跨文化交际

2020年12月5日发(作者：茅於海)
I Color
In English, the color red signifies violence.
The color white signifies funeral in Chinese.
The color white signifies purity in both Chinese and English.
The color black signifies death in both English and Chinese.
The color green signifies money, envy and lack of experience in English.
In English, the color purple signifies nobility.
The color blue signifies depressed in English.

a yellow livered胆小鬼

Greenhouse温室
green wound未愈合的伤口

to paint the town red狂欢
red ink赤字
roll out the red carpet for sb（铺展红地毯）隆重地欢迎某人

all in vain, a waste of time and energy白费事
plain boiled water白开水
plain boiled pork白肉
Chinese cabbage白菜
White-livered 怯懦的
White-elephant 昂贵又无用之物
White-handed 正直的，廉洁的
White-collar worker 白领阶层
Black day 凶日
Black future 暗淡的前途
black sheep害群之马
in the black盈利
black future 暗淡的前途

evil mind黑心
inside story黑幕
Grey-collar worker 灰领阶层
Pink-collar worker 粉领阶层

blue blood 贵族血统

2 Idioms
Laugh off one’s head 笑掉牙齿
Cast pearls before swine 对牛弹琴
on a large and spectacular scale 大张旗鼓
a Pandora’s box 灾难、麻烦、祸害的根源
the moon is not seen when the sun shines 小巫见大巫
be extremely hard-working in one’s study 悬梁刺股
be seized with imaginary fears 风声鹤唳
as thin as a shadow 瘦得象猴子
hang on somebody’s sleeve 依赖某人
（of a situation）being unstable 风雨飘摇
Spend money like water 挥金如土
to be crude and careless 粗枝大叶
fishing in the air 水底捞月
Castle in the air 空中楼阁
to wake a sleeping dog 打草惊蛇
as dumb as an oyster 守口如瓶
As poor as a church mouse 穷的像乞丐
to feel proud and elated 扬眉吐气
to take advantage of every weakness 无孔不入
In a pig’s whisper 低声地，顷刻间
at the beginning of one’s career 初出茅庐
To shoot the arrow at the target 有的放矢
the heel of Achilles 致命的弱点
Look before you leap 三思而后行
to keep one’s head above water 奋力图存
meet one’s waterloo 一败涂地
Catch-22 situation 不可逾越的障碍
strike the iron while it is heated 趁热打铁
Gordian knot 难题，僵局
A skeleton at the feast 扫兴的人或东西
be besieged on all sides 四面楚歌
Let the cat out of the bag 泄露天机
3 Gender and Manner
Chairman, milkman, spokesman, fireman, or hostess, any of them can indicates gender
discrimination.
The words with positive meaning such as “independent”, “logical”, “confident”, “experienced” are
usually used in the male gender.
The words with derogative meaning such as “dependent”, “illogical”, “fickle”, “shallow” are
usually used in the female gender.
The words with derogative meaning such as “gossip”, “chatter”, “prattle”, “babble” are usually
used in the female gender.
Female gender tends to have more eye contact than the opposite gender.
In English, many words about the women have negative meaning. For example, “mistress” means
情妇.
In English, the wife of the president is called First Lady, whose translation may cause
misunderstanding in China.
In order to avoid gender discrimination, the word chairperson can be used to replace “chairman”.
In East Asia and most English-speaking countries, men usually shake hands to greet each other
and show welcome.
In the Unites States, they tend to talk with those opposite them rather than those seated or stand
beside them.
When a British is talking with an Arabian, who likes to be closer? Arabian
Sticking one`s tongue out means surprise in China.
People in Japan usually bow to greet others and show welcome.
The OK gesture means hole in Mediterranean countries.
4 Animals
Lion or tiger is often used to refer to male.
In Arabian, there are 400 words about camels, the animal used as an important means of
transportation.
5 Case Study
1. A teenage Chinese girl in a New York high school was taken with a number of other girls to the
principal for suspected smoking. Although there was no proof of any wrongdoing and although
she had a good record, the principal decided she was guilty and suspected her. “There was
something sly and suspicious about her. ” He said in his report. “She just wouldn`t meet my eye.
She wouldn`t look at me.”
Key points: Americans won`t trust those who don`t have eye contact. However, Chinese people
are not used to make eye contact with others while talking.

