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跨文化交际中的肢体语言分析_英文_刘艳男

跨文化交际中的肢体语言分析_英文_刘艳男
跨文化交际中的肢体语言分析_英文_刘艳男

中山大学研究生学刊(社会科学版)

第34卷第1期JOURNAL OF THE GRADUATES VOL.34?1

2013SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY(SOCIAL SCIENCES)2013

An Analysis of Body Language in

Intercultural Communication*

LIU Yan-nan

(School of Foreign Languages,Sun Yat-sen University,Guangzhou510275)【Abstract】Body language,the most important part of nonverbal communication,plays an essential role

in human communication,especially in intercultural communication.Research results have shown that

the words a person speaks may be far less important than the body language used when delivering the

verbal message.It is estimated that less than10percent of the whole message understood by an audience

is the actual content,some30percent is attributed to the pitch and tenor of a person's voice and60

percent to other forms of nonverbal communication from body language to facial expressions to hand

gestures.However,different people have different ways of making nonverbal communication and body

language in different cultures means different things.This thesis aims to discuss the different types of

body language employed in different cultures such as eye contact,facial expression,touch,and gestures,

and the possible causes behind,for example,culture,tradition,beliefs,value,ethnic characters,

social customs,etc..Some suggestions will be given at the end as to how to make use of body language

to achieve efficient intercultural communication and avoid misunderstandings.

【Keywords】body language;intercultural communication;difference;causes;suggestions

1.1Definition of Body Language

Intercultural communication refers to the process of communication among people from different cultural backgrounds.It can be categorized into two types:non-verbal communication and verbal communication.As a matter of fact,people can communicate with others not only through verbal communication but also through nonverbal communication.Furthermore,the former sometimes may count more than the latter in expressing real feeling,emotion and attitude by means of such types of body language as eye contact,facial expression,touch,gestures and postures etc.Thus body language,according to Wikipedia,as an expression of both mental and physical ability of human non-verbal communication,may provide clues to the attitude or state of mind of a person.For example,it may indicate aggression,attentiveness,boredom,relaxed state,pleasure,amusement,and intoxication,among many other cues.

*收稿日期:2012-09-27

作者简介:刘艳男,男,1990年生人,河北唐山人,中山大学外国语言学及应用语言学硕士研究生,主要研究方向,语言学,应用语言学,外语教学;E-mail:liu mengfei1990@https://www.doczj.com/doc/fa10986867.html,。

中山大学研究生学刊(社会科学版)二○一三年第一期

1.2Functions of Body Language

Efficient communication,to a large extent,involves the use of body language.When one communicates with one another,he may deliberately or unconsciously accompany his words with facial expressions,postures,gestures and other body language.Following are four functions that body language serves in communication.

1.2.1Expressing ideas

In dialogues,one may consciously or unconsciously use body language to help express ideas,making what he intends to convey to the hearer clearer and easier.There also exist some special occasions when body language totally substitutes words to express something that may be inappropriate to be spoken out or that one feels embarrassed to say directly.For example,it is better for people to use body language rather than words to talk to each other in such a quiet place as library.

1.2.2Conveying emotion

The change of one's emotion is directly reflected in his body language especially in the facial expression.There is a saying that eyes are the windows to the soul,which emphasizes the importance of eyes in conveying emotions.For example,when asked to join in a party,one's frown means unwillingness or refusal.Another example,a forced smile indicates that one may feel shy or embarrassed.

1.2.3Indicating social relations

Body language varies from person to person with different status,gender and seniority.Thus,social relations can be reflected in the use of body language.When people meet someone else for the first time,he may smile or shake hands with the other side to show his friendliness.However,it is unsuitable to stretch hands to the person holding a higher position.In this case,it is the one who has a higher status that offers his hands first.Then the lower side may approach to shake hands.Besides,when acquaintances meet each other,they usually greet each other with a hug to indicate the intimacy between them.

1.2.4Revealing Psychological State and Presenting Characters

Sometimes verbal message is not truthful to the psychological state of the speaker.He may mask his thought for some sort of reasons.For example,a naive child may be told by his parents not to accept things given by the host when visiting friends or relatives.So even when the child sees the gift which he has been longing for a long time or something to eat,he may refuse to accept it by remembering his parents'discipline.However,his staring at the gift,smacking mouth and swallowing saliva reveal his real interest in things.Meanwhile,body language sheds light on speaker's characters.For example,a girl who usually winks her eyes to her companion while others 821

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are delivering speech shows that she is arrogant,for her action is actually denying others'opinion.

