Cultural-Differences-in-Verbal-Communication.ppt

VerbalCommunication(2),EnglishandChineseLanguages,CulturalDifferencesinVerbalCommunication,InthispartyouareexpectedtounderstandsomecommonlyobserveddifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseverbalcommunicationandlearntomakecross-culturalcomparisonsandanalysisinthefollowingaspects:CulturaldifferencesonlexicallevelCulturaldifferencesonsyntacticlevelCulturaldifferencesondiscourselevelEFLandlanguagetransferCulturaldifferencesonpragmaticlevel,CulturalDifferencesonLexicalLevel,1.TypesofLexicalMeaning,2types:denotationandconnotation.Denotation:theconceptualmeaningofthewordthatdesignatesordescribesthings,eventsorprocesses,etc.Itistheprimary,explicitmeaninggiveninthedefinitionofawordinadictionary.Connotation:theemotionalorstylisticassociationsthatawordorphrasesuggestsinonesmind.Itistheimplicit,supplementaryvaluewhichisaddedtothepurelydenotativemeaningofawordorphrase.,DenotationandConnotation,Denotativemeaningoftheword“mother”is“thefemaleparent”.Connotativemeaningoftheword“mother”istheassociationsweusuallyhavewiththeword“maternallove”,“care”,“tenderness”,etc.Sowecanhavethesentence“theyoungteacherislikemothertothekids”.,MeaningofWords,Personal.E.g.“ESL”,“EFL”Cultural.E.g.“snow”,“mooncakes”Culturaldifferencesinlexicalmeaningoccuronbothlevelsofdenotativemeaningandconnotativemeaning.,2.CulturalDifferencesinDenotativeMeaning,Absenceofreferentinthespeakerorlistenerslanguage“炕”，“节气”，“经络”，“大字报”，“三讲”，“关系”，“太极拳”，“黄梅戏”，“三纲五常”，“玉皇大帝”，“嫦娥奔月”“privacy”,“ThanksgivingDay”,“parliament”Forthesakeofclarityandaccuracy,adequateexplanationcanbeaddedintranslatingsuchwords.,Overlappingofdenotativemeaning,3.CulturalDifferencesinConnotativeMeanings,Wordswithsamedenotationbutdifferentconnotationse.g.colorwords,animalwordsWordswithconnotationsinonelanguagebutnoneintheothere.g.plantslikepinetree,bamboo,plumblossome.g.numbers,Culturaldifferenceinsemantics,词义相符(semanticcorrespondence):指称意义和蕴涵意义相符；词义相异(semanticnon-correspondence)：指称意义相符但蕴涵意义相异，或者指指称意义与蕴涵意义均相异；词义空缺(semanticzero)：汉语词语的指称意义或蕴涵意义在英语中不存在，造成零指称意义或零蕴涵意义。,词义相符,有些词语在没有特指语境的情况下，只具备指称意义。山（mountain）、水(water)、湖泊(lake)、森林(forest)、阳光(sunshine)、沙漠(desert)、苹果(apple)、蔬菜(vegetable)、医生(doctor)、学校(school)、工厂(factory)、教师(teacher)、历史博物馆(historymuseum)、历史遗产(historicalheritage)、温室效应(green-houseeffect)、环境保护(environmentprotection)等。,有些词语既有指称意义，也有蕴涵意义。汉语和英语的指称意义和蕴涵意义均相同。1.他是只狡猾的狐狸。Heisanoldfox.2.那本书的作者似乎没有自己的观点，书中都是人云亦云的东西。Thatbook,whoseauthordoesntseemtohavehiswonviewpoints,isfullofparrot-learnedknowledge.3.Everylifehasitsthornsandroses.每个人的生活中都会有苦有甜。,假对应词语,“拳头产品”fistproduct(clenchonesfist;shakeonesfist等表示“生气”、“愤怒”或者“侵略性”)拳头产品knockoutproduct(knockout:outstanding,impressivepersonorthing引人注目的人或事）,词义相异,指称意义相符，蕴涵意义相异。（1）植物词语岁寒三友松、竹、梅梅、兰、竹、菊四君子杨柳、桃子、桃花、桂树、玫瑰、青草等（2）动物词语羊、牛、猪、马等（3）颜色词,国俗语义词,culture-loadedwords;culture-boundwords;culturally-loadedwords所谓“国俗语义词”，就是其“语义在反映概念的基础上增添了附加的民俗文化色彩，离开特定的民族文化背景，难以理解语言单位的意义”。王德春国俗语义学概论“语言的学多特点，同时也是普遍的文化特点，而且只有把意义同文化与思维联系起来，对意义的研究才能收到最佳效果”。著名社会语言学家R.A.赫德森,指称意义相符，蕴涵意义空缺。1.胸有成竹、醋等2.比喻的译法原文中的形象在译文中没有同样的蕴涵意义，只能意译或者换用英文中的形象。但是更换形象，只是求得功能相似，各自的文化内涵还是不同。E.g.