thesis. In addition, this part points out that whatever mainstream culture one is in, both genders should recognize the existence of gender differences in communication with due attitude, learn to understand and tolerate each other, and enhance effective inter-gender communication. Last but not least, it is the author's hope that this thesis would help people raise gender cultural awareness and increase inter-gender communication competence.