新编跨文化交际英语教程cases参考答案

新编跨文化交际英语cases参考答案Inthiscase,thereseemedtobeproblemsincommunicatingwithpeopleofdifferentculturesinspiteoftheeffortsmadetoachieveunderstanding.WeshouldknowthatinEgyptasinmanycultures,thehumanrelationshipisvaluedsohighlythatitisnotexpressedinanobjectiveandimpersonalway.WhileAmericanscertainlyvaluehumanrelationships,theyaremorelikelytospeakoftheminlesspersonal,moreobjectiveterms.Inthiscase,Richard。smistakemightbethathechosetopraisethefooditselfratherthanthetotalevening,forwhichthefoodwassimplythesettingorexcuse.Forhishostandhostessitwasasifhehadattendedanartexhibitandcomplimentedtheartistbysaying,DWhatbeautifulframesyourpicturesarein.InJapanthesituationmaybemorecomplicated.Japanesepeoplevalueorderandharmonyamongpersonsinagroup,andthattheorganizationitself－beitafamilyoravastcorporation－ismorevaluedthanthecharacteristicsofanyparticularmember.Incontrast,Americansstressindividualityasavalueandareapttoassertindividualdifferenceswhentheyseemjustifiablyinconflictwiththegoalsorvaluesofthegroup.Inthiscase:Richard。smistakewasinmakinggreateffortstodefendhimself.Lettheothersassumethattheerrorswerenotintentional,butitisnotrighttodefendyourself,evenwhenyourunstatedintentistoassistthegroupbywarningothersofsimilarmistakes.Asimpleapologyandacceptanceoftheblamewouldhavebeenappropriate.ButforpoorRichardtohavemerelyapologizedwouldhaveseemedtohimtobesubservient,unmanly.WhenitcomestoEngland,weexpectfewerproblemsbetweenAmericansandEnglishmenthanbetweenAmericansandalmostanyothergroup.Inthiscasewemightlookbeyondthegestureoftakingsugarorcreamtothevaluesexpressedinthisgesture:forAmericans,DHelpyourself;fortheEnglishcounterpart,DBemyguest.AmericanandEnglishpeopleequallyenjoyentertainingandbeingentertainedbuttheydiffersomewhatinthevalueofthedistinction.Typically,theidealguestatanAmericanpartyisonewhoDmakeshimselfathome,eventothepointofansweringthedoororfixinghisowndrink.Forpersonsinmanyothersocieties,includingatleastthishypotheticalEnglishhost,suchguestbehaviorispresumptuousorrude.Acommonculturalmisunderstandinginclassesinvolvesconflictsbetweenwhatissaidtobedirectcommunicationstyleandindirectcommunicationstyle.InAmericanculture,peopletendtosaywhatisontheirmindsandtomeanwhattheysay.Therefore,studentsinclassareexpectedtoaskquestionswhentheyneedclarification.MexicanculturesharesthispreferenceofstylewithAmericancultureinsomesituations,andthat。swhythestudentsfromMexicoreadilyadoptedthetechniquesofaskingquestionsinclass.However,Koreanpeoplegenerallypreferindirectcommunicationstyle,andthereforetheytendtonotsaywhatisontheirmindsandtorelymoreonimplicationsandinference,soastobepoliteandrespectfulandavoidlosingfacethroughanyimproperverbalbehavior.Asismentionedinthecase,tomanyKoreans,numerousquestionswouldshowadisrespectfortheteacher,andwouldalsoreflectthatthestudenthasnotstudiedhardenough.Theconflicthereisadifferenceinculturalvaluesandbeliefs.Inthebeginning,Marydidn。trealizethatherDominicansistersawherasamemberofthefamily,literally.IntheDominicanview,familypossessionsaresharedbyeveryoneofthefamily.LuzwasactingasmostDominicansisterswoulddoinborrowingwithoutaskingeverytime.OnceMaryunderstoodthattherewasadifferentwayoflookingatthis,shewouldbecomemoreaccepting.However,shemightstillexperiencethesamefrustrationwhenthishappenedagain.Shehadtofindwaystocopewithherownemotionalculturalreactionaswellasherpracticalproblem(thebatteriesrunningout).Itmightbesimplyaquestionofdifferentrhythms.Americanshaveonerhythmintheirpersonalandfamilyrelations,intheirfriendlinessandtheircharities.Peoplefromothercultureshavedifferentrhythms.TheAmericanrhythmisfast.Itischaracterizedbyarapidacceptanceofothers.However,itisseldomthatAmericansengagethemselvesentirelyinafriendship.Theirfriendshipsarewarm,butcasual,andspecialized.Forexample,youhaveaneighborwhodropsbyinthemorningforcoffee.Youseeherfrequently,butyouneverinviteherfordinner---notbecauseyoudon。