猫哭耗子toshedcrocodiletears豺狼一样凶狠asfierceassharks走麦城tomeetonesWaterloo,指称意义和蕴涵意义不尽相同或相反龙、凤等注意某些词语的负面蕴涵意义（联想意义）指称意义相同，语用意义不同,词义空缺,表示独特文化的词语在另一种语言中没有对应的词语，造成零指称意义或零蕴涵意义的现象。糖葫芦、文房四宝、文明礼貌月、章草、站票、特困生、三八红旗手、三八式干部、三教九流、一穷二白、乌纱帽、五星红旗、五岳、四书五经、道、仁、阴阳、太极拳、武术等。,CulturalDifferencesonSyntacticLevel,1.ParatacticStructurevs.HypotacticStructure,Parataxis(意合)andhypotaxis(形合)aretwogrammaticaltermsdescribingthewayssentencesarebuiltup.Parataxis:thearrangingofclausesoneafteranotherwithoutconnectivesshowingtherelationbetweenthem.Hypotaxis:dependentrelationorconstruction.,ChineseparatacticEnglishhypotactic,明早还赶路呢，睡去吧。Gotobednowasyoullsetoutearlytomorrow.快点儿，迟到了会挨说的。Hurryup!Youllbecriticizedifyouarelate.生活费用不断上涨，许多人拿不出这笔开支。Thecostoflivingisrisingandthereforemanypeoplearehavingahardtimeinpayingtheirbills.,ChineseparatacticEnglishhypotactic,听到有人说话，他赶紧将文件放回抽屉，拿起桌上的报纸，疾步回到沙发上，假装读起来。Hearingsomeonetalkingoutside,hehurriedlyputthefilebackintothedrawer,pickedupanewspaperfromthetable,andhastenedbacktothesofapretendingtoreadit.,AChinesePoem,枯藤，老树，昏鸦，Crowshoveringoverruggedoldtreeswreathedwith,rottenvinethedayisaboutdone.小桥，流水，人家，Yonderisatinybridgeoverasparklingstream,andonthefarbank,aprettylittlevillage.古道，西风，瘦马，Butthetravelershastogoondownthisancientroad,theWestwindmoaning,hisbonyhorsegroaning,夕阳西下，断肠人在天涯。trudgingtowardsthesinkingsun,fartherandfartherawayfromhome.,2.BambooStructurevs.TreeStructure,EnglishtreestructureThenotionofthetreestructuresuggestthat:ThereisabasicstructureAllotherconstructssproutoutfromthisbasicstructureTheexpansionofthebranchingconstructsdoesnotaffectthebasicstructure,Englishtreestructure7typesofsentencepatterns,SVSVOSVCSVASVOOSVOCSVOA,Theyarerunning.Ourparentsloveus.Theyworkedveryhard.ShewaswatchingTVinthelivingroom.MyfriendsentmeaNewYearscard.Ifoundthebookveryinteresting.Weshallfinishtheworkasquicklyaswecan.,Chinesebamboostructure,Chinesesentencesareconstructedlikeanup-goingbamboo,whichmeansthat:ThereisnotabasicstructureorframeworkTheChinesesentencesarebuiltupbyplacingonewordupontheother,onephraseuponanotheroroneclauseuponanotherWithouttherigidcontrolofabasicframework,thestructuremaychangeasthesentenceextends.,Chinesebamboostructure,下雨了，快走吧，又该迟到了。Itsrainingalready.Letsgorightaway;orwellbelateagain.处处都有热心人。Youcanmeetkind-heartedpeopleeverywhere./Therearekind-heartedpeopleeverywhere.这件事我现在脑子里一点印象都没有。Idonotrememberanythingaboutit.,3.LeftExpansionvs.RightExpansion,Asaresultoftheparataxisstructureandhypotaxisstructure,theChineseandEnglishsentencestakedifferentpatternsintheirexpansion:TheChinesesentencestendtoexpandfromtherighttotheleftwithanopenbeginningandaclosedending.TheEnglishsentencestendtoexpandfromlefttotherightwithaclosedbeginningandanopenending.,书给我买的书我姐姐给我买的书我过生日时我姐姐给我买的书那是我过生日时我姐姐给我买的书ThisisThisisthebookThisisthebookthatmysistergavemeThisisthebookthatmysistergavemeonmybirthday.,CTPdifference,ThebasicorremotereasonforthisdifferenceofleftexpansionandrightexpansionistheCTPdifference(CulturalThoughtPattern).E.g.第二次世界大战后，由于科学和技术发展进入新时期，我们的生活发生了很大的变化。