新编跨文化交际英语教程(许力生) 课后翻译
新编跨文化交际【warm up】 原文及翻译
1、【communication across cultures】Chapter One Conceptual Foundation【跨文化沟通】第一章概念的基础Why study intercultural communication?为什么学习跨文化交际?There is a folk tale that comes to us from the foothills of the Himalayas. A man was trying to explain to a blind friend what colors are. He began with the color White.有一个民间的故事,来自于喜马拉雅山的山麓。
一名男子试图解释一个盲人朋友的颜色是什么。
他开始与雪白的颜色。
“Well,”he said, “it is like snow on the hills.”“嗯,”他说,“这就像雪在山上。
”“Oh,”the blind man said, “then it must be a wet and dampish sort of color, isn’t it? ”“No, no,”the man said, “it is also the same color as cotton or wool. ”“Oh yes, I understand. It must be fluffy color. ”“No, it is also like paper.”“哦,”盲人说,“那一定是湿,微湿的颜色,不是吗?”“不,不,”那人说,“这也是相同的颜色,棉或羊毛。
”“哦,是的,我明白了。
一定是毛茸茸的颜色。
”“不,它也像纸。
”“Then it must be a crackling or fragile color,”said the blind man. “No, not at all. It is also like china.”“那一定是脆皮或脆弱的颜色,”瞎子说。
新编跨文化交际英语教程——案例分析(主编:许力生)Word 打印版之欧阳引擎创编
Unit 1欧阳引擎(2021.01.01)Communication Across CulturesCase 1 (Page 23)This case took place in 3 cultures. There seemed to be problems in communicatingwith people of different cultures in spite of the efforts to achieve understnading.1)In Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued 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 thi s case, Richard’s mistake might be that he choseto praise the food itself rather than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host or 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 harmony among a group, and that the group is valued more than any particularmember. In contrast, Americans stress individuality and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably to be in conflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case, Richard’s mistake was making great efforts to defend himself even if the error is notintentiona. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate3)When it comes to England, w expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the valuess 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 in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is obe who “makeshimself at home”. For the English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2 (Page 24)A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involvs conflicts between what is said to be directcommunication style and indirect communication style. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that’s 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 not to say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and repectful 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 has not studied hard enough.Case 3 (Page 24)The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn’t realize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view, familypossessions are shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting as most Dominican sisters woould 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 frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 4 (Page 25)It might be simply a question of different rhythms.Americans have one rhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different 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 friendshipare warm, but casual and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner------not because you don’t think she could handle a forkand 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 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 reserve this------see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and invite the first one more formally to dinner.Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends rapidly, and they don’t feel like it n ecessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances, people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.Unit 2Culture and CommunicationThe analysis of this case: (Page 38)The least three things among the following Tom did that were regarded to be impolite:b. Tom opens the gift as soon as he is presented withit.d. Tom does not make a second offer of drinks when they refuse the first.e. Tom talks about the cost of living in the U.S.A.f. Tom does not ask them to stay longer when they say they must be leaving.g. Tom does not go out to see them off.Case 5 (Page 60)Analysis: The Chinese guide should refuse the first offer because he is obeying the Chinese rules for communication. We Chinese are modest, polite and well-behaved. Maybe the guide is waiting for a second or third offer of beer, but he doesn’t know the reasons behind the rule in American culture that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason, you donot insist on offering alcohol. So they politely never made a second offer of beer to the guide.Case 6 (Page 61)When a speaker says something to a hearer,there are atleast three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, the speaker’s meaning and the hearer’s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz asked how long her mother-in-law was going to stay, she meant that if she knew how long she was going to saty in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law took Litz’s question to mean “Litz does not want me to saty for lon g”. From the Chinese point of view, it seems inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law’s arrival. If she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7 (Page 62)Analysis:Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don’t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn’t offer a gift inreturn may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show the care, respect, gratitude and further friendship. Keiko’s college friends would rather round up some of the necessary items and they are willing to have her use them. They really expected nothing from her. For in America, people donate their used household items to church or to the community. They would never consider these old items as gifts to Keiko. So Keiko’s valuable gifts have made her American friends feel uncomfortable Case 8 (Page 62)When the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Chritmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girls. She did not like to see her boyfriend disappointed at the “shabby” Chinese Christmas. That’s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minister’s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Chritmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. Howcould she notice then the food chosen by her mother were all her favorites?From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shame just becauseone’s culture is different from others’. As Amy’s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.Unit 3Cultural DiversityCase 7 (Page 76)Between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take. But in differentcultures, people view this differently. In Chinese culture, friendships develop slowly because theyare built to last. We Chinese prefer the saying“A friend indeed is a friend in need.” And wenever refuse the asking for help from a friend. We never forget the timely help by a friend when weare on the rocks. But In American culture, theyview this in a different way. Once helped, theyoffer their help only once. That’s why Jacksonsaid that Mr. Zhao was asking too much. In theirview, friendships are based on common interests.1 Different Lands, Different Friendships(P 77)●French Friendships●German Friendships●English Friendships●Chinese Friendships (见补充材料)●American Friendships (见补充材料)补充案例(American Friendship)Two mothers, Carmen and Judy, are talking to each other at a park while their children are playing together in the sand.Caemen: Hi, Judy.Judy: Hi, Carmen. How are you?Carmen: Fine. I’m glad to see that our children like to play together.Judy: Yeah, me too. I remember just a month ago they weren’t sharing their toys.Carmen: Now it looks like they’re enjoying each other.Judy: Finally! Maybe we could get together at each other’s houses sometime.I’m sure the kids would enjoy that.C armen: Sure. That’d be nice.Judy: Well, let’s do it soon.Carmen: O.K.