英语205-206秋季学期-跨文化交流unit

Warm

UpRead

the

passage

of

“

an

InterculturalClassroom”.

This

is

the

beginning

of

thispassage:It

was

a

hot

day.

Since

it

was

still

too

early

touse

the

air-conditioner,

according

to

theregulations

of

the

university,

every

classkept

its

door

open

to

make

the

classroomcooler.

While

I

was

lecturing

onChinesegrammar

in

Class

4,

waves

oflaughter

camefrom

the

neighboring

Class

5.

A

Germanstudent

named

Stephen

raised

his

handandstood

up.

“The

laughter

from

Class

5

isbothering

us.

I

thinkwe

should

go

to

theirclass

to ,”

he

said….After

reading

the

passage,

answer

thefollowing

questions:1

How

many

different

solutions

didClass

4

propose?2

what

is

the

modeof

communicationfavored

by

Asians?

What

culturalvalues

underlie

it?3

what

is

the

modeof

communicationfavored

by

Westerners?

What

culturalvalues

underlie

it?1

what

is

the

mode

of

communicationfavored

by

Asians?

What

cultural

valuesunderlie

it?Asian

people

are

very

courteous

andindirect

in

their

communications.

They

putgreat

emphasis

on

group

harmony,

theyare

very

tolerant,

even

when

they

areoffended.

These

collectivistic

values,shaped

by

Confusion

teachings,

werespread

from

China

to

many

Asiancountries.2

what

is

the

mode

of

communicationfavored

by

Westerners?

What

culturalvalues

underlie

it?Westerners

are

generally

very

direct

andfrank

in

their

mode

of

communication.

Andthey

have

a

strong

sense

of

protectingtheir

own

rights.

Individualistic

values

arethe

underlying

principles erning

theirbehavior.Review:

Interpretation

of

greetings上哪去？去哪啦？吃过了吗？Where

are

you

going?Where

have

you

been?Have

you

had

your

meal?It’s

none

ofyour

business!Acceptable

Greetings中文出去呀？吃饭去？回来了？忙着呢？忙什么呢？在洗车呀？这衣服真漂亮，新买的吧？你看起来气色不错。英文What’s

up?What’s

happening?What’s

going

on?Lovely

day,

isn’t

it?Miserable

weather,

isn’t

it?It’s

a

heavy

rain,

isn’t

it?You

look

fantastic

inthisdress!You

look

very

smart

in

thatsweater.Unit

2High-contextcultureLow

context

cultureGiftreceivingSelf

relianceprivacyLead

in【十大最不靠谱

】1.老婆：我就逛逛，什么都不买；2.同事：改天请你吃饭；3.领导：我只讲两句；4.服装店：这衣裳就是为你设计的；5.老公：在开会呢；6.售票员：下一辆马上就来；7.朋友：真的没钱借给你；8.餐厅：菜马上就好；9.孩子：

，我就吃一个；10.：用了都说好Why

do

such

“lies”exist

in

our

culture?High-context

Culture（强交际语境文化）High-context

communication

can

becharacterized

as

being

indirect,ambiguous,

and

understated,

withspeakers

being and

sensitive

tolisteners.Examples

of

high-context

culturesinclude

Chinese,

Japanese,

MiddleEasterners,

Mexico

etc.Low-context

Culture（弱交际语境文化）Low-context

communication

can

becharacterized

as

being

direct

,

explicit,open,

precise,

and

consistent

with

one’sfeelings.Examples

of

low-context

cultures

includeEnglish,

North

American,

German,

etc.Hall

arrangedlow-context

and

high-contextcountries

on

a

continuum(连续

体)

asfollows.culturesGermanGerman-SwissLow-contextHigh-contextculturesNorth

AmericanScandinavianFrenchEnglishSpanish

Greek

ChineseItalian

Mexican

Arab

JapaneLow

ContextHigh

ContextDirectMinimal

non-verbalIndividualismLinear

Logic(线性逻辑思维)Highly

structuredDetailedIndirectEmbedded

meaningsReads

nonverbalGroup

overIndividualContext

and

feelingSpiral

logic(螺旋式逻辑思维）Ambiguous

dialogueCommunication

styleLow-context

culturesplace

less

emphasis

on

surroundingcontext

than

wordstake

words

literallyvalue

straightforwardnessbe fortable

with

silence

andimpatient

with

delaysHigh-context

cultures

*

place

more

emphasis

on

wordsdescribing

a

negotiation*

speak

with

poetic

figures

ofspeech/enjoy

plays

on

words*

value

evasivenessCase

udy一个德国人，一个

人，一个

人到同一家餐厅，都点了一个汉堡，结果由于厨都烤糊了，问，师的疏忽把三个汉堡中三个人会对此说什么？••德国人会直接 这个糊了

，批评这个厨师人会说，虽然肉的口味不太好，但是面包，沙拉，香葱的味道还不错人会说，面包，沙拉，香葱的味道不错。是啊，至于肉，你自己揣测去吧会说，嗯……,你懂的。这就是高语境！I

will

do

my

best

to

do

somethingIn

high-contextculture1

如果没有意外的话，我会尽量去做。（也就是说我有可能不去做）。2

婉言谢绝（不直接

是为了保全自己的面子，也是为了保全对方的面子）。3

看情况而定。（也许会做，也许不会做）。4我一定会去做。（不管发生什么，我不会食言）。But

in

low-context

culture我肯定去做。Another

casein

high

context

cultureIn

South the

boy’s

family

has

visitedthe

girl’s

home

in

order

to

look

over

thepotential

bride

and

decide

upon

themarriage.

