Unit 2 Communication Problems新编大学英语第二版第二册教案

Unit 2 Communication Problems

Useful Information

Learning a second language is never easy, and, generally speaking, the older one is when one attempts a new language, the more difficult it becomes. This is at least partly due to what is known as language interference, meaning that the linguistic patterns of our first language interfere with those of the second because no two languages have exactly the same sounds and grammatical structures.

All languages have obligatory categories of grammar that may be lacking in other languages. Russian—unlike English—has an obligatory category for gender which demands that a noun, and often a pronoun, specify whether it is masculine, feminine, or neuter. Another obligatory category, similarly lacking in English, requires a verb state indicating whether or not an action has been completed. Therefore, a Russian finds it impossible to translate accurately the English sentence I HIRED A WORKER without having much more information. He would have to know whether the “I” was a man or woman, whether the action had a completive or noncompletive aspect (“already hired” as opposed to “was in the process of hiring”), and whether the “worker” was a man or a woman.

Likewise, when translating an English story into Chinese in which a character identified as cousin appears, a Chinese translator requires to know whether it refers to a male or a female, whether the character is older or younger than the speaker, and whether the character belongs to the family of the speaker?s father or mo ther. Therefore BIAOMEI (表妹) can be translated into English only by the awkward statement “a female cousin on my mother?s side and younger than I.” Of course, the translator might simply establish these facts about the character the first time she appears and thereafter translate the word as “cousin”, but that would ignore the significance in Chinese culture of the repetition of these obligatory categories.

The Russian/English and Chinese/English examples illustrate the basic problem in any translation. No matter how skilled translators are, they cannot take the language out of the speech community that uses it. Translation obviously is not a simple two-way street between two languages. Rather, it is a busy intersection at which at least five thoroughfares meet—the two languages with all of their peculiar characteristics, the cultures of the two speech communities, and the speech situation in which the statement was uttered.

The English language has a very large vocabulary because it has incorporated words from many other languages over the centuries. This is nowhere more apparent than in its color words. For example, there are many words that express the color “purple,” describing its different shades and hues: mauve, violet, lilac, or lavender. An interesting linguistic gender difference among native speakers of English is the likelihood of women using these color terms to differentiate between shades of purple, whereas, men will be satisfied with the one word “purple”. This is true of other color words too. Words like “beige,” “ecru,” “aquamarine,” “off-white,” etc. are quite common in a woman?s active vocabulary but absent from that of most men. Similar sorts of differences exist elsewhere in the English vocabulary. There is, for instance, a group of adjectives which have, besides their specific and literal meanings, another use of indicating the speaker?s approval or admiration for something. Some of these adjectives are neutral as to the sex of the speaker: either men or women tend to use them. But another set seems, in its figurative use, largely confined to women?s speech. Representative lists of both types are below: NEUTRAL WOMEN MOSTLY

great adorable

terrific charming

cool sweet

neat lovely

Thus, when learning a language, we sometimes need to pay attention to which sex uses which words, particularly when we reach an advanced stage where we are adding many new words to our vocabulary and want to use them accurately. We also need to pay attention to some of the multiple meanings that words have, as well as to their connotations.

Part One Preparation

1. Saying Things Sincerely or Sarcastically

1) C 2) A 3) D 4) B

A) Sarcastically B) Sincerely C) Sincerely D) Sincerely

2. Telephone Chains

Here are a few messages for your reference. You can have your own messages as well.

1) John?s mother bought him a lovely cat.

2) There are thirty-four boys and thirteen girls in our class.

3) My younger brother is studying at a university in Australia.

4) I can?t understand why he gets so angry with me.

5) I was talking to a girl in my class about the math homework.

3. Enjoying A Joke

In the joke, the problem is that the boy always takes what the man says literally. In fact, when the man asks “Where does this road go?”, he expects that the boy will tell him that the road goes to a certain place. But instead, the boy doesn?t catch what the man means and his answer seems irrelevant. The same thing happens with the question “How far is it to the next town?” Therefore the reader may think the boy is stupid. But to one?s surprise, the boy?s last sentence is very clever: “I know I don?t know much, and I may be a fool, but at least I?m not lost.” This makes the man seem stupid.