(Judy and Carmen continue to talk while their children play.)Case AnalysisJudy and Carmen are not real friends. They don’t want to get together, really. They once met each other a month ago. Americans sometimes make generalinvitation like “Let’s get together sometimes.” Often this is just a way to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation. If they’d like to set a specific (exact) time, that means a real offer.2Family Structure (P83)●Chinese Family●Filipinos Family●Vietnamese Family●Japanese Family (See Case 9 and Case 10)●Latin American FamilyCase 9 (Page 96)Traditional Japanese respect their elders and feel a deep sense of duty toward them. The elders intraditional Japanese families are typically overpowered. So the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authorityfor the young chairman. In Japanese culture challenging or disagreeing with eilder’s opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful. That is why the young chairman saidnothing but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather. And it results in the Japanese company’s withdrawal from the negotiations concerning a relationship with Phil’s company a week later.Case 10 (Page 97)In Japan, a company is very much like a big family, in which the manager will take care of the employees andthe employees are expected to cevote themselves to the development of thecompany and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own interests for the interests of the company. But to the French, a company is just a loosely-knit social organization wherein individuals aresupposed to take care of themselves and their families. And the family is the number one priority, which is unlike the Japanese model “not involving females and the right to decide bydominant male”.Case 11 (Page 97)In most cultures, an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. To many Westerners, Japanese apologize more frequently and an apology in Japanese does not necessarily mean that the person is acknowledging a fault. To many Japanese, Westeners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, the atitude of the Australian student’s parents is shocking the Japanese but will be acceptable in an English-speaking society, for the student is already an adult and can be responsible for her own deeds.Case 12 (Page 98)In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectation were not fulfilled. First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be confusing to the Chinese.Second, in China, it is a tradition for thehost to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal. By not doing so, theCanadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure of the Chinese from the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians’ lack of understanding of the Chinese culture would be a problem in their dealing with the visiting delegation.。
(完整版)新编跨文化交际英语教程_参考答案Unit1
Unit 1Communication Across CulturesReading IIntercultural Communication:An IntroductionComprehension questions1. Is it still often the case that “everyone’s quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary world?This is still powerful in today’s social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon in today‘s society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems are caused by minorities and immigrants.2. What’s the difference between today’s intercultural co ntact and that of any time in the past?Today‘s intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in any time in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life today?New technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns 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 we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant 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 communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).6. What does one’s 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 preserving 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 nonverbal 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 without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society. Reading IIThe Challenge of GlobalizationComprehension questions1. Why does the author say that our understanding of the world has changed?Many things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.2. What a “global village” is like?As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remote cultures increasingly come into contact on a daily basis. In a “global village”, members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people may live thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.3. What is considered as the major driving force of the post-1945 globalization? Technology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.4. What does the author mean by saying that “the ‘global’ may be more local than the ‘local’”?The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than of the local events. In this sense, “the ‘global’ may be more local than the ‘local’”.5. Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the world? Effective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability tounderstand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalization? Globalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.Case StudyCase 1In 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 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, Richard‘s 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. 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.”In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people value order and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itself-be it a family or a vast corporation-is more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans 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. In this case: Richard‘s mistake was in making great efforts 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 have been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, ―”Help yourself”; for the Engl ish 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 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 guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involves conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication style. InAmerican 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 culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s 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 their 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 has not studied hard enough.Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn’t realize 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 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 her 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 personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different 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 coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner --- not because you don‘t 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 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 eas ily, and they don‘t feel it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.。
新编英语教程unit1,2,3,4,5,8,9,10,11 课文翻译.
翻译Unit111、他暗示John是肇事者的企图是徒劳的。
(insinuate,futile暗示,无用的;无效的His attempt at insinuating that John was the culprit turned out to be futile.2、当他未能完成期望他做的事时,他很善于临时找个借口来为自己开脱。
(improvise临时做He is very clever at improvising excuses when he fails to do what is expected of him.3、他此行去西藏可以满足他想参观布达拉宫的愿望了。
(gratify使满足;使满意,使高兴His trip to Tibet will gratify his desire to see Potala. (the Potala Palace4、这个公司拥有雄厚的人力资源。
(command命令,指挥;控制This corporation commands excellent/rich/abundant human resources.5、另外想个办法去款待你的客人。
不要老是请他们看影视光碟。
(alternative二中择一;供替代的选择Think of an alternative way of entertaining your guests. Don’t always show them VCDs.6、沉溺于胡思乱想和心血来潮是有害的。
(caprice任性,反复无常;随想曲It is harmful to indulge in whims and caprices.7、不属于你的东西不要作非分之想。
(lay one’s hands on,be entitled to2有权;有…的资格Try not to lay your hands on anything that you are not entitled to.8、他没有来参加竞赛。
新编跨文化交际英语教程cases参考答案 中英文版
新编跨文化交际英语教程Intercultural Communication in EnglishCase study 参考答案Case 1 【page 23】In this case, there seemed to be problems in communicating with people of different cultures in spite of the efforts made to achieve understanding.在这种情况下,尽管人们努力去理解,但在与不同文化背景的人交流时似乎出现了问题。
We should know that in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued 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.我们应该知道,在埃及,就像在许多文化中一样,人际关系被看得如此重要,以至于无法以客观和非个人的方式表达出来。
虽然美国人的确重视人际关系,但他们更倾向于用不那么个人化、更客观的方式来谈论人际关系。
In this case, Richard‘s 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. 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.在这种情况下,理查德的错误可能是他选择赞美食物本身,而不是整个晚上,因为食物只是设置或借口。
新编跨文化交际英语教程1~7单元翻译
