The difference between Chinese culture and western culture in daily lifeSummary by 李豹Summary:There are quite a lot of daily dialogues both in Chinese and English, however, because of the differences of background, history, custom, religion and history story’s culture, there exists lots of culture differences in daily conversation. With the coming of globalization of economy and information, the cooperation between China and Western countries is becoming closer. Yet, due to the lack of culture background of western countries, there exists some barriers and misunderstandings during the communication between Chinese and western people. And this article aims to analyze and compare the culture differences between China and western countries which are more likely causing misunderstandings.Keyword：Chinese and western culture Daily Dialogues difference1.The difference of the salutation.That call others in a befitting manner is the primary requirement in n ormal communication.Appropriate call will Narrow psychological distance,making the communication goes well.In Chinese and western culture,the different ways of language expression lead to the difference of salutation.The primary thing to note is that the sort order of name isdifferent between china and western countries.if we met a foreigner whose name is Tom Hanks ,we should call him "Tom" or "Mr Hanks".however,if we met a Chinese named Hu Jintao,we should call him "Mr Hu" or "Jintao" . Generally speaking, Mr．、Mrs. Or Miss should be used in Formal Occasions in English-speaking countries .you can also use sir or madam is you do not know one's last name. people in British and American countries tend to ask others to Call his own name when the first meeting . For example,"i am Tom Hanks ,please call me Tom". Even the children can call the adult's name,including their uncle or aunt's. I have a foreign teacher whose name is Jeff, and his niece call him Jeff .i thought it was not polite in china ,but Jeff said it is OK in British and American countries.Chinese has the different Ways of salutation. for example ,"People in the same age can call other's name . So do the friends.The younger generation to your elders call have to take the title, aunt wang" is a polite way to call a women whose surname is "wang" .as another example, there are "jiujiu"、"shushu"、"dabo"、"shenshen" and so on in Chinese to tell the different relatives strictly,but there is no such thing in English. "jiujiu"、"shushu"、"dabo"can be replaced by "uncle",and "shenshen"、"ayi"、"yima" and so on can be replaced by "aunt". What's more,Professional Name often be used when we call somebody, such as teacher wang、manager zhang 、President Li、Bureau Director Zhou, butit is not appropriate in British and American countries, only a few Professional Name like Doctor、Professor can be used . In English ,people can call each other with Mr or Miss if you don't know his or her job. In Chinese ,we can call a man Tongzhi or Shifu if he is stranger to us.2.the difference s of Saying "hello" language.Whether in China or abroad,saying hello when meet friends or acquaintances , is a kind of common courtesy behaviour. Because the cultural tradition and customs in Chinese and western are different, so their terms and behaviours of saying hello are widely divergent. China has a very rich food culture , we have the idiom "People regard food as their prime want" since very long ago. Therefore ,Chinese people greet each other with "did you have lunch?" or "did you have breakfast?" , which actually lose its literally meaning.but these words are not really used to ask a people if he had lunch or dinner, but a kind of way of say hello.so it does no Matter whether you say yes or no .however ,if we say “Have you had your dinner?”to westerners,according to their Customs and culture, he would think that it is a Invitation to dinner. In addition , that a man ask a woman whether she had dinner means that he wants to make friends or have a date with the women. There is always no "Invitation" or "have a date" meaning when Chinese people say these words.Another frequently-used sentence when Chinese people greet eachother is "where are you going?".it is just a kind of way to say hello ,not really want to know where that person will go.so other person involved can give a answer casually.it is no need to tell the people who ask you the question the real destination you want to go ,and he won't mind,either. Nevertheless, if say hello to westerners in the same way as in china ,like “Where are you going?”、“Where have you been?”,westerners would believe that you are wondering the truth,which would make them feel embarrassed, and they might get angry. They would think that you interfere with their private affairs. Maybe they would not Show unhappy to your face ,but they would thought that “Why do you ask these questions? It’s none of your business.”The third way to say hello in china is that you ask one what he or she is doing even though you see what he or she is doing and you know what he or she is doing.just like this,when you see a friend reading ,then you can greet him with "are you reading?" or when you see your classmates running for exercise ,you can say "you are running ,aren't you?". Maybe it is very strange in western and America countries,people will think to themselves ,"you do watch what i am doing ,then you ask what i am doing ,nonsense! "In western and american countries , the frequently-used words to say hello are simple ,such as “Hi”、“Hello”、“How are you?”or “Good morning!”、“Good afternoon!”、“Good evening!”,sometimes greet eachother with talking about the weather like“It’s a nice day, isn’t it?”.N evertheless, Chinese people does not like use these words because they think it is not familiar for our relationships in this way to greet each other.3.the difference of saying goodbye.when we are leaving , we as well as western and american countries' people say Goodbye or Byebye to the host or hostess. But before Goodbye , we tend to say some polite formula. because Chinese and western social situations and cultural customs are not same, the parting expression has their own characteristic.In Chinese Farewell etiquette ,the reason why they are leaving are accustomed to be attributable to host or hostess.for example,Chinese people go to other's home to be a guest ,when they are leaving ,they often say,“I’d better be going now. You must be very tired.”or “You will have to get up very early tomorrow. I should go now.”it is clear that these reasons correlate with the host or hostess. However,in western and american countries,people are most likely to find reasons correlated with themselves instead of the host to say goodbye. For example, “Well, I’d better let you have some sleep.”