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Teaching Objectives • 1.To understand how language and culture are closely linked • 2. To understand pragmatics in intercultural Communication • 3. Identify the cultural differences in addressing, greeting, conversational topics, visiting, parting, compliment and response, gratitude and apology.
• The use of respectful titles to indicate people’s influential status
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Special Greeting • literarily "Where are you going? " or "What are you goБайду номын сангаасng to do?" or "Have you eaten? “ (pg. 25)
• Invitation • Intrusion into one’s privacy
• Simply to say his/her name, perhaps adding a term of respect: Li Xiaosheng, Mr. Li, Teacher Li, etc.
• the Chinese person is preparing to ask a question or make a comment. • the American's response is likely to be "Yes?"
• Some exceptions • parents • Uncle Sam, Aunt Mary • Brother Joseph or Sister Mary (religious society)
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Addressing by title, office, profession
• Nowadays, more and more English-speaking people address others by using the first name, even when people meet for the first time. (intimacy and equality) (pg. 23)
• Only a few occupations or titles could be used. (pg. 24)
• *Principal Morris; *Manager Jackson; *Bureau Director Wang • Doctor Brown; Mayor White; Prof. Lessing; Nurse Liu; Captain Fan; Colonel Yu
• Another Chinese term xinku la (辛苦啦) is a good warm expression showing concern with many functions.
• greeting to a person who has just completed a long trip, and as a greeting complement to a person who has just done something. • Did you have a good trip? / Did you enjoy your trip? / How was the trip? etc. • "Well done", "That was /You' ve got a hard job.”
Daily Verbal Communication
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An idiom
The sum of human wisdom is not contained in any one language, and no single language is capable of expressing all forms and degrees of human comprehension. — Ezra Pound
• More examples are jingcha shushu (警察叔叔), hushi aji (护士阿姨),etc.
• The English equivalents of the above kinship terms are not so used. Even with relatives, Americans tend to use just the first name and leave out the term of relationship.
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What is verbal communication
• Verbal: connected with words and their use • Verbal communication: communication done both orally and in written language • Easier to use words to represent one’s experiences within the same culture because people share many similar experiences. • More troublesome in verbal communication across cultures because people’s experiences, beliefs, values, customs, traditions and the like are different.
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Language and culture
• Mastering all those rules of language， such as phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, is still not enough for effective communication, for language and culture cannot be separated. • They are intertwined, shaping each other, as in the chicken and egg dilemma --- which came first, the language or the culture? • When selecting words, forming sentences, and sending a message, either oral or written, one also makes cultural choices.
• Americans tend to regard titles as trivial unless they have a clear idea of what kind of work a person does and what his responsibilities are.
• Senior engineer / vice president for marketing
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Addressing by relationship
• Chinese often extend kinship terms to people not related by blood or marriage. These terms are used after the surname to show politeness and respect. (pg. 23)
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Addressing by names
• Name order
• Surname + given name / He Xiangu • Given name + surname (AE)/ Linda Smith • *Smith; *Miss Linda
• A child may even do so to his/ her parents or grandparents. • Many college students call their professors by their first names. (postgraduate)
• In China seniority is paid respect to. Juniors are supposed to address seniors in a proper way. The use of given names is limited to husband and wife, very close friends, juniors by elders or superiors. (Hierarchy)
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Pragmatics in intercultural Communication • Language can be used to perform many tasks: to address people, to compliment people, to make a request, to extend an invitation, to declare a man and a woman husband and wife, and even to sentence a criminal to death. • Pragmatics is the study of the effect that language has on human perceptions and behavior. By learning pragmatics, we can understand how to communicate properly. • Our everyday communication is filled with such pragmatic use of language , but the realization of speech act is different from culture to culture.