中西方礼仪文化差异(ENGLISH)

1、中西方礼仪文化差异With Chi na en try the WTO and will hold the Olympic games in 2008, the relati on ship betwee n Chi na and Western in politics , economy, culture will become more and more close. It is undoubtedly that the etiquette will play an important role in this process. To the definition of etiquette

2、, China and Western have a differe nt un dersta nding. As Chin ese thinks that the etiquette is the com mon behavior sta ndards that all the members must obey, and its purpose is to keep the no rmal liv ing order of the society .In an cie nt China, a famous philosopher thinks that etiquette is a pri

3、n cipal to deal with the relati on ship betwee n man and super natural bein gs, man and ghosts, man and men. There are also many words about etiquette in En glish. For example, courtesy which means courteous behavior, good mann ers; protocol which mea ns system of rules gover ning formal occasi on,

4、e .g, meeti ngs, between governments, diplomats, etc. And these words are all from the same French word etiquette. Of course, more spread and more profo und cultural comme nt ofthe western etiquette is from theClassical Period, i.e., old Athens and Roma culture. Today, etiquette become the reflectio

5、n and manifestation of one countrys politics , economy, culture in peoples social con tact. And it in clude the principal and moral that people should obey in daily life. Etiquette formed in the process of the depositi on of culture and social con tact. So every n atio n have their own etiquette sta

6、 ndard which created with the spirit of this their nation. Because of this formed the cultural differe nee betwee n differe nt n ati ons. As Ian guages is the carrier of the human culture. This difference must reflect in the Ianguage of different nations. So in the following, we will take china, Bri

7、tish and America as the re presentation of Western, to look at some cultural differe ncein etiquette, and then analyze the reasons. Furthermore, we will discuss how to lear n western culture.Cultural differe nces on polite ness betwee n western and Chin ese can be found in many aspects of daily com

8、muni cati on, in clud ing address ing, greeti ng and part ing, complime nts, apologies, tha nks, etc. In the following, we will look at some cultural different between China and wester n.I.Greet ing and Part ingWhe n people meet acqua intan ces or frie nds, people usually greet each other. The purpo

9、se of greeting is to establish or maintain social con tact. So formulaic expressi ons are ofte n used, but such formulaic expressi ons ofte n causes con flict because of the great cultural differences between Chinese and native English speakers. In English, people often employ the following expressi

10、ons to greet each other Good morning/evening/afternoon.Fine day, isnt it?How is everything going? Have you eaten yet? What are you going to do? Where have you been?Westerners treat them as real question. While in Chinese, we always say 你吃了吗？ 你上哪里去？ 你干什么去？ to show our consideration. Parting may be di

11、vided into two steps. Before the final prating, there is usual a leave-taking. Western and Chinese cultures have diverse ways to deal with leave-takings.Firstly, in English society, during the closing phase of an encounter, from I perspective, reasons for terminating the encounter are presented in m

12、itigatory comments. Typical comments are associated with expressions of apology,such as I am afraid I must be off, I have to relieve the baby-sitter etc.Western people believe that to be willing to visit and converse with someone is to have respect for him.; to terminate the visiting is not of ones

13、own free will, but because of some other arrangements, therefore they always try to make their leaving sound reluctant by finding some reasons and apologize for it to make the leaving acceptable for both parties. English speakers often signal several times before leaving.Well, its been nice to see y

14、ou again. I do enjoy our talk and the lovely dinner, but I must be going soon. Thank you very much for asking me over. I hope well be able to get together again before long Consolidation in a wider range of common acquaintances also occurs, in expressions such as Say hello to Jack for me or Remember

15、 me to John. In Chinese society, during the closing phase of and encounter, usually, from a you perspective, reasons for ending the encounter are set forth in mitigatory expressions.Such expressions include 你挺忙的，我就不多打扰了。 你一定累了， 早点休息吧，我要告辞了。 , etc. With these words, they may stand up from their seats

16、. Chineseleave-taking is very short and quick. Western people think it so abrupt that they have not prepare for it.While moving to the door, Chin ese employ expressi ons of apology like对不起没，打扰了。对不起，占用你不少时间。It should be no ted that these expressi ons employed by Chin ese guests to show con cer n for

17、their hosts can on ly be appropriate for Busin ess visits in the En glish en vir onment2.Complime nts and Resp onseTo complime nt is to praise the addressees virtues, ability, behavior, appeara nee, clothi ng, pers on ality and bel on gs. Appropriate complime nts can serve as effective suppleme ntar