E.g.OurlifehasbeengreatlychangedthankstothenewageofscienceandtechnologysincetheSecondWorldWar.ChineseBackgroundinformation+majorinformationEnglishmajorinformation+backgroundinformation,CulturalDifferencesonDiscourseLevel,1.DifferentEmphasisonForm,Englishwritingputemphasisoncoherenceandcohesion.(overtcoherence)Chinesewritingputmoreemphasisontheconnectionofmeaningbetweensentencesandparagraphs;theformalconnectioncouldbeoverlookedifthemeaningiswellexpressed.(covertcoherence),2.DifferentStylePreferences,Chinesestudentshavebeentaughttousemanydescriptivewordsandphrases,especiallyfour-characteridioms,quotationsfromwell-knownpeople,variouskindsoffiguresofspeech,etc.toaddstrengthandbeautytotheirwriting.ButsimplelanguageandplainstyleiswhatEnglishreadersandwriterstakeforgoodwritinginEnglishexceptforliteraturecreations.,3.DifferentWaysofOrganization,Chinese.InfluencedbytheChineseholisticandcyclicalpatternofthinking,theChinesepeopleusuallyapproachtheirthemesfromgeneralcoveragetospecificdiscussions.English.Characterizedbythelinearandrationalwayofthinking,thenativeEnglishusersdonotdeveloptheirwritinginaround-aboutway,insteadtheygettothepointatthebeginning,startingwiththeintroductionofatopicorthesis,whichisdevelopedbycloselyrelatedsupportingdetails.,DifferentWaysofDevelopment,Englishessaysfollowalineardevelopmentwhichisaforwardmovementofideasfromthegeneraltothemoredetailed.Chineseessaysdevelopcyclically,movinginacircle,tendingtocomebackormovingaroundthefirstlevelinsteadofmovingforwardtomorespecificdetails.Normallyweresorttothehistoricalreview,supposition,philosophicalaphorism,personalexperiences,insteadofontruth,facts,evidenceandstatistics.Thiswayofdevelopmentisusuallyregardedbynativespeakersasunderdevelopedorillogicalandconfusing.,Menusedtothinkthatearthwasflat,butitisagreatball.Itisnotlikeagreattraybutahugespheresailingthroughthewidespacesofthestarryheavens.Ifyouwalkonitssurface,itlooksflat,butthisisonlyonitssurface,itlooksflat,butthisisonlyanillusionbecauseyoucannotseeenoughofthesurfacetoseethatitisreallycurved.Ifwecouldseetheearthallatonce,wewouldseethatitisreallyspherical,orrathermorelikeanorangeflattenedatthetwoendsthatarethepoles,Althoughthewriteroftheaboveparagraphisgoodatwording,hecannotmaketheparagraphmoveforwardtospecificdetails.Histopicsentencedoesnotrestonthesolidfactualbase,butonsupposition.Theproblemofinadequatedevelopmentisrepetitionandsupposition,withmostsentencescirclingaroundthefirstlevel.Thediagramoftheparagraphislikethis:.Bycontrast,thesameparagraphshouldbewell-developedbyfactsandevidence,asintherevisedversionbelow:,Formerly,theearthseemedtomentobeflat,itseemedtostretchtothehorizonandthenstopsuddenly.Hencetheythoughtoftheearthasahugetableonwhichhungtheskylikeaninvertedbowl.Scientist,however,noticedthatwhenashipdisappearedfromthehorizon,firstitshull,thenitsdecks,andfinallyitsmastswerelosttoview.Thisseemstoshowtheearthwasatanyratecurved.Thenitwasseenthatiteclipsesofthemoon,theearthsshadowwhichpassedacrossthemoonwasalwayscircularinshape.Finally,inthesixteenthcenturynavigationsailedroundtheworldanddidnotfallofftheedgehencemencametotheconclusionthatearthwasreallyagreatsphere.,Thedevelopmentoftherevisedparagraphisindicatedinthefollowingdiagram:,GeneralLessgeneralFacts(analysis)Evidence(