tthinkshecouldhandleaforkandaknife,butbecauseyouhaveseenherthatmorning.Therefore,youreserveyourmoreformalinvitationtodinnerforsomeonewholivesinamoredistantpartofthecityandwhomyouwouldnotseeunlessyouextendedaninvitationforaspecialoccasion.Now,ifthefirstfriendmovesawayandthesecondonemovesnearby,youarelikelytoreversethis---seethesecondfriendinthemorningsforinformalcoffeemeetings,andthefirstoneyouwillinvitemoreformallytodinner.Americansare,inotherwords,guidedveryoftenbytheirownconvenience.Theytendtomakefriendseasily,andtheydon。tfeelitnecessarytogotoagreatamountoftroubletoseefriendsoftenwhenitbecomesinconvenienttodoso,andusuallynooneishurt.Butinsimilarcircumstancespeoplefrommanyothercultureswouldbehurtverydeeply.InChina,itisoftennotpolitetoacceptafirstofferandHepingwasbeingmodest,politeandwell-behavedandhadeveryintentionofacceptingthebeeratthesecondorthirdoffer.ButhehadnotfiguredonNorthAmericanruleswhichfirmlysaythatyoudonotpushalcoholicbeveragesonanyone.Apersonmaynotdrinkforreligiousreasons,hemaybeareformedalcoholic,orhemaybeallergic.Whateverthereasonbehindtherule,youdonotinsistinofferingalcohol.SounconsciousandsostrongaretheirculturalrulesthattheAmericansequallypolitelynevermadeasecondofferofbeertoHepingwhoprobablythoughtNorthAmericansmostuncouth.However,whatwehavetorememberisthatculturesareseldomastricteither-orineveryinstanceforallpeopleandtherearealwaysindividualdifferences.ProbablythisyoungChinesenursewasverydifferentfromHepingor,unlikeHeping,shemayhaveknownsomethingabouttheAmericanculturalrulesandwasjusttryingtobehavelikeanAmericanwhenshewasinanAmericanfamily.Whenaspeakersayssomethingtoahearer,thereareatleastthreekindsofmeaningsinvolved:utterancemeaning,speaker。smeaningandhearer。smeaning.Inthedialogue,whenLitzsaid?Howlongisshegoingtostay?。shemeanttosaythatifsheknewhowlonghermother-in-lawwasgoingtostayinFinland,shewouldbeabletomakeproperarrangementsforher,suchastakingherouttodosomesightseeing.However,hermother-in-lawoverheardtheconversation,andtookLitz。squestiontomeanDLitzdoesnotwantmetostayforlong||.FromtheChinesepointofview,itseemstobeinappropriateforLitztoasksuchaquestionjusttwodaysafterhermother-in-law。sarrival.Ifshefeelsshehastoaskthequestion,itwouldbebettertoasksometimelaterandsheshouldnotlethermother-in-lawhearit.Keikoinsistsongivingvaluablegiftstohercollegefriends,becauseincountrieslikeJapan,exchanginggiftsisastronglyrootedsocialtradition.Shouldyoureceiveagift,anddon。thaveonetoofferinreturn,youwillprobablycreateacrisis.Ifnotasseriousasacrisis,onewhodoesn。tofferagiftinreturnmaybeconsideredrudeorimpolite.Therefore,inJapan,giftsareasymbolicwaytoshowappreciation,respect,gratitudeandfurtherrelationship.KeikoobviouslyhastakenthoseuseditemsfromMary,EdandMarionasgifts,forsheprobablydoesn。tknowthatAmericansfrequentlydonatetheirusedhouseholditemstochurchortothecommunity.Mary,EdandMarionwouldneverconsiderthoseusedhouseholditemsgiventoKeikoasgifts.Nowondertheyfeltveryuncomfortablewhentheyreceivedvaluablegiftsinreturn.Case8AstheChinesegirlAmyfellinlovewithanAmericanboyatthattime,itseemsthatshepreferredtocelebrateChristmasintheAmericanway,forshewantedverymuchtoappearthesameasotherAmericangirl.ShedidnotliketoseeherboyfriendfeeldisappointedattheDshabby||ChineseChristmas.That。swhyshecriedwhenshefoundoutherparentshadinvitedtheminister。sfamilyoverfortheChristmasEvedinner.ShethoughtthemenufortheChristmasmealcreatedbyhermotherastrangeonebecausetherewerenoroastturkeyandsweetpotatoesbutonlyChinesefood.Howcouldshenoticethenthefoodschosenbyhermotherwereallherfavorites?Fromthiscase,wecanfindalotofdifferencesbetweentheChineseandWesternculturesinwhatisappropriatefoodforabanquet,whataregoodtablemanners,andhowoneshouldbehavetobehospitable.However,oneshouldneverfeelshamefuljustbecauseone。