Unit 2 Daily Communication

Objectives Learn the differences of addressing people and greeting between Chinese and western culture. Learn what are the topics at the beginning of the conversation. Learn how to visit someone and how to leave.

CONTENTS I. Warm-up cases II. Detailed Study: III. Case Study Addressing People Greetings Initiating Conversations Visiting Someone Partings III. Case Study IV. Summary V. Assignments

I. Warm-up cases Case 1. Twelve cups of tea Question 1: Why did I have 12 cups of tea? Question 2: How could you help “I” in this case out of the awkward situation?

Twelve cups of tea When I first went to Hong Kong, I had no idea about Chinese tea-drinking and found myself caught in a very awkward situation. I visited a Chinese family and was immediately given a cup of tea. I was not thirsty and I did not particularly like that type of tea, but out of politeness I finished the cup. But the more I drank, the more I was given. I kept insisting that I did not want any more, but the host took no notice. I drank about twelve cups of tea that afternoon! The host must have thought I was very greedy, but I did not know how to avoid getting more tea poured. (Helen Oatey, 1988)

Li Hongzhang’s Embarrassment Li Hongzhang, one of the top officials in the Qing Dynasty, was invited to visit the United States. He was warmly welcomed. One day, Li was hosting a banquet for the American officials in a popular restaurant. As the banquet started, according to the Chinese custom, Li stood up and said, “I am very happy to have all of you here today. Though these dishes are coarse and not delicious and good enough to show my respect for you, I hope you will enjoy them…”

今天承蒙各位光临，不胜荣幸。我们略备粗馔（zhuan） ，聊表寸心，没有什么可口的东西，不成敬意，请大家多多包涵。

The next day, the English version of his words was shown in the local newspaper. To his shock, the restaurant owner flew into a rage. He thought it was an insult to his restaurant and insisted that Li should show him the evidence of which dish was not well-made and which dish was not delicious.

Comment What Li said is just some formulaic polite expression common in type; almost all Chinese people know this and could hear that nearly everywhere. As far as the literacy meaning is concerned, Li’s words are inappropriate, but they do convey the meaning of respect. Here, the language form is different from its content, a phenomenon only found in the Eastern culture. America is a country with highly valued individualism and they express themselves rather directly. They could not understand the Easterner’s over-modesty.

The cuisine of your country is really great The cuisine of your country is really great. It is my great honor to have a chance to entertain you with them…… 贵国的菜肴真是好极了，今天能有机会借花献佛，不胜荣幸之至……

II. Detailed Study 1. Addressing People Discuss the differences in addressing people between English and Chinese cultures How to address people? （video watching）

Decide the following addresses are right or not. He Xiangu Andrew Lewis He xiansheng Mr. Lewis He Xiangu Andrew Xiangu Andy Gu Lewis He jingli Mr. Andrew He tongzhi Teacher Lewis He xiaozhang Principal Lewis He laoshi Professor Lewis He yisheng Doctor Lewis/ Doctor

Summary of addressing people Chinese English Formal Relationship/ Situation Surname+Title Title+Surname Neutral Relationship/ Situation Given Name Close Relationship/ Informal Situation

“Tongzhi”/shifu”, “uncle/aunt/grandpa…..” (China) How to address people “Tongzhi”/shifu”, “uncle/aunt/grandpa…..” (China) “Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms”

In restaurants Chinese hail waitresses by calling out “xiaojie”(miss) and, for waiters, “xiansheng”(mister) or“shifu”(master). Americans address a waiter or waitress with his or her job title, but generally the more polite “Excuse me” is used to draw their attention.

Different Perceptions of titles Mr. Li, the leader of a “ju” (a bureau), Li ju . Ms Wang, the head of a “ke”,(a department, more or less), Wang ke. A chief engineer or a chief editor, “Li chief” or “chief Li”.

