Intercultural communication 3 0909.ppt

1、Intercultural Communication,Zeng Xiangmin 2012,3. Intercultural interaction: verbal communication and non-verbal communication,3.1 Verbal process 3.1.1 Cultural differences in word meanings 3.1.2 Cultural differences in syntactical patterns 3.1.3 Cultural differences in pragmatics 3.1.4 Cultural dif

2、ferences in discourse 3.2 Non-verbal process 3.3 Cultural influences on contexts,3.1 verbal process,3.1.1 Cultural differences in word meanings Seven types of meaning proposed by Leech four categories concerning cultural differences in word meanings: (1) similar conceptual meaning, but distinctive e

3、ven opposite associative meaning (2) similar conceptual meaning, but partially similar associative meaning (3) similar conceptual meaning, but rich associative meaning in one culture and no associative meaning in the other culture (4) unique vocabulary in a certain culture,Seven types of meaning,1)

4、Conceptual meaning 概念意义 2) Connotative meaning 内涵意义 3) Social meaning 社会意义 4) Affective meaning 情感意义 5) Reflected meaning 反映意义 6) Collocative meaning 搭配意义 ( from the second to the sixth types are known as associative meaning 联想意义) 7) Thematic meaning 主题（主位）意义,(1) similar conceptual meaning, but dist

5、inctive even opposite associative meaning,龙 - dragon 中国龙 Chinese dragon. 亚洲四小龙 four tigers 望子成龙 want ones son to be somebody, 风月 (wind and mood) love affairs 江湖 (rivers and lakes) all corners of the country 流落江湖 live a vagrant life 走江湖 tramp from place to place to make a living 江湖骗子 swindler 江湖医生 qu

6、ack, 菊 chrysanthemum (a symbol of longevity in Chinese, but in English it symbolizes funeral) 白日作梦 day dream (pleasant thoughts, hope, wish, idea) 绅士，君子 (moral man; perfect man ) gentleman 妥协 compromise,(2) similar conceptual meaning, but partially similar associative meaning,a) materialism 唯物主义（追求物

7、质享受, 物质主义）； b) idealism 唯心主义（理想主义）； 在英语中，idealism 作为“理想主义”解时，他的对立面就是materialism， 前者具有不图私利，为理想而奋斗的意思，而后者却具有贪图物质享受、贪图私利的意思。 c) liberalism 自由主义（反对政治宗教的束缚）；,d) individualism 个人主义（个性） e) pragmatism 实用主义 （务实； 讲实际，实用） f) philosophy 哲学 the philosophy of law/ science 法学/科学原理; moral philosophy 伦理学 g) politics

8、 政治，有时，含有为争权夺利而不惜采取欺骗或其他手段的意思。 h) color words,GREEN,green with envy green-eyed green hand 绿帽子green hat?,RED,red-letter day (vs. black-letter day) to paint the town red roll out the red carpet for someone 红双喜 double happiness written in red 开门红 begin well, make a good start,RED,to see red become angr

9、y red flag 红旗？危险信号 (a symbol of danger) waving a red flag cause quick anger in other people red tape excessive use of formalities in public business 官僚气习 你红光满面。 Your face is very red. (wrong) You look so healthy and full of pep. You look the very picture of health and energy,RED,红卫兵 red guard 又红又专 r

10、ed and expert ? both socialist-minded and professionally qualified 一颗红心 a red hear? loyal to the party, having socialist virtues,(3) similar conceptual meaning, but rich associative meaning in one culture and no associative meaning in the other culture, 竹子 - bamboo 竹林七贤、胸有成竹、势如破竹、雨后春笋 daffodil - 黄水仙

11、 In English, to express the coming of the spring and the happiness narcissus - 水仙花,(4) unique vocabulary in a certain culture,街道妇女 street women women working in the neighborhood community 个体户 individual household self-employed businessman 全民所有 owned by the whole people state-owned 愚公移山 the Foolish O