scultureisdifferentfromothers。.AsAmy。smothertoldher,youmustbeproudtobedifferent,andyouronlyshameistohaveshame.Case9HierarchyissignificantintheJapaneseculture.ThisstructureisreflectedeverywhereinJapaneselife,athome,school,community,organizations,andtraditionalinstitutionssuchasmartialartsorflowerarrangements.Inthiscase,theyoungchairmanmusthavehadhisownideasabouthowtomanagethecompany;however,whenencounteredwithhisgrandfatherosdissentingopinions,hedarednottotakeastandagainsthim.ThismaymanifesttherigidhierarchicalstructureintheJapanesesociety.IntheJapanesesociety,howhierarchyisformeddependsmainlyonseniority,socialroles,andgender.Asarespectableseniormemberofthefamilyandtheformerleaderofthecompany,thegrandfatherobviouslyoverpoweredtheinexperiencedyoungchairman.Inotherwords,thegrandfatherseemedtobeanabsoluteauthorityfortheyoungchairman.InJapaneseculture,challengingordisagreeingwitheldersoopinionswouldbedeemedasbeingdisrespectfulandisoftencondemned.Peopleinlowerpositionsareexpectedtobeloyalandobedienttoauthority.Thatoswhytheyoungchairmandidnotsayanythingbutjustnoddedandagreedwithhisgrandfather.ButPhilseemedtoknowlittleabouttheJapanesecultureinthisaspect.InmanyWesterncultures,particularlyAmericanculture,seniorityseldommattersverymuchinsuchsituations,andyoungpeopleareusuallyencouragedtochallengeauthorityandvoicetheirownopinions.Unfortunately,hisoutspokenprotestcouldeasilyoffendthegrandfatherandhemightberegardedasarudeandill-bredpersonbyotherJapanese.InJapan,acompanyisoftenverymuchlikeabigfamily,inwhichthemanger(s)willtakegoodcareoftheemployeesandtheemployeesareexpectedtodevotethemselvestothedevelopmentofthecompanyand,ifitisnecessary,tosacrificetheirownindividualinterestsfortheinterestsofthecompany,fromwhich,inthelongrun,theemployeeswillbenefitgreatly.ButfortheFrench,acompanyisjustaloosely-knitsocialorganizationwhereinindividualsaresupposedtotakecareofthemselvesandtheirfamilies.Moreover,thewaytheFrenchmakedecisionsinthefamilymightalsobedifferentfromthetypicalJapaneseone,whichmaynotofteninvolvefemalesandthepowertodecideusuallylieswiththedominatingmale.AstherearesuchculturaldifferencesbetweentheJapaneseandtheFrench,Mr.Legrand。sdecisionmadeMr.Tanakafeeldumbfounded.Incidentssuchasthesecanpointtopossibleculturaldifferencesinso-calledDpolite||behavior,andatthesametimehighlightthetendencyforpeopletoreactemotionallytounexpectedbehavior.Peopleinmostcultureswouldprobablyagreethatanapologyisneededwhenanoffenceorviolationofsocialnormshastakenplace.However,theremaybedifferingopinionsastowhenweshouldapologize(whatsituationscallforanapology)andhowweshouldapologize.TomanyWesterners,JapaneseapologizemorefrequentlyandanapologyinJapanesedoesnotnecessarilymeanthatthepersonisacknowledgingafault.TomanyJapanese,WesternersmayseemtoberudejustbecausetheydonotapologizeasoftenastheJapanesewoulddo.Inthiscase,forinstance,theattitudeoftheAustralianstudent。sparentsisshockingtotheJapanesebutwillbeacceptableinanEnglish-speakingsociety,forthestudentisalreadyanadultandcanberesponsibleforherowndeeds.Inthiscase,itseemsthattheChineseexpectationswerenotfulfilled.First,havingtwopeoplesharinghostresponsibilitiescouldbesomewhatconfusingtothehierarchicallymindedChinese.Second,becauseageisoftenviewedasanindicationofseniority,theChinesemighthaveconsideredtheyouthoftheirCanadianhostsasslighttotheirownstatus.Third,inChina,itistraditionalforthehosttoofferawelcometoastatthebeginningofthemeal,whichisthereciprocatedbytheguests;bynotdoingso,theCanadianmightbethoughtrude.TheabruptdepartureoftheChinesefollowingthebanquetwasprobablyanindicationthattheywerenotpleasedwiththewaytheyweretreated.TheCanadians。