Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English

Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English 中西日常交谈文化对比 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English 第 1 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English Abstract: There are many differences in everyday conversation between Chinese and English. Most important reason is that they have different culture. With the development of communication in the world, many misunderstandings and mistakes in conversation are appearing easily and not good for our communication. There is in separate relationship between language and culture. Language is the carrier of culture, and culture is connotation of language. Different culture affects the custom and ways of conversation. The difference show in the aspects as: greeting and farewells; ways of address; compliments and praise and miscellaneous social amenities. Studying culture especially for the communication patterns and social custom is a good way to know speaker’s patterns of thought, world views and values, which has so much help to avoid mistakes and make good conversation. Key words: language; culture; everyday conversation; communication 摘 要:中西日常交谈有许多不同。最主要的原因是他们有着不同的文化。随着世 界交流的发展，很容易出现许多谈话中的误解和错误，这不利于我们的交 流。语言和文化有着不可分割的关系。语言是文化的载体，文化是语言的 内涵。不同的文化影响着谈话的习惯和方式。不同之处表现在打招呼和告 别、各种称呼、祝贺和赞扬和其他社交礼节。学习文化，尤其是交流方式 和社会习惯有利于了解谈话者的思维模式，世界观和价值观，对避免错误， 完成好的谈话有很大帮助。 关键词:语言;文化;日常交谈;交流 第 2 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English Contents I. Introduction……………………………………..……….…….………....1 II. The Relationship between Language and Culture………………….....1 III. Cultural Differences in Conversation...................................................3 A. Greetings and farewells…………………………………………………………..3 B. Ways of address…………………………………………………………………...4 C. Compliments and praise……………………………………………………….....6 D. Miscellaneous social amenities………………………………………………..….8 IV. Conclusion…………………………………………………………….....9 Works Cited………………………………………………………………10 第 3 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English I. Introduction An important function of human’s language is promoting interpersonal communication. Using language correctly can help promote emotion, developing friendship, respecting each other and improving interpersonal relationships. Dialogue as the essence of language use is very important for our communication. As the structures of our linguistic resource emerge from their real world uses, so do their meanings. That is why the linguistic resources we choose to use do not come to us as empty forms ready to be filled with our personal intentions, rather, they come to us with meanings already embedded within them. These meanings, however, are not derived from some universal, logical set of principles; rather, as with their shapes, they are built up over time from their past uses in particular goals that, in turn, are shaped by cultural, historical and institutional force. (Hall 157) The primary function of language is to transmit informations. At present, most words we speak is still form of dialogue. Making dialogue can not be separated from our life and communication. In middle schools, teachers think that teaching English is just to teach vocabulary and grammar. So, English teaching only lays stress on analyzing grammar structures and explaining lots of language knowledge, which give students many difficulties in learning and using English. When they talk to a Chinese, they can easily open their mouthes and find the topic of conversation. But when they talk to a foreigner, they always don’t know how to begin the chat. We learn language, the primary intention is to express our meanings and understand the meanings of others. However, after learning the language, we cannot communicate with each other, then the language we learnt lose its function. Sometimes because of not knowing the custom, many mistakes will be made easily. As a result, the listener cannot understand you. The mistakes even can make the listener angry and stop talking. These all make the study of the cultural difference in everyday conversation between Chinese and English necessary and important. There are four most important aspects we need to pay attention to: greetings and farewells, ways of address, compliments and praise and miscellaneous social amenities. II. The Relationship between Language and Culture Language is a set of symbols used and understood by a large community of peopleplustherulesforcombiningthosesymbols (Samovaretal151). Language is not merely 第 4 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English an instrument for voicing ideas but also is itself the shape of ideas, the guide for the individual’s mental activity.