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跨文化交际案例和解析(英文)5篇

跨文化交际案例和解析(英文)5篇

跨文化交际案例和解析(英文)5篇第一篇:跨文化交际案例和解析(英文)Case: In July of this year, the American CNN announced that, the preserved egg is the most lousy food.That made the Chinese people very angry, because the preserved egg is good food for most of Chinese people.Then Chinese people made a survey and declared that cheese is the most lousy food.Chinese people can't accept that the preserved egg is regarded as the most lousy food, on the other hand, the cheese is the food which is favoured by most of American people.But Chinese people think that cheese is too irritative.Both side cannot accept the food they selected.At the end of this case, the CNN reporters said sorry to Chinese people, but he said he would not eat the preserved egg.Analyses: This is a typical case reflects that different culture influences different people, and when they have to communicate, they have conflict.As we all know, different food depends on different place,different habits, different climate, and some other factors.For western people, eating is a kind of rational concept, they should get enough nutrition from the food they eat every day.They don't care the taste too much.From Los Angeles to New York, the beefsteak has only one kind of taste.But for perceptual Chinese people, eating is not only a process to get nutrition, but also is a kind of art to get satisfaction.They would make the food not only beautiful, but also very delicious.For Chinese people, maybe they can accept the taste of the cheese, but they can't like it, because they don't like this kind of food in their deep heart.Also, they can't accept that foreign people said the preserved egg is the most lousy food.In their mind, the preserved egg, like other foods they like, has nutrition and beautiful imagetogether.For western people, the cheese, is also this kind of good food for them.So, this case happened in their communications.This conflict showed that, different countries have different culture.We should try to accept these differences, do our favours.By susan第二篇:跨文化交际英文Analysis of Deferent Views on “Filial Piety” Betwee n China and American from Movie GuashaAbstract: “While one’s parents are alive, one should not travel to distant places.” “The gentleman works hard on the basic principles, thereafter comes morality;filial piety is the basic principle of a human being.” T hese are our Chinese traditional filial piety.But are these standards or rules suitable for every nation? The movie Guasha shows us many about the differences of filial piety between China and American.There are many misunderstanding and coincidence in this movie and those are the cause of the circuitous of the characters’ fate.All of these are rooted in the cultural differences between China and American.In this assay, I made the differences of filial piety as the point of entry to analyze the reason why the differences come and their similarity.Key words: Guasha, the culture in china and America, piety, filial piety, object The movie Guasha tells a story that a Chinese couple who lived in American for 8 years took the hero’s father in American after they t hink they had realized their American dream.But a few days later, their son got ill;the old father used Guasha to treat the little boy for he didn’t know how to read English.The bruises were noticed by the child welfare bureau, and all the rough broke out after that.Finally, they had a universal satisfactory ending.The end of the story is to the satisfaction of all, but a variety of cultural conflict is theapparent.What we see is the initial irreconcilable to accept, understand.Many people will think that Chinese and Western have cultural differences, I think so, but I also think that behind these differences, there are many similarities.The following, I will be on the film to talk something about filial piety plot makes concrete analysis, and explore how cultural differences reflected in the filial piety? Why is it? What are the similarities?But before that, we will first do a general understanding of filial piety.In the ancient clan and tribal society, meaning of “filial piety” is very wide.It refers to t he family of the elder respect, love, support and sacrifice.With the family as the basic unit of society and social development in a long time, “filial piety” changes from the family elder respect to parental care, and become an important ethical rule to do with family relations.Today, “filial piety” to living gets more attention.We often say that the parents contribute to our upbringing, so we will repay the parents.While in the west, has no concept of “filial piety”.The Western belief in God, that God has given human life.So in the western culture, the concept of “filial piety” is corresponding to “piety”.” Filial piety “ is also derived from “piety”.Piety in the ancient Greek dictionary definition is: 1, sacred, permitted by the laws of God, to God;2, non God prohibited by law, human beings can enjoy.In the two concepts, actually we can see, in the West or in China, for the one who supposed to give us life, raising us people have a kind of “filial piety”, just for different objects.Situation one: acquiesce and even publicly agree the old father smoking in the house There are two such scenes: 1, at the table, the old father smoking, Denis sat next to Grandpa.Janine saw father smoking, showed her disgust on her face, and then to open the window.XuDatong saw this scene, said: “Janine, why?” Full of condemnation, for fear that his father felt reject by his families.2, the house was dark.The old father who was smoking at home saw the couple suddenly returned home looked panic, hiding the cigarette behind.He knew the daughter-in-law doesn't like him smoking in the house.In order to avoid his son and the daughter-in-law’s quarrel, he decided to put out the cigarette.At this time, Janine became clever.In order to make obedient husband don’t feel disgusted, she said: “Dad, go