跨文化交际英文案例(19页).doc

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1、-跨文化交际英文案例-第 19 页Case 1 Girl-nessAs a visiting professor in an American university, Zhang Hua was invited to give a lecture to a group of American students. He talked about university students in China. During the question-and-answer period after the lecture, one female student asked a question that

2、 surprised Zhang Hua. “When you talked about female students, you referred to them as girls. Why?”“Because they are girls. Thats what they are called,” Zhang Hua tried to answer, but he knew he did not really understand the intent of the question. “ I dont quite understand your question, Im afraid.”

3、 “In the States, we call ourselves women if were old enough to go to the university. Calling us girls is insulting.” Do Chinese female college students prefer to be called women?Case 2Many years ago, a Chinese man showed a photo of his wife to some American visitors. Out of courtesy, they all said,”

4、 She is very beautiful.” Also out of courtesy, the man replied with what he would have done in Chinese under the circumstance,” Where! Where!” Quite taken aback, nobody said anything for a moment, until the most ingenious one among the visitors, taking another look at the photo, said, “Oh, everywher

5、e!”What did the Chinese intend to mean by replying with “ Where! Where!”?Case 1 Girl-nessAs a visiting professor in an American university, Zhang Hua was invited to give a lecture to a group of American students. He talked about university students in China. During the question-and-answer period aft

6、er the lecture, one female student asked a question that surprised Zhang Hua. “When you talked about female students, you referred to them as girls. Why?”“Because they are girls. Thats what they are called,” Zhang Hua tried to answer, but he knew he did not really understand the intent of the questi

7、on. “ I dont quite understand your question, Im afraid.” “In the States, we call ourselves women if were old enough to go to the university. Calling us girls is insulting.” Do Chinese female college students prefer to be called women?Case 2Many years ago, a Chinese man showed a photo of his wife to

8、some American visitors. Out of courtesy, they all said,” She is very beautiful.” Also out of courtesy, the man replied with what he would have done in Chinese under the circumstance,” Where! Where!” Quite taken aback, nobody said anything for a moment, until the most ingenious one among the visitors

9、, taking another look at the photo, said, “Oh, everywhere!”What did the Chinese intend to mean by replying with “ Where! Where!”?Case 3 “I Just Wanted to Talk”. Wu tong was a graduate student in a Chinese university. Like many students these days, he was very keen on learning English. He would talk

10、with English speakers as often as he could. One day, he saw a new foreigner on campus, Leonard Ramsay, and overheard him speaking English. When Mr. Ramsay finished speaking with the other person, he turned to go, but Wu Tong stopped him. He went up and said, “ You speak English, is that right?”“Yes,

11、 why?”“Id like to practise my English with you, if you dont mind.”Mr. Ramsay looked a little annoyed. “ I prefer not to, if you dont mind.”Case 4 An Unwanted Food Service During a lunch buffet at a conference in China, Wu Fa, the interpreter of the conference, sat with four foreign participants. The

12、y were having a good time talking. When Wu Fa stood up for more food, she asked whether she could bring anything back for them.Everyone thanked her and said “no”. A while later, Wu Fa came back with a plate full of food, and asked whether the others would like to have something from her plate.Again,

13、 the four others said , “No”.“ Oh, please take something, I cant eat this much food myself.”The foreigners shrugged and one or two of them even frowned a little.Case 5 Simple Can Be SpecialWen Hong had an American professor in her economics class in China. She had given the professor a lot of help d

14、uring the course. At the end of the semester，the professor and his wife invited her to their home for dinner. They said they were going to cook her an American meal.Wen Hong felt very flattered and excited，since McDonald，KFC and Pizza Hut had been her only exposure to Western cooking. They had salad

15、 to start with，then steak with potatoes，followed by ice cream. Wen Hong had expected more courses but the meal came to an end. She knew the professor and his wife were being kind to her，but somehow she was a little disappointed. She wondered whether Americans do eat like that at home.Case 6 Chinese

16、Coffee Customs While studying in the United States, Lin Jun made a few American friends. One day he invited two of them to his apartment and cooked them a meal. When his friends said they would like some coffee, he started boiling some water. Without asking them any questions, he made three cups of

