中西文化之鉴跨文化交际教程

(完整word版)中西文化之鉴跨文化交际教程(完整word版)中西文化之鉴跨文化交际教程(完整word版)中西文化之鉴跨文化交际教程Chapter3：MakingGeneralizationsWhenpeoplehavelittleinformationaboutagroupofpeopletheyarelikelytothinkoftheminaverygeneralway。Iftheotherpeoplewithwhomtheyinteractalsolackinformationaboutthatgroup,theyarelikelytoshareanoverlygeneralizingbasedonlimitedorinaccurateinformationiscalledstereotyping。WeallmakegeneralizationsEveryonegeneralizeseverydayjusttomakesenseofhisexperience。Noonecanrespondtoeverysituationasifitwereentirelynewandunique。Astudentanticipatingaclasstaughtbyateacherhehasnevermet,generalizesfromhisexperiencethatteachershavecertaintypicalbehaviors，opinions，andexpectations。Thestudentinteractswiththenewteacherhemeetsbasedonthegeneralizationshehasmadefromhispreviousteachers.Thisisnormalandsensible.Thestudentmayhaveaproblem,however，ifthegeneralizationhemakesistoobroadorisbasedoninadequateoroutdatedinformation。Suchaninappropriategeneralizationcangethimintotrouble。Somegeneralizationsaretoobroad，out—of–date，orinaccurateWhenIwasaskedtogivealecturetoasecondyearintensivereadingclassabouttheAmericancharacterIwasfacedwithacomplexproblemofgeneralization。Firstofall，areallAmericansalike?Dotheyallhavethesamecharacter？Ofcoursenot，butitispossibletosaythatAmericanstendtohavethisorthatattitudeorspeakinthisorthatway.Peoplewithasharedexperienceandsharedhistorydohavethingsincommon。ThestudentshadbeenreadinganessaybytherespectedAmericanhistorianHenrySteeleCommager。InmylectureIwassupposedtoexpandonwhatCommagerhadsaidabouttheAmericancharacter.Theessaywaswritteninthe1960’sandIwaslecturinginthe1990’s。Surelymuchhadchangedinthattime.AnotherproblemwasthatCommagerwascomparingAmericanculturetoEuropeancultures。Whilehisgeneralizationsmayhavebeenappropriateatthetimetheessaywaswrittenandforhisintendedaudience,itwasnotasusefulageneralizationforChineseuniversitystudentsreadingitinthe1990’s。AfurtherproblemwasthatCommagerwasdescribingwhathavecometobecalleddominantcultureAmericans。Therewasnomentionofsubcultures,regionalorsocialclassdifferences。IrealizedthatChinesestudentswhoformedtheirgeneralizationsaboutAmericansAgeneralizationthatwastoobroadWhenIfirstarrivedinhongkongIwasinvitedtoafamilyhomefordinner.Ihadreadaboutleavingfoodinthebowltoindicatethatyouhavehadenough,soafterhavingmayfillIleftabouthalfaninchofricesatthebottomofmybowl。Tomyhorrortheladyofthehousegavemearealmouthful,inCantoneseofcourse。Notspeakingthelanguagemyselfatthattime，IhadnoideawhatIhaddonewrong.IaskedmynewChinesefriendwhyhismotherhadshoutedatmesoangrily,andIwastoldthatshewasupsetbecauseIhadleftsomericeinnybowl.ApparentlyleavingfoodinyourbowlisnotthecorrectthingtodointheSouthofChina.SomegeneralizationsincludepositiveornegativejudgmentsInmylectureItriedtopointouttheseproblemsandcautionthestudentsaboutmakinggeneralizations，butusuallythatdoesnothappen。Thousands，ifnotmillions，ofChineseuniversitystudentshavereadthatessayandconsideritareliablesource。Ifwasreliableforitstimeandforitsintendedaudience，butitisn’tnecessaryreliableforalltimeandforallaudiences.UndoubtedlystudentsinotherculturesreadsimilaressaysaboutChina.Anotherproblemwithgeneralizationsisthatsometimestheinformationwereceiveaboutotherculturescontainsbiases.Thesecanbepositivebiasesornegativebiases.Areadermightthinktheinformationispurelyfactual,whileinrealityitisintendedtoencourageaparticularattitudetowardaspecificgrouporculture。Sometimeseventheauthorsarenotawareoftheirownbiases.AfewyearsagotheprestigiousAsiaSocietyintheusedintheUnitedStatesdidastudyofhowAsianculturesweredescribedintextbooksusedinAmericanschools。TheyfoundthatAmericanbooks“oftenpresentAsianculturesnegatively,regardingthemashindrancestoprogressorasprimitivetrappingsthatwillbecomeoutmodedwhenchangehastakenplace。"