Diet Culture difference between China and America中美饮食文化的差异The main difference between Chinese and America eating habits is that unlike, where everyone has their own plate of food, in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody If you are being treated by a Chinese host, be prepared for a ton of Chinese are very proud of their culture of food and will do their best to give you a taste of many different types of Among friends, they will just order enough for the people If they are taking somebody out for dinner and the relationship is polite to semi-polite, then they will usually order one more dish than the number of guests ( four people, five dishes) If it is a business dinner or a very formal occasion, there is likely to be a huge amount of food that will be impossible to A typical meal starts with some cold dishes, like boiled peanuts and smashed cucumber with These are followed by the main courses, hot meat and vegetable Finally soup is brought out, which is followed by the starchy "staple" food, which is usually rice or noodles or sometimes Many Chinese eat rice (or noodles or whatever) last, but if you like to have your rice together with other dishes, you should say so early
文化,作为一个专门术语,富有弹性。有人把文化说成是一种复杂的社会现 象,19世纪英国人类学家泰勒 (Edward Tylor)在《原始文化》一书中,给文 化下了一个比较经典的定义:"文化是一个复合体,其中包括 知识、信仰、艺 术、法律、道德、风俗以及人作为社会成员而获得的任何其他能力和习惯。"交 际的过程是人 们运用语言知识和社会文化知识传递信息的过程,所以学习语言 与了解语言所反映的文化背景知识是分不开的 。了解英语文化知识,有助于交 际畅通并有效地进行。相反,缺乏了解英语文化背景知识必然导致交际障碍, 冲 突和误解,也就是我们所说的"语用失误(Pragmatic Failure)。 "本文所谈 的不是因为语法结构出错而 导致的词不达意,而且指说话方式的不妥,或不符 合表达的习惯,或说得不合时宜。说话人未能按照英美人的 社会风俗习惯来交 谈所造成的失误,本文试图谈谈日常交际中出现的误区。一、打招呼中国人之间彼此较为熟悉的人见面问候时,一般采用下列用语:"上哪 去?"、 "吃过了吗? "如果把 这些问候的话直译成英语(即:Where are you going? Have you eaten yet?")。 英美人可能会茫然,困惑 ,有时也可能引起 误解。不了解汉文化习俗的外国人并不会认为这是一种起交际作用的问候语, 比 如:问对方 :"Have you eatenyet?"对方可能认为这不是单纯的见面问候的 话,而会误认为你可能发出对他/(她) 的邀请。又如"Where are you going?" 很可能引起对方的不快, 所以他/(她)对这一问话的反应极有 可能是: "It'snone of your (你管得着吗?")。英美人的问候一般用"Good morning/aftern oon/evening(早上好、下午好、晚上好)""How do you do? (您好!)""Nice to meet (见到你 很高兴)""How are you doing? (你最近好吗? )。 在关系亲密者之间可用"Hello"或"Hi"二、称呼在英美国家,人们相互间称呼与我国的习惯相差极大。有些称呼在中国人看 来有悖情理,不礼貌,没教养 。比如:小孩子不把爷爷奶奶称作grandpa和 grandma,而是直呼其名,却是得体,亲切的,年轻人称老年人, 可在其姓氏前 加Mr、Mrs或Miss。比如:Mr Smith、Mrs Smith、Miss Alice等。在汉语里, 我们可以用"老师 、书记、经理、工程师、厂长"等词与姓氏连用作称呼语, 而 在英语中却不能, 我们不能说"teacher Zhan g(张老师),"engineer Wu(吴 工程师)等。正确的说法是应按照英美人的习惯把Mr、Mrs、Miss 与姓(名 ) 连用表示尊敬或礼貌。 中国人称呼家庭成员、亲戚或邻居时,往往用"大哥"、"二姐"、"大嫂"、 "李大伯"之类,这些称 呼不可用于英语。用英语称呼时不论男人还是女人, 一般直呼其名就行了。三、寒暄中国人见面寒暄通常是:"你多大年纪?""你能挣多少钱?""结婚了 吗?"。在英语文化中,年龄、 地址、工作单位、收入、婚姻、家庭情况、信 仰等话题属个人隐私范畴,忌讳别人问及。英美人寒暄最频繁的 话题是天气的 状况或预测。如"It's fine isn't it? "或"It's raining hard, isn't it?""Your d ress is so nice!"等等。汉语里的寒暄有时还表示对对方的关 心。如:"你今天气色不好,生病了?”“好 久不见,你又长胖了。""你又瘦 了,要注意身体啊。"人们不会为此生气。 英美人如果听到你说:"You are fat "或"You are so "即使彼此间较熟悉,也会感到尴尬,难以回答, 因为这是不礼貌的。另外,在思维方式上,中国学生习惯用汉语的语义结构来套用英语。如:打 电话时,中国学生习惯说:" Hello who are you please? "而英美人的习惯 是接到电话先报自己的号码或单位、公司的名称。如:A:Hello 8403229B:Hello, thisis T Could I speak to Jim,please? 打电话的套话,必 须这样用。