跨文化交际英文案例

Case 1 Girl-ness

As a visiting professor in an American university, Zhang Hua was invited to give a lecture to a group of American students. He talked about university students in China. During the question-and-answer period after the lecture, one female student asked a question that surprised Zhang Hua. “When you talked about female students, you referred to them as girls. Why”

“Because they are girls. That’s what they are called,” Zhang Hua tried to answer, but he knew he did not really understand the intent of the question. “ I don’t quite understand your question, I’m afraid.”“In the States, we call ourselves ‘ women’ if we’re old enough to go to the university. Calling us ‘girls’ is insulting.”

Do Chinese female college students prefer to be called women

Case 2

Many years ago, a Chinese man showed a photo of his wife to some American visitors. Out of courtesy, they all said,” She is very beautiful.” Also out of courtesy, the man replied with what he would have done in Chinese under the circumstance,” Where! Where!” Quite taken aback, nobody said anything for a moment, until the most ingenious one among the visitors, taking another look at the photo, said, “Oh, everywhere!”

What did the Chinese intend to mean by replying with “ Where! Where!”

Case 1 Girl-ness

As a visiting professor in an American university, Zhang Hua was invited to give a lecture to a group of American students. He talked about university students in China. During the question-and-answer period after the lecture, one female student a sked a question that surprised Zhang Hua. “When you talked about female students,

you referred to them as girls. Why”

“Because they are girls. That’s what they are called,” Zhang Hua tried to answer, but he knew he did not really understand the intent of t he question. “ I don’t quite understand your question, I’m afraid.”

“In the States, we call ourselves ‘ women’ if we’re old enough to go to the university. Calling us ‘girls’ is insulting.”

Do Chinese female college students prefer to be called women

Case 2

Many years ago, a Chinese man showed a photo of his wife to some American visitors. Out of courtesy, they all said,” She is very beautiful.” Also out of courtesy, the man replied with what he would have done in Chinese under the circumstance,” Where! W here!” Quite taken aback, nobody said anything for a moment, until the most ingenious one among the visitors, taking another look at the photo, said, “Oh, everywhere!”

What did the Chinese intend to mean by replying with “ Where! Where!”

Case 3 “I Just Wanted to Talk”.

Wu tong was a graduate student in a Chinese university. Like many students these days, he was very keen on learning English. He would talk with English speakers as often as he could.

One day, he saw a new foreigner on campus, Leonard Ramsay, and overheard him speaking English. When Mr. Ramsay finished speaking with the other person, he turned to go, but Wu Tong stopped him. He went up and said, “ You speak English, is that right”

“Yes, why”

“I’d like to practise my English with you, if you don’t mind.”

Mr. Ramsay looked a little annoyed. “ I prefer not to, if you don’t mind.”

Case 4 An Unwanted Food Service

During a lunch buffet at a conference in China, Wu Fa, the interpreter of the conference, sat with four foreign participants. They were having a good time talking. When Wu Fa stood up for more food, she asked whether she could bring anything back for them.

Everyone thanked her and said “no”. A while later, Wu Fa came back with a plate full of food, and asked whether the others would like to have something from her plate.

Again, the four others said , “No”.

“ Oh, please take something, I can’t eat this much food myself.”

The foreigners shrugged and one or two of them even frowned a little.

Case 5 Simple Can Be Special

Wen Hong had an American professor in her economics class in China. She had given the professor a lot of help during the course. At the end of the semester，the professor and his wife invited her to their home for dinner. They said they were going to cook her an American meal.

Wen Hong felt very flattered and excited，since McDonald，KFC and Pizza Hut had been her only exposure to Western cooking.

They had salad to start with，then steak with potatoes，followed by ice cream. Wen Hong had expected more courses but the meal came to an end. She knew the professor and his wife were being kind to her，but somehow she was a little disappointed. She wondered whether Americans do eat like that at home.

Case 6 Chinese Coffee Customs

While studying in the United States, Lin Jun made a few American friends. One day he invited two of them to his apartment and cooked them a meal. When his friends said they would like some coffee, he started

boiling some water. Without asking them any questions, he made three cups of 3-in-1 coffee, the way he usually took it.

