The culture difference between East and western.docx

The culture difference between East and western.docx

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TheculturedifferencebetweenEastandwestern

TheculturedifferencebetweenEastandwestern

默认分类2007-08-2319:

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TheculturedifferencebetweenEastandwestern

WithChinaentrytheWTOandwillholdtheOlympicGamesin2008,therelationshipbetweenChinaandWesterninpolitics,economy,culturewillbecomemoreandmoreclose.Itisundoubtedlythattheetiquettewillplayanimportantroleinthisprocess.Tothedefinitionofetiquette,ChinaandWesternhaveadifferentunderstanding.AsChinesethinksthattheetiquetteisthecommonbehaviorstandardsthatallthemembersmustobey,anditspurposeistokeepthenormallivingorderofthesociety.InancientChina,afamousphilosopherthinksthatetiquetteisaprincipaltodealwiththerelationshipbetweenmanandsupernaturalbeings,manandghosts,manandmen.TherearealsomanywordsaboutetiquetteinEnglish.Forexample,courtesywhichmeanscourteousbehavior,goodmanners;protocolwhichmeanssystemofrulesgoverningformaloccasion,e.g,meetings,

betweengovernments,diplomats,etc.AndthesewordsareallfromthesameFrenchwordetiquette.Ofcourse,morespreadandmoreprofoundculturalcommentof

thewesternetiquetteisfromtheClassicalPeriod,i.e.,oldAthensandRomaculture.Today,etiquettebecomethereflectionandmanifestationofonecountry’spolitics,economy,cultureinpeople’ssocialcontact.Anditincludetheprincipalandmoralthatpeopleshouldobeyindailylife.Etiquetteformedinthe

processofthedepositionofcultureandsocialcontact.Soeverynationhavetheirownetiquettestandardwhichcreatedwiththespiritofthistheirnation.Becauseofthisformedtheculturaldifferencebetweendifferentnations.Aslanguagesisthecarrierofthehumanculture.Thisdifferencemustreflectinthelanguageofdifferentnations.Sointhefollowing,wewilltakechina,BritishandAmericaastherepresentationofWestern,tolookatsomeculturaldifferenceinetiquette,andthenanalyzethereasons.Furthermore,wewilldiscusshowtolearnwesternculture.

一.

CulturaldifferencesonpolitenessbetweenwesternandChinesecanbefoundinmanyaspectsofdailycommunication,includingaddressing,greetingandparting,compliments,apologies,thanks,etc.Inthefollowing,wewilllookatsomeculturaldifferentbetweenChinaandwestern.

1.GreetingandParting

Whenpeoplemeetacquaintancesorfriends,peopleusuallygreeteachother.Thepurposeofgreetingistoestablishormaintainsocialcontact.Soformulaicexpressionsareoftenused,butsuchformulaicexpressionsoftencausesconflictbecauseofthegreatculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandnativeEnglish+-speakers.InEnglish,peopleoftenemploythefollowingexpressionstogreeteachother“Goodmorning/evening/afternoon.“Fineday,isn’tit?

”Howiseverythinggoing?

”Haveyoueatenyet?

”Whatareyougoingtodo?

”Wherehaveyoubeen?

”etc.Westernerstreatthemasrealquestion.WhileinChinese,wealwayssay“你吃了吗？

”“你上哪里去？

”“你干什么去？

”toshowourconsideration.Partingmaybedividedintotwosteps.Beforethefinalprating,thereisusualaleave-taking.WesternandChinesecultureshavediversewaystodealwithleave-takings.Firstly,inEnglishsociety,duringtheclosingphaseofanencounter,from”I”perspective,reasonsforterminatingtheencounterarepresentedinmitigatorycomments.Typicalcommentsareassociatedwithexpressionsofapology,suchas“I”amafraidImustbeoff,Ihavetorelievethebaby-sitter”etc.Westernpeoplebelievethattobewillingtovisitandconversewithsomeoneis

tohaverespectforhim.;toterminatethevisitingisnotofone’sownfreewill,butbecauseofsomeotherarrangements,thereforetheyalwaystrytomaketheirleavingsoundreluctantbyfindingsomereasonsandapologizeforittomaketheleavingacceptableforbothparties.Englishspeakersoftensignalseveraltimesbeforeleaving.“Well,it’sbeennicetoseeyouagain.Idoenjoyourtalkandthelovelydinner,butImustbegoingsoon”.Thankyouverymuchforaskingmeover.Ihopewe’llbeabletogettogetheragainbeforelong…”Consolidationinawiderrangeofcommonacquaintancesalsooccurs,inexpressionssuchas“SayhellotoJackforme”or“RemembermetoJohn”.InChinesesociety,duringtheclosingphaseofandencounter,usually,froma“you”perspective,reasonsforendingtheencounteraresetforthinmitigatoryexpressions.Suchexpressionsinclude“你挺忙的，我就不多打扰了。

