Unit 1Communication Across CulturesWarm UpQuestions1. Why is it difficult to explain to a blind person what colors are2. Do you sometimes find it hard to make yourself properly understood by others If you do, why do you think it is hardIt is very difficult for people to understand one another if they do not share the same experiences. Of course, we all share the experience of being human, but there are many experiences which we do not share and which are different for all of us. It is these different experiences thatmake up what is called —culture II in the social-scittreceabits of everyday life, the cues towhich people respond, the automatic reactions they have to whatever they see and hear. These often differ, and the differences may introduce misunderstandings where we seek understanding.Reading IIntercultural Communication ：An IntroductionComprehension questions1. Is it still often the case that “ everyones quick to blame the alienin the ” contemporary worldThis is still powerful in today ‘ s social and political rhetoric. For instance, it is not uncommonintoday ‘ s society to hear people say that most, if not all, of the social and economic problems arecaused by minorities and immigrants.2. Whats the difference between todays intercultural contact and that of any time in the pastToday‘ s intercultural encounters are far more numerous and of greater importancethan in anytime in history.3. What have made intercultural contact a very common phenomenon in our life todayNew technology, in the form of transportation and communication systems, has accelerated intercultural contact; innovative communication systems have encouraged and facilitated cultural interaction; globalization of the economy has brought people together; changes in immigration patterns have also contributed to intercultural encounter.4. How do you understand the sentence“ culture is everything and everywhereCulture supplies us with the answers to questions about what the world looks like and how we live and communicate within that world. Culture teaches us how to behave in our life from the instant of birth. It is omnipresent.5. What are the major elements that directly influence our perception and communicationThe three major socio-cultural elements that directly influence perception and communication are cultural values, worldview (religion), and social organizations (family and state).6. What does ones family teach him or her while he or she grows up in itThe family teaches the child what the world looks like and his or her place in that world.7. Why is it impossible to separate our use of language from our cultureBecause language is not only a form of preserving culture but also a means of sharing culture. Language is an organized, generally agreed-upon, learned symbol system that is used to represent the experiences within a cultural community.8. What are the nonverbal behaviors that people can attach meaning toPeople can attach meaning to nonverbal behaviors such as gestures, postures, facial expressions, eye contact and gaze, touch, etc.9. How can a free, culturally diverse society exist A free, culturally diverse society can exist only if diversity is permitted to flourish without prejudice and discrimination, both of which harm all members of the society.Discovering Problems: Slim Is BeautifulQuestions for discussionWhich do you think is the mark of beauty, thin or fat Why is it often said that beauty is in the eye of beholderOne sociologist once said that with the greater influence of American culture across the world, the standard of a beauty is becoming more and more Hollywood-like, characterized by a chiseledchin and a tall, slim figure. One can see such beautiful images in almost any American movie. We Chinese also share the notion that the standard idea of beauty includes being tall, thin, and light skinned. It seems that with the process of globalization, eastern and western beauties look more and more alike.But we have to remember that the definition of beauty differs from culture to culture. For example, Hispanic standards of female beauty are to have big hips, a moderate tan, and a short height. As is described in the article, in southeastern Nigeria, Coca-Cola-bottle voluptuousness is celebrated and ample backsides and bosoms are considered ideals of female beauty.What‘ smore, the ideal standard of beauty varies from time to time. For instance, during timesof famine, the ideal standard of beauty for women is a much larger body size. Larger size and more body fat mayreflect one ‘ s status; for it suggests that the person is well fed and healthy. Thinness then would reflect malnutrition. However, during times of plenty, plumpness is not a reflection ofstatus. People may easily associate fatness with hypertension, heart disease or other potential diseases. Likewise, during eras in which lower-class labors had to toil predominantly outside for hours a day, tanned skin was an indication of lower status, and therefore the ideal standard of female beauty was very pale skin; women during those times actually used a lot of white powdered cosmetics to exaggerate the paleness of their skin. Now, however, tan is a reflection of having more leisure time spent on seashores instead of working in an office all the time, and therefore it may suggest higher status, so women strive for darker skin tones.It is true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder because people of different cultures and in different situations may have different ideas about what is beautiful and what is not.Group WorkFirst share with your group member whatever experiences you have had in communication events that can be considered as intercultural. Then work together to decide whether each of the following cases of communication is possibly intercultural or not and, if it is, to what extent it is intercultural. Try to place all the cases along a continuum of interculturalness, from the most intercultural to the least intercultural.All the cases may seem to be intercultural but they differ in the extent to which they are intercultural. However it may be very difficult for us to place all these cases along a continuum of interculturalness from the most intercultural to the least intercultural, for many other factors have to be taken into consideration if we have to decide which is more intercultural than another. For instance, whether communication