Unit-8-humor-interpretation-in-intercultural-encounters.ppt

1、Unit 8 humor interpretation in intercultural encounters,English gas station,All Greek to me: Meaningless and incomprehensible like someone who cannot read, speak, or understand any of the Greek language would be. All In The Same Boat: When everyone is facing the same challenges. An Arm And A Leg: Ve

2、ry expensive. A large amount of money.,英格兰人谈论苏格兰人和爱尔兰人的3则笑话: 1.一个爱尔兰人给旅游公司打电话：“我坐飞机到伦敦将用多长时间？”办事员想看看飞机时刻表，对他说：“（请等）一分钟，先生！”“非常感谢！”爱尔兰人满意地答道并挂上了电话。 2.一个苏格兰人从英格兰回到了家。家人问道：“在伦敦怎么样？”苏格兰人答道：“还行！就是那些英格兰人很奇怪。我住在旅馆时，他们像疯子一样在我隔壁敲了一夜墙。”“那你当时干什么呢？”“我没干什么！我只是吹了一夜笛子！” 3.一个爱尔兰人前来伦敦度假，住进一家高级饭店。服务生拿起箱子，带他去房间。爱尔兰人生气

3、地说：“看着点儿！别以为我来自爱尔兰，就让我住进这么个小房间！”服务生连忙解释道：“别生气，先生！这是电梯。”,United Nations Survey,Last month, a world survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was: Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world. The survey was a huge failure. In Af

4、rica they didnt know what food meant. In Eastern Europe they didnt know what honest meant. In Western Europe they didnt know what shortage meant. In China they didnt know what opinion meant. In the Middle East they didnt know what solution meant. In South America they didnt know what please meant, a

5、nd In the USA they didnt know what the rest of the world meant.,English gas station,A Taste Of Your Own Medicine: When you are mistreated the same way you mistreat others. Beat A Dead Horse: To force an issue that has already ended. Beating Around The Bush: Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking dire

6、ctly about the issue.,Humor,Failure to understand humor is a common occurance.,“You are also human” A compliment in America, but cause embarrsement in China.,Humor as a pathway to intercultural communication competence,Humor goes beyond language. Learning how to explain humor and how to ask question

7、s about humor is important for intercultural communication. A two-stage process is involved in sharing humor between native and non-native speakers.,Stage 1: making new conversational rules.,There are many reasons why it is hard to explain humor.,Elements that may hinder our understanding of English

8、 humour,Vocabulary “Quid” is the modern word for what was once called a shilling”. Underpants are called “wellies”. friends are called “tossers”. If you are fond of someone, you should tell him he is a “great tosser” - he will be touched. Sayings and idoms as close as an oyster 嘴很紧 polish the apple

9、讨人欢心; 拍马屁,Background knowledge “Were not amused.” This celebrated remark was from Queen Victoria, who was expressing her dissatisfation toward something meant to be humourous.,Some stereotyped images Scientists are considered nerdy and ugly.,Rule for nonnative speakers,It is embarassing for most of

10、us to admit that we did not understand a joke. The impression of incompetence or inadequancy “when they all laugh so hard, I didnt want to ask stupid questions and spoil the fun!” Non native speakers must abandon the old rule: “admitting I do not understand and asking questions about humor is stupid

11、” Make a rule rule: “asking questions about humor is acceptable and it is a sign of courage rather than incompetence” Its better to be stupid for three minutes than for an entire lifetimeconfucius.,Cultural and personal idiomatic verbal and nonverbal expressions,Idiomatic verbal expressions its way

12、over my head! I didnt get it. It left me out in the cold. whoa! That was too quick for me.,Idiomatic nonverbal expressions A “T” gesture. Raising the palm of the hand beginning at the middle of the forehead up over the head accompanied by a jet light sound,Rule for native speakers,It takes two parti

13、es to converse; it also takes two to change conversational rules. Old assumption: checking weather the partner understands humor is treating him or her like a child. A new set of rules: actively checking incomprehension and encourageing questions assists intercultural understanding. “Inadequate beha

14、vior”,Step 2: explaining humor,“Out of the ordinary” Culture is usually imparted in a tacit way. tacit tsit adj.心照不宣的,缄默的,默示的 They have a tacit understanding. 他俩心照不宣。,Comparison of syllogism and enthymeme,Syllogism Major premise(s) minor premise(s) Conclusion,Enthymeme minor premise(s) ,premise prem

15、is,premis,primaiz n.前提 I wonder whether the whole premise is right. 我怀疑整个前提是否正确。,syllogism sildizm,sil.dizm n. 三段论法, 演绎推理, 诡辩 A syllogism involves a three-step formal reasoning process associated with formal logic. It consists of three premises. enthymeme en.mi:m n. 省略推理法, 省略三段论法 Pieces of syllogism are usually missing. They are assumed to be understood. A speaker has to rely on his or her audience to provide the missing premises to reach the conclusion.,syllogism