最新跨文化交际24篇case解析.doc

第一单元Case 1n Just as Dr. Strenger notices that over the recent years people around the world have been suffering from an increasing fear of their own “insignificance”. As humans we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a global village and we are comparing ourselves with the most significant people in the world and finding ourselves wanting. In the past being a lawyer or doctor was a very reputable profession. But today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media. The remedy, according to Dr. Strenger, is a process that he calls “active self-acceptance” through a sustained quest for self-knowledge through life. The fear for insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement. He believes that people need to invest as much time in developing their worldview as their careers. n 正如Strenger博士注意到，近年来，世界各地的人们对自己“无关紧要”的恐惧越来越大。 作为人类，我们自然地测量自己对周围的人，但现在我们住在一个地球村，我们正在比较我们自己与世界上最重要的人 - 和发现自己想要的。 在过去是一个律师或医生是一个非常有信誉的职业。 但今天，即使是高成就者也不断担心，当他们与媒体的成功故事相比时，他们是微不足道的。 根据Strenger博士的说法，这种补救办法是一个过程，他通过对生命中的自我知识的持续追求，称之为“积极的自我接受”。 只有通过强烈的个人和文化认同超越可衡量的成就才能克服对无关紧要的恐惧。 他认为，人们需要投入更多的时间来发展他们的世界观作为自己的事业。Case2n The Dutch manager was shocked because he thought he hadnt told the team to build it in a certain way, he simply had asked if it could be done! He had never questioned the way in which he communicated to the head of his technology group. In fact, he thought he had been asking simple questions, almost making idle conversation, and never considered that because he was the boss, his Indian employee would do as he asked. He expected that the technology design team would counter反驳 with another recommendation if his idea was inappropriate. He never realized that in the Indian culture such a challenge rarely is forthcoming即将到来.n 荷兰经理感到震惊，因为他认为他没有告诉团队以某种方式建造它，他只是问是否可以做到！ 他从来没有质疑过他与技术团队负责人沟通的方式。 事实上，他认为他一直在问简单的问题，几乎闲暇的谈话，从来没有认为，因为他是老板，他的印度员工会做他的问。 他预计，如果技术设计团队的想法不恰当，他会反驳另一个建议。 他从来没有意识到，在印度文化这样的挑战很少是即将到来的n The misunderstandings took place because cultural barriers got in the way. To take full advantage of the opportunities that the global environment offered, both the Dutch and the Indian teams needed to have a better understanding of the culturally based expectations of each group. 由于文化障碍的阻碍，发生了误解。 为了充分利用全球环境提供的机会，荷兰和印度团队需要更好地了解每个群体对文化的期望。n In this case, the Dutch manager would have been more successful if he had asked, “What kind of platform do you suggest?” Rather than risking that his Indian employee would disagree with the suggestion he made, this approach would have allowed for a respectful dialogue. The Dutch manager should have known that Indians rarely disagree or say no because their communication style is indirect, and risking disharmony is considered unpleasant and unseemly (不得体的，不合时宜的). They could have saved millions of dollars and prevented months of frustration if the Dutch manager had been culturally astute (机敏的，精明的) enough to manage the multinational talent pool available to him. 在这种情况下，荷兰经理会更加成功，如果他问“你建议什么样的平台？”而不是冒着他的印度员工不同意他的建议的风险，这种方法将允许一个 尊重对话。 荷兰经理应该知道，印第安人很少不同意或不说，因为他们的沟通风格是间接的，冒险的不和谐被认为是不愉快和不合时宜的。 他们可以节省数百万美元，并防止几个月的沮丧，如果荷兰经理有文化上精明，足以管理他可用的跨国人才库。n By the same token, if the Indian senior manager had understood that a manager in an egalitarian (平等主义的) culture such as the Dutch (unlike Indias more hierarchal one) expects a collaborative effort from his employees, even if it requires disagreement, he would have avoided the problem as well. 同样的道理，如果印度高级经理理解一个平等主义的文化中的经理，如荷兰人（不像印度的更多层次的）期望他的员工的协作努力，即使它需要分歧， 他也会避免这个问题。Case3n Advances in information technology are bringing about changes in contemporary society that pose new situations requiring intercultural communication expertise (专门知识或技能). Technology has enabled ordinary individuals to cheaply and quickly organize themselves around a common interest, ideology (思想意识；意识形态), or social cause. Rather than moving the global community toward the single, homogenized (均匀分布的，均质的) culture decried (公开反对，谴责)by many globalization opponents, technology is actually providing a means to reaffirm and extend cultural awareness, identity, and practices. Media technology plays an important role in modern society whether it is political, economical or cultural. 信息技术的进步正在带来当代社会的变化，构成新的情况，需要跨文化交流的专门知识（专门知识或技能）。 技术使普通人能够廉价快速地组织自己围绕着共同的兴趣，思想意识，意识形态或社会事业。 许多全球化对手不再把全球化社会转向单一的，均匀分布的，均质的文化，而是提供一种重新确认和扩展文化意识，身份和实践的手段 。 媒体技术在现代社会中发挥着重要作用，无论是政治，经济还是文化。