Culture Shock.docx
《Culture Shock.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《Culture Shock.docx(23页珍藏版)》请在三一办公上搜索。
1、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 precipitat
2、ed 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,
3、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 la
4、nguage 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 s
5、he 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 d
6、iscomfort. “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 su
7、ddenly 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 ar
8、c 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 ones own nationality; fits of anger over minor frustra
9、tions; 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 ha
10、ve 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
11、. 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 me
12、ntality 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 difficu
13、lty 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 dont understand your great concern over these difficu
14、lties. Therefore, they must be insensitive and unsympathetic to you and your worries. The result, “I just dont 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
15、. 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
16、 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 o
17、f 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 ar
18、e 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. Ins
19、tead 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 op
20、erate 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
21、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 bec
22、ame 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,
23、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
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- Culture Shock
链接地址:https://www.31ppt.com/p-3155138.html