4. What does “Electric Englishman” mean when it is used to describe the American? As for activity, Americans are so action-oriented that they tend to be hyperactive. That‘s why that they have been described as ―Electric Englishmen‖, who always keep themselves busy.
5. How would you explain the fact that contradictory values may exist in the same culture? As time changes faster and faster and there is more contact between cultures, it is more likely to find contradictory values existing in the same culture. This is especially the case in a society that is being transformed from a traditional one into a modern one. For example, in the Japanese culture, some people may still be very past-oriented and some are rather future-oriented, and even the same people may be sometimes past-oriented in certain situations and sometime future-oriented in other situations.
6. What can we get from models of this kind about cultural differences? Models of this kind are quite useful in giving rough pictures of striking contrasts and differences of different cultures. However, such a model only compares cultures on some basic
orientations. It does not tell us everything about every conceivable culture. We have to recognize that models of this kind are over-simplifications and can only give approximations of reality.
7. Do cultural values change as time changes? Yes, the values may be in the process of marked change due to rapid modernization and
globalization. However, they have a way of persisting in spite of change. The evolution of values is a slow process, since they are rooted in survival needs and passed on from generation to generation.
8. How is communication influenced by differing cultural values? Putting people from one culture into another culture with radically different value orientations could cause stress, disorientation, and breakdowns in communication.
Case Study Case 9
Hierarchy is significant in the Japanese culture. This structure is reflected everywhere in
Japanese life, at home, school, community, organizations, and traditional institutions such as martial arts or flower arrangements.
In this case, the young chairman must have had his own ideas about how to manage the company; however, when encountered with his grandfather‘s dissenting opinions, he dared not to take a stand against him. This may manifest the rigid hierarchical structure in the Japanese society. In the
Japanese society, how hierarchy is formed depends mainly on seniority, social roles, and gender. As a respectable senior member of the family and the former leader of the company, the grandfather obviously overpowered the inexperienced young chairman. In other words, the grandfather seemed to be an absolute authority for the young chairman. In Japanese culture, challenging or disagreeing with elders‘ opinions would be deemed as being disrespectful and is often condemned. People in lower positions are expected to be loyal and obedient to authority. That‘s why the young chairman didn‘t say anything but just nodded and agreed with his grandfather.
But Phil seemed to know little about the Japanese culture in this aspect. In many Western cultures, particularly American culture, seniority seldom matters very much in such situations, and young people are usually encouraged to challenge authority and voice their own opinions.
Unfortunately, his outspoken protest could easily offend the grandfather and he might be regarded as a rude and ill-bred person by other Japanese.
Case 10
In Japan, a company is often very much like a big family, in which the manger(s) will take good care of the employees and the employees are expected to devote themselves to the development of the company and, if it is necessary, to sacrifice their own individual interests for the interests of the company, from which, in the long run, the employees will benefit greatly. But for the French, a company is just a loosely- knit social organization wherein individuals are supposed to take care of themselves and their families. Moreover, the way the French make decisions in the family might also be different from the typical Japanese one, which may not often involve females and the power to
decide usually lies with the dominating male. As there are such cultural differences between the Japanese and the French, Mr. Legrand‘s decision made Mr. Tanaka feel dumbfounded.
Case 11
Incidents such as these can point to possible cultural differences in so-called ―polite‖ behavior, and at the same time highlight the tendency for people to react emotionally to unexpected behavior. People in most cultures would probably agree that an apology is needed when an offence or violation of social norms has taken place. However, there may be differing opinions as to when we should apologize (what situations call for an apology) and how we should apologize. To many Westerners, Japanese apologize more frequently and an apology in Japanese does not necessarily mean that the person is acknowledging a fault. To many Japanese, Westerners may seem to be rude just because they do not apologize as often as the Japanese would do. In this case, for instance, the attitude of the Australian student‘s parents is shocking to the Japanese but will be acceptable in an English-speaking society, for the student is already an adult and can be responsible for her own deeds.
Case 12
In this case, it seems that the Chinese expectations were not fulfilled. First, having two people sharing host responsibilities could be somewhat confusing to the hierarchically minded Chinese. Second, because age is often viewed as an indication of seniority, the Chinese might have considered the youth of their Canadian hosts as slight to their own status. Third, in China, it is traditional for the host to offer a welcome toast at the beginning of the meal, which is the reciprocated by the guests; by not doing so, the Canadian might be thought rude. The abrupt departure of the Chinese following the banquet was probably an indication that they were not pleased with the way they were treated. The Canadians‘ lack of understanding of the Chinese culture and the Chinese ways of communication clearly cost them in their business dealings with the visiting delegation.
Unit 4
Language and Culture
Reading I
Comprehension questions
How Is Language Related to Culture
1. What can we do to avoid attributing a very different meaning to the phrase or interpret it much more literally? We have to be aware of the cultural implications of the phrase.
2. What are the other functions of using question forms apart from asking for information? It serves as a lubricant to move the conversation forward. A question that has this function can be called a ―social question.
3. Why are those Germans getting stiffer and more reserved all the time when visiting Ingrid Zerbe? They are confused about how to address her, for she introduces herself by first and last name rather than by last name and professional title.