12、ld Man who moved mountains Yu Gong,(4) unique vocabulary in a certain culture,Brand Names and Trade Marks: 帆船（闹钟） Junk (破烂？) 白象电池 White Elephant Battery 笨，不干活？ 鹅牌（羽绒服） Goose 笨重？ 方圆牌 Square-Circle (又圆有方，不三不四？),(4) unique vocabulary in a certain culture,双龙 Double Dragon (恐怖？) 菊花牌电扇 Chrysanthemum (fune

13、ral?) 金鸡鞋油 Golden Cock Shoe Polish (cock?) 海燕 Petrel (disaster?),3.1.2 Cultural differences in syntactical patterns,3.1.2.1 inflectional vs. noninflectional language English: structure first Chinese: semantic first “中国队大胜美国队”和“中国队大败美国队”。 “晒太阳”、“恢复疲劳”、“吃小灶”,3.1.2.2 parataxis vs. hypotaxis 中文：意合(parat

14、axis)，即靠词语和句子内在意义的逻辑联系隐性衔接 英文：形合(hypotaxis)，使用词汇语法等具体的语言形式把词语句子结合成语篇显性衔接 孟子曰：“饥者甘食，渴者甘饮，是未得饮食之正也，饥渴害之也。”（孟子尽心篇 The hungry think any food sweet, and the thirsty think the same of any drink, and thus they do not get the right taste of what they eat and drink. The hunger and thirst, in fact, injure the

15、ir palate.,枯藤，老树，昏鸦。/ 小桥，流水，人家。/ 古道，西风，瘦马。/ 夕阳西下，/ 断肠人在天涯。 Crows hovering over rugged old trees wreathed / with, rotten vine - the day is about done. / Yonder is a tiny bridge over a sparkling stream, / and on the far bank, a pretty little village. / But the traveler has to go on down this ancient r

16、oad, the west wind / moaning, his bony horse groaning, trudging towards the sinking sun, / farther and farther away from home.,3.1.2.3 Subject consciousness vs. object consciousness: evidence in the subject of sentence and cohesive devices During this period an intense competition developed between

17、research workers in Australia and in America, and basic discoveries followed one another in rapid succession. 译文：这期间澳大利亚和美国的研究工作者开展了紧张的竞赛，因而，基础性的发现接二连三涌现出来。,原因分析,中文：主体意识（中国人讲“天人合一、人法自然、万物皆备于我”，所以凡事凡物都有很强的主体参与意识，语言表现多以“人”做主语。） 英文：客体意识（由理性的分析而执着于主客分离和区别，所以一方面或以“人”这个主体为主语，或以事物这个客体为主语，视需要而定；另一方面更多地抱客观审视

18、的态度，以事物为主语，对之进行客观、冷静的剖析和描述）,3.1.3 Cultural differences in pragmatics,John Austin constructed a new model of three kinds of acts (cited from Dai Weidong 1989: 107) 1) Locutionary act 发话行为；言中行为 the act of saying something; it is an act of conveying literal meaning by means of syntax, lexicon and phono

19、logy. 2) Illocutionary act 话中行为；言外行为 the act performed in saying something; its force is identical with the speakers intension. 3) Perlocutionary act 话后行为；言后行为 act performed by or resulting from saying something.,Examples,Chinese: 你上哪里去？ English: Where are you going? Chinese: 你吃了吗？ English: Have you

20、 eaten? English: Your wife looks so beautiful! (at a party) Chinese: 你老婆太迷人了！,Pragmatic failure,Pragmatic failure is the inability to understand what is meant by what is said. In intercultural communication people from different cultures speak the same language, but their communication may break dow

21、n due to cultural differences in ways of thinking, rules of speaking, social values, lexical connotations, and other factors. So pragmatic failure does not refer to the errors of language use in making sentences, but refers to the errors of inappropriateness when speaking; or the errors of not getti

22、ng the expected communicative effects caused by the inappropriateness of speaking manner, the expression inconsistent with custom.,(1) pragmalinguistic failure,pragmalinguistic failure, “which occurs when the pragmatic force mapped by S (speaker) onto a given utterance is systematically different fr

