《新编跨文化交际英语教程》复习资料u

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新编跨文化交际英语教程复习资料(1)

Unit 5Culture and Verbal Communication Some Ideas Related to verbal communication and culture1. Different orientations to communication patternsEast Asian orientation1. process orientation —communication is perceived as a process of infinite interpretation2. differentiated linguistic codes —different linguistics codes are used depending upon persons involved and situations3. indirect communication emphasis —the use of indirect communication is prevalent and accepted as normative4. receiver centered —meaning is in the interpretation, Emphasis is on listening, sensitivity, and removal of preconception.North American orientation1. communication is perceived as the transference of messages2. Less differentiated linguistic codes —linguistic codes are not as extensively differentiated as East Asia3. Direct communication emphasis — direct communication is norm despite the extensive use of indirect communication4. sender centered —meaning is in the message created by the sender. Emphasis is on how to formulate the best message, how to improve source credibility and delivery skills2. Direct and Indirect Verbal Interaction StylesThe tone of voice, the speaker’s intention, and the verbal content reflect our way of speaking, our verbal style, which in turn reflects our cultural and personal values and sentiments.Verbal style frames “how” a message should be interpreted. The direct-indirect verbal interaction dimension can be thought of as straddling a continuum. Individuals in all cultures use the gradations of all these verbal styles, depending on role identities, interaction goals, and situations. However, in individualistic cultures, people tend to encounter more situations that emphasize the preferential use of direct talk, person-oriented verbal interaction, verbal self-enhancement, and talkativeness. In contrast, in collectivistic cultures, people tend to encounter more situations that emphasize the preferential use of indirect talk, status-oriented verbal interaction, verbal self-effacement, and silence.The direct and indirect styles differ in the extent to which communicators reveal their intentions through their tone of voice and the straightforwardness of their content message. In the direct verbal style, statements clearly reve al the speaker’s intentions and are enunciated in a forthright tone of voice. In the indirect verbal style,on the other hand, verbal statements tend to camouflage the speaker’s actual intentions and are carried out with more nuanced tone of voice. For example, the overall . American verbal style often calls for clear and direct communication. Phrases such as “say what you mean,” “don’t beat around the bush,” and “get to the point” are some examples. The direct verbal style of the larger . culture is reflective of its low-context communication character.3. Person-Oriented and Status-Oriented Verbal StylesThe person-oriented verbal style is individual-centered verbal mode that emphasizes the importance of informality and role suspension. The status-oriented verbal style is a role-centered verbal mode that emphasizes formality and large power distance. The former emphasizes the importance of symmetrical interaction, whereas the latter stresses asymmetrical interaction.The person-oriented verbal style emphasizes the importance of respecting unique, personal identities in the interaction. The status-oriented verbal style emphasizes the importance of honoring prescribed power-based membership identities. Those who engage in status-oriented verbal interaction use specific vocabularies and paralinguistic features to accentuate the status distance of the role relationships ., in parent-child interaction, superior-subordinate relations, and male-female interaction in many Latin American cultures). While low-context cultures tend to emphasize the use of the person-oriented verbal style, high-context cultures tend to value the status-oriented verbal mode.4. Self-Enhancement and Self-Effacement Verbal StylesThe self-enhancement verbal style emphasizes the importance of boasting about one’s accomplishments and abilities. The self-effacement verbal style, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of humbling oneself via verbal restraints, hesitations, modest talk, and the use of self-deprecation concerning one’s effort or performance.For example, in many Asian cultures, self-effacement talk is expected to signal modesty or humility. In Japan, when one offers something to another person such as a gift or a meal that one has prepared, verbal self-deprecation is expected. There are set expressions for verbal humility such as “It’s not very tasty” and “It’s nothing special.” The hostess who apologizes to her guests that “There is nothing special to offer you” has probably sent the better part of two days planning and preparing the meal. Of course the guest should protest such a disclaimer and reemphasize her or his gratitude. Self-effacement is a necessary part of Japanese politeness rituals.In the . culture, individuals are encouraged to sell and boast about themselves, for example, in performance review or job interview sessions, or else no one would notice their accomplishments. However, the notion of merchandizing oneself does not set well with the Japanese. In Japan, one does not like to stand out or be singled out, even by others; it is far worse to promote oneself.In many Asian cultures, individuals believe that if their performance is good, their behavior will be noticed, for example, by their supervisors during promotion review situations. However, from the Western cultural standpoint, if my performance is good, I should document or boast about it so that my supervisor will be sure to take notice. This difference is probably due to the observer-sensitive value of the Asian, high-context communication pattern, as opposed to the sender-responsible value of the Western, low-context interaction pattern.We should note that the pattern of verbal self-effacement cannot be generalized to many Arab or African cultures. In Egypt, for example, a popular sayin g is “Make your harvest look big, lest your enemies rejoice”. Effusive verbal self-enhancement is critical to the enhancement of one’s face or honor in some large power distance Arab cultures.Reading IUnderstanding the Culture of Conversation Comprehension questions1. What made the author feel learning to converse in Mexico City was easier for him/her in one way, more difficult in another It's easier because Mexicans service the relationship and they care about everyone in the conversation. But their conversation doesn‘t move in a straight line, drifting around both in the topic and in the way they use words.2. Why did the Mexican customer slide into the topic of the full eclipse of the sunFor the Mexican, the conversation starts with one topic, but if another interesting topic seeps in he or she will ride it around for a while. Sticking to the first topic is less important than having an interesting conversation.3. What did the American businessman feel about the Mexican‟s way of conversationFor the American, a conversation should have a topic, and he wants to take a straight line through it from beginning to end. So he felt very impatient about the Mexican‘s way of conversation.4. What “conversational ideal” was represented by the exa mple of a championship skier who was interviewed on TVThe Swedish conversational ideal is to response in a concise manner without elaborating specific details, especially those for self-promotion. .5. What problems are likely to occur if an American talks with a SwedeThe American may feel totally lost in the conversation since he or she would not get as much information from the Swede as he or she has expected.6. What are the differences between Anglos and Athabaskans in conversationThere are a lot differences between them. For instance, at the beginning of a conversation, Anglos almost always speak first. Athabaskans think it is important to know what the social relationship is before they talk with someone. There is another difference in how long one should talk. Athabaskans tend to have longer turns when they talk with each other, but Anglos expect shorter turns.7. Is it enough just to learn to speak in grammatically correct manners when one learns a foreign language What else does he or she also need to knowIt is far from enough just to learn to speak in grammatically correct manners when one learns a foreign language. One also has to know about the culture of using the language in social life, things like who talks first, who talks next, who opens and closes conversations and how they do it, in order to be able to use the language in culturally appropriate manners.8. In what ways are Chinese similar to or different from the Americans, Mexicans and SwedesIt seems that we Chinese are somewhat similar to Mexicans in the way we are having a conversation. Unlike Americans, we do not usually move in a straight line in a conversation and may also care much about the other‘s feeling.Reading IIThe Way People SpeakComprehension questions1. Why didn‟t the American openly disagree with the ItalianIn general, the American did not enjoy verbal conflicts over politics or anything else.2. What are the differences between “high involvement” style and “high considerateness” styleMany people from cultures that prefer ―high involvement styles tend to: (1) talk more; (2) interrupt more; (3) expect to be interrupted;(4) talk more loudly at times; and (5) talk more quickly than those from cultures favoring ―high considerateness style s. On the other hand, people from cultures that favor ―high considerateness styles tend to: (1) speak one at a time; (2) use polite listening sounds; (3) refrain from interrupting; and (4) give plenty of positive and respectful responses to their conversation partners.3. How do New Yorkers and Californians perceive each other because of their differences in conversational styleTo some New Yorkers, Californians seem slower, less intelligent, and not as responsive. To some Californians, New Yorkers seem pushy and domineering.4. What does the author think is the reasonable way to react to cultural differencesWe should know that the way the other speaks may be different from our way of speaking because he or she must have had a different cultural u pbringing. We shouldn‘t judge the other according to our own standards of what is an acceptable communication style.5. How to determine whether a culture favors a direct or indirect style in communicationOne way to determine whether a culture favors a direct or indirect style in communication is to find out how the people in that culture express disagreement or how they say, ―No.6. On what occasions do American women tend to be more direct than menWhen talking about emotional issues and feelings, American women tend to be more direct than men.7. What are the goals of indirect communicationIndirect communication aims not to be angering, embarrassing, or shaming another person. Instead, it aims to be saving face and maintaining harmony in general.8. How is “Ping-Pong” conversational style different from “Bowling” styleIn an American ―Ping-Pong‖ conversation, one person has the ball and then hits it to the other side of the table. The other player hits the ball back and the game continues. Each part of the conversationfollows this pattern: the greeting and the opening, the discussion of a topic, and the closing and farewell. However, in a Japanese ―Bowling‖ conversation, each participant waits politely for a turn and knows exactly when the time is right to speak. That is, they know their place in line. In Japanese conversation, long silences are tolerated. For Americans, even two or three seconds of silence can become uncomfortable.Case StudyCase 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 18Even if the American knew Urdu, the language spoken in Pakistan, he would also have to understand the culture of communication in that country to respond appropriately. In this case, hehad to say ―No at least three times.In some countries, for instance, the Ukraine, it may happen that a guest is pressed as many as seven or eight times to take more food, whereas in the UK it would be unusual to do so more than twice. For a Ukrainian, to do it the British way would suggest the person is not actually generous.Indeed, British recipients of such hospitality sometimes feel that their host is behaving impolitely by forcing them into a bind, since they run out of polite refusal strategies long before the Ukrainian host hasexhausted his/her repertoire of polite insistence strategies.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 ―sp it 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 20It seems that the letters of request written in English as well as in Chinese by Chinese people are likely to preface the request with extended face-work. To Chinese people, the normal and polite way to form a request requires providing reasons that are usually placed before the requests. Of course, this is just the inverse of English conventions in which requests are fronted without much face-work. In the view of the English-speaking people, the opening lines of Chinese requests and some other speech acts do not usually provide a thesis or topic statement which will orient the listener to the overall direction of the communication. Worst of all, the lack of precision and thefailure to address the point directly may lead to suspicions that the Chinese speakers are beating around the bush. To them, the presence of a clear and concise statement of what is to be talked about will make the speech more precise, more dramatic, and more eloquent.However, the Chinese learning and using English in communication may find it difficult to come to terms with the common English tendency to begin with a topic statement. In the Chinese culture, stating one‘s request or main point at the beginning would make the person seem immodest, pushy, and inconsiderate for wanting things. If your speech gives others the impression that you are demanding something, you would lose face for acting aggressively and not considering the others.Thus you‘d be hurting people by claiming something for yourself.In such a situation, it is usually considered a smart strategy if you carefully delineate the justifications that will naturally lead to your request or argument. Therefore, instead of stating their propositionsomewhere in the beginning and then proceeding to build their case, Chinese people often first establish a shared context with which to judge their requests or arguments. Only after carefully prefacing them with an avalanche of relevant details, as if to nullify any opposition, will they present the requests or arguments.。

