-
Part One Defining Culture
一．
讨论题
1.
How do you think culture and
communication are related?
2.
What
are
the
barriers
you
experienced
in
intercultural
communication?
And
how
did
you
handle them?
3.
Work in groups to decide which of the
following belong to overt culture and which to
covert:
A. What and how people eat
B. How to keep healthy
C.
How to raise children
D.
How to do business
E. How
to use time
F. How to
introduce people
G
. How to
participate in ceremonies
H. Rules for facial expressions and eye
contact
I. Rituals
J.
Etiquette
K. Work speed
L.
What is right or wrong, beautiful or
ugly
, clean or dirty
, good
or bad, etc.
M. Theories of disease,
sin, death, god or gods, sanity
, self,
etc.
4.
Can
you add
more
to
the above
list? Which of
them do
you think are
more
likely
to
cause
problems
in
intercultural
communication?
And
why
do
you
think
they
are?
二、分析、解答题
Please
read
the
following
example
(taken
from
Scollon
&
Scollon,
2000)
and
study how communication
is affected by culture.
Two
men
meet on a plane
from Tokyo to
Hong Kong. Chu
Hon-fei
is a
Hong
Kong exporter
who
is
returning
from
a business trip to
Japan. Andrew
Richardson
is
an
American buyer on his first business trip to Hong
Kong. It Is a convenient meeting
for
them because Mr. Chu‘s company sells
some of t
he products Mr.
Richardson
has
some to Hong
Kong
to buy
.
After a bit of conversation they
introduce
themselves to
each other.
Mr. Richardson:
By the way
, I‘m Andrew Richardson. My
friends call me Andy
.
This
is my business card.
Mr. Chu: I‘m David
Chu. Plea
sed to meet you, Mr.
Richardson. This is my card.
Mr. Richardson: No, no. Call
me Andy
. I
think
we‘ll be doing a
lot of
business
together.
Mr. Chu:
Y
es, I hope so.
Mr.
Richardson (reading Mr. Chu‘s card )
:
Chu, Hon
-fei. Hon-
fei, I‘ll
give
you
a call
tomorrow as soon as I get settled at my hotel.
Mr Chu (smiling): Y
es, I‘ll
expect your call.
When
these
two
men
separate,
they
leave
each
other
with
very
different
impressions
of
the
situation.
Mr.
Richardson
is
very
pleased
to
have
made
the
1
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
seems to
indicate that
he
will be
friendly and easy to
do business with. Mr. Richardson
is
very
particularly
pleased
that
he
has
treated
Mr.
Chu
with
respect
for
his
Chinese
background by calling
him
Hon-fei
rather than using
the western
name, David, which
seems 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 Mr.
Richardson used his given
name, Hon-
fei, instead of either David or Mr. Chu.
How do you account
for their
different
impressions? Does culture
play a role
in
the
communication between these two men?
三、思考题：
1.
We
have
learned
some
characteristics
of
culture.
For
example,
culture
is
learned.
Culture
can
be
learned
through
diverse
ways,
proverbs
being
one
of
them.
Now
study
the
following
proverbs
and
decide
what
value(s)
they
represent,
which
of
them are still
strong
in the American
culture and
the Chinese culture
respectively
,
and which
don‘t apply any longer.
Proverbs
1.
Blood is
thicker than water.
2.
Sauce for the goose is sauce for the
gander.
3.
Too
many cooks spoil the broth.
4.
The early bird
catches the worm.
5.
God helps those who help themselves.
6.
Haste makes
waste.
7.
Time is
money
.
8.
A man‘s home is his castle.
9.
Think three
times before you take action.
10.
Modesty makes
you progress; conceitedness makes you lag behind.
2. Read the following and
think about the questions:
Some
years
ago,
several
international
businessmen
were
on
a
conference
cruise
when
the
ship began to
sink.
―Go
tell those
fellows
to put on
life jackets
and jump overboard,‖ the captain
directed his first mate.
A
few
minutes
later
the
first
mate
re
turned.
―Those
guys
won‘t
jump,‖
he
reported.
―Take over,‖ the captain ordered, ―And
I‘ll see what I can do.‖
Returning moments later, he announced,
―They‘re gone.‖
―How‘d you
do it?‖ asked the first mate.
―I
told
different
things
to
different
people.
I
to
ld
the
Englishman
it
was
the
sporting
thing
to
do,
and
he
jumped.
I
told
the
Frenchman
it
was
_____;
the
German
that it was a command; the Italian that it was
______; the Russian that it
was _____;
so they jumped overboard.‖
―And how did you get the American to
jump?‖
2
―No problem,‖ said the captain, ―I told
him he was ______!‖
Questions:
1)
Can
you
decide
to
whom
each
of
the
following
words
was
actually
used
by
the
captain?
