英美文化的差异.doc

人们都说，美国人开朗、自信、勇敢、活泼；而传统的英国人内向、淡漠、彬彬有礼、诚实可靠、有民族优越感。英国人和美国人互不服气，英国人说美国人没有历史，美国人说英国人不懂未来。长期生活在美国和英国的中国留学生在那里呆的时间长了，不知不觉中言和行也都折射出了英美文化的差异。”日前中新社一篇题为“漫谈英美留学之差异”的文章，道出了留美生和留英生的不同。 价值观念的差异。中国赴美国留学的5万大军中的自费生出国经历大多都遇到重重阻碍，过五关斩六将，吃尽辛苦，饱受风霜。到了美国之后，都是各忙各的，很少有谁去大使馆教育处坐坐聊聊。当然，这并不是说赴美留学生没有团结的热情，有重大活动时，他们也是一呼百应的，如像欢迎江泽民主席访美、抗议北约轰炸我驻南大使馆时，大家还是很有激情的。 而一般说来，在英国留学费用高，因此自费的很少，很多人都是公派留学；因此，在英国的留学生比较扎堆，时不时还能聚聚，聊聊天、喝喝酒，说说乡愁。我国驻伦敦的教育处，被学子们亲切地称为“51号兵站”，是聚会的老去处。加之英国留学生不少是配偶伴读，还携带着子女。根据英国政府的规定，凡16岁以下或以上仍在就读的留学生子女，生活费每月都有社会福利基金汇入其父母的账户，基本生活不愁，闲暇时全家到教育处走走，思乡之情得到了极大的满足。 大多数中国留美学生和美国人一样非常乐观，他们坚持未来时间取向，因而相信未来，相信事物发展的无限性，相信现在所做的一切在未来会获得收获。虽然在美国存在着实际的不平等，但是人们从观念上相信“在上帝面前人人平等”，相信在美国总有“出人头地的那一天”。君不见许多高新技术开发区里的公司高层管理人员90%以上是华人。而远离家乡留学英国，不是一个人独自奋斗，而是小家庭联合应付各种事件，各种艰辛困难的滋味可以想象，想在英国出人头地确实不易，冒尖者屈指可数。他们绝少有像美国留学生那样爬上塔尖的机遇。留在英国扎根的能在某家公司或某某新闻单位找到一份满意的工作，便是佼佼者。有的不得不拣起英国人不愿干的脏活累活，例如化工之类。不少人唯一的寄托便是希望能早日学成归国、贡献所学。 在美国留学生的眼里，友谊是在情景和时间中下定义的，友谊只存在于特定的时间、空间范畴内，不希望朋友间产生很强的责任感，也不对友谊的标准做过高的界定。因为在高度的工业化、现代化、城市化极大地加快了生活节奏的国度里，整个美国像一部机器不停地运转，追求效率的大众无暇旁顾太多，友谊也打上了现代生活的烙印。亲友结婚送礼，也是新娘子列出一个单子，开列出自己所需的东西，还表明自己喜欢的款式和颜色，由新娘的母亲将礼单复印成若干份送给亲朋好友。这既避免了浪费又节省了时间。可见生活在美国的人是多么精明！而在英国的留学生本身受东方观念的影响友谊第一，加之在英国的孤独无援，友情、互相帮衬就更为重要，成帮结伙处处可见。 行为举止的区别。从服饰上看，英美留学差别更加明显。英国人讲究绅士风度，西装革履，皮鞋锃亮。有的英国女士接待黄皮肤朋友时，专门涂抹上黄色面霜，以表示对朋友的亲近和尊重。留学英伦的学子当然不敢怠慢，西装也同样挺括，领带领结也丝毫不差。什么场合穿戴什么，如何化妆，也亦步亦趋。美国人可方便多了，近几年，美国流行大花裤衩，校内校外，老老少少，都少不了它的影子。中国留学生自然也不甘人后，大裤衩、拖鞋、文化衫招摇过市者，比比皆是。但这也并不是说，他们到处随意，在一些场合，他们也是西装革履，文质彬彬，很有些“绅士”的派头。但如果一看到没有旁人，这些“绅士”就原形毕露，鞋也脱了，领带也松了，扣子也解了，脚也搭起来了。许多赴美学子，虽然回国多年，但有时习惯依然如此。 说到行为举止，如穿衣一样，在英国的留学生要好许多，即使是“表面”文章，也比到美国的留学生要做得好。说话非常客气、行为礼貌，按部就班、不急不躁，似乎也挑不出什么毛病。但也有人评价，这样说话做事太酸了，让人难受，还是赴美的留学生好，心直口快，想什么说什么，想干事卷起袖子就成了，不用为说一句不好听的话，先绕上几百个圈子，罗罗唆唆一如大话西游里的“唐僧”。而对留美的学生，前几年有句民谣，说他们是：穿着土气、说话牛气、花钱小气。仔细品味一下，大致也差不离。 虽然很多留学生常年呆在海外，有些甚至在那儿定居，但无论他们在哪里，他们都非常思念祖国，真所谓洋装虽然穿在身，我心依然是中国心，乡愁的滋味，大概每个人都尝过。在异国的土地上，无论他们有没有绿卡，无论他们事业有成还是一切正处于开始，在别人眼里及他们心里，他们始终是中国人。 There are tremendous cultural differences between the US and the UK, despite having many similarities. People talk different, and not just in the accent or the words, but the general tone and meaning. They have different ways of making friends, finding jobs, interacting at the office. The social system is vastly different from what you know, and religious differences may come as a bit of a shock. And when all this comes together as part of a big move, you can find yourself wondering what have I done? In some ways, try to envision being an expat in rural Mongolia, with a different language, culture, climate, time zone-in essence, nearly everything vastly changed from what you accustom to. You go in knowing it is going to be an adventure-there will be things that dont make sense and things that seem strange. Approach your trip to the United States in a similar way, something radically different from what you expect, and you may find the transition goes a little more smoothly than those who think it is just a simple hop across a big lake. Now, as for some specifics.you could write a book, or several, on some of the differences. Without trying to get into stereotypes, a few observations: 1) Americans are outwardly very friendly, they will talk to strangers in a store, laugh with someone at a bar, and help their neighbours in a pinch. That said, many ex-pats have reported difficulty in making really close friends like they had back in the UK. The friendliness is only on the surface, so many report. 