《新编跨文化交际英语教程》复习资料U9.docx

Unit 9 Intercultural AdaptationSome Ideas Related to Culture Shock and Adaptation Strategies1.Culture ShockWhat is culture shock? Culture shock is a common experience of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. It refers to phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis. It is associated with feelings in the person of estrangement (being unfriendly or hostile to others; alienation), anger, hostility, indecision, frustration, unhappiness, sadness, loneliness, homesickness, and even physical illness. The person undergoing culture shock views his new world out of resentment, and alternates between being angry at others for not understanding him and being filled with self-pity.Culture shock is caused by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols or social contact. Those cues or sighs include various ways in which we adapt ourselves to the situation of daily life: When to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to buy things, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, or customs, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness.Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed・ He or she is like fish out of water. Edward Hall describes a hypothetical example of an American living abroad for the first time 一at first, things in the cities look pretty much alike. There are taxis, hotels with hot and cold running water, theatres, neon lights, even tall buildings with elevators and a few people who can speak English. But pretty soon the American discovers that underneath the familiar exterior there are vast differences. When someone says "yes" it often doesn't mean yes at all, and when people smile it doesn^t always mean they are pleased.When the American visitor makes a helpful gesture he may be rebuffed; when he tries to be friendly nothing happens. People tell him that they will do things and dont The longer he stays, the more enigmatic (puzzling) the new country looks.2.Possible signs of culture shockThe following sentences describe different stages of culture shock.a.The person holds a hostile and aggressive attitude toward the host country.b.The person begins to open the way into the new cultural environment.c.The person now accepts the customs of the country as just another way of living.d.The person is fascinated by the new environment.3・ Suggestions found to be helpful in fighting culture shock1)Recognize that you are experiencing culture shock, and your reactions are not from some other source. Remember that many others have had the same experience,and that it is normal. Understand that your feelings are part of a response to learning about the other culture and consider it a positive sign.2)Give yourself permission to temporarily indulge the symptom: if you are sleepy, sleep.3)Find other from your culture and spend time together talking about home, eating, sharing experiences.4)Help someone from your home culture who has recently arrived. You will be surprised at how much you've learned.5)Communicate with family and friends. Write letters or call Remember that those at home might not realize that culture shock is a normal experience. Let them know it isa temporary phase of adjusting to life in a different culture.6)Become an expert on some aspect of the other culture. Choose something you like, and learn more about people in the host culture.7)Maintain your sense of hum0匚Laugh at the mistakes you make; they are usually not serious.8)Keep busy. Get to know the area where you live by walking around and observing. Say hello to a neighbor in the place you live, and perhaps start a friendship.9)Become friendly with classmates. Spend some out-of-school time togethe匚10)Do something you enjoy. Contact a relative or acquaintance whose address you may have. Browse through department stores. Visit a museum. Walk through a new area of town. See a play or go to a movie.11)Forget that your English is less than perfect, and feel free "to ask" people for information, guidance, or directions. Many people are friendly, and helpful. It is important not to dwell on negative incidents. Disappointments are simply a fact of life.12)Be flexible. Make up your mind that you are going to enjoy your new adventure. 4e Two views of culture shockTwo views of culture shock1)The disease viewThe culture-shocked person experiences a breakdown in communication, is unable to cope, and feels isolated and lost. He develops a number of defensive attitudes and behaviors to protect the mind from the confusion of an entirely new situation. He is a helpless victim.He can experience many emotional and mental difficulties. He may become extremely frustrated, angry, and rejecting of the new culture. He considers the host country bad, ridiculous, stupid, and hopeless.He may start to glorify his home country. He fears physical contact with anyone or anything from the new culture. He may feel harmed, tricked, deceived, injured, or ignored・ People can become physically ill from the stress of culture shock 一ulcers, headaches, stomach aches, back aches, the flu 一physical symptoms.2)The self-awareness viewThe educational experience provides a mirror in which one's own culture is reflected・Exposure to new cultures enables them to gain new insights into their own culture and society. Positive cross-cultural learning experiences typically involve change andmovement from one cultural frame of reference to another.5.Four ways of adaptationAssimilation （同化）Separation （隔绝）Marginalization （边缘化）Integration （融合）Reading I Adapting to a New Culture Comprehension questions1.What are the terms that can he applied to the concept of ^culture shock”?Terms that can be applied to the concept of—culture shock are culture stress, adaptation, transition shock, adjustment, socialization, and so on.2.What are the symptoms of a person at his or her a honeynioon stage n in the process of adapting to a new culture?In this stage, one feels a sense of excitement, pleasure, and self-satisfaction for making the decision to come to this beautiful place. In his or her view, nearly everything appears wonderful.3.Does everybody experience the Stage Two? How to cope with the negative feelings one may have at this stage?No, some people never experience this stage. In order to cope with the negative feelings one may have at this stage, one should not withdraw from all contact with the new culture and instead try to have more contact with the host nationals.4.According to the author^ what is the best thing to do when one is experiencing culture shock?The best thing to do when you are experiencing culture shock is to admit that you are experiencing culture shock, try to identify your stage of culture shock, and work toward becoming more familiar with the new culture.5.What are the problems that people are confronted with when they return to the home culture from overseas?Upon their first returning home, there is a sense of relief and excitement about being in familiar surroundings. However, a sense of depression and negative outlook follows the initial reentry cycle, for a person may find that the home culture is no longer the same. They may have difficulty readjusting to the home culture and the reentry process has often involved their suffering quietly with stress.6.What are the improvements people usually make when they get into Stage Three?When people get into Stage Three, they become more accustomed to the foods, sights, sounds, smells, and nonverbal behaviors of the new culture and have less physical problems and less confusion, uncertainty, and loneliness. Their normal contacts with host nationals are increasing and now they can accept themselves and others around them.7.What do you think of the authors suggestion of using the native language to compliment people in the host culture?It is very important for one to be able to use the native language if one hopes to survive successfully in a new cultural environment, for it can not only compliment the local people, but also greatly enhance mutual understanding.8.Do you have any other suggestions for adapting successfully