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Unit 1 Language and Culture in Communication
Theory Communication is something we do every day。 It takes place so naturally that we simply fail to notice it until it hiccups or breaks down。 Though it is commonplace, it is no exaggeration to say that communication is life and life is munication。
1。When you join a social gathering, you must be aware of rules and procedures that govern the way things are going to proceed、 There is a technical term for such rules and procedures—schema。
2。 Face and politeness are two other areas which are extremely value—sensitive. One of the distinctive features of Chinese politeness is self-denigration and other—elevation。
Case 1: Litz is a professor of cross-cultural munication in a university in Finland、 She invited her Chinese students home for an evening party、
The schema from Litz's point of view includes the following:
1。 Giving invitation: by phone / by mail
2、 Prepare everything before the arrival of guests
3。 Receiving guests: open the door / express wele / take their overcoats / introduce guests / offer them drinks / make them fortable
4。 Serving food: set the table / soup first / main course / desert
5、 Post dinner activities: chat / play music / offer more drinks
6. Seeing guests off: thank them for coming / good night
Litz’s evening party was not very successful, because she was upset by one of her guests、 Here was the initial conversation between Litz and Lin:
Litz: (opens the door) Oh, Lin, how nice you could e!
Lin: It's not difficult to find your house。
Litz: Come on in、
Lin: (comes in)
Litz: Can I take your coat?
Lin: No, thanks。
Litz: Ok, this way please、
Lin: (take off her coat and hangs it)
Analysis: Litz was hurt because Lin did not let her hang her coat、 Litz’s offering to hang Lin’s coat is one of Litz’s ways (it's on Litz’s schema). On Lin’s side, she thought that Litz was her supervisor and that it was inappropriate to let her supervisor hang her coat、 Here we have an instance of one action attached with different cultural values、
Case 2:
Finding an Interested Buyer
Georage Hall was in Beijing attending a trade fair and looking for an opportunity to do business in China、 He had been very successful in his business dealings in the US and prided himself on his ability “to get things moving.” His first day was going well 。He looked around at the displays of sporting equipment to get some idea of whom he might approach. He was sure that his products, tennis rackets with an unusual new design, would arouse some interests。 On the second day he approached the company which he felt would be most responsive to his products. He introduced himself to the general, a Mr。 Li、 Since he had read that Chinese find getting down to business immediately too abrupt and rude, he began a casual conversation, eventually leading up to the topic of his products and suggesting how Mr、 Li’s pany might benefit from using them. George then suggested that he could arrange to get together with Mr、 Li and provide more specifics and documentation on his products.
Mr. Li responded in fairly good English," That would be interesting、"
Knowing that he had only a few days left in Beijing, George wanted to nail down a time,” When can we meet?" asked George。
“Ah、 This week is very busy,” replied Mr. Li.
“It sure is," said George," How about 10 o'clock? Meet you here、”
“Tomorrow at 10 o’clock?" asked Mr。 Li thoughtfully。
“Right," said George, “I’ll see you then?”
“Hmm, yes; why don't you e by tomorrow,” was the reply。
“OK," responded George,” It was nice meeting you。”
The next day at 10 o’clock he approached Mr、 Li’s company’s exhibit only to find that Mr。 Li had some important business and was not able to meet with George. He called back later in the day and was told that Mr. Li was not available、
Analysis: 英美人士做事情讲究守时。而中国人不太重视这方面。本案列中,李先生不仅没有准时接见预约得客户,甚至放了她“鸽子”。
Case3: Professor Liang has written a book on Chinese culture in Chinese。 His book is put on display in Beijing International Book Fair’ 96、 Professor Liang would like to have his book translated into English and submitted to Thompson Publishers、 Professor Liang has asked Li Yan, whom he meets regularly in the English Corner, to help him to talk to Peter Allright, a Thompson representative。
Prof、 Liang:奥莱特先生,这就是鄙人得拙作。
Li Tan: Mr、 Allright, this a clumsy book written by your humble servant、
Mr Allright: No, no, no, you're not my humble servant. We do not publish books in Chinese。
Li Yan (to Professor Liang): 不,不,不,您不就是我得仆人,我们不出中文书、
Professor Liang: 我要请李艳翻译成英文。
Li Yan (to Mr。 Allright): Professor Liang will ask me to translate it into English、
Mr. Allright: Mm that’s interesting.
Analysis: Chinese authors almost always belittle their works by describing them as clumsy writings, and they use the same description when they present them to Chinese publishers。 But this will be counter-productive in English. Instead, authors should point out the merits of their works rather than “clumsiness".
Unit 2 Culture Shock
Theory: 1、 Culture shock can be described as the feeling of confusion and disorientation that one experiences when faced with a large number of new and unfamiliar people and situations、
2、 There is a desire for independence and separateness, found in foreigners’ needs for their own privacy and autonomy
3. Hospitality means the cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests、
4。 Politeness refers to the consideration for others, tact, and observance of accepted social usage.
