On  July  26,  2023,  Professor  Pascale  Elbaz  from  the  Paris  Institute  of  Intercultural Management and Communication (ISIT) delivered an academic lecture titled "Cross-Cultural Communication  and  Translation"  to  the  students  of  the   Sino-French  Joint  Intercultural Communication Summer School at the School of Media and Communication in Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

In  Professor  Elbaz’s   lecture,   she  explored  whether  different  cognitive  and  neural processes are involved in reading Chinese. She compared the writing systems and reading abilities of Chinese and French children to examine the potential cross-cultural invariance. Additionally, she addressed issues related to Chinese character input and language mixing in computer languages, as part of the main content of the lecture.

As  an  expert in the  field of cross-cultural  communication  and translation, Professor Elbaz   skillfully   combined   translation   teaching   methods   with   historical    and   artistic retrospectives to  delve  into  the  cultural  differences  behind  written  text  and  images.  She emphasized  the  importance  of  "Intership"  -  a  research  perspective  that  involves  mutual interactions and influences between cultures.

Professor Elbaz introduced her lecture by contrasting the " Appreciation of Wenyuan Painting  by  HAN  Huang"   (Han  Xiang  Wenyuan  Tu)  with  email  communication.   She highlighted  that  communication  between   "me"   and  the   others  is   changing  due  to  the transformations in time, space, and technological environment. Whether investigating early Chinese characters or considering current psychological and neurological experiences, it is evident that reading Chinese is almost identical to reading other languages. However, some machine-translated Chinese texts reveal issues of semantic complexity, even to the point of being "unreadable." The existence of Unihan Unified Ideographs and UTF conversion codes also  emphasizes  the  need  for  an  objective  and  accurate  intermediate  bridge  in  cultural exchanges.

Professor Pascale Elbaz presented vivid examples and practical translation scenarios to elucidate the translation issues in cross-cultural communication. She emphasized that cultural differences and language barriers often pose challenges for translation, but they also create opportunities for innovation in the translation process.

Professor Elbaz also shared the difficulties she and her project team encountered while translating  Chinese  texts.   She  cited  an  example  of  how  ordinary  translation   software incorrectly translated and interpreted the phrase "道可道非常道", highlighting the translation barriers that  arise  due to  cultural  differences  and the  complexities  of semantics between different languages.

In the conclusion of the lecture, Professor Pascale Elbaz quoted the philosopher Zhang Dai Nian's idea of the unity of opposites: all opposing things can be united into one, and each entity inevitably contains its opposite. She emphasized that all cultures are interdependent, inclusive, and transformative, with completeness and unity. The cross-cultural perspective helps bridge inherent cultural biases and the gap in information dissemination. She urged us "To embrace different views" to foster true harmony and mutual understanding.

Speaker：Pascale Elbaz

Pascale  Elbaz  is  currently  a  teacher-researcher  at  the  Paris  Institute  of  Intercultural Management  and  Communication  (ISIT),  where  she  is  also  a  member  of  the  research laboratory and scientific committee. She has taught at various French universities, including Paris-Sorbonne University and Paris Diderot University, and possesses extensive teachingexperience in the field of cross-cultural  communication. Pascale Elbaz is responsible  for organizing interdisciplinary research workshops on cross-cultural practices and mechanisms. She is fluent in French, English, and Chinese.

Students Feedback

The professor's lecture not only covered language and cultural issues but also delved into various fields such as art and translation. It was insightful and thought-provoking, providing valuable inspiration and reference for professionals and scholars in the fields of cross-cultural communication and translation.  She  emphasized  the  complexity  and  challenges  of cross- cultural communication while demonstrating how innovation and collaboration can facilitate effective cross-cultural exchanges and translation. Her speech offered a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of cross-cultural communication and translation, providing valuable insights for promoting understanding and cooperation between different cultures.

——Wang Lang, City University of Macau

Finally,  Professor  Pascale  Elbaz  quoted  Zhang  Dai  Nian,  pointing  out  that  all  opposing entities can be united into a whole, and each entity contains its opposite. The existence of two opposing entities attracts and repels each other, facing each other directly in the process of seeking  one  another,  and  thus  bringing  about  change.  The  vitality  of  culture  lies  in  its inheritance and openness. The development of modern media has facilitated frequent and in- depth  exchanges  and  collisions  between  different  cultures.  In  the  era  of  globalization, different  cultures  should not  confine themselves but  coexist on the world  stage,  actively embracing other diverse cultures. Through cross-cultural exchanges and interactions, they can face and present themselves and their history. Through the collision of different cultures, they enrich each other and manifest new changes.

——Zhou Jiaying, Communication University of China

Both  from  the  professor's  lecture  and  spontaneous  theoretical  reflections,  cross-cultural communication and translation, from an ontological perspective, are closely related to the heterogeneity of culture and the construction of a community. We aim to put theory into practice, which is the great task of scholars in the field of cross-cultural communication and translation, and it is also the inevitable path for the development of human civilization and the construction of a community with a shared future.

——Chen Feihong, East China Normal University