Unit 2 Page 60 Unit 3 Page 96Unit 5 Page 175 Unit 6 Page 215Case 2A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involves conflicts between what is said to be direct 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 culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s 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 their 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 has not studied hard enough.Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn’t realize 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 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 her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 6When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kinds ofmeanings involved: utterance meaning, speaker’s meaning and hearer’s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz said ‘How long is she going to stay?’ she meant to say that if she knew how long her mother-in-law was going to stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law overheard the conversation, and took Litz’s question to mean “Litz does not want me to stay for long”. From the Chinese point of view, it seems to be inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law’s arrival. If she feels she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don’t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn’t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship.Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn’t know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return.Case 10In Japan, a company is often very much like a big family, in which the manger(s) will take good care of the employees and the employees are expected to devote themselves to the development of the company and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own individual interests for the interests of the company, from which, in the long run, the employees will benefit greatly. But for the French, a company is just a loosely- knit social organization wherein individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their families. Moreover, the way the French make decisions in the family might also be different from the typical Japanese one, which may not often involve females and the power to decide usually lies with the dominating male. As there are such cultural differences between the Japanese and the French, Mr. Legrand’s decision made Mr. Tanaka feel dumbfounded.Case 12In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectations were not fulfilled. First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be somewhat confusing to the hierarchically minded Chinese. Second, because age is often viewed as an indication of seniority, the Chinese might have considered the youth of their Canadian hosts as slight to their own status. Third, in China, it is traditional for the host to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal, which is the reciprocated by the guests; by not doing so, the Canadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure of the Chinese following the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians’ lack of understanding of the Chinese culture and the Chinese ways of communication clearly cost them in their business dealings with the visiting delegation.Case 17When these two men separate, they may leave each other with very different impressions.Mr Richardson is very pleased to have made the acquaintance of Mr Chu and feels they have gotten off to a very good start. They have established their relationship on a first-name basis and Mr Chu’s smile seemed to indicate that he will be friendly and easy to do business with. Mr Richardson is particularly pleased that he had treated Mr Chu with respect for his Chinese background by calling him Hon-fai rather than using the western name, David, which seemed to him an unnecessary imposition of western culture.In contrast, Mr Chu feels quite uncomfortable with Mr Richardson. He feels it will be difficult to work with him, and that Mr Richardson might be rather insensitive to cultural differences. He is particularly bothered that, instead of calling him David or Mr Chu, Mr Richardson used his given name, Hon-fai, the name rarely used by anyone, in fact. It was this embarrassment which caused him to smile. He would feel more comfortable if they called each other Mr Chu and Mr Richardson. Nevertheless, when he was away at school in North America he learned that Americans feel uncomfortable calling people Mr for any extended period of time. His solution was to adopt a western name. He chose David for use in such situations.Case 19Talking about what’s wrong is not easy for people in any culture, but people in high-context countries like China put high priority on keeping harmony, preventing anyone from losing face, and nurturing the relationship. It seems that Ron Kelly had to learn a different way of sending message when he was in China. At home in Canada he would have gone directly to the point. But in China, going directly to the problem with someone may suggest that he or she has failed to live up to his or her responsibility and the honor of his or her organization is in question. In high-context cultures like China, such a message is serious and damaging. In low-context cultures, however, the tendency is just to “spit it out”, to get it into words and worry about the result later. Senders of unwelcome messages use objective facts, assuming, as with persuasion, that facts are neutral, instrumental, and impersonal. Indirectness is often the way members of high-context cultures choose to communicate about a problem. Case 21Sometimes our best intentions can lead to breakdowns (故障)in cross-cultural communication. For example, one of the very common manners of touching --- handshaking --- may result in conflict when performed with no consideration of cultural differences. Among middle-class North American men, it is customary to shake hands as a gesture of friendship. When wanting to communicate extra friendliness, a male in the United States may, while shaking hands, grasp with his left hand his friend’s right arm. However, to people of Middle Eastern countries, the left hand is profane (亵渎的) and touching someone with it is highly offensive. Therefore, in Vernon’s eyes, Kenneth was actually an extremely offensive message to him. Case 22In Puerto Rican culture, as in some other Latin American and Eastern cultures, it is not right for a child to keep an eye-contact with an adult who is accusing him or her, while in the United States, failing of meeting other person’s eye accusing him or her would be taken as a sign of guiltiness. As the principal knew little about this cultural difference in using eye-contact, he decided that the girl must be guilty. Generallyspeaking, avoiding eye-contact with the other(s) is often considered as an insult in some cultures, but may signify respect for authority and obedience in other cultures. Case 25For people from the American culture and western European cultures, one’s time should be scheduled into segments or compartments which are to be kept discrete from one another. They prefer to do one thing at a time. They will be annoyed when they have made an appointment with somebody, only to find a lot of other things going on at the same time. They don’t like to interrupt others and be interrupted by other while they are doing something. In contrast, people from many other cultures including the Chinese culture are more likely to operate with several people, ideas, or matters simultaneously. They are more easily distracted and subject to interruptions, which they would not usually mind very much. The miscommunication between Katherine and the director can be ascribed to their lack of knowledge about each other’s way of using time.In this case, to the Chinese director as well as many other Chinese people, it is natural to handle the other things which needed to be dealt with immediately. He may have thought that, in this way, he utilized the time best. But to Katherine and most Westerners, it’s quite different. They tend to do things strictly according to their schedule and appointments with others, which is their concept of using time best.高语境交流和低语境交流(由高到低排列)Japanese, Chinese, Korean, African American, Native American, Arab, Greek, Latin,Italian,English,Frech,Amercian,Scandinavian,German,German-Swiss。
新编跨文化交际【warm up】 原文及翻译
1、【communication across cultures】Chapter One Conceptual Foundation【跨文化沟通】第一章概念的基础Why study intercultural communication?为什么学习跨文化交际?There is a folk tale that comes to us from the foothills of the Himalayas. A man was trying to explain to a blind friend what colors are. He began with the color White.有一个民间的故事,来自于喜马拉雅山的山麓。
一名男子试图解释一个盲人朋友的颜色是什么。
他开始与雪白的颜色。
“Well,”he said, “it is like snow on the hills.”“嗯,”他说,“这就像雪在山上。
”“Oh,”the blind man said, “then it must be a wet and dampish sort of color, isn’t it? ”“No, no,”the man said, “it is also the same color as cotton or wool. ”“Oh yes, I understand. It must be fluffy color. ”“No, it is also like paper.”“哦,”盲人说,“那一定是湿,微湿的颜色,不是吗?”“不,不,”那人说,“这也是相同的颜色,棉或羊毛。
”“哦,是的,我明白了。
一定是毛茸茸的颜色。
”“不,它也像纸。
”“Then it must be a crackling or fragile color,”said the blind man. “No, not at all. It is also like china.”“那一定是脆皮或脆弱的颜色,”瞎子说。
Unit1_Communication_Across_Cultures解析
Course Requirements
• Preview the text, looking up the new words and expressions before class, and come prepared to share your opinions and questions. • The course intends to improve your intercultural communication competence. You are expected to actively answer questions and participate in class discussions. Ask questions when you do not understand. • Attend class regularly. Repeated unexcused absences or late arrivals will lower your grade average. Inform me in advance if you need to miss class for a legitimate reason and do not forget to give me the note for leave with a stamp or a signature. Students are responsible for all information, assignments, and activities for all classes. • Turn your cell phone off and do not check it for calls or text messages during class.
