1、1 Unit 2 Culture and Communication What is culture? “文化 ”是一个广泛的概念，它的内涵很丰富。 在英语中 ,“culture”一词是一个难以解释的词，它最早来源于古法语 cultura, 拉丁语colere和德语 “kultur”，原指土地的开垦及植物的栽培；后来随着人类生存空间和生存方式的改变逐渐扩延，转而意指人的身体、精神，特别是指艺术和道德能力和天赋的培养；进而泛指人类社会在征服自然和自我发展中创造的物质财富和精神财富，包括饮食、器具、舟车、房屋、社会组织、政治制度、风俗习惯、语言、学术思想等 。 More than 500 defi
2、nitions up to the present (Refer to p. 40 for some of the well-known ones) First definition: E. B. Tylor (1871) in Primitive Culture: “that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of a society.” 文化是一种复
3、合的整体，它包括知识、信仰、艺术、道德、法律、习俗以及人们作为社会成员而获得的能力与习惯 Broadly speaking, it means the total way of life of a people, including the patterns of belief, customs, objects, institutions, techniques, and language. In a narrow sense, it refers to local or specific practice, beliefs or customs, and language. Define
4、culture from different perspectives From Intellectual Perspective From Anthropologic Perspective From Social Perspective From Psychological Perspective From Intercultural Communication Perspective From Intellectual Perspective According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, culture is “the arts and othe
5、r manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively“. It refers to intellectual perspective, such as music, art, exhibition, dance, etc. When you talk about Picasso, Beethoven, etc., you are talking about culture. From Anthropologic Perspective Culture is “the customs, civilizat
6、ions, and achievements of a particular time or people.“ This is an anthropologists definition. From Social Perspective Culture is what a society does and thinks. Culture covers everything of a society. From Psychological Perspective Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguish
7、es the members of one category of people from another. From Intercultural Communication Perspective Culture is a learned set of shared interpretations about beliefs, values, and norms, which affect the behavior of a relatively large group of people. Culture Is Learned We learn culture from _parents_
8、, _teachers_ friends _,_other family 2 members_,_ and even strangers who are part of the culture_. Culture Is a Set of Shared Interpretations All communications take place by means of symbols Culture Involves Beliefs, Values, and Norms a. Beliefs Beliefs refer to the basic understanding of a group o
9、f people about what the world is like or what is true or false. b. Values Values involve what a culture regarded as good or bad, right or wrong, fair or unfair, just or unjust, beautiful or ugly, clean or dirty, valuable or worthless, appropriate or inappropriate, and kind or cruel. c. Norms Norms r
10、efer to rules for appropriate behavior, which provide the expectations people have of one another and of others Norms in the army: Salutes Norms in different fields： Culture Affects Behaviors Culture Involves Large Groups of People Three Things Culture Does p46-48 (self-study) Culture ranks what is
11、important Culture furnishes attitudes Culture dictates how to behave Culture ranks what is important Different cultures have their own value orientation and what is important in one culture may be virtually meaningless to another. Culture ranks what is important. In other words, cultures teach value
12、s or priorities. Values underlie attitudes. They also shape beliefs. Within a culture, values may be of greater or lesser importance. Culture furnishes attitudes An attitude is learned, and it is a tendency to respond the same way to the same object or situation or idea. Attitudes can change, althou
13、gh change can be difficult. Attitudes are based on beliefs as well as values. Beliefs are convictions or certainties based on subjective and often personal ideas rather than on proof or facts. Belief systems or religions are powerful sources of values and attitudes in cultures. Culture dictates how
14、to behave Behavior comes directly from the attitudes about how significant something is - how it is valued. Attitudes vary according to how important something is reckoned to be (value). Values drive actions. 1.3 Classification of Culture 3 One of the most popular classification of culture: high cul
15、ture: philosophy, literature, fine arts, music, religion etc. popular culture: customs and habits, rites and rituals, ways of living (housing, dressing, eating and drinking) and all interpersonal behavior. deep culture: the conception of beauty, definition of sin, notions of modesty, ordering of tim
16、e, etc. Cultural iceberg: p. 44-50 Conscious or subconscious? Deep culturethe out-of-awareness part of a culture Nine-tenth of an iceberg / culture is out of sight. Those that are above the “water” : what to eat and how to eat it; how to keep healthy; how to raise children; how to participate in cer
17、emonies; how to introduce and greet people; Those that are below the “water” : what is good or bad; what is right or wrong; what is beautiful or ugly; what is clean or dirty; how is an individual related to others; Generally speaking, differences in those things that are usually outside of our consc
