跨文化视野下中美时间观念的研究分析英文版

Abstract Because of the differences in geographical location daily habbits and history a variety in Chinese and Western cultures especially in Chinese and American cultures have evolved Time concept differences of Chinese and American are directly caused by the two regions people holding many different values in their daily lives studies and work Some people are born with an impatient personality while others with a slow temperament Some people are always very punctual while others may be frequently late to appointments These differences are reflected in Chinese and American different time concepts In the following paper supported by scientific sources and researches the author will discuss the time concept of Chinese and American in cross cultural communication and try to avoid cultural conflicts Keywords Chinese and American cultures time concept cross cultural communication 摘摘 要要 由于地域 日常习惯和历史的差异 孕育出了多样化的中西方文化 尤其是中美文 化 中美时间观念的差异就是由两地的人们在日常生活 学习或工作中许许多多不同的 价值观念所产生的 有的人天生就是急性子 而有的人却从小就是慢脾气 有的人守时 可有的人常迟到 这些都反映出中美人们不同的时间观念 在下文中 笔者将结合一些 科学的研究资料探讨跨文化交际中的中美时间观以避免文化冲突 关键词关键词 中美文化 时间观念 跨文化交际 Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Literature review 1 2 1 The definition of time concept 1 2 2 The importance of time concept in cross cultural communication 1 3 The differences in Chinese and American time concept 2 3 1 The line type time outlook and the round type time outlook 2 3 1 1 Americans line type time outlook 2 3 1 2 Chinese s round type time outlook 3 3 2 Mono chronic time and poly chronic time 4 3 2 1 Americans mono chronic time concept 5 3 2 2 Chinese s poly chronic time concept 7 3 3 Chinese s past time orientation and Americans future time orientation 8 3 3 1 Chinese s past time orientation 8 3 3 2 Americans future time orientation 10 4 The crasis of Chinese and American time concept 12 4 1 People s consciousness of time thrift is strengthening 12 4 2 Past time orientation is turning into future time orientation 13 5 Conclusion 14 References 15 1 Introduction This paper aims to explore differences in Chinese and American time concepts and culture The author hopes this paper can to a certain degree give the readers a clear understanding about the people s concept of time in the two regions The study on the concept of time is to help us to understand cultural differences and help us carry out effective international communication improve cross cultural awareness reduce barriers to cross cultural communication and the misunderstanding resulting from the different concept of time as much as possible and avoid cultural conflict or time conflict in cross cultural communication 2 Literature review 2 1 The definition of time concept Time concept is evolved from the process of people understanding and transforming the world Time concept will remain relatively stable for a fairly long period According to Liu Xifang 2009 time concept refers to the different awareness and understanding towards time It is not only a basic factor in the environment of human activity but also a deep seated cultural part of the social srtucture It is shaped naturally through the long period practice of human being and the long period historical progress It reflects the attitude of people towards time At the same time it also reflects the way that people deal with time and utilize time Everyone has his or her own concept of time Therefore different people especially the people in China and America have different concepts of time 2 2 The importance of time concept in cross cultural communication As global economic integration moves on Chinese American cultural communication and integration become more frequent Understanding different cultural concepts of time improves cross cultural awareness and reduces barriers to cross cultural communication Avoiding cultural conflict or time conflict become more and more important If people only recognize and adhere to their own concept of time and neglect understanding and respect to the time concept of other cultures there would arise many misunderstandings We should acknowlegde that people from Chinese and American cultures hold different attitudes towards time and the method of using time Then we should overcome the ethical cultural centrism and reduce the misunderstanding of different concepts of time as much as possible The time orientation under different cultures should get respect and recognition When there is a conflict in the time concept we can not simply jugde it as good or bad Cultural communication is a process of understanding from one culture to another Therefore in order to deepen mutual understanding it is necessary to adopt a liberal attitude 3 The differences in Chinese and American time concept 3 1 The line type time outlook and the round type time outlook According to Guan Shijie 1995 285 time outlook can be divided into round type time outlook and line type time outlook Americans belong to line type time outlook while Chinese people belong to round type time outlook 3 1 1 Americans line type time outlook In American eyes time is like a river which flows straight to sea from the headstream Once time has gone it will never come back So Americans cherish time so much The American hero Benjamin Franklin said Do you love life If love don t waste your time because life is made up of time The American culture with Jewish Christian tradition usually regards time as a straight line and a linear continuous one way movement Time is moving time is going by time is both precious and obstinate once gone it can never be restored They also believe that time has beginning and ending too and time can be measured by the clock or calendar Everything is accurate to every minute or even milliseconds Time in American society is almost a commodity It is real and valuable it can be bought and sold you can save and you can waste time You can lose and you can borrow time Time can be manufactured and can be measured American popular magazines often publish related articles with