跨文化交际案例

跨文化交际案例

《跨文化交际》案例

Case 1

Litz is a professor of cross—cultural communication in a university in Finland. She

invited her Chinese students home for an evening party.

The schema from Litz?s point of view includes the following:

1. Giving invitation: by phone / by mail

2. Prepare everything before the arrival of guests

3. Receiving guests: open the door / express welcome / take their overcoats / introduce guests / offer them drinks / make them comfortable

4. Serving food: set the table / soup first / main course / desert

5. Post dinner activities: chat / play music / offer more drinks

6. Seeing guests off: thank them for coming / good night

Litz?s evening party was not very successful, because she was upset

by one of her guests. Here was the initial conversation between Litz and Lin:

Litz: (opens the door) Oh, Lin, how nice you could come!

Lin: It?s not difficult to find your house.

Litz: Come on in.

Lin: (comes in)

Litz: Can I take your coat?

Lin: No, thanks.

Litz: Ok, this way please.

Lin: (take off her coat and hangs it)

Analysis: Litz was hurt because Lin did not let her hang her coat. Litz?s offering to hang Lin?s coat is one of Litz?s ways (it?s on Litz?s schema). On Lin?s side, she thought that Litz was her supervisor and

that it was inappropriate to let her supervisor hang her coat. Here we have an instance of one action attached with different cultural values.

Case 2

Finding an Interested Buyer

Georage Hall was in Beijing attending a trade fair and looking for

an opportunity to do business in China. He had been very successful in his business dealings in the US and prided himself on his ability “to get things moving.” His first day was going well .He looked around at the displays of sporting equipment to get some idea of whom he might approach. He was sure that his products, tennis rackets with an unusual new design, would arouse some interests. On the second day he approached the company which he felt would be most responsive to his products. He introduced himself to the general, a Mr. Li. Since he had read that Chinese find getting down to business immediately too abrupt and rude,

he began a casual conversation, eventually leading up to the topic of

his products and suggesting how Mr. Li?s company might benefit from

using them. George then suggested that he could arrange to get together with Mr. Li and provide more specifics and documentation on his products. Mr. Li responded in fairly good English,” That would be interesting.”

Knowing that he had only a few days left in Beijing, George wanted

to nail down a time,” When can we meet?” asked George.

“Ah. This week is very busy,” replied Mr. Li.

“It sure is,” said George,” How about 10 o?clock? Meet you here.”

“Tomorrow at 10 o?clock?” asked Mr. Li thoughtfully.

“Right,” said George, “I?ll see you then?”

“Hmm, yes; why don?t you come by tomorrow,” was the reply.

“OK,” responded George,” It was nice meeting you.”

The next day at 10 o?clock he approached Mr. Li?s company?s exhibit only to find

that Mr. Li had some important business and was not able to meet

with George. He called back later in the day and was told that Mr. Li was not available. Analysis: 英美人士做事情讲究守时。而中国人不太重视这方面。本案列中，李

先生不仅没有准时接见预约的客户，甚至放了他“鸽子”。

Case3

Professor Liang has written a book on Chinese culture in Chinese.

His book is put on display in Beijing International Book Fair? 96. Professor Liang would like to have his book translated into English and submitted to Thompson Publishers. Professor Liang has asked Li Yan, whom he meets regularly in the English Corner, to help him to talk to Peter Allright, a Thompson representative.

Prof. Liang:奥莱特先生，这是鄙人的拙作。

Li Tan: Mr. Allright, this a clumsy book written by your humble servant. Mr Allright: No, no, no, you're not my humble servant. We do not publish books in Chinese.

Li Yan (to Professor Liang): 不，不，不，你不是我的仆人，我们不出中

文书。

Professor Liang: 我要请李艳翻译成英文。

Li Yan (to Mr. Allright): Professor Liang will ask me to translate

it into English. Mr. Allright: Mm that?s interesting.

Analysis: Chinese authors almost always belittle their works by describing them as clumsy writings, and they use the same description when they present them to Chinese publishers. But this will be counter—productive in English. Instead, authors

should point out the merits of their works rather than “clumsiness”.

(Theory Communication is something we do every day. It takes place

so naturally that we simply fail to notice it until it hiccups or breaks down. Though it is commonplace, it is no exaggeration to say that communication is life and life is communication.

1.When you join a social gathering, you must be aware of rules and procedures that govern the way things are going to proceed. There is a technical term for such rules and procedures—schema.