to a new culture?Apart from those suggestions given by the author, one should also try to learn from those who have much experience in adapting to a new culture, which may be helpful in one's effort to overcome the difficulties in the process of cultural adaptation. Reading IIOvercoming Ethnocentrism in Communication Comprehension questions1.Why do people involved in intercultural communication often evaluate theother(s) negatively?Because in intercultural communication we tend to use the categories of our own culture to judge and interpret the behaviors of the others who are culturally different from us.2.What is the basic difference between American and Japanese communication styles?The basic difference may be that Americans are much more direct while Japanese are very indirect.3.What will happen when communicators engage in mutual negative evaluation in American・Japcinese interaction ?When communicators engage in mutual negative evaluation, the communication event may deteriorate even further. The American, sensing Japanese reluctance to confront a problem, becomes even more personal and aggressive. The Japanese, reacting to an embarrassing social indiscretion, becomes even more formal and indirect.4.What do you think the Nigerian communication style is like?Nigerians are inclined to take the more contextual style in communication. They tend to provide as much context as they can before they get to the point.5.Why does the Thai employee continue to use the formal title to address his American manager in their conversations?Because the Thai people usually consider it quite disrespectable to address the manager by his first name, for in their culture, one should always be aware of one's place in the organization's hierarchy and behave accordingly..6.Why does the author say that the case of American-British interaction deserves closer attention ?Because the case of American-British interaction is more complicated. Americans and the British employ different cultural approaches in response to different occasions. The British, like other Europeans, tend to use a low-context approach to intellectual confrontation and a more high-context style in personal matters of feeling and relationship, whereas Americans usually treat a relationship in a low-context manner handle intellectual confrontation in a high-context manner.7.What should we do to overcome the tendency to stereotype and negatively evaluate others who are culturally different from us?We can overcome the tendency to stereotype and generate negative evaluations by approaching every cross-cultural situation as a kind of experiment. Using available generalizations about the other culture, we can formulate a hypothesis and then test it for accuracy. As more knowledge of relevant cultural differences is acquired, generalizations can become more specific, hypotheses more particular, and communication difficulties more predictable.8.If we cannot help making generalizations^ how to use cultural generalizations effectively?We can use generalizations to hypothesize likely areas of contrast and possible communication problems and then acquire specific cultural differences through intercultural practice.Case StudyCase 33The problems that Li Li has encountered during her stay in the United States are typically some of those that people will usually be faced with when they enter a new culture.There are obviously distinct stages that Li Li has gone through in the process of her adaptation to the American cultural environment: honeymoon period (Letter 1), when she was fascinated and excited by almost everything in the United States and felt elated to be in the new culture; culture shock. (Letter 2), when she was immersed in many problems that she had not been prepared for and became extremely homesick; initial adjustment (Letter 3), when she learned more about American culture and cultural adaptation and began to feel much better then; mental isolation (Letter 4), when she felt frustrated and became even somewhat hostile towards Americans; and acceptance period (Letter 5), when she began to realize the positive and negative aspects of the country and have a more balanced perspective about her experiences there.What she means by writing in her fifth letter that —I think I have finally arrived in America is that she has finally learned to accept the culture very different from her own and begun to integrate herself into it. She is no longer like a fish out of water, and does not feel alienated from the new environment any more.Case 34In this case, it seems that Kevin failed to understand that customs for such a social gathering would be culturally different and Blanca were not properly prepared for experiencing a culture shock like this when she came to work and live in a new cultural environment.In Dominican culture, it is usually considered inappropriate for a young unmarried female to go to a social gathering alone without anyone else accompanying her. A chaperone is often required, and getting one's parents'pennission is also necessary. However, all this may be very strange to North Americans nowadays. Kevin could not quite understand why Blanca, already an adult supposed to be independent, had to bring her little sister along to the gathering so as to get her parents'permission.Another thing at which they differ is that in Dominican culture, somewhat like our Chinese culture, people going out together to eat seldom pay separately. The elderone(s) would pay for the younger one(s), and the male(s) would pay for the female(s). Because of having expected that Kevin would pay for their meals, Blanca didn't bringmuch money with her when she was going to The Blue Hat. Therefore, when Kevin said —separate checks, pleasell to the waiter, as North American people usually do while going out together to eat, he didn't realize that he had put Blanca in a very embarrassing situation. That's why Blanca whispered to her sister, telling her that she didn't have much money with her then and just ordered something to drink when she said they were not hungry at all.Case 35The American's personal experience in Russia has taught us not to jump to a conclusion about any other culture. We may misinterpret the behavior and intention of people in other cultures, for we are easily influenced by some popular overgeneralizations about other cultures. We have to be aware that things in other cultures may not be what they appear to us foreigners. One of the difficulties we will experience in adjusting to a new culture is that we may have taken too much of our own—cultural baggage: misleading stereotypes and preconceptions about members of that culture. In intercultural communication 让is sometimes true that a little learning about other cultures can be a dangerous thing. Distorted or biased knowledge may be worse than no knowledge at all. Even if what we know about other cultures has been proved to be right and well grounded, we still have to remember that there will often be variation within any culture. We should always be prepared for exceptions when interacting with individuals from another culture.Case 36We all know that we are members of a particular culture and we share the same cultural identity with other members of the culture. However, much of our cultural identity may simply be outside of our awareness- Not until we find ourselves in situations where our sense of self 一- our values, beliefs, practices -一is called into question do we perceive the tacit dimensions of our cultural identity. In this incident, the German woman has found out that Americans treat their neighbors in a way that is different from the way Germans do. As her expectations were thwarted, she became aware of her own cultural identity, her cultural way of thinking, of interpreting the world. This could be a painful process, which many of us, as the German woman in this case, may not be prepared for. Therefore, it is important to raise people's awareness of their culturally shaped identity and acknowledge the likelihood of some emotional disturbance during the cultural adjustment.。

