Revisiting the Use of Proverbial References in Chinese EFL Writing: An Intercultural Rhetoric Perspective

Under the framework of intercultural rhetoric, this paper explores the acceptability of proverbial references in Chinese EFL writing amid the alleged disapproval generally found in the Chinese-English contrastive rhetoric scholarship. Drawing upon data collected in a cross-border writing activity that afforded a clearly defined rhetorical context and empowered group review-based negotiation, the present study found that Chinese students used proverbial references more frequently than their American counterparts did, and all the proverb-like expressions employed by Chinese students received endorsements from American reviewers. It is argued that the uptake may be attributed to the affordance of various small cultures involved