probably thought North Americans most uncouth.
1) To avoid intercultural misunderstanding, do you think the Chinese guide should not have refused the first offer? And why or why not?
2) If you were to offer or be offered something, how would you behave? Would you behave in the Chinese way or the American way? And why?
6. Read the following and think about the questions:
Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qian have been on good terms with each other, though Mr. Zhao lives in China while Mr. Qian became an overseas Chinese working in the United States. The two both have children about the same age. Mr. Qian has two brothers who live in the U.S. and manage their family businesses. And both Mr. Zhao and Mr. Qian have business that seems fairly prosperous.
In recent times, however, Mr. Qian is bogged down with some difficulties, and in fact, his business is almost on the rocks. But, he has an opportunity to invest in a very promising venture but at the moment does not have enough cash. He realizes that this venture will be able to help him nurse his business back, and that his two brothers do not have the large sum he needs. He weighed the situation carefully and then telephoned Mr. Zhao for help. Mr. Zhao gladly lent him the money, and the venture did turn out very profitably for Mr. Qian, who was then able to repay Mr. Zhao with the interest immediately.
Later that year, when Mr. Zhao‘s daughter was applying for a course in the United States, he called Mr. Qian to help to get his daughter into the college by using his connections. Mr. Qian acquiesced and secured a place for Mr. Zhao‘ daughter. A year later, Mr. Zhao‘s nephew was going to the States. He asked Mr. Qian if his brothers could help him and give him a job when he got there. Again, Mr. Qian complied without hesitation.
But when this was known by one of Mr. Qian‘s American friends, Jackson, he didn‘t seem to be able to understand all the assistance Mr. Qian had given to Mr. Zhao, though Mr. Qian had told him a lot about the relation between them. Jackson said that Mr. Zhao was asking too much. Questions
1) Why do you think Jackson said that Mr. Zhao was asking too much?
2) What differences are there between the Chinese understanding of friendship and the American one?
Part Seven Language and Culture
一、讨论题
Words for animals and plants usually have the same denotations in different languages, but very often have distinct connotations. For example, ―dog‖ has quite different connotations in Chinese and English. gou(狗) is quite derogative in China: 狗急跳墙，狗仗人势，狼心狗肺， 狗腿子，etc. But ―dog‖ in the west is considered the best friend of man, which is well established in their cultures. So they feel disgusted at eating dog meat. In most cases dog is positive in its connotations.
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Examples are: ―You lucky dog.‖ ―Every dog has its day.‖ ―Love me, love my dog.‖ ―He worked like a dog.‖ ―You can‘t teach an old dog new tricks.‖
1. Work in small groups and find out the connotations of the following animals and plants in both languages.
1) dragon, phoenix, owl, bat, peacock, chicken, beaver,
2) song(松),bai(柏), tao(桃),zhu(竹),mei(梅), ju(菊),and lan(兰).
2. In China we address a stranger with an advanced age ―Grandpa‖ or ―Grandma‖. Why do we do so since that stranger is not connected to us by blood? How does this sound to an English ear?
3. Chinese routinely use many position-linked or occupation-linked titles to address people, such as王经理, 马局长, 张主任, 李医生, etc. Discuss why? Do
二、分析、解答题 Dialogue 1
This occurs between a Chinese employee Wang and his American boss Andy. Andy wants Wang to do extra work on Saturday, but Wang doesn‘t want to work on Saturday because it‘s going to be his son‘s birthday.
A: It looks like we‘re going to have to keep the production line running on Saturday. W: I see.
A: Can you come in on Saturday? W: Yes, I think so.
A: That‘ll be a great help.
W: Yes, Saturday is a special day, did you know? A: What do you mean? W: It‘s my son‘s birthday.
A: How nice. I hope you all enjoy it very much. W: Thank you. I appreciate your understanding. Questions
1) What does the Chinese employee mean by saying ―I see‖? Does it mean agreement, acceptance or promise?
2) To the direct request ―Can you come in on Saturday‖, what should the Chinese employee say to avoid further misunderstanding?
3) Why does the American boss fail to understand what the Chinese employee implies by saying ―It‘s my son‘s birthday‖? Why does the Chinese fail to say ―no‖?
Dialogue 2
This is a dialogue between a senior American employee (A) and his boss who is an Asian American (B). A: Well, how am I doing?
B: (Sam makes a lot of mistakes, but I do not want him to feel discouraged, so I will not tell him) Just fine. You learn very quickly.
A: (Why is he complimenting me? I don‘t think I am doing a very good job) How about this part? Is this okay?