23、om the force most frequently assigned to it by native speakers of the target language, or when speech act strategies are inappropriately transferred from L1 to L2”. Thomas (1983: 99),Lexical level, syntactical level, textual level,Case studies,Huang Guangqin studies in America. One day she had a cha

24、t with her hostess Susan about family relationships and child-raising. She said, “In China, the parent is more likely to make the decision for the child, and the children are not supposed to make their own decisions when theyre young.” Susan said, “Really? But in America, every person is encouraged

25、to act independently and be responsible for his actions, so children are encouraged at an early age to start making,Case studies,decisions. This allows them to learn to express their individual desires and make choices.” Guangqin said, “But whatever the parents do, they do it for the sake of their c

26、hildren since all the parents in China hope their children will be dragons.” After hearing that, Susan felt very surprised, “Dragons? Why do your Chinese parents hope their children will be monsters?”,Case studies,Mr. Golles works in an international company in China. Once he commented on his secret

27、ary Dobbie with his colleague, Wang Fei. “I think Dobbie devoted herself to the post. She is a really white person.” “A white person?” Wang Fei was surprised, “No, she is from Africa.”,Case studies,A Chinese paid a visit to an American friend. After he learned that the beautiful curtains were made b

28、y the friends wife, he said to the friend, “Well, I didnt expect she could make such beautiful curtains.” The hostess was upset by his remark and this spoilt the visit.,(2) sociopragmatic failure,sociopragmatic failure, which refers to “the social conditions placed on language in use” and “stems fro

29、m cross-culturally different perceptions of what constitutes appropriate linguistic behaviour”. Thomas (1983: 99),Case studies,One American friend invited a visiting scholar to watch a movie. The following was the conversation between them. American: What kind of movie do you like? Chinese: I dont c

30、are. Its up to you. American: Since I live here, I can go any movie I like at any time. But if you have any movie particular in your mind, I will take you to that. Chinese: I dont mind. Any movie you like will be fine.,Reasons for pragmatic failure - on the one hand, from pragmatic transfer - on the

31、 other hand, from failure in understanding differences of sociolinguistic rules, rules of speaking or interaction rules, e.g. cooperative principles; politeness principle) in two cultures. One case study: the speech act of apology,3.1.4 Cultural differences in discourse,Chinese: inductive vs. Englis

32、h: deductive (Chinese: climaxing 高潮式vs. English: anticlimax 逆潮式) 徐念慈指出，东方人的语篇结构是“起笔多平铺，结笔多圆满”；西方语篇结构是“起笔多突兀，结笔多洒脱”。,东西方篇章结构之差异（贾玉新，1997: 398）,Case studies: Why is English important to scientists? (A Chinese students composition),Today English is the most widely used language. When a scientist draws

33、a conclusion after a long period of study, he wants to let other people know his discovery. How should he do so? If he writes the paper in his native language, only some people will understand it. If he writes it in English, then more people will know it and other scientists may discuss it and form

34、different opinions. It is good for the development of science. Other,scientists can learn about their work. English, as a useful tool, is helpful for the scientists to communicate information. If every scientist knows English, he can see others opinions without difficulty. So English is important to

35、 scientists.,3.2 Non-verbal communication,3.2.1 body language / kinesics (身势学) / gestures 体态语 3.2.2 paralanguage 副语言 3.2.3 object language 客体语 3.2.4 environmental language 环境语,3.2.1 Body language,(1) nodding / shaking ones head Ex. 1 Mama pursed her lips. “We do not,” she reminded us gently, “want t

36、o have to go to the bank,” We all shook our heads. 妈妈努了努嘴，温和地提醒我们说：“咱们最好别动银行的存款。”我们都点了点头。 Ex. 2 In Ceylon, a yes answer to a specific question is indicated by a nod of the head, whereas general agreement is indicated by a slow sideways swaying of the head.,3.2.1 Body language,(2) greetings Ex. 3 In

