1、跨文化交际案例跨文化交际案例Case 1Litz 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 following:1. Giving invitation: by phone / by mail2. Prepare everything before the arrival of
2、 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. Post dinner activities: chat / play music / offer more drinks6. Seeing guests off: th
3、ank 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 you could come!Lin: Its not difficult to find your house.Litz: Come on in.Lin: (com
4、es 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 of Litzs ways (its on Litzs schema). On Lins side, she thought that Litz was her
5、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 attending a trade fair and looking for an opportunity to do business in China. He
6、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 of whom he might approach. He was sure that his products, tennis rackets with an
7、 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 that Chinese find getting down to business immediately too abrupt and rude, he began
8、 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 provide more specifics and documentation on his products.Mr. Li responded in fairly
9、 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 is,” said George,” How about 10 oclock? Meet you here.” “Tomorrow at 10 oclock?”
10、 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 Mr. Lis companys exhibit only to find that Mr. Li had some important business and
11、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”。Case3 Professor Liang has written a book on Chinese culture in Chinese. His book is put on display in Beijing International B
12、ook 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 to Peter Allright, a Thompson representative.Prof. Liang:奥莱特先生，这是鄙人的拙作。Li Tan: M
13、r. 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: 我要请李艳翻译成英文。Li Yan (to Mr. Allright): Professor Liang will ask me to translate it
14、 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 publishers. But this will be counterproductive in English. Instead, authors should
15、point out the merits of their works rather than “clumsiness”.（Theory Communication 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 communication is life and life is
16、 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 valuesensitive. One of the disti
17、nctive features of Chinese politeness is selfdenigration and otherelevation.）Case 4Jane, 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 party. The students al
18、l 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 its time for me to leave. Thank you very much for the party.” Then all the other students got up to go, and all l
19、eft 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 5 Four Secretaries and Their Jobs Four classmates from a top Chinese university all too
20、k jobs as secretaries after graduation. Five years later the four former classmates had a reunion and discussed their jobs. Chen Qi and Dai Yun both 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 Chines
21、e 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 the 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
22、where she was hired as the secretary to the new manager for international marketing. The company has never marketed its products abroad before so 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. T
23、he Finn manager receives orders from the companys home office in Finland, and he gives orders to those below him in China, including his secretary 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 oth
24、er 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 away. 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 g
25、ood 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 office 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
26、 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, 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
27、 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 sometimes 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
28、各种工作以及沟通中的问题就很常见了。Case 6One cold winter day in a Chinese city, Wang Lin on his way to the library met an American professor who knew very little 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.Analys
29、is: 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 7In a good restaurant, fourteen people are 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 f
30、ew 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 sur
31、e who will be able to control us and keep usin line. I think the new professor will have a difficult time. And surely no one will be able to telljokes in the same way as you, Professor. Seriously, we all know that you will be difficult toreplace. Your scholarly approach and your dedication will alwa
32、ys be remembered. I wouldtherefore like to propose a toast. Colleagues, pelase charge your glasses. Professor Shore, mayyour future be filled will great success, and may you always remember us. We know we will neverforget you. To Professor Shore!All: (Standing up) To Professor Shore! (Everyone drinks. Professor Shore remains seated andsmiles at them all.)Analysis：就餐时总是要在各种缘由下向人敬酒：可以是非正式的，向朋友或同事敬酒；也可以是正式的，向全体聚会的人敬酒。与中国式的敬酒大不相同的是，在西方正式的敬酒时，受敬的人是不能喝酒的，而是正襟危坐，两眼睁睁看别人喝酒。
