Culture Shock.docx

Culture ShockUnit 1 Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjustment in New Cultural Environments Kalvero Oberg 1 Culture shock might be called an occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Like most ailments, it has its own symptoms and cure. 2 Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Those signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situation of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations* when to take statements seriously and when not. These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness. 3 Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad- minded or full of goodwill you may be, a series of props have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort. “The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad." When foreigners in a strange land get together to grouse about the host country and its people, you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock. Another phase of culture shock is regression. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance. To the fore18ner everything becomes irrationally glorified. All the difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered. It usually takes a trip home to bring one back to reality. 4 Some of the symptoms of culture shock arc excessive washing of the hands, excessive concern over drinking water, food dishes, and bedding; fear of physical contact with attendants, the absent-minded stare; a feeling of helplessness and a desire for dependence on long term residents of one's own nationality; fits of anger over minor frustrations; great concern over minor pains and eruptions of the skin; and finally, that terrible longing to be back home. 5 Individuals differ greatly in the degrees in which culture shock affects them. Although not common, there are individuals who cannot live in foreign countries. However; those who have seen people go through 1 7 culture shock and on to a satisfactory adjustment can discern steps in the process. During the first few weeks most individuals are fascinated by the new. They stay in hotels and associate with nationals who speak their 1anguage and are polite and gracious to foreigners. This honeymoon stage may last from a few days or weeks to six months, depending on circumstances. If one is very important, he or she will be shown the show places, will be pampcred and petted, and in a press interview will speak glowingly about goodwill and international friendship. 6 But this mentality does not normally last if the foreign visitors remains abroad and has seriously to cope with real conditions of life. It is then that the second stage begins, characterized by a hostile and aggressive attitude toward the host country. This hostility evidently grows out of the genuine difficulty which the visitor experiences in the process of adjustment. There are house troubles, transportation troubles, shopping troubles, and the fact that people in the host country are largely indifferent to all these troubles. .They help, but they don't understand your great concern over these difficulties. Therefore, they must be insensitive and unsympathetic to you and your worries. The result, “I just don't like them.” You become aggressive, you band together with others from your country and criticize the host country, its ways, and its people. But this criticism is not an objective appraisal. Instead of trying to account for the conditions and the historical circumstances which have created them, you talk as if the difficulties you experience are more or less created by the people of the host country for your special discomfort. You take refuge in the colony of others from your country which often becomes the fountainhead of emotionally charged labels known as stereotypes. This is a peculiar kind of offensive shorthand which caricatures the host country and its people in a negative manner. The “dollar grasping American” and the "indolent Latin Americans" are samples of mild forms of stereotypes. The second stage of culture shock is in a sense a crisis in the disease. If you come out of it, you stay; if not, you 1eave before you reach the stage of a nervous breakdown. 8 If visitors succeed in getting some knowledge of the language and begin to get around by themselves, they are beginning to open the way into the new cultural environment. Visitors still have difficulties but they take a “this is my problem and I have to bear it” attitude. Usually in this stage visitors take a superior attitude to people of the host country. Their sense of humor begins to exert itself. Instead of criticizing, they joke about the people and even crack jokes about their own difficulties. They are now on the way to recovery. 9 In the fourth stage, your adjustment is about as complete as it can be. The visitor now accepts the customs of the country as just another way of living. 2 You operate within the new surroundings without a feeling of anxiety, although there are moments of social strain. Only with a complete grasp of all the cues of social intercourse will this strain disappear. For a long time the individual will understand what the national is saying but is not always sure what the national means. With a complete adjustment you not only accept the food, drinks, habits, and customs, but actually begin to enjoy them: When you go home on leave, you may even take things back with you; and if you leave for good, you generally miss the country and the people to whom you became accustomed. New Words 1.1 ailment n轻微的病，小病 1.2，symptom n症状，病症 2.1precipitate prisipiteit vt.突然陷入，引起 2.2intercourse n交际，往来 2.3cue kju:n提示，暗示，现象 2.4orient vt.使适应，调整 2.5norm n标准，规范 一 3.1prop n支柱，支撑物 3.2frustration n挫折，失意 3.3grouse grausvi发牢骚，抱怨 4.1eruption n疹子 5.1gracious adj.和蔼可亲的 5.2pamper vt.纵容，使满足 6.1mentality n精神，智力 6.2hostile adj.敌视的，对不友好的 6.3aggressive adj.过分的，攻击的 6.4appraisal n估价，评价 7.1stereotype n陈规老套，陈词滥调 7.2caricature vt.使变得滑稽，歪曲 7.3indolent adj.懒惰的，不积极的 Phrases 1.1thousand and one许许多多的，很多的 6.1indifferent to对漠不关心，无所谓 7.1take refuge避难，躲避 Notes 1press interview记者采访，新闻采访 2for good永久，永远 Comprehension Answer the following questions accordirt8: to your understanding of the article. Your teacher may want you to answer these questions orally, in writing, or by underlining appropriate parts of the text. True/false items are indicated by a T / F preceding a statement. 