During the party, Rosalita said to Roger, "I'd like to introduce you to one of my good friends. She is a very capable woman and is presently thinking of working in a joint venture so she can provide a better living for her large family. She is very much interested in your company." Hearing that, Roger smiled and replied, "Ok, but I just hope I don't get hustled." Unfortunately, Roger's replay made Rosalita quite upset. Very soon she excused herself as politely as she could, and did not speak with Roger for the rest of the evening.
Question:
Why did the Italian shop owner make such a mistake ?
Case 2
Roger was the Personnel Executive (人事执行员) of a large American multinational firm. In 1996, Roger was working in Brazil to help promote their business. One evening, there was a party, attended by both his employees from the United States and many Brazilian business people. At the party, Roger bumped into Rosalita, a Brazilian woman he had known for some time. Roger generally had a very good impression of Rosalita and always felt at ease with her, so that he felt free to tell jokes and share personal thoughts, and talk about Brazil and Brazilian life without having the worries of offending Rosalita.
Warm-up cases (verbal communication)
Case 1
It is said that in Rome, in front of a shoe store, there was such a sign to attract English-speaking customers: Shoes for street walking. Come in and have a fit. The sign caught the attention of many English-speaking tourists, but not to look at the displayed in the windows, but to read the sign and then break out into laughter. The Italian shop owner did not realize that "a street walker" means a prostitute, while "to have a fit" does not mean to have a try, but to become suddenly and violently angry or upset. No wonder the amusement and laughter!
跨文化交际课程unit4
Contents
Verbal Communication: Culturally loaded words Cultural reflections on proverbs and taboos
Nonverbal Communication: Time language Space language Body language Paralanguage
In colloquial American English, there are at least two meanings for the word "hustle". As a Personnel Executive of a large American multinational firm, Roger must have attended many parties. At these parties, he will always encounter people eager to get a job from him in his company, so he often gets hustled. This is just what Roger was implying to Rosalita regarding her friend.
Question for discussion:
Roger was confused by Rosalita's behavior. Could you give him an explanation ?
Comment
The problem resulted from the misunderstanding of the word "hustle".