1.3Significance of Body Language

With the globalization going deep,intercultural communication is of much significance day by day.Body language,the most important part of nonverbal communication,plays an essential role in intercultural communication.Researchers have shown that the words a person speaks may be far less important than the body language used when delivering the verbal message.Itis estimated that less than10percent of the whole message understood by an audience is the actual content,some30 percent is attributed to the pitch and tenor of a person's voice and60percent to other forms of nonverbal communication from body language to facial expressions to hand gestures.However,owing to cultural differences,the same body language has different meanings,which causes a lot of misunderstandings in intercultural communication.Therefore,analyzing the reasons for different use of body language and grasping some skills of using body language count a lot and contribute to improving intercultural communication.

II.Body Language in Different Cultures

The deepening globalization enables people from different countries to communicate with one another more frequently and closely than ever before.Admittedly,the types of body language shared by people from different cultural communities do good to efficient intercultural communication.For example,people usually laugh when they feel happy while they may cry when they feel sad.However,the shared body language only accounts for a small part after all.As a matter of fact,it is the difference in body language that has set up barriers between people.This part will illustrate the different use of body language in intercultural communication.

2.1Eye Behaviors

The eye behaviors are often thought as the most important in the human communication process.Just as the saying goes:“Eyes are‘the windows of soul'”,which indicates that a great deal of information can be received from eyes.With eyes,people can express their likes,dislikes,love,hatred,insult or attack without uttering words.However,different countries pay varied attention to eye contacts.

In most English-speaking countries,people make eye contact while they are talking with the addressees.If not,the person will be regarded as rudeness or absent-mindedness.American people,for example,attach a lot of emphasis on eye contacts.There is a saying in the US that says:Never trust a person who does not look you in your eyes.While people in China rarely look at each other especially when a dialogue happens between the old and the young,or between leaders and subordinates.In this case those people in lower rank or the younger generation usually dare not look at eyes of the older generation and people with higher rank so as to show their respect.True of this is in Korea and Japan.When these two clans of cultures encounter,undoubtedly,

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misunderstandings arise.It is essential to behave appropriately through eye behaviors in intercultural communication.

Here is a case in point:

Professor Johnson was invited to deliver a guest lecture in a Chinese university in the early 1990s.He could tell the students were very attentive during the lecture because they applauded warmly when the lecture came to an end.However,Professor Johnson was disappointed for no one asked questions,even when they were encouraged to do so.In fact,to show respect to Professor Johnson,most students avoided eye contact with him as he tried to communicate with them.Obviously,Professor Johnson felt disappointed because most students fail to make eye contacts with him though they were attentive during the lecture.Professor Johnson thought that students showed no interest in what he had given and students were absent-minded.But in fact,Chinese students were accustomed to avoiding eye contacts with teachers in order to show their respect.From the above,people in English-Speaking counties pay more attention to eye contacts than their counterparts in Asian countries such as China,Japan and Korea.

2.2Facial Expressions

Face is believed to be the most important carrier of emotions and it can cast a light on us about the attitudes,feelings and emotions of speakers.The movements of eyes,nose,and mouth will give clues to a person's emotion and personality.Thus it is the most significant area of body language.However,on the one hand,people in different cultures use different facial expressions to convey the same meaning.For example,in China,people will take a smile on their face when they welcome their guests while American Indians do it the other way around.They greet their guests with a loud cry.Besides,Chinese people usually smack to indicate that the food is delicious,but British people means tasteless when they smack.In Mediterranean countries,smacking means exaggerated suffering and sadness.On the other hand,people in different cultures may use the same expression to mean different things.For instance,Chinese people make a smile on their face to show friendliness,but some Westerners feel uncomfortable or embarrassed towards Chinese people's smile especially when there appears such an embarrassing occasion where foreigners accidentally broke cups in a restaurant.Actually,Chinese people smile to them to convey the meaning of“never mind”.However,Westerners feel angrier because they are thought to be laughed at.In addition,Chinese people especially girls and children tend to stick out their tongues when they are unsatisfied with their performance or punished by seniors.But Americans conceive it as something provocative or rude.

Through facial expression,we can get some insight to the thoughts,emotion,feeling and attitudes of speakers.From the illustration,it is clear that the same facial expression means different things in different cultures and sometimes different facial expressions are taken to express the same meaning.

