The-concept-of-punctuality-between-Chinese-and-Ame

1TheconceptofpunctualitybetweenChineseandAmerican1.IntroductionPunctualityisanimportantcomponentintheconceptoftime,butpeoplefromdifferentculturehavedifferentviewtowardspunctuality.Thispaperaimsatanalysispeople’sviewonpunctuality,mainlymakingacomparisonbetweenChineseandAmerican.Generallyspeaking,Americanpaysmuchattentiontopunctuality,andtheystrictlyadheretotimetableswhileChinesepeoplevarytheirviewonpunctualityinaccordancewithdifferentoccasions.Theysticktopunctualityinformaloccasionsbuttimebecomemoreflexibleininformalones.ThenthepaperprobesintothebackgroundandreasonswhichcontributetothedifferentviewsonpunctualitybetweenChineseandAmerican.Havingagoodunderstandingaboutdifferentviewfromtwocountrieswillhelpusbetterunderstandculturaldifferencewhengettingalongwithpeoplefromothercountries.However,thesocietyisundergoinggreatchangesaswellaspeople’sviewsandideas.Onlyifwekeepaclosewatchonthedifferenceandexperiencethechangecanweachieveamutualunderstandingandeffectivecommunication.2.DifferentviewsonpunctualitybetweenChineseandAmericanInAmerica,peopleattachgreatimportanceinpunctuality.Peoplealwaysstrictlyadheretothescheduledtimetablenomatteritisameeting,abanquet,anappointmentorotheractivity.TherearemanyphrasedaboutpunctualityinEnglish,forexample,onschedule,ontime,ontheminute,totheminute,onthehour,attheappointedtime,atthestatedtime,intime,ingoodtime,timely,well-timed,perfecttiming.AllofthephrasesdemonstratethatinAmerican’sdailylife,timeisgreatlyvaluesandused,thereforepeoplealwayssticktotheirtimetables.Ifyoumakeanappointmentwithsomeone,youshouldbetherewhenyousayyouwill.Fivetotenminutesearlierwouldbebetter,butmorethantwentyminutesearlierisconsiderednotproper,becausethehostisnotreadyandhemayseeitasinterferewithprivacy.Inmostoccasions,peoplewillallowfiveormaybetenminuteslate,butmorethanten2minuteslateisconsiderednotpolite.Whenyouestimatethatyoumaybelatefortheappointment,youshouldcalltoinformthepersonyouaregoingtomeetaheadoftimeandalsotellhimtheexactreasonwhyyouarelate.However,inordertoinvestigateChinesepeople’sviewonpunctuality,Ihaveinterviewswithmanyofmyclassmatesandfriends,theirviewsaremoreorlessthesame:thatisChinesepeople’sviewonpunctualitydiffersindifferentoccasions.Informaloccasions,forexample,attendingabigmeeting,goingtowork,attendinganexamoradatewithaloverknownforshorttime,peoplealwaysadheretothetimetabletrytogiveotherpersonagoodfirstimpressionoravoidcausinglossorinconvenient.Forstudentsinprimaryormiddleschool,beinglateisaseriousproblemforthem,becauseifyouarelate,yournamewillprobablyberecordedandinfluentyouracademicrecords.However,foruniversitystudent,mostofthemarriveattheexacttimeorminuteslater,punctualitybecomesadifferentthingespeciallyforclassbeginningat8:00inthemorning.Butpeoplewillalwayspunctualatworkforitisrelatedtoyoursalary.However,intermsofcasualappointmentwithfriendsorfamily,Chinesepeoplealwaysattachlessimportancetopunctualityaslongasyoushowup,becausepeoplearequitefamiliarwitheachother,noonewouldliketopushtohurryorblameyouforyouarelate.Itiscommonforgoodfriendstoarrive20minuteslaterthantheappointedtime.Inaddition,peoplealwaysarrivealittlelaterthanthescheduledtimetableinactivitiesheldinuniversity.Iftheevent,forexample,KaraokeContestorNewYearParty,isscheduledat7:00P.M,peoplewillarriveataround7:20P.Mfortheeventwon’tbeginatthattime.Evenwhentheeventbegins,therearestudentscomingbytwosorthreesduringthecontests.MostChinesepeopleconsideritpolitetoattendabanquetaheadoftheschedule,whiletheEnglish-speakingcountriesregarditimpolitetointerferewithprivacy.IntheviewofChinesepeople,arrivingaheadoftheschedulefortwentyormoreminutesshowsyoursincerityandshowsthatyouarereallylookingforwardtospendingtimewiththeotherperson.Especiallyforthebanquetheldbyverygoodfriends,peoplealwayschoosetocomelongtimeearlierthanthetimetable,because3peoplecanhelpwiththepreparationwork,forexample,helparrangethesettingorcookthefood.ItisawayforChinesepeopletoshowcareandfriendship,andbringspeopleclosetoeachother.Thehostalsothinksguests’comingearliertohelpisveryconsiderate,andiswelcomingthingslikethis.3.AnalysisthedifferenceandtracebackthereasonsAmerican’svalueonpunctualitytosomeextentistheresultofAmericansociety’scirculatingoperatingandmutualsupervision.Forexample,Whenpeoplegotothehospital,itisstipulatedthatthewaitingtimeiswithin15minutes,ifthepatientiskeptwaitingformorethan15minutes,hecanputupwithacomplaint.InAmerica,theemergencyambulanceshouldarrivewithin3minutesafterreceivingthecall,becausealltheemergencecentersareconnectedthroughtheInternet,patrolwagonandambulancesarepatrollingalongthestreet,readyforanyemergency.Punctualityisespeciallyimportantforcompanieslikewaterandelectricitycompanies,ifanyemergencyhappens,thewaterandelectricitysupplymustbeguaranteedwithinfewhours.Ifnot,thecomplaintwillputthecompanyisapositiontopayheavycompensation.Therefore,withinthelong-timesupervisionsystemandwayofoperation,theconceptof“punctuality”isdeeplyrootedinAmerican’smind.Chinese’viewonpunctualityinacertaindegreerelatestoourdistinctculturalexperiences.InChina,sometimesinameet