跨文化交际英文案例.docx

跨文化交际英文案例.docx

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跨文化交际英文案例

Case1Girl-ness

AsavisitingprofessorinanAmericanuniversity,ZhangHuawasinvitedtogivealecturetoagroupofAmericanstudents.HetalkedaboutuniversitystudentsinChina.Duringthequestion-and-answerperiodafterthelecture,onefemalestudentaskedaquestionthatsurprisedZhangHua.“Whenyoutalkedaboutfemalestudents,youreferredtothemasgirls.Why?

〞

“Becausetheyaregirls.That’swhattheyarecalled,〞ZhangHuatriedtoanswer,butheknewhedidnotreallyunderstandtheintentofthequestion.“Idon’tquiteunderstandyourquestion,I’mafraid.〞

“IntheStates,wecallourselves‘women’ifwe’reoldenoughtogototheuniversity.Callingus‘girls’isinsulting.〞

DoChinesefemalecollegestudentsprefertobecalledwomen?

Case2

Manyyearsago,aChinesemanshowedaphotoofhiswifetosomeAmericanvisitors.Outofcourtesy,theyallsaid,〞Sheisverybeautiful.〞Alsooutofcourtesy,themanrepliedwithwhathewouldhavedoneinChineseunderthecircumstance,〞Where!

Where!

〞Quitetakenaback,nobodysaidanythingforamoment,untilthemostingeniousoneamongthevisitors,takinganotherlookatthephoto,said,“Oh,everywhere!

〞

WhatdidtheChineseintendtomeanbyreplyingwith“Where!

Where!

〞?

Case1Girl-ness

AsavisitingprofessorinanAmericanuniversity,ZhangHuawasinvitedtogivealecturetoagroupofAmericanstudents.HetalkedaboutuniversitystudentsinChina.Duringthequestion-and-answerperiodafterthelecture,onefemalestudentaskedaquestionthatsurprisedZhangHua.“Whenyoutalkedaboutfemalestudents,youreferredtothemasgirls.Why?

〞

“Becausetheyaregirls.That’swhattheyarecalled,〞ZhangHuatriedtoanswer,butheknewhedidnotreallyunderstandtheintentofthequestion.“Idon’tquiteunderstandyourquestion,I’mafraid.〞

“IntheStates,wecallourselves‘women’ifwe’reoldenoughtogototheuniversity.Callingus‘girls’isinsulting.〞

DoChinesefemalecollegestudentsprefertobecalledwomen?

Case2

Manyyearsago,aChinesemanshowedaphotoofhiswifetosomeAmericanvisitors.Outofcourtesy,theyallsaid,〞Sheisverybeautiful.〞Alsooutofcourtesy,themanrepliedwithwhathewouldhavedoneinChineseunderthecircumstance,〞Where!

Where!

〞Quitetakenaback,nobodysaidanythingforamoment,untilthemostingeniousoneamongthevisitors,takinganotherlookatthephoto,said,“Oh,everywhere!

〞

WhatdidtheChineseintendtomeanbyreplyingwith“Where!

Where!

〞?

Case3“IJustWantedtoTalk〞.

WutongwasagraduatestudentinaChineseuniversity.Likemanystudentsthesedays,hewasverykeenonlearningEnglish.HewouldtalkwithEnglishspeakersasoftenashecould.

Oneday,hesawanewforeigneroncampus,LeonardRamsay,andoverheardhimspeakingEnglish.WhenMr.Ramsayfinishedspeakingwiththeotherperson,heturnedtogo,butWuTongstoppedhim.Hewentupandsaid,“YouspeakEnglish,isthatright?

〞

“Yes,why?

〞

“I’dliketopractisemyEnglishwithyou,ifyoudon’tmind.〞

Mr.Ramsaylookedalittleannoyed.“Iprefernotto,ifyoudon’tmind.〞

Case4AnUnwantedFoodService

DuringalunchbuffetataconferenceinChina,WuFa,theinterpreteroftheconference,satwithfourforeignparticipants.Theywerehavingagoodtimetalking.WhenWuFastoodupformorefood,sheaskedwhethershecouldbringanythingbackforthem.

Everyonethankedherandsaid“no〞.Awhilelater,WuFacamebackwithaplatefulloffood,andaskedwhethertheotherswouldliketohavesomethingfromherplate.

Again,thefourotherssaid,“No〞.

“Oh,pleasetakesomething,Ican’teatthismuchfoodmyself.〞

Theforeignersshruggedandoneortwoofthemevenfrownedalittle.

Case5SimpleCanBeSpecial

WenHonghadanAmericanprofessorinhereconomicsclassinChina.Shehadgiventheprofessoralotofhelpduringthecourse.Attheendofthesemester，theprofessorandhiswifeinvitedhertotheirhomefordinner.TheysaidtheyweregoingtocookheranAmericanmeal.

WenHongfeltveryflatteredandexcited，sinceMcDonald，KFCandPizzaHuthadbeenheronlyexposuretoWesterncooking.

Theyhadsaladtostartwith，thensteakwithpotatoes，followedbyicecream.WenHonghadexpectedmorecoursesbutthemealcametoanend.Sheknewtheprofessorandhiswifewerebeingkindtoher，butsomehowshewasalittledisappointed.ShewonderedwhetherAmericansdoeatlikethatathome.

Case6ChineseCoffeeCustoms

WhilestudyingintheUnitedStates,LinJunmadeafewAmericanfriends.Onedayheinvitedtwoofthemtohisapartmentandcookedthemameal.Whenhisfriendssaidtheywouldlikesomecoffee,hestartedboilingsomewater.Withoutaskingthemanyquestions,hemadethreecupsof3-in-1coffee,thewayheusuallytookit.

