跨文化交际整理版

跨文化交际技巧参考答案

定义题

1、Intercultural communication跨文化交际P3

There are three kinds of things you need to learn if you want to be able to communicate effectively with Westerners. First, you need to learn a foreign language, usually English. Second, you should learn as much as possible about Western cultures. However, studying English language and Western culture is not enough. You should also learn something about what happens when people from different cultures try to communicate with each other —in other words, "intercultural communication."

2、Individualist个人主义

Individualist culture is one in which people tend to view themselves as individuals and emphasize the needs of individuals. In general, Western culture tends to be individualist. They view themselves as independent of collectives; are primarily motivated by their own preferences, needs, rights, and the contacts they have established with others; give priority to their personal goals over the goals of others; and emphasize rational analyses of the advantages and disadvantages to associating with others.

3、Collectivist集体主义

Collectivist culture is one in which people tend to view themselves as members of groups (families, work units, tribes, nations), and usually consider the needs of the group to be more important than the needs of individuals. Most Asian cultures, including China's, tend to be collectivist. People see themselves as parts of one or more collectives; are primarily motivated by the norms of, and duties imposed by, those collectives; are willing to give priority to the goals of these collectives over their own personal goals; and emphasize their connectedness to members of these cultures.

4、public behavior /private behavior

Public behavior is the behavior in public settings, such as in work places, shops and so on. Private behavior is the behavior in private life, such as when you are at home or with your family and so on. Both individualist and collectivist cultures make a distinction between public life and private life. However, individualist Western cultures tend to make an especially clear and firm distinction between the public and private, and generally feel that these two aspects of life should be kept separate from each other. In other words, Westerners tend to believe that having a personal relationship with someone should not affect how you treat that person in public, work-related situations.

5、Generalizations文化的笼统性P26

It’s a neutral word which is a general conclusion drawing from particular examples or evidence.( In any culture group there will be many different beliefs represented, but most of the members of the group will tend in a certain direction. It is this "preponderance of belief," — not uniform acceptance of a given belief — that gives a culture its nature and is the legitimate subject of generalization. People in the same culture share many things in common, such as shared knowledge, shared values, shared perspectives, shared beliefs, shared behavior.)

6、Stereotypes老套思路P26

It is a derogatory word. It means that image, idea, character that has become fixed or standardized in a conventional form without individuality and is therefore false and shallow.( A way of thinking that does not acknowledge internal difference within a group, and does not acknowledge exception to its general rules or principles. These stereotypes are often based on accurate information but the problem is that stereotypes blind us to other, equally important aspects of a person's character or behavior. Stereotypes may have been created by direct experience with only one or two people from a particular group. Others are probably based on the second-hand information and opinion, output from the mass media, and general habits of thinking; they may even have been formed without any direct experience with individuals from the group. Yet many people are prepared to assume that stereotype is an accurate representation of all members of a specific group.)

7、Hierarchy不同的等级权利P33

Every society has hierarchy to some degree. In other words, some people have higher rank and more power than others, perhaps because they are older, stronger, wealthier, or have some kind of official position. On the other hand, however, most modern societies also believe that equality is a virtue, at least to some extent. So each culture needs to find its own balance between hierarchy and equality.

1) Westerners generally have less respect for seniority — age, position and so forth — than would be the case in a collectivist culture.

2) Western societies often try to limit the power of government officials.

3) Westerners tend to have a somewhat suspicious and even negative view of power and authority.

8、Culture shock文化冲击P36

Culture shock is a feeling of being confused and overwhelmed by life in another culture. People who experience culture shock often feel fatigued, impatient and irritable. They may also begin trying to avoid interaction with foreigners, and even become increasingly critical and hostile toward them. Foreigners in China sometimes experience culture shock — and so do Chinese who go to live in other countries.

9、Projected cultural similarity P48

Projected cultural similarity is the tendency to assume that people from other cultures basically think and feel more the same way we do. In other words, we sometimes assume that while foreigners may look different, dress differently, and speak different languages, "inside we are all more or less the same". People from different culture assume they understand each other instead of asking each other what they think. Because they each expect the other person to react more or less the same way they would, they don't check to see whether or not the other person actually has the same feelings and reactions they would.

10、loose culture and tight culture

Loose culture doesn’t demand a high degree of conformity. In loose cultures, people have a relatively wide range of views as to what is considered normal behavior. They also tend to be relatively tolerant of behavior that does not conform to cultural norms. And there is less pressure on individuals within the same culture to behave the same way most other people in the culture do.

Tight culture: expect a relatively high degree of conformity. There is a clear consensus as to what is and is not acceptable behavior and there is more pressure on people to conform to the norms of the culture.

Here is an example of how people deal with people who are born left-handed. In tight cultures, children who favor their left hand are encouraged or even forced to use their right hand instead, and the percentage of left-handed people in the adult population is much smaller.