ahead, I don't mind.”In the two acts, both husband and wife knew smoking is harmful to health, but they did not prevent him from it.The reason is the filial piety.Since ancient times, Chinese are taught to obey.We cannot be a disobedient child.Even if the parents are wrong, we are not allowed to contradict them.That case in America, however, children will stop their parents since smoking is harmful to health.this is ”filial piety“ in the eyes of Americans.What lead the United States look the same thing quite different from Chinese? Personally I think that we should go back to the objects both sides to do ”filial piety“.As we said earlier, Chinese parents act as life giver and caregivers, while Americans believe God give them life whereas their parents are just pull them out.Therefore, Chinese parents and children are hierarchical, that is the so-called ”respect for seniority“.And in America, almost people are Christian.Parents and children are in the same class.They tend to be friends, just pointed out the fault and regardless of other things such as against.Scene two: taking old father in America to live togetherIn china, Datong is absolutely a dutiful son because it’s admirable to make parents live with their son and daughters.I guess no one in China would deny that.But in America, suchbehavior just can't be understood.Why the old father did not to live in his home, but in his son’s? Americans are puzzled, because in American, parents and children do not live together.Even when parents visit children, they have to make an appointment few weeks or even a few months before.This behavior in Chinese eyes seems incredible.They think that the relationship between American parents and children is too distant.In a word, both sides look at each other and feel nothing is right.Why? They have different ideas.Chinese like four generations under one roof, family happiness;while the Americans pay attention to individual personality, advocate individualism and independence of thought.And why the concept is different? We start from the filial piety and piety as well.Earlier we said that both China and the US have ”filial piety“, while the object is different.Chinese is more willing to live with parents, to do filial piety.The US is not with their parents who pull them into this world, because in their eyes, the role of parents is actually more like China brothers and sisters and it’s God who give their lives and souls.In Chinese, even if one large ancient family which people live together, in fact, can be divided into several small courtyards, deal with family affairs separately except some important issues.These partitional rules are more clear the modern life.Have you ever seen brothers and sisters live together? Perhaps no.Therefore, the Americans and their parents(like brothers and sisters)living in different roof is not surprising.Scene three: the understanding of “hitting you is for your own good”When Xu Datong hit Denis, Quinlan appeared shocked and uneasy.Denis did not want to sit by the side of his father at table for his father beat him.Grandpa told him that his father hit himfor his own good.People in China and America hold different positions to the same thing.In Chinese, to spare the rod was, traditionally, to spoil the child.The father to beat his son is good for son, son should not hold grudges, and they should obey the discipline, or it’s impiety;Americans think this behavior is abuse.It’s the appearance of not respecting the human rights.First, their laws don't allow this behavior.All are equal before the law.It’s illegal for the fathers to hit sons.It is a violation of human rights and a violation of the law.Second I think it is more important that Americans, from the bottom of their heart, think their parents and themselves are equal.Deep in their hea rts, the one who give them souls and lives isn’t parents, but the God.Though China has the law that everyone is equal, but the parents’ hit on children is called they are educating the children, and no one would charge their parents.Because Chinese parents are as holy American’s God, play as the life and soul giver.So there are grades between parents and children in China.They never think that they themselves and their parents are equal.All of this is according to the different object of ”filial piety“.Conc lusionIn cross-cultural communication, collision and conflict of culture can be seen everywhere.What the movie ”Guasha“ shows is only the tip of the iceberg.All differences originate in the differences in history, conception, belief, value.But the ”filial piety“ differences in Guasha are root in the different philosophical thinking about the sources of human.China as an atheist state(at least most people do), both the body and soul are given by parents.So parents have the sacred place in the hearts of their children and the place is inviolable.So in these situations above, Chinese will havedifferent attitudes and practices with foreigners.And USA, as a Christian country, affected by the Bible story of Adam and Eve, people in this country believe that man is created by God, they believe God gave the soul to the flesh, and God is their Lord who makes them able to survive and multiply.The loftiness of his position is no less than Chinese parents.That is the reason why the relationships in Americans and their parents are not as tight as Chinese do.As for the “filial piety”, China and the US have something in common.Although their concepts are different, the meaning is the same.God is to American what parents are to Chinese.all have the same emotional ties and treatment.That is to say, both have ”filial piety“, but American ”filial piety“ is for God, as we know, the “piety”.It is because of the different objects that there are so many cultural conflicts about ”filial piety” in Guasha, and then the perplexing “filial piety” cultural conflict in the whole society.第三篇:跨文化交际案例分析跨文化交际案例分析案例背景:在泰国,和泰国朋友在网上聊天时,他们有时候会发来“555”,本来是说到开心的时候,为什么要用这几个数字呢?在中国聊天时555表示哭的声音。