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2.3Touch

Touch is a common nonverbal behavior that humans employ to communicate thoughts and emotions.People can communicate how they feel about someone by the way they touch them.For example,people may hold hands with their romantic partners or they may pat friends on the back when they aim to express support or approval.Anthropologists classify culture into two groups:touch culture and non-touch culture.Arabs,Southern and Western Europeans,Jews belong to the first group while Americans,Northern Europeans and Easterners belong to the second group.The commonest touch are handshaking,hug and kiss and less common ones include slap,stroke,pat,kick,scratch etc.Handshaking has been universally acknowledged as a means of showing friendliness and intimacy.However,habits involved in handshaking vary from country to country.For example,Americans are inclined to shake hands with more strength while Chinese would like to do it in a gentle way.In some European and Asian countries,males usually do not shake hands with females unless females offer their hands first.But in some African countries,it is males that stretch out hands first to females.In addition,kiss and hug,popular touches in Western countries,are less likely to be used to greet each other in China except when adults show love to children.Another case in point is that American mothers feel bored when their children are patted by someone else because they consider it as a rude behavior.Nonetheless,Chinese often pat children on their heads for fondness or encouragement etc.

Obviously,there exists great difference in the way in which and the extent to which people touch each other even there are some ethnic groups where touches are totally forbidden between males and females.

2.4Gestures

Gesture refers to movement or position of the hands,arms and fingers that are expressive of an ideas,opinions,emotion thoughts etc.It is gestures that make our world dynamic and colorful.In our daily life,people make gestures but these gestures differentiate form each other regionally and culturally.

The thump-up gesture:in Britain,Australia and new Zealand,the thumb-up gesture has three meanings;it is commonly used by hitch-hikers who are thumbing a lift,it is an ok signal,and when the thumb is jerked sharply upwards it becomes an insult signal,meaning“up yours”or“sit on this”.In some countries,such as Greece,its main meaning is‘get stuffed',so you can imagine the dilemma of the Australian hitch hiker using this gesture in that country!(Kuhnke,2007:8)The V Sign:this sign is popular throughput Australia,New Zealand and Great Britain and carries an“up yours”interpretation.Winston Churchill popularized the V for victory sign during WWⅡ,but this two fingered version were done with the palm facing towards the speaker for the obscene insult version.In most parts of Europe,however,the palm facing in version still means victory so that Englishman who uses it to tell a European to‘get stuffed'could leave the European wondering about what victory the Englishman meant.This signal also means the number two in many

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parts of Europe,and if the insulted European were a bartender,his response could be to give an Englishman or an Australian two mugs of beer.(Kuhnke,2007:9)

In this part,examples have been listed to illustrate the different use of eye behaviors,facial expressions,touch and gestures in different cultures.The cultural misinterpretation involved in the intercultural communication may lead to embarrassing results.In next part,this thesis would like to analyze the reasons why there exist different uses of body language.

III.Causes for Different Uses of Body Language

3.1Different Traditions

Historians believe that culture is the sum total of all forms of human activities of some particular country.The long periods of independent development contribute to distinct traditions between Western societies and Chinese society.Throughout history,China was a unitary multinational country.Chinese people spoke highly of unity,pursued harmony,and had a strong sense of family.These are contrary to the traditions of Western countries,whose core value is individuality.This is due to their traditions of voyage and nomadism which are characterized by expansion,independence and extroversion.The impact of distinction mentioned above on body language exists in personal space.Chinese tend to keep close to others during the conversation while Westerners would like to maintain at least half-arm distance in a conversation.Once there was an interesting scene:a Chinese greeted a British and he approached the British to show his friendliness and sincerity.But what makes him embarrassed is that the British moved backward instinctively.Having not realized the person space,the Chinese continued to approach the British and the British continued to move backward as if they were dancing.In addition,Chinese people have preference for living in groups.Frequent touches often take place among friends of the same gender which makes Westerners feel uncomfortable because they thought of this kind of behavior as homosexual.It is common to see that Chinese people squeeze into seats in public places,yet Westerners prefer standing to keeping close to someone else especially to a stranger.

3.2Different Ethnic Characters

Ethnic character takes its shape in the course of development of culture and history.It is characteristic of steadiness,which marks each ethnic character with distinctiveness.There is great contrasts between China and Western countries in terms of ethnic character.

China is a nation of propriety since the ancient times.It is a country that had been long confined by the feudalism with a system of guides,virtues and sense of hierarchy.Cultivated in such a cultural atmosphere,Chinese people has developed its ethnic characters:humble,submissive,courteous,reserved etc.,However,the developed transportation system,alien invasion and migration fail Western countries to maintain tradition culture.There is no such a single system as feudalism that has continually Western countries for thousands of years.Democracy and republicanism,came into being even in slave and feudal society,shocked dominant status of 231

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feudalism and slavery and put the historical and social course forward.Thus Western culture has been branded with such features as flexibility and expansion.Influenced by such cultural and historical traditions,Western people formed their own characters:adventurous,independent,equal,outgoing,confident,frank free etc.,

These two contrastive ethnic characters lead to misunderstandings in the use if body language in the intercultural communication.For example,Westerners are likely to take humbleness and conservatism of Chinese people as something inferior.On the contrary,Chinese regard Westerners' eagerness to express thought and feelings asa way of showing off According to a survey,what makes Westerners feel bored is that Chinese usually behave in a shy and reserved way.In contrast,Chinese hate the way in which Westerners walk,that is,Westerners usually walk with head high and chest out which make Chinese feel they are arrogant.