11、Ethnocentrism 民族优越感P59

"Ethnocentrism" is the tendency to think of one’s own culture as being at the center of the world and identify with one’s in-group and to evaluate out-groups and their members according to its standards; in other words, to assume that one’s own culture's way of thinking and acting is more natural, normal, and correct than the way people from other cultures think and act, and tend to view one’s own cultural values and ways of doing things as more real, or as the ‘right’ and natural values and ways of doing things.

12、In-groups and out-groups P70

In-Groups: “In-groups”are the people we have the most in common with and identify most closely with, such as our family, classmates, or co-workers. We also have larger in-groups such as people who are from our own region, religious group, ethnic group, or nation. In-groups are groups of people about whose welfare we are concerned, with whom we are willing to cooperate without demanding equitable returns, and separation from whom leads to discomfort or even pain. Out-groups: out groups are those groups of people who we do not identify with---people from other families, regions, ethnic groups, or nations. Out-groups are groups of people about whose welfare we are not concerned, and groups with whom we require an equitable return in order to cooperate.

13、war stories P80

The term “war stories” originally referred to the kinds of stories soldiers would tell after experiences in battle. Now “war stories” refers more generally to any stories people tell after strange or stressful experiences, including stories about unusual encounters with foreigners.

问答题

1、Why would intercultural communication be more difficult than the communication between people from the same culture?

（Why is it hard to learn a foreign culture?）

先定义intercultural communication

1)Six stumbling blocks

2)Assuming more cultural similarities leads to misunderstanding

3)Language difference

4)Misinterpreting verbal communication and body language from other country

5)Stereotype and preconceptions

6)Evaluate before really understanding

7)Interact with foreigners stressfully and suffer from culture shock

8)Tend to generalize or simplify

9)Tend to define groups by a few key characteristic

10)Assume everyone is similar

2、What are some differences between an individualist culture and a collectivist one?

Are all Westerners individual ? Are all Chinese collectivist?

先定义individualist 和collectivist

(1) Westerners tend to believe that people should rely on themselves as much as possible- and they usually expect other people to do the same. In contrast, people in collectivist cultures generally feel they have a right to expect help from other members of their groups(family, classmates, and so forth), and they also tend to feel they have an obligation to help other members of their groups.

(2) Westerners generally feel that the rights of individuals should not be subordinated to the needs of a larger group, or at least that individuals should have to right to decide for themselves whether to sacrifice their benefit for the sake of the group.

(3) Westerners tend to believe that individuals should make decisions for themselves and that individuals should take credit and responsibility for what they have personally done.

(4) A final difference lies in the way people in difference cultures view the idea of “individualism”. Westerners tend to view individualism as a good thing. In English, the word “individualism”has no negative connotation. In fact, its connotation is somewhat positive. In contrast, the Chinese term for “individualism” , often has a somewhat negative connotation, and is sometimes used as a synonym for “selfishness”.

3、What are the different virtues Chinese and Americans emphasize most?

先要定义一下virtue

Chinese: formality/ hierarchy/ industriousness/ being filial/ hard work/ modesty/ thrifty Americans: activity-dominant/ equality/ motivation based on achievement/ the world is material rather than spiritual/ optimistic/ individualist/ materialism/ success/ humanitarianism

4、How do Western cultures view the relationship between public and private life?

先定义

Western cultures tend to make an especially clear and firm distinction between the public and

private, and generally feel that these two aspects of life should be kept separate from each other. In other words, westerners tend to believe that having a personal relationship with someone should not affect how you treat that person in public, work-related situations. (In fact, some westerners try to avoid mixing work and play completely, and keep their circle of work acquaintances quite separate from their circle of personal friends)

Of course, personal relationships do make a difference in how people in the west treat each other, even in public settings. However, the wall between public and private life tends to be somewhat higher in the individualist west than it is in collectivist cultures.

5、What are stereotypes? Why are they a problem?

It is a derogatory word. It means that image, idea, or chance that has become fixed or standardized in a conventional form without individuality and it is therefore false and shallow. A way of thinking that does not acknowledge internal difference within a group, exception to its general rules or principles. These stereotypes are often based on accurate information but the problem is that stereotypes blind us to other equally important aspects of a person’s character or behavior. Stereotypes may have been created by direct experience with only one or two people from a particular group. Others are probably based on the second hand information and opinion output from the mass media, and general habits of thinking; they may even have been formed without any direct experience with individuals from the group. Yet many people are prepared to assume that stereotype is an accurate representation of all members of a specific group.

6、What are some ways in which Western societies differ in how they view the issue of equality?

7、Try to think of several more generalization that can be made about important characteristics of Chinese culture.

Collectivism: emphasis on the doctrine of the mean

Large power distance

Intergroup harmony and avoidance of over conflict in interpersonal relations

Belief in the naturalness, necessity and inevitability of hierarchy