Revolutionary
forbidden
chic
insured
2) If there
had been a
Chinese businessman on board, what should the
captain say
in
order to make
him jump overboard?
3) What do you
think of the story? Does it tell you something
that is true of people of
those
different nations?
Part
T
wo Communication and Culture
一、讨论题
1.
Study
the
following
two
versions
of
the
same
spoken
discourse
presented
in
a
business
meeting
between
a
Hong
Kong
Chinese
and
an
Anglo
—
North
American
businessman.
Decide
in
small
groups,
which
one
might
be
given
by
a
Chinese
and
which by an American.
Why
？
A.
Because
m
ost of our production is done in China
now, and it‘s not really certain
how
Hong Kong will be
like after 1997, and
since I think a certain
amount of
caution
in committing to TV
advertisement is necessary because of the expense.
So, I suggest
that
we
delay
making
our
decision
until
after
Legco
makes
its
decision.(Scollon
&
Scollon, 2000)
B.
I
suggest that we delay making our decision until
after Legco makes its decision.
That‘s
because I think a certain amount of caution in
committing to TV advertisement
is
necessary
because
of
the
expense.
In
addition
to
that,
most
of
our
production
is
done
in
China
now,
and
it‘s
not
really
certain
how
Hong
Kong
will
be
like
after
1997.(
Scollon & Scollon, 2000)
2.
Can
you
find
some
cases
in
which
―
是
‖
in
Chinese
does
not
mean
―yes‖
in
English?
3.
How would you
put the following into Chinese?
a)
Do you like
the new school?
Y
es, I will.
b)
Please don‘t say that.
---
Y
es, I will.
c)
I know what he wants. ---
Y
es?
---Money!
d)
Waiter! ---
Y
es, sir.
e)
Y
es? ---
I‘d like
two tickets, please.
f)
Everything
will be all right soon, yes?
Saying ―no‖ seems to be more
complicated.
Sometimes ―no‖
may mean ―maybe‖
given
the
right
time
and
circumstances.
This
is
quite
important
in
interpersonal
relations and
in politics. Look at the following sex-biased
joke:
What‘s the difference between a
lady and a diplomat?
When a
diplomat says ―yes‖, he means maybe.
When a diplomat says ―maybe‖, he means
no.
3
When a diplomat says ―no‖, he‘s no
diplomat.
When a lady says
―no‖, she means ―maybe‖.
When a lady says ―maybe‖, she means
―yes‖.
When a lady says
―yes‖, she‘s no lady all!
4.
What are you going to do if you are in the
following situations? Why or why not?
A. When you are offered a drink the
taste of which you find very
unpleasant.
B. When your
friends ask if you will go to a picnic with them
and you do not feel
like going.
C.
When
you
are
asked
about
the
meaning
of
an
English
word
that
you
do
not
know.
D.
When
you
are
asked
whether
you
agree
with
a
professor‘s
idea
about
learning
English that you do not quite
appreciate
E. When
you
find
yourself
in
class
unable
to answer the
question the teacher
asks
you.
F. When someone asks
for
your
finished
homework to copy and
you do
not
like to
comply
.
G
.
When
you
are
asked
by
your
parents
about
your
problems
in
your
studies
and
you
do not really like to.
5. Why do people
in countries like Japan and China often refuse to
say ―no‖ directly?
6. What
problems
may arise
in
intercultural communication because of
such
indirect
ways of saying
―no‖?
二、思考题
1.
The
following
are
two
letters,
one
in
Chinese
and
the
other
in
English.
Compare
them to see if there is similarity in
their discourse patterns.
尊敬的节目主持人：
我作为贵台英语
教学节目和《你喜欢的歌》节目的忠实听众已有好几年的历史了。我认
为贵台的这两个节
目办得非常好。
请让我做个自我介绍：我是一名中学生，今年
十八岁，我的家乡是一个边疆小城，文化
活动办得也不错。
由于
我是喜欢学习英语，
所这方面的电台节目比较注意，
但是因为中
央人
民广播电台的英语节目比较深奥，
不适合我学习，
所以我一直从贵台的英语节目里得到听力、
会话能力训练。
这种训练使我受益匪浅。
随着课程难度一步步的提高，
我深感没有一本教材，
学习回遇到很多困难。
因为这个原因，
我抽出时间给贵台写这封信，
希望能得到一本贵台英
语节目的教材。教材的费用请来信告知。
另外，
我希望得到贵台印制的年历，并祝您们的节目办得更加有趣。
Dear Professor X,
How
are
you?
Please
pardon
me
for
bothering
you
while
you
are
so
b
usy
.
But
there is one thing on
which I need your help.