There is no equivalent practice in the English-speaking world. Bosses are not addressed by their title and surname, much less by their surname plus part of the name of their organization. If you are an American addressing your immediate supervisor, in most cases you will call him by his given name just as you address colleagues on the same level as yourself. If the superior is several degrees above you in the organization hierarchy, you are expected to call the person “Mr. …”or “Ms…” .

“Excuse me” is a very useful phrase “Excuse me” is a very useful phrase. Whenever you are interrupting a person’s activities or asking for his attention, you should preface your questions or remark your with “Excuse me”. Unlike China, people commonly use expressions such as “lao daye” (aged uncle), “lao dama” (aged aunt) or “lao shifu” (aged master—in theory a master craftsman) to draw a stranger’s sympathetic attention.

In Chinese we have many kinship terms, some of which seem to have no equivalents in English. 叔叔 伯伯 舅舅 姨夫 姑父 阿姨 姑姑 舅母 姨妈 婶婶 小姨子 小叔子 小舅子 大嫂 妹夫 婆婆 公公 岳母 岳父 表兄（弟） 堂兄（弟） 表姐（妹） 堂姐（妹） 连襟 妯娌

Compared with Chinese, English has fewer kinship terms. E.g. Uncle or aunt has a far wide range of meaning than its Chinese counterpart (s) respectively.

How to express fu +title? Please match the following two groups. director vice professor associate assistant manager deputy president

Tips: ■行政头衔　　 以“副”字的表示副职的行政职务头衔，可用 vice、deputy 表达。在实际使用时究竟选用哪个，纯属搭配习惯。一般来说，vice与president、 premier、 chairman、 minister、 governor搭配；deputy与director、 chief、head 、secretary、dean、mayor搭配。似乎可以认为，Vice比Deputy的搭配级别要高。 ■学术头衔　　 学术头衔的“副”职称，常用 associate 表示。如：　　 副教授 associate professor 　　 副研究员 associate research fellow 　　 副审判长 associate judge 　　 副主任医师 associate doctor　

2. Greetings Greeting manner （video watching）

2. Greetings Western expressions Good morning/afternoon/ evening. How are you? How are things going? How are you getting on? How are things (with you)? How’s everything? How’s life? Hello. Hey. /Hi.

用于熟人问句 How are you? How are you today? How is everything? How’s it going? How are you doing? How do you do? How’s tricks? How’s the world treating you?

较为随意的问法 What’s up? Good to see you. How are things with you? 久未见面的朋友 Long time no see. 用于朋友之间 How’s life treating you? 适用于有一阵子没有见面的朋友 How have you been?

What’s new? What’s cooking? 年轻人，朋友 What’s the good word? 有什么好消息吗？用于熟人 Keeping busy? 还在忙吗？ Have you been keeping cool? 你一直都好吗？

I haven’t seen you in ages. 我好久没有见到你了，久违了。 What a surprise to meet you here. 竟然在这遇见你（惊讶之意相见用语）

回复 好 I’m fine. Wonderful. Fabulous. Terrific. Very good. Great. Never better. 从没这么好过。 Couldn’t be better.再好不过了。 Pretty good. I’m doing OK. Not bad. Can’t complain.还不错。 On the mend.在好转中。

不好不坏 I get by.还过得去 As usual.和平常一样 Not much.没什么特别的 Fair to middling. 还可以 It’s OK. It’s all right. It’s passable. It could be worse. I’m not complaining.还好啦 Nothing special/new Same shit, different day.不同日子，同样调子 （这句带有比较粗俗不礼貌的说法） Same old crap.老样子

不好 Not so good. Lousy. Very bad. I feel terrible. It sucks. 糟糕透了

Have you eaten lunch? Robert, a British teacher of English in China, went to the bank. He was asked by the bank clerk, “Have you eaten lunch?” He was asked extremely surprised and said, “I haven’t had lunch? So what?”

In British culture, this question would be regarded as an indirect invitation to lunch and it also indicates a young man’s interest in dating the girl if this happens between unmarried young people. However, the clerk simply intended it as a greeting.

