中西文化差異英文版

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中西文化差異英文版

Withtherapidlychallgingword,peoplethroughouttheworldhavefounditincreasinglynecessarytominimizetherateofmisunderstandingduetomiscommunicationintheircontactswithanother.Intheoastmosthumanbeingswereborn,lived,anddiedwithinalimitedgeoographicalarea,neverencounteringpeopleofotherculturalbackgrounds.Itmightbesaidthattechnologicaladvanceshavebeenmosteffectiveincreatingtheborderlessword,theglobalcommunity.Asourworldshrinksanditsinhabitantsbecomeinterdependent,peoplefromremotculturesincreasinglycomeintocontactonadailybasis.Itisnolongerhardtofindsituationsinwhichmembesofinceisolaredgroupsofpeople.Nowthesepeoplemaylivethousandsofmilesawayorrightnextdoortoeachother.Soallthepeoplearefacedwiththechallengeofunderstandthisworld.Sowhentheeastmeetwest,therearemanyproblems.Someproblemsarelistedasfollows.

Firstofall,thewayofeating.Allhuamanbeingshavecertainbasicneeds.Ourfundamentalneedsforthingsthatkeepusalive.Thisisthephysioligicalneed.Allindividualsmusteatinordertosurvive.Butwhatpeopleeat,whentheyeat,andthemannersinwhichtheyeatareallpatternedbyculture.Nosocietyviewseverythinginitsenvironmentthatisedibleandmightprovidenurishmentasfood.Americanseatoystersbutnotsnail.TheFrencheatsnailsbutnotlocusts.TheJewseatfishbutnotpork.TheHinduseatporkbutnotbeef.TheRussiandeatbeefbutnotsnake.Weallhaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodaregoodtoeat.Wealsohaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodarebadtoeat.Asaresult,peoplefromonecultureoftenthinkthefoodthatpeoplefromanothercultureeataredisgustingornauseating.Dislikeisnottheonlyreasonwhysomeculturewillnoteatacertainfood.Insomeclture,certainfoodsaretaboo.Sometimesthefoodtaboosmaybesostrongthratjustthethoughtofeatingforbiddenfoodscancauseanindivdualtofeelill.Wecanalsofindculturedifferenceinwayofbringupchildrentreatingtheearly,greetingeachother,sayingandspendingmoneybeforeotherpeopledoineveryday,butinsomeEnglish-speakingcountries,peopledonotagreewithus.WechinesemayenjoysomethingthatisnotusuallyconsiderasediblebytheEnglish-speakingpeople.Generallyweperfertohavethinghotandmuchemphasisonthetaste.Weeatfromoneplatewhenweareeatingwithothers,andweliketoseatonebyone,andintheshapeofaround.Ontheopposite,someEnglish-speakingcontries,mostofthepeopleliketoseatintworows,twopeoplefacetoface.Theyhavetheirownplate.

Ontheaspectoftablemanners,therearemanydifferencesbetweenchineseandEnglish-speakingpeople.Forexample,insomeEnglishi-speakingcountries,Breadplatesaretotheleftofthemainplate,beverageglassesaretotheright.Saladfork,knifeandsoupspoonarefurtherfromthemainplatethanthemaincourseknife,forkandspoon.Wheneatingbreadrolls,breakoffapiecebeforebuttering.Usetheknifeonlytobutterthebread,nottocutit.Theyshouldnotstarteatingbeforeyourhostdoesorinstructstodoso.Atlargermeals,itisconsideredokaytostarteatingonceothershavebeenserved.Whenfinished,placetheknifeandforktogetheratfiveo’clockwiththeforkontheleft.Itisconsideredrudetoanswerthetelephoneatthetable.Ifneedtotakeanurgentcall,excuseselfandgooutside.Trytoeatallthefoodyouareserved.ButinChina,thetablemannersaredifferent.Chinesetraditionallyeatricefromasmallbowlheldinthelefthand.Thericebowlisraisedtothemouthandthericepushedintothemouthusingthechopsticks.SomeChinesefinditoffensivetoscoopricefromthebowlusingaspoon.Ifriceisservedonaplate,asismorecommonintheWest,itisacceptableandmorepracticaltoeatitwithaforkorspoon.Thethumbmustalwaysbeabovetheedgeofthebowl.Thehostshouldalwaysmakesuretheguestsdrinksaresufficientlyfull.Oneshouldnotpourforonesself,butshouldoffertopourforaneighbor.Whenyourdrinkisbeingpoured,youshouldsay"thankyou"andtapfingersonthetabletoshowappreciation.Whenpeoplewishtoclinkdrinkstogetherintheformofacheer,itisimportanttoobservethatyoungermembersshouldclinktheedgeoftheirdrinkbelowtheedgeofaneldertoshowrespect.