(Hoijer 194) Language comprise structural and propositional systems transcending their users and contexts of use. Sociocultural conceptualizations see language as dynamic, living collections are considered central forms of life in that we use them not only to refer to, or represent, the world in our communicative activities. Language is our most important tool in communication. Cultureisthetotalaccumulationofbeliefs, customs, values, behaviors, institutionsand communication patterns that are shared, learned and passed down through the generations in an identifiable group of people(Davis 24). To locate culture one must look not in individual mind, as an accumulated body of unchanging knowledge, but in the dialogue, the embodied actions, discursively rearticulated (Bhabha 177) between individual’s in particular sociocultural contexts at particular moments of time. Learning a language, in fact, is inseparable from learning its culture (Deng 5). That is to say, language is at the same time a repository of culture and a tool by which culture is created. In making visible the mutual dependency of language and culture, current understandings overcome the analytic separation of the “linguistics applied “approach. Because culture is located not in individual mind but in activity, any study of language is by necessity a study of culture. Language is a part of culture. It cannot be equated with culture. We do not know the exact period of time when language and culture appeared, but we can say for sure they appeared at the same time. There is no culture that has no language as its part. Language and culture are not separable. We can say that culture is the general environment of different activities in language. Language is strongly influenced and shaped by culture just as a mirror. Culture is reflected in language, and at the same time it exists in the intellectual structures that a certain group use their language (He 158). In this sense, we ought to really pay special attention to cultural aspects when we are engaged in the task of translation. However, the relationship between them is not just that between a part and the whole. It is much more complex than that. Language is the carrier and container of culture and it also exerts its influence on culture. Human knowledge and experience are described and stored in language. Customs, habits and behavioral patterns can be described and analyzed in language. Social institutions, value systems, beliefs, world views can be described, analyzed and evaluated in language. Even the visual arts like painting, sculpture, and dancing and the auditory arts such as music and singing can be described and evaluated in language. To be sure, culture can exist in the form of materials. But language as the medium of communication is indispensable in their 第 5 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English production and use. It is concluded that language and culture are closely related, influencing and shaping each other. To learn a foreign language implies to learn the culture in which it is spoken. A language can never be learned in a cultural vacuum. Culture is learned through language. Without language as the medium for formal or informal instruction, no culture could ever be learned. Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another and each culture is unique. As cultures are diverse, language are diverse. It is only natural then that with differences in cultures and differences in languages, difficulties often arise in understanding between cultures and across cultures. Understanding is not always easy. Learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation, grammar, words and idioms. It also means to see the world as native speakers of that language see it, learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas, customs, and behaviors of their society, learning to understand their “language of mind”. So to speak, learning a language, in fact, is inseparable from learning its culture. III. Cultural Differences in Conversation When people in different cultures communicate with others, they have to follow some norms limited and regulated by different cultures concretely. It is necessary to know such rules as when to make conversation and when not to make conversation, what to say and what not to say, and what kind of situations suitable, and how to say. The cultures are different, the norms of them are therefore different. There will be four parts to illustrate different manifestations of conversation in different cultures. A. Greetings and farewells An american studying in China had an appointment at noon. As he was getting on his bicycle a Chinese friend passed by. “吃了吗?” the young Chinese asked. This, of course, is a common Chinese greeting around meal time and the American merely nodded with a smile, waved goodbye and went off. He realized that his friend’s remark was nothing more than a Chinese way of saying Hello or Hi. If the greeting had been put literally into English “Have you eaten yet?” Or “Have you had your lunch?” It would have sounded rather unusual. To Americans, the greeting might means this:“I haven’t either. Come on, let’ s go together and get something to eat,” or “If you haven’t, I was just going to invite you to my 第 6 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English place.” In other words, it could indicate an invitation to a meal. Actually, another foreign student who had not been long in China once complained in broken Chinese: Why you always ask me whether I have my meal or not? I have money. To his way of thinking, people were concerned that he was not getting his meals properly because of lack of money. Clearly, he was offended. There is a similar Chinese greetings, such as “Where are you going?” or “Where have you been?” The natural reaction of most English-speaking people to this greeting would most likely be “It’ s none of your business!” Fortunately, not all greetings sound strange or arouse displeasure, Many are similar, some are merely different. While greetings in many languages often indicate the time of day, there may be inconsistencies within a language. English has Good morning, Good afternoon and Good evening but not Good noon. And Good night is not a greeting at all, but an expression of farewell. When Chinese meet