跨文化交际1 (1)

Culture and Communication

 1.The Importance of Learning about Cultures

 Case 1. Read the following case and try to explain the underlying reason.

 Case 1. The following case involves an American businesswoman and a British

Businessman.

 “We seemed to get along great on the telephone. It was a relief after several years in

Eastern Europe to actually be doing business with the British. At least we spoke the same language,” says the American businesswoman. “We thought alike. I trusted him.”

 All went well until the American traveled to London to meet face-to-face with her

British colleague to sign a research and development contract. The first meeting did not go well. “ There was something that didn‟t seem right,” she says. “Throughout the presentation none of the Brits, not even the guy I had developed a phone relationship with, would look us in the eye. It was like they were hiding something. After a lot of internal discussion, we decided to sign the contract, but many of us still felt uneasy. Even when we talked on the phone later I just couldn‟t get the failure of them to look me in the eye out of my head. It almost ruined the relationship and sunk the deal.”

2.Understanding Culture

 2.1 The Definition of Culture(p2-p4)  What’s culture?

2.1 Larry A. Samovar and Richard E. Porter’s Definition of Culture (p4):

The deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. 文化的定义：

 文化是一个大群体在代代相传中，通过本人和集体的努力获得的知识、经验、信念、

价值、态度、角色、空间关系、宇宙关系的积淀，以及他们获得的全部物质的东西。

2.2 A Classic Metaphor for Culture

 Culture is like an iceberg (p4-p5)  Why is culture like the iceberg? 2.3 The Characteristics of Culture  2.3.1 Culture is shared. (p7)

 Culture is transmitted from generation to generation.  Case 2:

 An American boy was born in the United States, but grew up in China, as his

parents were doing business in China. He finished his primary school and junior school in China. At school he studied and played with his Chinese classmates and spoke Mandarin. But he spoke English with his parents at home. What troubled his parents most was that his thinking and behaviors were just identical to a Chinese boy’s, which often made his communication with his parents difficult. 2.3 The Characteristics of Culture

 2.3.3 Culture is symbolic. (p8)

 Cultural symbols can take various forms, e.g., spoken words, handwritten or printed

words or pictures, nonverbal actions, objects, etc. Case Study: Who is the King of the Forests? 2.3 The Characteristics of Culture  2.3.4 Culture is integrated.(p8)

 Culture functions as an interrelated whole. 2.3 The Characteristics of Culture  2.3.5 Culture is dynamic. (p9)

 Culture is dynamic rather static, constantly changing and evolving under the impact of

events and through contact with other cultures.  It changes through three most common mechanisms:  ①innovation  ②diffusion  ③acculturation

2.3 The Characteristics of Culture  2.3.6 Culture is ethnocentric. (p9)

 ethnocentric:种族/民族中心主义的, 种族/民族优越感的  What’s ethnocentrism?

 Ethnocentrism(种族或民族中心主义，种族或民族优越感) is the belief that your own

cultural background, including ways of analyzing problems, values, beliefs, language, etc., is superior. Ethnocentrism is the tendency to look at the world primarily from the perspective of one’s own culture. (p9) 3.Understanding Communication

 3.1 The Definition of Communication  What’s communication? (p9-p11)

 Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between individuals

through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior, or the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information, as by speech, signals, writing, or behavior. 3.2 Intercultural Communication

 What’s intercultural communication?

 Intercultural communication is the communication between persons of different

cultures, or different cultural backgrounds.(p20) 3.3 Patterns of Communication沟通方式

 There are three patterns of communication in terms of direction in business

context.(p12-p13)

3.3 Patterns of Communication沟通方式  3.3.1. Upward communication(p12)  3.3.2 Downward communication (p12)

 3.3.3 Lateral communication (or horizontal communication) (p13)  3.3.3 Lateral communication (or horizontal communication) (p13) 3.4 Barriers in Intercultural Communication

 There’re mainly five barriers in intercultural communication. (p16-p18)

 3.4.1Language differences (p17) Items with different cultural meanings table:

【1】 (Brit) submit (a motion or report in Parliament, etc) for discussion （在国会等）提出（动议或报告）供讨论:

★ The Opposition have tabled several amendments to the bill. 反对党已对议案提出几项修正.