跨文化交际案例分析(英文)

跨文化交际案例分析(英文)

跨文化交际教程案例分析(英文)cross-cultural communication一.CaseAnalysisIn India, a white Sari(纱丽服,一种女性服装) symbolizes widowhood, while in the west, a white dress symbolizes purity.Answer the following questions:(1) What might these Indian women think about the Western custom of a bride in white?(2) What cultural phenomenon can be revealed in this case?Answer:1.Some Indian women who are more knowledgeable and well educated would have no difficulty in understanding the western brides in white, because they have seen the movies or plays from those English speaking countries or have read books about the western style of marriage routines. However, for some Indian women who hardly knew anything about the foreign culture or language, probably they would think the ladies in white are widows.2. In different cultures the same thing means differently to different people. This case particularly shows us that we are living in a world composed of nothing but cultures. The culture of one nation kind of defines their life and perceptions. It is hard to change your life not because you cannot change yourself but because you can’t change something invisible but powerful there, and that is culture.二.BOb中午下班的时候拿了本trade magazine准备出去吃中饭在大厅走廊里看到同事们在一起聊天其中几个跟他打招呼他心里不太高兴因为他们没有邀请他来吃中饭可他不知道的是他们之前讨论的就是他Bob不主动加入他们吃午饭每次都一个人先跑出去了他们觉得他被什么困难整天缠身他们很担心他This is a typical communication problems. Bob is not so active that his colleagues think he is always likes stay alone, which leads to a result that they do not ask Bob to have meal together. Actually, they all worry about him and think there must be something wrong with Bob.To avoid this situation they should have more communication to each other .As Bob i think he should spent more time with his collegues which is necessary to develop their relationship. As for the collegues, they should take more care about each other.。

跨文化CASE

跨文化CASE

大学英语跨文化交际所有CASE答案Case 2:White DressCase analysis: The Indian women might think the wedding ceremony is a funeral if they seethe western bride in white gown. The case reflects the similes and metaphors in the text. Culture is like an iceberg: we can identify the color of the dress worn by women in different cultures, but we do not know the values underneath. Culture is like the water a fish swims in: people wear dress of different colors for different context but they usually take it for granted and never ask why.案例2:白连衣裙案例分析:印度妇女可能会认为,如果他们看到了西方白色礼服的新娘在婚礼仪式的葬礼。

情况反映了明喻和隐喻在文本中。

文化就像一座冰山:我们可以找出不同文化背景的女性在穿着的礼服的颜色,但我们不知道下面的值。

文化就像是一条鱼游在水:人们穿的礼服不同的颜色,不同的背景,但他们通常把它视为理所当然,从来不问为什么。

Case 4:Coconut-skatingCase analysis: The case reflects the characteristics of culture. We can tell from the case that culture is pervasive and it’s learned. People may invent different ways for things even as simple as the issue of floor moping. The Philippine woman must have learned this way of mopping from her own culture.案例4:椰子-滑冰(用椰油保养地板的方法)案例分析:情况反映了文化的特点。