、“Tomorrow, I have to get up early. I must go now.”or just say “I’ll have to go . Tomorrow I’ll go to work.”;and “I must be say good-bye. My wife is waiting for me at home.”is also a good sentence to say goodbye. As Alan Maley said ,“In typicalwestern context the guests would usually find reasons to leave related to themselves rather than to their hosts.” We can also say “We have to say goodbye now. We enjoyed the evening very much. Thanks a lot.”or I think I’d better be leaving now. It’s very nice to have a talk with you.” It is believed that it is more appropriate to say goodbye in this way.4.the difference of responding to the praise and compliment between Chinese and westerner.British and American people like direct expressions, where Chinese people prefer Euphemistic expressions. Therefore ,when communicating with Chinese people ,foreigners often find in surprise that Chinese people are always being embarrassed and too humble ,and lost their head after they hear praise and flatter given by others. Many times they even deny the fact that they are beautiful or talented again and again. Occident people can't understand why Chinese people do not express thanks after they hear the praise and flatter .For example ,there is a foreigner praising a Chinese girl ,“That’s a beautiful dress you have on！”,and then the modest Chinese girl would say ,“No, no, it’s just a very ordinary dress.”or “No. In fact I’ve worn it for several years.”showing off is not accepted by Chinese traditional culture ,so most Chinese like people who are modest.As another example, if a foreigner say to Chinese student,“Oh, your English is really good.”or“Your handwriting is very beautiful.”,For thetwo sentences compliment,whether it is true or not ,Chinese student would deny the foreigner's praise at once with “Well, it’s just so so.”or “No, you flatter me.”Sometimes we students may disparage ourselves ,“Oh, no. My English is very poor. I must study hard.”、“No, no, not at all. You are joking.”According to the British and American customer ,When they praise others, they hope that the person will thanks or frankly accept what he said instead of denying what he said again and again. If Occident people are praised,they would say "thank you" in a very natural and poised way.Since westerners don't know much about China by modest as a virtue of traditional culture, they Often can't accept Chinese modest response, which they regard as impolite behaviour, even Dishonest performance. In order to avoid misunderstanding, it is critical to learn more about westerners' responses to others' praise and flatter.5.The difference of table expressions.Hospitality is a kind of Chinese traditional virtue. When inviting sb. to dinner, the dishes are always being rich.but however rich the dishes are, the host still tell the guest that they are not well prepared and hope the guest not mind. In fact ,it is formulae，and it is modest of the host to say these words . However, when British and American people hear the rituals of such, they feel very antipathetic. they think to themselves, nowthat you know the dishes are unsavoury, why do you invite me? According to Chinese custom, in order to show politeness, the host will persuade the guest again and again to eat a bit more. And Chinese often speak insincerely ,they will accept the host's advice until the host persuade the guest again and again to eat a bit more. Before that ,Chinese people say that they are full even though they are hungry. Contrary to this ,in Occident, when in dinner the host would say “Help yourself, please!” they respect personal will, pay attention to seek truth from facts, so asking guest whether they want foods or forcing guests to accept foods are regarded impolite. So if the host ask you Would you like another piece of meat pie, if you want ,just say“Yes, please!”or “Thank you. A piece of meat pie.” and if you don't want it ,just say “No. Thank you.”and if you are invited by westerners ,when in dinner ,you should praise the host or the food ,because it is a appropriate way to show your respect and thanks.the typical English formulae is like this:Guest:It’s delicious./ This meat is beautifully tender.Host or hostess:Thank you. I’m glad you like it.In addition, British and American people think that is not civilized behaviourto have some food left in the dish.but in china , that have some food left in the dish can show that the host is very hospitable.6.the difference about Topic selection and private affairs.Many foreign language learners want to communicate with foreignerto practice English, However, because they are not good at choosing appropriate topics, therefore they are often refused by foreigners .Even though the first meeting ,Chinese tend to regard age ,family, address, physical condition,salary,wedding and so on as the content of the conversation, which is aimed to show their care to the opposite. However,These all belong to personal privacy category for westerners. they are not willing to have somebody know these things. Asking these private problems equals to offending others dignity. Therefore, in Britain or America, strangers give priority to talk more content to weather conditions, just like “fine day，ins’t it?”、“It’s really cold today，ins’t it?”after having been introduced to each other by their acquaintance , they also never ask each other's privacy issues.As the English proverb teaches ,A man’s home is his castle.So privacy issues are sacred in western countries. Therefore, when talked to British and American people, it is critical to choose the appropriate topic and avoid the questions such as “Where are you from?”、“How old are you?”、“ How many children do you have?”、“ Are you married?”、“How much do you earn?”、“ What religion do you believe in?”、“ How much is your watch?”、“ Where did you buy your shoes?”.it would make them feel embarrassed .In addition to the weather , British and American people often talk about movement, the job, study, hobbies, holidays, the international situation, film/TV programs and so on. So it is not difficult to choose a good topic from thewords above.Summary：Cultural differences are very complex issues with rich content. In order to communicate with foreigners well , we must have the deep understanding of two kinds of language and culture background besides Languages. Only in this way can we not only achieve the equivalent of the significance of language, but also the equivalent of cultural significance.. Finally we can communicate with foreigners with high proficiency.。
