Abstract: A culture reflects histories, geographies, customs, lifestyles, and values of different countries. Different countries have different values, histories, customs, etc. Therefore differences exist between different cultures. This paper first describes briefly the cultural differences between China and the United States, taking Professor Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as the classification criteria because Hofstede’s theory about cultural dimensions is widely cited in the research of cultural differences. The author explores the differences between China and the United States of each dimension, aiming to help readers to comprehend the differences between the two cultures, hence raising the possibility of more fluent and flexible cross-cultural communications between two peoples with cultural misunderstandings at its minimum.
Key words: culture; cultural dimensions; cultural differences; cross-cultural communication
摘要:文化反映了不同国家的历史、地理、风俗人情、生活方式和价值观等。不同国家的价值观、历史、风俗人情等不尽相同,文化差异也应运而生。本文首先概要地阐述了中美文化存在的差异。因霍夫斯塔德的文化维度模型在文化差异研究领域广为引用,故笔者据此探究中美两国在各维度的差异,旨在为读者更好地理解中美两种文化之间的差异提供帮助,从而将文化误读最小化,为两国人民更顺畅的跨文化交际提供可能。
关键词:文化; 文化维度; 文化差异; 跨文化交际