I am a
lover of English, but
for a
long time I
have
not been able to study
English
systemically.
Now
I
am
staying
at
home
on
sick
leave
and
it
occurred
to
me
that
I
should
take
it
up
seriously
.
I
went
to
the
Foreign
Language
Book
Store
in
our
provincial
capital
and
had
a
look.
I
found
the
English
textbook,
which
you
edited,
suits
my
level. But
the
store
had
no
tapes. Could
you please
tell
me where
I
can
get
4
the tapes
through
mail order and
how
much
I
need to
pay?
Besides,
the textbook
has
only
two
volumes.
Is
there
supplementary
material
to
accompany
them?
Can
I
get
both the books and the
tapes through mail order?
I am almost
thirty
years old, but
learned only at secondary school.
I
like
it
very
much and it will be
useful for future work. So I want to begin from
the beginning and
I wonder if the book
is right for me.
I look forward to
hearing from you.
Questions
1)
What
do
you
think
of
the
two
letters
above?
What
do
they
have
in
common
though they are written in different
languages?
2) When
you are
making a request
in
English, will
you do
it
in the Chinese way or
not?
2. Guess
the meanings of the following statements
originally intending to
convey
.
A. Is
forbidden to
steal
hotel
towels please.
If
you are
not a
person to do
such a
thing is
please not to read notice. (
from a
Tokyo hotel
)
B. The lift is
being fixed for the next day
. During
that time we regret that you will
be
unbearable. (
In a Bucharest hotel
lobby
)
C. The flattening of
underwear with pleasure is the job of the
chambermaid. (
In a
Yugoslavian hotel
)
D. Our wines leave you nothing to hope
for. (
On the menu of a Swiss
restaurant
)
E.
Order
your
summer
suit.
Because
is
big
rush
we
will
execute
customers
in
strict rotation. (
In a
Rhodes tailor shop
)
F.
It
is
forbidden
to
enter
a
woman
even
a
foreigner
if
dressed
as
a
man.
(
In
a
Bangkok temple
)
G
. Ladies are requested
not to
have children at
the bar.
(
In a
Norwegian cocktail
lounge
)
H. We take
your bags and
send
them
in all
directions. (
In a Copenhagen
airline
office
)
I. It
is strictly
forbidden on our black
forest camping site
that
people of different
sex,
for
instance,
men
and
women,
live
together
in
one
tent
unless
they
are
married with each other
for that purpose. (
A sign posted in a
German park
)
J.
Specialist
in
Women
and
Other
Diseases.
(
A
sign
outside
a
doctor’
s
office
in
Rome
)
K. Take care of the steps.
(A sign in a scenic spot in China)
3.
What improvement will you make on the above
mistranslations?
4.
Have you ever found some similar cases
of mistranslation in our life? If you have,
what are they?
Part Three Comparing Cultural Patterns
一、
讨论题
1.
We know
that there are quite
a
few questions that you are
not supposed
to ask
in
the United States and
some other
western
countries.
It
is
considered
impolite to
5
inquire a person‘s age,
marriage status, income, religious belief, choice
in voting,
property
, and
others.
If one of
your
American
friends
shows
you
something that
he has just bought, you will, of
course, say ―What a nice skirt. It looks
fabulo
us‖,
or
something
like
that
but
not
inquire
about
the
price.
Of
all
the
aspects,
one‘s
income
is
the top secret. People earns, except the boss. How
would you account
for this phenomenon?
What concept is behind this? Discuss in small
groups.
2.
―Face‖
is
a
very
important
concept
in
China.
See
how
many
phrases
you
can
think
that contain
the
term
―face‖.
How
important
is
―face‖
to
you?
Give some
situations
in
which
―face‖
is concerned.
What do
you
think
―face‖
means? Why
is
―face‖
important
in
China?
Do
othe
r
nations
have
such
concept?
Discuss
in
small groups these
answers.
二、分析、解答题
1. Read
the cases and answers the questions following each
one.
During the
American Civil War, a very hungry young
man
fell down
in
front
of a farm gate. The
farmer gave him food but in return he asked the
young man to
move a pile of
wood
in
his
yard
—
in
fact
it was
not
at all
necessary
to
move
the
wood
back to its original place. Seeing all this,
farmer‘s son was confused.
Questions:
1) Why did the
farmer do that?
2) What values are
reflected in this story?
2.
A letter to a columnist:
Dear Mary
,
We work
in the typing pool
of a
large
London
store and are
very concerned
for
the welfare of one of
our young colleagues.
She
is
only 19,
unmarried, and
has
become very
friendly with a
young
man who
works
in one of the
departments of the
store.
He
pops
into the typing pool to see
her
and there. We know that
he is engaged to a girl who lives near him.