2. Face and politeness are two other areas which are extremely value—sensitive. One

of the distinctive features of Chinese politeness is self—denigration and

other—elevation.)

Case 4

Jane, an American teacher in the US, had just started teaching English to a group of Japanese students. She wanted to get to know the students more formally, so she invited them to her house for party. The students all arrived together at exactly 8:00 p.m. They seemed to enjoy the party: they danced, sang, and ate most of the food. At about 10:00 p.m, one of the students said to the teacher, “I think it?s time for me to leave. Thank you very much for the party.” Then all the other students got up to go,

and all left at the same time. Jane decided she would never invite them again! Analysis: 在日本以及其他很多的亚洲国家里，年轻人通常成群结队的一起去参

加一些社交聚会，然后一道离去。在他们看来这是很正常不过的事。然后Jane 认为这是一种侮辱，因为他们在同一时间里一下子全部离开了。在美国以及其他

一些英语国家，晚上10点离开一个聚会相对来说是比较早的。

Case 5

Four Secretaries and Their Jobs

Four classmates from a top Chinese university all took jobs as secretaries after graduation. Five years later the four former classmates had a reunion and discussed their jobs.

Chen Qi and Dai Yun both work as bilingual secretaries for a Finnish company in Beijing. Chen Qi is secretary to the Finn general manger, and Dai Yun is secretary to the Chinese local manger, a position only

slightly lower than that of the Finn manger.

Zhang Ying is from a politically prominent family and was hired as

the secretary to the leader of a small government bureau in the capital city of her home province. Lu Yan works for a state run enterprise in

the same city where she was hired as the secretary to the new manager

for international marketing. The company has never marketed its products abroad before so this office and Lu Yan?s position are new to the company.

Five years later Chen Qi is satisfied with her job with the Finnish company but Dai Yun is not. The Finn manager receives orders from the company?s home office in Finland, and he gives orders to those below him in China, including his secretary Chen Qi. He tells her how he wants his time scheduled and she then makes appointments for him according to his instructions. She translates memos and other documents and interprets from Chinese to English to Chinese. If the manager does not think Chen

Qi has done her work well, he tells her right away. He is very demanding, but Chen Qi feels that she knows what her duties are and knows what her manager expects. She is confident that she is doing a good job.

Dai Yun often does not have as much work to do as Chen Qi does, because her boss schedules his own appointments and does a lot of the office paperwork himself. When he is out of town she has time to study

for the graduate entrance exam. However, she is not sure whether or not she is doing a good job. Her manager tells her what she is expected to do, but he does this day by day. When people call or come to the office to see her boss, she greets them in English or Chinese as necessary. She receives their memos and other messages as well as their questions and requests and passes them on to her manager. Dai Yun thinks of her job as doing what her manager wants her to do.

She pays close attention to his moods and behavior, and sometimes

she is able to anticipate what he would like without him telling her.

Analysis:许多中国人在外企工作，不同国家的外企领导有不同的工作作风和

标

准。本案列中，戴云给不同的外国上司做秘书，在工作中出现由于不同的文化冲

突而引起的各种工作以及沟通中的问题就很常见了。

Case 6

One cold winter day in a Chinese city, Wang Lin on his way to the library met an American professor who knew very little about China.

After greeting him, Wang said: “It?s rather cold. Y ou?d better put on more clothes.” But the professor didn?t appear happy on hearing this.

Analysis: 美国人以及大部分西方国家的人们不喜欢被告知要怎么做怎么做，他

们比较喜欢独立，然而中国人则习惯关心别人，这个案例中王林的建议表达的就

是一种对他人的关心，可是美国教授却不习惯这样的表达。

Case 7

In a good restaurant, fourteen people are gathered to say goodbye to their professor, who is moving to another university.

Steven: May I have your attention please? I?d like to call upon Ben to say a few words.

Ben: Thank you, Steven. Professor Shore, colleagues:

Tonight is one of those paradoxes --- it?s a sad time and yet it?s a happy time.

Sad, because.

We are losing one of our best professors; happy because we are pleased to see Professor Shore

gain the recognition that he richly deserves.I?m not sure who will be able to control us

and keep us

in line. I think the new professor will have a difficult time. And surely no one will be able to tell

jokes in the same way as you, Professor. Seriously, we all know that you will be difficult to

replace. Your scholarly approach and your dedication will always be remembered. I would

therefore like to propose a toast. Colleagues, pelase charge your glasses. Professor Shore, may

your future be filled will great success, and may you always remember us. We know we will never

forget you.