StudentsusingthesetextbooksaresubtlylearningthatWesterncultureissuperiortoAsianculture。Suchshortcomingsincross—culturaleducationonbothsidesofthePacificshouldmakeuscautiousAvoidinggeneralizationsthataretoobroadInapopularbookJoelGarreauputforththeideathattheregionofNorthAmericaaresodifferentfromoneanotherthattheycanbestunderstoodasseparateculturesornations。TheNineNationsofNConsiderthewayNorthAmericareallyworks.ItisNineNations。Eachhasiscapitalanditsdistinctivewebofpowerandinfluence.Severalhavereadilyacknowledgednationalpoets，andmanyhavecharacteristicdialectsandmannerisms.Someareclosetobeingrawfrontiers；othershavefourcenturiesofhistory.Eachhasapeculiareconomy；eachcommandsacertainemotionalallegiancefromitscitizens.Thesenationslookdifferent，feeldifferent，andsounddifferentfromeachother,andfewoftheirboundariesmatchthepoliticallinesdrawnoncurrentmaps.Someareclearlydividedtopographicallybymountains，deserts,andrivers.Othersareseparatedbyarchitecture，music，language，andwaysofmakingaliving。Eachnationhasitsownlistofdesires。Eachnationknowshowitplanstogetwhatitneedsfromwhoever'sgotit。It’svaluabletorecognizethesedivergentrealities;sanFranciscoandLosAngelesarenotjusttwocities.Theyrepresenttwovaluestructures。Indeedtheyarethecapitalsoftwodifferentnations–LosAngelesthecapitalofMexAmerica,andsanFranciscothatofEcotopia。Chicagoisnotacapitalcity,becausethereisnosuchthingasthe“Midwest".ChicagoisproperlyanimportantbordermetropolisdirectingtheYettheexistenceofinterstatehighways,denseairconnections，cheaplongdistancerates,ubiquitoustelevisionandthecelebratedfranchisedhamburgerhaslulledmany，incorrectly,intosomesensethatNorthAmericahasbecomeutterlyhomogenized,ifnotbland.JoelGarreau,HoughtonMifflin,1981TheexcerptfromNineNationsofNorthAmericaremindsusthatmanysubculturesexistwithinmostnationalcultures.Inthiscaseculturaldifferencesaredescribedintermsofregionaleconomiesandcharacteristicsofthepopulationslivinginthoseregions。ThisisaratherunconventionalwayofcategorizingculturaldifferencesintheU。S.PeoplearemoreaccustomedtothinkingofAmericansubculturesintermsofraceandethnicgroups.InothercountrieslanguagedifferencesdefinetheboundariesbetweensubculturesasinthecaseofFrenchspeakingandEnglishspeakingCanada。Toavoidovergeneralizations，payattentiontolevelsofcultureInChinapeoplealsodefinethemselvesasdifferentfromoneanother.LivinginJiangsuProvinceIhavefoundthatpeoplemakedistinctionsbetweenpeoplefromtheeastandthosefromsouthoftheYangtzeRiverandthosefromtheNorth(economicdifferences)。Peoplealsodefineothersassimilarordifferentfromthemselvesonthebasisofurbanorruralresidence,occupation(professionalsandworkers)，ethnicity(Hanoroneofthenationalminorities)andage。LevelsofCultureAsalmosteveryonebelongstoanumberofdifferentgroupsandcategoriesofpeopleatthesametime,peopleunavoidablycarryseverallayersofmentalprogrammingwithinthemselves,correspondingtodifferentlevelsofculture.Forexample：Anationallevelaccordingtoone’scountry（orcountriesforpeoplewhomigratedduringtheirlifetime)Aregionaland/orethnicand/orreligiousand/orlinguisticaffiliationlevel，asmostnationsarecomposedofculturallydifferentregionsand/orethnicand/orreligiousand/orlanguagegroups；Agenderlevel,accordingtowhetherapersonwasbornasagirlorasaboy；Agenerationlevel,whichseparatesgrandparentsfromparentsfromchildren;Asocialclasslevelassociatedwitheducationalopportunitiesandwithaperson’soccupationorprofession.ByGeertHofstede，CultureandOrganizations，1991Payingattentiontothemanylevelsofcultureisonewaytoavoidovergeneralizing。Peopledonotusuallythinkofpeoplewhoaredifferentfromtheminage，genderorsocialclassasbelongingtodifferentcultures。