Case4n What Mrs. Nimos surprised is the young mans question of “how old are you”. In western countries where privacy is greatly valued, age is something that is considered rather private. Asking about the others age, especially in this case on their first meeting, is rather impolite. However, in Japan where hierarchy is strictly followed, age is an important factor in situating a person in the Japanese cultural hierarchy. For her Japanese business counterparts to feel comfortable that they knew the proper way to address and to relate to her, they needed to know her age. 尼莫斯太太惊讶的是年轻人的“你多大了”的问题。 在西方国家，隐私被极大地珍视，年龄是一种被认为相当私密的东西。 询问别人的年龄，特别是在这种情况下，在他们的第一次会议，是相当不礼貌。 然而，在严格遵循等级制的日本，年龄是将一个人置于日本文化层次中的重要因素。 对于她的日本商业对手感到舒适，他们知道正确的方法来解决和与她相关，他们需要知道她的年龄。n In China, age is important for the same reason. However, when communicating with family members, generation becomes an important factor that overrides (优先于，压倒) age. Even if they have the same age, the one belonging to the younger generation must address the other with the respect accorded to the older generation in the family. If they are the same generation, they can communicate as peers. 在中国，年龄同样重要。 然而，当与家庭成员沟通时，生成成为覆盖（优先于，压倒）年龄的重要因素。 即使他们有相同的年龄，属于年轻一代的一个人必须解决另一个与家庭中的老一代的尊重。 如果它们是同一代，它们可以作为对等体进行通信。Case5n The problem here is that Mr. Richardson doesnt mean what he says, which is rather different from being insincere or dishonest. To put it another way, what Mr. Richardson means is different from what the sentence that he has uttered means. “We must get together and have lunch sometimes” is quite a common expression people use near the end of business interactions in North America, and for North Americans it means several different things. First of all, it signals that the person who says it thinks that the encounter will (or should) be ending soon. So it can function as what conversation analysts call a “pre-closing.” It is also a way of creating a feeling of “involvement”, a way to tell someone that you have enjoyed spending time with them and you would not mind doing it again. While it does contain the vague idea that a subsequent meeting would be desirable, it does not in any way commit the speaker or the hearer to such an arrangement. However, to Mr. Wong, it sounds like an invitation.n Similarly, “See you later” does not commit someone to a later meeting. It would be very odd if, in response to this utterance, the hearer were to take out his or her diary and attempt to set a date. Other examples are “How are you” in English and “Have you eaten?” in Chinese, both of them are typical greetings, which do not require the hearer to give specific answers. All of them just serve as lubricants (润滑剂) to move the conversation forward.Case6n Even people speak the same language, English, in this case, they might have quite a lot of differences, even in small things such as how to order a meal and speak humorously. These experiences described by Fiona should cause difficulties adjusting to life in a new culture. Dealing with many small differences can cause exhaustion. When people come into a new culture, in this case, from Australia to America, they have to make many small adjustments in a short period of time. Each adjustment causes a little bit of difficulty, but the stress adds up to a point where people become frustrated and begin to complain about their life in the other culture. n From her description, it can be seen that her stress is adding up so much that she even thinks of going back to Australia. However, she should know that this is only a necessary period of culture shock （文化冲击）, requiring her to make some adjustment. The culture shock is exacerbated（加重、恶化） because few or no cultural differences were expected given that people thought they would be using the same language. At his point she is likely to have experienced some cultural differences and will be more willing to take them seriously. 