Gained in Translation: the Word "Professionalism" in the US and China.

When the words used to interpret ideas and practices are translated from one society to another, their meaning cannot only change but expand. We provide a theoretical and empirical account of how the translation of the word "professionalism" from English to Chinese expanded the overall meaning of the word and thereby broke down barriers created by Protestant logics found in the US. Using cultural consensus theory (CCT) as a theoretical and empirical guide, we conducted a mixed method inductive examination of the behaviors that white-collar workers in the U.S. and China categorize as "professional." For behaviors within work settings, we found areas of consistency in categorization both within and between societies. For behaviors within non-work settings, we also found consistency in categorization in China that mimicked the categorization of behaviors in work settings, but we found no consistent patterns within the U.S. These results suggest that the constellation of logics that shape the relationship between work and non-work spheres within societies shape the meaning of professionalism, which further guides practices in both work and non-work settings. Implications for research on professionalism, logics and vocabularies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]