Both friends tasted the coffee and frowned. One said she always took coffee black，the other said he preferred to have less sugar in his coffee. They also told him that the spoon is for stirring the coffee，not to drink from like he did. Lin Jun was embarrassed. He had thought that everyone drank coffee the same way as he did.

Case 7 Noise from Noodles

Jane and Peter were Chen Dong’s landlord and landlady when he was in the States. They had become good friends by the end of his one-year stay. They kept in touch with each other after Chen Dong returned to China. Jane and Peter decided to visit China soon after Chen Dong left the States.

They made a special stop in Guangzhou where Chen Dong lives. Chen Dong had promised to show them around the city and let them try some authentic Cantonese food. One thing，in particular，he wanted them to try was noodles. He knew several restaurants that served good noodles and took the couple to one of them for lunch one day.

Noodles typically come in soup in Cantonese cooking. Chen Dong started eating the noodles with chopsticks，while Jane and Peter exchanged a look at the noise that came with his eating. After a little hesitation，they asked for forks. A waitress told them that they did not have forks，and Chen Dong explained that noodle restaurants do not usually keep forks because no one would think of using forks for noodles.

In the next half an hour，Jane and Peter had a hard time trying to roll the long noodles onto their chopsticks. Chen Dong said，“that’s

not the way we eat noodles. You put the noodles directly to your mouth with your chopsticks.”

“But that’s not the way we eat noodles，” Jane and Peter said, frowning.

Case 8 Dinner in a Chinese Home

Besides taking Peter and Jane to restaurants, Dong Chen also invited them to his home for dinner once. Dong Chen ‘s mother is a nice wife, and made eight courses for four of them.

“I'm sorry there isn’t much for dinner, she said.”

“God this is much more than enough food,” Jane said. Peter was too overwhelmed to even respond to Dong Chen‘ mother

Dong Chen was a little embarrassed. “This is what we usually say to guests，even though there’s plenty of food” he explained．What bewildered Jane and Peter most was that though Dong Chen’s mother kept saying that the food was not good，she constantly served helpings to Jane and Peter．Peter did not like two of the courses very much，and felt bad that his plate was full with whatever he would not be able to eat. At seeing Dong Chen's mother’s next move t o serve him food，he said in a begging voice，“Please don’t give me any more food．Let me do it myself．

Case 9A Not-sociable Drink

Martin was sent by an American company to work in a special economic development zone in China for a year. He became very friendly with a few Chinese colleagues. Soon, he started to go out with them. He noticed that Chinese like to have something , such as peanuts, when they have beer,

instead of just drinking beer without anything to eat as many North Americans do.

One day he w as invited to a dinner party to celebrate a colleague’s birthday. They ordered alcoholic beverages and toasted the guest of honor frequently. Soon Martin realized that the plan was to get their friend drunk. Each colleague would offer a toast, concluding w ith a cheery “ gan bei!” and tried to get Martin to join in, even though he was unwilling to do it. Martin didn’t think it a good idea, and tried to talk them out of the game. However, he was accused of not being a good friend for not co-operating.

Martin remained an outsider during the rest of the dinner. He was getting increasingly worried as he watched the poor guest become increasingly inebriated.

Case 10 A Misunderstanding at a Dinner Table

Roger was a student majoring in East Asia Studies in an American university. He started an e-mail correspondence with Zhang Li, a sociology major in China, who was introduced to him through a mutual friend.

Upon graduation, Roger got a big gift from his grandfather. Grandpa would pay for a round-trip ticket to China. He told Zhang Li the good news, and the two decided to meet.

Zhang Li decided to give Roger a very special welcome: she and the three women students in her dormitory would cook him an authentic Chinese meal, as Roger had told her that he loved Chinese food.

However, when Roger was presented the dinner, he was almost terrified by some of the food: pork stomach soup, pig liver with ginger and spring

onion, chicken with mushrooms in which the chicken had been cut to pieces with bones attached to the meal.

