跨文化交际上课内容

1、!Homework:1. What is the relationship between language and culture according to the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis?2. Translate the following terms:housewarming, disinterested, mind ones ps and qs, a nine days wonder红糖, 红茶, 眼红, 青天Unit Five Culture and Verbal CommunicationI. Warm UpPlease read the story on p

2、age 156. What can we learn from the story?&Supplement: Additional materials about Verbal Communication言语交际(i) Verbal communicationVerbal intercultural communication happens when people from different cultural backgrounds communicate with each other by using language. In intercultural communication,

3、we use words to communicate with the outside world. share the past. exercise some control over the present. form images of the future.(ii) Cross-Cultural Verbal Communication Styles (p179-183)1. Direct and Indirect Verbal Interaction Styles In the direct verbal style, statements clearly reveal the s

4、peakers intentions. Eg. U.S. Americans tend to use a straightforward直白的 form of request. In the indirect verbal style, on the other hand, verbal statements tend to hide the speakers actual intentions. Eg. Chinese tend to ask for a favor in a more roundabout迂回的 and implicit含蓄的 way. 2. Self-Enhancemen

5、t and Self-Effacement谦逊 Verbal Styles The self-enhancement verbal style emphasizes the importance of boasting about 自夸ones accomplishments and abilities. Eg. In the classified ads分类广告, American ad might begin with, “A handsome, athletic male with a good sense of humor seeks a fun-loving partner” The

6、 self-effacement verbal style, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of humbling oneself via verbal restraints限制禁止, hesitations and modest talk. Eg. In the classified ads, Japanese ad might read, “Although I am not very good-looking, Im willing to try my best.”Compare the following ways to se

7、rve tea:Japanese: This is not very delicious, but American: This is the best I can offer.3. Elaborate精心制作, Exacting严格的 and Succinct简洁 Styles An elaborate style emphasizes flashy and embellished美化 language. This style of communication can be seen in many Arab阿拉伯, Middle Eastern, and Afro-American美国黑人

8、 cultures. An exacting style, where persons say no more or less than is needed, is used by Americans. A succinct style is characterized by the use of concise statements, understatements, and even silence. A succinct style can be found in Japan, China, and some Native American culturesCompare the fol

9、lowings:Arab: #%&$%)(_$%#. American: Just the facts!Chinese: Silence is Golden.4. Personal and Contextual Style The personal communication style emphasizes the individual identity of the speaker. Eg. English has only one form for the second person, that is, you. The contextual style highlights ones

10、role identity and status. Eg. Chinese, German and French, for example, have informal and formal forms of the pronoun you (你/您; du/Sie; tu/vous). 5. Instrumental and Affective Style An instrumental verbal工具性语言 style is sender-based and goal-outcome based. The instrumental speaker uses communication t

11、o achieve some goal or outcome. The burden of understanding often rests with the speaker. An affective communication 情感传达style is receiver and process oriented调整. The affective speaker is concerned not so much with the outcome of the communication, but with the process. The responsibility of underst

12、anding rests with在于 both the speaker and the listener. II. Reading1. Read the article of “Understanding the Culture of Conversation”. What are the different cultures of conversation among people from different countries?1) Conversation is a rich point (a rich point is something in one culture that m

13、akes it difficult to be connected with another culture). It isnt any particular word or grammatical construction that produces the rich point; it is something about the way things are going, something about peoples ideas about how to do a conversation. To handle the rich points, old unconscious ways

14、 of doing things are dusted off抹掉, new ways are built up. To converse交谈 in the new ways, you have to experience culture and manufacture some frames. If you dont figure out the frames, you might speak grammatically correct English, but what you communicate will differ from what you intended.Now lets

15、go to see the different conversation cultures of different countries.2) Mexican:The conversation may start with one topic, and if another interesting topic seeps in渗入 you ride it around for a while. Sticking to the first topic is less important than having an interesting conversation.3) American: Th

16、e conversation usually has a topic, and the speaker wants to take a straight line through it from the beginning to end. The Americans expect an answer to the orienting 定向question, that is to lance their conversation with self-promotion 自我推销- heres who I am, heres why Im good at it, heres why you sho

17、uld pay attention to me.4) Swedish:The Swedish conversational ideal is to respond in a concise简明的 manner without elaborating specific details, esp. those for self-promotion.5) Thus, what causes miscommunication 错误传达 is often the way ideas are put together into an argument, the way some ideas are sel

18、ected for special emphasis, or the way emotional information about the ideas is presented.6) Different conversation cultures between Anglos and Athabaskans: Who speaks first (who opens the conversation); Who controls the talk; When its time for a new person to take a turn, such as the length of a pa

