unit-4-verbal-communication.ppt
Case AnalysisuShoes for street walkinguA misunderstanding caused by a jokeuLook out!uCase 1uStreet walker?uHave a fit?uCase 2 uHustle:u1) If you hustle someone, you are trying to make him go somewhere or do something quickly.u2) Romance or sex is hinteduCase 3:uLook out! u1) Ill look out the photograph you want to see.u2) Will you go to the station and look out for Mr. White?u3) She swivelled round to look out of the window.u4) Tell the children to look out when they cross the main streetu“Careful with fire,” is good advice, we know;u“Careful with words,” is then times doubly so.u Will Carleton, The First Settlers StoryuThe cultural connotations of words can make the difference between an active social life and none at all. Cultural-Loaded wordsuSame word, different connotationu龙：龙颜、龙袍、龙椅、龙心大喜udragon: monster u知识分子: in China, it refers to those people including college teachers, college students, middle school teachers, and such people as medical doctors, engineers, interpreters who have had a college education.uIntellectual: includes only people of high academic status, e.g. university professors )uderogatory complimentaryintelectual for Englishfor ChineseuObject/concept existing in one culture but not in anotheru干部/cadre? u(officialfunctionaryadministrator)u社会科学/social science (political science, economics, history, sociology that study human society)uhumanities(language, literature, philosophy etc., the branches of learning dealing with the cultural aspects of civilization)u公与母公与母 male & femaleubull/cow: bull seal,cow seal; bull elephant,cow elephant;ucock/hen:cock pheasant,hen pheasant;cock sparrow, hen sparrow;uchicken, cock, rooster, hen, chickuduck, drake, duck, ducklinguhorse, stallion, mare, foalumale leopardufemale pandaushe wolf副/vice,associate,assistant,deputy,lieutenant, underuVice-chairman, vice-presidentuassociate professor, associate directoruassistant manager, assistant secretaryudeputy director, assistant secretaryulieutenant governor, lieutenant generaluundersecretary (of State, U. S.) u单词及词组单词及词组 -望文之义望文之义 -实际意思实际意思 ubusboy u? 公共汽车售票员u餐厅服务员 ubook keeper u?书籍保管员 u薄记员 urest room u?休息室 u洗手间 ugo moonlighting u?月下漫步u赚外块 upersonal remark u?个人评论u人身攻击 uat seau?在海里u不知所措 ubad sailor u?坏水手u晕船的人 ufamiliar talk u?熟悉的谈话u庸俗的交谈 u由误解词义而产生的望文生义的句子由误解词义而产生的望文生义的句子u1Can I take your order？ u【误】我能接受你的命令吗？ u【正】你现在点菜吗？ u【析】order作为命令时常用复数，此处意为点菜。 u2She is a homely woman u【误】她是一个家庭妇女。 u【正】她是一个朴素的女人。 u【析】homely意为简朴的，朴实的，而非家庭的。 u3He lost a cool thousand dollars u【误】他损失了一千美元，还很冷静。 u【正】他整整损失了一千美元。 u【析】cool用于数额前意思为整整的，不折不扣的。 u4This is an open question u【误】这是个公开的问题。 u【正】这是个没有解决的，有争议的问题。 u【析】open在此句中意为未解决的，容许争议的。 u以上例句，一个共同的、易犯的错误是在理解翻译时被某些关键词的基本词义所束缚，而忽视了他们真正的、具体的、准确的意思。 uThe major semantic differences between English and Chinese terms might be grouped as follows: 1. A term in one language does not necessarily have a counterpart in the other language.2. Words or terms in both languages appear to refer to the same object or concept only on the surface, but actually refer to quite different things.3. Things or concepts are represented by one or perhaps two terms in one language, but by many more terms in the other language, that is , finer distinctions exist in the other language.4. Terms have more or less the same primary meaning, but have secondary or additional meanings that may differ considerably form each other.Cultural reflections on ProverbsuProverbs may provide interesting glimpse or clues to a peoples geography, history, social organization, social views, etc.uThe following proverbs show the similarities of human experiences and observations of both English and Chinese cultures.uA new broom sweeps clean.uMany hands make light work.uDont put off until tomorrow what you can do today.uKilling two birds with one stone.uHaste makes waste.uBeauty is just skin deep.uGive a person a dose of his own medicine.uSpare the rod and spoil the child.uWhere theres smoke theres fire.uThe grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.uStrike while the iron is hot.uOut of sight, out of mind.uBirds of a feather flock together.uLook before you leap.uWhere there is a will, there is a way.uAll good things must come to an end.uSince culture is powerful in giving a language its characteristics, the dissimilarities are naturally more apparent. Chinese proverbs without commonly known English equivalents are too numerous to be listed, for example,u良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行uFrank advice is like good herbal medicine: hard to take, but ultimately beneficial.u一人得道,鸡犬升天. uEven the dog swaggers when its master wins favor.u瓜田不纳履, 李下不整冠uNeither adjust your shoe in a melon patch; nor your hat under a plum tree.u要知朝中事，乡间问老农。