(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》复习资料U6

Unit 6Culture and Nonverbal CommunicationSome Ideas Related to Nonverbal Communication1. Nonverbal languageWhat is not said is often as important as what is said. Nonverbal communication is communication through means other than language — for example, facial expression, personal space, eye contact, use of time, and conversational silence.(Hall, E.T. The Silent Language, New York: Doubleday, 1959)2. Different expressions of nonverbal languageKinesics: our body languageThe term refers to gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, body positions, body movements, and forms of greeting and their relation to communication — yawning, stretching, and relaxing, staring, walking slumped over, raising a clenched fist, showing a victory sign.The human communication process is more complex than it initially seems. Much, if not most, of our messages in face to face contact are transmitted through paralanguage. These auxiliary communication techniques are highly culture bound. Communication with people from other societies or ethnic groups is fraught with the danger of misunderstanding if their culture and paralanguage is unknown to you or ignored.3. Significance of nonverbal languageIt accounts for much of the meaningwe derive from conversations.Cognitive content.Affective content.It spontaneously reflected the subconscious. Normally we control over our words. But the nonverbal behavior may leak our true feelings.We cannot communicate without it. Even if we choose silence, the nonverbal dimension of our communication is always present. Even if we remove bodily from the scene of interaction, our absence may speak loudly.4. Relationship between verbal and nonverbal languageAccent: to lay emphasis by tone of voice, intonationsReinforce/Complement: to strengthen and supplyContradict: betray the verbal expressionsRegulate: looking behavior, vocal inflections, gestures, general cues of readiness or relaxation all help to signal a person’s conversational intentionsSubstitute: head nods or shakes, hand gestures,facial display and body movementReading IAn Overview of Nonverbal Communication Comprehension questions1. Can you speak each of the following sentences in different ways to mean differently?1) She is my best friend.2) You‟ve done really good job.3) Come here, please.4) That‟s all right.Speaking the same sentence with the stress on different words may mean different things. For instance, if the stress falls on ―she in the first sentence, it means it is SHE, not you or somebody else, that is my best friend. But if the stress falls on ―my‖, it implies that she is MY, not your or some body‘s, best friend.2. Speakers of British English use loudness only when they are angry, speakers of Indian English use it to get the floor, a chance to speak. So when an Indian speaker is trying to get the floor, what would the British speaker think of the Indian and what would the British behave in response?The British speaker may think that the Indian gets angry with him or behaves rudely towards him, so he may complain about the Indian‘s rudeness or even return his rudeness as a response.3. What differences in body language use have you noticed between your Chinese teachers and foreign teachers?There are really some differences between Chinese teachers and foreign teachers in their use of body language. For instance, Chinese teachers in general do not use gestures as much as foreign teachers do, and their facial expressions often seem to be less varied than those of many foreign teachers.4. Do you know any gestures we often use that might be misunderstood by people from other cultures?For example, the way we Chinese motion to others to come over might be misunderstood by people from some Western countries to mean bye-bye.5. How do we Chinese people use eye contact in communication?During a conversation between two Chinese, it seems that the speaker and the hearer would usually look at each other (not necessarily in the eye) from time to time. How much eye-contact there is may depend on the relationship between the speaker and hearer and the situation they find themselves in.6. How will you eye them when you are communicating with people from the United States or people from Japan?While talking with Americans, we should look directly into the eyes of the person with whom we are talking. However; while talking with Japanese, we are not expected to look at them in the eye but at a position around the Adam‘s apple. 7. Do you often smile at others? Why or why not?It depends. For instance, it seems that we Chinese, as well as people of other Eastern Asian countries, do not usually smile at strangers as much as Americans.8. What function(s) may laughter serve in our culture? Does it sometimes cause intercultural misunderstanding?Laughter in our culture may serve various functions. Sometimes, it is used to express amusement or ridicule, and sometimes it is simply used to make one feel less embarrassed.9. Do you often touch others while talking with them? Whom do you touch more than others?We Chinese generally do not often touch others while talking with them unless they are our intimate friends or younger children.10. In small groups or in pairs, demonstrate all the possible ways you can think ofto greet another person. Is touching always part of a greeting?No. Touching is not always part of a greeting in our culture as in some other cultures.11. Will you apologize if you accidentally touch other people in public places? Why or why not?Many people will apologize if they accidentally touch other people in public places since in our culture people who are strangers to each other should not touch. However, whether people will apologize or not depends on the situations. If a person accidentally touches a stranger in a very crowded place, he or she may not apologize for it.Reading IIGender and Nonverbal Communication Comprehension questions1. What may often happen to those who do not conform to their culture‟s accepted gender “script”?There are often severe social penalties for those who act in violation of their culture‘s accepted gender ―script.2. Does touch have any connotation in different situations? Can you give some specific examples?Touch, like physical closeness, may be considered an expression of affection, support, or sexual attraction. For instance, in some cultures, it may be all right for women friends and relatives to walk arm-in-arm, dance together, and hug one another, but if men do so, they may be frowned upon, for it would be considered as having the connotation of being homosexual.3. What will possibly happen to a woman who is appreciably taller than the man?Taller women may attempt to diminish themselves, to slouch and round their shoulders so as to retreat or to occupy as little space as possible.4. Are men and women required to have the same facial expressions? Does smile mean the same things to both men and women?Men and women are not usually required to have the same facial expressions. Smile may mean different things to men and women. For females smile functions as an expression of pleasure, pleasantness, or a desire for approval, while males may resist any nonverbal display of expression to others in order to appear more masculine,because being facially expressive is often seen as a marker of ―femininity.5. Why are the African-American women less deferential than white women and less inclined to smile?African-American women are found to be less deferential than white women and, therefore, less inclined to smile, simply because it is expected of them to be so in their culture.6. In what ways may direct eye contact between individuals be interpreted?Looking directly into another person‘s eyes can connote an aggressive threat, a sexual invitation, or a desire for honest and open communication.7. What was found in a study of nonverbal communication among Hispanic couples?In a study of nonverbal communication among Hispanic couples, it was found that many Puerto Rican wives never looked directly at their husbands.8. How does clothing manifest and promote cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity?Through clothing and make-up, the body is more or less marked, constituted as an appropriate, or, as the case may be, inappropriate body for its cultural requirements. Males and females have to dress themselves appropriately according to their cultural definitions of masculinity and femininity.Case StudyCase 21Sometimes our best intentions can lead to breakdowns 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 and touching someone with it is highly offensive. Therefore, in Vernon‘s eyes, Kenneth was actually a n 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 o f 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. Generally speaking, 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 23Just like smile, laughing does not always serve the same function in different cultures. Interestingly, for us Chinese, laughing often has a special function on some tense social occasions. People may laugh to release the tension or embarrassment, to express their concern about you, their intention to put you at ease or to help you comeout of the embarrassment. In this case, the people there were actually wishing to laugh with the American rather than laugh at her. Their laughing seemed to convey a number of messages: don‘t take it so seriously; laugh it off, it‘s nothing; such things can happen to any of us, etc. Unfortunately the American was unaware of this. She thought they were laughing at her, which made her feel more badly and angry, for in her culture laughing on such an occasion would be interpreted as an insulting response, humiliating and negative.Case 24It is obvious that there exists some difference between the British and Germans in their use of touch. The lack of touch that seems to be natural in Britain may be considered strange by Germans.What is required (in this case, shaking hands with each other) in one country could be taken as unnecessary in another.The appropriateness of contact between people varies from country to country. Figures from a study offer some interesting insight into this matter. Pairs of individuals sitting and chatting in college shops in different countries were observed for at least one hour each. The number of times that either one touched the other in that one hour was recorded, as follows: in London, 0; in Florida, 2; in Paris, 10; in Puerto Rico, 180. These figures indicate that touch is used very differently in different cultures.。