for the first time, there is no special expression for the occasion, but when most English-speaking people meet for the first time, they often say something like “I’m pleased to meet you.” And when they part, they are expected to remark “It’ s nice meeting you” or “It ’s nice to have met you.” or something similar. When people part, they usually say “Good-bye,” “Bye-bye.” Similar expressions are found in almost all languages. But in the more or less fixed conversational formulas that precede Good-bye, there may be interesting differences, as in Chinese when a distinguished guest drops in for a visit, or if the visitor is one with whom the hosts are not very familiar. The Chinese custom when such a guest leaves is for the hosts to see the visitor to the door or gateway. It is customary for the guest to say to his hosts请留步. The final words of the hosts are usually 慢走，走好，慢点儿. None of these should be translated directly. “Stay here.” would sound strange; “Go slowly, Walk slowly” would be equally so. A smile and a gesture of farewell would be enough. B. Ways of address In recent years, the trend of many English-speaking people has been to address others by using the first name—Tom, Michael, Linda, Jane, etc. —rather than calling the person Mr. Summers, Mrs. Howard or Miss Jones. This is especially common among Americans, even when people of roughly the same age, but also of different ages. It is not a sign of disrespect. It is not at all uncommon to hear a child calling a much older person—Joe, Ben, May, Helen. etc. This may even include the child’s parents or grandparents. People of 第 7 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English different social status do the same. For example, many college students call their professors by their first names. The professors do not regard this as a sign of disrespect or familiarity, but rather, as an indication that the professor is consider affable and has a sense of equality. This, of course, is quite counter to Chinese custom. One can imagine the reactions of adults if a child were to call a grandparent by his or her first name, or a student to do the same in calling a teacher. A quick reprimand, and possibly even a spanking for the child, would be sure to follow. One can infer from the preceding that the Chinese custom of addressing members of one’s family, relatives or close neighbors as 二哥，三婶，周大伯，should not be carried over into English. In English, the name alone, whether it is for man or woman, would ordinarily be enough. The main exceptions are addressing one’s parents (Dad, Mom, Mum or Mother), one’s grandparents and sometimes an older relative. Notice that the given name, and not the family name, is used. And even with relatives, Americans tend to use just the first name and leave out the term of relationship. It should be mentioned that in English Brother Joseph or Sister Mary would commonly be understood as referring to person belong to a Catholic group or some religious or professional society. Another common Chinese form of address is the use of a person’s title, office, or occupation, such as 黄局长，林经理，马校长. But one seldom hears English speaks addressing others as Bureau Director Smith, Manager Jackson, and Principal Morris. In English, only a few occupations or titles would be used: Doctor-is common for those authorized to try cases in law court; Governor-and Mayor-may be used for those who hold such offices, although often without the name. The same with Professor-. However, there are very few others. It should be noted that in addressing military officers in Chinese, 陈司令,郝团长,梁 排长are common. English-speaking people, however, tend to use the rank of the person, and not the command or duties that he has been assigned; for example, Captain Johnson, rather than Company Commander Johnson, Admiral Benjamin, rather than Fleet Commander Benjamin. English translations of Chinese works usually keep such forms as Grandpa, Auntie, Sister-in-law, but they sound strange to the English ear. In English-language writings about China, such terms are used in order to keep or give a Chinese flavor to the story. Certain of these terms, though, are especially troublesome. How to address a teacher has long been a problem. Should it be Teacher or Teacher Zhang? Neither of these is in keeping with English custom. Should we say Comrade or Comrade Li? These involve 第 8 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English using the term comrade, which is not widely accepted in non-socialist countries. Or should we simply follow the English custom and call the teacher Mr. Zhang, Mrs.Yang, Miss Fei? All of these would sound terrible to Chinese if school-age youngsters were to do so. Other difficult terms are 师傅，警察叔叔，解放军叔叔. To translate the former as master carries the idea of a master servant relationship, or a relationship that 师傅 does not have in present-day usage. The problem is further complicated by the fact that the term is now widely used as a general form of address for people in various occupations, for both men and women, and not just for veteran craftsmen or workmen, chefs or automobile drivers, as in earlier times. Uncle policeman for 警察叔叔 sound very odd—perhaps one reason is that uncle connotes endearment, whereas policeman does not have the same connotation to English ears. P . L . A . Uncle for 解放军叔叔 not only sounds strange, but often leaves people wondering what is meant, for very few people outside of China know what the letters P . L . A . Stand for. Interestingly, there is no