17、3-in-1 coffee, the way he usually took it.Both friends tasted the coffee and frowned. One said she always took coffee black，the other said he preferred to have less sugar in his coffee. They also told him that the spoon is for stirring the coffee，not to drink from like he did. Lin Jun was embarrasse

18、d. He had thought that everyone drank coffee the same way as he did. Case 7 Noise from Noodles Jane and Peter were Chen Dongs landlord and landlady when he was in the States. They had become good friends by the end of his one-year stay. They kept in touch with each other after Chen Dong returned to

19、China. Jane and Peter decided to visit China soon after Chen Dong left the States. They made a special stop in Guangzhou where Chen Dong lives. Chen Dong had promised to show them around the city and let them try some authentic Cantonese food. One thing，in particular，he wanted them to try was noodle

20、s. He knew several restaurants that served good noodles and took the couple to one of them for lunch one day.Noodles typically come in soup in Cantonese cooking. Chen Dong started eating the noodles with chopsticks，while Jane and Peter exchanged a look at the noise that came with his eating. After a

21、 little hesitation，they asked for forks. A waitress told them that they did not have forks，and Chen Dong explained that noodle restaurants do not usually keep forks because no one would think of using forks for noodles. In the next half an hour，Jane and Peter had a hard time trying to roll the long

22、noodles onto their chopsticks. Chen Dong said，“thats not the way we eat noodles. You put the noodles directly to your mouth with your chopsticks.” “But thats not the way we eat noodles，” Jane and Peter said, frowning. Case 8 Dinner in a Chinese HomeBesides taking Peter and Jane to restaurants, Dong

23、Chen also invited them to his home for dinner once. Dong Chen s mother is a nice wife, and made eight courses for four of them.“Im sorry there isnt much for dinner, she said.”“God this is much more than enough food,” Jane said. Peter was too overwhelmed to even respond to Dong Chen motherDong Chen w

24、as a little embarrassed. “This is what we usually say to guests，even though theres plenty of food” he explainedWhat bewildered Jane and Peter most was that though Dong Chens mother kept saying that the food was not good，she constantly served helpings to Jane and PeterPeter did not like two of the co

25、urses very much，and felt bad that his plate was full with whatever he would not be able to eat. At seeing Dong Chens mothers next move to serve him food，he said in a begging voice，“Please dont give me any more foodLet me do it myselfCase 9A Not-sociable Drink Martin was sent by an American company t

26、o work in a special economic development zone in China for a year. He became very friendly with a few Chinese colleagues. Soon, he started to go out with them. He noticed that Chinese like to have something , such as peanuts, when they have beer, instead of just drinking beer without anything to eat

27、 as many North Americans do.One day he was invited to a dinner party to celebrate a colleagues birthday. They ordered alcoholic beverages and toasted the guest of honor frequently. Soon Martin realized that the plan was to get their friend drunk. Each colleague would offer a toast, concluding with a

28、 cheery “ gan bei!” and tried to get Martin to join in, even though he was unwilling to do it. Martin didnt think it a good idea, and tried to talk them out of the game. However, he was accused of not being a good friend for not co-operating. Martin remained an outsider during the rest of the dinner

29、. He was getting increasingly worried as he watched the poor guest become increasingly inebriated.Case 10 A Misunderstanding at a Dinner TableRoger was a student majoring in East Asia Studies in an American university. He started an e-mail correspondence with Zhang Li, a sociology major in China, wh

30、o was introduced to him through a mutual friend.Upon graduation, Roger got a big gift from his grandfather. Grandpa would pay for a round-trip ticket to China. He told Zhang Li the good news, and the two decided to meet.Zhang Li decided to give Roger a very special welcome: she and the three women s

31、tudents in her dormitory would cook him an authentic Chinese meal, as Roger had told her that he loved Chinese food.However, when Roger was presented the dinner, he was almost terrified by some of the food: pork stomach soup, pig liver with ginger and spring onion, chicken with mushrooms in which th

32、e chicken had been cut to pieces with bones attached to the meal.Fortunately , there were courses like tofu, stirred fried beef, steamed fish and vegetables that Roger loved. He tried to stick to them but Zhang Li kept putting food he did not like on his plate. When she asked how he liked the liver,

33、 Roger said, “ Its very unusualand interesting. “ This seemed to make Zhang Li happy. And she gave him more liver. Roger tried to stop her, but she would not be stopped. Roger was so frustrated that he told her that he did not really like it that much. “ But you said it was unusual and interesting!”