Secondly,thewayofcommunication.Formbirthtodeath,communicationplaysanintegralpartinourlife.Therearesomelanguageproblems,includingthedifferentstylesofusinglanguagesuchasdirect,indirect;expansive,succinct;argumentative,conciliatory;instrumental,harmonnizing;andsoon.Thesedifferentstylescanleadtowronginterpretationsofintentandevaluationofinsincerity,aggreeiveness,deviousness,orarrogance,amongother.Themisinterpretationnonverbalsignsandsymbolssuchasgestures,postures,andotherbodymovements.Itisadefinitecommunicationbarrier.Butitispossibletolearnthemeaningsoftheseobservablemessage,usuallyininformalratherways.Itismoredifficulttounderstandthelessobviousunspokencodesoftheothercultures.Language,asthecarrierofculture,iscreatedduringtheprocessofhumanbeings’productivelaborandservesasthetoolofcommunicationtoconveythemessagebetweenpeople.However,ithasbeenendowedwithmagicandpowerinparticularlanguageacts.Astheoldsayinggoes,troublescomeoutofthetongue.Superstitiouspeoplethinkthatthelanguageitselfcanbringaboutfortuneormisfortunesothattaboostorestricttheuseoflanguagearecreated.Anyonewhoviolatesthemwillgetpunishment,whereasthosewhofaithfullyobeytherestrictionsoflanguagetaboowillgetprotection.Furthermore,linguistictabooschangewiththedevelopmentofsociety.Thepaperfirstlyanalyzestheevolutionoflinguistictaboo.Itisindicatedinthepaperthatlinguistictabooexistsinalmosteveryaspectofpeople’slifeandisauniversalsocialphenomenoninChinaandBritain.BothChineseandEnglishculturesareinagreementaboutlinguistictaboossuchaspronunciationtaboo,andvocabularytaboo.However,influencedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds,ideologiesandtheconceptsofvalue,ChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosalsohavedifferences,asisdiscussedinthepaperfromtheaspectsoftaboosubjects,taboonumbersandnames.Atlast,thispaperputsforwardtwoeffectivewaysofavoidingtaboo,thatis,usingeuphemismandhavingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture.AndthisdiscussionwouldhelpEnglishlearnersimprovetheirabilityofcross-culturalcommunicationandachievebettercommunicationaleffects.Forexample,Duringthefeudaltimes,peoplewerenotequaltotherulersandweresuppressedbytheirsuperiors.Thedistinctionbetweentheupperandthelowerclasseswasalsoreflectedintheevaluationofthelanguageusedbythemrespectively.Thewordsofupperclassusedwereconsideredgoodandelegantwhilethoseusedbythelowerclasswereregardedasvulgarandindecentandshouldbeavoidedinthespeechofladiesandgentlemen.Inmodernsociety,asaresultofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,manynaturalphenomenaarenolongermysterious.Humanbeingsnotonlyconstantlyimprovetheirabilitiestoexploittheworldwheretheyarelivingthroughtheirgreatwisdomandknowledge,butalsomakeeffortstoexploretheextraterrestrialworld.Sciencehasmuchmoresayintoday’ssociety.Thereby,thesuperstitiouselementsinlinguistictaboosdecreasewhilethosereflectingspiritualcivilizationincrease.

Inshort,bycomparison,wecanfindthatbothChineseandEnglishcommunicationreflectpeople’spsychologyforgoodwill,forsafetyandfortuneandpleasantness.TheChineseandEnglishpeoplerestricttheirwordsanddeedsthroughtaboos,tryingtokeepaharmoniousrelationshipbetweenhumanandnature,orbetweenpeopleandsociety.Theyareareflectionofpeople’spursuitoffreedomandequality.

