跨文化交际case答案解析

Case 1In this case, there seemed to be problems in com muni cat ing with peopleof differe nt cultures in spite of the efforts made to achieve un dersta nding.在这种情况下，尽管人们努力去理解，但在与不同文化背景的人交流时似乎出现了问题。We should know that in Egypt as in many cultures, the human relationship isvalued so highly that it is not expressed in an objectiveandimpers onalway.While America ns certa inly valuehuma nrelatio nships, they are more likely to speak of them in less pers on al, more objective terms.我们应该知道，在埃及，就像在许多文化中一样，人际关系被看得如此重要，以 至于无法以客观和非个人的方式表达出来。虽然美国人的确重视人际关系，但他 们更倾向于用不那么个人化、更客观的方式来谈论人际关系。In this case, Richard s mistake might be that he chose to praise the fooditself rather than the total evening, for which the food was simply the setting or excuse. For his host and hostess it was as if he had attended an art exhibit and complimented the artist by saying, -What beautiful frames your pictures are in.在这种情况下，理查德的错误可能是他选择赞美食物本身，而不是整个晚上，因 为食物只是设置或借口。对他的主人和女主人来说，这就好像他参加了一个艺术展，并恭维那位艺术家说 :“你的画的画框多漂亮啊In Japan the situation may be more complicated.Japanese people valueorder and harmony among persons in a group, and that the organization itself be it a family or a vast corporation is more valued than the characteristics of any particular member. In contrast, Americans stress individuality as a value and are apt to assert individual differences when they seem justifiably in conflict with the goals or values of the group.在日本， 情况可能更为复杂。 日本人重视群体中人与人之间的秩序与和谐， 而组 织本身无论是家庭还是大型企业比任何特定成员的特点更受重视。相 反，美国人强调个性作为一种价值， 当他们与群体的目标或价值观有合理的冲突 时，他们倾向于主张个体差异。In this case: Richard s mistake was in making great efforts to defend himself. Let the others assume that the errors were not intentional, but it is not right to defend yourself, even when your unstated intent is to assist the group by warning others of similar mistakes. A simple apology and acceptance of the blame would have been appropriate. But for poor Richard to have merely apologized would have seemed to him to be subservient, unmanly.在这种情况下 :理查德的错误在于努力为自己辩护。让其他人认为这些错误不是故意的，但是为自己辩护是不对的， 即使你没有说明的意图是通过警告其他人类似的错误来帮助团队。 一个简单的道歉和接受指责是适当的。 但是对可怜的理查 德来说，仅仅是道歉，在他看来就是卑躬屈膝，没有男子气概When it comes to England, we expect fewer problems between Americans and Englishmen than between Americans and almost any other group. 说到英国，我们认为美国人和英国人之间的问题比美国人和几乎任何其他民族之 间的问题都要少。In this case we might look beyond the gesture of taking sugar or creamto the values expressed in this gesture: for America ns,-Help yourself; forthe English counterpart,-Be my guest. American and English peopleequally enjoy entertaining and being entertained but they differ somewhat in the value of the distinction. Typically, the ideal guest at an American party is one who-makes himself at home, even to the point ofanswering the door or fixing his own drink. For persons in many other societies, including at least this hypothetical English host, such guest behavior is presumptuous or rude.在这种情况下，我们可能会把目光从吃糖或奶油的手势转移到这个手势所表达的 价值观上 :对美国人来说，请自便 ;对于英国人来说， -请便。美国人和英国人同样 最理想的客人是那些把自己当成自己家的人， 甚至到了开门或自己准备饮料的地 步。对于许多其他社会的人来说，至少包括这个假想的英国主人，这样的客人行 为是放肆或粗鲁的。喜欢娱乐和被娱乐， 但他们在区别的价值上有所不同般来说， 美国人聚会上Case 2A com mon cultural misun dersta ndingin classes invo Ives con flictsbetwee n what is said to be direct com muni cati on style and in direct com muni cati on style.课堂上常见的文化误解包括直接沟通方式和间接沟通方式的冲突。In America n culture, people tend to say what is on their minds and tomean what they say. Therefore, students in class are expected to ask questions when they need clarification.在美国文化中，人们倾向于说出心中所想，言出必行。因此，在课堂上，学生应 该在需要澄清的时候提出问题。Mexica n culture shares this prefere nee of style with America n culture insome situations , and that s why the studentsfrom Mexico readilyadopted the tech niq ues of ask ing questio ns in class.在某些情况下，墨西哥文化与美国文化有相同的风格偏好，这就是为什么墨西哥 学生在课堂上很容易采用提问技巧的原因 However, Korea n people gen erally prefer in direct com muni cati on style, and therefore they tend to not say what is on their mi nds and to rely more on implicatio ns and inferen ce, so as to be polite and respectful and avoid los ing face through any improper verbal behavior.但是，韩国人一般比较喜欢间接的交流方式， 所以他们倾向于不直接说出自己的 想法，更多的依靠暗示和推理，从而做到礼貌和尊重，避免因为任何不当的言语 行为而丢面子。As is men ti onedin the case, to many Korea ns, nu merous questio nswould show a disrespect for the teacher, and would also reflect that the stude nt has not studied hard eno ugh.正如案例中提到的，对许多韩国人来说，无数的问题会显示出对老师的不尊重， 也会反映出学生学习不够努力。