If，however，theyrealizethatpeoplewhoaredifferentinvariouswaysexperiencetheworldsomewhatdifferentlyfromthewaytheyexperienceit.Forinstance，aChineseurbandwellermaybesympathetictotheproblemsofafarmerinthecountrtyside.Heorshemayadmirethefarmerandadvocatesocialpoliciesthatwouldbenefithimandhisfamily.Atthesametimetheurbandwellermightfeelunabletofullyunderstandtheexperienceofthatfarmer,anditislikelythathewouldnotwanthisdaughtertomarrythefarmer’sson.Whendifferencesinlevelsofcultureinvolveagedifferences，peopletalkaboutthegenerationgap；whentheyinvolvedifferencesbetweenmen'sandwomen’sattitudesorvalues，peoplerefertoitasthegendergap。Theuseoftheword“gap”isrevealing,becauseifindicatesthatpeopleinthesedifferentcategoriesoftenhavedifficultyunderstandingeachother。Theydonotfullysharemeaningswithoneanother。NegativeStereotypesWhenIconductedthissurveyinaclassofthirdyearEnglishmajors，IfoundthatstudentsgavequitelowscorestopeoplefromArabandMoslemcultures,soItoldthemthisstory.IfeelathomehereOnedayImetamanfromLebanonwhowasworkingforaforeigncompanyinNanjing。“HowdoyoulikelivinginChina?”Iasked。“IlikelivinginChinaverymuch.Ifeelcomfortablehere,”hesaid,“becauseChinesecultureissomuchlikemyhomecultureintheMiddleEast。”Thestudentswereverysurprisedandwantedtoknowwhatthesesimilaritieswere，becausetheirimagesofhisculturedidnotincluedanysimilarities.ThemantoldmethathiscultureandChineseculturesharedastrongemphasisonfamilyvaluesincludingrespectforeldersandunquestioningloyaltytofamilyalikeintheirconservativeattitudesregardingrelationshipsbetweenmenandwomenascomparedtoWesterncultures.InChinaasathome,peopleunderstoodhisvaluesincludinghisobligationsandfeelingsaboutfamilyandrespectedthem。ThismadehimfeelmoreathomeinChinathaninAmericaorEurope。ThestudentsthentoldmetheimagestheyhadofMoslemcultures。Thepeoplearefanaticreligiousbelievers;womenaresubmissiveandoppressedbymen；theyaresometimesfeaturedinnewsreportsofterrorism。ItbecameclearthatthestudentshadlittleinformationaboutMiddleEasternculturesbeyondwhattheyknewfromnewsreportsandthatthisaccountedfortheirnegativebiasorprejudice。WewanttobeclosetopeoplewhoarealikeusThesurveyresultsshowedthatmostimportantforaperceptionofsimilaritywasChineseculturefollowedbyeducation,residenceinadevelopedcountryandethnicityorrace.Inessaysthatexplainedtheirresponses,manystudentsexplainedtheirchoicesbysayingthatthereisan“echooftheheart”whentwopeopleshareculture.Theyfelttherewassomethingintangibleandnon-verbalabouttheintimacythatwaspossibleonlywithaforeigner。Manystudents，however，ratededucatedforeignershigherthanlesseducatedmembersoftheirownculture.Genderdifferencesalsoprovedtobeimportant.SomestudentssaidthataChinesemanmightmarryaJapanesewomanbutaChinesewomanwouldnotmarryaJapaneseman。StudentswhoansweredinthiswaybelievethatChinesementreatwomenbetterthanJapanesewomen.Manyothersdidnotfeelthatintimatefriendshipswerepossiblewithmembersoftheoppositesex。（T/hisisanothersimilaritybetweenMiddleEasternculturesandChineseculture.）StereotypesandprejudicesAgeneralizationthatgoesbeyondtheexistingevidence,andinaccurateorovergeneralization，isastereotype.Wemighthavepositivestereotypes(membersofacertaingrouphavegoodqualities)aswellasnegativestereotypes(membersofthegrouphaveundesirablecharacteristics）.Ineithercaseitistheinaccuracyorovergeneralizationofthecharacteristicsthatweattributetoagroupthatistheproblem.Stereotypesthatincludenegativefeelingsandattitudestowardagroupareprejudices.Strongprejudicesaresometimesdescribedasracism,ageismandextremenationalism。Astereotypeinvolvesaperson’sthinkingwhileaprejudiceincludesnegativefeelingsaswellasnegativebeliefsaboutmembersofagroup.Prejudicetakesmanyforms：SevereprejudiceSomepeoplebelievethatmembersofaparticulargroupareinferioraccordingtosomestandard。