So far, we have already learned different aspects about verbal communication, such as addressing, compliments, taboos and culturally loaded words, which will help you to have  better communications with people by recognizing the cultural differences with linguistic signs. While during intercultural communication, there will always be some differences that cannot be recognized or presented superficially, and these differences take roots inside our mind and play a more decisive role. They are different patterns of thought.

Sometimes, we will find people from different cultures inscrutable not because of the words or grammar they use, but the different ways of communication, or to be more exact, that’s because the different thinking patterns encouraged by that certain culture.

Thinking patterns are not born to be with us, but influenced by the cultures we live in, and people of the same race may act differently when they grow up in different cultures. This phenomenon is reflected in some movies involving intercultural communication. Now let’s firstly enjoy a video clip from the movie The Farewell, and in this video you will see different responses to the serious topic of life – death.

Ok, have you found out the different thinking patterns in this movie? Yes, they are the typical high-context thinking pattern being more indirect and euphemistic, and the typical low-context thinking pattern,  likely to be more direct and facts-oriented.

Facing the fact that her grandma has cancer, Bill, who migrated to America when she was 6 years old, advocate that grandma deserves the truth. While her parents and relatives who live in China and Japan for long time would like to keep it a secret to grandma, thinking that truth will cause a more serious suffering than the disease itself. You see, what a striking contrast between a typical Oriental thinking pattern and a Western thinking pattern.

Robert Kaplan, the famous linguist, used different shapes to demonstrate different thinking patterns in different cultures. 

English           Semitic                       Oriental                  Romance                   Russian

Figure 1 Sequencing Differences by Culture

As you can see in figure 1, English-speakers were likely to be more linear and direct than Semitic individuals who solve problems using a combination of tangential and semi-direct approaches. Asians employed a circular approach, Romance cultures used a more consistently circuitous approach, and Russians used a combination of direct and circuitous approach.

Learning one language is not only learning the grammar and vocabulary, but learning the logic and problem-solving approach embedded in its culture. Understanding and appreciation of differences among cultures in cognitive processing and problem solving will be a major step towards successful intercultural communication. And for the students, it will also help you make great progress in learning in terms of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and even translation.

Differences in Cultural Thought Patterns

• A culture’s worldview(世界观), belongs to the core part of culture, for it influences all aspects of our perception and consequently affects our belief and value system as well as how we think and act.

• Eastern culture’s worlview: holistic(整体的，全盘的), Chinese philosophers emphasized the “One”, the ”blending” and the “harmony”. The notion of stressing oneness or wholeness took root in the minds of Chinese people.  intuitive wisdom

• Nature and Man are blended into one harmonious identity.(天人合一)  They stress adapting to nature instead of conquering it.

• Traditional Chinese Medicine stresses the whole human body that is compose of different parts. Being part of nature, the human body, if it isn’t functioning well, needs to be broght back into balance. So medicine has to stimulate the body’s own resources which work to restore normality.   

• Western culture’s worldview: dualistic(二元的), the ancient Greek philosophers tended to believe that the Universe is divided into two opposites and there is a clear-cut demarcation(划界) between the two: man and nature, subject and object, mind and matter, the divine and the secular(世俗). Christianity prevalent in the West helps explain this.

• Western Medicine lays emphasis on the parts that make up a man. The human body is taken as an object that can be studied and controlled.

• Reasoning is humankind’s highest faculty and achievement. There is also a strong reliance on “facts” as opposed to “opinions”.

Now would you please use the knowledge you’ve learned to analyze the following case?

Case:  

Kim is a Korean high school student, and one day, David, his foreign teacher from America, asked Kim and his classmates to write a composition in English.  Kim did his best and looked forward to a high mark, but when Kim got the composition back, he was quite disappointed by the feedback since David didn’t credit his composition but wrote a comment saying that Kim’s ideas were interesting, but he didn’t keep the topic and brought in too much irrelevant information.

Please read Kim’s work, and help him with his confusion.

“Unfair” Global Trade

As pressure to open market grows, Korea loses confidence in battling against the Western giants. It appears that the demand of trade liberalization influenced greatly without exception.

Since the departure, the government has said to adhere to open anything but the rice-market seemed to change its attitude. Rice is considered vital for the existence of the farming dustry. Farming plays an important role not only to supply substantial food but to preserve the national culture. If the government gives up the rice farming, it would open up the domestic markets 14 other farm products as well.

Regarding the trade liberalization, twenty-nine countries including France, Japan, Swiss and Canada still adhere to limit their import items. Not only that, the United States has limited their import limitations to 14 items.

President Clinton said that the only way for all countries to be wealthy is to expand global growth and expand each country’s fair share of global trade. At the same time, the policy of the United States aims only to fulfill their interests not maintaining “fair share of global trade.” South Korea has become one of its victims. Grouping Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the United States and South Korea are not on cooperative terms. There is only pressure from one side.       

If the opening of market is inevitable in order to avoid economic isolation and to maintain ties with the international community, various precautions should be taken before opening. When counter measures are reasonable and acceptable to domestic farmers, people will not object.

While ‘‘rumors” that the government will open the rice-market gradually are in the air, the President is busy only avoiding his responsibility. At first, he ought to reveal the truth and address his policy to farmers assertively. It is also important to listen, to people's voice. As the Uruguay Round trade negotiations deadline of December15 nears, the Blue House should not yield to the pressures of the Western giants, giving up economic sovereign. The president is asked to show a responsible attitude.

You may analyze the case based on the differences of paragraphs organization and thinking patterns in two culture.