2. Bill had just arrived from the United States to study engineering at a Chinese university. One
day, when he went to another dormitory, he found two other Chinese boys huddled over the radio.
Bill found it quite odd. And in the next few days he noticed that female students on campus
frequently walked arm-in- arm or even holding hands. Bill felt rather uncomfortable and wondered
how he would respond if one of his classmates were to put his arms around him.

Key points: In China, it is common practice for people of the same gender to get close to each
other, even touching. However, this is regarded as gay behavior in the United States.

3. At an international conference, two professors, one Arabian, the other American, were talking
shop during an interval. Throughout the conversation the Arabian kept advancing while the
American kept retreating until the American was pressed to the corner of the conference hall.
Key points: The Arabians keep a shorter distance than the Americans.

4. Fan Zeng and Bill were good friends. When Bill came back from his trip, he bought Fan Zeng a
gift. Upon opening the package, Fan Zeng found it was a small brooch made of some kind of bone.
On the back of the tag was the price, $$2.99. Fan Zeng was very angry, saying “He calls this a
gift?”

Key points: In China, the value of the gift is often interpreted as the symbolic value of the
relationship.
Americans put more weight on signs of affection and love than on the price of the gift.

5. After living in the States for some time, Ping Li observed that Americans like to comment on
each other`s looks and clothes. So when she saw a fellow graduate student wearing a nice dress at
a party, she complimented her by saying, “This is a very beautiful dress.” “Oh, thank you. I bought
it last year before Christmas. ” The student was very pleased. “How much was it?” Ping Li asked.
“Well, I don`t quite remember. ” The student seemed unprepared for the question, and answered a
little hesitatingly.
Key points: Personal finances are very private in the United States, and how much one spends is
normally seen as part of personal finances, the privacy.




Answer the Question
1. How to address people in both Chinese and English?
In Chinese the surname comes first and is followed by the given name but in English this order
is reversed.
Addressing by names:
In China seniority is paid respect to. Juniors are supposed to address seniors in a proper way.
The use of given names is limited to husband and wife, very close friends, juniors by elders or
superiors Nowadays, more and more English- speaking people address others by using the first
name, even when people meet for the first time. (Intimacy and equality)
Addressing by relationship:
Chinese often extend kinship terms to people not related by blood or marriage. These terms are
used after the surname to show politeness and respect. The English equivalents of the above
kinship terms are not so used. Even with relatives, Americans tend to use just the first name and
leave out the term of relationship.
Addressing by title, office, profession:
Another common Chinese form of address is the use of a person’s title, office, profession to
indicate the person’s influential status. In English, only a few occupations or titles could be used.
Americans tend to regard titles as trivial unless they have a clear idea of what kind of work a
person does and what his responsibilities are.

2. What is the American cultural value like in terms of value orientation?
As far as the human nature is concerned, the American culture holds that it is evil but perfectible
through hard work.
As to the relation of man to nature, they think mankind can conquer the nature.
They also have a linear time concept and therefore they are future-oriented.
They focus on doing and think that only actions can solve the problem.
They are quite individualistic and therefore they focus less on the benefits of the group.
Informality
Title and address
Do it yourself
Don’t like silence
Pace of life
Be frank
Criticism
More honesty than courtesy
Making friends
Invitation
Notion on quantity
Individualism and cooperation
Originality
Do away with superstitions