新编跨文化交际英语教程_参考答案Unit

Unit 3Cultural DiversityReading IDifferent Lands, Different FriendshipsComprehension questions1. Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States? Because few Americans stay put for a lifetime. With each move, forming new friendship becomes a necessity and part of their new life.2. Do people from different countries usually have different expectationsabout what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being?Yes. The difficulty when strangers from two countries meet is their different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being.3. How is friendship in America different from friendship in West Europe? In West Europe, friendship is quite sharply distinguished from other, more casual relationships, is usually more particularized and carries a heavier burden of commitment, while in America the word “friend” can be applied to a wide range of relationship and a friendship may be superficial, casual, situational or deep and enduring.4. In what cou ntry does friendship have much to do with one’s family? And in what country does it not?In Germany, friendship has much to do with one‘s family as friends are usually brought into the family, while in France it doesn’t as, for instance, two men may have been friends for a long time without knowing each other‘s personal life.5. What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized?For instance, a man may play chess with a friend for thirty years without knowing his political opinions, or he may talk politics with him for as long a time without knowing about his personal life. Different friends fill different niches in each person’s life.6. What are friendships usually based on in England?English friendships are based on shared activity. Activities at different stages of life may be of very different kinds. In the midst of the activity, whatever it may be, people fall into steps and find that they participate in the activity with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by day or in some critical situation.7. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures? If you do, what are they?Yes. There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, invokes freedom of choice. A friend is someone who chooses and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend gives the other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take.8. What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship? Is it similar to or different from any of the Western friendships?It seems that the typical Chinese concept of friendship lays great emphasis on personal loyalty and also has much to do with family. It may be similar to Germany friendship to some extent and quite different from other Western friendships.Reading IIComparing and Contrasting CulturesComprehension questions1. How is the mainstream American culture different from the Japanese culture?Americans believe that human nature is basically good and man is the master of nature. They are future-oriented and “being”-oriented. Their social orientation is toward the importance of the individual and the equality of all people. However, the Japanese believe that human nature is a mixture of good and evil. Man is in harmony with nature. They are both past-oriented and future-oriented. And they are both “growing-”and “doing-”oriented. They give emphasis to authorities and the group.2. Can you find examples to support the author’s view of traditional cultures in different value orientations?For example, the traditional Indian culture believes that man is subjugated by nature and it is being-oriented (which can be exemplified by its caste system). Also, traditional Chinese culture is past-oriented, for emphasis has long been given to learning from the old and past.3. Why do Americans tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and regard rapid change as normal?Concerning orientation toward time, Americans are dominated by a belief in progress. They are future-oriented. They believe that “time is money”and have an optimistic faith in the future and what the future will bring. So they tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and consider a rapid rate of change as normal.4. What does “Electric Englishman” mean when it is used to describe the American?As for activity, Americans are so action-oriented that they tend to behyperactive. That’s why that they have been described as “Electric Englishmen”, who always keep themselves busy.5. How would you explain the fact that contradictory values may exist in the same culture?As time changes faster and faster and there is more contact between cultures, it is more likely to find contradictory values existing in the same culture. This is especially the case in a society that is being transformed from a traditional one into a modern one. For example, in the Japanese culture, some people may still be very past-oriented and some are rather future-oriented, and even the same people may be sometimes past-oriented in certain situations and sometime future-oriented in other situations.6. What can we get from models of this kind about cultural differences? Models of this kind are quite useful in giving rough pictures of striking contrasts and differences of different cultures. However, such a model only compares cultures on some basic orientations. It does not tell us everything about every conceivable culture. We have to recognize that models of this kind are over-simplifications and can only give approximations of reality.7. Do cultural values change as time changes?Yes, the values may be in the process of marked change due to rapid modernization and globalization. However, they have a way of persisting in spite of change. The evolution of values is a slow process, since they are rooted in survival needs and passed on from generation to generation.8. How is communication influenced by differing cultural values?Putting people from one culture into another culture with radically different value orientations could cause stress, disorientation, and breakdowns in communication.Case StudyCase 9Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such as martial arts or flower arrangements.In this case, the young chairman must have had his own ideas about how to manage the company; however, when encountered with his grandfather’s d issenting opinions, he dared not to take a stand against him. This may manifest the rigid hierarchicalstructure in the Japanese society. In the Japanese society, how hierarchy is formed depends mainly on seniority, social roles, and gender. As a respectable senior member of the family and the former leader of the company, the grandfather obviously overpowered the inexperienced young chairman. In other words, the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture, challenging or disagreeing with elders’ opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful and is often condemned. People in lower positions are expected to be loyal and obedient to authority. That‘s why the young chairman didn’t say anything but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather.But Phil seemed to know little about the Japanese culture in this aspect. In many Western cultures, particularly American culture, seniority seldom matters very much in such situations, and young people are usually encouraged to challenge authority and voice their own opinions. Unfortunately, his outspoken protest could easily offend the grandfather and he might be regarded as a rude and ill-bred person by other Japanese.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 Frenc h, Mr. Legrand’s decision made Mr. Tanaka feel dumbfounded.Case 11Incidents such as these can point to possible cultural differences in so-called “polite” behavior, and at the same time highlight the tendency for people to react emotionally to unexpected behavior.People in most cultures would probably agree that an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. However, there may be differing opinions as to when we should apologize (what situations call for an apology) and how we should apologize. 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, Westerners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, for instance, the attitude of the Australian student’s parents is shocking to 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 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.。