Chinese expressions Where are you going?你上哪去？ Where have you been?你去哪里啦？ Have you had your meal?吃过了吗？ It’s none of your business.

Have you had your lunch? / Where are you going? Chinese Westerners normal offended A greeting An invasion of privacy 35

3. Initiating Conversations and Conversation Topic What topics should be avoided in initiating conversation? Age Money/Salary Health Family

Conversation topics Hobbies Holidays The weather A local or national event Jobs Films/books

3. Invitation 西方邀请话语 在西方现实生活中， 邀请话语似乎是一个复杂的商讨过程， 参与者必须注意不要妨碍对方的行为自由（消极面子）或伤害各方同意的渴望（积极面子）。在美国， 邀请话语往往以一个“引子”开头。 它向听者暗示，如果他的回应合适，话题发起者将随之发出邀请。在这里，“引子”意在引出期望的信息，或传递说话者邀请的意图， 但这里面并不带有任何具体的承诺。 交谈的结果取决于商讨的过程。

A: It’s really horrible that we’ve never seen each other. B: I know. We have to try to arrange something. A: How about dinner? Why don’t we go out to dinner together? B: That’s good idea. A: What days are good for you and Joe? B: Weekends are best. A: Oh, weekends are bad for us. Don’t you ever go out to dinner during the week? B: Well, we do, but we usually don’t make plans till the last minute. Joe gets home late a lot and I never know what his schedule is going to be. A: Okay, well, look, why don’t you call me when you want to go out? Any week night is good. B: Okay, I will. A: Really! Don’t forget. B: Okay, I won’t. I’ll call you.

In English culture, an invitation without exact time or arrangement and not given a week or two ahead of time, is not a real invitation. 1） 预示邀请交谈 （预示潜在的邀请行为的发生） 2） 必要条件的商讨（时间、地点、活动）； 3） 后续交谈（接受、让步、承认）。这一模式涉及三个阶段， 每个阶段可能包含关于某个特定内容的一轮或多轮交谈。 在交谈过程中，支撑话语原则的话语行为、面子、礼貌等因素均被考虑。

A: I’d really like to make a date with you to have lunch and talk things over. B: Fine, when are you free? A: How about Monday? B: I’m trying not to come in on Monday. I’m free on Thursday. A: Okay, but it has to be afternoon. B: Okay with me. I don’t teach on Thursday. A: One-fifteen? B: Fine, I’ll write that down. A: Good. We have a lot to catch up on.

3. Invitation In China, when e extend our invitation, we may give a very exact time at the beginning. However, interestingly, the invitees usually will not say exactly when they will come. They may say “I may be there about ten o’clock on Sunday”, “I’ll arrive at the restaurant as soon as possible after the meeting. Don’t wait for me. You eat first.” ---These answers all sound indefinite to the invitors, but they tell them that the guests will come and so they will wait for them.

中方邀请话语 公式化 下面的交谈就是一个典型的例子。 这次邀请话语发生在 A（未来的岳母）和B（未来的女婿） 之间。 A 邀请 B 到 A 家吃饭。 A. 明天来吃晚饭啊。 B. 不来了，太麻烦。 A. 麻烦什么呀。 菜都是现成的。 B. 那也得烧呀。 A. 你不来我们也得吃呀，一定要来啊，不来我可生气了。 B. 好，就随便一点。 (Gu 1990)

要完成一次成功的邀请交谈通常要经历三步话语交流： A: 发起邀请 B: 婉拒邀请 （给出拒绝的理由） A: 再次发起邀请（反驳 B 的理由，并口头上表达邀请对自己不会有多大麻烦） B: 再次婉拒（为自己的理由辩解） A: 坚持对 B 的邀请 （ 反驳 ， 劝导 ， 在口头上表达邀请对自己不会有太多麻烦） B:接受（有条件或无条件）