such proposal that how people can use time efficiently on shopping cooking cleaning house raising children and flower gardening In the United States New York Times column on the business there is an author who has claimed himself as efficiency expert he recommends an effective way to utilize time and make the next day s development activities plan when sleeping by the mobilization of the unconscious He said such a way can make full use of sleep time rather than waste The following proverbs reflect this time concept of people Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today Time and tide wait for no man Ake hay while the sun shines Tomorrow never comes 3 1 2 Chinese s round type time outlook The special way that the farm based easterners carry through exchanging material with nature has been dominant in the whole economic life of all society Such a rural civilization regards people and nature as interrelated and regard the world as an organical whole The result is the Oriental Society s Man and Nature round type time concept This means that time changes in harmony with natural rhythm which is a movement that moves eternally and cyclically along its arc and spiral such as alternating in day and night seasons back and forth month s rotating age s changing plant s cycle growth labor s farming seasons turnover are self movement reverting in cycles Jia Yuxin 1977 71 This concept of time as four seasons reincarnation and endless cycling make Asians look very rich in terms of time they can use more discretionary time to do anything without worrying For example if the school teacher haven t finished an important element of text he would drag a period of time to finish it after class There are few people who mention the time in Chinese wedding invitations people can come to dinner late separated by an hour long with the early ones so a feast can last even two or three hours Appointment time to see our friends is hardly determined For example if there is a friend who has not been seen for a long time and want to see you during weekend maybe you should stay home all day and wait for him to come 3 2 Mono chronic time and poly chronic time According to observation Edward T Hall 1983 42 has divided the using of time in different cultures into two classifications one is monochronic time system the other is polychronic time system Hall 1982 16 The society within heavy industry in general adopts the monochronic time system They just arrange the line of time strictly arrange things in a certain piece of time without changing so easily under the arrangement They like to do things efficiencily The polychronic time is the heritage of traditional agricultural society people like to do several things together in a same time 3 2 1 Americans mono chronic time concept The Americans are used to doing only one thing in a certain time so they like to plan time carefully and thoughtfully Therefore calendars schedules diaries annuals and accounting ledgers play an important role in the American society To some extent it extremely controls the social activities of people it decides what they do or don t do at any moment what must be done first what should be done finally Americans are controled by the clock tightly they even regard themselves as the slave to nothing but the clock Just like Hall said In the Western world nobody can get out of the control of mono time system In fact society and bussiness life even the sexual behavior are in the control of time Time makes the people s total life net Hall 1982 20 This can be found out from the bussiness activities in the cross cultural communication Americans demand to deal with things according to time table As the Americans cherish time so much they belive Time is money Punctuality is the politeness of princes Punctuality is the soul of business Time works wonders Time works great changes 3 2 1 1 Making plans Making plans before doing things is a common habbit in America Words like schedule and agenda are used widely in American life Because Americans like to make plans in advance they do everything by complying with the arrangement As soon as they find they are not following the schedule they will get very uneasy and try best to quicken the speed What s more Americans usually calculate time in minutes or seconds they are controled deeply by clock Americans always plan what should be done next in their minds in advance Appointment and schedules are very important to members of monochromic cultures People are concerned about it not being disturbed They do everything by their agenda Once the time they plan is over they will stop whatever they are doing at once Then do what they plan to do next When people plan an event they often set the time days or weeks beforehand Once the time is fixed it takes almost an emergency to change it If people want to come to your home for a friendly visit they will usually make a call to make sure whether it is convenient If you don t do like this Americans would think that you are not polite because sudden visit would upset their plans According to an investigation some foreign teachers in China often complain that they are not informed in advance Classes exchanging class canceling and sports meeting often are informed in the last minute Sometimes without consulting with them they ask them to lecture or record For these matters they feel unhappy because they do not like the last minute notice Hu Xiaoqiong 2000 1 So Chinese people are easier to go with the flow than Americans who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable Influenced by time thrift Americans treat time seriously If they cannot plan their time properly they will be looked down upon by others In businesses Time is money everyone follows set agendas Minutes are spent at meetings that are precisely scheduled North Americans take pride in finding time to spend with family and friends when juggling busy work schedules Generally speaking if Americans have arranged his time for study