33中西方文化差异(英文版)

CulturaldifferencesinpolitenessbetweenwesternandChinese1.GreetingandParting•InChina,Whenpeoplemeetacquaintancesorfriends,wealwayssay,“Haveyoueatenyet?”Whatareyougoingtodo?”•InEnglish,peopleoftenemploythefollowingexpressionstogreeteachother“Goodmorning/evening/afternoon.“Fineday,isn’tit?”Howiseverythinggoing?”,etc.WesternandChinesecultureshavediversewaystodealwithleave-takings.•Westernpeoplealwaystrytomaketheirleavingsoundreluctantbyfindingsomereasonsandapologizeforittomaketheleavingacceptableforbothparties.Theyoftensignalseveraltimesbeforeleaving.Suchas,•1.“IamafraidImustbeoff,Ihaveto…”•2.“Well,it’sbeennicetoseeyouagain.Idoenjoyourtalkandthelovelydinner,butImustbegoingsoon”.•3.“Thankyouverymuchforaskingmeover.Ihopewe’llbeabletogettogetheragainbeforelong…”2..AddressingInChina,thesurnamecomesfirstandthenthegivenname.Whilewesternersnamesarewrittenandspokenwiththegivennamefirstandthefamilynamelast.Inaformalsetting,westernersaddressmenasMister(Mr),marriedwomenasMisses(Mrs.),andunmarriedwomenasMiss(Ms.).ThesedaysmanywomenprefertobeaddressedusingtheabbreviationsMs.,pronouncedmiz.Inaninformalsituation,westernerswillintroduceeachotherbyfirstname,withouttitles,andoccasionallybyjustthelastname.East&WestChineseuse“title+surname”toaddresstheirsuperiororeldersratherthancallthemsurnames,whilethesuperiororelderscalltheaddresserstheirnames.otherwise,theaddressermaybeconsideredasillmannered,illeducatedorrude.Inwest,Althoughtheyaredifferentinageandstatus,theycancalltheotherdirectly,namely,theirnames,evenfirstnames.Theydemonstratethesenseofintimacyandtheconceptionof”Everyoneiscreatedequal”3.ComplimentsandResponseForexample,ifahostessiscomplimentedforhercookingskill,howshewillresponseinwestandchina?East&WestAChinesehostesswillapologizeforgivingyou“Nothing”.Shewillsay“Ijustmadesomedishescasuallyandtheyarenotverytasty.”Anwesternhostessislikelytosay,”Oh,Iamsogladthatyoulikedit.Icookitespeciallyforyou.”Whatwecanseefromit?TheAmericansare“straightforwardness”,theChinesetakepridein“modesty”.Intheresponsetocompliments.Chinesearetendtoeffacethemselvesinwordsorrefuseit,althoughtheydofeelcomfortableaboutthecompliments.4.ThanksandResponsesInChina,“Thankyou”isnotfrequentlyusedbetweenintimatefriendsandfamilymembersbecauseitmayimplyacertaindistancebetweentheaddresserandtheaddressee.“Thankyou”iswidelyusedinEnglishtoshowgratitudeinsuchcasesasbeinginvited,helped,givenagift,etc.5.AskingPersonalAffairsPeoplefromChinadonotregarditasaskingpersonalaffairswhentheyaskothersname、age、maritalstatus、wages、personallife、beliefandpoliticalpoints.Itisregardasconcerns.Whilethewesternswillthinkyouviolatetheirrightofprivacy.East&Westwhenwetalktothewesterns,wemustavoidaskingsomequestionslikethis:“Howoldareyou?”“Areyoumarried？”“Howmanychildrendoyouhave？”“Howmuchdoyoumake？”“Doyougotothechurch？”InthecultureofBritishandAmerica,itisveryimportanttoconsultatimebeforeyouinvitesomebodytoattendabanquetortakepartinsocialactivities.Esp.inAmerica,invitesomebodymeansyouareborrowtimesofothers.Sotheyrespecttimeverymuch.WhileinChina,peopleareprefertoanuninvitedguest.6.InvitationDifferentculturalfactorsmayresultinculturaldifferences.1.CulturalBackground2.Differentvalues3.IndividualismandCollectivism4.Family5.Nationalism…SomethingaboutwesternfamiliesWesternfamiliesadvocateequalityindailylife.Thehusbandandthewifeusuallyhaveanequalityvoiceindecision-making,andoncertainmatters,thechildren,too,haveavote.Inthewestern,mostoldpeopledonotlivewiththeirchildrenorrelatives.Iftheyhaveenoughmoneytheywillbuyhouseorapartmentsinplaceswhereotheroldpeoplelive.Iftheydonothealthyandstrongenoughtolivealone,theywouldratherliveinnursinghousesforoldpeoplethanbetakenbytheirchildren.Thereforetheywanttostayyoungbecauseyouthstandsforhopeandenergy,theydonotliketogrowoldbecausetheywillnotgainhonor,respectorattentionasoldpeople.