1、 innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence “culture is everything and everywhe
2、re”?Culture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and
3、 communication?The three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview （religion）, and social organizations （family and state）.6. What does ones family teach him or her while he or she grows up in it?The family teaches the child wha
4、t the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our culture?Because language is not only a form of preserving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system tha
5、t is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning to?People can attach meaning to nonverbal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How can a free, culturally div
6、erse society exist?A free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society.1. Which of the definitions given above do you prefer? Why?Some may prefer a short definition, such as the on
7、e given by E. Sapir or R. Benedict, for it is highly generalized and easy to remember. Some may prefer a longer one, such as Edward T. Halls definition of culture, because it provides us with a more comprehensive understanding of culture and points out the all-pervasive impact of culture on human li
8、fe in different dimensions.2.What have you learned from those definitions about culture?Many things can be learned from those definitions, for each definition, though not without its limitations, tells us something very important about culture or certain aspect（s） of culture.3. Do you agree that our
9、 lower needs always have to be satisfied before we can try to satisfy the higher needs?Even though this is generally the case, there will still be some exceptions. Sometimes people might prefer to satisfy higher needs, for instance, esteem needs, before their lower needs, such as certain physiologic
10、al needs or safety needs, are satisfied.4. What examples can you give about how people of different cultures achieve the same ends by taking different roads?For example, everyone has to eat in order to live and this is universally true. However, to satisfy this basic need, people of various cultures
11、 may do it in very different ways: what to eat and how to eat it vary from culture to culture.5. What behaviors of ours are born with and what are learned in the cultural environment?Instinctive behaviors are behaviors that we are born with and ways of doing things in daily life, such as ways of eat
12、ing, drinking, dressing, finding shelter, making friends, marrying, and dealing with death are learned in the cultural environment.6. What other cultural differences do you know in the way people do things in their everyday life?We can also find cultural differences in ways of bringing up children,
13、treating the elderly, greeting each other, saving and spending money, and many other things people do in everyday life.7. In what ways are the Chinese eating habits different from those of the English-speaking countries?We Chinese may enjoy something that is not usually considered as edible by the E
14、nglish-speaking people. Generally we prefer to have things hot and lay much emphasis on tastes. We tend to share things with each other when we are eating with others.1. Why is it comparatively easy to make friends in the United States?Because few Americans stay put for a lifetime. With each move, f
15、orming new friendship becomes a necessity and part of their new life.2.Do people from different countries usually have different expectations about what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being?Yes. The difficulty when strangers from two countries meet is their different expectations about
16、 what constitutes friendship and how it comes into being.3. How is friendship in America different from friendship in West Europe?In West Europe, friendship is quite sharply distinguished from other, more casual relationships, is usually more particularized and carries a heavier burden of commitment
17、, while in America the word friend can be applied to a wide range of relationship and a friendship may be superficial, casual, situational or deep and enduring.4. In what country does friendship have much to do with ones family? And in what country does it not?In Germany, friendship has much to do w
18、ith ones family as friends are usually brought into the family, while in France it doesnt as, for instance, two men may have been friends for a long time without knowing each others personal life.5. What is friendship like when it is compartmentalized?For instance, a man may play chess with a friend
19、 for thirty years without knowing his political opinions, or he may talk politics with him for as long a time without knowing about his personal life. Different friends fill different niches in each persons life.6. What are friendships usually based on in England?English friendships are based on sha
20、red activity. Activities at different stages of life may be of very different kinds. In the midst of the activity, whatever it may be, people fall into steps and find that they participate in the activity with the same easy anticipation of what each will do day by day or in some critical situation.7
21、. Do you think friendship shares some common elements in different cultures? If you do, what are they?Yes. There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, invokes freedom of choice. A friend is someone who chooses and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend gives the
22、other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably a kind of equality of give-and-take.8. What do you think is the typical Chinese concept of friendship? Is it similar to or different from any of the Western friendships?It seem
23、s that the typical Chinese concept of friendship lays great emphasis on personal loyalty and also has much to do with family. It may be similar to Germany friendship to some extent and quite different from other Western friendships.9. What is your family like? In what aspects is it the same as or di
24、fferent from the traditional? What problems may arise when people from different family backgrounds communicate with one another?As we all know, many cultural differences exist in family structures and values. In some cultures, the family is the center of life and the main frame of reference for dec
25、isions; while in others, the individual, not the family, is primary. Many Chinese families are still quite traditional. They are often extended families, with three or even four generations living under the same roof. In such families, people may care a lot about families welfare, reputation and hon
26、or. No matter what they do, they tend to put the interest of the whole family as the top priority. For them, the family as a whole always comes first, and its individual members are second. However, there are also many Chinese families now in which individual needs are given more stress than ever be
27、fore and the relationship between parents and children are more egalitarian than hierarchical. Therefore, communication between people from different family backgrounds may be intercultural to some extent. What one considers as appropriate may be regarded as improper by the other, and sometimes it w
28、ould be very difficult for them to understand each other in the way each of them prefers to be understood.1. What can we do to avoid attributing a very different meaning to the phrase or interpret it much more literally?We have to be aware of the cultural implications of the phrase.2. What are the o
29、ther functions of using question forms apart from asking for information?It serves as a lubricant to move the conversation forward. A question that has this function can be called a social question.3. Why are those Germans getting stiffer and more reserved all the time when visiting Ingrid Zerbe?The
30、y are confused about how to address her, for she introduces herself by first and last name rather than by last name and professional title.4. How does the environment influence the use of language?Language reflects the environment in which we live. We use language to label the things that are around us.5. Does the author think there are exact equivalents in dictionaries that have the same meanings in different cultur