Forinstance，peoplewhobelievethatwomenareinferiorinmentalabilitytomenareoftencalledsexists，whilepeoplethatblacksaregeneticallyinferiortowhitesarecalledracists.Suchpeopledeeplybelievethatmembersorthegrouparenotworthyofequalorevendecenttreatment。ThiskindofsevereprejudicewasexpressedbymanyEuro-AmericansintheirrelationshiptoNativeAmericanswhentheyagreedwiththeslogan，“TheonlygoodIndianisadeadIndian.”Todaywearerepelledbysuchterriblefeelings，butweallknowthatsuchsevereprejudicestillexistsintheworld。Anumberofrecentregionalwarshavebeenaccompaniedbywordsanddeedsdescribedbyhorrifiedobserversasgenocide,theattempttokillallmembersoftheopposinggroup.Researchonprejudiceshowsthatthiskindofsevereprejudicedecreaseswitheducation。Moreeducatedpeoplearelesslikelytothinkthatpeoplefromanothergroupareinferiororinsomewaylessthanfullyhuman。SymbolicprejudiceSomepeoplehavenegativefeelingsaboutaparticulargroupbecausetheyfeelthatthegroupisathreattotheminsomeway。Theydonotdislikethegroupitselfbutfeelthatthegroupisathreattoawayoflifethattheyvalue.Forinstance，inexplainingtheirresponsesonthesurveystudentsoftensaidthatruralrelativelyuneducatedHanChinesehavea“lowculturallevel”。Indiscussingtheiropinions,itbecameclearthatmyeducatedstudentsfeltthatuneducatedpeople，especiallythosecomingtothecityfromthecountryside，threatenedtheirwayoflife。Theymightbecomecriminal，mightcheat，mightliveinanunsanitarywayorotherwisemakethecitylesscivilized.Thosewithsymbolicprejudicemayfeelthatmembersofagroup(women，ruralmigrants，immigrantsfromaparticularcountry，etc。)aremakingunreasonabledemandsonthesociety.Theymayfeelthegroupiscostingthemmoney，drivingdownwages,puttingtoogreataburdenonthepublicschoolsorcausingovercrowding，crimeoradeclineinfamilyvalues.Thistypeofprejudiceismorecommonmembersoftheeducatedmiddleclassinvariouscountriesthanthefirsttype。TokenismSomepeoplehavenegativefeelingsaboutmembersofaparticulargroupbutdonotwanttoadmitthis,eventothemselves.Suchpeopledonotviewthemselvesasprejudicedandtoprovethistothemselvesandotherstheyoftenparticipateinunimportantbutpositivebehaviortowardmembersofthegroup.Forinstance,apersoncanconvincehimselforherselfthatheorsheisasmallamountofmoneytoacauseofaminoritygroupbydonatingthesametimethepersonislikelytopassupopportunitiestoengageinmoreimportantbehaviorsrelativetothegroup，suchasgivingasignificantamountoftimeandenergytoaprojectthatwouldbenefitthegroup.Wemightshowourlackofprejudicetowardthedisabledbyhelpingsomeoneinawheelchairtocrossthestreet,butwemaybeunwillingtoworktomakesurethatcitystreetsandpublicbuildingsareaccessibletoeveryonewhomustuseawheelchair。SubtleprejudiceSomepeoplebehavetowardmembersofagroupinapositiveandfriendlywayinrelativelydistantsocialsituationsbutshowtheirprejudiceinmorepersonalorintimatesocialsituations.Forinstance，atabanquet,intheofficeoratanypublicsocialevent,thepersonwillbepoliteandrespectful，evenfriendly,towardsomeonefromthegroupheorshefeelsprejudiceagainst。Inmorepersonalsituationssuchasadinneratsomeone'shomeorinagroupofclosefriends，thepersonwithsubtleprejudicemaybeuneasyorunfriendlytowardthepersonfromthegrouphedoesnotlike。Heorsheisshowingthattheywanttokeepmembersofthisgroupatadistanceandnotincludetheminmorepersonalrelationships.ReallikesanddislikesSomepeoplemayhavenegativefeelingsaboutmembersofagroupbecausetheydon’tlikesomeofthebehaviorofmembersofthatgroup.Forinstance,someonemayreallybebotheredbyloudmusicandknowsfromexperiencethatmembersofonegrouparemorelikelytoplayloudmusic。Thepersonmayrespectthemusicaltraditionofthatgroupbutstillmaynotlikeit.IftheolderpeopleinyourareaareveryfondofChineseoperaandliketoplaytheirmusicinadisturbingwayinalessthanpleasantmanner.WesternersvisitingChinasometimescommentontheirdislikeofspittingorthestandardofcleanlinessinpublictoilets。