3.3Different Beliefs and Values

Religion is one of important parts of culture and it has influence on every aspect of life.In some Western countries,it plays a dominant role in social life.According to Christianity,everyone was the son of god and all men were created equal.Thus supreme value and dignity have been attached to individuality.The relation between people is not a hierarchical one but an equal one.This is reflected in sitting positions of Americans.Usually they may half lying on the sofa or cross their legs,which are thought to be rude in China,when talking with others.While,cultivated by Confucianism which emphasized the three cardinal guides and the five constant virtues,Chinese have a strong sense of hierarchy.Subjects,sons and wives usually submit themselves to rulers,fathers and husbands.Thus Chinese pay more attention to“power distance”in the social interaction and their gesture and posture.Cross is the symbol of Christianity and Christians usually draw a cross in front of chest when they enter the church or come across emergency to show their gratitude,respect and obedience.However,Muslims believe that left hand is dirty and should not be used to eat things or pass things to others.In most cases,they do not use the left hand alone.

3.4Different Social Customs

Social custom is a special culture pattern.It is the sedimentary accretion of one culture over thousands of years and it is passed on from generation to generation.Body language and social customs correlate with each other.Body language is specific manifestation of social customs.Thus,body language is engraved with distinctiveness of social customs.China had formulated its mature system of etiquettes and ceremonies in Shang and Zhou dynasty.The system had been constantly perfected in the feudal society.The deep-rooted custom is that there should be no physical contact between men and women who are couples or lovers.Men are allowed to strip to the waist but women must wrap up tightly.Intimacy should not be shown in public place,let alone kiss and hug.However,Western people hold different attitudes towards these body languages due to their comparatively loose system of etiquettes.Besides,Westerners are crazy about sports and also they

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are keen on the beauty of human body.Thus both men and women are allowed to wear less and body art is nothing special.In addition,the Chinese people have the custom of respecting the old and loving the young.Elders and seniors may pat on the shoulders of youngsters and juniors show their encouragement or comfort.This kind of body language cannot be done the other way around.But not having a sense of hierarchy,people of different countries and social status in Western countries can do it pm each other to show similar emotions.Another example is that Chinese adults caress children on their heads to convey their care and love,which are thought to be rude in English speaking countries.

From the analysis above,different traditions,different beliefs and values,different social customs are possible reasons for the different use of body language.Meanwhile,these reasons may shed light on several ways for effective use of body language in intercultural communication.

IV.Suggestions of Effective Use of Body Language

in Intercultural Communication

Having introduced the different uses of body language and some possible reasons for it,this thesis in this part will provide some ways for effective use of body language in intercultural communication.They are modeling excellence,mirroring others,acting the way you want to be perceived and demonstrating awareness.

4.1Modeling Excellence

Observing other people gives you the chance to see what works and what does not.If someone uses body language that is inclusive and encompassing,and open and welcoming,you are going to feel comfortable in his company.If someone presents himself in such a way that commands your attention and elicits your respect,you sit up and take notice.(Allan,1981:286)

Everyone has his own norms and standards to judge what kind of behavior is excellent.But you should also go over your own behaviors and find those not so excellent ones that may put others off.By recognizing what you do well and where there's room for improvement you give yourself a foundation to build on.By following the examples of people whose behavior produces the kind of results you aspire to,you have,in effect,a template to follow.(Allan,1981:287)

4.2Mirroring Others

By mirroring behaviors of another person,you can create a natural harmony that leads to effective communication.Mirroring the behavior of another person tells him that what he isdoing is acceptable in the context of your interaction.Mirroring demonstrates that you're willing to echo what you are observing in order to create an environment where both you and the other person can communicate freely and comfortably.(Allan,1981:287)By mirroring and others'gestures and behaviors you are showing that you know what they feel,think and what they intend to imply.If contacting with others and behaving respectfully are important to you mirroring and matching their 431

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behavior help you to achieve efficient communication.

4.3Practising Gestures

Some people feel thorny when it comes to proper use of gestures to expressthemselves effectively.If you want to present a specific image or attitude you need to practisethe appropriate gestures until you have skillfully grasped them.The more you practice the more at ease you feel and the gestures becomesecond nature.