5。 Privacy could be understood as the right of an individual to self-determination as to the degree to which the individual is willing to share with others information about himself、
Case 1: Jane, an American teacher in the US, had just started teaching English to a group of Japanese students。 She wanted to get to know the students more formally, so she invited them to her house for party。 The students all arrived together at exactly 8:00 p.m。 They seemed to enjoy the party: they danced, sang, and ate most of the food. At about 10:00 p.m, one of the students said to the teacher, “I think it’s time for me to leave. Thank you very much for the party.” Then all the other students got up to go, and all left at the same time、 Jane decided she would never invite them again!
Analysis: 在日本以及其她很多得亚洲国家里,年轻人通常成群结队得一起去参加一些社交聚会,然后一道离去。在她们瞧来这就是很正常不过得事。然后Jane认为这就是一种侮辱,因为她们在同一时间里一下子全部离开了。在美国以及其她一些英语国家,晚上10点离开一个聚会相对来说就是比较早得、
Case 2:
Four Secretaries and Their Jobs
Four classmates from a top Chinese university all took jobs as secretaries after graduation. Five years later the four former classmates had a reunion and discussed their jobs、
Chen Qi and Dai Yun both work as bilingual secretaries for a Finnish company in Beijing。 Chen Qi is secretary to the Finn general manger, and Dai Yun is secretary to the Chinese local manger, a position only slightly lower than that of the Finn manger.
Zhang Ying is from a politically prominent family and was hired as the secretary to the leader of a small government bureau in the capital city of her home province. Lu Yan works for a state run enterprise in the same city where she was hired as the secretary to the new manager for international marketing、 The company has never marketed its products abroad before so this office and Lu Yan’s position are new to the company。
Five years later Chen Qi is satisfied with her job with the Finnish company but Dai Yun is not. The Finn manager receives orders from the company’s home office in Finland, and he gives orders to those below him in China, including his secretary Chen Qi。 He tells her how he wants his time scheduled and she then makes appointments for him according to his instructions。 She translates memos and other documents and interprets from Chinese to English to Chinese、 If the manager does not think Chen Qi has done her work well, he tells her right away、 He is very demanding, but Chen Qi feels that she knows what her duties are and knows what her manager expects. She is confident that she is doing a good job。
Dai Yun often does not have as much work to do as Chen Qi does, because her boss schedules his own appointments and does a lot of the office paperwork himself。 When he is out of town she has time to study for the graduate entrance exam、 However, she is not sure whether or not she is doing a good job、 Her manager tells her what she is expected to do, but he does this day by day。 When people call or come to the office to see her boss, she greets them in English or Chinese as necessary。 She receives their memos and other messages as well as their questions and requests and passes them on to her manager。 Dai Yun thinks of her job as doing what her manager wants her to do。 She pays close attention to his moods and behavior, and sometimes she is able to anticipate what he would like without him telling her。
Analysis:许多中国人在外企工作,不同国家得外企领导有不同得工作作风与标准。本案列中,戴云给不同得外国上司做秘书,在工作中出现由于不同得文化冲突而引起得各种工作以及沟通中得问题就很常见了。
Case 3: One cold winter day in a Chinese city, Wang Lin on his way to the library met an American professor who knew very little about China、 After greeting him, Wang said: “It’s rather cold、 You’d better put on more clothes、” But the professor didn’t appear happy on hearing this、
Analysis: 美国人以及大部分西方国家得人们不喜欢被告知要怎么做怎么做,她们比较喜欢独立,然而中国人则习惯关心别人,这个案例中王林得建议表达得就就是一种对她人得关心,可就是美国教授却不习惯这样得表达、
Case 4: In a good restaurant, fourteen people are gathered to say goodbye to their professor, who is moving to another university.
Steven: May I have your attention please? I’d like to call upon Ben to say a few words。
Ben: Thank you, Steven. Professor Shore, colleagues:
Tonight is one of those paradoxes ——— it’s a sad time and yet it’s a happy time. Sad, because、
We are losing one of our best professors; happy because we are pleased to see Professor Shore
gain the recognition that he richly deserves.I'm not sure who will be able to control us and keep us
in line。 I think the new professor will have a difficult time。 And surely no one will be able to tell
jokes in the same way as you, Professor. Seriously, we all know that you will be difficult to
replace. Your scholarly approach and your dedication will always be remembered。 I would
therefore like to propose a toast. Colleagues, pelase charge your glasses、 Professor Shore, may
your future be filled will great success, and may you always remember us。 We know we will never
forget you、
To Professor Shore!