37、France, where a traditional U.S. handshake is considered too rough and rude, a quick handshake with only slight pressure is preferred. In Latin America, a hearty embrace is common among men and women alike, and men may follow it with a friendly slap on the back. In Ecuador, to greet a person without

38、 a handshake is a sign of special respect. In India, the handshake may be used by Westernized citizens, but the preferred greeting is the namaste - placing the palms together and nodding ones head. In Japan, the traditional form of greeting is a bow or several bows.,Lord Macartney Embassy to China (

39、1793),Obama bows while meeting Emperor Akihito of Japan,3.2.1 Body language,Ex. 4 Some Westerners think that Chinese people are cold because parents dont kiss their children, nor do husbands and wives seem to kiss each other when they meet after a long separation. (3) patterns of eye contact One stu

40、dy showed that Arabs, Latin Americans, and Southern Europeans focused their gaze on the eyes or face of their conversational partner, whereas Asians, Indians and Pakistanis, and Northern Europeans tend to show peripheral gaze or no gaze at all.,3.2.1 Body language,In the United States, the average l

41、ength of eye contact is 2.95 seconds, and the average length of time two people gaze at each other is 1.18 seconds. Any less than that and we may think the person is shy, uninterested, or preoccupied. Any more than that and we may think the person is communicating unusually high interest. Ex. 5 Some

42、 Western speakers think that Chinese students dont pay much attention to their talks, because they tend to avoid direct eye contact to the speaker and dont like to raise questions at the end of the talk.,3.2.1 Body language,(4) facial expression: smile Ex. 6 A Chinese man, Mr. Wang had just started

43、working in a new company in Australia. It was morning teatime and he was sitting in the tearoom smoking a cigarette. Suddenly one of his workmates came in and angrily pointed to a “No Smoking” sign. Mr. Wang was very embarrassed. He laughed and put his cigarette out. However, this did not seem to sa

44、tisfy the man, who started to talk rapidly and angrily. Hoping to calm him down, Mr. Wang smiled and apologized, trying to explain that he had not noticed the sign.,3.2.1 Body language,(5) other gestures Ex. 7 Showing thanks to the welcoming crowd: Chinese people hold up their arms, place the palms

45、and shake from forward to backward. But in English-speaking countries, the sign is assumed to show happiness by winners, especially sportsman. Ex. 8 Showing a sign of hitching. Ex. 9 Asking people to come up: Ex. 10 Circling ones index finger around the temples: being crazy for Americans but indicat

46、ing that one should think for Chinese people,3.2.2 Paralanguage,Paralanguage is communication that goes beyond the specific spoken words. It includes pitch, amplitude, rate, and voice quality of speech. Paralanguage reminds us that people convey their feelings not only in what they say, but also how

47、 they say it. 3.2.2.1 Silence 3.2.2.2 Turn-taking 3.2.2.3 Nonverbal sound,中国人喜欢保持沉默，也常常爱以沉默对待你，拒绝回答你的问题。 英语国家的人感觉受到了极大的侮辱。中国人要牢记在心的是，在英语国家的人当中沉默是高贵的，但它是对儿童在成人面前的态度而言的。在成人之间，无论如何文不对题，只要听清了问题就必须做出回答，因为听到提问后保持沉默，显然是对对方的蔑视。宁可说一句“我不想告诉你”，也比沉默不语强。 中国餐桌上虽然很少沉默寡言，但饭菜上来以后交谈很少。英语国家的人的习惯是吃喝并不重要，认为请客吃饭只是提供了一个社交

48、谈话的机会，因此当他们看到中国人不爱交谈时，感到有点迷惑不解。（转引自毕继万, 1999: 47）,US Presidents Obamas “Burnt Toast”,Giving feedback: Oh, Sure; Uh huh; Oh, I see; Yeah Interrupting: Excuse me, but I didnt quite understand. / I am sorry, but I have a question. Notice a potential misunderstanding: mm mm uttered by Chinese in an effort to show the attention is misunderstood by Americans that “Okay! Okay! I understand! Hurry up and finish talking!”,Control of pitch: