1、中西文化差异情景案例分析报告Culture Difference Case StudyUnit 1 Language and Culture in CommunicationTheoryCommunication is something we do every day. It takes place so naturally that we simply fail to notice it until it hiccups or breaks down. Though it is commonplace, it is no exaggeration to say that communica
2、tion is life and life is communication.1.When you join a social gathering, you must be aware of rules and procedures that govern the way things are going to proceed. There is a technical term for such rules and proceduresschema. 2. Face and politeness are two other areas which are extremely valuesen
3、sitive. One of the distinctive features of Chinese politeness is selfdenigration and otherelevation.Case 1 Litz is a professor of crosscultural communication in a university in Finland. She invited her Chinese students home for an evening party.The schema from Litzs point of view includes the follow
4、ing:1.Giving invitation: by phone / by mail2.Prepare everything before the arrival of guests3.Receiving guests: open the door / express welcome / take their overcoats / introduce guests / offer them drinks / make them comfortable4.Serving food: set the table / soup first / main course / desert 5.Pos
5、t dinner activities: chat / play music / offer more drinks6.Seeing guests off: thank them for coming / good nightLitzs evening party was not very successful, because she was upset by one of her guests. Here was the initial conversation between Litz and Lin:Litz: (opens the door) Oh, Lin, how nice yo
6、u could come!Lin: Its not difficult to find your house.Litz: Come on in.Lin: (comes in)Litz: Can I take your coat?Lin: No, thanks.Litz: Ok, this way please.Lin: (take off her coat and hangs it)Analysis: Litz was hurt because Lin did not let her hang her coat. Litzs offering to hang Lins coat is one
7、of Litzs ways (its on Litzs schema). On Lins side, she thought that Litz was her supervisor and that it was inappropriate to let her supervisor hang her coat. Here we have an instance of one action attached with different cultural values.Case 2Finding an Interested BuyerGeorage Hall was in Beijing a
8、ttending a trade fair and looking for an opportunity to do business in China. He had been very successful in his business dealings in the US and prided himself on his ability “to get things moving.” His first day was going well .He looked around at the displays of sporting equipment to get some idea
9、 of whom he might approach. He was sure that his products, tennis rackets with an unusual new design, would arouse some interests. On the second day he approached the company which he felt would be most responsive to his products. He introduced himself to the general, a Mr. Li. Since he had read tha
10、t Chinese find getting down to business immediately too abrupt and rude, he began a casual conversation, eventually leading up to the topic of his products and suggesting how Mr. Lis company might benefit from using them. George then suggested that he could arrange to get together with Mr. Li and pr
11、ovide more specifics and documentation on his products.Mr. Li responded in fairly good English,” That would be interesting.”Knowing that he had only a few days left in Beijing, George wanted to nail down a time,” When can we meet?” asked George. “Ah. This week is very busy,” replied Mr. Li. “It sure
12、 is,” said George,” How about 10 oclock? Meet you here.” “Tomorrow at 10 oclock?” asked Mr. Li thoughtfully. “Right,” said George, “Ill see you then?” “Hmm, yes; why dont you come by tomorrow,” was the reply. “OK,” responded George,” It was nice meeting you.”The next day at 10 oclock he approached M
13、r. Lis companys exhibit only to find that Mr. Li had some important business and was not able to meet with George. He called back later in the day and was told that Mr. Li was not available.Analysis: 英美人士做事情讲究守时。而中国人不太重视这方面。本案列中，李先生不仅没有准时接见预约的客户，甚至放了他“鸽子”。Case 3Professor Liang has written a book on
14、Chinese culture in Chinese. His book is put on display in Beijing International Book Fair 96. Professor Liang would like to have his book translated into English and submitted to Thompson Publishers. Professor Liang has asked Li Yan, whom he meets regularly in the English Corner, to help him to talk
15、 to Peter Allright, a Thompson representative.Prof. Liang:奥莱特先生，这是鄙人的拙作。Li Tan: Mr. Allright, this a clumsy book written by your humble servant.Mr Allright: No, no, no, youre not my humble servant. We do not publish books in Chinese.Li Yan (to Professor Liang): 不，不，不，你不是我的仆人，我们不出中文书。Professor Liang:
16、 我要请李艳翻译成英文。Li Yan (to Mr. Allright): Professor Liang will ask me to translate it into English.Mr. Allright: Mm thats interesting.Analysis: Chinese authors almost always belittle their works by describing them as clumsy writings, and they use the same description when they present them to Chinese pu
17、blishers. But this will be counterproductive in English. Instead, authors should point out the merits of their works rather than “clumsiness”.Unit 2 Culture ShockTheory1. Culture shock can be described as the feeling of confusion and disorientation that one experiences when faced with a large number
18、 of new and unfamiliar people and situations. 2. There is a desire for independence and separateness, found in foreigners needs for their own privacy and autonomy3. Hospitality means the cordial and generous reception of or disposition toward guests.4. Politeness refers to the consideration for othe
19、rs, tact, and observance of accepted social usage.5. Privacy could be understood as the right of an individual to self-determination as to the degree to which the individual is willing to share with others information about himself.Case 1Jane, an American teacher in the US, had just started teaching
20、 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 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 t
21、he students said to the teacher, “I think its 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!Analysis: 在日本以及其他很多的亚洲国家里，年轻人通常成群结队的一起去参加一些社交聚会，然后一道离去。在他们看来这是很正常不过的事。然后Jane
22、认为这是一种侮辱，因为他们在同一时间里一下子全部离开了。在美国以及其他一些英语国家，晚上10点离开一个聚会相对来说是比较早的。Case 2Four Secretaries and Their Jobs Four classmates from a top Chinese university all took jobs as secretaries after graduation. Five years later the four former classmates had a reunion and discussed their jobs. Chen Qi and Dai Yun bo
23、th work as bilingual secretaries for a Finnish company in Beijing. Chen Qi is secretary to the Finn general manger, and Dai Yun is secretary to the Chinese local manger, a position only slightly lower than that of the Finn manger. Zhang Ying is from a politically prominent family and was hired as th
24、e secretary to the leader of a small government bureau in the capital city of her home province. Lu Yan works for a state run enterprise in the same city where she was hired as the secretary to the new manager for international marketing. The company has never marketed its products abroad before so
25、this office and Lu Yans position are new to the company. Five years later Chen Qi is satisfied with her job with the Finnish company but Dai Yun is not. The Finn manager receives orders from the companys home office in Finland, and he gives orders to those below him in China, including his secretary
26、 Chen Qi. He tells her how he wants his time scheduled and she then makes appointments for him according to his instructions. She translates memos and other documents and interprets from Chinese to English to Chinese. If the manager does not think Chen Qi has done her work well, he tells her right a
27、way. He is very demanding, but Chen Qi feels that she knows what her duties are and knows what her manager expects. She is confident that she is doing a good job. Dai Yun often does not have as much work to do as Chen Qi does, because her boss schedules his own appointments and does a lot of the off
28、ice paperwork himself. When he is out of town she has time to study for the graduate entrance exam. However, she is not sure whether or not she is doing a good job. Her manager tells her what she is expected to do, but he does this day by day. When people call or come to the office to see her boss,
29、she greets them in English or Chinese as necessary. She receives their memos and other messages as well as their questions and requests and passes them on to her manager. Dai Yun thinks of her job as doing what her manager wants her to do. She pays close attention to his moods and behavior, and some
30、times she is able to anticipate what he would like without him telling her.Analysis: 许多中国人在外企工作，不同国家的外企领导有不同的工作作风和标准。本案列中，戴云给不同的外国上司做秘书，在工作中出现由于不同的文化冲突而引起的各种工作以及沟通中的问题就很常见了。Case 3: One cold winter day in a Chinese city, Wang Lin on his way to the library met an American professor who knew very littl
31、e about China. After greeting him, Wang said: “Its rather cold. Youd better put on more clothes.” But the professor didnt appear happy on hearing this.Analysis: 美国人以及大部分西方国家的人们不喜欢被告知要怎么做怎么做，他们比较喜欢独立，然而中国人则习惯关心别人，这个案例中王林的建议表达的就是一种对他人的关心，可是美国教授却不习惯这样的表达。Case 4In a good restaurant, fourteen people are
32、gathered to say goodbye to their professor, who is moving to another university.Steven: May I have your attention please? Id like to call upon Ben to say a few words.Ben: Thank you, Steven. Professor Shore, colleagues: Tonight is one of those paradoxes - its a sad time and yet its a happy time. Sad, because.We are losing one of our best professors; happy because we are pleased to see Professor Shoregain the recognition that he richly deserves.Im not sure who will be able to control us and keep us