【2】 (esp US) leave (a proposal, etc) to be discussed at some future date 将（建议等）搁置, 留待日后讨论.

★ Let‟s table the bill for some time. 这个议案我们留到以后讨论。 Bomb:

The project was a bomb.

[US context: a massive failure] The project was a bomb.

[British context: a huge success] Which is British? Which is American?  No dogs allowed.  Video controlled.

 Please keep Hands Off Door.

 We regret that in the interest of hygiene dogs are not allowed on these premises.

British English is mixed with euphemism that enables the speaker to avoid expressing strong feelings.

3.4 Barriers in Intercultural Communication  3.4.2 Nonverbal communication(p17)  3.4.3 Stereotypes(思维定势) (p17)

 3.4.4 Cultural bias on judgments (p18)  3.4.5 High level of stress (p18)

Case Study: “Hey, let me kiss you on your right cheek .”

拥抱梅西然后亲吻他，拥抱贝隆然后亲吻他，拥抱伊瓜因然后亲吻他……在2010年南非世界杯上，一身西装革履的阿根廷主教练马拉多纳，已然将这个举动变成了他标志性的动作。

马拉多纳的世界杯“亲吻风波”

 在与韩国队的比赛（2010年6月18日）结束以后，马拉多纳兴致勃勃的来到了新

闻发布会现场，在谈到本场比赛的自己队员表现时，马拉多纳对本场比赛每位队员的表现十分满意，并坦言“球员们在球场上做得非常好。他们很好的贯彻了我们赛前讨论的战术安排。他们为身穿阿根廷队球衣并有如此出色的表现感到自豪，我也很高兴，如释重负。”

 台下的记者似乎看出老马的兴致很高，随即抛出了一个爆炸性的提问，“在比赛后，

您经常会拥抱并亲吻你的男队员，以至于有人怀疑您的性取向发生了变化，对此你怎么看。”机警的马拉多纳也立即向记者澄清，“哦，我还是喜欢女人。我现在正在与维罗妮卡约会，她碧眼金发，也才31岁，我的性取向并没有发生变化，不是同性恋。不过我喜欢用亲吻来感谢和祝贺我的队员们。” Case Study: “Hey, let me kiss you on your right cheek .”

 “In Argentina, when women meet work associates or friends, they stretch forward so

that their right cheek is touching the other person‟s right cheek and perhaps kiss the air below the other person‟s right ear. Women do this when meeting men or women; men do this only when meeting women. Not to perform this greeting ritual is to appear cold, unfriendly, and even angry.”

 (Source: Extracted from Iris Varner, Linda Beamer, Intercultural Communication in

the Global Workplace, Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press,Page118)  “In Argentina, men kiss women, women kiss women, but men do not kiss men.”  (Source: Extracted from Charles Mitchell,  International Business Culture, Shanghai  Foreign Language Press, Page53.)

Chapter Four Nonverbal Language in Intercultural Communication “He knew the precise psychological moment when to say nothing.” Oscar Wilde

1. Defining Nonverbal Communication (p50-p51)

Nonverbal communication is the process by which nonverbal behaviors are used, either singly or in combination with verbal behaviors, in the exchange and interpretation of messages in a given situation or context. (p50)

2. The Importance of Nonverbal Communication (p51-p53)

①Nonverbal behavior accounts for much of the meaning we derive from conversations. (p51)

②Nonverbal behavior spontaneously reflects the speaker‟s subconsciousness.(p52)

③Even if we are silent, the nonverbal dimension of our communication is always present.(p52)

Eyes are more accurate witnesses than ears.---- Heraclitus 3. Factors Influencing Nonverbal Communication ①Cultural background

②Socioeconomic background

③Education ④Gender ⑤Age

⑥Personal preferences and idiosyncrasies

(idiosyncrasy: 习性；特征；癖好 ) 4. Functions of Nonverbal Communication

4.1 Accenting (p53)

 4.2 Complementing (p53)  4.3 Contradicting (p53)

 Though we may lie with our lips, betrayal oozes out of us at every pore. ----Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud(1856--1939)  4.4 Regulating (p53)  4.6 Substituting (p) 5. Kinesics身势语 (p-p55)

 Kinesics is the nonverbal behavior related to movement, either of parts of the body,

or of the body as a whole, including facial expressions, gestures, postures, eye contact, etc. In short, all communicative body movements are generally classified as kinesics. It’s also called body language.