We
feel
for
the
protection
of
the
girl,
that
we
should
complain
to
the
general
manager. But we
wouldn‘t like anybody to get the sack.
Four Worried Typists
The
answer from the columnist:
My
advice
is
simple:
Mind
your
own
business.
The
girl
is
old
enough
to
know
what she is doing.
Question:
What value can we
see behind the letter and answer?
3. Read the following and answer the
questions.
As a foreign student at the
University of Wisconsin in Madison, Keiko Ihara
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
,
she
found
a
small
apartment to share with a friend. Her
college friends, knowing of her situation, offered
6
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
her
garage. 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
Japanese
case,
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)
How would you
feel if Keiko presented you with a gift for your
help?
三、思考题
Identifying difference: Living
situations
The
Shinkansen
or
―blue
train‖
speeds
across
the
rural
areas
of
Japan
giving
a
quick
view
of
cluster
after
cluster
of
farmhouses
surrounded
by
rice
paddies.
This
particular
pattern
did
not
develop
purely
by
chance,
but
as
a
consequence
of
the
technology
peculiar
to
the
growing
of
rice,
the
staple
of
the
Japanese
diet.
The
growing
of
rice
requires
construction
and
maintenance
of
an
irrigation
system,
something
that
takes
many
hands
to
build.
More
importantly
,
the
planting
and
harvesting of rice can only be done
efficiently with the cooperation of twenty or
more
people.
The
―bottom
line‖
is
that
a
single
family
working
alone
cannot
produce
enough rice
to survive, but a dozen
families
working
together can produce a surplus.
Thus the Japanese
have
had to develop the capacity to
work
together
in
harmony
,
no
matter what the forces of disagreement
or social disintegration, in order to
survive.
For centuries and
generations these people
have
lived
in
the same
village
next
door to the same
neighbors.
Living
in close proximity and
in
dwellings,
which
gave
very
little
privacy
,
the
Japanese
survived
through
their
capacity
to
work
together
in
harmony
.
In
this
situation,
it
was
inevitable
that
the
one
most
central
social
value,
which emerged, the one
value
without which the society could not
continue, was that
an individual does
not matter.
Consider a
flight over the
United
States.
Looking out of the
window
high over
the
state
of
Kansas,
we
see
a
pattern
of
a
single
farmhouse
surrounded
by
fields,
followed by another single
homestead surrounded by
fields.
In the early 1800s
in
the
state
of
Kansas
there
were
no
automobiles.
Y
our
nearest
neighbor
was
perhaps
two
miles
distant;
the
winters
were
long,
and
the
snow
was
deep.
Inevitably
,
the
central
7
social
values
were
self-reliance
and
independence.
Those
were
the
realities
of
that
place and age that children had to
learn to value.
( From W
.
Ouchi: ―Japanese workers and American Workers: Two
Casts of Mind‖)
Questions
1.
The above
description of the Japanese and American living
situations may account
for some
value differenced between the two
cultures. Can
you
find
something
in
the
traditional
living
situations
in
China
that
will
help
explain
certain
characteristics of
the Chinese culture?
2.
Do you
think people
living
in big
and
people
living
in
small towns
will surely be
different in some value orientations?
Why or why not?
Part Four
Comparing Cultural Values
一、讨论题
1.
Read
the
following
story
(taken
from
Levire
&
Adelman,
1982)
and
think
about
what
happened.
Then
rank
the
five
characters
according
to
whom
you
approve
of
most
and whom
you approve of .least, and
write to explain
your
first
and
last choice.
Next, think
about what made you rank them. Do you think the
values that guided your
choices
were
personal
or
cultural
or
both?
Share
your
opinions
in
pairs
or
in
small
groups.
Rosemary
is a woman of about 21. For
several
months she
has been engaged to a
young
man named
Geoffrey
. The
problem she faces is that between her and her
fianc
é
there
lies
a
river.
No
ordinary
river,
but
a
deep,
wide
river
filled
with
hungry
alligators.
Rosemary
wonders
how she can cross
the
river. She
remembers
Sinbad
, who
has
the only boat
in the area.
She then approaches Sinbad, asking
him
to
take
her across.
He replies,
―Y
es,
I‘ll
take
you across
if
you‘ll
spend
the
night
with
me.‘‘ Shocked
at
this
offer,
she
turns
to
another
acquaintance,
Frederick,
and
tells
him
her
story
.
Frederick
responds by
saying,
―yes,
Rosemary
, I
understand
your problem
---
but
it‘s
your problem, not mine.‖ Rosemary
decides to return to Sinbad, spends the night with
him, and in the morning he takes her
across the river.
Her
meeting
with
Geoffrey
is
warm.
