跨文化交际课件第二章文化与跨文化交际.ppt

Chapter Two,Culture and Intercultural Communication,Human beings draw close to one another by their common nature,but habits and customs keep them apart.Confucius,Warm-up Case,Fish Is Fish,Learning Objectives,Define the term of cultureDescribe the characteristics of cultureUnderstand the nature of cultureBe aware of cultural differences,Culture,Some people in many parts of the world put dogs in their ovens,but people in the United States put them on their couches and beds.Why?Some people in Iran pray five times each day while sitting on the floor,but some people in Las Vegas sit up all night in front of video poker machines.Why?Some people paint and decorate their entire bodies,but others spend hundreds of dollars painting and decorating only their faces.Why?Some people talk to God,but others have God talk to them,and still others say there is no God.Why?Some people shake hands when introduced to a stranger,but other people bow at such an encounter.Why?,Culture,Definitions of culture are numerous.We define culture as the deposit of knowledge,experience,beliefs,values,attitudes,meanings,social hierarchies,religion,notions of time,roles,spatial relationships,concepts of the universe,and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.,The Basic Function of Culture,At the core of culture is the idea that it is intended to make life easier for people by“teaching”them how to adapt to their surroundings.As the English writer Thomas Fuller wrote 200 years ago,Culture makes all things easy.,Elements of Culture,HistoryReligionValuesSocial organizationsLanguage,Characteristics of Culture,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation.Culture Is Based on Symbols.Culture Is Subject to Change.Culture Is an Integrated System.Culture Is Ethnocentric.,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.,Culture is learned in a variety of ways and from a host of different sources.Informal learning,which is often very subtle,normally takes place through interaction,observation and imitation.The formal teaching of a culture is far more structured and is often left to the various institutions of the culture,such as schools and churches.,Learning Culture through Proverbs,One does not make the wind blow but is blown by it.Order is half of life.The mouth maintains silence in order to hear the heart talk.He who speaks has no knowledge and he who has knowledge does not speak.How blessed is a man who finds wisdom.A zebra does not despise its stripes.,Learning Culture through Proverbs,Loud thunder brings little rain.A mans tongue is his sword.A single arrow is easily broken,but not in a bunch.He who stirs anothers porridge often burns his own.The duck that quacks is the first to get shot.”,Learning Culture through Proverbs.,Strike while the iron is hot and He who hesitates is lost.Actions speak louder than words and Nothing ventured,nothing gained.Man does not live by bread alone and Make hay while the sun shines.God helps those who help themselves,Pull yourself up by your bootstraps,and No pain,no gain.A mans home is his castle.The squeaky wheel gets the grease.Variety is the spice of life,Lightning never strikes twice in the same place,and There is more than one way to skin a cat.,How would someone from a culture other than the United States interpret the following sentences?,There is just too much red tape involved in applying for a fellowship.Passing the history examination was a piece of cake.Try not to deal with him;hes a cutthroat.The deadline has passed;I think I have missed the boat.The only way she could do it was to go cold turkey.,Learning Culture through Folktales,Legends,and Myths,Americans revere the tough,independent,fast-shooting cowboy of the Old West.The English admire good manners,courtly behavior,and dignity,as is reflected in the“Canterbury Tales”.The Japanese learn about the importance of duty,obligation,and loyalty from“The Tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin”.The Chinese teach the folly of impatience by telling the tale of a farmer who did not like the slow growth of his plants so he tugged on them an inch each day until he managed to uproot them.,Learning Culture through Art,In Asian cultures,most art depicts objects,animals,and landscapes rather than focusing on people.American and European art,however,often emphasizes people.Whether in portraits of a single person or pictures of an entire family,people are the focus.,Learning Culture through Mass Media,In the United States,films,video games,and television glorify violence.The language we use in sports mirrors and sanctions violence.Watching a sporting event on television,youll hear statements like“he has that killer instinct,”“he is a headhunter,”“its war on that court,”“they are out for blood,”and“they are playing smash-mouth defense.”,Characteristics of Culture,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation.Culture Is Based on Symbols.Culture Is Subject to Change.Culture Is an Integrated System.Culture Is Ethnocentric.,Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation,If a culture is to endure,it must make certain that its crucial messages and elements are not only shared,but are passed on to future generations.In this way,the past becomes the present and helps prepare for the future.,Characteristics of Culture,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation.Culture Is Based on Symbols.Culture Is Subject to Change.Culture Is an Integrated System.Culture Is Ethnocentric.,Culture Is Based on Symbols,The mind,books,pictures,films,religious writings,videos,computer accessories,and the like enable a culture to preserve what it deems to be important and worthy of transmission.The most important symbolic aspect of culture is language.,Characteristics of Culture,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation.Culture Is Based on Symbols.Culture Is Subject to Change.Culture Is an Integrated System.Culture Is Ethnocentric.,Culture Is Subject to Change,Cultures are highly adaptive.Although many aspects of culture are subject to change,the deep structure of a culture resists major alterations.,Characteristics of Culture,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation.Culture Is Based on Symbols.Culture Is Subject to Change.Culture Is an Integrated System.Culture Is Ethnocentric.,Culture Is an Integrated System,The civil rights movement in the United States,which began in the 1960s has brought about changes in housing patterns,discrimination practices,educational opportunities,the legal system,career opportunities,and even communication.This one aspect of culture has altered American attitudes,values,and behaviors.,Characteristics of Culture,Culture Is Not Innate;It Is Learned.Culture Is Transmitted from Generation to Generation.Culture Is Based on Symbols.Culture Is Subject to Change.Culture Is an Integrated System.Culture Is Ethnocentric.,Culture Is Ethnocentric,Sumner defined ethnocentrism as the technical name for the view of things in which ones own group is the center of everything,and all others are scaled and rated with reference to it”.,Nature of Culture,Culture is like an iceberg.,Intercultural Communication,Samovar et al.defines it as“communication between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event”.,Communication between,a Chinese and an American,a Canadian and a South African,a male and a female,a father and a son,a person from Beijing and one from Tibet,a Chinese of Han nationality and a Chinese Mongolian,a first-generation Chinese American and a third-generation one,a student from Hong Kong and a teacher from Xian,a software technician and a farmer,etc.,