18、y means in in ter-pers onal com mun icatio n. Western and Chin ese culture are at polar opposites about complime nt. An wester n hostess, if she is complimented for her cooking skill, is likely to say, Oh, I am so glad that you liked it. I cook it especially for you. Not so is a Chin ese hostess, wh

19、o will in stead apologize for giving you Nothi ng. They will say随便作几个菜，不好吃。If translate this into EnglishI just made some dishes casually and they are not very tasty. Perhaps the foreig ner will think why you in vite me to you family and have the un tasty food. You arent respect me. The En glish-spe

20、ak ing people are more active to praise others and to be praise tha n Chi nese people. For example, the America ns are straight forward ness, the Chi nese take pride in modesty. That modesty has left many a Chin ese hungry at an America ns table, for Chi nese polite ness calls for three refusals bef

21、ore one accepts an offer and the America ns hosts take no to mean no , whether it is the first, second or third time. Still bigger differences exist in peoples attitude towards compliments, i.e., in the response to compliments. Chinese are tend to efface themselves in words or refuse it, although th

22、ey do feel comfortable about the complime nts. So many wester ners simply feel puzzled or eve n upset whe n their Chin ese friends refused their complime nts. The Chin ese people are not intending to be modest with the sacrifice of friendship in so doing, but it is rather due to the traditional Chin

23、ese philosophy , that of modesty. The Chin ese people regard modesty as a most valuable virtue, so they seldom agree to the complime nt on their own.*- Differe nt cultural factors may result in cultural differe nces, and con seque ntly, the ack no wledgme nt of the factors that affect the cultural d

24、iffere nces will facilitate the un dersta nding of such differe nces, part of which will vie discuss in the followings. Since it is impossible to cover all of the factors in this thesis, the factors discussed here are some importa nt on es.Cultural Backgro undOne of the cultural differe nt reas ons

25、betwee n China and western iscultural background. In Spring and Autumn and Warring s periods of Chi na emerged Con fucia ni sm, Taoism and other ideologies .As differe nt ideologies developed and combated each other, the basic framework of Chi nese civilizatio n was established. And the n Con fucia

26、nism became the foun dati on stone of Chin esephilosophysystem. Confucianisms central doctrine is that of the virtue of Ren. What is Ren? Ren is tran slated variously as good ness, ben evole nee, huma nity and huma n-hearted ness. In short, Ren means affecti on and love. For more tha n 2 thousa nd y

27、ears it has molded and shaped the civilizati on of China and exerted a profo und in flue nce upon almost one fourth of huma n race. Just as DR. Sun-Y at-Se n said: Therefore the old morals of loyalty and piety, affection, and love, faithfulness and righteousness, are superior to those of the foreign

28、 countries Let alone that peace and harm ony. These high sta ndards of morals are our national spirit.Different from China, Christianity plays an important role in wester n. The En glish speak ing coun tries are gen erally con sidered as Christian countries where many people believe in Christianity.

29、 Christia nity is the regi on based on the life and teachi ng of JesusChrist. He is the founder of Christianity. According to the doctrine of Christianity, the Trinity is the union of the three forms of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ the son of the God, and the holy book of Christian

30、ity is the Bible, which consists of the Old Testame nt and the New Testame nt. However, the power of the church cannot compare with the past time, it still in flue nee many aspects of people s daily life. For example, there are a few important festivals in the western is concern with Jesus Christ. C

31、hristmas day is a festival in celebration of the birth of the Jesus Christ on Dec.25.Virgin Birth refers to the birth of Christ, which Christians believe to have been caused by God rather than by ordinary sexual union.How to Lear n Western Culture.Establish a right attitude toward cultural differe n

32、ces Attitude is a manner of feeli ng and behav in g. It can form a part of on es perception of self, of others, and of the culture in which one is living. A foreign Ianguage learner should set up a right attitude toward differe nt culture to be ope n-min ded to them. Prejudice should be avoided. Pre

33、judice in culture refers to an intolerant, unfair or biased attitude toward ano ther culture. Regardless of the existe nee ofPrejudice, cross-cultural com muni cati on may become difficult because it stands in the way of acquired knowledge in it. When facing a new culture, people should be flexible

34、and able to adapt themselves to the new situation.Do as the Romans do is an effective way for those who are experiencing cultural differences. Therefore, being open-minded to cultural difference is a prerequisite to a successful communication with native speakers.2. Reading extensively for cultural information Having the successful communication is the main purpose of English. The cultural information that the students need in authentic communication greatly exceeds that covered in any courses. To developed