Abstract As an important aspect of non-verbal communication, transmission of time has deep cultural connotations。 Differences in the tradition of the Eastern countries and the Western countries result in the people’s different time concepts。 In cross-cultural communication, communicative barriers or errors occur frequently due to the differences in time concepts。 This thesis attempts to discuss and make some comparative studies on time concept between the American and the Chinese, and also gives the readers a general idea of cross-cultural communication barriers。 Discussing the influence on cross-culture communication based on the time concept is conducive to deeper understanding and to grasp the Chinese culture and time orientation。 It is hoped that it will be helpful to develop people’s communication abilities and avoid contradictions and conflicts in intercultural activities。76941

Key words: the concept of time; cultural conflicts; comparison;  intercultural communication

摘要作为非语言交际的重要方面,时间信息的传递也具有深刻的文化内涵。东西方文化传统的不同，导致人们的时间观念存在差异。在跨文化交际中，因时间观念的差异而造成的交际障碍和失误经常发生。本文尝试着对中美时间观念作讨论并做一些比较性的研究,并让读者对时间观念带来的跨文化交际障碍有大体的了解。讨论时间观念对跨文化交际的影响，有利于更深层次地理解和把握中美文化各自的时间取向，期望能有助于提高人们的交际能力，更好地避免跨文化交际活动中的矛盾与冲突。

毕业论文关键词：时间观念；文化冲突；比较；跨文化交际

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

2。Literature Review 1

3。 The Differences in Chinese and American Time Concept 2

3。1 The line-type time outlook and the round-type time outlook 2

3。2 Mono-chronic time and poly-chronic time 4

3。3 Past-time orientation and future-time orientation 6

4。 Conflicts Caused by the Differences of Time Concept 8

4。1 Presentation on time。8

4。2 Invitation before visit 。。。8

4。3 Help for old people 9

5。 Illumination for Cross-cultural Communication 9

5。1 Understanding the differences and face them bravely 9

5。2 Learning and drawing lessons from others10

6。 Conclusion12

Works Cited 13

1。Introduction

     Time is objective and can be perceived, which is one of the basic forms of the objective material, and is the sequence of the alternation of substance and form。 Time concept is naturally formed by people's perception, the reflection and the cognition of the objective time in social practice。 Because of the differences in social practice, thinking mode and scheduling method, people in different cultures hold various opinions on time concepts。 That is to say, time, as an objective existence, has different forms of reflection in cultures。 E。 T。 Hall, an American anthropologist, claims that time can change the nature of life。 It is one of life's most fundamental organization systems (Edward 36)。 Time concept is a part of the deep structure of culture, which affects our perception of the outside world, our judgment, our words and deeds; in turn, certain words and deeds also reflect a certain time concept and pass some information。 Therefore, when people from different cultures communicate, time concept as an invisible guide will restrict and control people's words and behaviors during the cross cultural communication。