跨文化交际---英语案例分析

跨文化交际---英语案例分析

Case 1 A CanadianThe shipping agent is serving the customers in the way that is considered efficient in Venezuelan culture. To the Canadian, however, this is unfocused activity that is not nearly as efficient as it would be —particularly from her point of view —if the agent simply dealt exclusively with her scheduled appointment./ In Canada, businesspeople typically write appointments and activities into the day’s agenda every day. They then work sequentially through the agenda until they have completed each task or the day is over. In other words, Canadians prefer to do one thing at a time, while the South Americans, including Venezuelans, tend to do a few things simultaneously.Case 2 A dozenAs a Westerner, the American visiting professor does not quite understand the collective ownership of information in some other cultural environments. What made her annoyed is a different attitude toward information about people. In the United States, it is generally assumed that personal matters are private. Teachers go through elaborate procedures to assure that students do not have access to each other’s grades. In business it is the same. Evaluations are confidential.Case 3 WhenAs a matter of fact, the American woman was not being disrespectful. However, it is clear that her way of showing respect and welcome was different from the ancient tradition of keeping physical distance from superiors, which is still widely observed, especially when royalty is involved.Paul Keating, the Australian prime minister, may have intended to suggest by his gesture that Australia would no longer accept the queen as head of state but just as one of their honored guests. Obviously, the British would not like it at all. Sometimes, such seemingly trivial things can influence relations between countries. That’s why protocol is taken seriously and people who are to hold diplomatic posts will be given detailed and careful instructions. Case 22 An AmericanPeople from different cultures mayconsider their own communicationstyle to be natural and normal, andtherefore tend to evaluate otherstyles negatively. In this case, bothpeople are unaware of the Americanpreference for a direct and explicitstyle in contrast to the morecontextual African style. Both thesecommunicators are likely to leavethe situation less inclined to ask oranswer questions of each other again.Case 23 A FrenchIn France it is required that all callsbegin with an apology for disturbingthe answer. They are also expected tobegin the call by checking that theyhave reached the right number,identifying themselves, and thenchatting with whoever has answeredthe phone, if this person is known tothem. Only after some conversationmay callers indicate their wish tospeak with the person they haveactually called to speak to.In contrast, callers in the U. S. A.apologize only when they feel theyhave called at an inappropriate time;they often ask for the person theywant without identifying themselvesor conversing with the answer, evenwhen that person is known to them;and they behave, in general, asthough the person who has answeredthe phone is just an extension of theinstrument itself.Case 24 At a 1970The Japanese have a strong dislike ofentering into direct confrontationsand placing others in anembarrassing position. It is verydifficult for a Japanese to respond toany suggestion or request with adefinite “no”. What the Japanese willoften do instead is resort to a vaguesort of reply to the effect that thematter needs further study andconsideration. They do this to saveface for the person who has made thesuggestion or request, but Americansmay not properly understand it andmay completely misinterpret thevagueness as compliance and assumethat the proposition has beenaccepted. But this was apparentlynever made clear to Nixon. That iswhy he included that he had beendouble-crossed. Themisunderstanding had seriousadverse consequences for Japanese U.S. relations.Case 9 In a cross-culturalWhen they are being scolded by thetrainers for being repeatedly late forafternoon sessions, the Chinesetrainees felt bewildered because theythought it is inappropriate for theCanadian trainers to become soangry about it. In their opinion, oneshould not let him- or herself behaveas emotionally like this. Theappropriate way to deal with such aperson would be to become coolertoward and more distant from theperson who behaved so irresponsibly.It was understandable that one wouldfeel angry in this situation but it wasnot appropriate to show anger, forthe other person would certainly loseface if anger were directed towardhim or her, and the angry personwould look foolish and childish andtherefore also lose face.Canadians see such situations in avery different way. They tend toexplicitly express how they feel andopenly criticize the person who theythink has been wrong orirresponsible. It seems to them thatthis has little to do with face.Case 18 Ted WashingtonTed Washington, the marketingmanager, rejected the sale proposalsof both the American, Dale Petersand the Japanese, Hideo Takahashi,without considering who made theproposal. While the direct andoutright rejection is O.K. with Peters,for he and the manager are from thesame culture, to Hideo, it meanssomething beyond the rejection of aproposal itself. Therefore, the twopeople responded to the rejection inquite different ways.In this case, the American believesthe root of the conflict lay indifferent goals and objectives,therefore, Peters entered into aheated discussion with Ted, trying toget his proposal accepted byproducing facts, figures, and graphsto illustrate his case. But theJapanese believes the conflict wasnot in the rejection of the proposalbut rather in the way it wascommunicated, so he thinks of it as apersonal attack or a sign of mistrust.In short, Americans tend to be moretask-oriented while the Japanese aremore likely to focus on interpersonalrelationships.Case 