跨文化交际unit答案

Unit1CommunicationAcrossCulturesWarmUpQuestionsWhyisitdifficulttoexplaintoablindpersonwhatcolorsareDoyousometimesfindithardtomakeyourselfproperlyunderstoodbyothersIfyoudo,whydoyouthinkitishardItisverydifficultforpeopletounderstandoneanotheriftheydonotsharethesameexperiences.Ofcourse,weallsharetheexperienceofbeinghuman,buttherearemanyexperienceswhichwedonotshareandwhicharedifferentforallofus.Itisthesedifferentexperiencesthatmakeupwhatiscalled—culturellinthesocialsciences—thehabitsofeverydaylife,thecuestowhichpeoplerespond,theautomaticreactionstheyhavetowhatevertheyseeandhear.Theseoftendiffer,andthedifferencesmayintroducemisunderstandingswhereweseekunderstanding.ReadingIInterculturalCommunication：AnIntroductionComprehensionquestionsIsitstilloftenthecasetha“teveryonesquicktoblamethealien”inthecontemporaryworldThisisstillpowerfulintoday‘ssocialandpoliticalrhetoric.Forinstance,itisnotuncommonintoday‘ssocietytohearpeoplesaythatmost,ifnotall,ofthesocialandeconomicproblemsarecausedbyminoritiesandimmigrants.WhatsthedifferencebetweentodaysinterculturalcontactandthatofanytimeinthepastToday‘sinterculturalencountersarefarmorenumerousandof

greaterimportancethaninanytimeinhistory.WhathavemadeinterculturalcontactaverycommonphenomenoninourlifetodayNewtechnology,intheformoftransportationandcommunicationsystems,hasacceleratedinterculturalcontact;innovativecommunicationsystemshaveencouragedandfacilitatedculturalinteraction;globalizationoftheeconomyhasbroughtpeopletogether;changesinimmigrationpatternshavealsocontributedtointerculturalencounter.Howdoyouunderstandthesentenc“ecultureiseverythingandeverywhere”Culturesuppliesuswiththeanswerstoquestionsaboutwhattheworldlookslikeandhowweliveandcommunicatewithinthatworld.Cultureteachesushowtobehaveinourlifefromtheinstantofbirth.Itisomnipresent.WhatarethemajorelementsthatdirectlyinfluenceourperceptionandcommunicationThethreemajorsocio-culturalelementsthatdirectlyinfluenceperceptionandcommunicationareculturalvalues,worldview(religion),andsocialorganizations(familyandstate).WhatdoesonesfamilyteachhimorherwhileheorshegrowsupinitThefamilyteachesthechildwhattheworldlookslikeandhisorherplaceinthatworld.WhyisitimpossibletoseparateouruseoflanguagefromourcultureBecauselanguageisnotonlyaformofpreservingculturebutalsoameansofsharingculture.Languageisanorganized,generallyagreed-upon,learnedsymbolsystemthatisusedtorepresenttheexperienceswithinaculturalcommunity.WhatarethenonverbalbehaviorsthatpeoplecanattachmeaningtoPeoplecanattachmeaningtononverbalbehaviorssuchasgestures,postures,facialexpressions,eyecontactandgaze,touch,etc.Howcanafree,culturallydiversesocietyexistAfree,culturallydiversesocietycanexistonlyifdiversityispermittedtoflourishwithoutprejudiceanddiscrimination,bothofwhichharmallmembersofthesociety.DiscoveringProblems:SlimIsBeautifulQuestionsfordiscussionWhichdoyouthinkisthemarkofbeauty,thinorfatWhyisitoftensaidthatbeautyisintheeyeofbeholderOnesociologistoncesaidthatwiththegreaterinfluenceofAmericancultureacrosstheworld,thestandardofabeautyisbecomingmoreandmoreHollywood-like,characterizedbyachiseledchinandatall,slimfigure.OnecanseesuchbeautifulimagesinalmostanyAmericanmovie.WeChinesealsosharethenotionthatthestandardideaofbeautyincludesbeingtall,thin,andlightskinned.Itseemsthatwiththeprocessofglobalization,easternandwesternbeautieslookmoreandmorealike.Butwehavetorememberthatthedefinitionofbeautydiffersfromculturetoculture.Forexample,Hispanicstandardsoffemalebeautyaretohavebighips,amoderatetan,andashortheight.Asisdescribedinthearticle,insoutheasternNigeria,Coca-Cola-bottlevoluptuousnessiscelebratedandamplebacksidesandbosomsareconsideredidealsoffemalebeauty.What‘smore,theidealstandardofbeautyvariesfromtimetotime.Forinstance,duringtimesoffamine,theidealstandardofbeautyforwomenisamuchlargerbodysize.Largersizeandmorebodyfatmayreflectone‘sstatus;foritsuggeststhatthepersoniswellfedandhealthy.Thinnessthenwouldreflectmalnutrition.However,duringtimesofplenty,plumpnessisnotareflectionofstatus.Peoplemayeasilyassociatefatnesswithhypertension,heartdiseaseorotherpotentialdiseases.Likewise,duringerasinwhichlower-classlaborshadtotoilpredominantlyoutsideforhoursaday,tannedskinwasanindicationoflowerstatus,andthereforetheidealstandardoffemalebeautywasverypaleskin;womenduringthosetimesactuallyusedalotofwhitepowderedcosmeticstoexaggeratethepalenessoftheirskin.Now,however,tanisareflectionofhavingmoreleisuretimespentonseashoresinsteadofworkinginanofficeallthetime,andthereforeitmaysuggesthigherstatus,sowomenstrivefordarkerskintones.Itistruethatbeautyisintheeyeofthebeholderbecausepeopleofdifferentculturesandindifferentsituationsmayhavedifferentideasaboutwhatisbeautifulandwhatisnot.GroupWorkFirstsharewithyourgroupmemberwhateverexperiencesyouhavehadincommunicationeventsthatcanbeconsideredasintercultural.Thenworktogethertodecidewhethereachofthefollowingcasesofcommunicationispossiblyinterculturalornotand,ifitis,towhatextentitisintercultural.Trytoplaceallthecasesalongacontinuumofinterculturalness,fromthemostinterculturaltotheleastintercultural.Allthecasesmayseemtobeinterculturalbuttheydifferintheextenttowhichtheyareintercultural.Howeveritmaybeverydifficultforustoplaceallthesecasesalongacontinuumofinterculturalnessfromthemostinterculturaltotheleastintercultural,formanyotherfactorshavetobetakenintoconsiderationifwehavetodecidewhichismoreinterculturalthananother.Forinstance,whethercommunicationbetweenamalemanagerandafemalesecretaryisinterculturalornotand,ifitis,howinterculturalitmaybe,maydependontheculturalandsocialbackgroundsofthetwopersons.Iftheyarefromdrasticallydifferentcultures,communicationbetweenthemissurelyinterculturalandmaybeveryintercultural.Iftheyarefromthesameculture,communicationbetweenthemmaybelittleintercultural.Thefollowingistentativelysuggestedformeasuringtheinterculturalnessofthecasesofcommunication,andthecasesarepresentedfromthemostinterculturaltotheleastintercultural:CommunicationbetweenaChineseuniversitystudentandanAmericanprofessor;CommunicationbetweenaCanadiangirlandaSouthAfricanboy;Communicationbetweenafirst-generationChineseAmericanandthirdgenerationone;CommunicationbetweenabusinesspersonfromHongKongandanartistfromXian;CommunicationbetweenateenagerfromBeijingandateenagerfromTibet;Communicationbetweenafatherwhoisafarmerallhislifeandhissonwhoworksasanengineer;Communicationbetweenasoftwaretechnicianandafisherman;Communicationbetweenamalemanagerandafemalesecretary(supposingtheyareofthesimilarculturalandsocialbackgrounds).DebateTheclassistobedividedintotwogroupsanddebateonthetwodifferentviewsmentionedinthefollowingoninterculturalcommunication.Stateyourpointofviewclearlyandsupportyourargumentwithconvincingandsubstantiveevidence.Pro:Peoplearepeople;moreinteractionswouldleadtogreaterunderstandingofeachother.(Commonalityprecedes)Con:Peopleareshapedbydifferentenvironmentstheyfindthemselvesin,therefore,thedifferenceoverrides.(Differencesprecedes)PossibleArgumentsforPro:Humanbeingstendtodrawclosetooneanotherbytheircommonnature.Weallsharethecommonbasicneeds.Rapidexpansionofworldwidetransportationandcommunicationnetworkshavemadeitfareasierthaneverbeforeforpeoplethroughouttheworldtocontactwithoneanother.Theprocessofglobalizationmayreducetheregionaldifferencesbetweenpeopleallovertheworld.Weareallmembersofthe—globalvillage]].Economicinterdependenceintoday‘sworldrequirespeopleofdifferentcountriestointeractonanunprecedentedscale,andmoreinteractionwillresultinmoresimilarityamongpeople.Moreandmorepeoplefromvariouscultureshavetoworkandlivetogetherandtheywilladapttoeachothertosuchanextentthatculturaldifferencesbetweenthemmaynolongermatter.PossibleArgumentsforCon:Peoplethroughouttheworldmaybesimilarinmanyaspects,butdifferencesinhabitsandcustomskeepthemapart.Thoughthebasichumanneedsareuniversallythesame,peopleallovertheworldsatisfytheirbasiccommonhumanneedsindifferentways.Asoursocietyisbecomingmoreandmorediversified,differencesbetweenpeopletendtogrowlargerinsomeaspects.Itisdifferencesbetweenpeoplethatunderliethenecessityofcommunication,anditdoesnotfollowthatcommunicationwhichmayincreasethepossibilityofunderstandingbetweenpeoplewillalwaysreducedifferences.Peoplenowadaysaremorelikelytotrytomaintaintheiruniqueculturalidentitieswhentheyfindthemselveslivingcloselywithpeopleofothercultures.Fromthetwoseeminglyoppositeviewpoints,wecanlearnsomethingthatweshouldkeepinmindwhenweareinvolvedininterculturalcommunication.First,allhumanbeingssharesomecommonheritagesthatlinkustooneanother.Tosomeextent,peoplethroughouttheworldareprettymuchalikeinmanyaspects,andthathasformedtheverybasisonwhichitispossibleforpeopleofvariousculturestocommunicate.However,whatwehavetorealizeisthattherearealsovastdifferencesbetweenpeoplefromvariousculturalgroups.Toreallyunderstandapersonwhoseculturalbackgroundisdifferentfromyourscanbeverydifficult,forbothyouandthatpersonmaybesubconsciouslyinfluencedbyeachone‘sownculturalupbringing.Inasense,whatweshoulddoininterculturalcommunicationistotreatpeopleofotherculturesbothasthesamewithandasdifferentfromus.ReadingIITheChallengeofGlobalizationComprehensionquestionsWhydoestheauthorsaythatourunderstandingoftheworldhaschangedManythings,suchaspoliticalchangesandtechnologicaladvances,havechangedtheworldveryrapidly.Inthepastmosthumanbeingswereborn,lived,anddiedwithinalimitedgeographicalarea,neverencounteringpeopleofotherculturalbackgrounds.Suchanexistence,however,nolongerprevailsintheworld.Thus,allpeoplearefacedwiththechallengeofunderstandingthischangedandstillfastchangingworldinwhichwelive.Whata“globalvillage”islikeAsourworldshrinksanditsinhabitantsbecomeinterdependent,peoplefromremoteculturesincreasinglycomeintocontactonadailybasis.Ina—globalvillagell,membersofonceisolatedgroupsofpeoplehavetocommunicatewithmembersofotherculturalgroups.Thosepeoplemaylivethousandsofmilesawayorrightnextdoortoeachother.Whatisconsideredasthemajordrivingforceofthepost-1945globalizationTechnology,particularlytelecommunicationsandcomputersareconsideredtobethemajordrivingforce.Whatdoestheauthormeanbysayingthat“theglobalmaybemorelocalthanthelocal”Theincreasingglobalmobilityofpeopleandtheimpactofnewelectronicmediaonhumancommunicationsmaketheworldseemsmaller.Wemaycommunicatemorewithpeopleofothercountriesthanwithourneighbors,andwemaybemoreinformedoftheinternationaleventsthanofthelocalevents.Inthissense,—theglobal'maybemorelocalthanthelocal'll.WhyisitimportantforbusinesspeopletoknowdiverseculturesintheworldEffectivecommunicationmaybethemostimportantcompetitiveadvantagethatfirmshavetomeetdiversecustomerneedsonaglobalbasis.Succeedingintheglobalmarkettodayrequirestheabilitytocommunicatesensitivelywithpeoplefromothercultures,asensitivitythatisbasedonanunderstandingofcross-culturaldifferences.WhataretheseriousproblemsthatcountriesthroughouttheworldareconfrontedwithCountriesthroughouttheworldareconfrontedwithseriousproblemssuchasvolatileinternationaleconomy,shrinkingresources,mountingenvironmentalcontamination,andepidemicsthatknownoboundaries.WhatimplicationscanwedrawfromthecaseofMichaelFayThiscaseshowsthatinaworldofinternationalinterdependence,theabilitytounderstandandcommunicateeffectivelywithpeoplefromotherculturestakesonextremeurgency.Ifweareunawareofthesignificantrolecultureplaysincommunication,wemayplacetheblameforcommunicationfailureonpeopleofothercultures.WhatattitudesarefavoredbytheauthortowardsglobalizationGlobalization,forbetterorforworse,haschangedtheworldgreatly.Whetherwelikeitornot,globalizationisallbutunstoppable.Itisalreadyheretostay.Itisbothafactandanopportunity.Thechallengesarenotinsurmountable.Solutionsexist,andarewaitingtobeidentifiedandimplemented.Fromaglobalisticpointofview,thereishopeandfaithinhumanity.WritingReadthefollowingandthentrytowriteashortessayonwhatonehastolearntogetpreparedforworkingandlivinginanewculturalenvironment.Thereseemstobesomuchthatonecandotogetoneselfwellpreparedforworkingandlivinginanewculturalenvironment.Apartfromwhatismentionedinthepassage,thefollowingmaybewhatapersoninAnna‘ssituationshouldalsotrytodo:1.Learningthelanguagethatisusedinthenewculturalenvironment.2.Learningaboutthehistoryandpresentsocialsituationoftheareaorthecountry.Learningaboutthedominantreligiousbeliefandsomeimportantsocialcustoms.Learningabouttheculturalusesofnonverbalmeansincludingtimeandspaceforcommunication.Learningtolookatthingsandpeopleinnewperspectivesthataredifferentfromwhatoneisaccustomedto.Developingamoretolerantattitudetowardanyunfamiliarphenomena.Becomingawarethatproblemsandmisunderstandingsareinevitableininterculturalcommunication.Learningabouthowforeignersareusuallyperceivedandtreatedbythelocalpeople.IdentifyingDifference:HowWeAddressEachOtherQuestionsfordiscussionHowdoyouaddressafriendfromanEnglish-speakingcountryAndhowshouldwedoitifheorsheknowsourcultureverywellorifwespeakChinesetoeachotherUsuallywecanaddressafriendfromanEnglish-speakingcountrybyhis/herfirstnamewithoutmentioninghis/hersurnameortitleoutofrespectforhis/herculture.BecausepeoplefromEnglish-speakingcountriesattachgreatimportancetocasualnessinaddressingeachotherinordertoformarelativelyintimateandequalrelationship.ButifheorsheknowsourcultureverywellorifwespeakChinesetoeachother,wecanaddresshim/herintheChineseway.Justastheoldsayinggoes,—WheninRome,doastheRomansdoll,it‘sbetterforourfriendtolearnmoreaboutand

becomebetteracquaintedwiththeChineseculture.Inthisway,whenaddressinghim/her,wecanadd―xiao||(young)or―lao||(aged)beforehis/herfamilynameaccordingtohis/heragesoastocreateanamicableatmosphere.Wecanalsoaddresshim/herbyusinghis/hertitleinahumorousway,orbyinventingsomenicknameforhimorherineitherEnglishorChinese,dependingonthedegreeofintimacy.SurveyConductasurveyamongsomeChinesestudentstofindhowmuchtheyknowaboutthepossibleculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish-speakingpeopleinthespeechbehaviorslistedbelow.SpeechbehaviorChinaEnglish-speakingSpeechbehaviorChinaEnglish-speakingcountriesGreetingWhengreetingeachPeoplefromother,theChineseEnglish-speakingoftenbeginwith—Havecountriesusuallyyoueaten||,—Wheresay—Hello.ll—Good—Goodgoing],—Whataremorning/afternoongoing],—Whataremorning/afternoonyoudoingll,/evening]]—Niceto—Longtimenomeetyou.see.]andsoon./Gladtoseeyou.]or—Howdoyoudo]doingll,/evening]]—Niceto—Longtimenomeetyou.see.]andsoon./Gladtoseeyou.]or—Howdoyoudo]ApologizingChinesepeopleseemtoPeoplefromapologizelessoftenEnglish-speakingthanEnglish-speakingcountriesoftenApologizingChinesepeopleseemtoPeoplefromapologizelessoftenEnglish-speakingthanEnglish-speakingcountriesoftenpeople.TheChineseapologizeintheirpeople.TheChineseapologizeintheirapologizeonlywhendailylifeevenfortheapologizeonlywhendailylifeevenforthetheythinkitisaboutmosttrivialthings.somethingthatreallymatters.MakingrequestsChinesepeopletendtoPeoplefromMakingrequestsmakerequestsinindirectways,makerequestsinindirectways,countriestendtomakeespeciallywhentherequestsdirectlyandpeopleinvolvedarenotopenly.onintimatetermswithoneanother.ExpressinggratitudeChinesepeopleoftenPeoplefromexpresstheirgratitudeEnglish-speakingnotjustbywhattheycountriestendtoshowsay,butalsobywhattheirgratitudemoretheydoandwhattheyverballytootherswhogivetootherswhohavehavehelpedthem.donethemafavor.ExpressingChinesepeoplearePeoplefromdisapprovalreluctanttoexpressEngli