Cultural_Differences_Between_Western_and_Chinese

Cultural Differences in politeness Between Western and Chinese1000111111 XXX

As we know, there are many different between Chinese and English culture. Today we are talking about the politeness.

1.Addressing In China, the surname comes first and then the given name. While westerners names are written and spoken with the given name first and the family name last.

In a formal setting, westerners address men as "Mister" (Mr), married women as "Misses" ("Mrs."), and unmarried women as "Miss" ( "Ms."). These days many women prefer to be addressed using the abbreviations "Ms." , pronounced "miz". In an informal situation, westerners will introduce each other by first name, without titles, and occasional ly by just the last name.

East & West Chinese use “title +surname” to address their superior or elders rather than call them surnames, while the superior or elders call the addressers their names. otherwise, the addresser may be considered as ill mannered, ill educated or rude. In west, Although they are different in age and status, they can call the other directly, namely, their names, even first names .They demonstrate the sense of intimacy and the conception of” Everyone is created equal”

2.Innitiating conversations and conversation topic In China, when people meeting first, they may ask question as Where are you from?/How old are you?/Are you married?/How much do you earn? In western culture, they don t ask such a privacy question ,they always talk about hobbies, holidays, film and so on.

When you meet a foreigner, you shouldn t ask question about his/her own information, if you don t know how to select the topic, you can start your conversation with any topic except this five topic: Age, Money, Health, Family. Because it is regarded as impolite in Western culture.

3. Parting Parting can be a difficult task in any culture, and it will be particularly difficult for people in another culture. The guest has to decide how long it is appropriate to stay, and having decided to leave, needs to know what to say.

Western and Chinese cultures havediverse ways to deal with leave-takings. Western people always try to make their leaving sound reluctant by finding some reasons and apologize for it to make the leaving acceptable for both parties. They often signal several times before leaving. Such as,

1.“I am afraid I must be off, I have to …” 2.“Well, it’s been nice to see you again. I do enjoy our talk and the lovely dinner, but I must be going soon”. 3.“Thank you very much for asking me over. I hope we’ll be able to get together again before long…”

4.Invitation Expectations about when spouses should be included in invitations differ between China and the West. Generally speaking for invitations to any meal taking place in the evening, ranging from those given at someone s home through to dining out together or attending formal banquets, bot

h husband and wife will be included. This is not expected in the case of lunch, probably because couples often work in different places and some jobs involve taking a working lunch with clients or colleagues. In China, it is quiet common for only the husband or wife to be invited to a meal, either in work units or between friends, and neither husband nor wife will feel offended if one of them is not invited.

When being invited for dinner at someone s home, Westerners usually arrive on time or several minutes late. However, Chinese will arrive on time or a little bit early. When the host offers some drink for the guest. Westerners would say “Yes, please” or “No, thank you”. While Chinese guest would decline the offer even if they really want to drink something. Moreover, when the host offers the second time or the third time, the guest would finally say “Yes”.

Leave-taking is also quite different. Most of time, Chinese suddenly say they have to leave during the conversation, and then they leave immediately. But foreigners will chat with the host and say that they are

going to leave in a minute, and go on talking, then theylook at the watch and say that they have to go.

5.Gift giving There are times when a gift appropriate and times when it is not. For each below, decide whether or not you would give a gift . Discuss what you would do in your culture and the U.S.

When to give gifts Visiting others. It s quite customary to bring gifts for your host when you visit others. These gifts can be "luxury" foods, such as cakes, flowers or wines that are not critical to the meal but rather supplementary. Or they can be more personal to the host in the form of pictures, artwork, trinkets, or knickknacks. Potted plants, as opposed to cut flowers, are also a welcomed addition as they represent growth and life. Children. It is very common to give children "hung bao ", or red envelops with money inside. The amount varies depending on the generosity of the giver, the closeness of the receiver, and the age of the child. Since children represent the future, this is often a way to say we are giving/building to the future and thus a sign of good tiding for times to come.

Gifts to family elders. It is very common for the young to give something back to the grandparents of the family. This is equally a way of showing respect in the reverse way and paying tribute to ones ancestors and heritage. Holidays. The Chinese culture is truly no different in this sense from most of the world. Holidays are a big time during the year that presents are exchanged. The biggest traditional holiday for most Chinese is New Years; however, with the ever growing influence from the West, holidays such as Christmas are celebrated by many families. Major life events. This is especially true during happy life events, like marriages and …… 此处隐藏：4820字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……