TheDifferencebetweenChineseandWesternCultureContents1.GreetingandParting2.Addressing3.ComplimentsandResponses4.ThanksandResponses5.AskingPersonalAffairs6.Invitation1.GreetingandPartingInChina,whenpeoplemeetacquaintancesorfriends,wealwayssay,“Haveyoueatenyet?”Whatareyougoingtodo?”InEnglish,peopleoftenemploythefollowingexpressionstogreeteachother“Goodmorning/afternoon/evening.“Fineday,isn’tit?”Howiseverythinggoing?”,etcWesternandChinesecultureshavediversewaystodealwithleave-takingsWesternpeoplealwaystrytomaketheirleavingsoundreluctantbyfindingsomereasonsandapologizeforittomaketheleavingacceptableforbothparties.Theyoftensignalseveraltimesbeforeleaving.Suchas,1.“IamafraidImustbeoff,Ihaveto…”2.“Well,it’sbeennicetoseeyouagain.Idoenjoyourtalkandthelovelydinner,butImustbegoingsoon”.3.“Thankyouverymuchforaskingmeover.Ihopewe’llbeabletogettogetheragainbeforelong…”2.AddressingInChina,thesurnamecomesfirstandthenthegivenname.Whilewesternersnamesarewrittenandspokenwiththegivennamefirstandthefamilynamelast.East&WestInwest,Althoughtheyaredifferentinageandstatus,theycancalltheotherdirectly,namely,theirnames,evenfirstnames.Theydemonstratethesenseofintimacyandtheconceptionof”Everyoneiscreatedequal”Ineast,chineseuse“title+surname”toaddresstheirsuperiororeldersratherthancallthemsurnames,whilethesuperiororelderscalltheaddresserstheirnames.Otherwise,theaddressermaybeconsideredasillmannered,illeducatedorrude.3.ComplimentsandResponsesForexample,ifahostessiscomplimentedforhercookingskill,howwillsheresponseinwestandchina?East&WestAChinesehostesswillapologizeforgivingyou“Nothing”.Shewillsay“Ijustmadesomedishescasuallyandtheyarenotverytasty.”Anwesternhostessislikelytosay,”Oh,Iamsogladthatyoulikedit.Icookitespeciallyforyou.”Whatcanweseefromit?TheAmericansare“straightforwardness”,theChinesetakepridein“modesty”.Intheresponsetocompliments.Chinesearetendtoeffacethemselvesinwordsorrefuseit,althoughtheydofeelcomfortableaboutthecompliments.4.ThanksandResponsesInChina,“Thankyou”isnotfrequentlyusedbetweenintimatefriendsandfamilymembers,becauseitmayimplyacertaindistancebetweentheaddresserandtheaddressee.But,“Thankyou”iswidelyusedinEnglishtoshowgratitudeinsuchcasesasbeinginvited,helped,givenagift,etc.ExamplesExample1:Ononeoccasion,aforeignstudentsoonafterarrivingattheChinastutteringinchinesesaid:whyareyoualwaysaskmetoeatamealyet?Ihavemoney.Hethoughtthatpeoplealwaysask“Doyouhaveameal?Becauseitwasafraidthathehadnomoneytohaveameal.He'sobviouslyangryforthiskindoftalk.Example2:IntheUnitedStates,ayoungChinesewoman,wearingabeautifuldress.Whensomeonesaidtoheryourdressisreallyelegant.Thecolorisverybeautiful.TheyoungChinesewomanwasveryhappy,butsomeembarrassed,asChinesecustomsreplied:itisacommonclothes,IboughtinChina.5.AskingPersonalAffairsPeoplefromChinadonotregarditasaskingpersonalaffairswhentheyaskothersname,age,maritalstatus,wages,personallife,beliefandpoliticalpoints.Itisregardasconcerns.Whilethewesternswillthinkyouviolatetheirrightofprivacy.East&WestWhenwetalktothewesterns,wemustavoidaskingsomequestionslikethis:1、“Howoldareyou?”2、“Areyoumarried?”3、“Howmanychildrendoyouhave?”4、“Howmuchdoyoumake?”5、“Doyougotothechurch?”…6.InvitationInthecultureofBritishandAmerica,itisveryimportanttoconsultatimebeforeyouinvitesomebodytoattendabanquetortakepartinsocialactivities.Especally,inAmerica,invitesomebodymeansyouareborrowtimesofothers.Sotheyrespecttimeverymuch.WhileinChina,peopleareprefertoanuninvitedguest.Otherthingsaboutwesternfamilies1、Westernfamiliesadvocateequalityindailylife.Thehusbandandthewifeusuallyhaveanequalityvoiceindecision-making,andoncertainmatters,thechildrenhaveavote,too.2、Inthewestern,mostoldpeopledonotlivewiththeirchildrenorrelatives.3、Iftheyhaveenoughmoneytheywillbuyhouseorapartmentsinplaceswhereotheroldpeoplelive.Iftheydonothealthyandstrongenoughtolivealone,theywouldratherliveinnursinghousesforoldpeoplethanbetakenbytheirchildren.Thereforetheywanttostayyoungbecauseyouthstandsforhopeandenergy,theydonotliketogrowoldbecausetheywillnotgainhonor,respectorattentionasoldpeople.Differentculturalfactorsmayresultinculturaldifferences.Forexample:1.CulturalBackground2.Differentvalues3.IndividualismandCollectivism4.Family5.Nationalism…SummaryThankYou!