Whentheymeettheseconditions,theirinteractionswiththelocalpeopleinvolvedwillprobablybenegativelyinfluencedbytheirdislike，eveniftheyfullyunderstandthereasonsfortheunpleasantsituationtheyfindthemselvesin。PreferenceforthefamiliarItismorerelaxingandcomfortabletointeractwithpeoplewithwhomweshareculture，language，levelofeducation,beliefs，styleofcommunicationandexperience.Whatlookslikeprejudicemay,infact，beapreferencefornon-stressfulandenjoyableinteractions。Lackoffamiliaritywithagrouporlackoffluencyinalanguagecanmakeitdifficultforpeopletocommunicateandtheriskofmakingamistakeishigher.Ifsomeoneisunwillingtomaketheextraeffortneeded，heorshemayappeartobeinsensitivetomembersofaparticulargroup。Itmaybethatitisonlyunfamiliaritythatcausestheinsensitivityandmisunderstanding。Intheseinstancesimprovedcommunicationandmorefamiliaritywiththegroupmayhelptoimprovethesituation.AttitudesofculturalsuperiorityAttitudesandopinionsaboutanotherculturemaybepositiveornegative，accurateorinaccurate,butwhataboutouropinionsaboutourownculture?Itisnormalandnaturalforeachofustobeproudofourownculture'sachievements,valuesandcharacteristics，butsometimeswegotoofar。Weallowourpridetoturnintoanattitudethatothersarenotasgoodasweare。Hereareattitudesofsuperiorityoftenassociatedwithspecificnationalities：AmericansmightthinkthatAmericaisthebiggestthebest，thenewestandtherichest,andallothersareabitslow，oldfashioned，ratherpoorandsomewhatonthesmallside.VisitorstotheUShavecommentedthatmanyAmericansthinkallnewcomerswanttobecomeAmericans.SomeChinesethinktheyhavethehighestcivilizationintheworld，thattheirpresentrelativepovertyistheresultofhistoricalforcesthatwillsoonbecorrected,andthattheworldwillonedayrecognizethesuperiorityofChinesecivilization。Spaniardsmaytakeprideinbeingespeciallybrave.TheFrenchmaybelievethattheyareintellectuallysuperiortoeverybodyelse.Germansmayfeelthattheyarethebestinmattersofefficiency,method,andorganizationandmaybeperfectlywillingtosharetheirexpertiseontheseissueswithnon—Germans.BothAsiaandtheWesthavetraditionsthatrankcultureinhierarchiesfromtheworsttothebest,fromtheleastcivilizedtothemostcivilized.IntheWestthisideawaspopularinthenineteenthcenturyundertheinfluenceofSocialDarwinism，alineofthinkingthatsaidthatculturesevolvefromalowlevelofhigherlevels。InEuropeandAmericathisthinkingputWesternsocietyatthetop，mostlybecauseofitstechnologicalandscientificachievements.TheAmericananthropologistLewisHenryMorganinhisbookAncientSocieties（1877）definedeachlevelinthepyramidandclassifiedalltheculturesoftheworldaccordingtothissystem.CivilizationCivilizationBarbarismSavageryprogressPrimitiveculturesFigure2AnineteenthcenturywayofrankingculturesUndertheinfluenceofSocialDarwinism,somepeoplestillthinkthatprimitivecultures,whatscientistsnowcallhunter-gatherersocieties,aresimpleandbelievethatmembersofthoseculturesarelikechildren。Someofusarestillburdenedwithattitudesfromthenineteenthcenturythatbecamepopularbecausevisitorstothosecultureswereunabletounderstandwhattheywereseeingandhearingandweresoproudoftheirownculturesthattheycouldnotappreciateaculturethatwassodifferent。Nowresearcherstellusthateventhemostprimitivecultureshavecomplexsocialpatterns,valuabletechnology，wisdomlosttomore“advanced”culturesandotherachievementsworthyofourrespect。Inthesurveyyoutookearlierinthechapter,youmayhavefoundthatcultureswithlowerlevelsofeconomicandtechnologicaldevelopmentwereratedlowerthanmoredevelopedcountries.Thisisanexampleoftheproblemofattitudesofculturalsuperioritywearetalkingabout.AnEnglishmanlivinginIndonesiawrotethecommentsbelowwhenhegottiredofhearingWesternersfromhighlydevelopedcountriescriticizinghisadopted