3. How do you understand the definition of “culture”?
(Reference Answer) Culture is like an iceberg, it’s very beautiful but very dangerous. Only a small
part of culture is visible. We only see and hear the uppermost layers of cultural artifacts (e.g.,
fashion, trends, pop music, food, dress, paintings, architecture and dance etc.) and of verbal and
nonverbal symbols. But a greater part and the deeper layers of culture is hidden under the water,
such as traditions, beliefs, values, attitudes, preference, love and hatred, customs and habits;
However, to understand a culture with any depth, we have to match its underlying values
accurately with its respective norms, meanings, and symbols. It is the underlying set of beliefs and
values that drives people’s thinking, reacting, and behaving. Furthermore, to understand
commonalities between individuals and groups, we have to dig deeper into the level of universal
human needs (such as safety, security, inclusion, dignityrespect, control, connection, meaning,
creativity, and a sense of well-being). Culture is like an onion
Geert Hofsted states that the following four levels embody the total concept of culture like an
onion with 4 layers: symbols, heroes, rituals, and values. These have been depicted like the skins
of an onion which indicates that symbols represent the most superficial and the easiest to perceive
by an outsider and the least important to an insider. Words, gestures, pictures, or dress, hairstyles,
flags, status symbols etc. belong to this category. The second “skin of the onion” is heroes,
referring to what kind of people you worship. Batman in the USA, and Wukong (the monkey king)
in China can serve as cultural heroes. The third “skin of the onion” is rituals. Rituals are those
collective activities that are considered socially essential within a culture. Sporting events, for
instance, are rituals. Symbols, heroes, and rituals (the three outer layers of the onion) have been
included in the category of practices. Practice means what people do. They are visible and obvious
to an outside observer. They are determined by the core of culture—values, which are the deepest
manifestations of culture and the most difficult to understand by an outsider.
Culture is our software
Geert Hofsted refers to culture as “the software of the mind.” Culture is like DOS or
Windows—culture is a mental set of windows through which all of life is viewed. Humans around
the world are physically pretty much the same. We can think of our physical selves as the
hardware, but we cannot be said to be human until we are programmed and each of us is
programmed by our home culture. At birth an infant is only a potential human. It must learn how
to be human and it learns that in a culturally specific way. It is the culture that provides the
software. As with any good software, we are only vaguely aware of it as we use it.
Culture is like the water a fish swims in
Like any creature, a fish scans its environment to find food, reproduce and protect itself from
danger. It notices everything except the water it is swimming in. The fish takes the water for
granted because it so totally surrounds the fish that it really cannot imagine another environment.
The same is true for us. Our culture is so much a part of who we are and what the world is like for
us that we do not notice it. We take it for granted.



4. What are the differences on receiving gifts between Chinese and westerner?
In the West, it is regarded as polite to open gifts as soon as they are given to express
appreciation. In China, the situation is quite the reverse. Normally we Chinese feel that if you
open the gift as soon as it is given, you might embarrass the person who gives the gift and you
might be thought greedy. Therefore, Chinese people tend to open the gifts after the visitors have
left.
In China, many people send gifts without wrapping them, and if they wrap them, they usually
tell the receiver what is inside, and the receiver will thank the sender and put the gift aside without
unwrapping them since they already know what is inside. English receivers open the gifts in front
of the senders of the gifts.

5. Explain the term “intercultural communication competence” and its three components.

The intercultural competence refers to the ability to understand and adapt the target culture.
Intercultural communicative competence involves cognitive, affective and operational aspects,
which are inseparable in reality. The interrelatedness of cognitive, affective, and operational
components is very important in the improvement of the communicator’s intercultural
communication competence. There are also three aspects in terms of affective components:
adaptation motivation, Identity flexibility and esthetic co-orientation, the cognitive aspects of
intercultural communication competence are the mental capacities of comprehension and ability to
understand the meanings of various verbal and nonverbal codes. Operational components are that
Individuals’ capacity to express cognitive and affective experiences outwardly is shown through
specific behaviors.

6. How much do you know about the “cultural shock”?
(Reference Answer) The first stage is called
living in a different place, and everything seems to be marvelous. You like everything, and
everybody seems to be so nice to you. Also, the amusement of life in a new culture seems to have
no ending. Eventually, however, the second stage of culture shock appears. This is
stage
become tired of many things about the new culture. Moreover, people don't treat you like a guest
anymore. Everything that seemed to be so wonderful at first is now awful, and everything makes
you feel distressed and tired. Usually at this point in your adjustment to a new culture, you devise
some defense mechanisms to help you cope and to protect yourself against the effects of culture
shock. One type of coping mechanism is called
everything is acceptable and that nothing bothers you. Another type of defense mechanism is
called
you act like a child. You forget everything, and sometimes you become careless and irresponsible.
The third kind of defense mechanism is called
you don't want to communicate with anybody. With isolation, you try to avoid the effects of
culture shock, or at least that's what you think. Isolation is one of the worst coping mechanisms
you can use because it separates you from those things that could really help you. The last type of
defense mechanism is called
anybody. You feel you are coping fine alone, so you don't try to ask for help. The defense
mechanisms you utilize in the hostility stage are not helpful. If you only occasionally use one of
these coping mechanisms to help yourself survive, that is must be cautious,
however. These mechanisms can really hurt you because they prevent you from making necessary
adjustments to the new culture. After you deal with your hostile feelings, recognition of the
temporary nature of culture shock begins. Then you come to the third stage called
this stage, you start feeling more positive, and you try to develop comprehension of everything
you don't understand. The whole situation starts to become more favorable; you recover from the
symptoms of the first two stages, and you adjust yourself to the new norms, values, and even
beliefs and traditions of the new country. You begin to see that even though the distinction