communicaton culture跨文化交际.doc

Culture Communication I Elements of Culture 1. Products: literature, folklore, art, music artifacts 2. Ideas: beliefs, values institutions 3. Behaviors: customs, habits, dress, food leisure Culture decides: --how people get married (their customs) --what people teach their children about right and wrong (their values) --what people think is beautiful (their beliefs) --how people look at each other when they are talking (their nonverbal communication) --what people study in school (their institutions) … II Characteristics of Culture 1. Culture is learned, not hereditary. The needs that we are born with are basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Humans need food. But what to eat, when, where and how to eat is learned. That’s why. We use chopsticks while Westerns prefer knife and fork, and why we like rice while Americans prefer bread. Sneezing is physiological, but after the other person sneezes, a Guangdong person says jixing, while an English native says “God bless you”. When we cough in public places, we Chinese tend to ignore it, but an American usually says “Excuse me” immediately after one does so. We learn our culture in many ways and from a variety of sources, either consciously or unconsciously. One way is by means of proverbs that, communicated in colorful and vivid language, offer an important set of instructions for members to follow. For example, the English proverb “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” encourages people to “speak up and make sure their views are heard. 2. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation. Without the advantage of knowledge from those who lived before us, we would not have culture. A culture is but one link in the whole chain of generations, some of which have become history and some of which are yet to come. 3. Culture is dynamic. Cultures, once formed, are stable, but are at the same time changing with the development of human society. The Chinese culture has experienced great changes in its long hist