Bothfriendstastedthecoffeeandfrowned.Onesaidshealwaystookcoffeeblack，theothersaidhepreferredtohavelesssugarinhiscoffee.Theyalsotoldhimthatthespoonisforstirringthecoffee，nottodrinkfromlikehedid.LinJunwasembarrassed.Hehadthoughtthateveryonedrankcoffeethesamewayashedid.

Case7NoisefromNoodles

JaneandPeterwereChenDong’slandlordandlandladywhenhewasintheStates.Theyhadbeegoodfriendsbytheendofhisone-yearstay.TheykeptintouchwitheachotherafterChenDongreturnedtoChina.JaneandPeterdecidedtovisitChinasoonafterChenDonglefttheStates.

TheymadeaspecialstopinGuangzhouwhereChenDonglives.ChenDonghadpromisedtoshowthemaroundthecityandletthemtrysomeauthenticCantonesefood.Onething，inparticular，hewantedthemtotrywasnoodles.Heknewseveralrestaurantsthatservedgoodnoodlesandtookthecoupletooneofthemforlunchoneday.

NoodlestypicallyeinsoupinCantonesecooking.ChenDongstartedeatingthenoodleswithchopsticks，whileJaneandPeterexchangedalookatthenoisethatcamewithhiseating.Afteralittlehesitation，theyaskedforforks.Awaitresstoldthemthattheydidnothaveforks，andChenDongexplainedthatnoodlerestaurantsdonotusuallykeepforksbecausenoonewouldthinkofusingforksfornoodles.

Inthenexthalfanhour，JaneandPeterhadahardtimetryingtorollthelongnoodlesontotheirchopsticks.ChenDongsaid，“that’snotthewayweeatnoodles.Youputthenoodlesdirectlytoyourmouthwithyourchopsticks.〞

“Butthat’snotthewayweeatnoodles，〞JaneandPetersaid,frowning.

Case8DinnerinaChineseHome

BesidestakingPeterandJanetorestaurants,DongChenalsoinvitedthemtohishomefordinneronce.DongChen‘smotherisanicewife,andmadeeightcoursesforfourofthem.

“I'msorrythereisn’tmuchfordinner,shesaid.〞

“Godthisismuchmorethanenoughfood,〞Janesaid.PeterwastoooverwhelmedtoevenrespondtoDongChen‘mother

DongChenwasalittleembarrassed.“Thisiswhatweusuallysaytoguests，eventhoughthere’splentyoffood〞heexplained．

WhatbewilderedJaneandPetermostwasthatthoughDongChen’smotherkeptsayingthatthefoodwasnotgood，sheconstantlyservedhelpingstoJaneandPeter．Peterdidnotliketwoofthecoursesverymuch，andfeltbadthathisplatewasfullwithwhateverhewouldnotbeabletoeat.AtseeingDongChen'smother’snextmovetoservehimfood，hesaidinabeggingvoice，“Pleasedon’tgivemeanymorefood．Letmedoitmyself．

Case9ANot-sociableDrink

MartinwassentbyanAmericanpanytoworkinaspecialeconomicdevelopmentzoneinChinaforayear.HebecameveryfriendlywithafewChinesecolleagues.Soon,hestartedtogooutwiththem.HenoticedthatChineseliketohavesomething,suchaspeanuts,whentheyhavebeer,insteadofjustdrinkingbeerwithoutanythingtoeatasmanyNorthAmericansdo.

Onedayhewasinvitedtoadinnerpartytocelebrateacolleague’sbirthday.Theyorderedalcoholicbeveragesandtoastedtheguestofhonorfrequently.SoonMartinrealizedthattheplanwastogettheirfrienddrunk.Eachcolleaguewouldofferatoast,concludingwithacheery“ganbei!

〞andtriedtogetMartintojoinin,eventhoughhewasunwillingtodoit.Martindidn’tthinkitagoodidea,andtriedtotalkthemoutofthegame.However,hewasaccusedofnotbeingagoodfriendfornotco-operating.

Martinremainedanoutsiderduringtherestofthedinner.Hewasgettingincreasinglyworriedashewatchedthepoorguestbeeincreasinglyinebriated.

Case10AMisunderstandingataDinnerTable

RogerwasastudentmajoringinEastAsiaStudiesinanAmericanuniversity.HestartedancorrespondencewithZhangLi,asociologymajorinChina,whowasintroducedtohimthroughamutualfriend.

Upongraduation,Rogergotabiggiftfromhisgrandfather.Grandpawouldpayforaround-triptickettoChina.HetoldZhangLithegoodnews,andthetwodecidedtomeet.

ZhangLidecidedtogiveRogeraveryspecialwele:

sheandthethreewomenstudentsinherdormitorywouldcookhimanauthenticChinesemeal,asRogerhadtoldherthathelovedChinesefood.

However,whenRogerwaspresentedthedinner,hewasalmostterrifiedbysomeofthefood:

porkstomachsoup,pigliverwithgingerandspringonion,chickenwithmushroomsinwhichthechickenhadbeencuttopieceswithbonesattachedtothemeal.

Fortunately,therewerecoursesliketofu,stirredfriedbeef,steamedfishandvegetablesthatRogerloved.HetriedtosticktothembutZhangLikeptputtingfoodhedidnotlikeonhisplate.Whensheaskedhowhelikedtheliver,Rogersaid,“It’sveryunusual…andinteresting.“ThisseemedtomakeZhangLihappy.Andshegavehimmoreliver.Rogertriedtostopher,butshewouldnotbestopped.Rogerwassofrustratedthathetoldherthathedidnotreallylikeitthatmuch.“Butyousaid