7 A femaleWhen the Canadian young man said, “Who took my peanut butter?”, what he really meant was “Where is my peanut butter? I can’t find it.”The Chinese doctor felt upset because in Chinese culture questions like this, especially expressed in the way the young Canadian man did, often imply that someone is to blame. Chinese culture prohibits direct accusing unless a person has been targeted for shame. However, true to her learned cultural behavior of never showing anger in public, the Chinese doctor didn’t say anything, though she was deeply distressed. Later, the physiotherapist was making a joke when she said the Chinese doctor had “three hands”. She wasn’t serious, of course, and expected the patient to be amused by her explanation for his pain: that the doctor on the other side of the room could have reached an imaginary hand out to touch him. She didn’t know that in Chinese a “three-handed person” is a slang for a thief.Case 17 TomIt is customary in China and many other Asian countries for hosts to ask their guests again and again to take more. Tom didn’t have to eat extra food if he didn’t want any more.In the U.S., a host will offer more food usually only once. And the Americans will take a “no” to mean “no”, whether it is the first, second or third time. However, in many other parts of the world it is considered good manners for guests not to accept an offer at first. Sometimes one mustn’t accept food the second time it is offered. Therefore, hosts try to repeat an offer until they are sure that their guests really want to decline.Case 25 A JapaneseNonverbal behaviors such as smiles seem to cut across cultural lines. But in reality, they are often found to be not universal. To most Americans, a smile is the most common nonverbal behavior to bridge gaps that may exist between strangers (including foreigners) and themselves. It is natural for them to be smiling and friendly when they come across strangers. But in eastern Asian countries like Japan, smiles are used differently. Japanese do not readily show their feelings. In Japan, people do not usually smile at a stranger. Ifyou do, you might be consideredimpolite.Case 8 Brent WeberIn American culture, people’spersonal goals take priority overtheir allegiance to groups like thefamily or the employer. The loyaltyof individuals to a group is usuallyweak. Americans are apt to changetheir relationship if it suits theirindividual needs, and they are notlikely to be emotionally dependenton organizations and institutions.In Japanese society, the relationshipbetween an employee and the firm ismuch more interdependent,somewhat similar to a child-motherrelationship where the mother (firm)is obliged to take care of her children(employees) and children(employees) have to obey and followthe commands of their mother (firm).It is not surprising for an Americanto try to find another job before he orshe leaves his or her presentemployer if he or she consider itnecessary for him- or herself.However, this action was regardedby the Japanese firm as disloyal,undermining the trust between thetwo parties. In spite of this, themanager of the firm did not like theparting to be understood as Brentbeing fired, because the appearanceof harmony and agreement withinthe group (the firm in this case) isimportant in Japanese society.Case 16 A missionWhat went wrong in this case?Contrary to general Americanperception, it is considered properbehavior for Japanese to be silent. Itis a discreet way to show respect ifhe listens to others speak rather thanspeaking out. So the Japanesedelegates did what they consideredproper, i.e., listen quietly to what theAmericans had to say. Silence oftenmeans that they are seriouslythinking about the subject at issue.But many Americans will interpretsilence in a conversation to meandisapproval, disagreement, or evenarrogance. This is an example thatillustrates the problem of theso-called “perception-gap”.Participants in communicationperceive each other’s behavior invery different ways, which oftenresults in misunderstanding orconflict.Case 26 Wang PingChinese people seldom hug eachother, particularly in public places. Ifpeople do, a romantic message isusually conveyed. Go to any airportor train station in China, and you willsee scenes of greeting and good-byewith all the feeling expressed in theeyes and the face and in the practicalthings family members and relativesand friends do for each other, but it isunlikely people will hug, with onlyyounger ones as an exception.In contrast, people of Latin Americancultures touch each other incommunication much more thanpeople of some other cultures,especially Eastern Asian cultures. Ata time of meeting a friend or upondeparting, hugging each other is verynatural for Latin American people.On such occasions, hugging has nosexual connotation; it is just like ahandshake in China, but warmer andmore enthusiastic. Women tend tohug each other more than men hugwomen, but both are common. One’sdiscomfort at hugging in suchsituations may be interpreted byLatin American people asunfriendliness.Case 27 The otherAs with smiling, laughing does notalways serve the same function indifferent cultures. Interestingly, forus Chinese, laughing often has aspecial function during tense socialoccasions. People may laugh torelease the tension or embarrassment,to express their concern for you,their intention to put you at ease or tohelp you shrug off theembarrassment. In this case, thepeople there actually wished to laughwith the American rather than at him.Their laughing seemed to convey anumber of messages: don’t take it soseriously; laugh it off, it’s nothing;such things can happen to any of us,etc. unfortunately, the America wasunaware of this. He thought theywere laughing at him, which madehim feel more embarrassed andangry, for in his culture laughing onsuch an occasion would beinterpreted as an insulting response,humiliating and negative.。

