?Homework of Unit 1: What are stumbling blocks in intercultural communication? How to overcome these blocks?
Unit Two Culture and Communication I.
Warm Up
Please read the story on page 38, then answer the questions: 1. Why was Tom considered a rude host by his visitors?
2. How can you explain the fact that Tom is misunderstood when he actually wants to be kind and friendly to the visitors? II.
Reading
1. Read the article of ―What Is Culture‖. What can you learn about culture from it? Please answer the questions followed? ? Supplement:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory (p41)
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What is culture?
Origins of culture in English and Chinese
(1) ―Culture‖ is a loan word from Latin meaning ―cultivating or tilling种田 the land‖. It was originally associated with physical activities and production of food. Later, its meaning was extended to include mental, moral, aesthetic美学, educational and intellectual activities. In contemporary English its original meaning is still retained保留. (2) ―文化‖ is a native word本族词 in Chinese. ―文‖ and ―化‖ were used together in the Warring States战国. ―人文‖ in ―观乎人文，以化成天下‖ refers to the interwoven互相编织 relationships between the monarch君主 and his subjects, fathers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and friends, and ―化‖ means ―changing and/or cultivating‖. When used together, ―文‖ and ―化‖ mean ―以文教化‖. They were combined into one word in Han Dynasty, with its meaning contrasted with ―nature‖ on one hand and ―primitiveness‖ 原始and ―savage‖未开化，野蛮 on the other hand. So ―文化‖ was originally associated with mental activities. 1. Definition
The term ―culture‖ does not correspond 一致perfectly with ―文化‖. For examples:他没有文化(He is illiterate.)
―What really binds 捆绑men together is their culture--- the ideas and the standards they have in common.‖
— R. Benedict
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According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary, culture is ―the arts and other manifestations 表现of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively‖.
Defining Culture from the Anthropological Perspective人类学观点: ? ―Culture consists of patterns, explicit明确 and implicit含蓄, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting 组成the distinctive有特色的 achievement of human groups, including their embodiments 体现in artifacts史前古器物; the essential core of culture consists of traditional ideas and especially their attached values‖.
-----Kroeber and Kluckhohn Defining Culture from the Psychological Perspective
? culture is \collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category 种类of people from another\
----Geert Hofstede Defining Culture from the Sociological Perspective
? ―Culture is defined as a pattern of learned, group-related perception — including both verbal口头 and nonverbal language attitudes, values, belief system信念系统, disbelief systems, and behavior‖. Defining Culture from the Intercultural Perspective
? ―Culture is a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviours
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and artifacts that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning.‖
----[Bates and Plog]
There are altogether no less than 250 definitions of culture by scholars from several different fields. Despite so, almost all scholars agree that culture has two senses: the broad sense 广义and the narrow sense. A. Culture in its broad sense
Culture is the attribute特质 of man, or, whatever distinguishes man from the rest part of the world is culture. Based on this, Prof. Lin Dajin provides a Chinese counterpart副本 definition: 文化是人类区别于动物的综合特征. It may include the following components:
①Materials man has got to satisfy his needs, including science and technology, such as space shuttles航天飞机, airplanes, and cars;
②Social institutions社会制度 and organizations man has established, including socioeconomic社会经济学的 institutions体系, politico-legal institutions, and religious organizations宗教组织;
③Knowledge about nature and man himself and artistic development艺术发展, including various subjects such as mathematics数学 and education, and artistic forms such as literature, painting, music and dance;
④Language and other communication systems such as gestures and facial expressions;
⑤Customs, habits and behavioral patterns;
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⑥Value systems, world views, national traits名族性, aesthetic standards 审美标准and thinking patterns.
Culture in this sense is also called ―large C culture‖ or academic culture or culture with a big C(大写字母的文化). It‘s culture in general, culture of all nationalities and ethnic groups族群. But we know there are specific cultures such as Chinese, American and British. According to this sense, specific culture can be defined (by Prof. Lin Dajin) as the comprehensive features that distinguish one group (be it a nation, a race or any section of people) of people from another (一个民族区别于另一个民族的综合特征).
﹡ Dominant culture and subculture亚文化群/co-culture共同培养 ? Culture is subdivided 被再分成into dominant culture, mainstream culture, and subculture(s), which coexist 共存within each culture. ? A subculture resembles似 a culture in that it usually encompasses 包含围绕a relatively large number of people and represents the accumulation积累 of generations of human striving努力奋斗. However, subcultures have some important differences: they exist within dominant cultures and are often based on economic or social class, ethnicity种族划分, race, or geographic region.
Today the tendency is to say ?co-culture‘ and sub-groups to avoid prejudice.
B. Culture in its narrow sense
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