Hypercorrection

The term hypercorrection can be understood as an over-adaptation. Günthner reports the following incident: A Chinese exchange student, who would come to Germany for his doctorate, wrote an e-mail to his future doctoral mother in which he communicated very clearly his wishes about how he imagined his arrival and his stay in the host country. He said when he wanted to be picked up from the airport, how his office should be furnished, and that a suitable apartment should be found for him.

Over-adjustment

The e-mail seems like an instruction or regulation. Apparently, the Chinese guest student had misinterpreted what Germans are stereotypically said to be explicitness, clarity and directness. This is an example of over-adaptation. On the other hand, for example, very cautious, extremely polite behavior by Germans in China can be understood as hypercorrection, because it causes alienation due to the mismatch.

What does the other person do?

Thus, one can speak of a one-sided adaptation. This overlooks the fact that every (not only intercultural) communication is characterized by interaction. The question is therefore always: What is the other doing? If someone tries to adapt to the other, it does not mean that the person is right to do so or that the other wants to do so. Ethically, moreover, it seems questionable why there should be unilateral adaptation. The pragmatic question here is also whether one-sided adaptation can be sustained at all in the long term or whether it leads to a dead end.

Danger of alienation

It is precisely differences in behavior and action that are often appealing in intercultural encounters. Moreover, the other person may ask himself the same question and behave in an adaptive way according to his understanding. What happens then (compare countercorrection)? It is remarkable that hypercorrections can lead to alienation, although actually a rapprochement is intended.

Literature

Günthner, Susanne (1993): Discourse Strategies in Intercultural Communication. Analyses of German-Chinese conversations.

Polfuß, Jonas (2012): Critical cultural assimilator Germany for Chinese participants. In: Interculture Journal, Issue 17, 27-46.