中美文化差异,英语作文
篇一：中西文化差异比较（英文）
Thedifferencebetweenchineseandwesternculture
Withtherapidlychallgingword,peoplethroughouttheworldhavefounditincreasinglynecessarytominimizetherateofmisunderstandingduetomiscommunicationintheircontactswithanother.Intheoastmosthumanbeingswereborn,lived,anddiedwithinalimitedgeoographicalarea,neverencounteringpeopleofotherculturalbackgrounds.Itmightbesaidthattechnologicaladvanceshavebeenmosteffectiveincreatingtheborderlessword,theglobalcommunity.Asourworldshrinksanditsinhabitantsbecomeinterdependent,peoplefromremotculturesincreasinglycomeintocontactonadailybasis.Itisnolongerhardtofindsituationsinwhichmembesofinceisolaredgroupsofpeople.Nowthesepeoplemaylivethousandsofmilesawayorrightnextdoortoeachother.Soallthepeoplearefacedwiththechallengeofunderstandthisworld.Sowhentheeastmeetwest,therearemanyproblems.Someproblemsarelistedasfollows.
Firstofall,thewayofeating.Allhuamanbeingshave
certainbasicneeds.Ourfundamentalneedsforthingsthatkeepusalive.
Thisisthephysioligicalneed.Allindividualsmusteatinordertosurvive.Butwhatpeopleeat,whentheyeat,andthemannersinwhichtheyeatareallpatternedbyculture.Nosocietyviewseverythinginitsenvironmentthatisedibleandmightprovidenurishmentasfood.Americanseatoystersbutnotsnail.TheFrencheatsnailsbutnotlocusts.TheJewseatfishbutnotpork.TheHinduseatporkbutnotbeef.TheRussiandeatbeefbutnotsnake.Weallhaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodaregoodtoeat.Wealsohaveideasaboutwhatkindsoffoodarebadtoeat.Asaresult,peoplefromonecultureoftenthinkthefoodthatpeoplefromanothercultureeataredisgustingornauseating.Dislikeisnottheonlyreasonwhysomeculturewillnoteatacertainfood.Insomeclture,certainfoodsaretaboo.Sometimesthefoodtaboosmaybesostrongthratjustthethoughtofeatingforbiddenfoodscancauseanindivdualtofeelill.Wecanalsofindculturedifferenceinwayofbringupchildrentreatingtheearly,greetingeachother,sayingandspendingmoneybeforeotherpeopledoineveryday,butinsomeEnglish-speakingcountries,peopledonotagreewithus.Wechinesemayenjoysomething
thatisnotusuallyconsiderasediblebytheEnglish-speakingpeople.Generallyweperfertohavethinghotandmuchemphasisonthetaste.Weeatfromoneplatewhenweareeatingwithothers,andweliketoseatonebyone,andintheshapeofaround.Ontheopposite,someEnglish-speakingcontries,mostofthepeopleliketoseatintworows,twopeoplefacetoface.Theyhavetheirownplate.Ontheaspectoftablemanners,therearemanydifferencesbetweenchineseandEnglish-speakingpeople.Forexample,insomeEnglishi-speakingcountries,Breadplatesaretotheleftofthemainplate,beverageglassesaretotheright.Saladfork,knifeandsoupspoonarefurtherfromthemainplatethanthemaincourseknife,forkandspoon.Wheneatingbreadrolls,breakoffapiecebeforebuttering.Usetheknifeonlytobutterthebread,nottocutit.Theyshouldnotstarteatingbeforeyourhostdoesorinstructstodoso.Atlargermeals,itisconsideredokaytostarteatingonceothershavebeenserved.Whenfinished,placetheknifeandforktogetheratfiveo'clockwiththeforkontheleft.Itisconsideredrudetoanswerthetelephoneatthetable.Ifneedtotakeanurgentcall,excuseselfandgooutside.Trytoeatallthefoodyouareserved.ButinChina,thetablemannersaredifferent.Chinese
traditionallyeatricefromasmallbowlheldinthelefthand.Thericebowlisraisedtothemouthandthericepushedintothemouthusingthechopsticks.SomeChinesefinditoffensivetoscoopricefromthebowlusingaspoon.Ifriceisservedonaplate,asismorecommonintheWest,itisacceptableandmorepracticaltoeatitwithaforkorspoon.Thethumbmustalwaysbe