新编跨文化交际英语教程(许力生)课后翻译
1.纵观历史,我们可以清楚地看到,各民族与文化由于彼此所处地域、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甚至到武装冲突,大大小小争端不绝。
很显然,文化间以及亚文化间的交往日益增多,这迫切要求我们共同努力,去理解与我们有着天壤之别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。
2.文化有时候被称为我们的心智程序,也即我们“头脑的软件”。
但是,我们可以进一步引申这个用电脑所做的类比,把文化看作是支持软件运行的操作环境。
文化就像电脑使用的DOS或者Unix或者“视窗”(Windows)等操作系统一样,使我们能在各种各样的实际应用中处理信息。
用“视窗”这个比喻来描述文化似乎也很有吸引力。
文化就是我们心灵的视窗,透过它我们可以审视生活的方方面面。
一个社会中不同个体的视窗是大不一样的,但都有着一些重要的共同特征。
文化就好像是鱼畅游于其中的水一般,人们想当然地把文化看成是客观存在的事实,从而很少去研究它。
文化存在于我们所呼吸的空气之中,文化对我们了解自我是必不可少的,就正如生命离不开空气一样。
文化是特定群体的共有财产,而不单是个体的特征。
社会按照文化设定的程序来运作,这种程序来自于相似的生活体验以及对这种生活体验之涵义的相似性阐释。
如果文化是一种心智程序,那么它也是现实的心灵地图。
从我们很小的时候开始,文化就告诉我们应该看重什么、偏好什么、规避什么以及做些什么。
文化还告诉我们事物应该是什么样的。
文化为我们提供超越个体经验的理想典范,帮助我们决定应该优先考虑什么。
(完整word版)新编跨文化交际英语教程课文翻译
U1reading1跨文化交际日益引起人们的注意的原因:是由于交通工具的进步与通讯手段的发展使得不同国家、不同种族、不同民族的人能够频繁地接触和交往。
L。
S。
Harms认为,在世界范围内的交际经历了五个阶段:A语言的产生; B文字的使用; C印刷技术的发明; D近百年交通工具的进步和通讯手段的迅速发展; E 跨文化交际。
近二十年来的交际是以跨文化为特征的。
二、对跨文化交际的不同理解有的人认为每个人在文化上都是独特的,所以任何两个人之间的交际都是跨文化交际。
文化通常不是指个人的行为,而是指一个群体的生活方式和习惯.作者认为作跨国、跨种族、跨民族。
研究不仅应该是跨文化交际研究包括的内容,而且应该是放在首位的。
在研究一个国家的文化特点时,我们的眼光首先应集中在它的主流文化上,其次才注意它的亚文化和地区文化的特点含义:人们应用符号并借助媒介交流信息的行为与过程;人与人之间直接交往活动;通过媒介进行的信息交流与沟通活动。
人类传播的发展:信息符号传播:手势、有限的声音、体语符号、其它符号、实物口语传播媒介传播传播类型:非人类传播与人类传播伴随人类产生发生出现;不同民族相互接触与融洽的结果;交通和通讯工具的发展促进跨文化交际的发展含义:具有不同文化背景的人们之间进行的交际往来或信息传播与沟通活动文化在跨文化交际中的地位:是跨文化交际的核心;文化的复杂性影响跨文化研究;文化涵盖历史与现实、实物与制度及观念、稳定性与能动性、群体特点与地区及个体差异影响跨文化交际的主要因素:民族的历史与传统、宗教思想、价值观念、社会组织形式、风俗习惯、政治制度、社会发展阶段case1主角被埃及人邀请去家里吃丰盛的大餐,他用餐后说食物很好.在这种情况下,理查德错误可能是他选择赞美食物本身,而不是整个晚上,的食物.他的主人和女主人就好像他参加了一个艺术展,称赞这位艺术家说:多么美丽的你的照片。
在日本工作的时候他犯了一个错,开会的时候解释试图让大家明白每个人也许都会跟他一样以减轻罪过,结果又错了.相比之下,美国人强调个性价值和容易维护个体差异时,他们似乎理由与组织的目标或价值观冲突.在这种情况下:理查德…年代错误是在努力保护自己.case2对于学生来说,向老师提问很多问题是不尊重的,另一方面,提问一些跟老师说的无关的也如此,代表你没有听课。
新编跨文化交际英语教程1-6单元翻译(Word可编辑版)
纵观历史,我们可以清楚地看到,人们由于彼此所处地域、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问的直接冲突和民族间的误解一一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, 文化间以及亚文化问的交往比以前多了, 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。
Translation Unit 2文化有时候被称为我们的心智程序, 我们“头脑的软件”。
但是, 我们可以进一步引中这个用电脑所做的类比, 把文化看作是支持运行的操作环境。
文化就像电脑使用的Dos 或者unix 或者“视窗”(windows) 等操作系统一样, 使我们能在各种各样的实际应用中处理信息。
用“视窗”这个比喻来描述文化似乎也很有吸引力。
文化就是我们心灵的视窗,透过它我们审视生活的方方面面。
一个社会中不同个体的视窗是不大一样的, 但都有着一些重要的共同特征。
文化就好像是鱼畅游于其中的水一般, 人们想当然地把文化看成是客观存在的事实, 因而很少去研究它。
文化存在于我们所呼吸的空气之中, 文化对于我们了解我们自身之为何物是必不可少的, 就正如生命离不开空气一样。
文化是特定群体的共有财产, 而不单是个体的特征。
社会按照文化设定的程序运作, 这种程序来自于相似的生活体验以及对这种生活体验之含义的相似阐释。
如果文化是一种心智程序, 那么它也是现实的心灵地图。
从我们很小的时候开始, 文化就告诉我们应该看重什么、偏好什么、规避什么和做些什么, 文化还告诉我们事物应该是什么样。
(完整版)新编跨文化交际英语教程_参考答案Unit1
Unit 1Communication Across CulturesReading IIntercultural Communication:An IntroductionComprehension questions1. Is it still often the case that “everyone’s quick to blame the alien” in the contemporary world?This is still powerful in today’s social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommon in today‘s society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems are caused by minorities and immigrants.2. What’s the difference between today’s intercultural co ntact and that of any time in the past?Today‘s intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importance than in any time in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life today?New technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns 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 we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant 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 communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).6. What does one’s 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 preserving 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 nonverbal 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 without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society. Reading IIThe Challenge of GlobalizationComprehension questions1. Why does the author say that our understanding of the world has changed?Many things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.2. What a “global village” is like?As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people from remote cultures increasingly come into contact on a daily basis. In a “global village”, members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people may live thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.3. What is considered as the major driving force of the post-1945 globalization? Technology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.4. What does the author mean by saying that “the ‘global’ may be more local than the ‘local’”?The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more informed of the international events than of the local events. In this sense, “the ‘global’ may be more local than the ‘local’”.5. Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the world? Effective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted with?Countries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael Fay?This case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability tounderstand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalization? Globalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.Case StudyCase 1In 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 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, Richard‘s 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. 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.”In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people value order and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itself-be it a family or a vast corporation-is more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans 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. In this case: Richard‘s mistake was in making great efforts 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 have been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the values expressed in this gesture: for Americans, ―”Help yourself”; for the Engl ish 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 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 guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involves conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication style. InAmerican 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 culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s 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 their 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 has not studied hard enough.Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn’t realize 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 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 her 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 personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different 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 coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner --- not because you don‘t 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 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 eas ily, and they don‘t feel it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.。
