新编跨文化交际英语教程_参考答案Unit 6(2)

Case 23

Just like smile, laughing does not always serve the same function in different cultures.

Interestingly, for us Chinese, laughing often has a special function on some tense social occasions. People may laugh to release the tension or embarrassment, to express their concern about you, their intention to put you at ease or to help you come out of the embarrassment. In this case, the people there were actually wishing to laugh with the American rather than laugh at her. Their laughing seemed to convey a number of messages: don t take it so seriously; laugh it off, it s nothing; such things can happen to any of us, etc. Unfortunately the American was unaware of this. She thought they were laughing at her, which made her feel more badly and angry, for in her culture laughing on such an occasion would be interpreted as an insulting response, humiliating and negative.

Case 24

It is obvious that there exists some difference between the British and Germans in their use of touch. The lack of touch that seems to be natural in Britain may be considered strange by Germans. What is required (in this case, shaking hands with each other) in one country could be taken as unnecessary in another.

The appropriateness of contact between people varies from country to country. Figures from a study offer some interesting insight into this matter. Pairs of individuals sitting and chatting in college shops in different countries were observed for at least one hour each. The number of times that either one touched the other in that one hour was recorded, as follows: in London, 0; in Florida, 2; in Paris, 10; in Puerto Rico, 180. These figures indicate that touch is used very differently in different cultures.