To Professor Shore!

All: (Standing up) To Professor Shore! (Everyone drinks. Professor Shore remains seated and

smiles at them all.)

Analysis:就餐时总是要在各种缘由下向人敬酒:可以是非正式的，向朋友或同事敬酒;也可以是正式的，向全体聚会的人敬酒。与中国式的敬酒大不相同的是，

在西方正式的敬酒时，受敬的人是不能喝酒的，而是正襟危坐，两眼睁睁看别

人

喝酒。另一个不同是:无论正式还是非正式，敬酒的人不必走过去敬酒，而是

在

自己的座位处站起来敬酒。敬酒时开始的语言永远是:“向…”，而其他随敬

酒的

人重复敬酒人的第一句话(即“向…”)，然后喝一口酒。敬酒时如果举了

杯，

说了敬词，而实际上没有喝酒，就会被看做十分不恭的行为，在很久以前甚至

于

被认为是一种侮辱，是不想加入敬酒的仪式。

Case 8

An American went to 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?

Analysis: 在中国的传统文化习俗里，主任通常会不断给客人倒水倒茶，或者不

断地给客人的盘子里加食物以表示他的热情好客。面对的这样的情况，中国客人

知道如何处理，在他们觉得吃饱喝足之后，就会随它放在桌上。而美国客人就不

懂了，在美国，在自己的盘子里剩下食物是不礼貌的，于是他出于遵循美国文化

理念可能会在这样的招待中吃的过多。

Case 9

Dinner with Friend

Janice is a young American engineer working for a manufacturing

joint venture near Nanjing. She and her husband George, who is teaching English at a university, are learning Chinese and enjoying their new life .They have been eager to get to know Chinese people better so they were pleased when Liu Lingling , Janice?s young co-worker invited them to her home for dinner.

When Janice and George arrived，Lingling introduced them to her husband Yang

Feng , asked them to sit down at a table containing 8 plates of various cold dishes, served them tea and then disappeared with her husband into the kitchen. After a few minutes Lingling came back and added water to their tea. Janice offered to help in the kitchen but

Lingling said she didn?t need help. She invited the couple to look at their new CD player and their colorful TV and then disappeared again.

A half-hour later she came back and sat down and the three began to eat. Yang Feng came in from time to time to put dish after hot dish on the table. Most of the food was wonderful but neither George nor Janice could eat the fatty pork in pepper sauce or the ea cucumbers, and there was much more than they could eat. They kept wishing Yang Feng would sit down so they could talk to him .Finally he did sit down to eat a

bit ,but quickly turned on the TV to show them all its high teching features. Soon it was time to go home.

George and Janice felt slightly depressed by this experience, but returned the invitation two weeks later. They decided to make a nice American meal and felt lucky to find olives, tomato juice, crackers and as appetizers. For the main course they prepared spaghetti and a salad with dressing made from oil, vinegar, and some spices they found in the market.

When Liu Lingling and Yang Feng arrived they were impressed by the apartment and

asked the price of the TV, video player, vacuum cleaner and other things. Janice politely refused to answer their questions. They took small tastes of the appetizers and seemed surprised when both George and Janice sat down with them. They ate only a little spaghetti and did not finish the salad on their plates. George urged them to eat more but they refused and looked around expectantly. Junice and George talked about

their families and jobs and asked the table and served coffee and pastries. Yang Feng and Lingling each put four spoons of sugars into their coffee but did not drink much of it and ate only a bite or two of pastry.

fter they left, George said that at least they had a chance to talk, but Janice was A

upset. “We left their place so full that we couldn?t walk and

they?re going to have to eat again when they get home. What went wrong?

Analysis:中西方饮食习惯大大的不同。中国人邀请客人会准备一大桌子的

菜，

并在就餐过程中使劲劝说客人多吃点，吃完之后，还有剩菜，就表明主人的

盛

情款待。而西方人一不劝吃，二就餐完毕后，盘子最好是空的。本案列中的两对

中外夫妇不明这个文化差异，发生误解就是自然而然的事了。

Case 10

After the meal and after the table has been cleared. Liu is not sure what to do, but wants to help in some way. At least he wants to offer.

Helen: Thanks for your help, Huang.

Liu: Pleasure. What can I do now?