uAsk the common folk, if you want to know how the country is faring.u衙门自古朝南开，有力无钱莫进来。uCourt door may open, but not to the poor.uThere are also some fairly common English proverbs that do not have exact Chinese equivalents, for example,uAbsence makes the heart grow fonder.uAn apple a day keeps the doctor away.uLet sleeping dogs lie.uYou cant teach an old dog new tricks.uYou cant have your cake and eat it too.uIt takes two to make a quarrel.uA miss is as good as a mile.uGilding the lily.uLife begins at forty.TaboosuIn any culture, some words or expressions are to be avoided because tradition or social custom strongly frowns on their use. These are verbal taboo.uTaboos beyond veral ones, such as,u1) Stir Christmas pudding clockwise.uMany Westerners think, stir pudding can make their own luck in the coming year. Therefore, when doing the Christmas pudding, every member of the family at least stir about pudding, and make a wish. But pudding-stir can only be clockwise, not counterclockwise. 2) To get out of bed on the wrong side means you will have a bad day. 3) It is unlucky to have a black cat cross the road in front of you. 4） The bride should not see the husband on the morning before the wedding. 5 ) To pass under a ladder brings bad luck. 6) Lighting three cigarettes from one match brings bad luck to the third person. uEnglish and Chinese have certain areas of agreement on taboos.For example:u1) Excreta and acts of human excretionu2) Sexual intercourse and certain parts of the bodyu such as, four-letter words: fuck, tits, etc.u3) Swear words:uswear words: Damn! Damn it! Son of bitch!u4) death and illnessEuphemism and taboouA euphemism and its corresponding taboo are the two sides of a coin.uEuphemisms are mild, agreeable, or roundabout words used in place of coarse, painful, or offensive ones.uEuphemisms are powerful linguistic devices which “are embedded so deeply in our language that few of us, even those who pride themselves on being plainspoken, never get through a day without using them”. ( Huge Rawson )DeathuChinese u“百年后” “长眠”, “安息”, “上天国/升天堂”, “去见老祖宗”, “作古” “去世”， “长眠”，“安息”，“没了”，“作古”，“谢世”, “与世长辞”，“去见马克思” “死”（die）uEnglish upass away, pass out, pass over, pass on, go to sleep, depart, depart from the world forever, decease, rest in peace, be at rest, breathe ones last, go the way of all flesh, pay ones debt to nature, go to a better world, be in heaven, be with God, etc.IllnessuChinese u 铁拐李/腿脚不方便， 耳朵背/耳朵有点不好使， 眼睛不太好uEnglishu“the mobilityimpaired, uthe hearingimpaired/hard of hearing, uvisually impaired, partiallysighted/people with low vision” etcExcretion actionsuChinese u “出恭” “更衣” “起夜” “ 解手” “去去就来”, “方便方便” ,“有事”, “去洗手” “去打个电话”uEnglish ugo to the mens /ladies room,ugo to the rest room, uwash ones hands, urelieve oneself, usee a man about a horse, ubecause nature calls; if a woman feels the call of nature, she can just say, “where can I powder my nose?” or “Where to freshen up?” SexuChinese u“房事”, “过夫妻生活”, “同房”, “圆房”, “行房”, “做爱”, “云雨”, “发生关系” uEnglish u “have an affair with”, u“go to bed with”,u“ be in bed”, u“do it”, u“make love”, u“lie with”,u “ make itEuphemism and taboou一个唱白脸一个唱黑脸uTaboo - serves as a norm in language communication about things that should not be said (bad-cop)uEuphemism- about way of saying certain things（good-cop）Differences in Cultural Thought PatternsuAfter examing the problem-solving approaches and patterns of thought in Chinese and English cultures, Kaplan (1970) concluded that the problem-solving approaches and thought patterns of English speakers from the United States were more linear and direct than that of the Semitic, Asian, Romance language, or Russian speakers.Cultural thought patternuKaplan asserts that in learning another language, one must learn the logic and problem-solving approach encouraged in that culture.Patterns of thought vary within and among cultures depending on the situations. Each culture teachers its members which patterns of thought and problem-solving approaches are most appropriate in particular situations.uParticular patterns predominate in each culture, for example,uU.S.: factual-inductive(ascertain facts, find similarities, formulate conclusions)uformer Soviet Union: axiomatic-deductive (move from general principle to particulars)uArab : intuitive-affective (facts are secondary to emotions)Research QuestionuDifferent colors have different associations in different languages. Please make a close study of some color words between Chinese and English.