specificexample),Differentdevelopmentintermsofreasoning,ChinesesubjectiveEnglishobjectiveThepublicopinionpendulumappearstobeswinginadirectionbeneficialtothefield.Ina1988-1989surveyof430U.S.students,almostone-quartersawmanyperceivedpublicattentionasmorebeneficialthanharmfulinitseffects.Insurveyof1257scientists,in1995,mostofthemarefoundmoreoptimistic,withmorethanhalfviewingpublicattentionasbeneficialtothefieldoverall,fewerthanone-fifthseeingmoreharmfulthanbeneficialeffects.,Indirectnessvs.Directness,Chineseliketoresorttothereviewbyhistoryinsteadofdirectlydevelopingthetopic.Englishspeakersdonottalkabouthistoryandgivecomparisonofthepastandthepresent.,Differentdevelopmentinthestructureused,ParallelstructureTakingpartinsportscanalsohelpimprovestudyefficiency.Itcangivearestafteradayshardwork.Itcanmakeyourelaxwhenyoufeeltiredandbroken-down.Itcanrelievethepressureyouhaveinstudies.Ifyoutakepartinsportsregularly,yourstudyefficiencywillsurelybeimproved.,Revisedversion:,Takingpartinsportscanalsohelpimprovestudyefficiency.Onestudyshowsthatpeoplewhotakeregularexercisesufferlessfromanxietyandareabletoworkharder.Accordingtoamedicalreport,83percentofthefreshmenwhohadtroublewithstudieswereinbadphysicalshape.Andwhentheyputintoaphysicalfitnessprogram,theirgradespickedupmoreorless.,DifferentWaysofDevelopmentAbriefsummary,ParagraphdevelopmentisadifficultandoftenneglectedpartofbothChineseEFLteachersandstudents.Theypayspecialattentiontohowaparagraphisorganizedinsteadofhowaparagraphisdeveloped.Infact,paragraphdevelopmentisveryimportantasitiscloselyrelatedtoclarity,unity,coherenceofthewritingasawhole.Toachieveclarity,unityandcoherence,oneneedstostayawayfromtheinfluenceoffirstlanguagediscoursepatternsonwritinginaforeignlanguage,EFLandLanguageTransfer,LanguageTransfer,Languagetransfer:theuseofrulesofspeakingofonesownnativespeechcommunitywhenspeakingorwritinginasecondlanguage.Transfercanbefurtherdividedintotwokinds:positivetransferandnegativetransfer.Theformerhelpsoneunderstandthetargetlanguageandculture,workingasafacilitator;thelatterworkingasabarrierinterferingthewriterwiththeusingofthetargetlanguageandunderstandingthetargetcultureaswell.,1.Semantictransfer,Transfertherulesofword-formationofChineseintothatofEnglish雪花snowflower学习知识studyknowledge谈恋爱talkinglove马马虎虎horsehorsetigertiger,2.Syntactictransfer,Four-characterphrasestructureChineseuseparallelorrepetitivestructuresthatarecharacterizedbythesecondpartrepeatingthefirstpartbothlinguisticallyandsemantically.E.g.清白无辜，家喻户晓，勾心斗角，改头换面，趾高气昂，四面八方，功成名就WhileEnglishspeakerspreferphrasesofnonerepetitivestructure.,2.Syntactictransfer,VerbphrasesE.g.增加活力strengtheningthevitalityvitalizeDouble-verbphraseE.g.