But
on
the
evening
before
they
are
to
be
married,
Rosemary
feels she
must tell
Geoffrey
how she succeeded
in
getting across
the
river.
Geoffrey
responds
by
saying,
―
I
wouldn‘t
marry
you
if
you
were
the
last
woman on earth.‖
Finally,
Rosemary turns to
her
friend Dennis. Dennis
listens to
her story and
says,
―Well, I don‘t love you … but I
will marry you.‖ And that‘s all we know of
story
.
二、思考题
Can A
Chinese Y
oung Lady Become An American
W
oman?
Environments
significantly
influence
one‘s
cognition,
effect,
and
behavior.
One
feels
the
impact
of
the
different
culture
especially
when
one
comes
into
a
foreign
country
. Shen-Lan, who
is
from Taiwan, was
satisfied
for
her
first twenty-five
years
of
life because she
was surrounded by
the people
who
have
loved
her and whom she
8
has
loved.
Her
friends
used
to
ask
her
why
she
looked
very
happy
all
time.
Even
though
her
parents
limited
her
behavior
or
activities
because
of
social
bias,
she
accepted those controls
because she understood her parents really loved
her. Also, her
parents did everything
for
her, such as taking care
of
her, cooking
for her and
making
decisions
for
her.
She
complied
with
what
her
parents
expected.
She
had
never
left
home
before
she
came
to
America.
When
she
came
to
America,
culture
shock
obviously influenced
her self-concept, self-esteem, and self-
presentation.
In Chinese culture, she
was taught to be interdependent. She had to care
not only
about
herself
but
also
about
the
people
who
were
around
her,
for
example
parents,
siblings, and
friends, even
neighbors.
However,
in American
society
, she
noticed that
everyone
was
very
independent,
and
minded
his
or
her
own
business,
and
nobody
cared
about one another. Because she did
not
want
to get
hurt, she knew
that she
had
to make some
changes. In her self-concept, she changed her
interdependent view to an
independent
view.
Using a different
language, the
major reason
for culture shock, really
injured
her
self-
esteem. Shen-Lan graduated from a well-known
university in Taiwan, and she felt
proud of
that. When
she came
to
America, she
was supposed
to be
good at
English,
but she
was
not. After this
realization, she tried to study
hard
in
English to
match
her
standards.
However,
she
had
studied
English
for
one
year,
yet
she
did
not
improve
greatly
. She lacked self-
confidence to speak English, so her self-esteem
decreased.
The change in self-concept
and self-esteem was reflected in her self-
presentation.
Because
Shen-
Lan
wanted
to
become
independent,
and
she
was
afraid
that
she
disturbed
others
with
her
personal
problems,
so
she
began
to
isolate
herself.
For
English,
she
did
not
give
up
because
of
her
high
goal
to
meet
her
own
and
the
expectations
of
others.
She
tried
to
avoid
talking
to
her
friends
who
speak
the
same
language though she
felt lonesome. She recognized and learned the new
cultural rules
and expressed it through
a different self-presentation.
The
three
social
self-components
of
Shen-Lan:
self-concept,
self-esteem,
and
self-presentation were
influenced by culture shock. Shen-Lan
tried to be independent,
became
aware
of
her
self-esteem,
and
learned
American
behavior.
Right
now,
she
starts
to think about having a pet. Can she become an
American woman?
(Source:///
iei/student_life/1995_web_projects/shu-
min_liu/essa
)
9
Part Five Modes of
Thinking
讨论题
1
．
We know that
Westerners tend to distinguish mind from
body
, people from nature,
and God
from
humankind, while Chinese are
used to
looking
at the
world as a whole
unit. Now compare the Western Medicine
and
the
traditional Chinese
Medicine.
Are
there any
differences? Do the differences reflect to some
extent different world views?
If yes,
try to name these two world views.
Part Six Interpersonal
Relationship
一、
讨论题
1.
Compare
the
following
two
cases
about
family
relations
and
try
to
find
out
differences between them.
A.
An
Iranian
student
who
had
earned
a
doctorate
in
the
United
States
returned
home to teach
in an Iranian
university
.
He
was offered positions at
three
universities,
and
had
to decide which one to
accept.
An American
friend
who was
visiting
him
in
Iran
noticed that
the
man‘s older bother
had
accompanied
him to all the
interviews at
the
universities, and she asked
him about
it.
The
man,
who was
nearly 40, explained
that
he
would
follow
the advice of
his brother
in
choosing the position.
―But
why?‖
asked the American
in amazement.
―Oh,‖ replied
the Iranian,
―because he
is
the
head
of the family now,
and I must do whatever he thinks will be best for
t
he family.‖
B.
John
and
Jane
have
two
daughters.
John
works
for
a
large
corporation
and
his
wife is an independent
contractor. They own a big house and lead a
comfortable upper
middle-class
life.