新编跨文化交际英语教程参考答案Unit

Unit 3Cultural DiversityReading IDifferent Lands, Different FriendshipsComprehension questions1. Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States?Because few Americans stay put for a lifetime. With each move, forming new friendship becomes a necessity and part of their new life.2. Do people from different countries usually have different expectations about whatconstitutes friendship and how it comes into being?Yes. The difficulty when strangers from two countries meet is their different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being.3. How is friendship in America different from friendship in West Europe?In West Europe, friendship is quite sharply distinguished from other, more casual relationships, is usually more particularized and carries a heavier burden of commitment, while in America the word “friend” can be applied to a wide range of relationship and a friendship may be superficial, casual, situational or deep and enduring.4. In what country does friendship have much to do with one’s family? And in what country does it not?In Germany, friendship has much to do with one‘s family as friends are usually brought into the family, while in France it doesn’t as, for instance, two men may have been friends for a long time without knowing each other‘s personal life.5. What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized?For instance, a man may play chess with a friend for thirty years without knowing his political opinions, or he may talk politics with him for as long a time without knowing about his personal life. Different friends fill different niches in each person’s life.6. What are friendships usually based on in England?English friendships are based on shared activity. Activities at different stages of life may be of very different kinds. In the midst of the activity, whatever it may be, people fall into steps and find that they participate in the activity with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by day or in some critical situation.7. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures? If you do, what are they?Yes. There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, invokes freedom of choice. A friend is someone who chooses and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend gives the other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take.8. What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship? Is it similar to or different from any of the Western friendships?It seems that the typical Chinese concept of friendship lays great emphasis on personal loyalty and also has much to do with family. It may be similar to Germany friendship to some extent and quite different from other Western friendships. Reading IIComparing and Contrasting CulturesComprehension questions1. How is the mainstream American culture different from the Japanese culture? Americans believe that human nature is basically good and man is the master of nature. They are future-oriented and “being”-oriented. Their social orientation is toward the importance of the individual and the equality of all people. However, the Japanese believe that human nature is a mixture of good and evil. Man is in harmony with nature. They are both past-oriented and future-oriented. And they are both “growing-”and “doing-”oriented. They give emphasis to authorities and the group.2. Can you find examples to support the author’s view of traditional cultures in different value orientations?For example, the traditional Indian culture believes that man is subjugated by nature and it is being-oriented (which can be exemplified by its caste system). Also, traditional Chinese culture is past-oriented, for emphasis has long been given to learning from the old and past.3. Why do Americans tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and regard rapid change as normal?Concerning orientation toward time, Americans are dominated by a belief in progress. They are future-oriented. They believe that “time is money”and have an optimistic faith in the future and what the future will bring. So they tend to equate “change” with “improvement” and consider a rapid rate of change as normal.4. What does “Electric Englishman” mean when it is used to describ e the American? As for activity, Americans are so action-oriented that they tend to be hyperactive. That’s why that they have been described as “Electric Englishmen”, who always keep themselves busy.5. How would you explain the fact that contradictory values may exist in the same culture?As time changes faster and faster and there is more contact between cultures, it is more likely to find contradictory values existing in the same culture. This is especially the case in a society that is being transformed from a traditional one into a modern one. For example, in the Japanese culture, some people may still be very past-oriented and some are rather future-oriented, and even the same people may be sometimes past-oriented in certain situations and sometime future-oriented in other situations. 6. What can we get from models of this kind about cultural differences?Models of this kind are quite useful in giving rough pictures of striking contrasts and differences of different cultures. However, such a model only compares cultures on some basic orientations. It does not tell us everything about every conceivable culture. We have to recognize that models of this kind are over-simplifications and can only give approximations of reality.7. Do cultural values change as time changes?Yes, the values may be in the process of marked change due to rapid modernization and globalization. However, they have a way of persisting in spite of change. The evolution of values is a slow process, since they are rooted in survival needs and passed on from generation to generation.8. How is communication influenced by differing cultural values?Putting people from one culture into another culture with radically different value orientations could cause stress, disorientation, and breakdowns in communication. Case StudyCase 9Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such as martial arts or flower arrangements.In this case, the young chairman must have had his own ideas about how to manage the company; however, when encountered with his grandfather’s dissenting opinions, he dared not to take a stand against him. This may manifest the rigid hierarchical structure in the Japanese society. In the Japanese society, how hierarchy is formed depends mainly on seniority, social roles, and gender. As a respectable senior member of the family and the former leader of the company, the grandfather obviously overpowered the inexperienced young chairman. In other words, the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture, challenging or disagreeing with elders’ opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful and is often condemned. People in lower positions are expected to be loyal and obedient to authority. That‘s why the young chairman didn’t say anything but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather.But Phil seemed to know little about the Japanese culture in this aspect. In many Western cultures, particularly American culture, seniority seldom matters very much in such situations, and young people are usually encouraged to challenge authority and voice their own opinions. Unfortunately, his outspoken protest could easily offend the grandfather and he might be regarded as a rude and ill-bred person by other Japanese.Case 10In Japan, a company is often very much like a big family, inwhich 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 11Incidents such as these can point to possible cultural differences in so-called “polite” behavior, and at the same time highlight the tendency for people to react emotionally to unexpected behavior.People in most cultures would probably agree that an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. However, there may be differing opinions as to when we should apologize (what situations call for an apology) and how we should apologize. 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, Westerners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, for instance, the at titude of the Australian student’s parents is shocking to 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 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 Canadianhosts 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.。

