The growing popularity of “China Travel” has greatly released the potential of cultural tourism development across the country, enhanced China’s global image, while also posed new challenges for foreign tour guides’ service capabilities. English slang, as an important medium in cross-cultural communication, enables foreign tour guides to better understand the cultural backgrounds of their target tourists and improve their communicative skills. This study, based on the characteristics of English slang, and connotations of adaptation theory and interpretative translation theory, adopts the literature review and case analysis to investigate the challenges associated with the use of English slang in foreign tour guides’ language, with the purpose of identifying effective solutions to current dilemmas and enhancing foreign tour guides’ communicative competence. Results indicate that cultural misinterpretation, improper usage, neglect of the register and outdating the language resources are the primary issues affecting the quality of communication. The study also proposes effective solutions, such as enhancing cultural awareness, adopting a modest and open-minded approach, promoting sensitivity to register, and regularly updating language resources. This study highlights the crucial role of foreign tour guides’ linguistic competence in promoting cross-cultural communication, contributing to future studies on tour guide language, and fostering the sustainable growth of China’s inbound tourism industry.

Cao Xiurong. An Analysis of English Slang in Foreign Tour Guides’ Language: A Cross-Cultural Communication Perspective. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2024) Vol. 7, Issue 10: 103-110. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2024.071019.

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