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析Case 2 (P8)White Dress女王的白色长裙:Case analysis:The Indian women might think the wedding ceremony is a funeral if they see the western bride in white gown. The case reflects the similes and metaphors in the text.案例分析:印度女人可能觉得婚礼是一个葬礼,如果他们看到西方的新娘的白色礼服。

这个案例反映了明喻和隐喻在文本。

Culture is like an iceberg:we can identify the color of the dress worn by women in different cultures,but we do not know the values underneath。

Culture is like the water a fish swims in: people wear dress of different colors for different context but they usually take it for granted and never ask why.文化是像冰山:我们可以辨认颜色衣服的妇女所穿不同的文化,但我们不知道下面的值。

文化是像水鱼游在:人们穿不同颜色的衣服为不同的上下文,但他们通常是理所当然的,从不问为什么.Case 4 (P18)Coconut-skating椰子-溜冰:Case analysis:The case reflects the characteristics of culture. We can tell from the case that culture is pervasive and it’s learned。

完整版跨文化交际案例分析共7个

完整版跨文化交际案例分析共7个

《跨文化交际学概论》第七章五、宴社会交往请招待 p132Case One: Setting Rules for a Gues-American Hospitality 案例:When Zhang Tao traveled in America, he lived in the home of his American friend, Bill. Once after he had traveled back, he found Bill was in a bad mood. When he asked what the problem was, Bill told Zhang Tao that his son Adam got furious about the noise Zhang made when walking upstairs and also because he was using too much water in the solar powered shower and Adam had to have his shower in cold water. Bill told Zhang Tao that he should walk more softly in future, and have a fast shower to save water. Zhang Tao felt uneasy. How could the host set such rules for his guest!Question: Why did Zhang Tao feel uneasy?分析:1)In China, when people host someone, they put the guest in the place of honor to show hospitality. They try to take care of the guest ,and try to make the guest feel comfortable and at ease.2)In America, people tend to give the guest great freedom and treat a guest more casually, naturally and truthfully.3)Zhang Tao knew he was a guest, and thought in terms of Chinese expectations of hospitality. He thought Bill should treat him courteously instead of setting rules for him.4)Since Zhang Tao lived in American surroundings, he should have known about the customs there sooner.Case Two:案例:Lin had traveled 20 hours from Beijing to New York. He needed a good meal. His American friend, Mike, met him. But Mike only offered him a plate of roasted chicken and a glass of orange juice. Lin was used to having a main course, and asked Mike if he had any rice. Mike said he only had fried noodles, and Lin had to make do with it. Though Lin knew Americans didn ' t care very much about what food they ate, he still felt surprised because he had taken Mike to the most famous duck restaurant in Beijing -- Quanjude -- when he arrived in Beijing.Question: Why did Lin feel surprised? Offer some advice to him about adjusting to his new environment in America.分析:1)0n the topic of hospitality, the Chinese stress on warmth and demonstrating friendship. They take the guest to a famous or luxurious restaurant to have a very good (expensive) meal to show their hospitality. And the Chinese are used to having a big meal. Themore dishes they put out,the greater the warmth and friendship they show.2)In western countries, people stress on freedom. They give the guest great freedom to choose their own foods. And westerners tend to have only one main course and some juice or desser,t which is viewed as casual in the eyes of the Chinese.3)Lin lived in American surroundings and should have adjusted himself quickly to the new world (lifestyle). He should have known the custom there first, and felt more at ease in Mike om'es. hCase Three: Equality or Hospitality for Table Manners 案例:Lin Hua has accompanied an American delegation to visit China. They have experienced the hospitality of the Chinese people. After returning to America, Linhua once visited them. They were so glad to meet again. Linhua offered to host the meal, but they refused. They ordered their own dish, and Linhua ordered her own. When footing the bill, they only paid their part,and no one wanted to pay for Linhua. Linhua found them so inhospitable, though she knew the Americans would usually pay for their own food.Question: Why did Linhua find them inhospitable? 分析:1)In China, to show hospitality, people tend to host the meal. And if they cannot do this, they at least will struggle to pay for the guest.2)In America, people tend to pay for themselves to show equality and independence.3)Linhua knows this custom, but from a Chinese point of view, she still finds this hard to accept, and feels it a little inhospitable.Case Four: 案例:I have an American friend. I have invited him several times, and at long last he invited me to his home one day. He told me to get there at 3 p m. I thought we could chat and have a meal together. I gave him a Chinese calendara, woman'sscarf and a bottle of Chinese white wine. He only took out a dish of nuts, a plate of bread and a bottle of wine. After two hours ' chaIt,found there was no hint of a meal and said good-bye to him. He only gave me a box of chocolate as a present for the New Year. After I got home, I found the box already been opened. I was very surprised, Question: What surprised me?