Case 3The conflicthere is a differeneein cultural values and beliefs. In thebeg inning, Mary did n t realize that her Dominican sister saw her as a member of the family, literally.In the Domi nica n view, family possessi onsare shared by every one of the family. Luz was act ing as most Domi nica nsisters would do in borrowingwithout asking every time. Once Mary un derstood that there was a differe nt way of look ing at this, she would become more accepting. However, she might still experienee the same frustration when this happened again. She had to find ways to cope with her own emotional cultural reaction as well as her practical problem (the batteries running out).这里的冲突是文化价值观和信仰的差异。一开始，玛丽并没有意识到她的多米尼加姐姐把她当成了家里的一员。在多米尼加人看来，家庭财产是由每个家庭成员共享的。 卢茨的行为就像大多数多米尼加姐妹那样，每次都是不经请求就借钱。一旦玛丽明白有另一种看待这件事的方式， 她就会变得更能接受。然而，当这种 事情再次发生时，她可能仍然会经历同样的挫折。她必须找到方法来处理她自己 的情感文化反应和她的实际问题（电池用完了）。Case 4It might be simply a questi on of differe nt rhythms.America ns have onerhythm in their personal and family relations, in their friendliness and their charities. People from other cultures have different rhythms. The American rhythm is fast. It is characterized by a rapid acceptanee of others. However, it is seldom that America ns en gage themselves en tirely in a frie ndship. Their frie ndships are warm, but casual, and specialized.For example, you have a neighbor who drops by in the morning for coffee. You see her frequently, but you never invite her for dinner - not because you don t think she could handle a fork and a knife, but because you have seen her that morning. Therefore, you reserve your more formal invitation to dinner for someone who lives in a more distant part of the city and whom you would not see unless you extended an invitation for a special occasion.这可能只是不同节奏的问题。美国人在他们的个人和家庭关系中， 在他们的友好和他们的慈善事业中都有一个 节奏。来自其他文化的人有不同的节奏。 美国人的节奏很快。 它的特点是迅速接 受他人。然而，美国人很少完全投入到友谊中去。他们的友谊是温暖的，但也很随意，而 且很专一。例如，你有一个邻居早上过来喝咖啡。你经常见到她，但你从不请她吃饭 不是因为你认为她拿不动刀叉， 而是因为你那天早上见过她。 因此， 你会为那些 住在城市较偏远地区的人保留更正式的晚餐邀请， 除非你在一个特殊的场合发出 邀请，否则你是不会见到他们的。Now, if the first friend moves away and the second one moves nearby, you are likely to reverse this - see the second friend in the mornings for informal coffee meetings, and the first one you will invite more formallyto dinner. Americans are, in other words, guided very often by their own convenience. They tend to make friends easily, and they don t feel it necessary to go to a great amount of trouble to see friends often when it becomes inconvenient to do so, and usually no one is hurt.But in similarcircumstances people from many other cultures would be hurt very deeply.现在，如果第一个朋友搬走了，第二个搬到附近，你可能会逆转这种情况 在早上与第二个朋友非正式地喝咖啡， 而第一个朋友会被你正式地邀请去吃晚餐。 换句话说， 美国人常常被自己的方便所引导。 他们很容易交到朋友， 当他们觉得 不方便的时候，他们不觉得有必要去见朋友，而且通常没有人受到伤害。 但是在类似的情况下，来自其他文化的人会受到很大的伤害。Case 5In China, it is often not polite to accept a first offer and Heping was being modest, polite and well-behaved and had every intention of accepting the beer at the second or third offer. But he had not figured on North American rules which firmly say that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason behind the rule, you do not insist in offering alcohol. So unconscious and so strong are their cultural rules that the Americans equally politely never made a second offer of beer to Heping who probably thought North Americans most uncouth. However, what we have to remember is that cultures are seldom a strict either-or in every instance for all people and there are always individual differences. Probably this young Chinese nurse was very different from Heping or, unlike Heping, she may have known something about the American cultural rules and was just trying to behave like an American when she was in an American family.Case 6When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kindsof meanings involved: utterance meaning, speakers meaning and hearer s meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz said ?How long is she going to stay? she meant to say that if she knew how long her mother-in-law was going to stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-law overheard the conversation, and took Litzsquestion to mean -Litz does not want me to stay for long |. From the Chinese point of view, it seems to be inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-laws arrival. If she feels shehas to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should not let her mother-in-law hear it.Case 7Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan, exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and don t have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesnt offera gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbolic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship. Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesn t know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would never consider those used household items given to Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return.Case 8As the Chinese girl Amy fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Christmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girl. She did not like to see her boyfrie nd feel disappo in ted at the -shabby II Chinese Christmas. That s why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the ministers family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. Shethought the menu for the Christmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then the foods chosen by her mother were all her favorites? From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shameful just because one s culture is different from others. As Amy s mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame.Case 9Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such as martial arts or flower arrangements.In this case, the young chairman must have had his own ideas about how to manage the company; however, when encountered with his grandfather s dissenting opinions, he dared not to take a stand against him. This may manifest the rigid hierarchical structure in the Japanese society. In the Japanese society, how hierarchy is formed depends mainly on seniority, social roles, and gender. As a respectable senior member of the family and the former leader of the company, the grandfather obviously overpowered the inexperienced young chairman. In other words, the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture, challenging or disagreeing with elders opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful and is often condemned. People in lower positions are expected to be loyal and obedient to authority. That s why the young chairman didn t say anything but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather. But Phil seemed to know little about the Japanese culture in this aspect. In many Western cultures, particularly American culture, seniority seldom matters very much in such situations, and young people are usually encouraged to challenge authority and voice their own opinions. Unfortunately, his outspoken protest could easily offend the grandfather and he might be regarded as a rude and ill-bred person by other Japanese.Case 10In Japan, a company is often very much like a big family, in which the manger(s) will take good care of the employees and the employees are expected to devote themselves to the development of the company and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own individual interests for the interests of the company, from which, in the long run, the employees will benefit greatly. But for the French, a company is just a loosely- knit social organization wherein individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their families. Moreover, the way the French make decisions in the family might also be different from the typical Japanese one, which may not often involve females and the power to decide usually lies with the dominating male. As there are such cultural differences between the Japanese and the French, Mr. Legrand s decision made Mr. Tanaka feel dumbfounded.Case 11Incidents such as these can point to possible cultural differences in so-calledpolite II behavior, and at the same time highlight thetendency for people to react emotionally to unexpected behavior. People in most cultures would probably agree that an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. However, there may be differing opinions as to when we should apologize (what situations call for an apology) and how we should apologize. To many Westerners, Japanese apologize more frequently and an apology in Japanese does not necessarily mean that the person is acknowledging a fault. To many Japanese, Westerners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, for instance, the attitude of the Australian students parents is shocking tothe Japanese but will be acceptable in an English-speaking society, for the student is already an adult and can be responsible for her own deeds.Case 12In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectations were not fulfilled.First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be somewhat confusing to the hierarchically minded Chinese. Second, because age is often viewed as an indication of seniority, the Chinese might have considered the youth of their Canadian hosts as slight to their own status. Third, in China, it is traditional for the host to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal, which is the reciprocated by the guests; by not doing so, the Canadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure of the Chinese following the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians lack ofunderstandingof the Chinese culture and the Chinese ways ofcommunication clearly cost them in their business dealings with the visiting delegation.Case 13This example vividly illustrates that failures in intercultural translation may probably lead to very serious consequence, or even disasters to human beings. Definitely, translation is not such a simple process as rendering a word, a sentence or a text literally, but rather a far more complex one than most people assumed. For example, once a Chinesecosmetic manufacturer wanted to promote their products into the internationalmarket. The slogan of the advertisementwas: -sweet asJade II, since in Chin ese -ade II was always employedto complime ntwoman s beauty; but unfortunately, it was not an appropriate word to describe the beauty of a lady in Western cultures. In English,-jade I in itsuse of referring a woman had the connotations such as vulgar, rude, immoral, or skittish. Undoubtedly, the sales in European countries were not satisfying. The seeming equivalents between languages may have very different connotations in different cultures, thus the translator should be cautious in the process of doing the translation so as to avoid misunderstandings.Case 14杨 11 refers to Yang Kaihui w h o w a s Mao Zedong s deceased wife and 柳 II refers to Liu zhixun who was Li shuyi s deceased husband. They can be translated in different ways, but it seems to be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve equivalence in translating from Chinese into English. Adopting the literal translation strategy, version 1 appears to be faithful to the original but may easily confuse the readers in the target language.Version 2 employs the liberal translation strategy with an attempt to convey the original meaning as precisely as possible. However, theoriginal poetic flavor is lost as the rhetoric devicepunis notreproduced.Case 15The translationseems to befaithful to theoriginal, but it maynot bereally good forthe purposeof interculturalcommunication.Foreignreaders of the translation may find it strange and inappropriate. The following is what a friendly American journalist has commented on the translation: My first reaction was unfortunately laughter because it is so full of mistakes. It omits some necessary information about the Dragon-Boat Festival, including its historical origins and when it actually takes place. These things are important The copy seems to try to snow II the reader with fan ciful, overblow n assert ions about how terrificit all is, but in unintentionally hilarious language that leaves the readerlaughing out uninformed The brochure also suffers from lack of background material, the taking-if-for-granted that the reader already is familiar with many aspects of Chinese history and culture? visiting an area want to know. Why is it that many Chinese travel guides read basically the same, no matter what region is being written about, and are so packed with indiscriminate hyperbole? Less exaggeration would actually be more convincing. It doesnt tell you where to go, how to getthere, when things are open and closed, how much they cost, and soforth. All these are things peopleCase 16Comparing the two English versions, we can see that in Yangs versionmore culturally-loaded meanings are conveyed from the original while Hawkes version may be easier for English-speaking readers to comprehend. Look at some of the differences between the two versions of this extract: 贾母 The Lady Dowager / Grandmother Jia 老祖宗 凤辣子 Old Ancestress / Granny dear Fiery Phoenix / Peppercorn Feng the school-room name His-feng / the somewhat boyish-sounding name ofTai-yu lost no time in greeting her with a smile asousin. 11/ 二舅母王氏Lady Wang, her second uncle s wife / her Uncle Zheng s wife, Lady Wang 学名叫做王熙凤 Wang Xi-feng 黛玉忙赔笑见礼， 以“嫂”呼之 Dai-yu accordingly smiled and curt-eyed, greeting her by her correct name as she did so. 竟不象老祖宗的外孙女儿 She doesn t take after her father, son-in-law of our Old Ancestress / She doesnt take after your side of thefamily, Ganny. 怨不得老祖宗天天嘴里心里放不下 No wonder our Old Ancestress couldn t put you out of her mind and was for ever talking and thinking about you. / I dont blame you for having gone on so about herduring the past few days现吃什么药？ What medicine are you taking? /Not translated And there are some culturally-loaded expressions in thetext that seem to defy translation:琏二嫂子 内侄女 以“嫂”呼之 外孙女儿 嫡亲的孙女儿 妹妹 By comparing different translations of the sameandtext, we can achieve a better understand