Author(s)

Dongjie Ren, Zhengbing Liu

Corresponding Author

Dongjie Ren

Abstract

This paper talks about the common pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication, it mainly contains three parts: the detailed examples of classified pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication; the analysis of the roots behind misunderstanding and pragmatic failures; the hopefully useful suggestions on how do Chinese English learners reduce embarrassment caused by these failures. Most of the instances come from what the author has seen or heard during his overseas study, others are from literature relating to linguistics, and the corresponding advice is partially based on his experience. By reading this text, readers probably can have a comprehensive understanding of the cultural differences between Chinese and English and get some helpful strategies for fluently communicating with foreigners from English countries without producing conflicts and mistakes. By the way, it also helps the establishment of self-confidence and encourages English learners to actively practice their English language.

Keywords

Pragmatic failures; cultural difference; cross-cultural communication; thinking mode