中西文化差异情景案例分析

CultureDifferenceCaseStudyUnit1LanguageandCultureinCommunicationTheoryCommunicationissomethingwedoeveryday.Ittakesplacesonaturallythatwesimplyfailtonoticeituntilithiccupsorbreaksdown.Thoughitiscommonplace,itisnoexaggerationtosaythatcommunicationislifeandlifeiscommunication.1.Whenyoujoinasocialgathering,youmustbeawareofrulesandproceduresthatgovernthewaythingsaregoingtoproceed.Thereisatechnicaltermforsuchrulesandprocedures—schema.Faceandpolitenessaretwootherareaswhichareextremelyvalue—sensitive.OneofthedistinctivefeaturesofChinesepolitenessisself—denigrationandother—elevation.Case1Litzisaprofessorofcross—culturalcommunicationinauniversityinFinland.SheinvitedherChinesestudentshomeforaneveningparty.TheschemafromLitz’spointofviewincludesthefollowing:Givinginvitation:byphone/bymailPrepareeverythingbeforethearrivalofguestsReceivingguests:openthedoor/expresswelcome/taketheirovercoats/introduceguests/offerthemdrinks/makethemcomfortableServingfood:setthetable/soupfirst/maincourse/desertPostdinneractivities:chat/playmusic/offermoredrinksSeeingguestsoff:thankthemforcoming/goodnightLitz’eveningspartywasnotverysuccessful,becauseshewasupsetbyoneofherguests.HerewastheinitialconversationbetweenLitzandLin:Litz:(opensthedoor)Oh,Lin,howniceyoucouldcome!Lin:It’snotdifficulttofindyourhouse.Litz:Comeonin.Lin:(comesin)Litz:CanItakeyourcoat?Lin:No,thanks.Litz:Ok,thiswayplease.Lin:(takeoffhercoatandhangsit)Analysis:LitzwashurtbecauseLindidnotletherhanghercoat.Litz’sofferingtohangLin’scoatisoneofLitz’sways(it’sonLitz’sschema).OnLin’sside,shethoughtthatLisupervisorandthatitwasinappropriatetolethersupervisorhanghercoat.Herewehaveaninstanceofoneactionattachedwithdifferentculturalvalues.Case2FindinganInterestedBuyerGeorageHallwasinBeijingattendingatradefairandlookingforanopportunitytodo精品文库businessinChina.HehadbeenverysuccessfulinhisbusinessdealingsintheUSandpridedhimselfonhisability“togetthingsmoving.”Hisfirstdaywasgoingwell.Helookedaroundatthedisplaysofsportingequipmenttogetsomeideaofwhomhemightapproach.Hewassurethathisproducts,tennisracketswithanunusualnewdesign,wouldarousesomeinterests.Ontheseconddayheapproachedthecompanywhichhefeltwouldbemostresponsivetohisproducts.Heintroducedhimselftothegeneral,aMr.Li.SincehehadreadthatChinesefindgettingdowntobusinessimmediatelytooabruptandrude,hebeganacasualconversation,eventuallyleadinguptothetopicofhisproductsandsuggestinghowMr.Li’scompanymightbenefitfromusingthem.GeorgethensuggestedthathecouldarrangetogettogetherwithMr.Liandprovidemorespecificsanddocumentationonhisproducts.Mr.LirespondedinfairlygoodEnglish,”Thatwouldbeinteresting.”KnowingthathehadonlyafewdaysleftinBeijing,Georgewantedtonaildownatime,”Whencanwemeet?”askedGeorge.“Ah.Thisweekisverybusy,eplied”Mr.rLi.“Itsureis,”saidGeorge,”Howabout10o’clock?Meetyouhere.”“Tomorrowat10o’clock?”askedMr.Lithoughtfully.“Right,”saidGeorge,“I’llseeyouthen?”“Hmm,yes;whydon’tyoucomebytomorrow,”wasthereply.“OK,”respondedGeorge,”Itwasnicemeetingyou.”Thenextdayat10o’clockheapproachedMr.Li’scompany’sexhibitonlytofindthatMr.hadsomeimportantbusinessandwasnotabletomeetwithGeorge.HecalledbacklaterinthedayandwastoldthatMr.Liwasnotavailable.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”。