Intercultural and Interethnic Communication as the Basis for Training College Students Majoring in Linguistics for Intercultural Dialogue

Abstract

Mastering a foreign language as a cultural code is a necessary, but not the only part of col-lege-level training of future linguists. The purpose of the article is to consider certain concepts of intercultural and interethnic communication in the context of professional, pedagogical, and anthropological problems of a linguist’s education, with a focus on the ethno-cultural factor of communication, in order to prepare students for successful intercultural dialogue. The authors posit the following hypothesis: analyzing concepts of cross-cultural and interethnic communication and identifying their essential relationship would enable us to implement the anthropological principle of cultural conformity in preparing college students majoring in linguistics for intercultural dialogue, thus improving the quality of their training. In international and domestic practice of linguistic education there is a trend towards increased attention to the anthropological nature of language learning, cultural activity and functions, as well as growing importance of such concepts as “communication,” “understanding,” “communication,” “meaning,” and “dialogue” along with mastery of language as an instrument of communication. The research materials reveal theoretical patterns within the relationship between intercultural and interethnic communication that are necessary for developing intercultural dialogue. The authors employed such research methods as structural and functional analysis, literature review, and formalization based on theoretical analysis. As a result of the study, it was found that the most important result of preparing future linguists for intercultural dialogue is their ability to identify ethnocultural features and norms of speech in any given situation. For successful ethno-cultural identification, a linguist must master historically established rules and norms that regulate the processes of communicative interaction between representatives of a given ethnic group, social mechanisms that inform the common outlook of this ethnic group, and the regulatory principles of intra- and inter-ethnic relations. Thus the content of the professional training of linguists should include knowledge of ethno-cultural stereotypes, symbols, traditions, customs, and rituals that form the core of the way of life of native speakers of a given language. Traditional forms of communication fixed in the way of life of the people acquire the character of etiquette prescriptions that operate not only in everyday interactions, but also in business communication, which gives them a stable, universal character.