Fortunately , there were courses like tofu, stirred fried beef, steamed fish and vegetables that Roger loved. He tried to stick to them but Zhang Li kept putting food he did not like on his plate. When she asked how he liked the liver, Roger said, “ It’s very unusual…and interesting. “ This seemed to make Zhang Li happy. And she gave him more liver. Roger tried to stop her, but she would not be stopped. Roger was so frustrated that he told her that he did not really like it that much. “ But you said it was unusual and interesting!”Zhang Li said. “ Well, they both mean something less than positive,” Roger said carefully, trying not to hurt their feelings.

Zhang Li and her friends became concerned at this.”“So you don’t like the food” I’m not used to eating liver, that’s all. But I do like the chicken, the beef, the tofu, and the vegetables. I have had more than enough to eat. I never make this much food at home,” Roger was eager to let them know how much he appreciated their effort. “Trust me, I’m enjoying th e food. I know what I like.”

Having said that, he found a piece of chicken that was less bony, held it in his hand to eat it, and then licked his fingers. Zhang Li and her friends looked at each other in shock.

It was not a perfect first meeting for either Zhang Li or Roger.

Case 11 Over-dressed Tourists

As a van stopped in front of Niagara Falls, a group of Chinese officials streamed out. They were dressed in suits and ties, wearing leather shoes. Many of the men also had left the manufacture’s tag on the sleeve of

their suit jacket. As they wandered around Niagara Falls, some of them started to smoke. Their attire drew the stares of North American tourists, some of whom quietly laughed with their friends and pointed at the Chinese visitors. Others frowned at seeing the smoking and shook their heads in disapproval.

Case 12 Tie Culture

Jane was a tourist and spent some time staying with a Chinese friend at her home. They watched a children’s porgram while having breakfast one morning. A young man, the host of the program, gave instructions of a game to a few children, and then joined them running in a circle.

“My, he’s wearing a tie and running crazy with the children!” Jane exclaimed.

The Chinese friend shrugged,”Is this very unusual”

Case 13 An American in China

Professor Smith and his assistant，Chen Ming，were doing fieldwork in a small city in China. It was hot and humid, and both were casually dressed. One evening as they were leaving for dinner，a local administrator told them that the mayor of the city, who was interested in the type of research they were doing, would like to say hello to Professor Smith. As luck would have it，the Mayor was dining in the same restaurant as Smith and Chen Ming.

Professor Smith said he had to go back to his room to change.

“You look fine，Come on，the mayor is waiting，”the administrator said.

“No, I can’t meet the mayor in my shorts”

Case 14 The Generosity of a Chinese Student

Matt was invited to a Chinese university to give a few lectures. During his short stay there, a graduate student volunteered to show him around the city. Matt accepted the offer gratefully. It was summer and soon both Matt and the graduate student began to get quite hot. While Matt took some pictures, the graduate student went to buy some drinks.

“Thank you. How much do I owe you” Matt asked.

“Nothing.” The student smiled.

“ Are you sure”

“Yes.”

At lunchtime, Matt suggested they have a quick meal. They stopped by a McDonald. Again, the graduate student tried to pay for Matt.

“No, this is my treat. You’re a student, I’m a professor. You’ve given me the time to show me around. You already paid for my drink. I can’t let you pay for my lunch again.”

Case 15 A Gift from a Chinese Student

Xie Dong did his graduate study in an American university. He came back to China for summer vacation. When he went back to his program, he paid his supervisor a visit and presented him a gift.

The professor opened the gift. It was a ginseng with its many tiny roots spreading out in a very artistic pattern. It clearly was an expensive gift.

The professor’s eyes shone at the ginseng, but he then began to feel uneasy. “Xie Dong, I appreciate your kindness, but I can’t take this as a gift.”

“ Why Don’t you like it” It was Xie Dong’s turn to be uneasy now.

“ Oh, sure, I love it. But I can’t accept it.”

“Why”

“ Because I didn’t do anything to deserve such a gift.”

Case 16 Telephone Courtesy

Kathy and David, a couple from the US, signed a one-year contract to work in China. Both were extroverted and soon made some Chinese friends. Before long, people started calling them at home. David was sometimes away on business trips for a few days, and if someone looked for him, Kathy often would find the conversation awkward.