Themostimportant,thedifferentwayoffamilystructure,familyvaluesandfamilyeducation.Familystructureisthebigdifferencebetweeneastandwest,traditionalchinese,amonymanyotherAsians,repecttheireldersandfeeladeepsenseofdutytowardthem.Childrenrepaytheirparents`sacrificesbybeingsuccessfulandsupportingtheminoldage.ThisisacceptedasanaturalpartoflifeinChina.Incontrast,takingcareofagedparentsisoftenviewedasatremendousburdenintheEnglish-speakingcountries,whereagingandfamilysupportarenothonoredhighly.InsomeEnglish-speakingcountriesarestillextrmelyfamily-oriented.Theyarededicatedtohelpingtheirchildrenandwillsacrificegreatlyfortheirchildrentogetanedcuation.Inturn,thechildrenaredevotedtotheirparents,whooftenlivenearby.Grownchildrenwhogoawayandleavethecountryfortheeconomicreasonstypicallysendlargepartsoftheirsalaryhometotheirparentsandtherestofthefamily.OrinsomeAsia,anydecisionsoractionsaredonefromfamilyconsideration,notindividualdesires.Peope`sbehaviorisjudgedonwhetheritbringsshameorpridetothefamily.Thechildrenaretrainedtorelyontheirfamilies,tohonorelderlypeople,andtofearforeigners.Andmanyofthemthinkthattheiractionsinthislifewillinfluencetheirstatusinthenextlife.

Thewayoffamilyedcationisalsothedifferent.Weallknowthefamilyeducationistheelementaryeducationforchildren.Manyseriousproblemshaveappearedinoureducationsysteminrecentyears.Almosteveryonehasrealizedtheimportanceofsolvingtheseproblemsandmanypeoplehavepresentedalotofvaluablesuggestions.Therearemanytypesoffamilyeducationintheworldandeachofthemshowsdistinctivefeaturesandiscloselyresponsivetoitsculture.AndAmericanfamilyeducationisthemostfamousoneamongthem.Therearegreatdifferencesintheconceptsofeducation,methodsofeducationandresultsofeducationbetweenEastfamilyeducationandWestfamilyeducation.InsomeEnglish-speakingcountries,parents’aimsaretotraintheirchildrentohavetheabilityofadaptingtoenvironmentalvarietyandtheabilityoflivingindependently.Basedonthisconcept,mostAmericanparentsemphasizemoretotraintheirchildren’sabilityofindependenceoncetheyareborn.Theygenerallybelievethatchildren’sgrowthmustrelyontheirownexperiences,becausetheythinkthatchildrenshouldformaself-supportingwillandthecapacitytoliveindependentlysincetheirchildhood.Andthecapacitycomesfromthetrainingintheearlyage.Theso-calledtrainingcontainsmanyaspects,suchaswork,temperwill,patience,thespiritofhardwork,etc.However,themostfundamentaltrainingistheabilityofadaptingtohardconditions.Throughtheprocessofwork,childrenwillformthelaborsense,learnsomeworkskillsandformahabitoflabor.Besides,childrencanlearnhowtoovercomedifficulties,tempertheirwillpower,developtheirtalentsandskills,richtheirknowledge,andformahabitofhardworkandthriftybyworkinginhardconditions.Itisjustintheunconsciouslyprocessthatchildrenwillobtaintheindependentsurvivabilityandtaketheresponsibilitiesforthesociety.ComparedwithsomeEnglish-speakingcountries,Chineseparentshaveaverydifferentconceptofchildren’seducation.SomeparentsinChinaonlycareaboutwhetherthechildrenhaveapromisingfuture,agoodjob,agoodlifeornot.Basedontheseexpectations,themajorityofparentsfeelthattheirresponsibilityfortheirchildrenistocreateasgoodconditionsaspossibletheycansothatthechildrenwillnotworryaboutanythinginthefuture.Chineseparentswouldliketoprovideeverythingwhattheycanfortheirchildrenintheprocessofchildren’sgrowth.Inshort,theywouldliketosacrificeanythingiftheirchildrencanlivebetterwiththeirhelp.Therefore,intheprocessofchildren’sgrowth,themostimportantthingtheparentsconcerningistodevelopingtheirchildren’sintellect,exceptforcaringchildren’sdailylife.Inordertomaketheirchildrenhaveagoodperformanceinstudy,becomeoutstanding,orevenbecomeafamouspersoninthefuture,theywouldnotletchildrendoanythingexceptstudying.Asforthechildren’sindependence,civicawarenessandtheirabilityadaptingtothesocietyinthefuture,theyconsiderlittleornotatall.FromtheseaspectswecanfindtheobviousdifferencesoffamilyeducationbetweenAmericaandChina.

WhenwefacedwiththosedifferencebetweenWestandEast,weshouldgivesomeadvicetosolvetheseproblems.Accordingtothethreebigdifferencethatpointed,weshouldfindsomewaytodealwiththeseproblems.

Wecanstudyotherlanguagesandlearntoexpectinnonvwebalformsandotherculturalaspects.Wecantrainourselvestomeetintercul