lackofunderstandingoftheChinesecultureandtheChinesewaysofcommunicationclearlycostthemintheirbusinessdealingswiththevisitingdelegation.Thisexamplevividlyillustratesthatfailuresininterculturaltranslationmayprobablyleadtoveryseriousconsequence,orevendisasterstohumanbeings.Definitely,translationisnotsuchasimpleprocessasrenderingaword,asentenceoratextliterally,butratherafarmorecomplexonethanmostpeopleassumed.Forexample,onceaChinesecosmeticmanufacturerwantedtopromotetheirproductsintotheinternationalmarket.Thesloganoftheadvertisementwas:DsweetasJade||,sinceinChineseDjade||wasalwaysemployedtocomplimentwoman。sbeauty;butunfortunately,itwasnotanappropriatewordtodescribethebeautyofaladyinWesterncultures.InEnglish,Djade||initsuseofreferringawomanhadtheconnotationssuchasvulgar,rude,immoral,orskittish.Undoubtedly,thesalesinEuropeancountrieswerenotsatisfying.Theseemingequivalentsbetweenlanguagesmayhaveverydifferentconnotationsindifferentcultures,thusthetranslatorshouldbecautiousintheprocessofdoingthetranslationsoastoavoidmisunderstandings.Case14D杨||referstoYangKaihuiwhowasMaoZedong。sdeceasedwifeandD柳||referstoLiuzhixunwhowasLishuyi。sdeceasedhusband.Theycanbetranslatedindifferentways,butitseemstobeverydifficult,ifnotimpossible,toachieveequivalenceintranslatingfromChineseintoEnglish.Adoptingtheliteraltranslationstrategy,version1appearstobefaithfultotheoriginalbutmayeasilyconfusethereadersinthetargetlanguage.Version2employstheliberaltranslationstrategywithanattempttoconveytheoriginalmeaningaspreciselyaspossible.However,theoriginalpoeticflavorislostastherhetoricdevice―pun―isnotreproduced.Thetranslationseemstobefaithfultotheoriginal,butitmaynotbereallygoodforthepurposeofinterculturalcommunication.Foreignreadersofthetranslationmayfinditstrangeandinappropriate.ThefollowingiswhatafriendlyAmericanjournalisthascommentedonthetranslation:Myfirstreactionwasunfortunatelylaughterbecauseitissofullofmistakes.ItomitssomenecessaryinformationabouttheDragon-BoatFestival,includingitshistoricaloriginsandwhenitactuallytakesplace.Thesethingsareimportant。ThecopyseemstotrytoDsnow||thereaderwithfanciful,overblownassertionsabouthowterrificitallis,butinunintentionallyhilariouslanguagethatleavesthereaderlaughingoutuninformed。Thebrochurealsosuffersfromlackofbackgroundmaterial,thetaking-if-for-grantedthatthereaderalreadyisfamiliarwithmanyaspectsofChinesehistoryandculture?visitinganareawanttoknow.WhyisitthatmanyChinesetravelguidesreadbasicallythesame,nomatterwhatregionisbeingwrittenabout,andaresopackedwithindiscriminatehyperbole?Lessexaggerationwouldactuallybemoreconvincing.Itdoesn。ttellyouwheretogo,howtogetthere,whenthingsareopenandclosed,howmuchtheycost,andsoforth.AllthesearethingspeopleComparingthetwoEnglishversions,wecanseethatinYang。sversionmoreculturally-loadedmeaningsareconveyedfromtheoriginalwhileHawkes。versionmaybeeasierforEnglish-speakingreaderstocomprehend.Lookatsomeofthedifferencesbetweenthetwoversionsofthisextract:贾母TheLadyDowager/GrandmotherJia老祖宗凤辣子OldAncestress/GrannydearFieryPhoenix/PeppercornFengtheschoolroomnameHis-feng/thesomewhatboyish-soundingnameofTai-yulostnotimeingreetingherwithasmileasDcousin』/二舅母王氏LadyWang,herseconduncle。swife/herUncleZheng。swife,LadyWang学名叫做王熙凤WangXi-feng黛玉忙赔笑见礼，以“嫂”呼之Dai-yuaccordinglysmiledandcurt-eyed,greetingherbyhercorrectnameasshedidso.竟不象老祖宗的外孙女儿Shedoesn。ttakeafterherfather,sonin-lawofourOldAncestress/Shedoesn。ttakeafteryoursideofthefamily,Ganny,怨不得老祖宗天天嘴里心里放不下NowonderourOldAncestresscouldn。tputyououtofhermindandwasforevertalkingandthinkingaboutyou./Idon。tblameyouforhavinggoneonsoaboutherduringthepastfewdays现吃什么药？Whatmedicineareyoutaking?/NottranslatedAndtherearesomeculturally-loadedexpressionsinthetextthatseemtodefytranslation:琏二嫂子内侄女以“嫂”呼之外孙女儿嫡亲的孙女儿妹妹Bycomparingdifferenttranslationsofthesametext,wecanachieveabetterunderstandingofculturalgapsanddifferencesandthenlearntoemployproperstrategiestobridgethosegapsintranslatingacrosslanguagesforinterculturalcommunication.