“ Where did he go” The caller typ ically would ask.

“Can I pass on any message” Kathy asked politely, trying to avoid the question.

“Is he out of town” The caller was usually very persistent.“Yes, can I help you in any way” Kathy tried to be polite, but she could not help feeling uncomfortable.

Case 17 “Not So Close, Please”

He Jia had lived in the United States for 7 years before she came back to work in China. She found that she had become accustomed to social habits in North America and that some Chinese behaviours now caused her some discomfort. For example, one day, back in China, she was in a queue to use an ATM. She had noticed that people were standing very close to each other. In fact, the person behind her could, if she or he wanted, to see her enter the PIN of her ATM card. He Jia wanted to make people aware of the discomfort of the user by keeping her distance from the person in front of her. However, the people behind her pushed her to move forward. Case 18 The Privacy of the Page

Simon and Cheng Feng often studied together to prepare for exams. One day, in the middle of a study session, Simon said he wanted to get

a coffee. He asked Cheng Feng if he wanted any, but he said, “No”. When he came back, he found Cheng Feng reading his notes. He was upset and, although he didn’t say a nything at the time, he never studied with Cheng Feng again. Cheng Feng noticed the change and wondered what had happened.

Case19 The Privacy of Photographs

Rose invited Lili to her home one day. While they were having coffee, Rose showed Lili a few pictures of her boyfriend in a photo album. Lili casually turned to other pages after that.

Rose stopped her, “I’d rather you not look at other pictures.”

Lili was embarrassed, and apologized, “I’m sorry.”

Case 20 The Privacy of Price

After living in the States for some time, Ping Li observed that Americans like to comment on each other’s looks and clothes. So when she saw a fellow graduate student wearing a nice dress at a party, she complimented her by saying. “This is a very beautiful dress.”

“Oh thank you , I bought it last year before Christmas ,” the student very pleased. “How much was it” Ping Li asked.

“Well I don’t quite remember,” the student seemed unprepared for the question, and answered a little hesitatingly.

Case 21 The Privacy of the Person

Zou Qing and Nancy became friends after they met in a course they both took．Nancy had had gray hair much earlier than people of the same age，and had been dyeing her hair for several years.

While they were having a break one day in between two classes, and Zou Qing noticed that Nancy had some invisible gray hair on her. She told her so, but Nancy changed the topic right away.

When everyone else left，Nancy said to Zou Qing，“Please don’t mention my gray hair while there were men around.”

Case 22 Unacceptable Curiosity

Mr and Mrs Peterson came to China with a tour group. One evening, they decided to take a walk outside their hotel. They soon noticed that quite a few people stared at them. One man even quickly walked past them and then turned back to look at them several times. Both Mr and Mrs Peterson felt uncomfortable about the staring and went back to the hotel sooner than they had planned.

Case 23 Confusion in Communicating Love

Le, a Chinese woman, and Bill, an American man, were very much in love. Their relationship started with their shared interest in photography. As time went on, however, Le became dependent on Bill whenever she wanted to take a picture, because she felt that Bill was a much better photographer than she was. Whenever she noticed a scene that would make a good image, she would ask Bill to take the picture for her.

Bill was not very pleased but did not say anything for a while. However, Le soon got to a point where she began to ask Bill to load and unload the film. Bill decided that it was too much for him to bear. He exploded, “What’s the matter with you Don’t you know how to load and unload a film Can’t you take a picture any more”

Le was so shocked that she burst into tears. “I ask you to do things only because you do it better than me. What’s wrong with that”

Case24 Unwanted Attention

Teresa is a Chinese American teaching English temporarily at a Chinese university. She is very easy going, and soon the students got to know her well enough to invite her out regularly.

Crossing the very busy and wide streets in the city was a scary experience for Teresa, and she complained of it repeatedly. As a result, the female students began to try to help her by taking her hand or grasping her arm while the male students seemed to be shy about protecting her. Teresa was uncomfortable with her female students touching her, and told the women they did not need to do it. Her female students thought she was being polite and continued to take care of her the same way. Teresa became so uncomfortable that she tried to move away from her female students whenever they had to cross the road.