 Kinesics is the nonverbal behavior related to movement, either of parts of the body,

or of the body as a whole, including facial expressions, gestures, postures, eye contact, etc. In short, all communicative body movements are generally classified as kinesics. It’s also called body language.

 Consider the case of one British businessman in Iran. After months of doing the

right thing----building relationships with Iranian colleagues, respecting the influence of Islam on negotiations and avoiding any potentially explosive political small talk---the executive was elated(兴高采烈的) once a formal contract was signed. He signed the papers and turned to give his Persian colleagues a big thumbs up. Almost immediately there was a gasp(深吸气,喘息 ) and one Iranian executive left the room.

The British executive didn‟t have a clue as to what was going on----and his Iranian hosts were too embarrassed to tell him. What went wrong?

• Analysis of the case:

• While the thumbs-up gesture means “good ,great, well-played” in Britain, in the

Persian culture it is a sign of discontent and borders on the obscene. 5.1 Body Languages around the world The ok sign

①. Everything Is Great (America, Germany)

②. Things Are Good (Not Excellent) (Mexico)

③. Worthless (Zero)

(France, Most of Europe, Argentina) ④. Symbol for Money (Coins) (Japan)

⑤. Vulgar Gesture

(Spain, Russia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay) ⑥. “I‟ll kill you.” (Tunisia) 2 Thumbs up Approval

(American, Great Britain, Russia) Highly Offensive (Iran) Rude

(Australia) 3 thumbs down Disapproval

(America, Canada) Rude (Greece) Closed fist

Obscene Gesture (Pakistan)

If Raised in Air----Obscene (Lebanon) 4 The v sign Victory

Great Britain, America, Most of the World 5 to hell with you Offensive Gesture Great Britain South Africa

6 2009年马尔蒂尼告别圣西罗的比赛中，极端球迷发出了了不和谐的声音，马队还以中指Highly Offensive America

Most of Europe

Many parts of world

Highly Rude Central America

Turkey

Shaking Head Left to Right America----No

Most of World----No Bulgaria-----Yes Saudi Arabia----Yes Malaysia----Yes

Nodding Head Up and Down America----Yes

Most of World----Yes Bulgaria----No

7 Pat on the shoulder

Encouragement / Sympathy (America) Offensive (Thailand)

8 Raised Eyebrows Surprise (America)

Hello or General Greeting (Philippines) 9 Winking

Paraguay: Romantic or Sexual Connotation America: Everything is OK or a Sign of a Joke France, Australia: Impolite Gesture 10 Blinking Disbelief (America) Boredom (China)

In the United States it can be sign of disbelief.

In China conspicuous blinking by a listener is a sign of boredom. 11 Tapping Your Temple with Your Finger Person is Crazy North America Europe

Germany (especially) I‟m Thinking about It Africa Peru

Argentina

12 Hands on Hips Hostility (Mexico)

Anger (Malaysia) Impatience (America) A Challenge (Argentina)

13 Slapping the Inside of Thigh（用手拍大腿内侧） Rude and Suggestive (Argentina)

(suggestive:挑动色情的; 猥亵的) 14 Pinch of the Earlobe捏耳垂 Enjoyed a Meal (Brazil)

Sigh of Humility (India)

humility: 谦恭，谦逊 15 Hands in Pocket(s) Rude

All Europe Japan China

16 Tapping the Inside of the Elbow with the Opposite Hand Stingy (吝啬的，小气的) (Colombia)

Untrustworthy or Unreliable (Netherlands) 17 Arms Folded

Boredom or Disapproval (America) Arrogance (Finland)