By the
time
their elder daughter turned 21, John and
Jane
found an
apartment and moved her out. This
daughter now goes to college and works part-time
as a waitress at a
local
restaurant. John told
me
that
he didn‘t
like
his daughter‘s job
but
she
assured
him
that
it
is
temporary
.
She
promised
that
once
she
finished
her
undergraduate
courses,
she
would
found
a
better
job
and
support
herself
through
graduate
programs.
Although
she
still
depends
on
john
and
Jane
for
her
college
education, she says
staying in her parent‘s house is impossible. She
wants to be on her
own.
Having
her
own
space
with
an
income
from
her
own
work
makes
her
feel
independent.
John and Jane
are proud of what
they did.
They believe that all parents
should
let
their
children
go
out
on
their
own
once
they
are
ready
.
As
their
second
daughter
is approaching
her 17
th
birthday
. John and
his wife
are preparing themselves
to face it
when the day comes for her to leave home.
When
we
talked
about
the
empty
nest,
Jane
said,
―It
is
something
hard
for
me
to
think
about
the
change
and
our
future,
but
that‘s
the
way
it
is.
They
are
both
grown-
ups now and they
should be on their own.‖
―They
probably
also
have
had
enough
from
our
no
-this-no-that
kind
of
talks
too,
and can‘t wait to get
out of the house, ‖ John said.
Then
I
asked
whether
they
would
some
day
move
in
with
their
daughters
as
they
grow
older,
they
both
said
no.
Before
they
were
too
old
or
too
sick
to
take
care
of
themselves, they said, they also wanted
to be independent from their children! And if,
10
unfortunately
,
they
needed
special
care,
they
would
move
into
senior
homes
rather
than
living
with
their
daughters
and
grandchildren.
―There
would
be
too
much
interference into
ou
r own way of life,‖ they
said.
2.
A
famous Chinese
actress
married a
German.
One day
when she
was acting,
her
husband was there
watching, saying again and again that she was the
best actress. The
actress‘
colleagues
present
asked
her
afterwards
to
tell
her
husband
not
to
praise
his
own
wife
like
that
in
public.
On
learning
this,
the
German
wondered
what
he
did
wrong.
Once
the
actress
and
her
husband
were
talking
with
their
Chinese
friends
at
a
party
. Her husband politely
praised a Chinese
lady on
her beauty
.
The
lady‘s
husband
said that his wife was moderately good
looking when young, but now she was old and
no
longer so.
The
lady
nodde
d
in agreement with a smile.
The actress‘
husband
was
surprised. Discuss why
the German was confused in the first situation and
surprised in
the second.
3.
Now study the
following statements and think how you would
respond to each of
them. Discuss in
small groups.
1)
Let‘s get together soon.
2)
I haven‘t seen you for a
long time. Y
ou must come round for
dinner
sometimes.
3)
It‘s good seeing you. I‘ll invite you
to tea later.
4)
I‘m going to give a party this
weekend.
Come if you like.
5) How about joining us for dinner this
Friday night?
6) If an American friend
of yours suggests you have lunch with him, you
might
simply say something like this,
―I‘m afraid it‘ll have to be some place
inexpensive, as
I have very little
money
.‖ Y
our friend may
say
, ―O.K., I‘ll meet you at
McDonald‘s.‖
Who do you think would pay
for the meal?
4. The
following is what an American wrote of a Chinese
banquet (from Moser, 2000)
The
first
six
or
seven
dishes
seemed
to
fill
the
table
to
overflowing,
with
plates
precariously
wedged
one
on
top
of
another.
With
my
American-
bred
expectations,
I
assumed this vast first wave of food
was surely the total number of dishes to be
served,
and I dug
in
greedily, dazzled by
the
variety and sheer quantity
.
The Chinese
guests
around
me,
however,
had
a
different
reaction.
They
must
not
be
very
hungry
,‖
I
thought with a shrug, and
continued my feast.
To
my
surprise,
more
dishes
soon
were
piled
on
top
of
the
already
mountainous
stack. Plus
two or
three soups, side
dishes, desserts, and delicacies o
f
various kinds,
all
seemingly
enough
to
feed
the
entire
People‘
Liberation
Army
.
No
wonder
my
fellow
guests
had
merely
sampled a
few bites of each dish; they knew
very
well that
these
first
few
items
were just the
tip of a titanic culinary
iceberg. I,
however,
was so
stuffed after the
first fifteen minutes that I could only watch in a
bloated stupor as the
remainder of the
banquet took its course.
Can
you
see
some
characteristics
of
the
Chinese
way
of
entertaining
guests
to
11
dinner from the above
account?
5.