分析:1)In China, a visit to home always includes a meal. And the guest always brings a relatively expensive present to the host. And the present should be well wrapped or untouched.2)In the west, a visit to home only means a meeting, not necessarily including a meal. And the present is treated not as importantly as it is in China.3)I acted in a way that was based on Chinese customs, so I felt the American way was very interesting (unusual).Case Five: Way of Entertaining Guests in China ------- Drink more and more案例:Tom, an American, went to a Chinese home for the first time. He was offered some tea. Just when the first cup was about to finish, more tea was added. He drank the second cup. Then the cup was filled the third time. Then he drank it, then ? until he was quite full. Tom was totally confused by the way of entertaining.Question: Why was Tom totally confused?分析:1)Traditional Chinese custom requires that during the course of entertaining, the host has to always pour more wine or tea to the gues'st glass or cup, and always adds more food to the guest' s plate or bowl without asking whether it ' s wanted.2)Chinese guests know how to respond to this type of hospitality. They simply leave the wine, tea, or food in the container and stop having any more. But Tom, the American guest in the case didn ' t know this.3)He followed the politeness rule of his culture: it 's not good manners to leave food in one's own plate at a dinner table. Therefore, without any knowledge of the differences between the two cultures, an American guest would very likely suffer from either drinking or eating too much in such a situation.Case SixAs a foreign student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Keiko Ihara (Japanese)was on a strict budget. She had all her tuition and books paid for by scholarships and grants and until recently was comfortably housed in the dormitory. Wanting to live in the community rather than in the dormitory, she found a small apartment to share with a friend. Her college friends, knowing of her situation, offered to round up some of the necessary items for apartment living. Keiko politely declined, saying she could manage. Wanting to help out her friends found some old but still usable household appliances and furniture. Mary had an old desk that was in hergarage. Ed had some chairs from his uncle, and Joe and Marion had a few extra dishes. They cheerfully brought them over one day. Keiko seemed very embarrassed,but gracefully accepted them, sincerely and profusely thanked them.The following week they were each presented with a gift from Keiko. Mary got an ornate jewelry box, Ed a volume of woodcuts by a famous Japanese artist, and Joe and Marion a beautiful Japanesevase, all of which were of considerable worth and value, much more than the old things they had donated to her. They all protested that she could not afford to give such elaborate gifts; they really expected nothing as the household items were not really being used and they would rather have her use them. Keiko, however, insisted that they take the gifts. In the end, they accepted the gifts, although they all felt uncomfortable as they knew she was really sacrificing to give them.Questions:1.What do you think of Keiko insisting on giving valuable gifts to her college friends?2.Why did Keiko ' s friends feel very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return?分析:Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don't have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn't offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship.Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn't know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return.Case SevenSelma, who is from the US, is in a student exchange program in Indonesia. One day, she was asked to attend a birthday party and she was delighted, for she was curious to know what an Indonesian birthday party was like. To her surprise, she was the only one that dressed in typically Western clothes. Although she had no strong reason to become uneasy, her uneasy feeling prevailed as the party was going on. To make herself feel better, she went to the food table and began to help herself. But, upon leaving the table, she tripped on the leg of a chair and spilled her drink on the floor. One of the girls stooped down to mop up the spill and everyone else laughed out loud. Selma, uncertain what to do next, quietly moved out of her way with her head lowered in shame.Questions:3.What functions does laughing serve in similar situations in China?4.What should we do to help ourselves or other people out of embarrassment caused by culturaldifferences in laughing?分析:Just 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 atease or to help you come out 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 things‘ s nothing; such 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.。