由于中西方文化的差异， 中西方实施邀请的方式各异，而受邀请方的回应策略也各不相同。 因此，邀请话语实际上是以社会规范为特点的。 在中国人眼里，西方人似乎缺乏真诚和友好；而在西方人看来， 中国人似乎太固执己见， 太喜欢干涉他人。 因此，当邀请发生在这两个具有不同文化背景的社会群体之间时，就有可能产生误解。

4. Visiting Someone

Visiting 1. Making an appointment 2. Being punctual 3. Receiving a guest 4. Parting

Making an Appointment Westerners are used to organizing and arranging their time, so if Chinese wish to invite them to something important, it is helpful to give them advance notice (预先通知). Otherwise, they may feel slighted（轻蔑） and refuse to attend.

Business visiting: Social visiting: more flexible arrange a time in advance some straight to the point Social visiting: more flexible

“You must stay at home this afternoon because I’m coming to see you.” Making an Appointment When arranging in advance to visit someone, care should be taken over the language used. 诶，好久没见了，下午我去你那玩啊。 我今天下午去看您啊。 I will come and see you this afternoon. Often Chinese make statement or command when they mean to make a request.

Making an Appointment in English “Can I come and see you this afternoon?” Hi, John, I haven’t seen you for ages. Could I come round to pay you a visit in a few days? John, Jenny and I would like to come and see you. Are you free Sunday evening?

Some suitable expressions: I haven’t seen you for a long time. I was wondering whether I could come round to visit you sometime. I’d like to come and see you sometime. Would you be free one afternoon next week? Mr. Zhang and I would like to come and visit you. Would it be convenient for us to come Wednesday evening?

Case Making an Appointment A Chinese researcher, visiting America, was invited by his supervisor to dinner at home： ① “Thank you.” ② “All right, I’ll try to come.” This irritated the American supervisor who wanted a simple “Yes” or “No”. He had no idea whether the Chinese had accepted his invitation or not. Discussion: 1.What does the researcher mean by saying “I will try!” in Chinese way? 2. Why was the supervisor irritated?

Case analysis The Chinese acts in a way that is tactful and appropriate in Chinese culture. The American professor can not infer the implication from his speech act. He does not know whether the researcher will come or not, whether he is accepting or not. From his point of view, the Chinese violates the quality maxim of Grice’s Cooperative Principle. To be brief, that is to avoid obscurity费解 of expression, to avoid ambiguity意义含糊.

Yes, I’d love to. No, I’m afraid … but thank you all the same.

Arriving and Receiving Bring Gifts. Be punctual.

Presenting and receiving gifts In China, when being invited to a meal, people usually bring fruits and flowers, or two bottles of spirits(烈酒）. Never bring just one bottle because even numbers are favored by Chinese people and considered good luck, while odd numbers, especially the number one, might give the impression that the person is stingy小气的.

In America, when an adult is invited to a dinner party, it is regarded as polite to bring a small, relatively inexpensive gift for the hostess, such as a box of candy, chocolate or a bottle of wine. Two bottles of wine are not necessary, since it might suggest the hostess does not prepare enough wine for her guest. Never bring a friend, a relative, or children to a party, especially a dinner party, unless they have been invited to attend with you.

Open the gift In the West, opening a beautifully wrapped gift in front of the giver and expressing appreciation is considered polite. Furthermore, giving a surprise is appreciated, so guessing what’s inside can frequently become part of the process of receiving and opening a gift.

In China, normally the gift is put aside and opened later, after the visitors have left. The main reason for doing so is to show that the host is welcoming the guests for themselves, not for the gifts. Opening a gift in front of a visitor would be regarded as impolite and greedy.

Case Who’s the gift for? Lin Bao recently moved to Los Angeles as a sales representative for an international conglomerate大企业. It’s early December and Lin Bao knows this is the season many business give gifts to their clients. Lin Bao has one client named Ann who has been very nice to work with, and he wants to buy her a nice gift. So he buys a bottle of perfume, has it wrapped in red paper which has pictures of Santa Claus.