An
American went
to a Chinese
home. He was
offered some tea. Just
when
the
first cup was about to
finish,
more
tea
was added.
The
visitor drank
the second
cup.
Then
the
cup
was
filled
the
third
time.
Then
he
drank
it,
then...until
the
visitor
was
quite
full. Why?
二、分析、解答题
1. Read
the case (taken from Zanger, 1985) and answer the
questions below.
Jose
and
Jim
worked
together
in
a
restaurant.
They
had
become
friendly
because
both
of
them
were
also
studying.
Jim
was
studying
business,
and
Jose
was
taking
English classes and
planned to study engineering.
One
day
, as they were leaving work, Jim
asked Jose, ―Jose, I need a favor. I have to
go over to school, and I‘m out of
money
. Could you lend me a dollar so I
can take the
bus over there and then
get home? I‘ll pay you back tomorrow.‖
―Sure,
Jim. No problem.
Y
ou don‘t
have
to pay
me back,‖ said Jose,
as
he
handed
Jim
a dollar.
As soon as he got out to work
the next day
, Jim went over to Jose and
handed him a
dollar, saying,
― Thanks, Jose. I really appreciated
this
last
night. It sure was
too cold
to walk.‖
―Forget it,‖ said Jose, as he handed
Jim back his dollar.
―Oh,
no,
I
insist.
I
don‘t
want
to
take
advantage
of
a
friend.
What
if
I
need
to
borrow
money
again
sometime?
If
I
didn‘t
pay
you
back
now,
I
would
feel
wrong
a
sking to borrow money
again,‖ said Jim, as he put the dollar into Jose‘s
shirt pocket.
Jose
answered,
―But
that‘s
what
friends
are
for.
In
Spanish,
We
have
a
saying,
?today
for
you,
tomorrow for
me.‘ If
you pay
me back, I will
feel
that I
won‘t be able
to ask
you
for
money when I
need
it. I
will
feel
like
you are
closing the door on
me,
that
there
is
no
trust
between
us.
I
thought
we
were
friends.
How
can
I
take
the
money?‖
Jose handed back the dollar.
―But I won‘t feel right if you don‘t
take it!‖ said Jim
.
Questions:
1) Why did Jim
insist on returning the dollar to Jose?
2) Why did Jose not want to take it?
3)
Do you think
that their attitudes are cultural?
4)
What cultural
values are reflected in Jim‘s and Jose‘s
attitudes?
5)
Would you be more similar to Jim or to
Jose in the same situation?
2.
Read
the
case
story
(from
Zanger,
1985)
concerning
different
attitudes
towards
family members and relatives, and
answer the questions below.
Rosa
(Mexican--American)
and
Annie
(American)
shared
a
small
dormitory
room
at
a
university
.
They
liked
each
other
very
much
and
got
along
well
until
a
problem
came up.
One
day
,
Rosa
told
Annie,
―My
second
cousin
wants
to
come
and
see
the
university
. She
might want
to
go
to school
here
next
year.
Do
you
mind
if she
stays
with us while
she
visits?‖
12
―Gee, it‘s pretty crowded with just the
two of us. Where‘s she going to sleep?‖
―Oh, that‘s no problem. She can sleep
in my bed, with me.‖
―Well,
okay
, ‖said Annie. ―It‘s up to
you.‖
―Great! ‖ answered
Rosa. ―She‘s coming tomorrow.‖
Two
weeks
later,
the cousin was still with them. Since she did
not bring enough
money
,
Rosa
paid
for
her
meal.
Rosa
missed
many
of
her
classes
so
that
she
could
help
her cousin find her way around.
Rosa never complained about
any of this to Annie, but Annie decided to speak
to
her friend.
―Rosa,‖ she
said.
―I know
it‘s
none of
my
business.
But I don‘t
like
to see
you
being
treated this way
. It‘s not fair of your
cousin to take advantage of you, using your
time and
your
money
like this.
And
how do
you
ever
get any
sleep, anyway?
I
think
you
should
tell
her
you
have
your own
life
to
live.
After all, she‘s only
your
second
cousin.‖
Rosa
was surprised. She
answered,
―Oh, the bed doesn‘t bother
me! It
reminds
me
of sleeping with my sister as a child.
Y
ou‘re right, thoug
h, about
my schoolwork. I
know I‘m
missing
too
many
classes.
But
family comes
first.
I just couldn‘t
leave
my
cousin here by herself.
‖
Even
after
their
conversation,
Annie
still
could
not
understand
her
friend.
Before
her
cousin
arrived,
Rosa
had
always
seemed
like
such
an
independent,
responsible
person,
who
never
missed
a
class.
Annie
just
could
not
understand
why
she had changed.
Questions:
1)
Why was Annie confused?