新编跨文化交际英语教程——案例分析(主编:许力生)Word 打印版之欧阳与创编
Unit 1Communication Across CulturesCase 1 (Page 23)This case took place in 3 cultures. There seemed to be problems in communicatingwith people of different cultures in spite of the efforts to achieve understnading.1)In Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued 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, Richard’s mistake might be that he choseto praise the food itself rather than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host or hostess it was as if he had attended an art exhibit and complimented the art ist by saying, “What beautiful frames your pictures are in!”2)In Japan the situation may be more complicated.Japanese people value order and harmony among a group, and that the group is valued more than any particular member. In contrast, Americans stress individuality and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably to be in conflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case, Richard’s mistake was making great efforts to defend himself even if the error is notintentiona.A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate3)When it comes to England, w expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the valuess 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 in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is obe who “makeshimself at home”. For the English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2 (Page 24)A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involvs conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication style. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that’s 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 not to say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and repectful 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 has not studied hard enough.Case 3 (Page 24)The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn’t realize 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 as most Dominican sisters woould 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 frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 4 (Page 25)It might be simply a question of different rhythms.Americans have one rhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different 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 friendshipare warm, but casual and specialized. Forexample, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner------not because you don’t 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 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 reserve this------see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and invite the first one more formally to dinner.Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends rapidly, and they don’t feel lik e it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances, people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.Unit 2Culture and CommunicationThe analysis of this case: (Page 38)The least three things among the following Tom did that were regarded to be impolite:b. Tom opens the gift as soon as he is presented with it. d. Tom does not make a second offer of drinks when they refuse the first.e. Tom talks about the cost of living in the U.S.A.f. Tom does not ask them to stay longer when they say they must be leaving.g. Tom does not go out to see them off.Case 5 (Page 60)Analysis: The Chinese guide should refuse the first offer because he is obeying the Chinese rules for communication. We Chinese are modest, polite and well-behaved. Maybe the guide is waiting for a second or third offer of beer, but he doesn’t know the reasons behind the rule in American culture that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason, you donot insist on offering alcohol. So they politely never made a second offer of beer to the guide.Case 6 (Page 61)When a speaker says something to a hearer,there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, the speaker’s meaning and the hearer’s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz asked how long her mother-in-law was going to stay, she meant that if she knew how long she was going to saty in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law took Litz’s question to mean “Litz does not want me to saty f or long”. From the Chinese point of view, it seems inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law’s arrival. If she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7 (Page 62)Analysis:Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging giftsis a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don’t have one to offer in ret urn, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn’t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show the care, respect, gratitude and further friendship. Kei ko’s college friends would rather round up some of the necessary items and they are willing to have her use them. They really expected nothing from her. For in America, people donate their used household items to church or to the community. They would never consider these old items as gifts to Keiko. So Keiko’s valuable gifts have made her American friends feel uncomfortableCase 8 (Page 62)When the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Chritmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girls. She did not like to see her boyfriend disappointed at the “shabby” Chinese Christmas. That’s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minis ter’s family over