general term in English for getting the attention of a stranger, or of a person whose name we may not know. In Chinese we have 同志 and the now fashionable 师傅. Then what do people do in English if such a need arises? Depending on this situation, English custom might suggest using some such expression as Excuse me, Pardon me, or in England, I say there. Expressions like Hey, or Hey, you or you, there are used, but are not considered polite. Often, people resort to a way that needs no language. They simply clear their throat loudly，or make some noise or gesture to attract the person’s attention. C. Compliments and praise In a previous chapter，mention was made of American and Chinese differences in replying to compliments:Americans tend to accept the compliment while Chinese generally murmur some reply about not being worthy of the praise. Here a few more words might be said about this difference. Consider the following examples: 1. A young Chinese woman in the U. S. was complimented for the lovely dress that she wearing.“It’s exquisite. The colors are so beautiful!”She was pleased but somewhat embarrassed. In typical Chinese fashion，she replied，“Oh，it’s just an ordinary dress that I bought in China.” 2. At a reception in an American college，a newly-arrived Chinese scholar was chatting with the hostess，who was an old friend. As an acquaintance of here came up 第 9 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English she said，“Ron，let me introduce Mr. Chen，an outstanding physicist and one of the nicest people I know.” Mr. Chen offered his hand to the newcomer but looked at his hostess and said with a smile，“Should I blush，or should I tell him you don’t really mean it?” In both cases，the words of the Chinese conveyed a message quite different from that which was intended. In the case of the Chinese woman，the reply could have meant that the one paying the compliment did not know what a really good dress is;otherwise，how could she get so excited about an ordinary dress? The implication was that the American woman’ s taste in clothing was questionable. In the second case，if Chen had not been smiling，his words could have been interpreted as meaning “You’ re just saying that to be polite;you don’ t really mean that.” So in one case，the person had poor judgment. In the other，the latter case，the hostess was not sincere. Quite a gap between intention and message! Certain remarks that might be fitting and proper in Chinese could lead to similar negative results. A foreign visitor was looking at the host’ s potted flowers with obvious admiration. The plants were growing well and some were blooming profusely. The host remarked diffidently，“Growing flowers is my hobby，but I’m not much good at it.”A Canadian woman acquaintance of a Chinese art teacher asked him to look over an article that she had written about Chinese painting. He agreed，but added that “I really know so little about the subject.” In both cases the Chinese would be suspected of “fishing for a compliment，” even though the remarks might have been quite sincere. In the first case， the foreign visitor was almost forced to say something like “But these flowers are beautiful.” Or “I wish I could do as well!”And in the second case，the Canadian had to say，“Oh，come on，I know you’re an expert on Chinese art.” Or she could have said， “Well，I certainly don’t know anybody who knows more than you do!” Forced compliments like these can leave a bad taste in the mouth. Beside，what could be the value of such praise,Cultural differences also exist in who can be complimented. It would not be unusual to hear an American woman talking about how hard her husband works and how well he has done，about all the promotions and honors that he has received. She might do the same about a son or daughter of hers,how bright he,she is，what good marks he,she makes in school，how active the child is in his,her stamp-collecting group，when and where he,she performed in a concert，etc. In Chinese，this would be considered bad taste;one simply does not praise members of one’s own family in front of others. 第 10 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English Another example of a Chinese taboo is complimenting a man on his wife’s looks. The remark “You have a lovely wife” would be regarded as almost indecent by many Chinese， especially those beyond their youth. Yet the some compliment would be considered perfectly natural and even highly appreciated by Westerners. D. Miscellaneous social amenities Both Chinese and English have expressions for gratitude，apologies，remarks preceding a request;for example，there are 谢谢，对不起，请…… Thank you，I’m sorry， Excuse me. On the whole，they are quite similar and present no problem. However，even among these there are certain differences. Thank you，and please,Both of these are used more widely than the Chinese 谢 谢，请……. For minor favors like borrowing a pencil，asking directions，requesting someone to pass on a message，calling a person to the telephone，etc.