Lin Bao’s manager enters his office: Manager: That’s nice of you to buy her a holiday gift, but we haven’t known Ann very long so I recommend you re-wrap it in different paper. It’s best to select either a plain color without any Christmas artwork, or one with a winter scene, perhaps gold or silver metallic. By the way what did you buy as a gift? Lin Bao: I bought a small bottle of perfume. Why is the manager telling Lin Bao to select another gift, and also giving a specific directions for the wrapping paper?

Two problems Since Lin Bao doesn’t know if Ann is Christian, the red paper with the pictures of Santa Claus is only appropriate for Christmas. The gift for perfume is not appropriate as a business gift for an American client. Just as articles of clothing are not appropriate. They are considered too personal.

http://v.baidu.com/v?word=中西送礼禁忌&ct=301989888&rn=20&pn=0&db=0&s=0&fbl=800&ie=utf-8

Things to be minded Advance notice Take off the out-door clothing immediately, if not, they would consider you stay only a few minutes. Finish eating Food-offering differences

At the Table When Chinese have visitors, they are extremely hospitable in offering food, even if it is not meal time. If guests are invited for a meal, Chinese prepare a very large number of dishes, usually far more than can be eaten at the time. Conversely, Westerners tend to relate the meal size more accurately to the people’s appetites, both the quantity and variety of the meal are far less than in China.

In China it is acceptable to leave unwanted food on the plate, whereas according to Western custom, it is impolite to do so. 中国的宴席时最可怕的。他们制作的菜肴的数量和种类都超乎我们的想象。凡是见过中国宴席的外国人大都会感到惊恐与绝望，然而中国人却感到这种享受太短暂了。 “天下无不散的宴席”这句格言中充满了悲伤与无奈，听到这句话的外国人不忍拒绝这样的宴会，但是这种场合的折磨又是无法忍受的。 ---《中国人的脸谱》

What’s more, The Chinese host often constantly puts the best pieces of food on the visitor’s plate, which is an expression of hospitality. The visitor’s refusals are usually ignored, for in Chinese culture “no” can often be a polite form of “yes”. Westerners, on the other hand, usually leave the guest to help himself/herself and do not keep urging him/her to eat more.

Case 2: The First Offer A Canadian colleague and I traveled to Guilin with our admirable guide Heping Wu in very hot weather. Sightseeing is a thirsty business. We did not trust the water, and enjoyed excellent beer. We politely offered some to Heping, but he refused. We said nothing and drank our beer, while poor Heping watched. On another day, Heping quickly accepted our offer of beer. Only when I saw that Heping in fact liked beer, did it occur to me to ask him whether maybe in Chinese culture it was not polite to accept on the first offer. 69

The First Offer Indeed, it is not. Heping was being modest, polite and well-behaved &He had every intention of accepting the beer at the second or third offer. When the host offers a cup or tea, the Chinese may refuse out of politeness and want the host to offer more times before accepting. If the host does not make more offer, the Chinese may think he is not so hospitable. 70

The First Offer But Heping did not understand North American rules, which firmly say that you do not push alcoholic beverages on anyone. A person may not drink for religious reasons; he may be a reformed alcoholic, or he may be allergic. Whatever the reason behind the rule, you do not insist on offering alcohol. --- Christian B. Paulston, 1988 71

What would happen if the Chinese are invited to dinner by a Westerner? What would happen if the Western visitors are in a Chinese home for dinner?

Chinese: may feel the Westerners are ungenerous because of the small amount of food and because they are not constantly encouraged to eat more. They may remain hungry after dinner since the food is even not offered a second time after their polite initial decline.

Western visitors: often have a pile of food on their plate (including food they do not particularly want), which according to their culture they should finish eating. But the more they eat, the more they are given.

5. Partings Question: What are the differences in parting between Chinese and English cultures?

The differences: Westerners: A couple of minutes’ small talk Well, it’s been lovely to see you again, but I must be going soon. I hope we’ll be able to get together again before long… Thank you for a lovely evening. I must not hold you any longer. Chinese: abrupt leaving-taking I’m leaving now.

