Western values
Mixture of Good and Evil
Humans control Nature
Future orientation
BEING (who you are) Hierarchy
Doing (what you are doing) individual
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis 萨丕尔－沃尔夫假说
萨丕尔－沃尔夫假说
• 语言反过来对文化和思维也产生影响。最早提 出语言对思维方式有影响的是萨丕尔和沃尔夫。 他们认为语言的作用不仅是传递信息。而且在 实际生活中塑造了我们对客观现实的感知，即 语言结构能举鼎使用该语言者的思维方式，各 种不同语言的结构导致使用这些语言的人以不 同的方法去观察世界。 • “语言相对论” 或 “语言决定论” • 至今没有足够的依据可以证实萨丕尔－沃尔夫 假说
Why is one culture different from another? On the surface • Perception (how we sense the world) • Belief (what we believe as true) • Value (a system of criteria known as rules and guideposts)
萨丕尔－沃尔夫
• … that the linguistic system (in other words, the grammar) of each language is not merely a reproducing instrument for voicing ideas but rather is itself the shaper of ideas, the program and guide for the individual’s mental activity, for his analysis of impression, for his synthesis of his mental stock in trade … (Whorf, 1952)
Why is one culture different from another? More deeply
• World view (religion) - Spiritual and psychological needs of people (life and death, creation of universe, relationship between humans and nature) - Social aspects of a culture (origin of society and groups within the society, relationship of individuals and groups to one another) • Family (gender roles, individualism-collectivism, age, social skills) • History (government, community, political system, key historical heroes, geography)
5) Social Relationship
Chinese orientation values
1) Human Nature 2) Relationship of Man to Nature 3) Sense of Time 4) Human Activity 5) Social Relationship Basically good Harmony with nature Past orientation
What does cultural diversity mean?
Cultural patterns - conditions that contribute to the way in which a people perceive and think about the world - the manner in which they live in that world Some cautions 1. The value of the culture may not be the value of all individuals within that culture. 2. It is useful to visualize each cultural pattern as a point on a continuum rather than one of only two possible responses. 3. The patterns are interrelated with a host of other values and do not operate in isolation. 4. Common cultural patterns must be limited to the dominant culture in each country.
Linell Davis: five metaphors (to be more easily understood)
• Culture is like an iceberg some is visible (history, literature, customs) most is invisible (feelings and attitudes) • Culture is our software physical selves as the hardware, become human when programmed with the software of culture • Culture is like the water a fish swims in notice everything except the water • Culture is the story we tell ourselves about ourselves people tell stories to tell who they are and stories also change to adapt to changing circumstances • Culture is the grammar of our behavior people learn their cultural grammar unconsciously and apply them automatically in order to behave appropriately in any society
3) Sense of Time
4) Human Activity
Past-oriented
Present-oriented
Future-oriented Doing (stress on what you are doing) Individual
Growing (stress BEING (stress on selfon who you are) development) Hierarchy 等级 Group-oriented
Basis of Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
• Sapir and Whorf based their hypothesis on the research on the Indian language – Navajo, which emphasizes the nature and direction of movement. 1）English: One dresses. Navajo: One moves into clothing. 2) English: One is young. Navajo: One moves about newly.
Significance of studying cultural diversities
• When we study cultural differences, we mainly refer to the deep structure of culture (below the iceberg) • Although culture is subject to change, the deep structure of a culture is resistant to change. • The comparison and contrast of different cultures help understand one’s own culture and other cultures, which will ultimately enhance the effect of intercultural communication.
• Human beings do not live in the objective world alone, nor alone in the world of social activity as ordinarily understood, but are very much at the mercy of the particular language which has become the medium of expression for their society. … The real world is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. (Sapir,1931)