[Abstract] This paper begins with the author’s experience in a private high school, from which derive the empathic problem. It then explores the definition of empathy, and states its functions in intercultural communication as that the ability of empathy is a key factor promoting successful communication and a lubricant for establishing harmonious relations among people from different cultures. But it is difficult to be empathic in intercultural communication because people from different cultures tend to interpret and evaluate their partners’ behavior from the perspective of their own culture as a result of being ethnocentric, stereotyped and prejudiced to each other. Besides, poor knowledge and lack of sensitivity to culture differences also lead to the failure of empathy. It finally tries to offer some suggestions to develop intercultural empathy such as knowing yourself and developing effective self-monitoring, developing cultural sensitivity, and being open-minded.
[Key Words] intercultural communication; empathy; barriers; suggestions

跨文化交际中的移情

【摘 要】文章首先叙述了笔者高中时的一段经历，由此引出跨文化交际中的移情问题。接着，说明了移情的概念，阐明了移情在跨文化交际中的作用，即移情能力是有效交际的前提和保证，是不同文化群体的交际主体之间建立良好人际关系的一道润滑剂。但是在跨文化交际中实施移情并不是件易事，由于交际者有意识或无意识地存在民族中心主义、刻板印象和偏见，再加上缺乏对不同文化差异的了解和敏感性，只是简单地从自身的文化出发去解读和评价对方的交际话语和行为等，以致无法达到有效交际，这些都导致了移情的失败。最后，本文试图提出如认识和管理自我、培养跨文化敏感性、开放思维等培养跨文化移情能力的若干建议。
【关键词】 跨文化交际；移情；障碍；建议

无忧论文 【http://www.uklunwen.com】ana>1. Introduction
What happened several years ago in a private high school is the reason for the author to write this paper. Mary, the author’s spoken English teacher, was a young Australian girl. When she had her classes, she always sat on a desk with her feet on another desk and had her students sitting around her. One day, a student’s parent happened to catch this scene. She was shocked to see the young girl teacher sitting on the desk. She reported what she had seen to the school headmaster and believed that such a rude-behaviored teacher could not be a good teacher. Several days later, Mary left the school. It is said that maybe the school fired her under the parents’ pressure.
Why did this occur? It was because both the teacher and the parents didn’t show empathic understanding to each other. Chinese parents didn’t know that “English speakers’ postures are more casual than Chinese speakers’”.[1] P413 It is common for the English-speaking teacher to sit on a desk with their feet on another desk. While the Australian young teacher didn’t know that such kind of postures are often associated with arrogance in Chinese culture.
Then, what exactly does it mean by “empathy” in intercultural communication? Why do people usually feel it difficult to be empathic with each other while communicating with those who bear different cultural backgrounds? How to develop the ability of empathy in intercultural communication? Through the analysis of cultural barriers and the emp