2) Americans generally do not like / get satire. Some ex-pats claim they just dont understand it while many Americans think it is just a waste of time by those who have nothing substantive to say. Satirical comments in the workplace are almost always misunderstood, and generally not done in social settings either. 3) Many Americans are very family-oriented (at least those with families). Family life is an endless parade of school musicals, extracurricular sports, birthday parties and the like. Many new ex-pats report exhaustion trying to keep up with all the things to do with the kids when they come to the states. 4) The majority of Americans have never been abroad. They may have heard of Spain but have no clue about Ibiza for example. American media does not speak much about Europe, let alone the rest of the world, and the issues facing Brussels and the EU are of absolutely no interest whatsoever to 99.999% of Americans (in fact, polls indicated that a majority has negative feelings toward the UN). On the converse, the United States is a huge country. You could fit most of Europe in only 1/2 of the area of the United States. If you want a more direct comparison-the entire land mass of the United Kingdom could fit within the state of Michigan. Go look at a map of the US to get an idea. Many Americans feel they simply havent seen enough of their own country to warrant travelling abroad to see another country. Just as Americans are made fun of for not seeing the world, many ex-pats are ridiculed for seeing only New York and Florida or other large tourist cities without seeing the vast expanses in between. To add, many people just dont get enough holiday time to make it financially worthwhile travelling abroad, with holiday - vacation time often being as low as 7-10 days a year, and in some instances that includes sick days, the norm being that you have worked for a year before really getting any holiday entitlement.because of that, youll see a live to work rather than a work to live outlook on life. 5) Most Americans are hyphenated-Americans and proud to boast of Scottish or Irish or German or Italian ancestry, even if it has been centuries since anyone in their family lived overseas. It is said that Europeans do genealogy to prove who they are whereas Americans do it to see who they were and what theyve become. Many Americans like to remember this not because they like the Old Country but they like to show that their family was once immigrants who dreamed of a better life in America. By pointing out that fact (and hopefully living a good and successful life), many feel they are honouring and meeting their ancestors wishes and dreams. 6) Americans will joke about English peoples teeth, for what it is worth. If you ever get into an insult match, expect some dentistry comments. Monty Python and the Killer Rabbit with Big Gnarly Teeth is as much to blame as any Britis