abovetheedgeofthebowl.Thehostshouldalwaysmakesuretheguestsdrinksaresufficientlyfull.Oneshouldnotpourforonesself,butshouldoffertopourforaneighbor.Whenyourdrinkisbeingpoured,youshouldsay"thankyouandtapfingersonthetabletoshowappreciation.Whenpeoplewishtoclinkdrinkstogetherintheformofacheer,itis
importanttoobservethatyoungermembersshouldclinktheedgeoftheirdrinkbelowtheedgeofaneldertoshowrespect.Secondly,thewayofcommunication.Formbirthtodeath,communicationplaysanintegralpartinourlife.Therearesomelanguageproblems,includingthedifferentstylesofusinglanguagesuchasdirect,indirect;expansive,succinct;
argumentative,conciliatory;instrumental,harmonnizing;andsoon.Thesedifferentstylescanleadtowronginterpretationsofintentandevaluationofinsincerity,aggreeiveness,
deviousness,orarrogance,amongother.Themisinterpretationnonverbalsignsandsymbolssuchasgestures,postures,andotherbodymovements.Itisadefinitecommunicationbarrier.Butitispossibletolearnthemeaningsoftheseobservablemessage,usuallyininformalratherways.Itismoredifficulttounderstandthelessobviousunspokencodesoftheothercultures.Language,asthecarrierofculture,iscreatedduringtheprocessofhumanbeings'productivelaborandservesasthetool
ofcommunicationtoconveythemessagebetweenpeople.However,ithasbeenendowedwithmagicandpowerinparticularlanguageacts.Astheoldsayinggoes,troublescomeoutofthetongue.Superstitiouspeoplethinkthatthelanguageitselfcanbringaboutfortuneormisfortunesothattaboostorestricttheuseoflanguagearecreated.Anyonewhoviolatesthemwillgetpunishment,whereasthosewhofaithfullyobeytherestrictionsoflanguagetaboowillgetprotection.Furthermore,linguistictabooschangewiththedevelopmentofsociety.Thepaperfirstlyanalyzestheevolutionoflinguistictaboo.Itisindicatedinthepaperthatlinguistictabooexistsinalmosteveryaspectofpeopl'eslifeandisauniversalsocialphenomenoninChinaandBritain.BothChineseandEnglish
culturesareinagreementaboutlinguistictaboossuchaspronunciationtaboo,andvocabularytaboo.However,influencedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds,ideologiesandtheconceptsofvalue,ChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosalsohavedifferences,asisdiscussedinthepaperfromtheaspectsoftaboosubjects,taboonumbersandnames.Atlast,thispaperputsforwardtwoeffectivewaysofavoidingtaboo,thatis,usingeuphemismandhavingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture.AndthisdiscussionwouldhelpEnglishlearnersimprovetheirabilityofcross-culturalcommunicationandachievebettercommunicationaleffects.Forexample,Duringthefeudaltimes,peoplewerenotequaltotherulersandweresuppressedbytheirsuperiors.Thedistinctionbetweentheupperandthelowerclasseswasalsoreflectedinthe
evaluationofthelanguageusedbythemrespectively.Thewordsofupperclassusedwereconsideredgoodandelegantwhilethoseusedbythelowerclasswereregardedasvulgarandindecentandshouldbeavoidedinthespeechofladiesandgentlemen.Inmodernsociety,asaresultofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,manynaturalphenomenaarenolongermysterious.Humanbeingsnotonlyconstantlyimprovetheirabilitiestoexploittheworldwheretheyarelivingthrough
theirgreatwisdomandknowledge,butalsomakeeffortstoexploretheextraterrestrialworld.Sciencehasmuchmoresayintoday'ssociety.Thereby,thesuperstitiouselementsinlinguistictaboosdecreasewhilethosereflectingspiritualcivilizationincrease.
Inshort,bycomparison,wecanfindthatbothChineseandEnglishcommunicationreflectpeople'spsychologyforgoodwill,forsafetyandfortuneandpleasantness.TheChineseandEnglishpeoplerestricttheirwordsanddeedsthroughtaboos,tryingtokeepaharmoniousrelationshipbetweenhumanandnature,orbetweenpeopleandsociety.Theyareareflectionofpeople'spursuitoffreedomandequality.
