新编跨文化交际英语教程——案例分析(主编：许力生)Word打印版

1、新编跨文化交际英语教程一一案例分析（主编：许力生）Unit 1Communication Across CulturesCase 1 (Page 23)This case took place in 3 cultures. There seemed to be problems in communicating with people of different cultures in spite of the efforts to achieve understnading.1) In Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship is v

2、alued so highly that it is not expressed in an objective and impersonal way. While Americans certainly value human relationships, they are more likely to speak of them in less personal, more objective terms. Inthis case, Richard ' s mistake might be that he choseto praise the food itself rather

3、than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host or hostess it was as if he had attended an art exhibit and compliment ed the artist by saying,“ What beautiful framesyour pictures are in! ”2) In Japan the situation may be more complicated. Japanese people val

4、ue order and harmony among a group, and that the group is valued more than any particular member. In contrast, Americans stress individuality and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably to be in conflict with the goals or values of the group. In this case, Richardwas maki

5、ng great efforts to defend himself even if the error is notintentiona. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate3) When it comes to England,w expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. In this case we might

6、 look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or cream to the valuess expressed in this gesture: for Americans, yourself ”o; the English counterpart, “ Bmy guest. American and English people equally enjoy entertaining and being entertained, but they differ in the value of the distinction. Typically, the

7、ideal guest at an American party is obe who “ makeshimseat hom6' .For the English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.Case 2 (Page 24)A common cultural misunderstanding in classes involvs conflicts between what is said to be direct communication style and indirect communication sty

8、le. In American culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and mean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification. Mexican culture shares this preference of style with American culture in some situations, and that 'why the students

9、 from Mexico readily adopted the techniques of asking questions in class.However, Korean people generally prefer indirect communication style, and therefore they tend not to say what is on their minds and to rely more on implications and inference, so as to be polite and repectful and avoid losing f

10、ace through any improper verbal behavior. As is mentioned in the case, to many Koreans, numerous questions would show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the student has not studied hard enoughCase 3 (Page 24)The conflict here is a difference in cultural values and beliefs. In

11、the beginning, Mary didn ' t realize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally. In the Dominican view, family possessionsare shared by everyone of the family. Luz was acting as mostDominican sisters woould do in borrowing without asking every time. Once Mary understo

12、od that there was a different way of looking at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experience frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).Case 4 (

13、Page 25)It might be simply a question of different rhythms. Americans have one rhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different rhythms. The American rhythm is fast. It is characterized by a rapid acceptance of others

14、. However, it is seldom that Americans engage themselves entirely in a friendship. Their friendship are warm, but casual and specialized. For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinnernot because you don ' t th

15、ink she could handle a fork and a knife, but becauseyou have seen her that morning.Therefore, you reserve your more formal invitation to dinner for someone who lives in a more distant part of the city and whom you would not see unless you extended an invitation for a special occasion. Now, if the fi

16、rst friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reserve thissee the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings,and invite the first one more formally to dinnerAmericans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends

17、 rapidly, and they don ' t feel like it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt. But in similar circumstances, people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.Unit 2Culture and CommunicationThe

18、an alysis of this case: (Page 38)The least three things among the following Tom did that were regarded to be impolite:b. Tom ope ns the gift as soon as he is prese nted with it.d. Tom does not make a second offer of drinks when they refuse the first.e. Tom talks about the cost of living in the U.S.A

19、.f. Tom does not ask them to stay Ion ger whe n they say they must be leavi ng.g. Tom does not go out to see them off.Case 5(Page 60)Analysis:The Chin ese guide should refuse the first offer because he is obey ing the Chin ese rules for com muni cati on. We Chin ese are modest, polite and well-behav

20、ed. Maybe the guide is wait ing for a second or third offer of beer, but he doesn' t know the reasons behind the rule in Americanculture that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A pers on may not drink for religious reas ons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. What

21、ever the reas on, you do not in sist on offeri ng alcohol. So they politely n ever made a sec ond offer of beer to the guide.Case 6 (Page 61)When a speaker says something to a hearer,there are at least three kinds of meanings involved:utteranee meaning, the speaker' s meaning and the hearer '