新编跨文化交际英语教程复习总结

Unit 11.The definition of INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION1.1“Inter-" comes from the Latin word for "between",and dictionaries define communication as exchanging information.Inter-"来自拉丁语，意思是"在之间"，字典把交流定义为交换信息。

Intercultural Communication refers to the exchange of information between people from different cultures.跨文化交际是指来自不同文化的人之间的信息交流。

As the very phrase suggests, Intercultural Communication emphasizes cross-cultural competence rather than language only.正如这句话所暗示的，跨文化交际强调的是跨文化能力，而不仅仅是语言。

1.2 what makes IC a common phenomenon: new technology, innovative communication system,globalization of the economy , changes in immigration patterns 新技术、创新的通讯系统、经济全球化、移民模式的变化2.The definition of globalizationGlobalization is the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through communication, transportation,and trade between nations.全球化是区域经济、社会和文化通过国家之间的交流、运输和贸易而变得一体化的过程。

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Unit 9 Intercultural Adaptation Some Ideas Related to Culture Shock and Adaptation Strategies1. Culture ShockWhat is culture shock Culture shock is a common experience of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. It refers to phenomena ranging from mild irritability to deep psychological panic and crisis. It is associated with feelings in the person of estrangement (being unfriendly or hostile to others; alienation), anger, hostility, indecision, frustration, unhappiness, sadness, loneliness, homesickness, and even physical illness. The person undergoing culture shock views his new world out of resentment, and alternates between being angry at others for not understanding him and being filled with self-pity.Culture shock is caused by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols or social contact. Those cues or sighs include various ways in which we adapt ourselves to the situation of daily life: When to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to buy things, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, or customs, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as thelanguage we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness.Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like fish out of water. Edward Hall describes a hypothetical example of an American living abroad for the first time — at first, things in the cities look pretty much alike. There are taxis, hotels with hot and cold running water, theatres, neon lights, even tall buildings with elevators and a few people who can speak English. But pretty soon the American discovers that underneath the familiar exterior there are vast differences. When someone says “yes” it often doesn’t mean yes at all, and when people smile it doesn’t always mean they are pleased.When the American visitor makes a helpful gesture he may be rebuffed; when he tries to be friendly nothing happens. People tell him that they will do things and don’t. The longer he stays, the more enigmatic (puzzling) the new country looks.2. Possible signs of culture shockThe following sentences describe different stages of culture shock.a. The person holds a hostile and aggressive attitude toward thehost country.b. The person begins to open the way into the new cultural environment.c. The person now accepts the customs of the country as just another way of living.d. The person is fascinated by the new environment.3. Suggestions found to be helpful in fighting culture shock1) Recognize that you are experiencing culture shock, and your reactions are not from some other source. Remember that many others have had the same experience, and that it is normal. Understand that your feelings are part of a response to learning about the other culture and consider it a positive sign.2) Give yourself permission to temporarily indulge the symptom: if you are sleepy, sleep.3) Find other from your culture and spend time together talking about home, eating, sharing experiences.4) Help someone from your home culture who has recently arrived. You will be surprised at how much you’ve learned.5) Communicate with family and friends. Write letters or call. Remember that those at home might not realize that culture shock is a normal experience. Let them know it is a temporary phase of adjusting to life in a different culture.6) Become an expert on some aspect of the other culture. Choose something you like, and learn more about people in the host culture.7) Maintain your sense of humor. Laugh at the mistakes you make; they are usually not serious.8) Keep busy. Get to know the area where you live by walking around and observing. Say hello to a neighbor in the place you live, and perhaps start a friendship.9) Become friendly with classmates. Spend some out-of-school time together.10) Do something you enjoy. Contact a relative or acquaintance whose address you may have. Browse through department stores. Visit a museum. Walk through a new area of town. See a play or go to a movie.11) Forget that your English is less than perfect, and feel free “to ask” people for information, guidance, or directions. Many people are friendly, and helpful. It is important not to dwell on negative incidents. Disappointments are simply a fact of life.12) Be flexible. Make up your mind that you are going to enjoy your new adventure.4. Two views of culture shockTwo views of culture shock1) The disease viewThe culture-shocked person experiences a breakdown in communication, is unable to cope, and feels isolated and lost. He develops a number of defensive attitudes and behaviors to protect the mind from the confusion of an entirely new situation. He is a helpless victim.He can experience many emotional and mental difficulties. He may become extremely frustrated, angry, and rejecting of the new culture. He considers the host country bad, ridiculous, stupid, and hopeless. He may start to glorify his home country. He fears physical contact with anyone or anything from the new culture. He may feel harmed, tricked, deceived, injured, or ignored. People can become physically ill from the stress of culture shock —ulcers, headaches, stomach aches, back aches, the flu — physical symptoms.2) The self-awareness viewThe educational experience provides a mirror in which one’s own culture is reflected. Exposure to new cultures enables them to gain new insights into their own culture and society.Positive cross-cultural learning experiences typically involve change and movement from one cultural frame of reference to another.5. Four ways of adaptationAssimilation （同化）Separation（隔绝）Marginalization（边缘化）Integration（融合）Reading IAdapting to a New CultureComprehension questions1. What are the terms that can be applied to the concept of “culture shock”Terms that can be applied to the concept of ―culture shock are culture stress, adaptation, transition shock, adjustment, socialization, and so on.2. What are the symptoms of a person at his or her “honeymoon stage” in the process of adapting to a new cultureIn this stage, one feels a sense of excitement, pleasure, and self-satisfaction for making the decision to come to this beautiful place. In his or her view, nearly everything appears wonderful.3. Does everybody experience the Stage Two How to cope with the negative feelings one may have at this stageNo, some people never experience this stage. In order to cope with the negative feelings one may have at this stage, one should not withdraw from all contact with the new culture and instead try to have more contact with the host nationals.4. According to the author, what is the best thing to do when one is experiencing culture shockThe best thing to do when you are experiencing culture shock is to admit that you are experiencing culture shock, try to identify your stage of culture shock, and work toward becoming more familiar with the new culture.5. What are the problems that people are confronted with when they return to the home culture from overseasUpon their first returning home, there is a sense of relief and excitement about being in familiar surroundings. However, a sense of depression and negative outlook follows the initial reentry cycle, for a person may find that the home culture is no longer the same. They may have difficulty readjusting to the home culture and thereentry process has often involved their suffering quietly with stress.6. What are the improvements people usually make when they get into Stage ThreeWhen people get into Stage Three, they become more accustomed to the foods, sights, sounds, smells, and nonverbal behaviors of the new culture and have less physical problems and less confusion, uncertainty, and loneliness. Their