After the

visit

,

they

send

anemissary

who

conveys

this

message

“wereally

enjoyed

meeting

all

of

your

familymembers.

Usha

is

a

fine

cook

and

isavery

nice

young

woman.

But

we

wish

thattea

had

been

served

with

the

mangosinstead

of

coffee.”What

does

it

really

mean?In

low

context

cultureDuring

a

lunch

buffet onference

inChina,

Wu

Fa,

the

inte er

oftheconference,

sat

with

four

foreign

participants.They

were

havinga

goodtime

talking.

WhenWu

Fa

stoodup

for

more

food,

sheaskedwhether

she

could

bring

anything

back

forthem.Everyone

thanked

her

and

said

“no”.

A

whilelater,

Wu

Facame

back

with

a

plate

full

offood,

and

asked

whether

the

others

wouldlike

to

have

something

from

her

plate.Again,

the

four

others

said

,

“No”.“

Oh,

please

take

something,

I

can’t

eatthismuch

food

myself.”The

foreigners

shrugged

and

one

or

two

ofthem

even

frowned

a

little.Classroom

activity

1Read

the

short

passage

The

Gift

on

page10

and

answer:Why

Ms.

Kelsen

won’t

accept

the

gift?

Listas

many

possible

explanations

as

you

canthink

of.“意思意思”的故事某老外苦学汉语十年，到中国参加汉语考试，试题如下：题目：请解释下文中每个“意思”的意思。给

送红包时，两人的

颇有意思。：“你这是什么意思？”：“没什么意思，意思意思。”：“你这就不够意思了。”：“小意思，小意思。”：“你这人真有意思。”：“其实也没有别的意思。”：“

不好意思了。”：“是我不好意思。”结果：老外泪流满面，交白卷回国了。。。A：“你这是什么意思？”--What

do

you

mean?B：“没什么意思，意思意思。”-It

is

nothing,

just

to

show

my

gratitude.A：“你这就不够意思了。”--It

is

unnecessary.B：“小意思，小意思。”-Just

a

piece

of

cake,

a

piece

of

cake.A：“你这人真有意思。”-You

are

so

funny.B：“其实也没有别的意思。”--In

fact,

there

is

no

other

meaning.A：“

不好意思了。”I

feel

a

little

embarrassed

for

it.B：“是我不好意思。”It'sI

who

should

be

embarrassed.Example

1In

China:A:大妈，带给您一个小，可能不中您的意。，我不能B：哎呀，这么客气，又给我带收。A:

收下吧，这是专门为您买的。B:

不不不，我不能收。A:

来来来，别客气了，拿着。B:(勉强地)好吧，又害你破费了。[B接过

放到一边。]Example

2In

America:Chris:

Happy

birthday,

Jenny.

This

is

foryou.

I

hope

you’ll

like

it.Jenny:

Oh,

thank

you,

Chris.

Mm.

What

isit?

(He

opens

it.) Oh

it’s

a

beautifulcotton

shirt.

How

sweet

you

are!

Thankyou---thanks

very

much.Receiving

a

Gift

in

China您这么客气干嘛呢？

您还是拿

。Chinese

with

good

manners

wouldnormally

refuse

a

gift

a

few

times

beforeaccepting

anything

from

anyone.When

Chinese

people

finally

accept

thegift,

they

do

not

open

the

gift

in

the

faceof

the

gift-giver

and

they

say:真不好意思，

破费了。

下不为例。Receiving

a

Gift

inWesterncountriesWestern

people

express

themselves

in

afrank

and

direct

way.They

accept

others’

gift

quite

willingly

andsay“How

sweet

you

are”.They

open

the

gift

immedia y

andexpress

their

appreciation.“Very

beautiful.

Thank

you

so

much!”U.S.

Cultural

NoteMost

of

the

time

Americans

do

accept

giftsthat

people

give

to

them.

But

they

aremore

comfortable

with

being

taken

out

toeat

or

with

a

small

gift

that

has

moreal

significance

than

monetary

value.Classroom

activity

2Read

the

passage

Letter

to

Fran

on

page28

and

finish

the

following

task.1.

Why

do

you

think

the

professor

becameannoyed?2.

What

cultural

values

underlie

it?Case

studyChinese：You

look

pale．What’s

the

matter?American：I’m

feeling

sick.

A

cold.

Maybe.Chinese：Go

and

see

the

doctor．Drinkmore

water．Did

you

take

any

pill?

Put

onmore

clothes．Have

a

good

rest．American：You

are

not

my

mother,

are

you?Case

ysisself-relianceHis

response

probably

had

something

todo

with

the

emphasis

many

Americansplace

on

self-reliance.

most

Americans

aretaught

from

an

early

age

that

they

should