(英文汇报)时间观念东西方文化差异.ppt

in different culturesThe Time“Time is the devourer of everything.”OvidRoman Poet43 B.C.（吞噬者）English Poet(1608 1674)“Time is the subtle thief of youth.”Milton“Time is most brisk and giddy-paced.”Shakespeare（敏锐的）（眼花缭乱的）日月光华，旦复旦兮。尚书大传上卷The sun alternates with the moon;Days come one after another soon.俗语：枯木逢春犹再发A withered tree comes to life again.WESTEASTThis is a line.This is a circle.The western believe time is a limited resource,they try to conserve and manage it.People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time.Do you love life?Then do not waste time,for that is the stuff life is made of.Benjamin FranklinThey see time as a valuable resource.Maybe thats why they are fond of the expression,Time is money.deadlinesplansappointmentspocket plannerscalendarsaccountingson timein timetime managementstime tablesagendas schedules WESTAmerican lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others.When people plan an event,they often set the time days or weeks in advance.Once the time is fixed,it takes almost an emergency to change it.If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit,they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient.To outsiders,Americans seem tied to the clock.People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules.In these societies,people dont try to control time,but to experience it.Chinese,for example,view time as a cycle.They find it easier to go with the flow than Americans,who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable.The Chinese nations concept of time is rooted in the culture of farming time;time has a close relation with the nature.Time is really fleeting,but it also circle like the constantly changing of four seasons,and the sun and the moon cycle alternately,it will come back soon;so people usually think that the lost time could be back.This kind of view of time shaped people a sense that time is rich,and also nurtured a habit of leisure and slow living habit.Time for Chinese is more flexible and more human-centered.For example：They usually schedule several activities at the same time They usually put interpersonal relations above the schedule The big shot usually is late cases慢走慢用慢慢看慢慢做慢慢商量慢慢欣赏慢慢来慢慢吃EAST The word“Lao”in China used to show respect to those who are more experienced and usually older,like“Lao Li”,“Lao Wang”.In this way we show respect and amity to the old people,which indicates a past time orientation.Past time orientation But in western country,you must use some euphemism,such as“senior”,“aged”,“veteran”，“golden ager”,“elder”,etc.All these reflect the Americans“future-oriented”conception of time indirectly.They think that past thing are just the past,they never treat past thing as a good thing.Future orientation With the acceleration of the Chinas modernization,and the increase of foreign exchange,we are constantly absorbing in the essence of the foreign culture,and the concept of time also gradually changed.The linear sense of time gradually engaged into the Chinese culture.Meanwhile,westerners understanding and acceptance degree to traditional Chinese culture is constantly improving,with the increase of various cultural communication,the phenomenon of cultural fusion also increased,Chinese and westerners respective increasing exchange their original traditional concept of time gradually.As for the above phenomenon,we can do as follows:ChangesRespect for cultural differences and reducing communication barriers.Respect cultural customs mutually.Abandon national center-cultural ideasThank You ！