COMMUNICATING AND EVANGELIZING RUSSIANS BY AMERICANS BASED ON HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Communicating with and evangelizing Russians by Americans generally speaking is a difficult endeavor wrought with challenges. This exploratory study is just a personal attempt to take on the challenge. “Relevance principle” (though it is not the focus of this study) is known in communicative science and the following is a simple explanation for it:“Proponents of relevance theory say that in communication, the communicator gives evidence of her thoughts and intentions through her use of language. She expects her recipient to infer her meaning not only from the language that she uses but also from the context of the communication and what he already knows about her thoughts and attitudes. Using all of this information, the recipient infers what she intended to communicate. Relevance theory emphasizes that much of what the recipient infers comes from these sources that are in addition to what is actually said.” Purpose of the PaperThe purpose of this study is to present suggestive ways for Americans to communicate and evangelize Russians by employing Hofstede’s cultural analysis. This study is delimited by choice to use Hofstede’s cultural analysis as a basis for cross-cultural communication and evangelism by Americans.