? The slogan of the advertisement was: ―sweet as Jade‖, as in Chinese ―jade‖ was always used to compliment a woman’s beauty; ? but unfortunately, it was not an appropriate word to describe the beauty of a lady in Western cultures. In English, ―jade‖ when referring to a woman has the connotations of being vulgar, rude, or immoral. Undoubtedly, the sales were not satisfying.

? The seeming equivalences between languages may have very different connotations in different cultures, thus the translator should be cautious in the process of translation so as to avoid misunderstanding. 4. Words for Animals and Plants Phoenix

In Chinese Culture百鸟之王：百鸟朝凤；神异动物：前如鸿鸟，后像麒麟，有蛇的颈，鱼的尾巴。凤凰出现预示天下太平。凤凰比喻皇后，或有圣德的人。

In West ：a long-lived bird that is cyclically reborn. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor.

Unit 5

1. Definition of Verbal Communication:refers to the use of sounds and language to relay a message. 2. Verbal communication styles:

Indirect and Direct

Self-Enhancement and Self Effacement Elaborate, Exacting and Succinct Contextual and Personal Affective and Instrumental

3. Analysis of Speech Acts (Pragmatic Rules语用规则and Culture) 1). Addressing

Case 1 Addressing people

? Lin Mei is a Chinese student who is now studying at a university in America. Her seven-year-old daughter Jia Jia is with her and studies in a primary school. They have been in America for three years. Wang Xiaohong is a Chinese visiting scholar at the same university as Lin Mei.

? One day Wang Xiaohong came to visit them. Below is their conversation.

—— Wang Xiaohong: 佳佳， 你妈妈在家吗？ —— Jiajia : 在。妈妈， 小红阿姨找你。

—— Lin Mei: 王老师您来了， 请坐。 我女儿真不懂礼貌。 佳佳， 以后要叫王阿姨。

? However, Lin Mei, as an adult, still sticks to the Chinese Culture when dealing with a Chinese who came to America only recently; ? According to Chinese culture, it is impolite for a child to address

an adult by using his or her given name. 2). Greetings and farewells

? To greet native English speakers, as we have already seen, we should say: ―How are you?‖ ―How are you getting on?‖ ―How is everything?‖

Instead of: Where are you going? Have you eaten?

? ―Good-bye‖ or ―Bye-Bye‖ is acceptable both in English and Chinese, and it is a very formal way.

English people also say ―See you‖, ―See you later‖, ―Good night‖, and ―Have a nice day‖.

Those expressions convey less personal concerns than Chinese routines such as ―Walk slowly‖, ―Stay longer‖. 3). Compliments and responses to compliments 英美人谢不离口

? ——在餐馆里，服务员给你端上一杯咖啡，你要说: Thank you. ? ——你付了账，收款员对你说: Thank you.

? ——别人给你挂电话，谈话结束时，你要说: Thank you for calling. ? Case 1

? A young Chinese woman in the US was complimented by an American woman for the lovely dress she was wearing: ―It’s exquisite. The colors are so beautiful!‖ She was pleased but

somewhat embarrassed. In typical Chinese fashion, she replied, ―Oh, it’s just an ordinary dress I bought in China.‖

? In this case, the words of the Chinese conveyed a message quite different from what was intended.

? In the first case, the reply could have meant that the American did not know what a really good dress is. Otherwise, how could she get so excited about an ordinary dress?

? The implication was that the American woman’s taste in clothing was questionable. ? Case 2

? At a reception at an American college, Mr. Chen, a newly-arrived Chinese scholar, was chatting with the hostess. As an acquaintance of the hostess approached, she said, ―Ron, let me introduce Mr. Chen, an outstanding physicist and one of the nicest people I know.‖ Mr. Chen offered his hand to the newcomer but looked at the hostess and said with a smile, ―Should I blush, or should I tell him you don’t really mean it?‖

? In the second case, if Chen had not been smiling, his words could have been interpreted as: ―You’re just saying that to be polite; you don’t really mean that.‖

? So in the first case, the implication was that American woman had poor judgment, while in the second one, the hostess was not

sincere. What a gap between that intention and the message! 4). Apology

? 谢谢你帮我修改论文，浪费你这么多时间，真抱歉。

Thank you for correcting my paper. I’m sorry to have wasted so much of your time.

? I really appreciate your time. 你为我花了时间，我很感激。 5). Privacy and euphemism

? Some of these questions are listed below:

? How old are you? What are your wages? How much do you earn? You make a lot of money, don't you？ What’s your name? (Better say \May I know your name?\? Death is almost universally avoided. ? In English the substitutes are:

? go (e.g. He's gone), depart, depart from the world forever, decease, pass away, breathe one's last, go the way of all flesh, pay one's debt to nature, go to a better world, be in (go to) heaven, be with god, etc.

? In Chinese, substitutes for death are:

? 去世、逝世、故去、病故、寿终、亡故、牺牲、作古、谢世、与世长辞、心脏停止跳动、去见马克思，etc.

? Physical shortcomings, old age, certain functions of the body.

? plain (for ugly), heavy set, on the heavy side (for fat -- usually