One man,who is a friendly fellow,habitually frowns his eyes,making him look angry or not very well.Hewasn't aware that he kept this habit until someone pointed it out to him.His real interest in other people means that he really focuses on what others do and say.He thought he was showing interest.But other people thought he was showing disapproval or he did not feel well.

4.4Acting the Way You Want to Be Perceived

First,you decide how you want to be perceived.Then,you behave in a waythat creates that impression.Never have you may think about the way you act,holding that what you behave and how you behave are just fine in most cases.Just remember,if youwant to be perceived in a certain way you have to give some thought to yourbehavior.Ifyou want to be taken seriously,your actions need to be more contained,andyour facial expression more sober.(Allan,1981:289)The way is to determine how we wantpeople to perceive you,and hope to take on the behavior of that kindof person.

4.5Demonstrating Awareness

Some people just lack a kind of realization.They seem to be blind to their own behaviorand the impact it has on others.If you pay attention to the reactions of otherpeople you develop an awareness of what works when and where.You may say that what other people think about you doesn't matter.And inmany ways you're right.Yet at particular times someone's opinion of you canmatter very much.By knowing how certain people respond to specific behaviors,you can adapt your style to meet theirs thus creating an environmentthat's conducive to successful communication.(Allan,1981:289)In addition to paying attention to your own behavior,you should also observe how other peoplebehave.By perceiving how others are conducting themselves you canrespond in a way that makes others feel that they are noticed and valued.In turn,if youmake someone feel that he counts,you're going to matter a lot to him.

4.6Asking for Feedback

Acting the way you want to be perceived is important and asking for feedback is of equal significance.By asking for feedback we mean that how people perceive you.If theirresponses are positive,that is all right.If not,you should lower your head and patiently to ask how they feel and what is the effect the body language you employ on them.Then you should spend some time re-

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evaluating your perceptions.When you ask for feedback,be specific.Otherwise you leave the door openfor all kinds of information to come flooding through,some of which may notbe pertinent or helpful.By getting honest reactions to your behavior you cancontinue what's working well and adjust what's not,in order to assure thatyou communicate accurately and that your actions support your message.(Allan,1981:290)

Make sure that you're open and receptive to the feedback you get and thatyou listen attentively.If you don't,the person responding may get exasperated and walk away,leaving you none the wiser.If you don't understand,askfor clarification.Respect and acknowledge the other person's point of view.This doesn't mean that you have to agree with what he's saying,just that youvalue and allow him his observations.Finally,thank him for his opinions.After all,you asked for them.(Allan,1981:290)

Conclusion

In the above discussion,this thesis presents different uses of body language in different cultures,analyzes possible reasons for the different uses of body language,and in the end puts forward some suggestions that may be beneficial to use of body language in intercultural communication.So we can come to the conclusion that cultural traditions,beliefs and values,ethnic characters and social customs are factors that lead to the different use of body language.In order to eliminate potential barriers in the use of body language and achieve efficient intercultural communication,we should learn to model excellence,mirror others,practice gestures,act in the way you want to be perceived,demonstrate awareness and frequently ask for feedback.The study on body language in intercultural communication is on the way and study in this field is still very limited.Both deepening globalization and academic imperatives call for a comprehensive and systematic study on this issue.Due to the limitedknowledge of the author,this thesis does not go deep into this issue.This thesis is a small step in this field.However,this thesis is expected to serve as an impetus for deeper and further study.

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跨文化交际中的肢体语言分析

刘艳男

(中山大学外国语学院广东广州510275)

【内容提要】肢体语言是非语言交际的重要组成部分,在人类交际过程中特别是跨文化交际过程中起着重要作用。研究发现,在传递信息方面,有时候,肢体语言比口头表达发挥更大的作用。据估计,在言语交际中,听众所能理解全部信息中,不到百分之十是实际内容,约百分之三十是由一个人的音调和音高传达,而另外的60%则是由身势语、面部表情和手势等其它形式的非语言交际贡献的。然而,不同文化背景下的人们通常使用的非语言交际方式也不同。本文旨在通过介绍肢体语言产生的背景、呈现方式以及对跨文化交际中的影响来说明,作为非语言交际方式的肢体语言,诸如眼神交流、面部表情、体触、手势等的使用是如何受制于不同场景和文化传统、价值观、信仰、风俗的。论文在此基础上,为跨文化交际中如何恰当运用肢体语言来达到有效交际提出了一些建议。

【关键词】肢体语言;跨文化交际;文化差异;原因建议

【责任编辑:江军】

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跨文化交际(英文版)