19、use; (who talks next) How long one should talk; How a conversation should close; (who closes the conversation)2. Apart from differences in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, what other differences can you find between Chinese and English? Read the article of “The Way People Speak”.1) From the e

20、xample of the conversation between an Italian and an American, we can see the different conversation patterns in these two cultures. The Americans do not enjoy verbal conflicts over politics or anything else while the Italians welcome them.2) High involvement 高度介入conversation patterns and high consi

21、derateness patterns (Deborah Tannen):High involvement patterns: talk more; interrupt more; expect to be interrupted; talk more loudly at times and talk more quickly. Many enjoy arguments.High considerateness体谅人的 patterns: speak one at a time; use polite listening sounds; refrain from克制抑制 interruptin

22、g and give plenty of positive and respectful responses to their conversation partners.3) Cultures involved:High involvement patterns: Russian, Italian, Greek, Spanish, South American, Arab, and African.High considerateness patterns: Asian Cultures like Chinese and Japanese, mainstream Americans. 4)

23、There are also significant differences between the various cultures of the same conversation pattern. Even within the United States there are important regional地区 and ethnic differences种族差异 in conversation styles.5) Cultural beliefs 文化信仰differ as to whether directness or indirectness is considered p

24、ositive. In the mainstream American culture, the ideal form of communication includes being direct rather than indirect. Latin Americans and many Asians value indirectness.6) Ping-Pong conversational style and Bowling styleIn an American “Ping-Pong” conversation, one person has the ball and then hit

25、s it to the other side of the table. The other player hits the ball back and the game continues. Each part of the conversation follows this pattern: the greeting and the opening, the discussion of a topic, and the closing and farewell告别. However, in a Japanese “Bowling” conversation, each participan

26、t waits politely for a turn and knows exactly when the time is right to speak. That is, they know their place in line. In Japanese conversation, long silences are tolerated. For Americans, even two or three seconds of silence can become uncomfortable.3. So far, we can see that there are the Cultural

27、 Relativity文化相对性 of Communication - when to talk, what to say and how to say differ from culture to culture. (i) When to talk (the example of the conversation between Anglos and Athabaskans) (ii) How to talkPacing and pausing (the example of the conversation between Anglos and Athabaskans) Meaning:

28、How fast do you speak? How long do you wait following another speakers utterance表达说话, before concluding the other has no more to say? Listenership (the example of the conversation between Anglos and Athabaskans)Indirectness Meaning: Only a part of meaning resides in存在于 the words spoken; the largest

29、part is communicated by hints暗示, assumptions, and listeners filling-in from context and prior experience. e.g. A Greek wife (or daughter): Can I go to the marketplace? Husband or father: (never say no) If you want, you can go. meaning No. Yes, of course, go. meaning Yes.(iii) What to say - topics (S

30、ee the exercises on p164) Which topics are regarded as the appropriate ones in conversations?Weather, Pet, Work, Hobby, Sex, Family, Age, Income, Property, Marital status, Politics, Religious belief, Disease, Death, DisabilitytopicsIn English-speaking culturesIn Chinese cultureAcceptable topics of c

31、onversationWeatherPetWorkHobbySexFamilyAgeIncomeProperty财产Marital status婚姻Unacceptable topics of conversationAge, especially a ladys ageMarital statusPropertyPoliticsReligious beliefDiseaseDeathSexPregnancyDisability!Homework: read the three dialogues on page 170-172, then try to find out the proble

32、ms and ways to avoid such problems in intercultural communication.III. Topics for presentation: compliment (p162-163), telephone calls (p172-173), how to say “No” (p133-136), introduction, Disagreeing agreeably (American way & Chinese way:)- What does Japanese “Hai” mean? How does an American unders

33、tand it? (p133)Chinese and westerns have different approaches to refusing requestsChineseEnglishIn order to avoid direct conflicts and losing face when confronted with a problem or when refusing a request, Chinese usually use indirect refusal ways, so as to let the other people withdraw gracefully.

34、British people may respond with an excuse, and those excuses are often called “white lies”, lies told with good intentions.The same purpose: both want to avoid losing ones face or hurting other people by using polite expressions when giving refusals.- How to express “no” across cultures? (p134-136)&

35、Supplement: Making Good IntroductionSuppose an important client is visiting your corporate headquarters企业总部. Youre having a conversation when the president of your company walks into the room. Its up to you to make the introductions. But whom do you introduce to whom? Which persons name do you state first? Your client is important to you and your company, but certainly the company president is also im