between a male manager and a female secretary is intercultural or not and, if it is, how intercultural it may be, may depend on the cultural and social backgrounds of the two persons. If they are from drastically different cultures, communication between them is surely intercultural and may be very intercultural. If they are from the same culture, communication between them may be little intercultural.The following is tentatively suggested for measuring the interculturalness of the cases of communication, and the cases are presented from the most intercultural to the least intercultural: Communication between a Chinese university student and an American professor; Communication between a Canadian girl and a South African boy;Communication between a first-generation Chinese American and third generation one; Communication between a businessperson from Hong Kong and an artist from Xian; Communication between a teenager from Beijing and a teenager from Tibet;Communication between a father who is a farmer all his life and his son who works as an engineer;Communication between a software technician and a fisherman;Communication between a male manager and a female secretary (supposing they are of the similar cultural and social backgrounds) .DebateThe class is to be divided into two groups and debate on the two different views mentioned in the following on intercultural communication. State your point of view clearly and support your argument with convincing and substantive evidence.Pro: People are people; more interactions would lead to greater understanding of each other.( Commonality precedes)Con: People are shaped by different environments they find themselves in, therefore, the difference overrides. (Differences precedes)Possible Arguments for Pro:1. Human beings tend to draw close to one another by their common nature. We all share the common basic needs.2. Rapid expansion of worldwide transportation and communication networks have made it far easier than ever before for people throughout the world to contact with one another.3. The process of globalization may reduce the regional differences between peopleall over the world. We are all members of the —global village ||.4. Economic interdependence in today ‘s world requires people of different countries to interact onan unprecedented scale, and more interaction will result in more similarity among people.5. More and more people from various cultures have to work and live together and they will adapt to each other to such an extent that cultural differences between them may no longer matter.Possible Arguments for Con:1. People throughout the world may be similar in many aspects, but differences in habits and customs keep them apart.2. Though the basic human needs are universally the same, people all over the world satisfy their basic common human needs in different ways.3. As our society is becoming more and more diversified, differences between people tend to grow larger in some aspects.4. It is differences between people that underlie the necessity of communication, and it does not follow that communication which may increase the possibility of understanding between people will always reduce differences.5. People nowadays are more likely to try to maintain their unique cultural identities when they find themselves living closely with people of other cultures.From the two seemingly opposite viewpoints, we can learn something that we should keep in mind when we are involved in intercultural communication. First, all human beings share some common heritages that link us to one another. To some extent, people throughout the world are pretty much alike in many aspects, and that has formed the very basis on which it is possible for people of various cultures to communicate. However, what we have to realize is that there are also vast differences between people from various cultural groups. To really understand a person whose cultural background is different from yours can be very difficult, for both you and that person maybe subconsciously influenced by each one ‘ s own cultural upbringing. In a sense, what we should doin intercultural communication is to treat people of other cultures both as the same with and as different from us.Reading IIThe Challenge of GlobalizationComprehension questions1. Why does the author say that our understanding of the world has changedMany things, such as political changes and technological advances, have changed the world very rapidly. In the past most human beings were born, lived, and died within a limited geographical area, never encountering people of other cultural backgrounds. Such an existence, however, no longer prevails in the world. Thus, all people are faced with the challenge of understanding this changed and still fast changing world in which we live.2. What a “ global villageis like”As our world shrinks and its inhabitants become interdependent, people fromremote cultures increasingly come into contact on a daily basis. In a ——global village II , members of once isolated groups of people have to communicate with members of other cultural groups. Those people may live thousands of miles away or right next door to each other.3. What is considered as the major driving force of the post-1945 globalizationTechnology, particularly telecommunications and computers are considered to be the major driving force.4. What does the author mean by saying that“theglobal may be more local than the local ”The increasing global mobility of people and the impact of new electronic media on human communications make the world seem smaller. We may communicate more with people of other countries than with our neighbors, and we may be more in formed of the intern ati onal e vents tha n of the local eve nts. In this sen se, —the global ‘ may be more local than the local ‘I.5. Why is it important for businesspeople to know diverse cultures in the worldEffective communication may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse customer needs on a global basis. Succeeding in the global market today requires the ability to communicate sensitively with people from other cultures, a sensitivity that is based on an understanding of cross-cultural differences.6. What are the serious problems that countries throughout the world are confronted withCountries throughout the world are confronted with serious problems such as volatile international