Parting with a Guest “ 请留步” “不要送了” “回去吧” “再见” 请慢走,请走好,不远送了,有空再来。 Chinese visitors often stand up suddenly and say, “I’m leaving now.”，which seems quite abrupt to the Westerners. Unless the host strongly insists he or she stay longer, the guest will move to the door and say For an important guest, the Chinese host will see him or her to the building gate, or even to the bus stop and say something like Sometimes they will not go back until the guest is out of sight. 请慢走,请走好,不远送了,有空再来。

Parting with a Guest In western culture, it is common for the guest to indulge in a couple of minutes’ small talk while preparing for leaving, e.g. “Well, it’s been lovely to see you, but I must be going soon. I hope we’ll be able to get together again before long …” “Thank you for a lovely evening. I must not hold you any longer.” The host will see the guest to the door and say something like “Thank you for coming.”

Can we say these? 一天赵明去他外教家里做客，当两个人分手道别时，赵明说： ① I’ve wasted a lot of your time. /I’m sorry to have taken up so much of your time. ② I’ve got to go now. You must have something more important to do. ③ I think I’d better be going now. You must be tired.

只有在知道对方在生病时才能用（年轻、能干、健康的形象） 你和我谈的事情不重要吗？什么叫浪费时间？我和你谈话就是在做一件很有意义的事情，我把你视为朋友、客人，眼下你就是我最重要的客人，难道是我对你招待不周？ Can we say these? 一天赵明去他外教家里做客，当两个人分手道别时，赵明说： ① I’ve wasted a lot of your time. /I’m sorry to have taken up so much of your time. ② I’ve got to go now. You must have something more important to do. ③ I think I’d better be going now. You must be tired. 只有在知道对方在生病时才能用（年轻、能干、健康的形象）

Chinese Etiquette 即使是那些用最挑剔的眼光来看待中国问题的批评家们也不得不承认，中国人已经将人与人之间的交往的艺术发展倒了极致，这是西方人永远无法企及的… 这一民族的天才，将各种繁文缛节变成了人们日常生活中不可或缺的一部分；而在西方，这些礼节只是在宫廷和外交上才会被人注意到。 ---《中国人的脸谱》

Western 对于我们盎格鲁-撒克逊人来说，最能引以为荣的思维习惯，就是我们能够直接思考事物的实质，一旦想到本质是什么，便会毫无保留地说出来。但是在正式的社交和外交场合，我们的这种习惯无疑就要有一些大的改动。然而，直来直去的性格支配着我们每一个人，这一点大体如此，尽管在各种特殊的情况下有一些修正。 但是与亚洲民族接触一小段时间之后，我们就可以发现，他们的天性与我们是截然不同的—事实上处在相反的两级。

对于一个外国人来说，他并不需要有太多的亲身经历，就会得出这样一个结论：仅仅听一个中国人讲的话，是不可能弄明白他的意思的。 当一个外国人在中国居住了一段时间之后，他发现，中国人对他所知道的事情从来不加赞扬，对他所不了解的事情总是抱以嘲笑。 ---《中国人的脸谱》

Semantics in intercultural communication Semantics is a system that associates words to meaning. Denotation / connotation Color terms

Different understanding of colors by Chinese and Americans Western wedding: Something new, something old, something borrowed, something blue. A happy wedding and marriage

Spring Festival Christmas Day

Color terms &Cultures Red: Chinese culture: festive, jubilant e.g. 红娘，红火 Revolutionary e.g. 红军，红色政权 Successful, smooth e.g. 红人，走红 Beautiful, nice e.g. 红颜，红装 Envious, jealous e.g. 眼红

English-speaking Cultures violent, cruel e.g. red revenge; a red battle b. armed revolutionary e.g. a red revolution c. danger, tension e.g. red alert, a red flag d. profligate, immoral e.g. a red waste of his youth