4. How does the environment influence the use of language? Language reflects the environment in which we live. We use language to label the things that are around us.
5. Does the author think there are exact equivalents in dictionaries that have the same meanings in
different cultures? No. According to the author, there are no such equivalents between languages; therefore, to communicate concepts effectively, cultural knowledge is as important as linguistic knowledge.
6. How does the language change over time? Words and phrases that are used commonly at one time may be discontinued or their meaning may change over time.
7. Does the author think it is possible for countries such as France and Iceland to keep their
language pure by implementing language policy to ensure the use of standardized language?
The author does not think so, because, for instance, the Academie Francaise may insist on
certain rules, but other French-speaking groups may make their own rules and consider their Frenchjust as correct.
8. What are the possible language barriers in classroom teaching? In some cases the professors actually may have a poor command of the language; however, in most cases the problem is not the language but different intonation patterns and different cultural signals. .
Reading II
Language-and-Culture, Two Sides of the Same Coin
Comprehension questions
1. What is the author?s view of the relationship between language and culture? Language and culture are clearly fused; one reflects the other.
2. In which ways does language reflect the culture? Language embodies the products, perspectives, communities, and persons of a culture. Members of the culture have created the language to carry out all their cultural practices, to identify and organize all their cultural products, and to name the underlying cultural perspectives in all the various communities that comprise their culture.
3. How can we use the right language in the right way according to the author? It is based on direct experience in the culture and interactions with members of the culture, in all the complexity this entails.
4. Is there any cultural product that consists entirely of language? Can you give an example? Many cultural products, such as literature, tax codes, telephone directories, operating instructions, passports, consist entirely of language. Another example is folklores.
5. What is the meaning of “language is a cultural product in and of itself”? When spoken and written, language takes on tangible and perceptible forms. These tangible forms, as with any cultural product, can be described through language. We constantly use language to discuss language itself. 6. Can you give an example of how words lead to cultural perspectives? For example, as we have already learned, the kinship terms specifically used in Chinese lead to a cultural perspective that is different from that of the English-speaking people in this aspect.
7. What did the Chinese teacher find from her in-depth study of “the bumper sticker”?
The perspectives are indeed embodied in words, phrases, and sentences, but they are not always immediately obvious, especially to outsiders.
8. Are there any particular norms made by different communities for their language use? Yes, there are. Communities define norms for appropriate use of language. Within groups, roles, relationships, and other social factors influence who speaks, what they say, and how they say it. The language forms we use in one set of social circumstances with certain communities are not necessarily the ones we use in others.
Case Study Case 13
This example vividly illustrates that failures in intercultural translation may probably lead to very serious consequence, or even disasters to human beings. Definitely, translation is not such a simple process as rendering a word, a sentence or a text literally, but rather a far more complex one than most people assumed.
For example, once a Chinese cosmetic manufacturer wanted to promote their products into the international market. The slogan of the advertisement was: ―sweet as Jade‖, since in Chinese ―jade‖ was always employed to compliment woman‘s beauty; but unfortunately, it was not an appropriate word to describe the beauty of a lady in Western cultures. In English, ―jade‖ in its use of referring a woman had the connotations such as vulgar, rude, immoral, or skittish. Undoubtedly, the sales in European countries were not satisfying.
The seeming equivalents between languages may have very different connotations in different cultures, thus the translator should be cautious in the process of doing the translation so as to avoid misunderstandings.
Case 14
“杨” refers to Yang Kaihui w h o w a s Mao Zedong‘s deceased wife and ―柳‖ refers to Liu zhixun who was Li shuyi‘s deceased husband. They can be translated in different ways, but it
seems to be very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve equivalence in translating from Chinese into English.
Adopting the literal translation strategy, version 1 appears to be faithful to the original but may easily confuse the readers in the target language. Version 2 employs the liberal translation strategy with an attempt to convey the original meaning as precisely as possible. However, the original poetic flavor is lost as the rhetoric device — pun — is not reproduced.
Case 15
The translation seems to be faithful to the original, but it may not be really good for the purpose of intercultural communication. Foreign readers of the translation may find it strange and inappropriate.
The following is what a friendly American journalist has commented on the translation:
My first reaction was unfortunately laughter because it is so full of mistakes. It omits some necessary information about the Dragon-Boat Festival, including its historical origins and when it actually takes place. These things are important… The copy seems to try to ―snow‖ the reader with fanciful, overblown assertions about how terrific it all is, but in unintentionally hilarious language that leaves the reader laughing out uninformed… The brochure also suffers from lack of background material, the taking-if-for-granted that the reader already is familiar with many aspects of Chinese history and culture? It doesn‘t tell you where to go, how to get there, when things are open and closed, how much they cost, and so forth. All these are things people visiting an area want to know.
Why is it that many Chinese travel guides read basically the same, no matter what region is being written about, and are so packed with indiscriminate hyperbole? Less exaggeration would actually be more convincing.
Case 16
Comparing the two English versions, we can see that in Yang‘s version more culturally-loaded meanings are conveyed from the original while Hawkes‘ version may be easier for English-speaking readers to comprehend.
Look at some of the differences between the two versions of this extract: 贾母The Lady Dowager / Grandmother Jia 老祖宗 Old Ancestress / Granny dear
