Example1:

If I have been giving a lecture to you for about 2 hours and feel very tired, at this time, someone of you perhaps will say: “ Harry, you must be very tired, let’s have a rest.” In our Chinese culture, you will be considered very polite and considerate, I will be very appreciated of your consideration, but if the teacher is an American one, you will be considered very impolite and the teacher will regard your act as an insult of his intelligence, he will be very angry for, in his mind, it is a piece of cake to give a lecture for 2 hours since he is your lecturer. This kind of regard will make him think that you doubt his ability and you are insulting him and satirizing him.

Example2:

If you are an interpreter in some company and you are accompanying your boss to the airport to pick up an American businessman. When your boss meet the businessman, he perhaps will say: “you must be very tired or you must be exhausted in Chinese.” If you are a qualified interpreter, you should say: “Did you have a good night? Or did you have a good flight?” if you say: “you must be very tired or exhausted.” It will make him think that his health is very terrible and he is very weak so that he perhaps will loose his confidence.

Example 3:

In this example, I will show you the difference of eastern and western culture by the whole procedure of visiting to a Chinese friend’s family. Through both usual practices in their native languages, we can find out what an important role culture does play in communication.

Chinese pattern:

Host: “Welcome, welcome.” (They meet each other for the first time.)

Host: “so! You have come.”(They have been very good friends.)

Visitor: “ Yes, I have.”

Host: “Let me have your coat.”

Visitor: “ No, no. I will hang it up myself.”

Host: “ We are so happy to have you with us here today.”

Visitor: “ Thank you.”

Host: “ Do make yourself at home, please.”

Visitor:  “No, no.”

Host:  “Do sit over here on the sofa.”

Visitor: “ No, I will sit here, this chair is perfectly all right.”

Visitor:  “I must be going now.”

Host:  “Can you stay a little bit longer.”

Visitor: “No, I must be going now, really.”

Host: “If you must, then you must.”

Visitor: “ There is no need to see me off, Do not walk any further with me.”

English pattern:

Host:  “Come right in.”

Visitor: “ Thank you.”

Host: “Let me have your coat.”

Visitor: “ Thank you.”

Host: “We are so happy to have you with us here today.”

Visitor:  “Thank you for asking me over.”

Host: “Do make yourself at home, please.”

Visitor: “ Yes, I will or all right, I feel quite at home.”

Host: “Do sit over here on the sofa.”

Visitor: “ Thank you.”

Visitor: “Thank you very much for everything, I must be off now, bye.”

Host: “Thanks for your coming to see me.”

Visitor: “I have wanted to for a long time or I have had a very wonderful evening or we have had a very wonderful talk or I enjoyed our talk very much.”

Host: “Bye! Drop in again whenever you can.”

Visitor: “ Bye.”

 Now try to translate the following sentences from English to Chinese:

1.     He is as strong as a horse. ( grassland culture; hilly land culture; plant crops)

2.     He is something in the Department of Environment.

3.     He is blowing horses.

4.     The four tigers of Asia. (Dragon monster)

And now try to translate following sentences from Chinese to English:

1.     五花八门,（five flowers and eight doors; multifarious）

2.     谈天说地, (talk sky say land; Talk of everything under the sun)

3.     好好学习，天天向上,(good good study, day day up; study hard and make progress every day)

4.一本爱不释手的书 , (a can’t-be-put-down book)

Mother, taxi, bike, you are very America; nurse and so on.

Of course, the translation of the above sentences involves cultural difference, and needs your good command of English. I also want to mention then that when you communicate with English speakers, you are supposed to communicate with them by heart for our mankind has much in common, and at the same time, take advantage of your body languages which will help you express yourself fully.

As for reading, I would like to say: “ Read as much as possible and as often as you can.” As a result, we can overcome the difference of the mode of thinking. We all know that we feel quite easy when we read China Daily and the 21st Century, but when we read foreign materials (newspaper or magazines), we will feel quite confused or difficult, which results from the difference of the mode of thinking. Our Chinese mode of thinking is from shallower to the deeper, which is called bringing the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes by foreigners. On the contrary, in most English speaking countries, the mode of thinking is direct; we should experience this kind of difference of the mode of thinking at times so that we can be very at ease in our expressions and understanding. Another point that I have to mention is that you are supposed to read as loud as you can in the morning or in the evening.

上一页  [1] [2]