Green Chinese culture: young e.g. 绿窗（指少女闺阁）；红男绿女 Knightly, chivalrous, feral e.g. 绿林好汉；绿林大盗 low-classified, shameful e.g. 戴绿帽子

English-speaking Cultures young e.g. in the green; a green age b. fresh, new e.g. a green wound; green recollection; keep the memory green c. Lack of experience e.g. a green hand; green recruits d. wealth, money e.g. In American political elections the candidates that win are usually those who have more green power backing them. e. jealous, envious e.g. green-eyed

Yellow Chinese culture: Royalty, power e.g. 黄袍，黄马褂，黄榜 erotic, base, sensual e.g. 黄色书刊 English-speaking Cultures erotic, base, sensual e.g. yellow journalism; yellow press b. funk, sneak, spiritless e.g. yellow dog; yellow streak

blue: Chinese culture: Few connotations English-speaking Cultures erotic, base, sensual e.g. blue video; blue talk b. depressed e.g. holiday blue; a blue Monday c. nobility e.g. blue blood d. unexpected, very rare e.g. out of blue; once in a blue moon

White Chinese culture: funeral, sadness e.g. 红白喜事 failure, unvalued, foolish e.g. 白费力气，白旗，白痴 tricky, crafty e.g. 白脸 politically reactionary e.g. 白匪

English-speaking Cultures Pure, bright, happy, cleanness e.g. white soul; a white wedding b. Faithful, honest e.g. a white spirit; white hand c. Good luck, fortune e.g. a white day; days marked with a white stone d. legal, no harmful e.g. white market, white list, a white lie

Black Chinese culture: Wicked, sinister e.g. 黑心肠 Secret, tricky e.g. 黑幕，黑名单 Illegal, evil e.g. 黑手，黑店，黑货

English-speaking Cultures Tragic, disastrous, unfortunate e.g. the future looks black, black humor b. Evil, sinister e.g. black deed; black art; black hand Angry, depressed e.g. black dog; a black look

Purple Chinese culture: a. nobility, dignity e.g. 紫气东来，紫禁城 English-speaking Cultures a. nobility, dignity e.g. be born in the purple; marry in the purple; be raised to the purple

Pink Chinese culture: Few connotations English-speaking Cultures homosexual e.g. a product developed for the pink customer b. The best condition e.g. in the pink of health

It may cost over a week to go through all the red tape to get the permission. No wonder he got promoted this time—he is the president’s blue-eyed boy! She was ticked pink when she learned that she was the only person who was offered such a chance. I tried to call her many times but she was in a brown study and didn’t hear me. I’m afraid we should go on chatting like this. The department head could arrive out of blue.

The new office block has unfortunately become an expensive white elephant. Mary was always regarded as the black sheep of the family. Look at the lovely garden！ I bet your father has green fingers. Can you see the green in her eyes? I got some black looks from the shopkeeper when I cancelled my order.

III. Case study Case 3. Li Hongzhang’s embarrassment Case 4. Different Attitudes Toward a Fly in a Beer Case 5. Borrow Money & Lend Money

Case 3. Li Hongzhang’s embarrassment Question 1: Could the Westerners understand the Chinese modesty? Question 2: How could Li get rid of his embarrassment? The cuisine [kwɪ’zi:n](菜肴) of your country is really great. It is my great honor to have a chance to entertain you with them.

English seriousness arrogance French generosity Spanish criticalness Case 4. Different Attitudes Toward a Fly in a Beer Question: What can be revealed out of the case? English seriousness arrogance French generosity Spanish Japanese criticalness Arab sarcasm American humor

Case 5. Borrow Money & Lend Money Question 1: If you were “I” in this case, how would you adjust yourself? Question 2: What’s the response of the the American if you are generous and say: “Don’t mention it again. You don’t have to pay me back.”

IV. Summary Addressing People Greetings Initiating Conversations Visiting Someone Partings

V. Assignments 1. Compare the American friendship with the Chinese friendship. 2. Video Watching The Joy Luck Club《喜福会》

Thank You!