Part Two Reading-Centered Activities

III) We encountered serious problems when two members of the expedition（探险队）were injured.

mis- (l. 14) prefix

1) bad or badly

e.g. misfortune (bad luck)/ misbehave (behave badly)

2) wrong or wrongly

e.g. misinterpret/ misunderstand/ mislead/ misguide

3) shows an opposite or the lack of something

e.g. mistrust

emerge (l. 15) v.

appear or come out from somewhere

e.g. I) The sun emerged from behind the clouds.

II) The ship emerged from behind the fog.

If facts emerge, they become known after being hidden or secret

e.g. I) Eventually the truth emerged.

II) Later it emerged that the judge had been employing an illegal immigrant.

means (l. 43)/ mean (l. 19)

means: n. a method, system, object, etc. that you use as a way of achieving a result [+of] 方法、手段、工具

e.g. I) Are there any means of getting there?

II) The quickest means of travel is by plane.

III) Have you the means to support a wife?

其它类似的词还有way, method。

e.g. I) Some like the older ways of doing things.

II) Our teacher is showing us a new method of writing.

mean: v.

a. have or represent a particular meaning 表示……意思

e.g. I) The red light means “Stop”.

II) “What does …Konbanwa? mean in English?” “It means …good evening?.”

b. intend a particular meaning when you say something 意欲，意思是

e.g. I) I mean the red one, not the green one.

II) So what he means is that we?ll have to start the whole thing again.

c. intend (somebody) to do (something) 打算去做某事

e.g. I) I didn?t mean to interrupt your meal.

II) I?ve been meaning to phone you all wee k.

tend (l. 24) intend (l. 27)

1) tend: have a tendency or disposition to do or be something; be inclined 有某种倾向；有…的趋势

e.g. I) He tends to pitch the ball too high.

II) She tends to be nervous before her lectures.

2) intend: to have in mind; plan 意欲；计划：

e.g. I) Today, I intend to finish reading this book.

II) We intend to go. They intend going. You intended that she go.

III) We intend this news report as teaching material for freshmen.

as if (l. 22)/ as though (l. 52) conj.

1) in a way that suggests that something is true or not true.

e.g. I) You look as if you?ve had a good time.

II) It sounds as though she?s been really ill.

III) Mandy felt as if they were all ganging up on her.

2) used to suggest a possible explanation for something although you do not think that this is the actual explanation

e.g. I) That news reporter always sounds as if he?s drunk.

II) You make it sound as if you have to go without food for days on end!

M: Try to eat less fat. You should keep yourself slim like Mrs. Smith.

W: I know Mrs. Smith is slimmer and prettier. Why didn?t you marry her instead?

―After dinner:

W: Dear, we haven?t gone shopping for years.

M: Really? Last Sunday, we did and you bought a lot of things. I can?t believe you forget things so quickly.

―A man and a woman are dating in a park.

W: I feel a little chilly.

M: I'm very warm. (The man takes off his coat and puts it on the woman.)

W: We haven?t been together for a long time.

M: But I remember we went to the movies together last Sunday.

W: I feel lonely sometimes.

M: But you have three roommates.

W: You don?t love me anymore.

M: I surely do, and that?s why I am here.

W: We should think over our problems carefully.

M: Oh, I didn't realize we had any problems.

(Without saying anything more, the woman throws the man?s coat back to him and leaves.)

Vocabulary

1. 1) mess 2) repeat 3) mislead 4) intends 5) tend 6) exaggerates 7) frustrating 8) misinterpreted 9) acceptance 10) trust

2.

