跨文化交际复习最新版本

1. A new broom sweeps clean. 新官上任三把火。

2. Many hands make light work. 人多好办事。

3. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. 今日事，今日毕。

4. Kill two birds with one stone. 一箭双雕/一石二鸟。

5. Haste makes waste. 欲速则不达。

6. Where there’s smoke there’s fire. 无风不起浪。

7. The grass is always greener on the other side of the stone. 这山望着那山高。

8. Beauty is only skin deep. 美貌是肤浅的。

9. Spare the rod and spoil the child. 玉不琢，不成器。

10. Give a person a dose of his own medicine. 以其人之道还治其人之身。

11. Frank’s advice is like good herbal medicine: hard to take, but ultimately beneficial. 良药苦口利于病，忠言逆耳利于行。

12. Even the dog swaggers when its master wins favor. 一人得道，鸡犬升天。

13. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. 鱼与熊掌不可兼得。

14. Speak the devil (and he will appear). 说曹操，曹操到。

15. The same knife cuts bread and fingers. 水能载舟，亦能覆舟。

16. Teach fish to swim. 班门弄斧。

17. Beat the dog before the lion. 杀鸡儆猴。

18. Man proposes, God disposes. 谋事在人，成事在天。

19. Everybody’s business is nobody’s business. 三个和尚无水喝。

20. Many kiss the baby for the nurse’s sake. 醉翁之意不在酒。

21. Don’t count the chicken before they are hatched. 不要盲目乐观。

22. A fall into the pit, a gain in your wit. 吃一堑，长一智。

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23. Love me, love my dog. 爱屋及乌。

24. Facts speak louder than words. 事实胜于雄辩。

25. Misfortunes never come alone. 祸不单行。

Case study one

If in the dining hall, a fly was seen in a glass of beer, an Englishman would say, “May I have another, please?”; a Frenchman would pour a beer out; a Spanish man would put the money on the table and leave without a word; a Japanese would summon the manager and criticize, “Do you do all your business like this?”; an Arab would give the beer to the waiter and say, “I’ll buy you a drink.”; and the more humorous American would say to the waiter, “Please serve the fly and beer separately.”

Question: What do their different reactions toward a fly in a beer reflect?

Answer: The case above shows that social interactions may vary greatly owing to different cultural backgrounds. In this case, people’s different reactions toward a fly in a beer reveal not only their individual personality but also the orientation of their nation’s mainstream culture, e.g. the English’s seriousness, the French’s arrogance, the Spanish’s generosity, the Japanese’s critical approach, the Arab’s sarcasm and the American’s humor.

Case study two

Bart Rapson had brought his family to the Philippines on a job assignment for a multinational corporation. Since the Philippines is largely Catholic, it was easy for Bart to place his 7-year-old daughter in a Sunday school class that would prepare her for her First Communion(首次领圣餐仪式). As the day approached, Bart planned for an

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after-church party, inviting colleagues and their families from work.

Manuel, one Filipino colleague, to whom Bart felt especially close, kept putting off an answer to Bart’s invitation, saying neither “yes” or “no”. Finally Bart said, “My wife needs to know how many people to cook for.” Still not giving a yes or no answer, Manuel later called and said that he would be attending a different party that would be attended by other Filipinos.

Bart was quite upset. He complained, “If this is supposedly a Catholic country, why would they not place a value on this? Why would he turn down a once-in-lifetime gathering, my daughter’s First Communion, to go to a party with friends he admits to seeing all the time?” After the party, Bart was merely cordial to Manuel---there were no longer any indications of friendliness. Manuel was puzzled, and had no idea what the problem was.

Question: If you were the director and chosen to mediate (调解) this situation, what would you do to ensure not to offend either party? How would you explain Bart’s behavior to Manuel? How would you explain Manuel’s to Bart?

Answer: For Americans, knowing how many people will attend a gathering is one of the key priorities, as it helps the host to prepare properly. However, to Filipinos, the number of guests is not very important, they usually prepare more food than enough and would not mind if there were leftovers. As well, Filipinos prefer to be together with people they know well. In addition, in the Philippines, the First Communion is not as important as the party that follows. The main problem in this case is Manuel’s ignorance of American customs. He did not realize that Americans pay great attention to important

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social gatherings, especially when their children are involved.

Case three

It is said that in Rome, in front of a shoe store, there was such a sign to attract English-speaking customers: Shoes for street walking. Come in and have a fit. The sign caught the attention of many English-speaking tourists, but not to look at the shoes displayed in the windows, but to read the sign and then break out into laughter. Question: Why did the Italian shop owner make such a blunder?

Case analysis: The problem resulted from t he misunderstanding of the idioms “a street walker” and “to have a fit”. They are almost impossible to understand from the meanings of the individual word. In this case, the Italian shop owner did not realize that “a street walker” means a prostitute, while “to have a fit” does not mean to have a try, but to become suddenly and violentl …… 此处隐藏：12523字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……