B: (It‘s hard for me to say this! If he thinks he made mistakes, why doesn‘t he say so?) Oh, yes…well, um…I think maybe you need to work oh… a little more slowly…
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oh I am sorry, I do not mean to criticize…
A: (Why is he afraid to criticize me?) No, no, I want to know what needs improvement. I didn‘t do this part correctly, did I?
B: (You did it all wrong) Oh, I did not mean that. Really, your work is fine. (What does he want me to say?!) Questions
1) Why does the boss refuse to tell the employee directly what he actually feels about his work?
2) Do you think it is right and natural for the employee to press for definite answers to his questions?
3) If you were the boss or the employee, what would you do in a similar situation?
Part Eight Non-verbal Communication
一、讨论题
1. Study the following case ( from Qshima & Hogue, 1983) and try to explain the
differences between two cultures.
A. While lecturing to his poetry class at Ain Shams University in Cairo, a British professor became so relaxed that he leaned back in his chair and revealed the bottom of his foot to the astonished class. The next day the Cario newspaper carried headlines about the student demonstration that resulted, and they denounced British arrogance and demanded that the professor be sent home.
B. People in different cultures have different customs concerning the use of time. Read the following case (from Tomalin & Stempleski, 1998) and discuss why Jane was not happy.
Jane, an American teacher in the US, had just started teaching English to a group of Japanese students. She wanted to get to know the students more formally, so she invited them to her house for a party. The students all arrived together at exactly 8:00 p.m. They seemed to enjoy the party: they danced, sang, and ate most of the food. At about 10:00 p.m., one of the students said to the teacher, ―I think it‘s time for me to leave. Thank you very much for the party.‖ Then all the other students got up to go, and all left at the same time. Jane decided she would never invite them again!
C．Bill is the Managing Director of an American company in China. Recently, Gang Wang, one of the Chinese managers made a mistake at work that caused some financial loss. He was very upset about what had happened, and came to Bill‘s office to make a formal apology.
Entering the office, he smiled before speaking. ―Bill, I‘ve been feeling terribly sorry for the loss. I am here to make a sincere apology and promise that it will never happen again,‖ he said, wearing the smile all the time.
But Bill found it hard to accept the apology and looking at him, asked, ―Are you sure?‖
Gang Wang gave a good yes while smiling.
Still, Bill did not accept his apology and said angrily, ―You don‘t look sorry at all. If you‘re really sorry, how can you still smile?‖
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Gang Wang‘s face turned quite red, standing there dumbfounded.
D. Guihua, a Chinese student, and Jenny, an American student studying Chinese in China were on their way to the department store. As they got to the store, they saw a young boy walking down a flight of stairs. In his hurry, the boy missed the last two steps, and fell on the ground. He struggles to get back to his feet while people around him laughed. Luckily, he seemed to be OK.
Jenny was worried but found Guihua smiling a little. Curiously, she asked, ―How could people laugh when he fell like that? Why didn‘t they come up and ask him whether he was hurt?‖
Guihua said, ―They knew he wasn‘t hurt too much.‖ Still, Jenny couldn‘t understand. She said. ―A fall is a fall. In my culture, people would do anything but laugh!‖
2. Read the story ( from 邓炎昌，刘润清，1989) and discuss in small groups whether the principal‘s judgment is correct, and why. Next, think how Chinese people have eye contact in communication.
A teenage Puerto Rican girl in a New York high school was taken with a number of other girls to the principal for suspected smoking. Although there was no proof of any wrongdoing and although she had a good record, the principal decide she was guilty and suspected her. ―There was something sly and suspicious about her,‖ he said in his report. ―She just wouldn‘t meet my eye. She wouldn‘t look at me.‖
3. Work in small groups and find out what messages smiles and laughter usually convey. Study the following three cases and explain why the people in each case smiled or laughed.
A. In a Chinese classroom a girl was asked to answer a question. She stood up and
smiled, without making any sound.
B. When an American is parking his bicycle and the bicycle accidentally falls over, he feels embarrassed at his awkwardness, and is quite angered and humiliated when Chinese onlookers laugh.
C. In the dining room, when an American drops a plate quite by accident and feels bad, and Chinese onlookers laugh, compounding his discomfort and causing anger and bad feeling
4. Discuss in small groups whether the following phenomena are acceptable in China and in other parts of the world:
Handholding between members of the same sex and between members of different sexes in public; kissing, hugging and embracing in public; and fondling other people‘s babies and small children.
二、分析、解答题
1. Since silence can send messages, it should be paid adequate attention to when communicating. Discuss why silence should not be neglected in communication. What messages can silence convey? Do Chinese audiences usually ask questions after
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