18、ious awareness, i.e. the so-called “ deep culture”, are more likely to cause problems in intercultural communication. The reason is that this part of culture is internalized in peoples mind and thus is hard to perceived. Summary Culture is not anything that people in a group are born with, but somet
19、hing they learn either by being taught or by growing up in it. Different cultures have different ways of eating, drinking, dressing, finding shelter, marrying and dealing with death. Our own culture seems natural to us while other cultures may think it funny, strange or even disgusting. However, thi
20、s has nothing to do with right or wrong. It follows that there is no “best” culture suitable for all people in the world. In comparing cultures, we can hardly say which culture is definitely better than the other, for each culture can be appropriate to certain group of people living in a particular
21、geographic and social environment. A culture should therefore be judged and interpreted in its own context. Without considering the environment in which people of a particular culture live, it would be impossible for us to really understand and appreciate what is significant and meaningful in that c
22、ulture. Perhaps, if we could examine the manners of different nations with impartiality, we should find no people so rude, nor any so polite. 2. Instinctive Behavior and Cultural Behavior 4 Reading : p. 41 Questions: -Do you know Maslows theory? -Do human beings realize all these needs at the same t
23、ime? -Do people all over the world share the same basic needs described by Maslow? -Do people realize these needs in the same ways? -Is culture conscious or subconscious? 2.1 Instinctive behavior innate and universal 2.2 Cultural behaviorlearned and transmitted from generation to generation through
24、the use of symbols People in different cultures satisfy these needs in different ways. Examples: Different ways of eating p.43; Difference in treating visitors. p. 38 (Warm Up) Difference in ending the meals. p. 59 (Group Work) Case Analysis Case 5 p. 60 Difference in taking offers Case 7 p.62 Diffe
25、rence in the view of gifts Case 8 p.62-63 Difference in food for banquet, table manners Analysis In China, it is often not polite to accept a first offer and Heping was being modest, polite and well-behaved and had every intention of accepting the beer at the second or third offer. But he did not kn
26、ow the North American rules which firmly say that you do not pull alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons, he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason, you do not insist on offering alcohol. So the Americans didnt make a second offer
27、 of beer to Heping, who probably thought North Americans not hospitable. However, there are always individual differences between people from even the same culture. Probably the young Chinese nurse had known something about the American culture and was just trying to behave like an American when she
28、 was in an American family. Case 7 p.62 What do you think of Keiko insisting on giving valuable gifts to her college friends? How would you feel if Keiko presented you with a gift for your help? Analysis Keiko insists on giving valuable gifts to her college friends, because in countries like Japan,
29、exchanging gifts is a strongly rooted social tradition. Should you receive a gift, and dont have one to offer in return, you will probably create a crisis. If not as serious as a crisis, one who doesnt offer a gift in return may be considered rude or impolite. Therefore, in Japan, gifts are a symbol
30、ic way to show appreciation, respect, gratitude and further relationship. 5 Keiko obviously has taken those used items from Mary, Ed and Marion as gifts, for she probably doesnt know that Americans frequently donate their used household items to church or to the community. Mary, Ed and Marion would
31、never consider those used household items given to Keiko as gifts. No wonder they felt very uncomfortable when they received valuable gifts in return. Case 8 p.62-63 Why did the girl consider the menu created by her mother a strange one? What cultural differences can you find in this case? Analysis
32、When the Chinese girl fell in love with an American boy at that time, it seems that she preferred to celebrate Christmas in the American way, for she wanted very much to appear the same as other American girls. She did not like to see her boyfriend disappointed at the “shabby” Chinese Christmas. Tha
33、ts why she cried when she found out her parents had invited the ministers family over for the Christmas Eve dinner. She thought the menu for the Christmas meal created by her mother a strange one because there were no roast turkey and sweet potatoes but only Chinese food. How could she notice then t
