浅析社会文化对与陌生人交际的影响An Analysis of Sociocultural Influences on Communication with StrangersAbstract: Todays world is a village, and it is now possible for any person from an industrialized country to communicate with any person in another industrialized country within minutes. To minimize misunderstandings when we communicate with people from other cultures, to understand the process of intercultural communication and to improve our intercultural communication effectiveness, it is necessary and important to have the conceptual and theoretical knowledge of intercultural communication. Communication is very closely connected with culture. When we communicate with people, misunderstanding comes from differences in structures of culture. All these things determine how a person responds to events and other people. The need to understand significant differences in social relations and social identities is a major theme for understanding sociocultural influences on communication.Key words: culture; communication; stranger; sociocultural influence; social identity摘要：进入新世纪，“地球村”每个角落的每个公民都不同程度地被卷入了全球化的浪潮，文化交融已成为不争的事实。为了减少交际过程中所产生的误会，也为了提高跨文化交际的效率，拥有理论、系统的跨文化交际知识尤为重要。交际与文化是紧密相连的，我们与陌生人交际时所产生的误解便来自于文化结构的不同。在与陌生人交往的过程中，有诸多的影响因素，如：社会文化、心理文化、环境等因素。而社会文化中，社会关系，社会身份等诸多因素影响着我们与陌生人的交往。因此，培养对社会文化差异的敏感性，缩短社会文化距离，发展跨文化交际能力，已成为新时代的迫切需求。关键词：文化；交际；陌生人；社会文化的影响；社会身份ContentsI. Introduction1A. Purpose1B. Significance.1II. Literature Review.1A. A brief introduction to intercultural communication.1B. A general view about sociocultural influences on communication.2III. Problems of the Research and Solutions.3A. The study of communication.3B. The study of culture.4C. The study of intercultural communication5D. Who are strangers6IV. Sociocultural Influences on Communication.6A. Communication is influenced by the group memberships.7B. Social identities guide our communication8V. How to Communicate with Strangers.9A. Communicating effectively with strangers9B. Developing relationships with strangers.9C. Adapting to new cultures.10VI. Conclusion.11Works Cited.12I. IntroductionIn the past, most human beings were born, lived and died within a limited geographical area, and never encountered people of other races and/or cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world now. Todays world is a village, and it is now possible for any person from an industrialized country to communicate with any person in another industrialized country within minutes. To minimize misunderstandings when we communicate with people from other cultures, to understand the process of intercultural communication and to improve our intercultural communication effectiveness, it is necessary and important to have the conceptual and theoretical knowledge of intercultural communication. There are several frequently used terms for intercultural communication. Such terms as intercultural, international, cross-cultural and multicultural are often used interchangeably. On one level, the study of intercultural communication is represented by culture studies; on another level, culture influences communication.Communication systems such as language and nonverbal communication are products of culture. So interconnection is communication and culture that some scholars have been led to use them interchangeably: “Culture is communication” and “Communication is culture” (Varner 156). Communication is very closely connected with culture. In reality, almost every aspect of human life is affected by culture, such as the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, the jobs we choose, and the ways we communicate with people. When we communicate with people, misunderstanding comes from differences in structures of culture. There are times when we meet people with backgrounds which are different from our own, when we negotiate with a foreign businessman or even a stranger, and then we find that we are differences in languages, food, clothes, attitudes toward time, work habits, social behavior and so on. All these things are cultural differences, and they determine how a person responds to things and people. The need to understand significant differences in social relations and social identities is a major theme for understanding sociocultural influences on communication.II. Literature ReviewA. A brief introduction to intercultural communicationThe concept of intercultural communication came in to existence in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. It was not complete at the beginning. However, more and more scholars began to get