Case3ProfessorLianghaswrittenabookonChinesecultureinChinese.HisbookisputondisplayinBeijingInternationalBookFair’96.ProfessorLiangwouldliketohavehisbooktranslatedintoEnglishandsubmittedtoThompsonPublishers.ProfessorLianghasaskedLiYan,whomhemeetsregularlyintheEnglishCorner,tohelphimtotalktoPeterAllright,aThompsonrepresentative.Prof.Liang:奥莱特先生，这是鄙人的拙作。LiTan:Mr.Allright,thisaclumsybookwrittenbyyourhumbleservant.MrAllright:No,no,no,you'renotmyhumbleservant.WedonotpublishbooksinChinese.LiYan(toProfessorLiang):不，不，不，你不是我的仆人，我们不出中文书。ProfessorLiang:我要请李艳翻译成英文。LiYan(toMr.Allright):ProfessorLiangwillaskmetotranslateitintoEnglish.Mr.Allright:Mmthat’sinteresting.Analysis:Chineseauthorsalmostalwaysbelittletheirworksbydescribingthemasclumsywritings,andtheyusethesamedescriptionwhentheypresentthemtoChinesepublishers.Butthiswillbecounter—productiveinEnglish.Instead,authorsshouldpointoutthemeritsoftheirworksratherthan“clumsiness”.欢迎下载2精品文库Unit2CultureShockTheoryCultureshockcanbedescribedasthefeelingofconfusionanddisorientationthatoneexperienceswhenfacedwithalargenumberofnewandunfamiliarpeopleandsituations.Thereisadesireforindependenceandseparateness,foundinforeigners'needsfortheirownprivacyandautonomyHospitalitymeansthecordialandgenerousreceptionofordispositiontowardguests.Politenessreferstotheconsiderationforothers,tact,andobservanceofacceptedsocialusage.Privacycouldbeunderstoodastherightofanindividualtoself-determinationastothedegreetowhichtheindividualiswillingtosharewithothersinformationabouthimself.Case1Jane,anAmericanteacherintheUS,hadjuststartedteachingEnglishtoagroupofJapanesestudents.Shewantedtogettoknowthestudentsmoreformally,sosheinvitedthemtoherhouseforparty.Thestudentsallarrivedtogetheratexactly8:00p.m.Theyseemedtoenjoytheparty:theydanced,sang,andatemostofthefood.Atabout10:00p.m,oneofthestudentssaidtotheteacher,“Ithinkit’stimeformetoleaveyouvery.Thankmuchfortheparty.”Thenalltheotherstudentsgotuptogo,andallleftatthesametime.Janedecidedshewouldneverinvitethemagain!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。Case2FourSecretariesandTheirJobsFourclassmatesfromatopChineseuniversityalltookjobsassecretariesaftergraduation.Fiveyearslaterthefourformerclassmateshadareunionanddiscussedtheirjobs.ChenQiandDaiYunbothworkasbilingualsecretariesforaFinnishcompanyinBeijing.ChenQiissecretarytotheFinngeneralmanger,andDaiYunissecretarytotheChineselocalmanger,apositiononlyslightlylowerthanthatoftheFinnmanger.ZhangYingisfromapoliticallyprominentfamilyandwashiredasthesecretarytotheleaderofasmallgovernmentbureauinthecapitalcityofherhomeprovince.LuYanworksforastaterunenterpriseinthesamecitywhereshewashiredasthesecretarytothenewmanagerforinternationalmarketing.ThecompanyhasnevermarketeditsproductsabroadbeforesothisofficeandLuYan’spositionarenewtothecompany.FiveyearslaterChenQiissatisfiedwithherjobwiththeFinnishcompanybutDaiYunisnot.TheFinnmanagerreceivesordersfromthecompany’shomeofficeinFinland,andhegivesorderstothosebelowhiminChina,includinghissecretaryChenQi.Hetellsherhowhewantshistimescheduledandshethenmakesappointmentsforhimaccordingtohisinstructions.ShetranslatesmemosandotherdocumentsandinterpretsfromChinesetoEnglishtoChinese.IfthemanagerdoesnotthinkChenQihasdoneherworkwell,hetells欢迎下载3精品文库herrightaway.Heisverydemanding,butChenQifeelsthatsheknowswhatherdutiesareandknowswhathermanagerexpects.Sheisconfidentthatsheisdoingagoodjob.DaiYunoftendoesnothaveasmuchworktodoasChenQidoes,becauseherbossscheduleshisownappointmentsanddoesalotoftheofficepaperworkhimself.Whenheisoutoftownshehastimetostudyforthegraduateentranceexam.However,sheisnotsurewhetherornotsheisdoingagoodjob.Hermanagertellsherwhatsheisexpectedtodo,buthedoesthisdaybyday.Whenpeoplecallorcometotheofficetoseeherboss,shegreetstheminEnglishorChineseasnecessary.Shereceivestheirmemosandothermessagesaswellastheirquestionsandrequestsandpassesthemontohermanager.DaiYunthinksofherjobasdoingwhathermanagerwantshertodo.Shepayscloseattentiontohismoodsandbehavior,andsometimessheisabletoanticipatewhathewouldlikewithouthimtellingher.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。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。Case3:OnecoldwinterdayinaChinesecity,WangLinonhiswaytothelibrarymetanAmericanprofessorwhoknewverylittleaboutChina.Aftergreetinghim,Wangsaid:rathercold.You’dbetterputonmoreclothes.But”theprofessordidn’appearthappyonhearingthis.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。Case4Inagoodrestaurant,fourteenpeoplearegatheredtosaygoodbyetotheirprofessor,whoismovingtoanotheruniversity.Steven:MayIhaveyourattentionplease?I’dliketocalluponBentosayafewwords.Ben:Thankyou,Steven.ProfessorShore,colleagues:Tonightisoneofthoseparadoxes---it’assadtimeandyetit’ashappytime.Sad,because.Wearelosingoneofourbestprofessors;happybecausewearepleasedtoseeProfessorShoregaintherecognitionthatherichlydeserves.I’mnotsurewhowillbeabletocontrolusandkeepusinline.Ithinkthenewprofessorwillhaveadifficulttime.Andsurelynoonewillbeabletotelljokesinthesamewayasyou,Professor.Seriously,weallknowthatyouwillbedifficulttoreplace.Yourscholarlyapproachandyourdedicationwillalwaysberemembered.Iwouldthereforeliketoproposeatoast.Colleagues,pelasechargeyourglasses.ProfessorShore,mayyourfuturebefilledwillgreatsuccess,andmayyoualwaysrememberus.Weknowwewillneverforgetyou.ToProfessorShore!All:(Standingup)ToProfessorShore!(Everyonedrinks.ProfessorShoreremainsseatedand欢迎下载4精品文库smilesatthemall.)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。Case5AnAmericanwenttoChinesehome.Hewasofferedsometea.Justwhenthefirstcupwasabouttofinish,moreteawasadded.Thevisitordrankthesecondcup.Thenthecupwasfilledthethirdtime.Thenhedrankit,thenuntilthevisitorwasquitefull.Why?Analysis:在中国的传统文化习俗里，主人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。Case6DinnerwithFriendJaniceisayoungAmericanengineerworkingforamanufacturingjointventurenearNanjing.SheandherhusbandGeorge,whoisteachingEnglishatauniversity,arelearningChineseandenjoyingtheirnewlife.TheyhavebeeneagertogettoknowChinesepeoplebettersotheywerepleasedwhenLiuLingling,Janice-worker’syouinvitedgcothemtoherhomefordinner.WhenJaniceandGeorgearrived，LinglingintroducedthemtoherhusbandYangFeng,askedthemtositdownatatablecontaining8platesofvariouscolddishes,servedthemteaandthendisappearedwithherhusbandintothekitchen.AfterafewminutesLinglingcamebackandaddedwatertotheirtea.JaniceofferedtohelpinthekitchenbutLinglingsaidshedidnneedhelp.SheinvitedthecoupletolookattheirnewCDplayerandtheircolorfulTVandthendisappearedagain.Ahalf-hourlatershecamebackandsatdownandthethreebegantoeat.YangFengcameinfromtimetotimetoputdishafterhotdishonthetable.MostofthefoodwaswonderfulbutneitherGeorgenorJanicecouldeatthefattyporkinpeppersauceortheeacucumbers,andtherewasmuchmorethantheycouldeat.TheykeptwishingYangFengwouldsitdownsotheycouldtalktohim.Finallyhedidsitdowntoeatabit,butquicklyturnedontheTVtoshowthemallitshightechingfeatures.Soonitwastimetogohome.GeorgeandJanicefeltslightlydepressedbythisexperience,butreturnedtheinvitationtwoweekslater.TheydecidedtomakeaniceAmericanmealandfeltluckytofindolives,tomatojuice,crackersandasappetizers.Forthemaincoursetheypreparedspaghettiandasaladwithdressingmadefromoil,vinegar,andsomespicestheyfoundinthemarket.WhenLiuLinglingandYangFengarrivedtheywereimpressedbytheapartmentandaskedthepriceoftheTV,videoplayer,vacuumcleanerandotherthings.Janicepolitelyrefusedto欢迎下载5精品文库answertheirquestions.TheytooksmalltastesoftheappetizersandseemedsurprisedwhenbothGeorgeandJanicesatdownwiththem.Theyateonlyalittlespaghettianddidnotfinishthesaladontheirplates.Georgeurgedthemtoeatmorebuttheyrefusedandlookedaroundexpectantly.JuniceandGeorgetalkedabouttheirfamiliesandjobsandaskedthetableandservedcoffeeandpastries.YangFengandLinglingeachputfourspoonsofsugarsintotheircoffeebutdidnotdrinkmuchofitandateonlyabiteortwoofpastry.Aftertheyleft,Georgesaidthatatleasttheyhadachancetotalk,butJanicewasupset.lefttheirplacesofullthatwecouldn’twalkandthey’regoingtohavetoeatagainwhgethome.Whatwentwrong?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。Case7Afterthemealandafterthetablehasbeencleared.Liuisnotsurewhattodo,butwantstohelpinsomeway.Atleasthewantstooffer.Helen:Thanksforyourhelp,Huang.Liu:Pleasure.WhatcanIdonow?Helen:Nothing.It’sfine.I’llrinsethesedishesthenstackthem.It’llonlytakeLiu:Doesthefamilyusuallyhelp?Helen:Well,atspecialtimes.Jacksometimesrinsesthedishesbutyoucanseehe’sreallytiredtonight.Liu:Letmedoitforyou.Helen:Notruly,it’sokay.Liu:MaybeIcanwipethetablethen.Helen:Thatwouldbehelpful.Thanks.You’rereallykind,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。Case8Twostrangershavebeenchatting.A:Soyou’rebeenhereforayear?B:Yes.Onemoreyeartogo,thenI’llgoback.tochinA:Whatwillyoudobackhome?B:It’shardtoknow.There’salotchangeatthemoment.A:Yeah.Everythingischanging,everywhere.Sometimesit’sdifficulttokeepup.B:That’strue.MaybeI’ll(A’smobilephonerings.)A:Excuseme,I’dbetteranswerthis.It’sprobablywork.B:Sure.Takeyourtime.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，欢迎下载6精品文库或要去洗手间。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。Case9LiuHuangiscallinghisfriendStevenathishome.Person:Hello.Johnisspeaking.Liu:Hello?I’mlookingforSteven.Person:Sorry,there’snooneherecalledSteven.Liu:Isthat65778868?Person:No.Ithinkyou’vegotthewrongnumber.Thisis65788868.Liu:Oh,I’msorry.Person:Noproblem.Goodluck.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。Case10Lin:Thankyousomuchforawonderfulnight.I’vehadagreattime.Erica:It’sbeenapleasurehavingyou.Wehopeyoucancomeagain,soon.Lin:I’dlikethat.Youbothnowkhowtomakemefeelathome.Thanksforeverything.