中西文化差異英文

TheDifferencebetweenChinese

andWesternCulture

2021/5/91Contents1.GreetingandParting2.Addressing3.ComplimentsandResponses4.ThanksandResponses5.AskingPersonalAffairs6.Invitation2021/5/921.GreetingandParting

InChina,whenpeoplemeetacquaintancesorfriends,

wealwayssay,“Haveyoueatenyet?”Whatareyougoingtodo?”InEnglish,peopleoftenemploythefollowingexpressionstogreeteachother“Goodmorning/afternoon/evening.“Fineday,isn’tit?”Howiseverythinggoing?”,etc2021/5/93WesternandChinesecultureshavediverse

waystodealwithleave-takingsWesternpeoplealwaystrytomaketheirleavingsoundreluctantbyfindingsomereasonsandapologizeforittomaketheleavingacceptableforbothparties.Theyoftensignalseveraltimesbeforeleaving.Suchas,1.“IamafraidImustbeoff,Ihaveto…”2.“Well,it’sbeennicetoseeyouagain.Idoenjoyour

talkandthelovelydinner,butImustbegoingsoon”.3.“Thankyouverymuchforaskingmeover.Ihopewe’llbeabletogettogetheragainbeforelong…”2021/5/942.Addressing

InChina,thesurnamecomesfirstandthenthegivenname.Whilewesternersnamesarewrittenandspokenwiththegivennamefirstandthefamilynamelast.2021/5/95East&WestInwest,Althoughtheyaredifferentinageandstatus,theycancalltheotherdirectly,namely,theirnames,evenfirstnames.Theydemonstratethesenseofintimacyandtheconceptionof”Everyoneiscreatedequal”

Ineast,chineseuse“title+surname”toaddresstheirsuperiororeldersratherthancallthemsurnames,whilethesuperiororelderscalltheaddresserstheirnames.Otherwise,theaddressermaybeconsideredasillmannered,illeducatedorrude.2021/5/963.ComplimentsandResponsesForexample,ifahostessiscomplimentedforhercookingskill,howwillsheresponseinwestandchina?2021/5/97East&WestAChinesehostesswillapologizeforgivingyou“Nothing”.Shewillsay“Ijustmadesomedishescasuallyandtheyarenotverytasty.”Anwesternhostessislikelytosay,”O(jiān)h,Iamsogladthatyoulikedit.Icookitespeciallyforyou.”2021/5/98Whatcanweseefromit?TheAmericansare“straightforwardness”,theChinesetakepridein“modesty”.Intheresponsetocompliments.Chinesearetendtoeffacethemselvesinwordsorrefuseit,althoughtheydofeelcomfortableaboutthecompliments.

2021/5/994.ThanksandResponsesInChina,“Thankyou”isnotfrequentlyusedbetweenintimatefriendsandfamilymembers,becauseitmayimplyacertaindistancebetweentheaddresserandtheaddressee.But,“Thankyou”iswidelyusedinEnglishtoshowgratitudeinsuchcasesasbeinginvited,helped,givenagift,etc.2021/5/910ExamplesExample1:Ononeoccasion,aforeignstudentsoonafterarrivingattheChinastutteringinchinesesaid:"whyareyoualwaysaskmetoeatamealyet?Ihavemoney."Hethoughtthatpeoplealwaysask“Doyouhaveameal?"Becauseitwasafraidthathehadnomoneytohaveameal.He'sobviouslyangryforthiskindoftalk.Example2:IntheUnitedStates,ayoungChinesewoman,wearingabeautifuldress.Whensomeonesaidtoher"yourdressisreallyelegant.Thecolorisverybeautiful".TheyoungChinesewomanwasveryhappy,butsomeembarrassed,asChinesecustomsreplied:"itisacommonclothes,IboughtinChina".2021/5/9115.AskingPersonalAffairsPeoplefromChinadonotregarditasaskingpersonalaffairswhentheyaskothersname,age,maritalstatus,wages,personallife,beliefandpoliticalpoints.Itisregardasconcerns.Whilethewesternswillthinkyouviolatetheirrightofprivacy.2021/5/912East&WestWhenwetalktothewesterns,wemustavoidaskingsomequestionslikethis:1、“Howoldareyou?”2、“Areyoumarried？”3、“Howmanychildrendoyouhave？”4、“Howmuchdoyoumake？”5、“Doyougotothechurch？”

…2021/5/9136.InvitationInthecultureofBritishandAmerica,itisveryimportanttoconsultatimebeforeyouinvitesomebodytoattendabanquetortakepartinsocialactivities.Especally,inAmerica,invitesomebodymeansyouareborrowtimesofothers.Sotheyrespecttimeverymuch.WhileinChina,peopleareprefertoanuninvitedguest.2021/5/914Otherthingsaboutwesternfamilies1、Westernfamiliesadvocateequalityindailylife.Thehusbandandthewifeusuallyhaveanequalityvoiceindecision-making,andoncertainmatters,thechildrenhaveavote,too.2、Inthewestern,mostoldpeopledonotlivewiththeirchildrenorrelatives.

3、Iftheyhaveenoughmoneytheywillbuyhouseorapartmentsinplaceswhereotheroldpeoplelive.Iftheydonothealthyandstrongenoughtolivealone,theywouldratherliveinnursinghousesforoldpeoplethanbetakenbytheirchildren.Thereforetheywanttostayyoungbecauseyouthstandsforhopeandenergy,theydonotliketogrowoldbecausetheywillnotgainhonor,respectorattentionasoldpeople.2021/5/915Differentcu