Cross –cultural communication Thesis statement: This paper is mainly talking about the culture differences between several countries. Outline: Chapter 1: Language and culture in communication Chapter2: Culture shock Chapter3: What’s in a name? Chapter4: Social interaction Chapter 5: Roles and relations Chapter6: Non-verbal communication Chapter 7: In other words. Chapter 8: From a primitive Tribe to a Global Village Conclusion Chapter 1: Language and culture in communication There is no denying the fact that out daily lives depend largely on communication, without it we can’t know each other. So, we should come to realize that communication is of great importance. What is communication? In total, communication can be divided into two parts; they are verbal communication and non-verbal communication. However, different people hold different opinions about communication. In general, if there is communication, there must have 4 cases: there are at least two or more people, some contact between communicators, a language shared by communicators, an exchange of information has taken place. I just take the fist one for example. Suppose there is one person, there can’t be communication. Otherwise, he may talk to himself. Communication not just exist in human-beings There are five kinds of communications they are human communication, animal communication, human-animal communication, human machine communication, machine communication. So, Animals and machines can also communicate with each other. For human beings, how can we communicate with each other? Experts say that there are various kinds of communication. Nowadays, there are different kinds of tools for us to communicate .For people we can use telephone and computer to communicate with each other. By them, finally we can receive message. What is social situation? When there are two or more people gather to do a job or an activity, then it creates a social situation. That is to say, an individual working alone can not constitute a social s A social situation may have two definitions. One is given by the community, and the other by the participants. Finally, we should notice that being polite plays a crucial role in

跨文化交际案例

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跨文化交际案例分析

跨文化交际案例分析 LEKIBM standardization office【IBM5AB- LEKIBMK08- LEKIBM2C】

Case Study 1 Age and Status 两位同事的矛盾使一家数据处理公司的总经理遇到了麻烦。一方是一位踌躇满志的法裔加拿大小伙子,另一方是一位有特许签证的年长的中国女性,而此前两人确实很好的合作伙伴….. Case description: A manager in a data-processing company was having difficulty dealing with a conflict between a young, ambitious French Canadian male and his co-worker, an older Chinese woman who was on a special visa from China. She had recently become uncooperative and had made it clear to the manager that she would not be willing to travel to the capital with her co-worker to hold discussion with legislators about a new product with great enthusiasm. When the manager asked her what the problem was, he received no clear explanation. When he asked her co-worker, the young man had no insights to offer. The young French Canadian was clearly annoyed, however, that the Chinese woman was refusing to share her data with him. That meant he couldn’t make the presentation to the legislators because she had all the key data on her computer disks. The manager repeated questions to her but her “problem” got nowhere. So he changed his approach. He began explaining his concerns, as manger and as spokesperson for the company, about the upcoming meeting with legislators. His explanation about his position was unemotional. In that climate she then felt she could explain her position. She revealed she felt that that as an older, and to her mind, more senior person, she should not be sent to the capitol with a younger employee who would do the presentation of material she had worked hard to develop. That would diminish her status, she felt. The general manger knew the root of his headache. Questions: 1.What do you think caused the conflict? 2. What would you do to resolve the conflict if you were the general manager? 矛盾冲突 这位年长的中国女士投入极大的热情和精力开发产品.却在最后的关键时刻拒绝与年轻的同事一同去向议员做推介:当经理和同事问其原因.她并未做任何明确的回答:而当经理改变策略,不再直接询问原因,而是迂回地讲起自己的困境时,她才道出自己的顾虑。在这位资深年长的中国女士看来,同一位比她年轻的同事一同去国会,并且由对方来做推介会影响到她的地位和威信,因此她无法同意: 原因分析 造成这一矛盾的文化因素有两方面.对地位、年龄的不同态度以及这种不同的表达方式。人对权力的认识因文化背景的不同而不同。根据霍夫斯特的调查研

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跨文化交际案例分析(共7个)

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跨文化交际英文案例

Case 1 Girl-ness As a visiting professor in an American university, Zhang Hua was invited to give a lecture to a group of American students. He talked about university students in China. During the question-and-answer period after the lecture, one female student asked a question that surprised Zhang Hua. “When you talked about female students, you referred to them as girls. Why?” “Because they are girls. That’s what they are called,” Zhang Hua tried to answer, but he knew he did not really understand the intent of the question. “ I don’t quite understand your question, I’m afraid.” “In the States, we call ourselves ‘ women’ if we’re old enough to go to the university. Calling us ‘girls’ is insulting.” Do Chinese female college students prefer to be called women? Case 2 Many years ago, a Chinese man showed a photo of his wife to some American visitors. Out of courtesy, they all said,” She is very beautiful.” Also out of courtesy, the man replied with what he would have done in Chinese under the circumstance,” Where! Where!” Quite taken aback, nobody said anything for a moment, until the most ingenious one among the visitors, taking another look at the photo, said, “Oh, everywhere!” What did the Chinese intend to mean by replying with “ Where! Where!”? Case 1 Girl-ness As a visiting professor in an American university, Zhang Hua was invited to give a