Themostimportant,thedifferentwayoffamilystructure,familyvaluesandfamilyeducation.Familystructureisthebigdifferencebetweeneastandwest,traditionalchinese,amonymanyotherAsians,repecttheireldersandfeeladeepsenseofdutytowardthem.Childrenrepaytheirparents`sacrificesbybeingsuccessfulandsupportingtheminoldage.ThisisacceptedasanaturalpartoflifeinChina.Incontrast,takingcareofagedparentsisoftenviewedasatremendousburdenintheEnglish-speakingcountries,whereagingand
familysupportarenothonoredhighly.InsomeEnglish-speakingcountriesarestillextrmelyfamily-oriented.Theyarededicatedtohelpingtheirchildrenandwillsacrificegreatlyfortheirchildrentogetanedcuation.Inturn,thechildrenaredevotedtotheirparents,whooftenlivenearby.Grownchildrenwhogoawayandleavethecountryfortheeconomicreasonstypicallysendlargepartsoftheirsalaryhometotheirparentsandtherestofthefamily.OrinsomeAsia,anydecisionsoractionsaredonefromfamilyconsideration,notindividualdesires.Peope`sbehaviorisjudgedonwhetheritbringsshameorpridetothefamily.Thechildrenaretrainedtorelyontheirfamilies,tohonorelderlypeople,andtofearforeigners.Andmanyofthemthinkthattheiractionsinthislifewillinfluence
theirstatusinthenextlife.
Thewayoffamilyedcationisalsothedifferent.Weallknowthefamilyeducationistheelementaryeducationforchildren.Manyseriousproblemshaveappearedinoureducationsysteminrecentyears.Almosteveryonehasrealizedtheimportanceofsolvingtheseproblemsandmanypeoplehavepresentedalotofvaluablesuggestions.Therearemanytypesoffamilyeducationintheworldandeachofthemshowsdistinctivefeaturesandis
closelyresponsivetoitsculture.AndAmericanfamilyeducationisthemostfamousoneamongthem.Therearegreatdifferencesintheconceptsofeducation,methodsofeducationandresultsofeducationbetweenEastfamilyeducationandWestfamilyeducation.InsomeEnglish-speakingcountries,
paren'tsaimsaretotraintheirchildrentohavetheabilityofadaptingtoenvironmentalvarietyandtheabilityoflivingindependently.Basedonthisconcept,mostAmericanparentsemphasizemoretotraintheirchildren'sabilityofindependenceoncetheyareborn.Theygenerallybelievethatchildren'sgrowthmustrelyontheirownexperiences,becausetheythinkthatchildrenshouldformaself-supportingwillandthecapacitytoliveindependentlysincetheirchildhood.Andthecapacitycomesfromthetrainingintheearlyage.Theso-calledtrainingcontainsmanyaspects,suchas
work,temperwill,patience,thespiritofhardwork,etc.However,themostfundamentaltrainingistheabilityofadaptingtohardconditions.Throughtheprocessofwork,childrenwillformthelaborsense,learnsomeworkskillsandformahabitoflabor.Besides,childrencanlearnhowtoovercomedifficulties,tempertheirwillpower,developtheirtalentsandskills,richtheirknowledge,andformahabitof
hardworkandthriftybyworkinginhardconditions.Itisjustintheunconsciouslyprocessthatchildrenwillobtaintheindependentsurvivabilityandtaketheresponsibilitiesforthesociety.ComparedwithsomeEnglish-speakingcountries,Chineseparentshaveaverydifferentconceptofchildren'seducation.SomeparentsinChinaonlycareaboutwhetherthechildrenhaveapromisingfuture,agoodjob,agoodlifeornot.Basedontheseexpectations,themajorityofparentsfeelthattheirresponsibilityfortheirchildrenistocreateasgoodconditionsaspossibletheycansothatthechildrenwillnotworryaboutanythinginthefuture.Chineseparentswouldliketoprovideeverythingwhattheycanfortheirchildrenintheprocessofchildren'sgrowth.Inshort,theywouldliketosacrificeanythingiftheirchildrencanlivebetterwiththeirhelp.Therefore,intheprocessofchildren'sgrowth,themostimportantthingtheparentsconcerningistodevelopingtheirchildren'sintellect,exceptfor