2)
Why did Rosa
continue to help her cousin?
3)
Do you think
Rosa‘s and Annie‘s ideas are typica
l of
their culture?
4)
Would you do the same for your second
cousin as Rosa did? Why or why not?
3. Read the following case ( from
Zanger, 1985) and answer the questions that
follow.
Eva
came
to
the
United
States
from
Peru
to
study
at
an
American
college.
S
he
wanted
to
live
with an American
family
to
find out
more
about the
American
way of
life. And she wanted to improve her
English.
The
foreign student
office of
her college
found
the
Larsen
family
for
Eva to
live
with.
Eva
spoke
with
Mrs.
Larsen
on
the
telephone.
She
sounded
very
warm
and
friendly
to
Eva.
She
told
Eva
she
could
move
in
the
next
day
.
Eva
was
very
happy
about it.
Eva
arrived
the
next
day
with
all
her
luggage.
She
was
excited
to
meet
the
Larsens.
She rang the doorbell.
A
tall,
blond
woman
answered
the
door
with
a
big
smile
on
her
face.
She
said,
―Oh,
you
must
be
Eva!
I‘m
so
glad
you‘re
here!
Let
me
help
you
with
your
bags.
Come on in. I‘m Hilda Larsen.‖ She took
one of Eva‘s bags into the house.
When
they got
inside, Mrs. Larsen put
the
bag down and stood across
from
Eva,
about 3 feet
away
. She crossed her arms in front of
her and asked Eva, ―Tell me about
your
trip. I‘d love to go to Peru
someday
.‖
Just
then,
her
teenaged
son
walked
in,
hands
in
his pockets,
―Jimmy, Meet
Eva.
13
Maybe she can
help
you with your Spanish this
semester,‖ said his mother.
Jimmy
Said,
―Hi,
glad
to
meet
you.‖
His
hands
stayed
in
his
pockets
while
he
nodded his head.
Eva
didn‘t
know
what
to
do
with
her
hands.
She
felt
uncomfortable.
But
she
smiled and said, ―Hi,
Nice to meet you.‖
The
Larsens showed
Eva
her
new room. Then
they
left
her
alone to
unpack.
Eva
felt
a
little
disappointed,
but
she
didn‘t
know
exactly
why
.
She
thought
Mrs.
Larsen
seemed so friendly on
the phone. But now she wasn‘t sure. Jimmy also
seemed a littl
e
cold, but
maybe he was just shy
.
Eva
tried to decide
what
was
wrong. She thought to
herself:
If an
American
girl
came to stay with
me
in Peru, she would
get
a warm
welcome
than
that. My
mother
would
give
her
a
big
kiss,
instead
of
just
standing
there,
on
the
other
side
of
just
standing there, on the
other side of the room. And my brother would give
her a proper
greeting. Well, people
told me that Americans are cold. I guess they‘re
right.
Questions:
1) How did Mrs. Larsen and Jimmy greet
Eva respectively?
2) Why did Eva feel
that the Larsens were cold?
3) If you
were Eva, would you think that Mrs. Larsen was
cold? Why or why not?
4.
Read the following case (from Zanger, 1985) and
try to define some different
cultural
assumptions about men and women. A cultural
assumption, shared by the
people of a
culture, is a belief about the way the world
works, the way to understand
reality
.
Kevin was leaving work one
Friday
, when he stopped to talk t
Blanca, a new
worker. On
Wednesday
, they had talked at lunch.
She had told him that she had just
come
from the Dominican Republic two months before.
Kevin liked her.
―So, Blanca, what are
your plans for the weekend?‖ asked
Kevin.
―Oh, hi.
Kevin,‖ Blanca smiled. ―I have to go shopping with
my cousin for a
winter
coat.‖
―Tonight some of us
from work are going out to a place called ?The
Blue Hat‘
for beers and something to
eat. Would you like to come? I could pick you up
at eight
if you tell me where you
live.‖
―Okay
,
Kevin. That sounds nice. I hope it‘s O.K. if I
bring my l
ittle sister
along.‖
―As your
chaperone ? ‖ laughed Kevin, making a
joke.
―That‘s right,‖ said
Blanca. ―I guess you know something about the
Dominican
culture. It‘s the only way my
parents will let me go.‖
―Are you serious?‖ Kevin stared at her.
―Well, I‘ll be there at eight.‖
When Kevin, Blanca, and her sister
arrived at ―The Blue Hat ‖, they sat down
with Kevin‘s friends, who were already
eating. A waiter came and asked, ―What
would you like to have? And shall I put
this all on one check or will you all pay
separately?‖
―Separate checks, please,‖ answered
Kevin. ―I‘ll have a hamburger and French
fries and a beer, please.
Blanca?‖
14