Helen: Nothing. It?s fine. I?ll rinse these dishes then stack them. It?ll only take a minute.

Liu: Does the family usually help?

Helen: Well, at special times. Jack sometimes rinses the dishes but you can see he?s

really tired tonight.

Liu: Let me do it for you.

Helen: No truly, it?s okay.

Liu: Maybe I can wipe the table then.

Helen: That would be helpful. Thanks. You?re really kind, Huang.

Analysis:在西方人家中的就餐的时间里，大家都设法插手帮一下忙，即便是男

士也不例外，不要一点不动着开饭。所有家住者要能帮者摆摆餐具，或餐后收拾

洗碗，把餐具放进洗碗机，倒垃圾，站在一边帮着擦干洗好的餐具。虽然都是小

忙，却表明你对别人的操劳非常在意，是个用心的人。

Case 11

Two strangers have been chatting.

A: So you?re been here for a year?

B: Yes. One more year to go, then I?ll go back to china.

A: What will you do back home?

B: It?s hard to know. There?s a lot change at the moment.

A: Yeah. Everything is changing, everywhere. Sometimes it?s

difficult to keep up.

B: That?s true. Maybe I?ll…

(A?s mobile phone rings.)

A: Excuse me, I?d better answer this. It?s probably work.

B: Sure. Take your time.

Analysis:有时在与人交谈中，难免要有什么原因要离开一会儿，或是去接一个

电话，或要去洗手间。礼貌再此被提出来。出于礼貌起见，要记住做一些恰当解

释再离开。不管理由是什么，即便是要接一个手机电话，在打开电话回话前，向

对方说声对不起。

如果只离开几分钟，没有必要找一个理由。你说了对不起，就表明你确实是有事

要离开一会儿。

Case 12: Liu Huang is calling his friend Steven at his home.

Person: Hello. John is speaking.

Liu: Hello? I?m looking for Steven.

Person: Sorry, there?s no one here called Steven.

Liu: Is that 6577 8868?

Person: No. I think you?ve got the wrong number. This is 6578 8868.

Liu: Oh, I?m sorry.

Person: No problem. Good luck.

Liu: Thanks.

Analysis:失手拨错号码是常有的事。如果在国外，即便有语言障碍，害怕说英

语，也还是要先与对方核对是不是拨错了，然后再道歉。如果发现拨错了号码就

马上挂电话，是不礼貌的行为。

Case 13

Lin: Thank you so much for a wonderful night. I?ve had a great time.

Erica: It?s been a pleasure having you. We hope you can come again, soon.

Lin: I?d like that. You both know how to make me feel at home. Thanks for

everything.

Analysis:在动身离去的时候，找到主人，当面说一声谢谢，是有礼貌的行

为。

Case 14

Off to a Bad Start

David Hu had just started working for the foreign owned company. He was sitting at his workstation but had not been given any assignment

that he should be doing at this moment. He was relaxing and waiting and then thought he would take the opportunity to have a look around. He poked his head into several offices just to see what there was to be seen.

Suddenly Mr. Parker came up to him and angrily asked him what he was doing. David Hu was embarrassed. He laughed and quickly started to move back toward his workstation. This did not seem to satisfy Mr. Parker who started to talk rapidly and angrily. Hoping to calm him down, Mr.Hu

smiled and apologized, trying to explain that he was trying to learn more about the department. However, Mr. Parker got even angrier. Finally, another worker came by and calmed him down, but Mr. Parker left, he

still looked angry. Mr.Hu sighed; he knew he had made a bad start but

still didn?t

understand why.

Analysis:外国人很讲究隐私权，一般不允许自己的私人空间受到打扰。而中

国

人比较喜欢看热闹，想知道别人在做什么。所以在本案列中，吴先生未经允许

就

在公司四处走动，引起其他员工的强烈不满。

Case 15

Sharing the Wealth

Anna Bilow had been working for a Chinese-owned and operated company in Nanjing for about six months. The division she was working in had a small collection of Chinese-English dictionaries, English language reference books, and some videos in English including a couple of

training films and several feature films that Anna had brought at her new employer?s request when she came from Europe. Anna knew that some of the other sections had similar collections. She had sometimes used her friendship with one of the women in another department, Gu Ming, to borrow English novels and reference books and in turn had let Gu Ming borrow books from her section?s collection. On

other occasions, she had seen friendly, noisy exchanges, where one of

the other workers in her division had lent a book or video to a colleague from another section.