All: (Standing up) To Professor Shore! (Everyone drinks。 Professor Shore remains seated and
smiles at them all。)
Analysis:就餐时总就是要在各种缘由下向人敬酒:可以就是非正式得,向朋友或同事敬酒;也可以就是正式得,向全体聚会得人敬酒。与中国式得敬酒大不相同得就是,在西方正式得敬酒时,受敬得人就是不能喝酒得,而就是正襟危坐,两眼睁睁瞧别人喝酒。另一个不同就是:无论正式还就是非正式,敬酒得人不必走过去敬酒,而就是在自己得座位处站起来敬酒。敬酒时开始得语言永远就是:“向…”,而其她随敬酒得人重复敬酒人得第一句话(即“向…”), 然后喝一口酒。敬酒时如果举了杯,说了敬词,而实际上没有喝酒,就会被瞧做十分不恭得行为,在很久以前甚至于被认为就是一种侮辱,就是不想加入敬酒得仪式。
Case 5: An American went to Chinese home. He was offered some tea、 Just when the first cup was about to finish, more tea was added、 The visitor drank the second cup。 Then the cup was filled the third time、 Then he drank it, then… until the visitor was quite full。 Why?
Analysis: 在中国得传统文化习俗里,主人通常会不断给客人倒水倒茶,或者不断地给客人得盘子里加食物以表示她得热情好客。面对得这样得情况,中国客人知道如何处理,在她们觉得吃饱喝足之后,就会随它放在桌上。而美国客人就不懂了,在美国,在自己得盘子里剩下食物就是不礼貌得,于就是她出于遵循美国文化理念可能会在这样得招待中吃得过多。
Case 6:
Dinner with Friend
Janice is a young American engineer working for a manufacturing joint venture near Nanjing。 She and her husband George, who is teaching English at a university, are learning Chinese and enjoying their new life 、They have been eager to get to know Chinese people better so they were pleased when Liu Lingling , Janice’s young co-worker invited them to her home for dinner。
When Janice and George arrived,Lingling introduced them to her husband Yang Feng , asked them to sit down at a table containing 8 plates of various cold dishes, served them tea and then disappeared with her husband into the kitchen. After a few minutes Lingling came back and added water to their tea. Janice offered to help in the kitchen but Lingling said she didn’t need help、 She invited the couple to look at their new CD player and their colorful TV and then disappeared again、
A half-hour later she came back and sat down and the three began to eat. Yang Feng came in from time to time to put dish after hot dish on the table. Most of the food was wonderful but neither George nor Janice could eat the fatty pork in pepper sauce or the ea cucumbers, and there was much more than they could eat. They kept wishing Yang Feng would sit down so they could talk to him .Finally he did sit down to eat a bit ,but quickly turned on the TV to show them all its high teching features、 Soon it was time to go home.
George and Janice felt slightly depressed by this experience, but returned the invitation two weeks later。 They decided to make a nice American meal and felt lucky to find olives, tomato juice, crackers and as appetizers、 For the main course they prepared spaghetti and a salad with dressing made from oil, vinegar, and some spices they found in the market.
When Liu Lingling and Yang Feng arrived they were impressed by the apartment and asked the price of the TV, video player, vacuum cleaner and other things、 Janice politely refused to answer their questions、 They took small tastes of the appetizers and seemed surprised when both George and Janice sat down with them. They ate only a little spaghetti and did not finish the salad on their plates、 George urged them to eat more but they refused and looked around expectantly。 Junice and George talked about their families and jobs and asked the table and served coffee and pastries、 Yang Feng and Lingling each put four spoons of sugars into their coffee but did not drink much of it and ate only a bite or two of pastry。
After they left, George said that at least they had a chance to talk, but Janice was upset、 “We left their place so full that we couldn’t walk and they're going to have to eat again when they get home、 What went wrong?
Analysis:中西方饮食习惯大大得不同。中国人邀请客人会准备一大桌子得菜,并在就餐过程中使劲劝说客人多吃点,吃完之后, 还有剩菜,就表明主人得盛情款待、而西方人一不劝吃,二就餐完毕后,盘子最好就是空得。本案列中得两对中外夫妇不明这个文化差异,发生误解就就是自然而然得事了。
Case 7: After the meal and after the table has been cleared. Liu is not sure what to do, but wants to help in some way。 At least he wants to offer、
Helen: Thanks for your help, Huang.
Liu: Pleasure、 What can I do now?
Helen: Nothing。 It’s fine. I’ll rinse these dishes then stack them. It’ll only take a minute、
Liu: Does the family usually help?
Helen: Well, at special times. Jack sometimes rinses the dishes but you can see he's really tired tonight.
Liu: Let me do it for you.
Helen: No truly, it’s okay、
Liu: Maybe I can wipe the table then、
Helen: That would be helpful、 Thanks。 You’re really kind, Huang。
Analysis:在西方人家中得就餐得时间里,大家都设法插手帮一下忙,即便就是男士也不例外,不要一点不动着开饭。所有家住者要能帮者摆摆餐具,或餐后收拾洗碗,把餐具放进洗碗机,倒垃圾,站在一
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