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。Case11OfftoaBadStartDavidHuhadjuststartedworkingfortheforeignownedcompany.Hewassittingathisworkstationbuthadnotbeengivenanyassignmentthatheshouldbedoingatthismoment.Hewasrelaxingandwaitingandthenthoughthewouldtaketheopportunitytohavealookaround.Hepokedhisheadintoseveralofficesjusttoseewhattherewastobeseen.SuddenlyMr.Parkercameuptohimandangrilyaskedhimwhathewasdoing.DavidHuwasembarrassed.Helaughedandquicklystartedtomovebacktowardhisworkstation.ThisdidnotseemtosatisfyMr.Parkerwhostartedtotalkrapidlyandangrily.Hopingtocalmhimdown,Mr.Husmiledandapologized,tryingtoexplainthathewastryingtolearnmoreaboutthedepartment.However,Mr.Parkergotevenangrier.Finally,anotherworkercamebyandcalmedhimdown,butMr.Parkerleft,hestilllookedangry.Mr.Husighed;heknewhehadmadeabadstartbutstilldidn’tunderstandwhy.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。Case12SharingtheWealth欢迎下载7精品文库AnnaBilowhadbeenworkingforaChinese-ownedandoperatedcompanyinNanjingforaboutsixmonths.ThedivisionshewasworkinginhadasmallcollectionofChinese-Englishdictionaries,Englishlanguagereferencebooks,andsomevideosinEnglishincludingacoupleoftrainingfilmsandseveralfeaturefilmsthatAnnahadbroughtathernewemployer’srequestwhenshecamefromEurope.Annaknewthatsomeoftheothersectionshadsimilarcollections.Shehadsometimesusedherfriendshipwithoneofthewomeninanotherdepartment,GuMing,toborrowEnglishnovelsandreferencebooksandinturnhadletGuMingborrowbooksfromhersection’scollection.Onotheroccasions,shehadseenfriendly,noisyexchanges,whereoneoftheotherworkersinherdivisionhadlentabookorvideotoacolleaguefromanothersection.Annathoughtitwasagreatideawhenamemowascirculatedsayingthatthecompany’sleadershaddecidedtocollectalltheEnglishlanguagematerialstogetherintoasinglecollection.Theplanwastoputtheminasmallroomthatwascurrentlybeingusedforstoragesothatallemployeescouldhaveequalaccesstothem.Nowshewouldnolongerhavetogofromdepartmenttodepartmenttryingtofindthematerialssheneeded.Annawassurprisedtohearherco-workerscomplainingaboutthenewpolicy.WhentheyoungmaninchargecametothedepartmenttocollecttheirEnglishlanguagematerials,shewasastoundedtoseethemhidingmostofthebooksandallbutoneofthevideosintheirdesks.Whenshecheckedoutthenewso-calledcollection,shefoundthatthefewitemswerealloutdatedorsomehowdamaged.ShealsonoticedthatnoneofthematerialsshehadborrowedfromGuMingwereinthecollection.SheaskedherfriendwhytheChinesewereunwillingtosharetheirEnglishlanguagematerialswithalltheirco-workers,whentheyseemedwillingtosharethemwithintheirdepartments.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。欢迎下载8精品文库Unit3What’sinaName?TheoryChineseandBritishpeoplecalleachotherwithtitlesindifferentways.Kintermsareusedinfamilymembers,butitdiffersbetweenwesternsandChinesepeople.Case1ABritishtourististravelingbytraininChina.SittingoppositehimisaChinesepassenger.TheyintroducethemselvestoeachotherBritishtourist:Hello,I’mEricJackson.Gladtomeetyou.Chinesepassenger:Hello,mynameisLiuXin.I’mgladtomeetyou,too.Wheredoyoucomefrom,Mr.Eric?Britishtourist:I’mfromBritain.PleasejustcallmeEric,Mr.Xin.Chinesepassenger:AndyoumayjustcallmeLiuXin.Analysis:Bothofthemhavetakeneachother’sgivennameforthesurname,sincetheorderofthesurnamesofChineseandEnglishnamesarejusttheopposite.Asinbothculturesatitleisusuallyusedwiththesurname,theyfeelunnaturalwhentheirgivennamesareusedwiththetitles.AccordingtoBritishcustomit’squitenormalforpersonswhofirstmeettoaddreeachotherbytheirgivennamesalone,whereashere,whenpeoplefirstmeet,theyusuallyaddresseachotherbytheirfullnamesandneverbytheirgivennamesalone.Case2ABritishtouristisvisitingaChinesefamily.TheChinesehostessintroducesherselfandherhusbandtoguestChinesehostess:Welcometomyhome.MynameisCaiHong,andthisismyhusband.Britishtourist:Thankyou,Mrs.Cai.It’sapleasuretomeetyou,Mrs.Cai.I’mChinesehostess:Haveaseat,MadamLucy.Analysis:TheBritishtouristthinksthatCaiHong’ssurnameisherhusband’ssurnamsheisunawareofthefactthatinChinawomenstillusetheirownsurnameaftermarriage.CaiHongthinksthat‘madam’isarespectfultermofaddressforanyfemaleEnglish-speaker,unawareofthefactthatinBritainitisusuallyusedbysomeonewhoisprovidingaservicesuchasashopassistanttoacustomerorapolicemantoamemberofthepublicasinhelpyou,madam?’Itisneverusedasatitlebeforesomeone’sname.Shealsomistakegivennameforthesurname.Case3LinMeiisaChinesestudentwhoisnowstudyingatauniversityinAmerica.Herseven-year-olddaughterJiajiaiswithherandstudiesinaprimaryschool.TheyhavebeeninAmericaforthreeyears.WangXiaohongisaChinesevisitingscholaratthesameuniversityasLinMeiandthetwogetonwellwitheachother.WangXiaohongsometimesfeelslonelysinceshehasbeeninAmericaforonlytwomonths,soshesometimesvisitsLinMei’Onedayshecametovisitthem.Belowistheirconversation.WangXiaohong:佳佳，你妈妈在家吗？欢迎下载9精品文库Jiajia:在。妈妈，小红阿姨找你。LinMei: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:ThecombinationofthetermofaddressXiaohongAyi(givenname+Auntie)reflectsthemixtureofthetwocultures.Ontheonehandwehavetheextendeduseofkintermsprecededbyaperson’sname,conventionallysurname,e.g.Wang+Auntie,inChineseculture.Ontheotherwehavetheconventionaluseofkintermsfollowedbygivennamese.g.Auntie+Xiaohong,inthecultureofEnglish—speakingcountries.Inotherwords,itshowsthecombinationofChinesesequence,i.e.name+kintermandEnglishuseofgivenname.SinceJiajiahaslivedinAmericaforthreeyears,shemusthavebeenstronglyinfluencedbytheforeignculturedespitetheinfluenceofChineseculturefromhermotherandotherChinese.SofromJiajia’spointofviewitisappropriateandpolitetocallWangXiaohongXiaohongAyi.However,LinMei,asanadult,stillstickstotheChineseculturewhendealingwithaChinesewhocametoAmericaonlyrecently;andaccordingtoChineseculture,itisimpoliteforchildtoaddressanadultbyusinghisorhergivenname.欢迎下载10精品文库Unit4SocialInteractionTheorySocialinteractionisoneofthemostcommoninteractionsbetweenpeople.CulturaldifferencescanleadtodifficultieswhenforeignersandChinesemeet.Suchdifferencescancausemisunderstanding,unsatisfactoryinteractionandevenunpleasantphysicalreactions.Differentexpectationsexist,governingwhatisconsideredappropriate,politeandrespectful.Expectationcanalsodifferregardingprivacy,andthedirectnessandindirectnesswithwhichpeopleshouldexpressthemselves.Case1Ericagoestoasmalldinnerpartytowhichsheandafriendhavebeeninvited.Herhost,Mrs.Pennymeetsthematthedoorofherhome.Penny:Hello,Erica.Welcome.Pleasecomein.Erica:Thankyou.John,I’dliketointroduceMrs.Pen