跨文化交际案例分析答题技巧

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大学英语跨文化交际案例分析.docx

大学英语跨文化交际案例分析 Case 2 (P8) White Dress 女王的白色长裙:Case analysis: The Indian women might think the wedding ceremony is a funeral if they see the western bride in white gown. The case reflects the similes and metaphors in the text. 案例分析:印度女人可能觉得婚礼是一个葬礼,如果他们看到西方的新娘的白色礼服。这个案例反映了明喻和隐喻在文本。 Culture is like an iceberg: we can identify the color of the dress worn by women in different cultures, but we do not know the values underneath. Culture is like the water a fish swims in: people wear dress of different colors for different context but they usually take it for granted and never ask why . 文化是 像冰山:我们可以辨认颜色衣服的妇女所穿不同的文化,但我们不知道下面的值。文化是像水鱼游 在: 人们穿不同颜色的衣服为不同的上下文, 但他们通常是理所当然的,从不问为什么。 Case 4 (P18) Coconut-skating 椰子-溜冰:Case analysis: The case reflects the characteristics of culture. We Can tell from the CaSe that CUItUre is PerVaSiVe and it 案例分析Ie 这个e事件反映了文化 的特点。我们可以告诉从案件,文化是普遍的,这是学习。 People may invent different ways for things even as simple as the issue of floor moping. The Philippine woman must have learned this way of mopping from her own culture. 人们可能发明东西 甚至不同的方式为这样简单的问题的地板闷闷不乐。菲律宾女人必须学习这种方式从她自己的文化的拖地。 Case 7 (P30) Clean UP the Bathroom! 清理浴室!:CaSe analySiS: CUltUral differenCeS deCide the two StUdentS are going to CommUniCate in different wayS. 案例分析:文化差异决定这两个学生要沟通的方式不同。 The Chinese student wants the American student to understand the underlying means of his words, but the American student is used to the direct style of communication. This is decided by culture. In Chinese culture, people want to save face of both themselves and others, so they would not express their ideas directly. However, in the United States, unless you express yourself clearly and directly, the OtherS CannOt Understand you.中国学生想要美国学生理解底层的手段,他的话,但是美国学生用来 直接的交流方式。这是由文化决定的。在中国文化中,人们想要挽回面子的两个自己和他人,所以 他们不会直接表达自己的想法。然而,在美国,除非你清楚地表达自己,别人不能直接理解你。 Case 8 (P34) She HaS Three HandS 她有三个指针:ThiS CaSe Can refleCt the different CommUniCation StyleS between ChineSe and CanadianS. In weStern CUltUreS, CommUniCation iS the meanS of tranSmitting ideaS. WeStern PeoPle USUally CommUniCate direCtly with eaCh other. 这种情况下可以反映出不同的沟通方式在中国和加拿大人。在西方文化中,沟通是传播方式的想法。西方的人们通常直接彼此通信。 That is why the Canadian in this Case says what is in his mind direCtly in frOnt Of the Chinese wOman withOut hiding anything. While Chinese Culture stresses harmOny and emphasizes the relatiOnships between the COmmuniCatOrs. Chinese peOple view COmmuniCatiOn as a prOCess where all parties are searChing tO develOp and maintain a sOCial relatiOnship. SO the Chinese wOman in this Case tries nOt tO argue With the Can adia n face to face to keep the “ harm OnioUS relati On Sh这就是为什betwee n them. 么加拿大在这种情况下说什么是在他的脑海里的正前方的中国女人没有隐瞒任何事。虽然中国 文化强调和谐,强调了沟通者之间的关系。中国人民视图通信作为一个过程,各方正在寻求开发和维护一个社会关系。所以中国女人在这种情况下努力不认为与加拿大面对面保持“和谐关系”他们。 Case 12 (P57) Why Don‘ tYou Eat the Pizza? 你为什么不吃比萨饼?: This case can reflect the problems appearing during intercultural communication and how ignoring cultural differences can affect communication. 种情况下可以反映