Anna thought it was a great idea when a memo was circulated saying that the company?s leaders had decided to collect all the English language materials together into a single collection. The plan was to put them in a small room that was currently being used for storage so that all employees could have equal access to them. Now she would no longer have to go from department to department trying to find the materials she needed.

Anna was surprised to hear her co-workers complaining about the new policy. When the young man in charge came to the department to collect their English language materials, she was astounded to see them hiding most of the books and all but one of the videos in their desks. When she checked out the new so-called collection, she found that the few items were all outdated or somehow damaged. She also noticed that none of the materials she had borrowed from Gu Ming were in the collection. She asked her friend why the Chinese were unwilling to share their English language materials with all their co-workers, when they seemed willing to share them within their departments.

Analysis: 西方人对隐私方面有许多禁忌，中国人对自我隐私的保护也十分注重，

但是两者之间存在较大差别。西方人乐于将自己的书籍和整理的资料拿出来让朋

友和同事共享，而在中国，即便是朋友间，人们也不愿意与人共享自己的书籍和

资料。由于这种资料共享的观念不同，案例中Anna才会难以理解顾明等同事将

自己的资料，书籍藏起来的做法。

(Theory: 1. Culture shock can be described as the feeling of confusion and disorientation that one experiences when faced with a large number of new and unfamiliar people and situations.

2. There is a desire for independence and separateness, found in foreigners' needs for their own privacy and autonomy

3. Hospitality means the cordial and generous reception of or disposition

toward guests.

4. Politeness refers to the consideration for others, tact, and observance of accepted social usage.

5. Privacy could be understood as the right of an individual to

self-determination as to the degree to which the individual is willing to share with others information about himself.)

Case 16

A British tourist is traveling by train in China. Sitting opposite him is a Chinese passenger. They introduce themselves to each other…

British tourist: Hello, I?m Eric Jackson. Glad to meet you.

Chinese passenger: Hello, my name is Liu Xin. I?m glad to meet you, too. Where do you come from, Mr. Eric?

British tourist: I?m from Britain. Please just call me Eric, Mr. Xin.

Chinese passenger: And you may just call me Liu Xin.

Analysis: Both of them have taken each other?s given name for the surname, since the order of the surnames of Chinese and English names

are just the opposite. As in both cultures a title is usually used with the surname, they feel unnatural when their given names are used with

the titles. According to British custom it?s quite normal for persons

who first meet to address each other by their given names alone, whereas here, when people first meet, they usually address each other by their

full names and never by their given names alone.

Case 17

A British tourist is visiting a Chinese family. The Chinese hostess introduces herself and her husband to guest…

Chinese hostess: Welcome to my home. My name is Cai Hong, and this

is my husband.

British tourist: Thank you, Mrs. Cai. It?s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cai. I?m Lucy Taylor.

Chinese hostess: Have a seat, Madam Lucy.

Analysis: The British tourist thinks that Cai Hong?s surname is her husband?s surname, since she is unaware of the fact that in China women still use their own surname after marriage. Cai Hong thinks that …madam?

is a respectful term of address for any female English-speaker, unaware

of the fact that in Britain it is usually used by someone who is

providing a service such as a shop assistant to a customer or a

policeman to a member of the public as in …Can I help you, madam?? It is never used as a title before someone?s name. She also mistakes the given name for the surname.

Case 18

Lin Mei is a Chinese student who is now studying at a university in America. Her seven-year-old daughter Jiajia is with her and studies in a primary school. They have been in America for three years. Wang Xiaohong is a Chinese visiting scholar at the same university as Lin Mei and the two get on well with each other. Wang Xiaohong

sometimes feels lonely since she has been in America for only two months, so she sometimes visits Lin Mei?s family. One day she came to visit them. Below is their conversation.

Wang Xiaohong: 佳佳，你妈妈在家吗,

Jiajia: 在。妈妈，小红阿姨找你。

Lin Mei: 王教师您来啦，请坐。我女儿真不懂礼貌。佳佳，以后要叫王阿

姨。

Analysis: The combination of the term of address Xiaohong Ayi (given name + Auntie)

reflects the mixture of the two cultures. On the one hand we have

the extended use of kin terms preceded by a person?s name, conventionally surname, e.g. Wang + Auntie,

in Chinese culture. On the other we have the conventional use of kin terms followed by given names e.g. Auntie + Xiaohong, in the culture of English—speaking countries.