第二单元Case7v There is a big difference between Chinese and American concerning who is the decision-maker of the work. The Chinese usually work to complete the task according to what their boss or supervisor requires, while Americans, on the contrary, finish their jobs according to what they suppose is right. In this case, Li Hua completed his report within 16 days, faster compared with the actually 20 days, but later than it was agreed on. So the American supervisor got angry, which caused Li Huas resignation. If I were Li Hua, I would tell the American supervisor the fact that I really had made great efforts to finish the report in 16 days though later than 15 days but faster than 20 days that is said earlier. Then, if the supervisor still felt angry and were not flexible, I would resign just as Li Hua had done.Case8v In Asia especially in Korea a high value is placed on harmonious personal relationship, while conflicts are avoided and every effort is made to be polite and non-confrontational. However, Jim comes from American where personal competence in dealing with matters is emphasized in spite of high focus on teamwork. On the other hand, American people are highly practical and realistic, they would think the earlier the problem can be discovered the better solutions can be sought. Therefore, when a problem was finally brought to Jims attention, it was too late for there was no much time left to solve it. In the case, Jim felt exasperated because the problem discovered has left him no much time to solve it. For Jim, he is supposed to build a good intercultural communication, but what he should do first is to know Korean culture well. Koreans hold that Americans directness in dealing with problems, errors and even dishonesty is unacceptable. So from Jim himself it is much better to know Korean culture especially their strategy of saving face and losing face. Problems exist really, but if they are discovered earlier people concerned with the problem will lose face in terms of Koreans viewpoint.Case9v Smiling in China means not only that someone is happy but also that he or she is sorry. It is very desirable for Chen Jie to make an apology with a smile, which indicates his humbleness and embarrassment. For Chen Jie, the smile was an important part of the apology. He apologized with a smile to show respect for his manager and by smiling he tried to be on friendly terms with him. But for Peter, this smile does not mean the same thing. He regarded the smile not as a sorry but as smirking, a sign of disrespect. Then it is understandable that Peter refused Chen Jies sorry. In fact, this story comes from cultural misunderstanding between Chen Jie and Peter. An American thinks that a westerner in Chen Jies situation would probably keep eyes lowered when making an apology. When promising to correct the situation and to avoid making the same mistake, a westerner would expect the employee to look at him or her in the eye and definitely not to smile. It can not be more usual for people who make a mistake to say sorry. But if this situation takes place in the process of intercultural communication, things change. Chen Jie is supposed to know that the sorry he made is not to his Chinese natives but to an American. What he should do is to lower his eyes while making the apology and look at Peter in the eye while assuring him, without wearing any smile on his face in both cases. By doing so Peter will truly believe that the sorry he made came from his honesty and sincerityCase10v Although Parisa had been coming to international conventions on food processing for several years, perhaps one big problem for her is that her colleagues failed to know about her culture, namely the Iranian culture. For historical reasons, the westerners develop a kind of stereotype which enables them to communicate unwillingly with people in Middle East including Iran. Therefore, the westerners know little about Iranian culture. As a result, when Parisa came to Europe, what she should do is to adjust herself to European culture, to become a member of them. By doing so, Parisa can learn to integrate herself with her colleagues quickly. But the key is that Parisa, born an Iranian after all, can not isolate her from Iranian culture completely. So her behaviour of adjusting to European culture is blended with her Iranian culture to a larger extent. That is why Parisas European colleagues saw her in a particular way./Csae11v The vice president of an American electronic manufacturer did not directly say the Chinese manager was wrong. This is because that the vice president took advantage of the Chinese face culture. When the American found the manager did not tell the truth possibly, he adopted the face-saving strategy in Chinese culture so that he hoped that the Chinese could find the truth. He was unwilling to let the Chinese manager feel embarrassed if he told the truth directly, otherwise, the business negotiation with Chinese telecommunication enterprise would