?Review
What is culture? What is communication? What is intercultural communication?
Unit Three Cultural Diversity I. Warm Up
Please read the story on page 76, then answer the question: 1. Why does Jackson say that Mr. Zhao has asked too much?
2. What are the differences in the opinions of friendship between Chinese and Americans? II. Reading
1. Read the article of “Different Lands, Different Friendships”. Who is a friend? What are the similarities and differences between the Chinese concept of friendship and the western ones? Compare the different values of friendship in America, France, Germany, England and China.
Differences in Friendship (1) In France:
(i) Friends generally are of the same sex, and friendship is seen as basically a relationship between men.
(ii) Friendship is a one-to-one relationship that demands a keen awareness of the other person’s intellect, temperament, and particular interests. (iii)Friendships are compartmentalized. They are not made part of family life. (2) In Germany:
(i) Friendship is much more articulately a matter of feeling. (ii) Friends usually are brought into the family. (3) In England:
(i) The basis is shared activity. 第 1 页 共 6 页
(ii) English friendships are formed outside the family circle, but they are not contrapuntal to the family nor are they separated from the family. (4) In China
The typical Chinese concept of friendship lays great emphasis on personal loyalty and also has much to do with family. In Chinese culture, friendship means a willingness to be indebted and to repay the debt more than owed. (5) In America: (p81-82)
“Friend” is often used in a much wider sense in the American culture than in the Chinese culture. The term may be used for both casual acquaintances and close companions. American friends may not share with one another as much as Chinese friends usually do. Americans would still prefer to consider themselves first as independent individuals. What they value more are individual achievement and independence rather than relationship with one another, and they do not like to put themselves in others’ debt. Of course, Americans are willing to help their friends, but mostly on trivial things, such as driving a friend to an important event when his or her own arrangements for transportation fail. ?Supplement:
Some American quotes about friendship will give additional insights into how friendships are valued.
“A friend hears the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.” “A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.”
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“A friend brings out the best in you.”
“Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”—Mark Twain
Common Elements about Friendship:
There is the recognition that friendship, in contrast with kinship, is a matter of free choice. A friend is someone who chooses and is chosen. Related to this is the sense each friend gives the other of being a special individual, on whatever grounds this recognition is based. And between friends there is inevitably equality of give-and-take.
2. Read the article of “Family Structure” (p83-84), then identify the different roles of family in cultures.
Many cultural differences exist in family structures and values.
1) In some cultures, such as Filipinos, Vietnamese, Japanese, Latin Americans and Chinese, the family is the center of life and the main frame of reference for decisions; while in others, like Americans, the individual, not the family, is primary.
2) In some cultures, the family’s reputation and honor depend on each person’s actions; in other cultures, individuals can act without permanently affecting the family life.
3) Some cultures value old people, while other cultures look down on them. ?Traditional Chinese family structure 3. Comparing and Contrasting Cultures Questions for discussion:
1) In what aspects do you think our culture is different from other cultures? 2) Do you sometimes compare one culture with another? If you do, how do you usually do that?
Please read over the article on pages 85-89, answer the comprehension questions:
i) What is Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s value orientation?
The Kluckhohns and Strodtbeck, after examining hundreds of cultures, reached the conclusion that people turn to their culture for answers to the following questions. (1) What is the character of human nature? (2) What is the relation of humankind to nature? (3) What is the orientation toward time? (4)What is the value placed on activity? And (5) What is the relationship of
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people to each other? The answers to these crucial questions serve as the bases for the five value orientations that are at the heart of their approach. These five orientations might best be visualized as points on a continuum. It is talking about meaningful values found in all cultures.
Human Nature Orientation: 1) evil, 2) evil and good, 3) good.
Basically Evil: find evil and fight against it; punish bad behavior; save
people from their evil nature. Stress the ability of people to change for the better.
Basically Good: protect people’s virtue; reward good behavior; find the
most virtuous people as models. The direction of moral change is more likely to be from good to bad.
Mixture: Separate good from evil; identify strengths and weaknesses;
reward the good and punish the bad.
Man-nature Orientation: 1) human beings are subject to nature, 2) cooperation view, 3) conquer and direct the forces of nature. Nature Controls: Accept fate; life is outside one’s control be humble. Human Controls: Make life comfortable and convenient; problems can be
solved; be objective.
Harmony: Live according to the rhythms of nature; everything has its own
character; be balanced.
Time
Orientation:
1)
past-orientated,
2)
present-orientated,
3)
future-orientated.
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Past: Tradition —— best teacher; events in the past is important today; the
old are wise; break with the past to change society.
Present: Pay attention to what is going on here and now; everything will
happen in its time; events occur in cycles; look for causes in the present situation.
Future: Control the future by planning for it; what is past is past and not
important; the young know what is happening; study history to shape the future.
Activity Orientation: 1) being orientation, 2) Being-in-becoming orientation, 3) doing orientation.
Being: Protect dignity of both yours and others; fulfill one’s role; show who
you are. Actions should be suitable to status, social roles and character. Pay attention to people. e.g. job titles and what do you actually do?
Growing: Develop one’s potential as a whole person; follow values and
lifestyles appropriate to one’s stage in life; people change; pay attention to possibilities. More tolerant of how things are than is true.
Doing: Achieve specific goals; develop procedures and measure results;
qualitative outcomes measured quantitatively show what you can do; attention to actions.
Relational (social) Orientation: 1) authoritarian culture, 2) collective culture,
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3) individual culture.
Hierarchy: Obey authority; know one’s place; treat others; according to
their position; look to leaders to; know what to think and do.
Group: Respond to what others think and feel; interdependent ; be loyal;
look to others in the group to know what to think and do.
Individual: Express one’s own feelings and ideas; Be as independent and
self-reliant as possible; make one’s own decisions and choices. Personal initiative/professionalism highly valued.
ii) Try to describe the value system of average Americans from the five orientations
Human Nature: basically good (changeable) Man-nature: Man the master of nature Time: future-oriented Activity: action-oriented Social: individualistic
iii) How is the mainstream American culture different from the oriental culture, like Japanese culture?
?Homework: Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions (p99-105)
? Homework: Hall’s High-context and Low-context Cultures (p110-114)
III. Case Study: Students are required to read the cases given carefully
and try to analyse them from the viewpoint of IC.
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大学英语跨文化交际unit3