”“你一定累了，早点休息吧，我

要告辞了。

”,etc.Withthesewords,theymaystandupfromtheirseats.Chinese

leave-takingisveryshortandquick.Westernpeoplethinkitsoabruptthattheyhavenotprepareforit.Whilemovingtothedoor,Chineseemployexpressions

ofapologylike“对不起没，打扰了。

”“对不起，占用你不少时间。

”ItshouldbenotedthattheseexpressionsemployedbyChinesegueststoshowconcernfortheirhostscanonlybeappropriateforbusinessvisitsintheEnglishenvironment2..AddressingBothwesternandChinesepeoplehavetwokindsofpersonalnames---asurnameand

agivenname.Buttheorderandtheuseofthesenamesinthetwolanguagesare

somewhatdifferent.InChinese,thesurnamecomesfirstandthenthegivenname

.Andpeoplelikeadd“小”beforetheirfamilyname.Suchas“小王”、“小郑”、

“小李”、“小徐”andsoon..Whilewesternersnamesarewrittenandspokenwith

thegivennamefirstandthefamilynamelast.SoJohnSmith'sfamilynameisSmith,notJohn.Inaformalsetting,addressmenas"Mister"（abbreviatedas"Mr

."）,marriedwomenas"Misses"（abbreviatedas"Mrs."）,andunmarriedwomenas"

Miss"（abbreviatedas"Ms."）.Thesedaysmanywomenprefertobeaddressedusing

theabbreviations"Ms."or"M.",pronounced"miz".IfthepersonhasanM.D.or

Ph.D.,theywilloftenbeaddressedas"Doctor"（abbreviatedas"Dr."）.Faculty

areaddressedas"Professor"（abbreviatedas"Prof."）.Inaninformalsituation,

westernerswillintroduceeachotherbyfirstname,withouttitles,andoccasionallybyjustthelastname.Ifyouareintroducedtosomebodybyfirstname,youcanaddresshimorherbyfirstnamethenexttimeyoumeet.Theonlyexceptionwouldbeforsomeonewhoholdsanimportantposition,suchastheuniversitypresidentorprovost.Unlesstheytellyouotherwise,facultyshouldbeaddressed

usingtheirtitleandlastname（e.g.,"ProfessorSmith"）.Whenindoubt,usetheformalmannerofaddress,sinceitisbettertoerronthesideofformality.

Itisalsoappropriatetoaskhowtheyprefertobeaddressed.Childrenshould

alwaysaddressadultsintheformalfashion,usingtheirtitleandlastname.

Anotherdifferenceisabouttheformofaddressing.Fromtheviewpointofsociolinguistics,formsofaddressingcanserveasanindicationoftherelationshipofpowerandsolidarityinthesociety.Incallingtheirsuperiorsorelders,the

Chineseareaccustomedtothenonreciprocalorasymmetricaladdressing,inotherwords.Theyuse“title+surname”toaddresstheirsuperiororeldersrather

thancallthemsurnames,whilethesuperiororelderscalltheaddresserstheir

names.TheChinesetendtoabidebythepoliteprincipleofdepreciatingoneself

andrespectingotherstoshowappropriaterespectstowardsthepersonsbeingaddressed,otherwise,theaddressermaybeconsideredasillmannered,illeducatedorrude.ButinEnglishspeakingcountries,peoplehaveatendencytofollowthereciprocalorsymmetricaladdressing.Althoughtheyaredifferentinageand

status,theycancalltheotherdirectly,namely,theirnames,evenfirstnames

exceptwhentheycallthedoctors,notarousingoffencebetweenthem,butdemonstratingthesenseofintimacyandtheconceptionof”Everyoneiscreatedequal”

.Chinesepeoplefeelunnaturaladdressingawesternerbyhisgivenname,feelingthatitindicatestooclosearelationship,andwesterners,ontheotherhand,

mayfeelthatifaChineseinsistsonusinghissurname,itindicatesanunwillingnesstobefriendlyandmaintainsagapbetweenthem.Sotheuseofformslike”MissMary”or“Mr.Smith”maybeaChineseformsofcompromise.WithMissMary,theuseofthegivennameindicatesfriendliness,buttheadditionofthetitleindicatestherespecttheyfeeltheyoughttoshow.AndwithSmith,the

lackofatitleindicatesfriendliness,buttheuseofthesurnamepreventsifsoundingtoointimate.However,bothaddressingusedbytheChinesesoundverystrangeanduncomfortabletothewesterner.

3.ComplimentsandResponseTocomplimentistopraisetheaddressee’svirtues,ability,behavior,appearance,clothing,personalityandbelongs.Appropriatecomplimentscanserveaseffectivesupplementarymeansininter-personalcommunication.WesternandChinesecultureareatpolaroppositesaboutcompliment.Anwesternhostess,ifsheiscomplimentedforhercookingskill,islikelytosay,”Oh,Iamsogladthatyou

likedit.Icookitespeciallyforyou.”NotsoisaChinesehostess,whowill

insteadapologizeforgivingyou“Nothing”.Theywillsay“随便作几个菜，不好吃

。

”IftranslatethisintoEnglish“Ijustmadesomedishescasuallyandtheyarenotverytasty.Perhapstheforeignerwillthinkwhyyouinvitemetoyoufamilyandhavetheuntastyfood.Youaren'trespectme.TheEnglish-speakingpeople

aremoreactivetopraiseothersandtobepraisethanChinesepeople.Forexample,theAmericansare“straightforwardness”,theChinesetakepridein“modesty”.ThatmodestyhasleftmanyaChinesehungryatanAmericanstable,forChinesepolitenesscallsforthreerefusalsbeforeoneacceptsanofferandtheAmericanshoststake”no”tomean“no”,whetheritisthefirst,secondor

thirdtime.Stillbiggerdifferencesexist