not succeed.v After the welcome banquet the Chinese manager became very friendly and agreed to build a long standing partnership with the electronic manufacturer. As a matter of fact, he discovered that the vice president of the American electronic manufacturer knew Chinese face culture very well. And in the negotiation he made up a story in order to get upper hand over the American. When the American unclosed the story and did not embarrass him, he made a determination to build long standing partnership with the electronic manufacturer, which is the typical characteristic of Chinese culture.Case12v The misunderstandings between Sawada and Li Xia are caused by their different cultures. Not only do different cultures speak unintelligible （费解的） languages, but their body languages are often mutually incomprehensible as well. When people from different cultural backgrounds communicate, they may soon find that the same gesture may serve quite different functions in different cultures. It is just because of these different implications that the French boy Sawada misunderstood the Chinese girls friendliness as love. When Li Xia turned her body toward Sawada during their talk, the body movement of Li Xia may just indicate that she was quite interested in and enjoyed their talk. The small distance Li Xia took when talking with Sawada is just a way to show her interest in the talk and her friendliness to the French boy. However, in French as well as in many other cultures, moving toward somebody and sitting and standing closer to him/her are ways to show ones favorable feelings toward him/her. This explains why Sawada later tried to putting his arm around her, and even tried to hug and kiss her. v As a Chinese girl, Li Xia is deeply influenced by Chinese culture which is characterized by modesty and reserve. In China, almost every girl will feel disgusted if a boy, especially the boy she meets for the first time, try to put an arm around her back, let alone trying to hug or kiss her, because such behaviors in Chinese culture are considered rude and vulgar. Thats why Li Xia became so angry when Sawada decided to approach her intimately that she gave him a strong push and stopped him from doing that. v If I were their close friend, I would advise them to learn more about each others cultures. Only when both of them are aware of the cultural differences can they avoid such misunderstandings and promote a better understanding. 第三单元Case13v The Andersons includes the map and hotel information as a convenience for the out-of-towners. They believe that by doing so they are being considerate. But to the Sandoval family, hospitality meant more. From their point of view, the family of the bride should have welcomed the grooms family into their home, no matter how crowded they might have been. To the Sandovals, sharing worldly possessions would have expressed family closeness; hotel recommendations represented coldness and distance, translating into rejection. After all, the Sandovals believe they have demonstrated their closeness by taking time off from work to drive five hundred miles to the ceremonyv Case14v Different cultures have different ways to show their hospitality. In this case, the Azerbaijani woman shows her hospitality towards the Americans by offering her bread. By rejecting the bread, the doctor rejects the woman and her culture. Azerbaijanis believe that if you share food, you expose your heart and soul to the other person and are forever linked in friendship. So by accepting the bread, the doctors companion accepts the villagers hospitality, thus keeping her pride and dignity and building a bridge between the two cultures. As a matter of fact, in many cultures, rejecting another persons food is frequently interpreted as an insult. To avoid this, people should learn something about the culture of those with whom they are interacting. Case15v The color of flowers has different meanings for different cultures. Yellow in particular had negative connotations for many people, such as Iranians, Peruvians, and Mexicans. It would be safer not to give yellow flowers as a gift. In Iranian culture, yellow flowers represent the enemy, and giving someone yellow flowers means that you hate the person. It can even mean that you wish the person dead. It is just the color of flowers that makes Mrs. Golestani think that Anahid hates them. However, in American culture, the meaning to