34、Zhang Li said. “ Well, they both mean something less than positive,” Roger said carefully, trying not to hurt their feelings.Zhang Li and her friends became concerned at this.”“So you dont like the food?” Im not used to eating liver, thats all. But I do like the chicken, the beef, the tofu, and the

35、vegetables. I have had more than enough to eat. I never make this much food at home,” Roger was eager to let them know how much he appreciated their effort. “Trust me, Im enjoying the food. I know what I like.”Having said that, he found a piece of chicken that was less bony, held it in his hand to e

36、at it, and then licked his fingers. Zhang Li and her friends looked at each other in shock. It was not a perfect first meeting for either Zhang Li or Roger.Case 11 Over-dressed Tourists As a van stopped in front of Niagara Falls, a group of Chinese officials streamed out. They were dressed in suits

37、and ties, wearing leather shoes. Many of the men also had left the manufactures tag on the sleeve of their suit jacket. As they wandered around Niagara Falls, some of them started to smoke. Their attire drew the stares of North American tourists, some of whom quietly laughed with their friends and p

38、ointed at the Chinese visitors. Others frowned at seeing the smoking and shook their heads in disapproval.Case 12 Tie CultureJane was a tourist and spent some time staying with a Chinese friend at her home. They watched a childrens porgram while having breakfast one morning. A young man, the host of

39、 the program, gave instructions of a game to a few children, and then joined them running in a circle.“My, hes wearing a tie and running crazy with the children!” Jane exclaimed.The Chinese friend shrugged,”Is this very unusual?”Case 13 An American in China Professor Smith and his assistant，Chen Min

40、g，were doing fieldwork in a small city in China. It was hot and humid, and both were casually dressed. One evening as they were leaving for dinner，a local administrator told them that the mayor of the city, who was interested in the type of research they were doing, would like to say hello to Profes

41、sor Smith. As luck would have it，the Mayor was dining in the same restaurant as Smith and Chen Ming.Professor Smith said he had to go back to his room to change. “You look fine，Come on，the mayor is waiting，”the administrator said. “No, I cant meet the mayor in my shorts”Case 14 The Generosity of a C

42、hinese StudentMatt was invited to a Chinese university to give a few lectures. During his short stay there, a graduate student volunteered to show him around the city. Matt accepted the offer gratefully. It was summer and soon both Matt and the graduate student began to get quite hot. While Matt too

43、k some pictures, the graduate student went to buy some drinks. “Thank you. How much do I owe you?” Matt asked. “Nothing.” The student smiled. “ Are you sure?” “Yes.” At lunchtime, Matt suggested they have a quick meal. They stopped by a McDonald. Again, the graduate student tried to pay for Matt. “N

44、o, this is my treat. Youre a student, Im a professor. Youve given me the time to show me around. You already paid for my drink. I cant let you pay for my lunch again.”Case 15 A Gift from a Chinese StudentXie Dong did his graduate study in an American university. He came back to China for summer vaca

45、tion. When he went back to his program, he paid his supervisor a visit and presented him a gift. The professor opened the gift. It was a ginseng with its many tiny roots spreading out in a very artistic pattern. It clearly was an expensive gift. The professors eyes shone at the ginseng, but he then

46、began to feel uneasy. “Xie Dong, I appreciate your kindness, but I cant take this as a gift.” “ Why? Dont you like it?” It was Xie Dongs turn to be uneasy now.“ Oh, sure, I love it. But I cant accept it.”“Why?”“ Because I didnt do anything to deserve such a gift.”Case 16 Telephone Courtesy Kathy and

47、 David, a couple from the US, signed a one-year contract to work in China. Both were extroverted and soon made some Chinese friends. Before long, people started calling them at home. David was sometimes away on business trips for a few days, and if someone looked for him, Kathy often would find the

48、conversation awkward.“ Where did he go?” The caller typically would ask.“Can I pass on any message?” Kathy asked politely, trying to avoid the question.“Is he out of town?” The caller was usually very persistent.“Yes, can I help you in any way?” Kathy tried to be polite, but she could not help feeling uncomfortable.Case 17 “Not So Close, Please”He Jia had lived in the United States for 7 years before she came back to work in China. She found that she had become accustomed to social habits in North America and tha