发展壮大growanddevelopgrow,3.Discoursetransfer,ThefirstdifferenceEnglishdirect,deductiveorlinearChineseindirect,inductiveorcircularTheseconddifferenceEnglishsimplestyleChinesefloweryphrasesorartisticstyleintheformofmetaphoricalorproverbialfigures,Definitions,Languagetransfer:Referringtotheuseofrulesofspeakingfromonesownnativespeechcommunitywhenspeakingorwritinginasecondlanguage.Semantictransfer:Transformboththeformandthemeaningofthenativevocabularyintothelexicaluseofthetargetlanguage.Syntactictransfer:Referringtothetransferthatgoesbeyondthelexicallevel.Ittakesplaceatthesentencelevel.Discoursetransfer:Referringtothetransformofdiscoursepatternsofnativelanguageintothetargetlanguage.,CulturalDifferencesonPragmaticLevel,CulturalDifferencesonPragmaticLevel,AddressingpeopleInvitationApologyCompliments,1.Addressingpeople,Thefirstdifference:names,1.Addressingpeople,TheusageofthesurnameandgivennameinEnglishandChinesecanbesummarizedasfollows:,1.Addressingpeople,Theseconddifference:addressingfamilymembers,1.Addressingpeople,Thethirddifference:Chineseprefertoaddressothersbyusingtheirtitles,oroccupation,suchas宋局长(DirectorSong),高经理(ManagerGao),刘老师(TeacherLiu)inwhichthesurnamecomeslastinordertoshowrespectforthepersonconcerned.However,thiscustomisnottotallyapplicableinEnglishinthatonlyafewoccupationsortitlesareusedbeforeapersonslastname:Dr.,Mrs.,Miss,Ms.,Mr.,Judge,Governor,Mayor,etc.,1.Addressingpeople,Thefinaldifferenceinaddressingpeopleliesinthewaysofgettingtheattentionofastranger,orapersonwhosenamewemaynotknow.Chinese:同志，师傅，大哥，叔叔English:Excuseme,Pardonme,etc.,2.Invitation,3featuresof“false”invitationsinAmericanEnglish:IndefinitereferenceoftimeNoinquiryorimmediatereplyordecisionUsuallymarkedwithmodelverbslike“must”,“should”,andadverbsindicatingemphasisofuncertaintyoftimelike“really”,“definitely”,“soon”,“oneday”,“sometime”,etc.,3.Apology,SometimesaChinesemaynotseempoliteenoughtoEnglishspeakersandtheEnglishspeakersmayseemtooinsinceretotheChinese.ChinesedonotmakeasmanyapologiesasEnglishspeakers,buttheyaremoreflexibleingivingandrespondingtoapologies.Interpersonalrelationshipsonthescalesofsocialdistanceandpoweraffectthefrequencyandchoiceofstrategiesinapology-makingforChinesepeople.,4.Compliments,Case1AyoungChinesewomanintheUSwascomplimentedbyanAmericanwomanforthelovelydressshewaswearing:“Itsexquisite.Thecolorsaresobeautiful!”Shewaspleasedbutsomewhatembarrassed.IntypicalChinesefashion,shereplied,“Oh,itsjustanordinarydressIboughtinChina.”,4.Compliments,Case2AtareceptionatanAmericancollege,Mr.Chen,anewly-arrivedChinesescholar,waschattingwiththehostess.Asanacquaintanceofthehostessapproached,shesaid,“Ron,letmeintroduceMr.Chen,anoutstandingphysicistandoneofthenicestpeopleIknow.”Mr.Chenofferedhishandtothenewcomerbutlookedatthehostessandsaidwithasmile,“ShouldIblush,orshouldItellhimyoudontreallymeanit?”,Comments,Inbothcases,thewordsoftheChineseconveyedamessagequitedifferentfromwhatwasintended.Inthefirstcase,thereplycouldhavemeantthattheAmericandidnotknowwhatareallygooddressis.Otherwise,howcouldshegetsoexcitedaboutanordinarydress?TheimplicationwasthattheAmericanwomanstasteinclothingwasquestionable.,Comments,Inthesecondcase,ifChenhadnotbeensmiling,hiswordscouldhavebeeninterpretedas:“Yourejustsayingthattobepolite;youdontreallymeanthat.”Sointhefirstcase,theimplicationwasthatAmericanwomanhadpoorjudgment,whileinthesecondone,thehostesswasnotsincere.Whatagapbetweenthatintentionandthemessage!,4.ComplimentsTheSemanticFormula,Englishcomplimentsoftencontainoneofahighlyrestrictedsetofadjectivesandverbs.Thiswasagreatmeal.Youlooksonicetoday.Y