34、he foods chosen by her mother were all her favorites? From this case, we can find a lot of differences between the Chinese and Western cultures in what is appropriate food for a banquet, what are good table manners, and how one should behave to be hospitable. However, one should never feel shame jus
35、t because ones culture is different from others. As Amys mother told her, you must be proud to be different, and your only shame is to have shame. 3.1 Definition of Communication -A behavior-affecting process in which one person (a source) intentionally encodes and transmits a message through a chan
36、nel to an intended audience (receivers) in order to induce a particular attitude or behavior. -Transmission and reception of meaning through the manipulation of symbols, language and context. -A process involving the exchange of messages and the creation of meaning.(p.58) It involves a sender who en
37、codes a message and a receiver who decodes the message. 3.3 Types of Communication(1) Interpersonal Communication (Dyad) Intrapersonal Communication (Within) Mass Communication Group Communication Public Communication Business Communication Intra-cultural Communication Intercultural/Cross-Cultural C
38、ommunication International Communication Intracultural Communication Shared communication between members of the same cultural group /communication between people from the same culture 6 Intercultural Communication communication between people from different cultures Intercultural Communication Requ
39、ires an understanding of Own culture Cultures of other groups Parent/Dominant culture (e.g. based on race or ethnicity) Co-cultures (e.g. based on gender, religion, age) Intercultural Communication Requires an understanding of Knowledge system Beliefs Values Customs Behaviors Intercultural / Cross-c
40、ultural Communication Although the term cross-cultural is often used as a synonym for intercultural, it traditionally implies a comparison of some phenomena across cultures. For example, if we examine communication between two Chinese or between two Americans, we are looking at intra-cultural commun
41、ication. If we observe communication between a Chinese and an American, in contrast, we are looking at intercultural communication. If we compare the speech act of apology in the Chinese culture and in the American culture, for example, we are making a cross-cultural comparison. If we look at how an
42、 American or a Chinese is making an apology when communicating with each other, in contrast, we are looking at intercultural communication. Cross-Cultural Communication Involves highlighting similarities and differences across cultural groups to promote communication International Communication Inte
43、ractions among people from different nations. Certainly, communication among people from different countries is likely to be intercultural communication, but that is not always true. 3.3 Types of Communication(2) human communication (人类交际） animal communication (动物交际） human-animal communication （人类与动
44、物的交际） human-machine communication（人机交际） machine-to-machine communication（机器交际） 3.4 Media of Communication Face-to-Face Telephone Broadcast Media Verbal Non-verbal 7 Digital Which other media of communication can you identify? 3.6 The Communication Process Matching Task p.57 One more example: 1. A: C
45、an you tell me the time? B: Well, the milkman has come. (No, I dont know the exact time, but I can tell you that the milkman has come so that you may be able to tell what the approximate time it is now.) Case 6 p.61 ( assignment) Case Analysis Case 6 p.61 Why did the Chinese mother-in-law decide to
46、leave the very afternoon? What was wrong with Litz asking her husband how long his mother was going to stay just two days after her mother-in-laws arrival? Analysis When a speaker says something to a hearer, there are at least three kinds of meanings involved: utterance meaning, the speakers meaning
47、 and the hearers meaning. In the dialogue, when Litz asked how long her mother-in-law was going to stay, she meant that if she knew how long she was going to stay in Finland, she would be able to make proper arrangements for her, such as taking her out to do some sightseeing. However, her mother-in-
48、law took Litzs question to mean “ Litz does not want me to stay for long”. From the Chinese point of view, it seems inappropriate for Litz to ask such a question just two days after her mother-in-laws arrival. If she has to ask the question, it would be better to ask some time later and she should n
49、ot let her mother-in-law hear it. Another Case Situation: A Chinese student had just arrived at the States. One day, when he was reading in his room, he heard someone shouting outside: “ Watch out!” So he went to the window and stretched out his head and tried to find out whats going on outside. Just then, his head was right poured by the water from above Question: What are the three meanings of “ Watch out” in communication? Key to the question: 1. Utterance meaning: Be careful! 2. Speakers me