，such polite expressions are often omitted by Chinese，especially among close friends and members of the family. The more frequent use of Thank you and Please by Westerners is often regarded as unnecessary and even tiresome by many Chinese. On the other hand，the Chinese attitude,that appreciation is understood and need not be expressed,is sometimes taken for rudeness or lack of consideration by Westerners. Replies to thank you are similar. The most common are Not at all，Don’t mention it， You’re welcome，没什么，不用谢. But what reply should be given by guides and service people when a foreign person says Thank you for a job well done,this is a situation often met by hotel attendants，museum or exhibition guides and tour guides. To translate the Chinese expression 这是我应该做的 as It’ s my duty conveys the idea that the Chinese attendant or guide didn’t really want to do it，that he,she did it only because it was his, her duty. Quite a different message is conveyed! A proper reply might be I’m glad to be of help or It’ s a pleasure. The Chinese term 请 is usually regarded as equivalent to Please. However，in certain situations the English Please would not be used. When offering or urging another person to be first in going through a door or getting in a car，the expression is generally After you (not You go first as some people not well-acquainted with English are apt to say). At the meal table, help yourself is customary when urging someone to start eating,or to take more of the food. “Excuse me”,This is a general term preceding a request or interruption. In Chinese，however，there are different terms:劳驾 when asking a favor or requesting a 第 11 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English person do something;借光，请让一让 when asking a person to step aside or make room; 请问 when asking for information or making a query. Foreigners not knowing this distinction tend to use 对不起 for all such situations when hey speak Chinese. The Chinese 辛苦了 is a good warm expression showing concern. Or it may be used in recognition of the fact that a person has put in considerable effort or gone through some hardship to achieve something. To put 辛苦了 into proper English，however， demands care;there is no equivalent that can fit all situations. To translate it simply as You’ve had a hard time or You’ve gone through a lot of hardships is hardly enough;in some circumstances it might even give the wrong impression. If used as a greeting to a person who has just completed a long trip，辛苦了 could be expressed as You must have had a tiring journey or You must be tired from such a long trip or Did you have a good trip,When commending people who have finished a difficult task or are still working on it，one might say Well done;That was(You’ve got)a hard job. None of these English expressions，however，carries as much meaning or warm feeling as the Chinese. When a person sneezes，people nearby often make a remark. Some Chinese say something like 有人想你了，有人说你了 or humorously 谁在骂你了. An American or Englishman would probably say God bless you. (Deng 176) IV. Conclusion Language is our most important tool in communication. With the communication of the world, the culture is transmitted with the word. Any country or nation has their own unique traditional culture including values, modes of thinking, moral rules, customs, lifestyle, etc. which.. Forms. .the. .difference. between. different. nations. .on. Culture. The rich cultural contents in language determine that in foreign language learning we must study not only the linguistics but also the culture. With more and more communication in the world, the culture becomes more and more important. The nation of culture has always been considered an important concept in applied linguistics. However, in studies taking a more traditional “linguistics applied” approach it is often treated as its own logical system of representational knowledge, located in the individual mind, and existing independent of language, when it is treated at all. The basis of the system is assumed to be an abstract, universal structure for organizing and generating the knowledge. When exposed to culture-specific data, provided by the 第 12 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English physical world, the mind is thought to generate systems of knowledge that are specific to a particular culture group. In addition to an assumption of cultural homogeneity, the more traditional perspective assumes knowledge acquisition to be unidirectional, transmitted by, but fundamentally unrelated to language. Because we are members of multiple groups and communities, we take on and negotiate multiple cultural identities, and in our roles, participate in myriad cultural activities. At any communicative moment, through our linguistic actions, we choose particular ways, as we create and sustain particular kinds of relationship with them and thus make relevant some as opposed to other identities. We study culture, especially for the communication culture and understand and master different kinds of traditional culture, communication patterns and social custom is good for us to know their patterns of thought, worldviews and values, thereby we can avoid mistakes and make good communication. 第 13 页 共 11 页 Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation between Chinese and English Works Cited Bhabha, H. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994. Edwards, D, Two to Tango: Script Formulation, Dispositions, and Rhetorical Symmetry in Relationship Troubles Talk. Research on Language and Social Interaction. 28(4): 319-50 Hall,J.k. Teaching and Researching Language and Culture. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2005. Hoijer, H. Intercultural Communication Belmont.CA: Wadsworth. 1994 Luckmann, T. Interaction Planning and Intersubjective Adjustment of Perspectives by Communicative Genre. In E. Goody (ed. ), Social Intelligence and Interaction .(pp. 175-86). Cambridge|: Cambridge University Press, 1995. 邓炎昌. 语言与文化[M]. 北京: 外语教学与研究出版社, 1991 何三凝. 实用英汉翻译教程[M]. 南京: 东南大学出版社, 2005 第 14 页 共 11 页