Case 25 Holding Hands

Chris was a visiting professor in China. On one day, one of his students, Sun Hui, showed him around the city. Sun Hui soon noticed that Chris was interested in taking pictures of men that were walking

arm-in-arm or touching each other when they talked.

“ I don’t see anything special about those men,” Sun Hui said curiously.

“ Well, we don’t see much of that in men in the States,” Chris said, “ They’re gay, aren’t they”

Case 26 Friendship Misunderstood

Yan Hong was a Chinese painter who immigrated to the United States. She met Jenny, an American physician in a club one day. They soon became friends, and sometimes went out for coffee and lunch together.

One day, Jenny gave Yan Hong a very beautiful vase. Yan Hong loved the vase very much, and felt she should give Jenny something in return. So she gave Jenny a painting she brought from China. Jenny was very pleased.

A few days later, Jenny invited Yan Hong to her home for the first time. They made dinner together and enjoyed the meal a lot. Then they sat down to watch TV. When Jenny tentatively held Yan Hong’s hand, Yan Hong was not aware of anything unusual. However, when Jenny sat closer to her and kissed her, Yan Hong was terrified. She pushed Jenny away and cried, “ I’m not a lesbian!”

Jenny was in shock, and asked accusingly, “ Then why didn’t you tell me earlier”

Case 27 Learning about Flirting

Chen Qing was a visiting scholar in an American university. He had made some friends with professors and students there. One day he went to a party where the atmosphere became less and less inhibited. Chen Qing noticed that men and women touched each other a lot more than he was used to. At the end of the party, most people hugged each other good-bye. One woman came to hug Chen Qing, but he stiffened as she attempted to give him a hug. He had never hugged any women except his wife in his life. Other women noticed this, and no one else tried to hug him.

However, Chen Qing felt left out when people hugged each other but not him. He found himself in a very awkward situation: he didn’t want to be hugged, neither did he want to be left out. He did not know what he wanted or how to resolve his conflicting emotions.

Case28 Lost in Love

Li Ying fell in love with an American man in her second year in the United States. They spent a lot of time together. After they had been to all the places of interest in the city, they had to decide where to go or what to do for the next date. John typically would ask Li Ying, “ What do you want to do today” , or “ Where shall we go” Li Ying would sometimes tell what she wanted, but more often than not, she would say “It’s up to you”, or “ Whatever you want to do”, or “ Wherever you want to go.”

John frowned at such responses several times until one day when Li Ying said “ up to you” again. “For God’s sake, tell me what you want to do!” He cried out loud.

Li Ying was shocked at his reaction. “ Isn’t it clear to you I’ll do what you want to do.”

“ No, it isn’t clear at all. I want to know what you want to do!” John was almost angry. “ Don’t you realize that sometimes I want to do what you want to do, too”

Case 29 Lovers Become Strangers

Xiao Xin and Peter are newly-weds. Though they spent a lot of time with each other before getting married, they never really lived together. Not surprisingly, their marriage was followed by a series of minor problems while they tried to adjust to each other’s ways of life. One difficult issue came up about two months after their new life, when Peter came home from work looking unhappy.

“ What happened” Xiao Xin asked.

“Nothing much, I’m just very tired,” Peter said.

“I can tell that it’s more than that.”

Peter gave Xiao Xin a quiet look, went into the bedroom, and threw himself to bed.

Xiao Xin followed him in. “Don’t you want to talk about it”

“No, I don’t.”

“Perhaps I can help” Xiao Xin suggested.

“ Xiao Xin, sometimes you just have to give me some space. All I n eed now is some privacy!” Peter yelled.

Xiao Xin was in shock. “Don’t you trust me”

“Geez, it’s not a matter of trust! Can’t you accept the fact that talking to you isn’t the solution to every one of my problems” Peter was becoming frustrated and impatient.

Xiao Xin was in tears. Her husband seemed to have become a stranger to her.