1. What precipitates culture shock? 3 2. Oberg outlines four steps in adjusting to a new culture: Describe each stage and its characteristics. 3; T / F Culture shock can never be cured. 4. T / F We should try to avoid culture shock. Discussion /Composition 1. Have you ever experienced culture shock? Describe your symptoms. What advice do you have for people who suffer from culture shock? 2. Using examples; describe the behavior of visitors to your home culture who suffer from culture shock. I 3. This article deals with the anxiety of visiting another culture. Once one has adjusted to a foreign culture, however, one may experience “reverse culture shock” upon returning home. What do you think are the symptoms of this related "disease"? Vocabulary from context Both the ideas and the vocabulary in the exercise below are taken from “Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjustment in New Cultural Environments." Use the context provided to determine the meanings of the italicized words. Write a definition, synonym, or description of each of the italicized vocabulary items in the space provided. Exercise 1 ' 1. _Illnesses specific to workers in a particular occupation are known as occupational diseases. Cultural Shock is an 2._occupational disease for people who travel. It is precipitated by the anxiety of living in a strange culture. 3. _Suddenly finding yourself in a strange country can be rather frightening. You lose all of the props that generally 4._support you, all of the familiar cues that provide information 4 5. _about what to do. Without familiar props and cues to orient 6. _you in unfamiliar situations it becomes difficult to cope with life in a new setting. Everything can seem different. You don't 7. _even know how much to tip a cab driver or a waiter in a restaurant. In this situation, you can lose a sense of logic, 8._developing irrational fear of the local people. 9._People react differently to visiting different cultures. People who are very important, like the leaders of a country, will be treated very carefully. Because they are pampered and 10._petted, they may not become uncomfortable. Others may feel 11. _ very uncomfortable and spend their time grousing to whomever will listen about how unfriendly the natives are. 12. _One symptom of culture shock is the inability to see the host nationals as real people. Instead one tends to create 13. _caricatures, exaggerating the characteristics of the culture. Perhaps you will decide that your hosts are lazy, and grouse 14. _about the indolence of the local people. In any event, you may decided to spend a good deal of time with people from your 15._country, and their conversation will become the fountainhead of your stereotyping. Exercise 2 This exercise should be completed after you have finished reading “Culture Shock and the Problem of Adjustment in New Cultural Environments.” The exercise is designed to see how well you have been able to use your knowledge of stems and affixes, and context, to guess the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary items. Give a definition, synonym, or description of each of the words below. The number in parentheses indicates the paragraph in which the word can be found. Your teacher may want you to do these orally or in writing. . 5 l. (l) transplanted_ 2. (2) intercourse _ 3. (6) mentality_ Figurative Language and Idioms In the paragraph indicated by the number in parentheses find the phrase that best fits the meaning given. Your teacher may want to read these aloud as you quickly scan the paragraph to find the answer. 1 (3) Which phrase means out of place, not at home? 2. (6). Which phrase means to remain together as a group? Supplementary Reading · Culture Shock & The Problem Of Adjustment To New Cultural Environments (An editorial by Dr. Lalervo Oberg; Anthropologist; Health, Welfare and Housing Division; United States Operations Mission to Brazil) I would like to make a few remarks about culture shock, a malady which afflicts most of us to some degree. We might almost call culture shock an occupational disease of many people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Customs, Cues, Norms Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. These signs are the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situations of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to give orders to servants, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations, when to take statements seriously and when not. 6 These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which are unconsciously learned. When an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad-minded or full of good will he may be, a series of props have been knocked from under him. This is followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort: "the ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad." For example Americans who are in a strange land get together to grouse about the host country and its people, you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock. Another phase of culture shock is regression. The home environment suddenly assumes a tremendous importance, everything becomes irrationally glorified. All difficulties and problems are forgotten and only the good things back home are remembered. It usually takes a trip home to bring one back to reality. Symptoms Some of the symptoms of culture shock are: excessive concern over cleanliness and the feeling that what is new and strange is "dirty." This could be in relation to drinking water, food, dishes, and bedding; fear of physical contact with attendants or servants; a feeling of helplessness and a desire for dependence on long-term residents of one's own nationality; irritation over delays and other minor frustrations out of proportion to their causes; delay and outright refusal to learn the language of the host country; excessive fear of being cheated, robbed, or injured; great concern over minor pains and irruptions of the skin; and finally, that terrible longing to be back home, to be in familiar surroundings, to visit one's relatives, and, in general, to talk to people who really "make sense." Individuals differ greatly in the degree in which culture shock affects them. Although not common, there