18 Snapping the Fingers of Both Hands Vulgar Gesture (France)

19 Playing an Imaginary Flute Talking Too Much (France)

Unique (mostly ) to France, it means that “someone is talking too much”becoming annoying 20 Shoulder Shrug

Don‟t Know / Don‟t Care (Italy)

Reluctance to Agree / Innocence (America)

and is Ridiculous (France)

21 Showing the Sole of Your Foot or Shoe Highly Offensive Thailand

Myanmar (Burma) Middle East

Islamic States of the former USSR 22 The “Italian Salute” Highly Offensive Italy

Most of Europe

In Italy, most of Europe and many other parts of the world this is a highly offensive gesture roughly equivalent to “The Finger” in the USA. 23 Extremely Offensive (Ghana, Turkey)

24 Thais do not shake hands, they „wai‟. The wai gesture is an emblem that is used throughout Thailand both as a greeting and to say goodbye. Case Study: Feet on the Desk

5.2 Positive Body Language  5.2.1 The Nod

 5.2.2 Moving Closer, Leaning Forward

 5.2.3 Plenty of Hand Movement, Palms Open  5.2.4 Note Taking

5.3 Negative Body Language

 5.3.1 Withdrawal, Leaning away from the Speaker 5.3 Negative Body Language  5.3.2 Folded Arms  5.3.3 Hands on Face

 5.3.4 Shifting Positions  5.3.5 The Yawn

 5.3.6 Wandering Eyes

Case Study: Dude, let’s be closer.

Analysis: Among middle-class North American men, it is customary to shake hands as a gesture of friendship. When wanting to communicate extra friendliness, a male in the U.S. may, while shaking hands, grasp with his left hand his friend’s right arm. In the Muslin world, the left hand is considered unclean and reserved for and touching someone with it is highly offensive. Case Study: The Obama’s Bow  日本起初不在意 后来看热闹

 美国传媒批评总统奥巴马14日在东京与日本天皇握手时鞠躬的姿势有损美国

威严。消息传到日本，日本传媒纷纷引用，使得日本原来没十分留意到奥巴马与天皇握手时近90度鞠躬的画面在电视上不断重播。大部分传媒没特别评论，反而较关注美国传媒与之间围绕此事展开的辩论。  批评：总统不该随便行大礼

 华盛顿礼仪学校校长帕梅拉·艾尔灵说，虽然奥巴马鞠躬明显是为表示尊

敬，但天皇夫妇并未期望一名西方国家领导人作出这种举动。她看过视频后，觉得天皇夫妇看到奥巴马行大礼“有些不舒服”。“一国国家元首向另一国国家元首鞠躬不是正确行为。这不太合适。他不应向别国元首鞠躬，”艾尔灵说。

 一般来说，现代国际间的外交活动，元首级人物见面，礼仪都采取双方平等的通用

礼仪，比方说最平常的礼仪是握手，代表双方是平等的，再亲密一点的拥抱、亲脸颊等，也是双方平等的。因此，在国家平等的原则下，鞠躬即使被用作礼节，也应该是互相的。而奥巴马的鞠躬，除非对方也鞠躬，否则就是不平等的。因此，站在一个通常惯例的立场，奥巴马的鞠躬，的确很伤美国的面子。更何况在外交场合，一般惯例不会采用鞠躬这种方式。奥巴马缺乏外交礼仪方面的常识和经验，他只把自己的礼仪当成个人行为，还以一个普通人的心态，面对拥有国王身份的、地位更高的人。作为个人，奥巴马的礼节无可厚非，但是，作为美国总统，奥巴马丝毫没有意识到自己的礼节实际上代表了美国,代表了国家形象。 Case Study:

 奥巴马和布朗夫人“有一手”  时间： 2009年9月24日晚  场合：G20欢迎晚宴  主要人物：奥巴马夫妇，

 时任英国首相布朗夫妇

 当晚，奥巴马夫妇与英国首相布朗夫妇相互拥抱接吻行礼之后，站成一排让记

者合影留念，其中奥巴马和布朗夫人萨拉站立，布朗和奥巴马夫人米歇尔则分别立于两侧。这本是一张很普通的合影，但让摄影记者没有想到的是，在合影时，奥巴马的左手竟忘情地紧紧握住了布朗夫人萨拉的右手，二人十指相扣，显得十分亲密！