Case 30 A Gift of Self

Zhang Ge and Simon were head over heels in love with each other. They decided to go away to spend a major holiday somewhere. It was winter time, so they flew south in search of sunshine and warm water.

However, Simon developed diarrhea soon after they settled in a hotel. He felt weak and had to lie down for a rest. Zhang Ge was worried and stayed him in the room. Outside the window, the sun was shining, and they could hear the surf. The sun and beach is what they had dreamed about for months during the winter back home.

“Go and have some fun,” Simon said to Zhang Ge.

“ How can I go and have fun while you’re sick in bed”

“Why not, it’s not your fault that I’m sick. Besides, there’s nothing you can do here.”

“Nonsense! I can keep your company, and you’ll feel better with me around you.”

“Are you sure you want to do this instead of going out”

“Yes, I’m sure. I won’t go without you.”

“Oh, you’re so special. I love you so much!” Simon drew Zhang Ge near and kissed her.

Case 31 A Close Girlfriend

Liu Hong and Wu Xin have been good friends since they were young girls. Both eventually had the opportunity to study in the United States, although they ended up in two different cities. After their first year of hard work, they decided to do some traveling together. Liu Hong went to stay with Wu Xin for two days before they set off. Then they visited three cities over the next 10 days.

Liu Hong came back from the trip and told her American friends about the trip. She casually mentioned that they had to share one bed in one particular motel.

“ Oh, did you” , said one of the friends in a tone that made Liu Hong feel uncomfortable.

Case 32 Interpreting a Smile

. Peter is the general manager of an American company in China. Recently, Chen Jun, one of the Chinese managers made a mistake at work that caused some difficulties that required a lot of effort to fix. Chen Jun was very upset about what had happened, and came to Pe ter’s office to make a formal apology.

Chen Jun went into Peter’s office after being told to, smiling before he spoke. “ Peter, I’ve been feeling very upset about the trouble I’ve caused for the company. I’m here to apologize for the mistake. I’m terribly sorry about it and I want you to know that it will never happen again.” Chen Jun said, looking at Peter with the smile he had been wearing since he walked into the office.

Peter found it hard to accept the apology. He looked at Chen Jun, and asked, “ are you sure”

“ Yes, I’m very sorry and I promise this won’t happen again,” Chen Jun said, with a smile even broader than before.

“I’m sorry I just can’t take your apology. You don’t look sorry at all!” Peter said angrily.

Chen Jun’s face turned very red. H e did not in the least expect Peter to take it negatively. He was desperate to make himself understood. “ Peter, ” he managed to smile again, “ trust me, no one can feel any more sorry than I do about it.”

Peter was almost furious by now, “ if you’re that sorry, how can you still smile”

Case33 Interpreting a Laugh

Huihua, a Chinese student, and Mary , an American student studying Chinese in China, were on their way to a bookstore. As they got to the bookstore, they saw a young man walking down a flight of stairs. In his hurry, he missed the last two steps, and fell on the ground. He struggled to get back to his feet while people around him laughed. Fortunately, he seemed to be .

Mary was worried. She found Huihua smiling a little and was not comfortable about it. Tell me, Huihua, how could people laugh when someone

fell like that Do they care at all Shouldn’t they go up and ask the young man whether he was hurt”

Huihua said, “ they knew he wasn’t hurt too much.”

“ But I still don’t understand. A f all is a fall. In my culture, people would do anything but laugh!”

Case 34 Different Lunch Boxes

Peter was one of the American technicians who came to China to help set up a coffee plant. He was in China for six months．Before leaving for home，one of his Chinese colleagues took him out to dinner. Peter decided to ask him a question that had puzzled him for as long as he worked in the plant．

Why is it that the Chinese workers have stainless boxes for their lunch，while us foreigners have lunch put in the disposable plastic boxes”

The Chinese colleague smiled，“It’s because the plastic boxes are more convenient；they are disposable．With the stainless boxes, you have to wash them after every meal.”

But Peter was not convinced．“I don’t think so．Stainless boxes are much better than plastic boxes．They look more professional, they are more durable, and they protect your lunch better.