economy, shrinking resources, mounting environmental contamination, and epidemics that know no boundaries.7. What implications can we draw from the case of Michael FayThis case shows that in a world of international interdependence, the ability to understand and communicate effectively with people from other cultures takes on extreme urgency. If we are unaware of the significant role culture plays in communication, we may place the blame for communication failure on people of other cultures.8. What attitudes are favored by the author towards globalizationGlobalization, for better or for worse, has changed the world greatly. Whether we like it or not, globalization is all but unstoppable. It is already here to stay. It is both a fact and an opportunity. The challenges are not insurmountable. Solutions exist, and are waiting to be identified and implemented. From a globalistic point of view, there is hope and faith in humanity.WritingRead the following and then try to write a short essay on what one has to learn to get prepared for working and living in a new cultural environment.There seems to be so much that one can do to get oneself well prepared for working and living in a new cultural environment. Apart from what is mentioned in thepassage, the following may be what a person in Anna do:s situlsaotiotrny stohould a1. Learning the language that is used in the new cultural environment.2. Learning about the history and present social situation of the area or the country.3. Learning about the dominant religious belief and some important social customs.4. Learning about the cultural uses of nonverbal means including time and space for communication.5. Learning to look at things and people in new perspectives that are different from what one is accustomed to.6. Developing a more tolerant attitude toward any unfamiliar phenomena.7. Becoming aware that problems and misunderstandings are inevitable in intercultural communication.8. Learning about how foreigners are usually perceived and treated by the local people.Identifying Difference: How We Address Each OtherQuestions for discussionHow do you address a friend from an English-speaking country And how should we do it if he or she knows our culture very well or if we speak Chinese to each otherUsually we can address a friend from an English-speaking country by his/her first name without mentioning his/her surname or title out of respect for his/her culture. Because people from English-speaking countries attach great importance tocasualness in addressing each other in order to form a relatively intimate and equal relationship. But if he or she knows our culture very well or if we speak Chinese to each other, we can address him/her in the Chinese way. Just as the old sayinggoes, — When in Rome, do as the Roma ns do II , it ‘ s better for eurrfmoreto l about andbecome better acquainted with the Chinese culture. In this way, when addressing him/her, we can add xia —o I (young) or lao I — (aged) before his/her family name according to his/her age so as to create an amicable atmosphere. We can also address him/her by using his/her title in a humorous way, or by inventing some nickname for him or her in either English or Chinese, depending on the degree of intimacy.SurveyConduct a survey among some Chinese students to find how much they know about the possible cultural differences between Chinese and English-speaking people in the speech behaviors listed below.China When greeting each other, the Chinese often begin with —Have you eaten I , —Whae re you going I , —What are you doing I,English-speaking countriesPeople fromEnglish-speaking countriesusually say —Hello. I—Good morning/afternoon—Long time no see. I and/esvoening I —Nice to meet on.you. /Glad to see you. I or —Howdo you do IChinese people seem to People from apologize less oftenthan English-speaking countries English-speaking people.Theoften apologize in their Chinese apologize onlywhendaily life even for the most they think it is about trivialthings. Speech behaviorGreeting Apologizingsomething that really matters.Chinese people tend to makePeople from requests in indirect ways,English-speaking countries especially when the people tend tomake requests involved are not on intimate directly and openly.terms with one another.Chinese people often expressPeople fromtheir gratitude not just by what they say, but also by what they do and what they give to others who have done them a favor.English-speaking countriestend to show their gratitude more verbally to others whohave helped them.Chinese people are reluctant People from to expresstheir disproval English-speaking countries openly for fearof making are more likely to express others lose face. Ifthey have their disapproval freely and to expressdisapproval, they directly.often prefer to do it in a very indirect way.Chinese people tend to People from excuse themselves by English-speaking countriesclaiming that the others must would usually find reasonsbe tired or busy, etc, using to part related to theexpressions that impute themselves rather than to themotive of tiredness or others.business to the other party when parting.Intercultural InsightExplorationTry to describe and explain the possible similar experiences in your use of English as a foreign language in communicating with native speakers.Making requests Expressing gratitudeExpressing disapproval Leave-takingWhat a student tells us below can further illustrate the point that how we communicate appropriately in intercultural encounters may not be as simple as we tend to assume:I remember in the first class of oral English when I was a freshman at university, westudents habitually addressed our amiable foreign teacher as ― teacher the other Chinese teachers. But he asked us to call him by his first name instead. Since he seemed morethan fifty years old we were embarrassed but gradually we learned that was the suitable way to address a teacher in the United States, for teachers in the United States generally prefer to be seen as equal and like a friend to their students. However, when I was already a junior, to our great surprise, one of our foreign teachers who taught us intensive reading told us that hepreferred to be called by us as —Professor White II or —Doctor White II was simply that he wanted to be properly respected in China.Translation纵观历史，我们可以清楚地看到，人们由于彼此所处地域、意识形态、容貌服饰和行为举止上存在的差异，而长久无法互相理解、无法和睦相处。