三CommunicationAcrossCultu完整

1、12Case 1Xiao Li is visiting a local museum, and there he meets an older American woman. Unfortunately the explanations of the exhibits are not translated into English and she cant read them, so Xiao Li offers to explain all the exhibits. However, as he begins he soon finds that it is very difficult

2、to explain about all of the ancient artifacts in English because there are many words he doesnt know how to say what he wants to in English. 3By the time they reach the end of the museum, Xiao Li feels very tired and discouraged because there are so many things he cant say in English. However, the w

3、oman smiles and thanks Xiao Li for his help, and then says “Your English is very good.” Xiao Li says: “Im sorry. My English is very poor.”4Question:What do you think the American really thought about Xiao Lis English? (or: Why do you think the American woman complimented Xiao Lis English?) List seve

4、ral possible reasons and then decide which seem most likely.5Some likely interpretations:The woman is just being polite; she really didnt think Xiao Lis English was very good.The woman was genuinely impressed by Xiao Lis ability to handle such a difficult topic, even though he made some errors.The w

5、oman could tell Xiao Li was having difficulty with his English, and she wanted to encourage him.The woman feels a little awkward because she put Xiao Li through so much trouble, and her compliment is really another way of saying thank you.6Case 2While visiting Egypt, Richard, an engineer from the Un

6、ited States, was invited to a spectacular dinner at the home of an Egyptian friend. And what a dinner it was! Clearly the host and hostess had gone out of their way to entertain him. Yet, as he was leaving their home he made a special effort to thank them for their dinner and sensed something he sai

7、d was wrong. Something about his sincere compliments was misunderstood.Question:Why were Richards sincere compliments misunderstood in the Egyptian family?7In Japan he had an even less pleasant experience though he thought he had handled it well. A number of serious mistakes had occurred in a projec

8、t he was supervising. While the fault did not lie with any one person, he was a supervisor and at least partly to blame. At a special meeting called to discuss the problem, poor Richard made an effort to explain in detail why he had done what he had done. 8He wanted to show that anybody in the same

9、situation could have made the same mistake and to tacitly suggest that he should not be blamed unduly. He even went to the trouble of distributing materials which explained the situation rather clearly. And yet, even during his explanation, he sensed that something he was saying or doing was wrong.Q

10、uestion:What was wrong in the way Richard dealt with the problem in Japan?9Even in England where he felt more at home, where he had no problems with language, this kind of misunderstanding occurred. He had been invited to take tea with one of his colleagues, a purely social, relaxed occasion. Tea wa

11、s served along with sugar and cream. As he helped himself to some sugar and cream, he again sensed he had done something wrong. But what went wrong?Question:Which behavior was considered improper in England when Richard was taking tea?10 in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued

12、 so highly that it is not expressed in an objective and impersonal way. While Americans certainly value human relationships, they are more likely to speak of them in less personal, more objective terms. In this case, Richards mistake might be that he chose to praise the food itself rather than the t

13、otal evening . “What beautiful frames your pictures are in.”11 Japanese people value order and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itselfbe it a family or a vast corporationis more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. While this feeling is not alien to Am

14、ericansor to any societyAmericans stress individuality as a value and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably in conflict with the goals or values of the group. 12 In this case, Richards mistake was in making great efforts to defend himself. Let the others assume that the

15、 errors were not intentional, but it is not right to defend yourself, even when your unstated intent is to assist the group by warning others of similar mistakes. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate. In contrast, for poor Richard to have merely apologized would h

16、ave seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly. Nothing in his experience had prepared him for the Japanese reactionin fact he had been taught to despise such behavior.13 In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, “Hel

17、p yourself”; for the English counterpart, “Be my guest.” Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is one who “makes himself at home,” even to the point of answering the door or fixing his own drink. For persons in many other societies, including at least this hypothetical English host, such g

18、uest behavior is presumptuous or rude. 14 In analyzing apparent problems of communication across cultures, it is all too tempting to look first for difficulties posed by language misinterpretation or assume some nonverbal indiscretion. But through these brief discussions of Richards problems that th

19、e misunderstanding or misbehavior more likely resides elsewhere, in the subtler but consistent cultural patterns of behavior which become understandable when we appreciate difference in cultural values. 15 Thus what we first need, in attempting to analyze any such situation, is not necessarily more

20、language skill or more information about the mores of a particular culture, but rather an openness to alternatives to our own conventional behavior. If we appreciate the logic of our own actions, we can more quickly imagine alternatives equally consistent with other values.16Form of address: kinship

21、 terms 父亲father 爸爸dad 母亲mother 妈妈mum 儿子son 女儿daughter 儿媳 daughter-in-law 女婿son-in-law17 叔叔伯伯舅舅姨夫 姑父 阿姨姑姑舅母婶婶 小姨子小叔子小舅子大嫂 妹夫 婆婆公公岳母岳父 表兄弟堂兄弟表姐妹堂姐妹 连襟妯娌 林黛玉的母亲是贾宝玉的姑母，贾宝玉的母亲是林黛玉的舅母，又是薛宝钗的姨母。18Questions: Can you make all of those terms above properly understood by the English-speaking people? Do you th

22、ink that it is sometimes very difficult to achieve intercultural understanding when such kinship terms are involved in our communication with people from other cultures?19 汉语的亲属称谓语汉语的亲属称谓语“讲辈分讲辈分, ,长幼有序长幼有序”、 “重性别重性别, ,男女有别男女有别”、“分血缘分血缘, ,内外有内外有别别”比较清晰、细致。比较清晰、细致。 英语的亲属称谓语则比较笼统、含糊。英语的亲属称谓语则比较笼统、含糊。

23、20 Decide whether the following statement is true of false. Both in China and in the US, if a 10-year-old child is introduced to an 80-year-old woman, he would address her as “grandma”. 一位德国老太太说：“我爱北京，但不喜欢被称为奶奶。”21 日常交际中的礼俗性亲属称谓：日常交际中的礼俗性亲属称谓： “张大张大叔叔”、“李大妈李大妈”、“王大嫂王大嫂”、“小妹小妹”、“大姐大姐”、“大哥大哥”、“大爷大爷”；

24、“解放军解放军叔叔叔叔”、“警察阿姨警察阿姨”； “闺女闺女”、“孩子孩子”等等 。 家的外延衍推和家庭关系外延的扩展：家的外延衍推和家庭关系外延的扩展： “民民族大家庭族大家庭”、“家乡家乡”、“老乡老乡”、“父老父老乡亲乡亲”、“海外侨胞海外侨胞” 汉语文化中的亲情泛化现象汉语文化中的亲情泛化现象2223Discussion:Can you summarize the major differences between the Chinese and Americans in addressing?24Stranger In china:老大爷，老大妈，叔叔，阿姨，大哥，大姐，先生，同志，师傅 In English-speaking Countries: Excuse me; Pardon me; I