1、Cultural differences in politeness between western and Chinese 1.Greeting and Parting In China,When people meet acquaintances or friends,we always say,“Have you eaten yet?”What are you going to do?”In English,people often employ the following expressions to greet each other“Good morning/evening/afte
2、rnoon.“Fine day,isnt it?”How is everything going?”,etc.Western and Chinese cultures have diverse 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 sig
3、nal several times before leaving.Such as,1.“I am afraid I must be off,I have to”2.“Well,its 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 well be able to get together again before long”2.Addressing In C
4、hina,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 t
5、o 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 th
6、e 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 th
7、e conception of”Everyone is created equal”3.Compliments and Response For example,if a hostess is complimented for her cooking skill,how she will response in west and china?East&WestA Chinese hostess will apologize for giving you“Nothing”.She will say“I just made some dishes casually and they are not
8、 very tasty.”An western hostess is likely to say,”Oh,I am so glad that you liked it.I cook it especially for you.”What we can see from it?The Americans are“straight forwardness”,the Chinese take pride in“modesty”.In the response to compliments.Chinese are tend to efface themselves in words or refuse
9、 it,although they do feel comfortable about the compliments.4.Thanks and ResponsesIn China,“Thank you”is not frequently used between intimate friends and family members because it may imply a certain distance between the addresser and the addressee.“Thank you”is widely used in English to show gratit
10、ude in such cases as beinginvited,helped,given a gift,etc.5.Asking Personal Affairs People from China do not regard it as asking personal affairs when they ask others name、age、marital status、wages、personal life、belief and political points.It is regard as concerns.While the westerns will think you vi
11、olate their right of privacy.East&West when we talk to the westerns,we must avoid asking some questions like this:“How old are you?”“Are you married？”“How many children do you have？”“How much do you make？”“Do you go to the church？”In the culture of British and America,it is very important to consult
12、 a time before you invite somebody to attend a banquet or take part in social activities.Esp.in America,invite somebody means you are borrow times of others.So they respect time very much.While in China,people are prefer to an uninvited guest.6.Invitation Different cultural factors may result in cul
13、tural differences.1.Cultural Background 2.Different values 3.Individualism and Collectivism 4.Family 5.Nationalism Something about western families Western families advocate equality in daily life.The husband and the wife usually have an equality voice in decision-making,and on certain matters,the c
14、hildren,too,have a vote.In the western,most old people do not live with their children or relatives.If they have enough money they will buy house or apartments in places where other old people live.If they do not healthy and strong enough to live alone,they would rather live in nursing houses for old people than be taken by their children.Therefore they want to stay young because youth stands for hope and energy,they do not like to grow old because they will not gain honor,respect or attention as old people.