新编跨文化交际案例分析

Unit 5 Culture and Verbal Communication Case 17 When these two men separate, they may leave each other with very different impressions. Mr Richardson is very pleased to have made the acquaintance of Mr Chu and feels they have gotten off to a very good start. They have established their relationship on a first-name basis and Mr Chu‘s smile seemed to indicate that he will be friendly and easy to do business with. Mr Richardson is particularly pleased that he had treated Mr Chu with respect for his Chinese background by calling him Hon-fai rather than using the western name, David, which seemed to him an unnecessary imposition of western culture. In contrast, Mr Chu feels quite uncomfortable with Mr Richardson. He feels it will be difficult to work with him, and that Mr Richardson might be rather insensitive to cultural differences. He is particularly bothered that, instead of calling him David or Mr Chu, Mr Richardson used his given name, Hon-fai, the name rarely used by anyone, in fact. It was this embarrassment which caused him to smile. He would feel more comfortable if they called each other Mr Chu and Mr Richardson. Nevertheless, when he was away at school in North America he learned that Americans feel uncomfortable calling people Mr for any extended period of time. His solution was to adopt a western name. He chose David for use in such situations. Case 18 Even if the American knew Urdu, the language spoken in Pakistan, he would also have to understand the culture of communication in that country to respond appropriately. In this case, he had to say ―No at least three times. In some countries, for instance, the Ukraine, it may happen that a guest is pressed as many as seven or eight times to take more food, whereas in the UK it would be unusual to do so more than twice. For a Ukrainian, to do it the British way would suggest the person is not actually generous. Indeed, British recipients of such hospitality sometimes feel that their host is behaving impolitely by forcing them into a bind, since they run out of polite refusal strategies long before the Ukrainian host has exhausted his/her repertoire of polite insistence strategies. Case 19 Talking about what‘s wrong is not easy for people in any culture, but people in high-context countries like China put high priority on keeping harmony, preventing anyone from losing face, and nurturing the relationship. It seems that Ron Kelly had to learn a different way of sending message when he was in China. At home in Canada he would have gone directly to the point. But in China, going directly to the problem with someone may suggest that he or she has failed to live up to his or her responsibility and the honor of his or her organization is in question. In high-context cultures like China, such a message is serious and damaging. In low-context cultures, however, the tendency is just to ―spit it out, to get it into words and worry about the result later. Senders of unwelcome messages use objective facts, assuming, as with persuasion, that facts are neutral, instrumental, and impersonal. Indirectness is often the way members of high-context cultures choose to communicate about a problem. Case 20 It seems that the letters of request written in English as well as in Chinese by Chinese people are likely to preface the request with extended face-work. To Chinese people, the normal and polite way to form a request requires providing reasons that are usually placed before the requests. Of course, this is just the inverse of English conventions in which requests are fronted without much face-work. In the view of the English-speaking people, the opening lines of Chinese requests and some other speech acts do not usually provide a thesis or topic statement which will orient the listener to the overall direction of the communication. Worst of all, the lack of precision and the failure to address the point directly may lead to suspicions that the Chinese speakers are beating around the bush. To them, the presence of a clear and concise statement of what is to be talked about will make the speech more precise, more dramatic, and more eloquent. However, the Chinese learning and using English in communication may find it difficult to

跨文化交际 英文

Analysis of Deferent V iews on “Filial P iety” Between China and American from Movie Guasha Abstract:“While one’s parents are alive, one should not travel to distant places.”“The gentleman works hard on the basic principles, thereafter comes morality; filial piety is the basic principle of a human being.”These are our Chinese traditional filial piety. But are these standards or rules suitable for every nation? The movie Guasha shows us many about the differences of filial piety between China and American. There are many misunderstanding and coincidence in this movie and those are the cause of the circuitous of the characters’fate. All of these are rooted in the cultural differences between China and American. In this assay, I made the differences of filial piety as the point of entry to analyze the reason why the differences come and their similarity. Key words: Guasha, the culture in china and America, piety, filial piety, object The movie Guasha tells a story that a Chinese couple who lived in American for 8 years took the hero’s father in American after they think they had realized their American dream. But a few days later, their son got ill; the old father used Guasha to treat the little boy for he didn’t know how to read English. The bruises were noticed by the child welfare bureau, and all the rough broke out after that. Finally, they had a universal satisfactory ending. The end of the story is to the satisfaction of all, but a variety of cultural conflict is the apparent. What we see is the initial irreconcilable to accept, understand. Many people will think that Chinese and Western have cultural differences, I think so, but I also think that behind these differences, there are many similarities. The following, I will be on the film to talk something about filial piety plot makes concrete analysis, and explore how cultural differences reflected in the filial piety? Why is it? What are the similarities? But before that, we will first do a general understanding of filial piety. In the ancient clan and tribal society, meaning of "filial piety" is very wide. It refers to the family of the elder respect, love, support and sacrifice. With the family as the basic unit of society and social development in a long time, "filial piety" changes from the family elder respect to parental care, and become an important ethical rule to do with family relations. Today, "filial piety" to living gets more attention. We often say that the parents contribute to our

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