22、; s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litzasked how long her mother- in-law was going to stay, she meant that if she knew how long she was going to saty in Finland, she would be able to make proper arran geme nts for her, such as taking her out to some sightseeing. However, her mother-in- law took Litz

23、 ' s question to mean“ Litz does not want me to saty for long” . From the Chin ese point of view, it seems in appropriatefor Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in- law ' s arrival. If she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she shoul

24、d not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7(Page 62)An alysis:Keiko in sists on givi ng valuable gifts to her college frien ds, because in coun tries like Japa n, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don ' t have one to offer in return, you will p

25、robably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesn offer a gift in return may be con sidered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japa n, gifts are a symbolic way to show the care, respect, gratitude and further friendship. Keiko' s college friends wouldrather round up some of the

26、necessary items and they are willing to have her use them. They really expected nothing from her. For in America, people don ate their used household items to church or to the commu ni ty. They would n ever con sider these old items as gifts to Keiko. SoKeiko ' s valuable gifts have made her Ame

27、rican friends feel uncomfortableCase 8(Page 62)When the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Chritmas in the America n way, for she wan ted very much to appear the same as other America n girls. She did not like to see her boyfrie

28、nd disappo in ted at the Chinese Christmas. That' s why she cried when she found parents had invited theminister ' s family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Chritmas meal created by her mother a stra nge one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes

29、 but only Chin ese food. How could she no tice the n the food chose n by her mother were all her favorites?From this case, we can find a lot of differe nces betwee n the Chin ese and Wester n cultures in what is appropriate food for a banq uet, what are good table mann ers, and how one should behave

30、 to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shame just because one' s culture isdifferent from others' . As Amy ' s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and youronly shame is to have shame.Unit 3Cultural DiversityCase 7 (Page 76)Between friends there is inevitably a

31、kind of equality of give-and-take. Butin different cultures, people view this differently. In Chinese culture, friendships develop slowly because they are built to last. We Chinese prefer the saying “A friend indeed is a friend in need.” And we never refuse theasking for help from a friend. We never

32、 forget the timely help by a friendwhen we are on the rocks. But In American culture, they view this in a different way. Once helped, they offer their help only once. ThaS why Jackson said that Mr. Zhao was asking too much. In their view, friendships are based on common interests.1 Different Lands,

33、Different Friendships (P 77)French Frie ndshipsGerma n Frie ndshipsEn glish Frie ndshipsChi nese Frie ndships(见补充材料)American Friendships (见补充材料)补充案例(America n Frie ndshipTwo mothers, Carme n and Judy, are talki ng to each other at a park while their childre n are play ing together in the sand.Caeme

34、n: Hi, Judy.Judy: Hi, Carmen. How are you?Carmen: Fine. I ' m glad totlseteour children like to play together.Judy: Yeah, me too. I remember just a month ago they weren' tshari ng their toys.Carmen: Now it looks like they ' re enjoying each otherJudy: Fin ally! Maybe we could get togethe

35、r at each other uses ' s ho sometime. I ' m sure the kids would enjoy that.Carmen: Sure. That ' d be nice.Judy: Well, let ' s do it soon.Carmen: O.K.(Judy and Carme n con ti nue to talk while their childre n play.)Case AnalysisJudy and Carmei are not real friends. They don' t wan

36、t to get together, really.They once met each other a month ago. America ns sometimes make gen eral in vitatio n like“ Lei get together sometimes. Often this is just a way to befriendly. It is not always a real invitation. If they ' d like to set a specific (exact) time, that means a real offer2

37、Family Structure (P83)Chin ese FamilyFilipi nos FamilyViet namese FamilyJapa nese Family(See Case 9 and Case 10Lati n America n FamilyCase 9(Page 96)Traditional Japanese respect their elders and feel a deep sense of duty toward them. The elders in traditional Japanese families are typically overpowe

38、red. So the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture challenging or disagreeing with eilder ' s opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful. That is why the young chairman said nothing but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather. And it r

39、esults in the Japaneses companycompany' s withdrawal from the negotiations concerning a relationship with Phil week later.Case 10(Page 97)In Japan, a company is very much like a big family, in which the manager will take care of the employees and the employees are expected to cevote themselves to the development of the company and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own interests for the interests of the company. But to the French, a company is just a loosely-knit social organization wherein individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their families. And the family is the