这一非同寻常的举动让许多记者惊得目瞪口呆，据悉，当晚奥巴马在和其他国家元首及夫人合影时均只是简单地摆个姿势，没有牵住任何一个人的手，即便是最让奥巴马有好感的法国第一夫人布鲁尼也未享受如此“待遇”！

Case Study: Direct eye-to-eye contact is not universal

A teenage Puerto Rican girl in a New York high school was taken with a number of other girls to the principal for suspected smoking. Although there was no proof of any wrongdoing and although she had a good record, the principal decided she was guilty and suspected her. “There was something sly and suspicious about her.” he said in his report. “she just wouldn‟t meet my eyes. She wouldn‟t look at me.”

Eye Contact

 Generally speaking, if you look at your partner‟s eyes from time to time while

speaking, you‟ll be regarded as sociable, friendly, confident and frank.

 If you avoid eye contact, you‟ll be regarded as cold, distant, unconfident and not

involved in the conversation.

 People in the Western societies expect the person with whom they are interacting to

“look them in the eye.” There is even a tendency to be suspicious of someone who does not follow the culturally prescribed rules for eye contact. Direct eye-to-eye contact is not a custom throughout the world. In Japan, for example, prolonged eye contact is considered rude, threatening, and disrespectful. People from Latin American and Caribbean cultures also avoid eye contact as a sign of respect. Problems can arise when Westerners attempt to do business with a group of people who believe it is a sign of impertinence to make prolonged eye contact with their communication partners. Arabs, on the other hand, look directly into the eyes of their communication partner, and do so for long periods. They believe such contact shows interest in the other person and helps them assess the truthfulness of the other person‟s words.

Nodding is culture-specific Case Study  通常我们说点头称是，摇头自然是表示否定。然而并不是所有民族都如此。有一次，

一位中国工程师给一群斯里兰卡青年讲抽水机的用法，讲完之后问他们懂了没有？他们都微微摇了摇头。工程师见他们摇头就又重复了一次，并亲手示范表演。再问他们，得到的仍是微微摇头。工程师刚要重复第三遍，正好在中国留过学的当地翻译来了，一经过翻译一解释，工程师才明白原来在斯里兰卡微微摇头是表示已经明白的意思。

－－（《当你踏上异国的土地……》,1986）

斯里兰卡人的习惯是：表示肯定答复或同意时微微摇头，表示否定答复或不同意时使劲儿摇头，但在表示非常赞同、十分明白时则还是要点头。  In Japan, mutual bowing is largely determined by rank.

 Becoming automatic movement, e.g. bow when making phone call

Devils can be driven out of the heart by the touch of a hand on a hand, or a mouth on a mouth.---Tennessee Williams ( American playwright)

• Each culture has a well-defined system of meanings for different forms of touching. • Some generalizations can be made with regard to high-touch versus low-touch

cultures.

• Americans, the English, Germans and Northern Europeans are said to belong to

low-touch cultures, exhibiting very limited tactile contact in public.

• Hispanics (以西班牙语为母语的人), people of Eastern European descents, Italians,

the French, Arabs,

and Jews are all said to belong to high-touch cultures.

6. Space and Distance空间与距离

Case Study: Michelle Obama keeps Silvio Berlusconi at arm's length at

 一贯以花心著称的意大利贝卢斯科尼只身一人来到宴会现场看到奥巴马夫人

米歇尔之后，他显得十分惊喜，立刻满脸含笑地向米歇尔张开双臂，试图给她一个热情的熊抱。然而让贝卢斯科尼尴尬的是，尽管他保持张开双臂的动作长达数秒钟，胳膊都快举酸了，但米歇尔却仿佛“视而不见”，最后只伸出了一只手与他握手了事。而照片显示，在整个过程中，站在一旁的奥巴马显然对贝卢斯科尼充满了警惕，他斜着眼睛对贝卢斯科尼抛去愤怒的一瞥，似乎生怕他对自己的夫人米歇尔“图谋不轨”，那表情仿佛在说：“拥抱？你想都不要想！”