at home he will not change his plan Americans often make every day s plan every week s plan and even every year s plan Once the plan is arranged they will not change it In English we often hear these expressions My agenda for today starts with Place on the agenda Map out a schedule Accomplish some thing according to schedule Once Americans find themselves are behind the schedule they become pressured Then they do their best to speed up As E T Hall 1959 20 said They slave to nothing but the clock In America the clock not only masters people s social life but also other aspects of life The time clock records the hour we must work the school bells move us from class to class and the calendar marks important days and events in our lives In a word clock decides what should be done in advance The following proverbs reflect this time concept of people Affairs that are done by due degrees are soon ended Forewarned is forearmed Preparedness ensures success unpreparedness spells failure Preparedness ensures security unpreparedness invites disaster To be wise is to think everything beforehand 3 2 1 2 Keeping watch Keeping watch is another common habbit in America In Americans views going to meeting on time is to go without saying The behavior of coming late is very impolite No matter whether the appointment is personal or public meeting if you are late for it you will be regarded as a lazy person and you will lose trust from others In the personal intercourse you may lose your friends In the work you may lose the chance to get promoted 3 2 2 Chinese s poly chronic time concept Because the Chinese culture is good at the integration it is usually thought that Chinese adopt the polychronic time system People can plan several things at the same time and also do these things together Chinese think that the whole thing in the world develop and change with the change of time So people prefer to do things in a good chance that is each step of action is decided temporarily by the surroundings So that the whole work in the arrangement will be disturbed easily by other things It shows that there is much less fixing time before meeting and friends or relatives needn t to fix time before going to visit each other In some official departments the staff can chat read newspaper when they work If the work has not been done in the first day he can go on to do it in the second day Also the salesperson can settle accounts with the first customer At the same time he takes out the goods to let the second customer look even say hello to the third customer This is what Americans disagree with and can t accept 3 3 Chinese s past time orientation and Americans future time orientation Our fixation with time and the power we give it are rather obvious Time is kindly god Samovar Porter Stefani 2000 76 As is the case with most of the issues discussed in this paper cultures vary widely in their concept of time what they differ lies in the value placed on the past present and future and how each influences interaction 3 3 1 Chinese s past time orientation China has a past time orientation culture Past time orientation of a person either to the past to heart towards the past things like what happened on just the same or attention to the old life repeatedly restated thing of the past China is one of the world s four ancient civilizations A splendid cultural heritage of 5 000 years with ancient old means respected Experience and qualifications in the social life is very important old age is a sign of wisdom As the saying goes Do not listen to elders suffer in the eyes Before do things people always ask the older generation of experience learned with an open mind Linked to this is the worship of ancestors respect for teachers re experience re aged In the present past and future these three relevant dimensions of time exist however different nations hold different opinions Experienced the farming culture Chinese approach to look back past orientation they are living in a tradition oriented Society People cherish the past with clear reverence Past experience and lessons are always an important reference to judge the success or failure of something today The future is not as interesting as the past because it is unknowable and elusive And relatively people worship their ancestors and respect teachers like doing things by citeing the track and source Because these things are associated with the past This is why people call the teachers old division for the sake of The old ginger is hotter This past orientation also affects Chinese people s national character Generally speaking China is a society which seeking static stability Unity and stability are the top priority of each dynasty and the guarantee of social development single mindedness Contentment is happiness Ancient book is thick Good deed goes unpunishedly ancestors of the law can not change and other ideas are the manifestation of seeking stability and past orientation without exception The following proverbs reflect this time concept of people Act according to circumstances A wreck on shore is a beacon at sea An old poacher makes the best keeper An old oven is easier to heat than a new one An old establishment never wants customers Lessons learned from the past can guide one in the future Predict the future by reviewing the past The overturned cart ahead is a warning beforehand The old ginger is hot The older one grows the more one learns Rules that ancestor decided can not be changed To forget the past is to betray 3 3 2 Americans future time orientation Chinese culture is different from the United States which is dominated by the future time orientation culture All future time orientation focus on the future the future direction of their important values Christian in Western countries believe in evil human nature From the impact of eating the forbidden fruit and the guilt of original sin human lost paradise and came to earth to suffer blame For Americans there is no back way but only moving forward c