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析Case 2 (P8)White Dress女王的白色长裙:Case analysis: The Indian women might think the wedding ceremony is a funeral if they see the western bride in white gown. The case reflects the similes and metaphors in the text。

案例分析:印度女人可能觉得婚礼是一个葬礼,如果他们看到西方的新娘的白色礼服。

这个案例反映了明喻和隐喻在文本。

Culture is like an iceberg: we can identify the color of the dress worn by women in different cultures, but we do not know the values underneath。

Culture is like the water a fish swims in: people wear dress of different colors for different context but they usually take it for granted and never ask why。

文化是像冰山:我们可以辨认颜色衣服的妇女所穿不同的文化,但我们不知道下面的值。

文化是像水鱼游在:人们穿不同颜色的衣服为不同的上下文,但他们通常是理所当然的,从不问为什么。

Case 4 (P18)Coconut-skating椰子—溜冰:Case analysis: The case reflects the characteristics of culture. We can tell from the case that culture is pervasive and it’s learned.案例分析:这个事件反映了文化的特点.我们可以告诉从案件,文化是普遍的,这是学习.People may invent different ways for things even as simple as the issue of floor moping. The Philippine woman must have learned this way of mopping from her own culture。

跨文化交际书上案例分析case

跨文化交际书上案例分析case

Case 11 In 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.‖2 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: Richar d‘s mistake was in making great efforts todefend 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.3 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‖; forthe English counterpart, ―Be my guest.‖American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal 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. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and to mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s why the students from Mexico readily adopted the techniques of asking questions in class. However, Korean people generally prefer indirect communication style, and therefore they tend to not say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and respectful and avoid losing face through any improper verbal behavior. As is mentioned in the case, to many Koreans, numerous questions would show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the student has not studied hard enough.Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn‘t realize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view,family possessions are shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting as most Dominican sisters would do in borrowing without asking every time. Once Mary understood that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience the same frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 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 todinner 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 easily, and they don‘t feel it necessary t o 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.Case 5In China, it is often not polite to accept a first offer and Heping was being modest, polite and well-behaved and had every intention of accepting the beer at the second or third offer. But he had not figured on North American rules which firmly say that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason behind the rule, you do not insist in offering alcohol. So unconsciousand so strong are their cultural rules that the Americans equally politely never made a second offer of beer to Heping who probably thought North Americans most uncouth. However, what we have to remember is that cultures are seldom a strict either-or in every instance for all people and there are always individual differences. Probably this young Chinese nurse was very different from Heping or, unlike Heping, she may have known something about the American cultural rules and was just trying to behave like an American when she was in an American family.Case 6When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, speaker‘s meaning and hearer‘s meaning. In th e dialogue, when Litz said ‗How long is she going to stay?‘ she meant to say that if she knew how long her mother-in-law was going to stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law overheard the conversation, and took Litz‘s question to mean ―Litz does not want me to stay for long‖. From the Chinese point of view, it seems to be inappropriate forLitz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law‘s arrival. If she feels she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you rec eive a gift, and don‘t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn‘t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship. Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn‘t know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to29 Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in returCase 8As the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at thattime, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Christmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girl. She did not like to see her boyfriend feel disappointed at the ―shabby‖Chinese Christmas. That‘s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minister ‘s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Christmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the foods chosen by her mother were all her favorites? From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shameful just because one‘s culture is different from others‘. As Amy‘s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.Case 9Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such asmartial 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 opinion s, 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 an d 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 a nd 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 andhe 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 44 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 attitude of the Australian student‘s parents is shocking to the Japane se 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 responsibilitiescould 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.。

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Case 11 In 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.‖2 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: Richar d‘s mistake was in making great efforts todefend 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.3 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‖; forthe English counterpart, ―Be my guest.‖American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal 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. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and to mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that‘s why the students from Mexico readily adopted the techniques of asking questions in class. However, Korean people generally prefer indirect communication style, and therefore they tend to not say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and respectful and avoid losing face through any improper verbal behavior. As is mentioned in the case, to many Koreans, numerous questions would show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the student has not studied hard enough.Case 3The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In the beginning, Mary didn‘t realize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view,family possessions are shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting as most Dominican sisters would do in borrowing without asking every time. Once Mary understood that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience the same frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 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 todinner 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 easily, and they don‘t feel it necessary t o 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.Case 5In China, it is often not polite to accept a first offer and Heping was being modest, polite and well-behaved and had every intention of accepting the beer at the second or third offer. But he had not figured on North American rules which firmly say that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason behind the rule, you do not insist in offering alcohol. So unconsciousand so strong are their cultural rules that the Americans equally politely never made a second offer of beer to Heping who probably thought North Americans most uncouth. However, what we have to remember is that cultures are seldom a strict either-or in every instance for all people and there are always individual differences. Probably this young Chinese nurse was very different from Heping or, unlike Heping, she may have known something about the American cultural rules and was just trying to behave like an American when she was in an American family.Case 6When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, speaker‘s meaning and hearer‘s meaning. In th e dialogue, when Litz said ‗How long is she going to stay?‘ she meant to say that if she knew how long her mother-in-law was going to stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law overheard the conversation, and took Litz‘s question to mean ―Litz does not want me to stay for long‖. From the Chinese point of view, it seems to be inappropriate forLitz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-law‘s arrival. If she feels she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you rec eive a gift, and don‘t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn‘t offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship. Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn‘t know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to29 Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in returCase 8As the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at thattime, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Christmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girl. She did not like to see her boyfriend feel disappointed at the ―shabby‖Chinese Christmas. That‘s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the minister ‘s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Christmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the foods chosen by her mother were all her favorites? From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shameful just because one‘s culture is different from others‘. As Amy‘s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.Case 9Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such asmartial 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 opinion s, 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 an d 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 a nd 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 andhe 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 44 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 attitude of the Australian student‘s parents is shocking to the Japane se 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 responsibilitiescould 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.。

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