 如果说当晚奥巴马夫人米歇尔对所有来宾都只行握手礼，这倒也就罢了——然而眼

尖的媒体注意到，当米歇尔在迎接英国首相布朗和法国总统萨科齐时都能大方地与对方行拥抱礼，而且她甚至让布朗亲吻了面颊，惟独对贝卢斯科尼例外！英国媒体戏称，奥巴马夫妇的警惕之举“很难让人感到惊讶”，因为贝卢斯科尼目前正受到招妓等一系列性丑闻的困扰。 6.1 Proxemics人际距离学

 The term proxemics was introduced by anthropologist Edward T. Hall in 1966.

Proxemics is the study of set measurable distances between people as they interact.  Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physical distance.

 Hall notes that different cultures maintain different standards of personal space. In

Latin cultures, for instance, those relative distances are smaller, and people tend to be more comfortable standing close to each other; in Nordic cultures the opposite is true. Realizing and recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cultural understanding, and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if the interpersonal distance is too large (\"standoffish\") or too small (intrusive). Comfortable personal distances also depend on the culture, social situation, gender, and individual preference.

Diagram of Edward T. Hall’s personal reaction bubbles(1966), showing radius in feet.  0~50cm: intimate lovers and family members  >50~120cm: friends (personal distance)

 >120~270cm: acquaintances (social distance)  >270cm: public space, not belong to oneself  Behind: strangers speaking from behind are

allowed to stand much more nearer. Case Study: Space Adventures

 The Australians, the Argentinians, and most Asians will move in very close during

an introduction and almost be right in the face of the person they are meeting. North Americans and many Europeans will feel uncomfortable with this invasion of “private space” and consider it an aggressive gesture. It is not. It is important to realize that crowding is simply a cultural norm. In most Arabic cultures, men will literally grab the arm or shoulder of a colleague to emphasize a point. Privacy is important and Germans will expect you to knock before opening an office door. Of all Europeans, Germans put the greatest value on their personal space, and do not like being crowded. A distance of more than two feet (60cm) is expected when conversing among non-families.

Germans: “We would rather shake hands rather than embrace.

 In Germany shaking hands is an accepted and expected greeting ritual; however,

Germans seldom embrace. Hugging, even among family members, is rarer than it is in France and in Latin cultures. The handshake establishes touch, but at arm’s length, whereas an embrace represents too much invasion of the personal bubble. 7. Silence

 The use of silence varies from culture to culture.

 Generally, Eastern cultures value silence more than the use of words; in Western

cultures, the opposite is true.

 Differently cultures perceive silence differently.  China：沉默是金

 此时无声胜有声

 African proverb：Silence is also speech.  Japanese proverb：

 It is the duck that squawks that gets shot.  Out of the mouth comes all evil.  A flower does not speak.

 The mouth is to eat with not to speak with.

 American proverb: The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 Silence can be longer between friends or intimates than the strangers who have

to converse.

 Chinese pay more attention to the function of silence in the talking, and think

that the pauses and silence have rich meanings.

 Silence may have many possible meanings: agreement--disagreement,

thoughtful--ignorance, consideration--inconsideration, secrecy, coldness, submission, boredom and so on.

8. Paralanguage (副语言)

• It refers to voice characteristics and vocal qualities.

• Paralinguistics (副语言学) is the study of such non-semantic aspects of speech as

tone, volume, pitch and tempo, pause and the like which are together with verbal information.

• Our voice may be one of the most informative elements in building up our images. 8.1 Pitch

• Pitch decides hesitation or emphasis.

• When one is excited, his/her voice would be high in pitch, quick in rate, and

there will be no pauses between sentences;

• When one is sad or depressed, his/her voice traits would surely be the opposite. 8.2 Volume Control

 The English always speak in lower voice than Chinese when they make speech

or a lecture, or talking with each other, or phoning. But Chinese often speak in loud voice in the aforesaid occasions.

 American are more skilled in regulating their voice volume and use very many

different volume levels depending on the size of the audience and the physical environment.