跨文化交际.docx

1、跨文化交际Unit 11. Is it still often the case that “everyones quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary world?This is still powerful in todays social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon intodays society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems

2、 arecaused by minorities and immigrants.2. Whats the difference between todays intercultural contact and that of any time in the past?Todays intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in anytime in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common pheno

3、menon in our life today?New technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has acceleratedintercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated culturalinteraction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigratio

4、npatterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence “culture is everything and everywhere”?Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how welive and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave

5、 in our life from theinstant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and communication?The three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communicationare cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizat

6、ions (family and state).6. What does ones family teach him or her while he or she grows up in it?The family teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our culture?Because language is not only a form of p

7、reserving culture but also a means of sharing culture.Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system that is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning to?People can attach meaning to nonver

8、bal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions,eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How can a free, culturally diverse society exist?A free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish withoutprejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all member

9、s of the society.Speech behaviorChinaEnglish-speaking countriesGreetingWhen greeting each other, theChinese often begin with Haveyou eaten?, Where are yougoing?, What are you doing?,Long time no see. and so on.People from English-speakingcountries usually say Hello.Good morning/afternoon/evening Nic

10、e to meet you./Glad to see you. or How doyou do?ApologizingChinese people seem to apologize Less often than English-speaking people. The Chinese apologize only when they think it is about something that really matters.People from English-speakingcountries often apologize intheir daily life even for

11、the most trivial things.Making requestsChinese people tend to makerequests in indirect ways,especially when the peopleinvolved are not on intimateterms with one another.People from English-speakingcountries tend to make requests directly and openly.Expressing gratitudeChinese people often expressthe

12、ir gratitude not just by what they say, but also by what they do and what they give to others who have done them a favor.People from English-speakingcountries tend to show theirgratitude more verbally toothers who have helped them.Expressing disapprovalChinese people are reluctant to express their d

13、isproval openly for fear of making others lose face. If they have to express disapproval, they often prefer to do it in a veryindirect way.People from English-speakingcountries are more likely toexpress their disapprovalfreely and directly.Leave-takingChinese people tend to excusethemselves by claim

14、ing that the others must be tired or busy, etc, using the expressions that impute the motive of tiredness or business to the other party when parting.People from English-speakingcountries would usually findreasons to part related tothemselves rather than toothers.Translation纵观历史，我们可以清楚地看到，人们由于彼此所处地域

15、、意识形态、容貌服饰和行为举止上存在的差异，而长久无法互相理解、无法和睦相处。在这种情况下，跨文化交际作为一个特定的研究领域得以形成和发展。值得注意的是，人类文明在发展过程中所遭受的许多挫折，既是个人的，又是全球性的；人类历史进程总是充满了个人间的直接冲突和民族间的误解从骂骂咧咧到孤立主义直至到武装冲突，大大小小争端不绝。很显然，文化间以及亚文化间的交往比以前多了，这迫切要求我们共同努力，去理解有着不同信仰和文化背景的人们，并与之和睦相处。通过加深认识和理解，我们能够与生活方式、价值观念不同的人们和平共处；这不但有益于我们周遭环境的安定，也是维护世界和平的决定性因素。Case StudyCas

16、e 11In this case, there seemed to be problems in communicating with people of different cultures in spite of the efforts made to achieve understanding. We should know that in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued so highlythat it is not expressed in an objective and impersonal

17、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 total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse.

18、For his host and hostess it was as if he had attended an art exhibit and complimented the artist by saying, What beautiful frames your pictures are in.2. In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people value order and harmonyamong persons in a group, and that the organization itselfb

19、e it a family or a vast corporationis more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans stressindividuality as a value and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably inconflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case: Richards

20、mistake was in making greatefforts to defend himself. Let the others assume that the 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 ha

21、ve been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.3. When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmenthan between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gestu

22、re of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, Help yourself; for the English counterpart, Be my guest. American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal gue

23、st 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 guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2A common cultural misunderstanding in c

24、lasses involves conflicts between what is said to bedirect communication style and indirect communication style. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and to mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican

25、culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and thats why the students from Mexico readily adopted the techniques of asking questions in class. However, Korean people generally prefer indirect communication style, and therefore they tend to not say what is on th

26、eir minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and respectful and avoid losing face through any improper verbal behavior. As is mentioned in the case, to many Koreans, numerous questions would show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the student ha

27、s not studied hard enough.Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didntrealize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view, family possessions are shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting

28、 as most Dominican sisters would do in borrowing without asking every time. Once Mary understood that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience the same frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with he

29、r own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 4It might be simply a question of different rhythms. Americans have one rhythm in their personaland family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures havedifferen

30、t rhythms. The American rhythm is fast. It is characterized by a rapid acceptance of others. However, it is seldom that Americans engage themselves entirely in a friendship. Their friendships are warm, but casual, and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coff

31、ee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner - not because you dont think she could handle a fork and a knife, but because you have seen her that morning. Therefore, you reserve your more formal invitation to dinner for someone who lives in a more distant part of the city and whom

32、 you would not see unless you extended an invitation for a special occasion. Now, if the first friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reverse this - see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and the first one you will invite more formally to dinner. Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends easily, and they