forthe Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Chritmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the food chosen by her mother were all her favorites?From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should ne ver feel shame just because one’s culture is different from others’. As Amy’s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.Unit 3Cultural DiversityCase 7 (Page 76)Between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take. But in different cultures,people view this differently. In Chinese culture,friendships develop slowly because they are built tolast. We Chinese prefer the saying “A friend indeedis a friend in need.” And we never refuse the askingfor help from a friend. We never forget the timelyhelp by a friend when we are on the rocks. But InAmerican culture, they view this in a different way.Once helped, they offer their help only once. That’swhy Jackson said that Mr. Zhao was asking toomuch. In their view, friendships are based oncommon interests.1 Different Lands, Different Friendships(P 77)●French Friendships●German Friendships●English Friendships●Chinese Friendships (见补充材料)●American Friendships (见补充材料)补充案例(American Friendship)Two mothers, Carmen and Judy, are talking to each other at a park while their children are playing together in the sand.Caemen: Hi, Judy.Judy: Hi, Carmen. How are you?Carmen: Fine. I’m glad to see that our children like to play together.Judy: Yeah, me too. I remember just a month ago theyweren’t sharing their toys.Carmen: Now it looks like they’re enjoying each other. Judy: Finally! Maybe we could get together at eachother’s houses sometime. I’m surethe kids would enjoy that.Carmen: Sure. That’d be nice.Judy: Well, let’s do it soon.Carmen: O.K.(Judy and Carmen continue to talk while their children play.)Case AnalysisJudy and Carmen are not real friends. They don’t want to get together, really. They once met each other a month ago. Americans sometimes make general invitation like “Let’s get together sometimes.” Often this is just a way to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation. If they’d like to set a specific (exact) time, that means a real offer.2Family Structure (P83)●Chinese Family●Filipinos Family●Vietnamese Family●Japanese Family (See Case 9 and Case 10)●Latin American FamilyCase 9 (Page 96)Traditional Japanese respect their elders and feel a deep sense of duty toward them. The elders in traditional Japanese families are typically overpowered. So the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture challenging or disagreeing with eilder’s opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful. That is why the young chairman said nothing but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather. And it results in the Japanese company’s withdrawal from the negotiations concerning a relationship with Phil’s company a week later.Case 10 (Page 97)In Japan, a company is very much like a big family, in which the manager will take care of the employees and the employees are expected to cevote themselves to thedevelopment of thecompany and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own interests for the interests of the company. But to the French, a company is just a loosely-knit social organization wherein individuals aresupposed to take care of themselves and their families. And the family is the number one priority, which is unlike the Japanese mode l “not involving females and the right to decide bydominant male”.Case 11 (Page 97)In most cultures, an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. To many Westerners, Japanese apologize more frequently and an apology in Japanese does not necessarily mean that the person is acknowledging a fault. To many Japanese, Westeners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, the atitude of the Australian student’s pa rents is shocking the Japanese but will be acceptable in an English-speaking society, for the student is already an adult andcan be responsible for her own deeds.Case 12 (Page 98)In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectation were not fulfilled. First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be confusing to the Chinese.Second, in China, it is a tradition for the host to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal. By not doing so, the Canadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure of the Chinese from the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians’ lack of understanding of the Chinese culture would be a problem in their dealingwith the visiting delegation.。
新编跨文化交际英语教程——案例分析(主编:许力生)Word 打印版之欧阳家百创编
Unit 1欧阳家百(2021.03.07)Communication Across CulturesCase 1 (Page 23)This case took place in 3 cultures. There seemed to be problems in communicatingwith people of different cultures in spite of the efforts to achieve understnading.1)In Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is valued 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, Richard’s mistake might be that he choseto praise the food itself rather than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host or 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 harmony among a group, and that the group is valued more than any particularmember. In contrast, Americans stress individuality and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably to be in conflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case, Richard’s mistake was making great efforts to defend himself even if the error is notintentiona. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate3)When it comes to England, w expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the valuess 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 in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is obe who “makeshimself at home”. For the English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2 (Page 24)A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involvs conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication style. In Americanculture, people tend to say what is on their minds and mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that’s 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 not to say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and repectful 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 has not studied hard enough.Case 3 (Page 24)The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn’t realize 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 as most Dominican sisters woould do in borrowing without askingevery time. Once Mary understood that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out). Case 4 (Page 25)It might be simply a question of different rhythms.Americans have one rhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different 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 friendshipare warm, but casual and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner------not because you don’t 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 you would not see unless you extendedan invitation for a special occasion. Now, if the first friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reserve this------see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and invite the first one more formally to dinner.Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends rapidly, and they don’t feel like it n ecessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances, people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.Unit 2Culture and CommunicationThe analysis of this case: (Page 38)The least three things among the following Tom did that were regarded to be impolite:b. Tom opens the gift as soon as he is presented with it.d. Tom does not make a second offer of drinks when they refuse the first.e. Tom talks about the cost of living in the U.S.A.f. Tom does not ask them to stay longer when they saythey must be leaving.g. Tom does not go out to see them off.Case 5 (Page 60)Analysis: The Chinese guide should refuse the first offer because he is obeying the Chinese rules for communication. We Chinese are modest, polite and well-behaved. Maybe the guide is waiting for a second or third offer of beer, but he doesn’t know the reasons behind the rule in American culture that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason, you donot insist on offering alcohol. So they politely never made a second offer of beer to the guide.Case 6 (Page 61)When a speaker says something to a hearer,there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, the speaker’s meaning and the hearer’s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz asked how long her mother-in-law was going to stay, she meant that if she knew how long shewas going to saty in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law took Litz’s question to mean “Litz does not want me to saty forlon g”. From the Chinese point of view, it seems inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law’s arrival. If she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it. Case 7 (Page 62)Analysis:Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanginggifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don’t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn’t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show the care, respect, gratitude and further friendship. Keiko’s c ollege friends would rather round up some of the necessary items and they are willing to have her use them. They really expected nothing from her. For in America, people donate their used household items to church or to the community. They would never consider these old items as gifts to Keiko. So Keiko’s valuable gifts have made her American friends feel uncomfortableWhen the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Chritmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girls. She did not like to see her boyfriend disappointed at the “shabby” Chinese Christmas. That’s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minister’s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Chritmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the food chosen by her mother were all her favorites?From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never fe el shame just because one’s culture is different from others’. As Amy’s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.Unit 3Cultural Diversity●Between friends there is inevitably a kind ofequality of give-and-take. But in different cultures, people view this differently. In Chinese culture,friendships develop slowly because they are built tolast. We Chinese prefer the saying “A friend indeedis a friend in need.” And we never refuse theasking for help from a friend. We never forget thetimely help by a friend when we are on the rocks.But In American culture, they view this in adifferent way. Once helped, they offer their helponly once. That’s why Jackson said that Mr. Zhaowas asking too much. In their view, friendships arebased on common interests.1 Different Lands, Different Friendships(P 77)●French Friendships●German Friendships●English Friendships●Chinese Friendships (见补充材料)●American Friendships (见补充材料)补充案例(American Friendship)Two mothers, Carmen and Judy, are talking to each other at a park while their children are playing together in the sand.Caemen: Hi, Judy.Judy: Hi, Carmen. How are you?Carmen: Fine. I’m glad to see that our children like to play together.Judy: Yeah, me too. I remember just a month ago they weren’t sharing their toys.Carmen: Now it looks like they’re enjoying each other. Judy: Finally! Maybe we could get together at eachother’s houses sometime. I’msure the kids would enjoy that.C armen: Sure. That’d be nice.Judy: Well, let’s do it soon.Carmen: O.K.