STEP ONE 1) F 2) C 3) A 4) K 5) I 6) E 7) H 8) J 9) G 10) B 11) D

STEP TWO 1) conveyed/conveys 2) assistance 3) encounter 4) conflict 5) emphasis 6) reacted 7) recognize 8) manner 9) assumed/assume

10) emerged/emerges 11) ignore

3. 1) out 2) on 3) with 4) of 5) In 6) in 7) to 8) on 9) At 10) of

Translation

I went to the dentist yesterday to have a bad/decayed tooth pulled out.

The development of things depends fundamentally on internal causes.

All roads lead to Rome.

I meant to give you that book today, but I forgot to bring it with me.

I was on the verge of accepting his advice.

Divorce is not a matter you can afford to take lightly.

Part Three Further Development

1. Clearing Up a Misunderstanding

Sample

The problem was caused because there are differences in communication between masculine and feminine cultures. John understood Laura according to the rules of the masculine culture. Women give a lot of responses to show their interest and involvement in a conversation because relationships and using communication to build them are very important to them. Masculine culture, on the other hand, focuses on outcomes more than processes. Thus, men tend to use feedback to show agreement and disagreement. When John heard Laura?s “ums,” “uh huhs,” and “yeses,” he thought that she was agreeing with him. However, according to the feminine culture, she was only showing interest and being responsive to him. She was not signaling agreement.

2. How to Avoid Misunderstandings

Samples

―Speak clearly, especially on the phone.

―Ask the other person to repeat what you have said, especially

important facts and details such as where, when, who.

―Write clearly and exactly.

―If you are not sure about what the other person has said, do not hesitate to ask. Don?t pretend to know or understand. Don?t guess. Questions to avoid or clear up misunderstandings are welcome because nobody wants to be misunderstood.

―Do not make too many inferences. Sometimes trying to guess the implied meaning will cause trouble.

―Try to make out the intended meaning of what one has said, not just the literal meaning, especially when you are talking to a person of the opposite sex. Remember that men are usually factual while women may be more emotional.

―Pay attention to similar-sounding words or words which are pronounced the same but spellled differently in conversation. When you say any words of the kind, make sure your listeners hear the word you actually said or meant. If you?re a listener, try to make sure what you heard is really what the speaker had said.

3. Samples

A

——Teacher: Good morning everybody. I have something serious to discuss with you today. Would you please tell me your purpose of attending school?

Student A: To gain knowledge.

Student B: To prepare for the future.

Teacher: Are there any different ideas?

Student C: To be a real man.

Writing and Translation

1.Knowing about Translation

2.Translation Practice

1) Misunderstandings are very common in our daily lives.

They will cause problems and unnecessary trouble: ruin friendships, bring misery.

2) There are many ways to avoid misunderstandings.

A) Do not use words that may have double meanings.

B) Express ideas and pronounce words clearly.

C) Emphasize the main points.

D) Don?t pretend to understand when you don't.

E) Ask for clarification when not clear about the meaning.

F) Be aware of the gender differences in communication.

3) Many misunderstandings can be avoided if we are careful enough. Life without misunderstanding will be better and happier.

3.Writing

Sample

How to Avoid Misunderstandings

Misunderstandings are very common in our daily lives. Even though not all misunderstandings are very serious, they still cause problems and unnecessary trouble. Sometimes, they can even ruin good relationships or friendships. This will undoubtedly bring misery.

There are many ways to avoid misunderstandings. First, we should not use words that may have double meanings. We should express our ideas clearly and also pronounce words clearly, such as seventeen and seventy. Second, as listeners, when we are not quite clear about what we have heard, we should not hesitate to ask for clarification. We shouldn?t pretend to know or understand if we don?t. Third, we should not always take it literally when we hear a statement. For example, if a woman says “You never clean the house,” to her husband, he should not argue that the day be fore yesterday he cleaned the house. Instead, he should take it as a signal that either she is tired or she is bored with the housework.

Of course, there are many other ways to avoid misunderstandings. If we can avoid misunderstandings, we can have a better and happier life. (186 words)