normal contacts with host nationals are increasing and now they can accept themselves and others around them.7. What do you think of the author’s suggestion of using the native language to compliment people in the host cultureIt is very important for one to be able to use the native language if one hopes to survive successfully in a new cultural environment, for it can not only compliment the local people, but also greatly enhance mutual understanding.8. Do you have any other suggestions for adapting successfully toa new cultureApart from those suggestions given by the author, one should also try to learn from those who have much experience in adapting to a new culture, which may be helpful in one‘s effort to overcome the difficulties in the process of cultural adaptation.Reading IIOvercoming Ethnocentrism in Communication Comprehension questions1. Why do people involved in intercultural communication often evaluate the other(s) negativelyBecause in intercultural communication we tend to use the categories of our own culture to judge and interpret the behaviors of the others who are culturally different from us.2. What is the basic difference between American and Japanese communication stylesThe basic difference may be that Americans are much more direct while Japanese are very indirect.3. What will happen when communicators engage in mutual negativeevaluation inAmerican-Japanese interactionWhen communicators engage in mutual negative evaluation, the communication event may deteriorate even further. The American, sensing Japanese reluctance to confront a problem, becomes even more personal and aggressive. The Japanese, reacting to an embarrassing social indiscretion, becomes even more formal and indirect.4. What do you think the Nigerian communication style is likeNigerians are inclined to take the more contextual style in communication. They tend to provide as much context as they can before they get to the point.5. Why does the Thai employee continue to use the formal title to address his American manager in their conversationsBecause the Thai people usually consider it quite disrespectable to address the manager by his first name, for in their culture, one should always be aware of one‘s place in the organization‘s hierarchy and behave accordingly. .6. Why does the author say that the case of American-British interaction deserves closer attentionBecause the case of American-British interaction is more complicated. Americans and the British employ different cultural approaches in response to different occasions. The British, like other Europeans, tend to use a low-context approach to intellectual confrontation and a more high-context style in personal matters of feeling and relationship, whereas Americans usually treat a relationship in a low-context manner handle intellectual confrontation in a high-context manner.7. What should we do to overcome the tendency to stereotype and negatively evaluate others who are culturally different from us We can overcome the tendency to stereotype and generate negative evaluations by approaching every cross-cultural situation as a kind of experiment. Using available generalizations about the other culture, we can formulate a hypothesis and then test it for accuracy. As more knowledge of relevant cultural differences is acquired, generalizations can become more specific, hypotheses more particular, and communication difficulties more predictable.8. If we cannot help making generalizations, how to use cultural generalizations effectivelyWe can use generalizations to hypothesize likely areas of contrast and possible communication problems and then acquire specific cultural differences through intercultural practice.Case StudyCase 33The problems that Li Li has encountered during her stay in the United States are typically some of those that people will usually be faced with when they enter a new culture.There are obviously distinct stages that Li Li has gone through in the process of her adaptation to the American cultural environment: honeymoon period (Letter 1), when she was fascinated and excited by almost everything in the United States and felt elated to be in the new culture; culture shock. (Letter 2), when she was immersed in many problems that she had not been prepared for and became extremely homesick; initial adjustment (Letter 3), when she learned more about American culture and cultural adaptation and began to feel much better then; mental isolation (Letter 4), when she felt frustrated and became even somewhat hostile towards Americans; and acceptance period (Letter 5), when she began to realize the positive and negative aspects of the country and have a more balanced perspective about her experiences there.What she means by writing in her fifth letter that ―I think I have finally arrived in America is that she has finally learned to accept the culture very different from her own and begun to integrate herself into it. She is no longer like a fish out of water, and does not feel alienated from the new environment any more.Case 34In this case, it seems that Kevin failed to understand that customs for such a social gathering would be culturally different and Blanca were not properly prepared for experiencing a culture shock like this when she came to work and live in a new cultural environment.In Dominican culture, it is usually considered inappropriate for a young unmarried female to go to a social gathering alone without anyone else accompanying her. A chaperone is often required, and getting one‘s parents‘permission is also necessary. However, all this may be very strange to North Americans nowadays. Kevin couldnot quite understand why Blanca, already an adult supposed to be independent, had to bring her little sister along to the gathering so as to get her parents‘permission.Another thing at which they differ is that in Dominican culture, somewhat like our Chinese culture, people going out together to eat seldom pay separately. The elder one(s) would pay for the younger one(s), and the male(s) would pay for the female(s). Because of having expected that Kevin would pay for their meals, Blanca didn‘t bring much money with her when she was going to The Blue Hat. Therefore, when Kevin said ―separate checks, please‖ to the waiter, as North American people usually do while going out together to eat, he didn‘t realize that he had put Blanca in a veryembarras sing situation. That‘s why Blanca whispered to her sister, telling her that she didn‘t have much money with her then and just ordered something to drink when she said they were not hungryat all.Case 35The American‘s personal experience in Russia has taught us not to jump to a conclusion about any other culture. We may misinterpret the behavior and intention of people in other cultures, for we are easily influenced by some popular overgeneralizations about other cultures. We have to be aware that things in other cultures may not be what they appear to us foreigners. One of the difficulties we will experience in adjusting to a new culture is that we may have taken too much of our own―cultural baggage: misleading stereotypes and preconceptions about members of that culture. In intercultural communication it is sometimes true that a little learning about other cultures can be a dangerous thing. Distorted or biased knowledge may be worse than no knowledge at all. Even if what we know about other cultures has been proved to be right and well grounded, we still have to remember that there will often be variation within any culture. We should always be prepared for exceptions when interacting with individuals from another culture.Case 36We all know that we are members of a particular culture and we share the same cultural identity with other members of the culture. However, much of our cultural identity may simply be outside of our awareness. Not until we find ourselves in situations where our sense of self --- our values, beliefs, practices --- is called into范文范例指导参考question do we perceive the tacit dimensions of our cultural identity. In this incident, the German woman has found out that Americans treat their neighbors in a way that isdifferent from the way Germans do. As her expectations were thwarted, she became aware of her own cultural identity, her cultural way of thinking, of interpreting the world. This could be a painful process, which many of us, as the German woman in this case, may not be prepared for. Therefore, it is important to raise people‘s awareness of their culturally shaped identity and acknowledge the likelihood of some emotional disturbance during the cultural adjustment.学习资料整理分享。