(Judy and Carmen continue to talk while their children play.)Case AnalysisJudy and Carmen are not real friends. They don’t want to get together, really. They once met each other a month ago. Americans sometimes make general invitation like “Let’s get together sometimes.” Often this is just away to be friendly. It is not always a real invitation. If they’d like to set a specific (exact) time, that means a real offer.2Family Structure (P83)●Chinese Family●Filipinos Family●Vietnamese Family●Japanese Family (See Case 9 and Case 10)●Latin American FamilyCase 9 (Page 96)Traditional Japanese respect their elders and feel a deep sense of duty toward them. The elders in traditional Japanese families are typically overpowered. So the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture challenging or disagreeing with eilder’s opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful. That is why the young chairman said nothing but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather. And it results in the Japanese company’s withdrawal from the negotiations concerning a relationship with Phil’s company a week later.Case 10 (Page 97)In Japan, a company is very much like a big family, inwhich the manager will take care of the employees and the employees are expected to cevote themselves to the development of thecompany and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own interests for the interests of the company. But to the French, a company is just a loosely-knit social organization wherein individuals aresupposed to take care of themselves and their families. And the family is the number one priority, which isunlike the Japanese model “not involving females and the right to decide bydominant male”.Case 11 (Page 97)In most cultures, an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. To many Westerners, Japanese apologize more frequently and an apology in Japanese does not necessarily mean that the person is acknowledging a fault. To many Japanese, Westeners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, the atitude of the Australian student’s parents is shocking the Japanese but will be acceptable in anEnglish-speaking society, for the student is already anadult and can be responsible for her own deeds.Case 12 (Page 98)In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectation were not fulfilled. First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be confusing to the Chinese.Second, in China, it is a tradition for the host to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal. By not doing so, theCanadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure ofthe Chinese from the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians’ lack of understanding of the Chinese culture would be a problem in their dealingwith the visiting delegation.。
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1.纵观历史,我们可以清楚地看到,各民族与文化由于彼此所处地域、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甚至到武装冲突,大大小小争端不绝。
很显然,文化间以及亚文化间的交往日益增多,这迫切要求我们共同努力,去理解与我们有着天壤之别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。
2.文化有时候被称为我们的心智程序,也即我们“头脑的软件”。
但是,我们可以进一步引申这个用电脑所做的类比,把文化看作是支持软件运行的操作环境。
文化就像电脑使用的DOS或者Unix或者“视窗”(Windows)等操作系统一样,使我们能在各种各样的实际应用中处理信息。
用“视窗”这个比喻来描述文化似乎也很有吸引力。
文化就是我们心灵的视窗,透过它我们可以审视生活的方方面面。
一个社会中不同个体的视窗是大不一样的,但都有着一些重要的共同特征。
文化就好像是鱼畅游于其中的水一般,人们想当然地把文化看成是客观存在的事实,从而很少去研究它。
文化存在于我们所呼吸的空气之中,文化对我们了解自我是必不可少的,就正如生命离不开空气一样。
文化是特定群体的共有财产,而不单是个体的特征。
社会按照文化设定的程序来运作,这种程序来自于相似的生活体验以及对这种生活体验之涵义的相似性阐释。
如果文化是一种心智程序,那么它也是现实的心灵地图。
从我们很小的时候开始,文化就告诉我们应该看重什么、偏好什么、规避什么以及做些什么。
文化还告诉我们事物应该是什么样的。
文化为我们提供超越个体经验的理想典范,帮助我们决定应该优先考虑什么。
文化为我们建立起行为准则,并解释为什么符合这些准则的行为正当、合法。
3.虽然,我们每个人都有各自一套独特的价值观,但在每一文化里,总有弥漫于整个文化之中的普遍的价值观。
这些被称作文化价值观文化价值观通常是规范性的,它使文化的成员知道什么是好的和坏的、什么是正确的和错误的、什么是真的和假的、什么是积极的和消极的,等等。
文化价值规定了什么是值得为之献身的,什么是值得维护的,什么会危及人们及其社会制度,什么是学习的恰当内容,什么是可讽刺嘲笑的,什么是形成群体团结的途径。
文化价值观也指明了文化中的什么行为是举足轻重的,哪些是应当尽力避免的。
价值观是人们在做出抉择和解决争端时作为依据的一种习得的规则体系。
跨文化交际的参与者所具有的价值观是十分重要的,因为价值观产生出决定何为正当或不正当社会行为的标准。
换言之,价值观有助于人们决定他们的行为方式,以符合他们的价值系统所期望的行为准则。
由于文化价值系统之间存在差异,我们可以预见,在相似的情境中,跨文化交际的参与者会表现出并期待着不同的行为。
4. 我们说语言总是模糊的,指的是我们所说所写的东西总不能完全表达我们的意图。
我们通过说话和写作所传达的意思不仅仅由词语和句子本身决定,听众和读者的理解也起到了一定的作用。
换言之,是交际双方共同创造了语言所表达的意思。
语言的模糊性是与生俱来的。
为了沟通,我们必须自己推断出对方的意思,除此之外别无他法。
在理解别人说话时,我们必须推测这些话的意思。
这些推测主要基于以下两个来源:(1)他们所使用的语言;(2)我们的世界知识。
这种知识包括能够预知在某种特定语境下人们通常会说些什么。
语言是模糊的。
这意味着无论是读或写,我们永远无法完全地领会他人的意思。
换言之,语言永远无法完全地表达我们的意思。
然而,这对跨文化交际意味着什么呢?首先必须明白,如果交际参与者拥有更多共同的预期和世界知识,交际便会有比较好的效果。
共同的背景、历史和经历使得人们之间的交际较为容易,因为任何一方对另一方用意的推测都基于共同的经验和知识。
来自同一个村子、同一个家庭的两个人当然要比来自地球不同半球不同城市的两个人少犯交际上的错误,至少不会在推测对方用意上闹笑话。
5. 由于在性别、年龄、种族或文化群体、教育、国家或城市的地域、收入或职业群体、个人经历等各方面的差异,人们分属不同的语言群体,这些差异使我们很难完全领会另一个群体成员所表达的意思。
在当今世界的跨文化交际中,人们之间的差异是相当大的。
人们每天要与来自世界各地不同文化背景、不同群体的人交往,成功交际的关键在于尽可能地共享对话语意义的推定。
当我们与迥然不同的人打交道时,我们往往不知道该怎样推导出他们的语句意义。
因此,在交际过程中,就很难依靠共享的知识和背景来有把握地诠释他人表达的意义。
就是来自相同文化、甚至相同家庭中的男性和女性也会经常误解对方的意思,原因是男性和女性对交际目的有不同的预期。
为了让女人高兴,男人要送她一件她真正想要的礼物。
他问女人想要什么礼物——哪怕是上天摘星星。
糟糕的是,女人最想要的却是男人可以凭直觉就知道她想要的是什么。
至少在北美社会中,男性和女性对于表达的看法往往不同:前者倾向于直接明了,后者则倾向于间接委婉。
女性觉得不用直接问就知道她想要什么是很重要的。
男性则觉得,如果女性能爽快地告诉他怎样做才能让她高兴就再好不过了。
6. 非言语交际被认为是不直接依靠语言使用的任何交际方式。
然而,一般来说,很难知道言语交际方式与非言语交际方式的区分到底在哪儿。
有些非言语交际方式,例如点头,总是伴随着言语,而且是语言使用时言语系统的一部分。
另一方面,像舞蹈和音乐等交际形式常常是没有任何言语成分的。
我们在这里想做的只是要引起大家对一个事实的注意,即人类交往的许多方面都依赖于那些不能轻易转换为言语、但却对我们相互理解至关重要的交际形式。
当然, 我们不能不强调口语和书面语交际的重要性,然而我们也必须意识到许多交际的发生并不使用语言。
一个人出席会议时的穿着会可能是暗示其他与会者,他或她打算如何参与会议。
事实上,我们能运用我们行为或表现的任何方面来和他人进行交际。
7. 今天有许多人总想在很短的时间内做很多的事,这种时间观念可以称作“时间强迫”行为综合症,就是不断地试图超越人类能力所限去完成更多的事情。
直到不久以前,时间强迫”还一直被认为是美国人、尤其是出生于从经济大萧条时期直到第二次世界大战结束这个阶段一代美国男性的重要特征。
很明显,这种“时间强迫”的观念现在已不再仅仅是这一代美国男性的文化特征,它已成为亚洲“工薪阶层”的一个特点,并作为商务国际化的一个方面而迅速传遍整个世界。
这种时间观念最重要的影响之一就是:在某个交际情境中,节奏较快的交际参与者几乎总会对较慢的参与者做某种消极的评价。
那些共享“时间强迫”观念的人通常会觉得其他行动比他们慢的人是保守的、不合作的、阻止变化的、反对进步的。
隐藏在“时间强迫”观念之后的是那种未来永远好于过去的理念,而这一理念是牢固地建立在对进步的信仰基础之上的。
8. 如果接受这样的信念,认为以往的存在状况影响着我们对现实的看法,并且接受相应的原则,认为每个人都有着相似的但又不完全一样的个人经历,那么,随之就得到这样的结论:另一个人对宇宙的描述不一定会和我们对宇宙的描述完全一样。
然而,我们大多数人似乎仍认为我们自己感知事物的方法是唯一正确的。
我们常常忽略感知的差异,并且断定,如果一个人不知道巴比罗·毕加索是有史以来最伟大的艺术家,他简直就不懂艺术。
实际上,他很可能有着不同的经历,对他来说,什么是伟大的艺术跟我们对于艺术的感知或许并不一致。
在我们的日常活动中,感知差异常常出现在不同的群体之间。
不同年代的人、不同少数民族、不同职业和不同文化有着相冲突的价值观念和目标,这些都影响着他们对于现实的感知和解释。
我们的文化是导致感知不一致的主要因素。
文化影响着我们对于现实看法的形成。
因此,它在跨文化交际中起着一种主导作用。
我们的文化以各种方式告诉我们,怎样去判断别人,使用什么标准去做判断。
这样评价的危险在于它们常常是不真实的,武断的并导致误解的。
相信并在行为中表现出仿佛只有我们和我们的文化才发现了最真实而且是唯一的标准,对世界持这样的看法是极其天真幼稚的。
9. 身处异域文化的人们总会面临着这样一个问题,即为了适应当地人的信仰、价值观、准则和社会规范,到底需要在多大程度上改变自己的行为举止呢?在交往中谁有责任把文化差异考虑在内?是应该让来访者、新来的人或旅居者调整自己的行为以适应当地文化,还是让当地人改变交流方式,从而为初来乍到的人们提供便利?人们必须多大程度地改变自己文化的信仰、价值观、准则和社会行为来以适应主导文化的模式呢?俗话说“入乡随俗”,很明显,这让改变的重任落在了新来者的身上。
话虽很有道理,但并不能适用于所有情况。
在大多数情况下,顺应当地文化期望的行为表现出对异文化和习俗的尊重。
这样的顺应能够使新来者真正地与当地人进行交流和互动。
尊重不同文化中语言和非语言代码的差异意味着跨文化交际者有责任合理地、尽可能多地学习这些交际代码。
当然,如何才算合理的、尽可能多的,那要视具体情况而定。
有的时候,新来者全面地采用当地的文化规则可能会被视为无礼的行为,使属于当地文化群体的人们感到不安。
10. 理想的减少交际失误的办法是同交际的其他参与者共享知识。
这就是为什么同一文化群体的成员之间最容易交际的原因。
这也解释了为什么在社交上人们总是同与自己很接近的人聚在一起。
当你不必费力就能理解所发生的事情或者让别人明白你的意图时,交际将变得更为轻松顺畅。
遗憾的是,在大多数情况下,这样的联系在交际中时常是不可能存在的。
我们甚至可以进一步说,那不仅是不可能的,而且也是不受欢迎的。
今天, 交际发生的情境常常是不同文化群体成员之间在交际。
由于跨文化交际是在不同文化群体成员之间进行的,因此,既然我们之间不共享知识、假设、价值观念和话语形式,我们必须预料到相互理解时将会发生问题。
我们必须注意这些问题,根据我们之间的差异预计哪儿会出现问题,接着调整我们的交际使之尽可能有效。
和其他群体共享知识并不等同于要加入那个群体并成为其成员。
有些群体对吸纳新成员相当排斥。
在提高跨文化交际能力时,我们应该记住, 无论我们多么地了解并欣赏另一种文化,都不太可能成为这种文化的成员。
关键是要尽可能地了解其他文化,以便理解和掌握相互之间的差异和共性。