How to Face the Gap between Eastern and Western Cultures

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Introduction

In many aspects of our life，we often divide the world into two parts：the eastern one and the western one.The former usually refers to Asia and the latter includes mainly Europe，North Africa and America.We divide like this not only because of the geographical location differences，but also due to the cultural differences to a large extent.In the following parts，you will see some cultural differences between America and China.

Part I What leads to cultural differences？

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot.This is because the culture systems are two separate systems on the whole.

The origin of the eastern cultures is mainly from two countries：China and India.Both of the two cultures are gestated by rivers.In China，the mother river is the Yellow River while the Indian one is the Hindu River.These two cultures were developed for several thousand years and formed their own styles.When the two mother rivers gave birth to the eastern culture，another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian Plain――the Mesopotamian Civilization.This civilization later on developed into the cultures of the Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.And these two are well-known as the base of the European culture.Like the Chinese culture，the European one also crossed waters.When the colonists of England settled down in America，their culture went with them over the Atlantic Ocean.So the American culture doesn't distinguish from the European culture a lot.At the same time，the difference of the language systems adds to the cultural differences.In the East，most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system.Other factors like human race difference counts as well.But what’s more，due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and West，the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries.So they grew up totally in their own ways with almost no interference from the other.

To understand a person，we should understand his or her culture as well as language to avoid the culture clash in communication.The following are some brief introductions of the cultural differences between America and China.

Part II Differences in Verbal Communication

1.Greeting

Greeting is the first step to form a culture，because people begin to communicate with others.The individuals become a community.

how do Chinese greet each other？ Informally，if we meet a friend in the street，we always say，“Hi，have you eaten yet？” or “Where are you going？”.However，in America these questions are just questions，not greeting at all.Usually，Americans will just give each other a smile or say “Hi”.Embrace is American’s common way to express their warmth and friendliness.In China，people don’t make embraces to express those feelings.Quite often Chinese will shake hands.

2.Addressing

As for naming traditions，American put their given name first and surname last.But Chinese put surname first and given name last.The American women would share their husbands’ surnames after getting married.In China，husbands and wives do not share the same surnames.

In America，people can address their family members by calling their first names directly，even if the older people.But in China，that is not allowed.If you call your mother or father by their first name，you will be considered rude and uneducated.

3.Directness and indirectness

Chinese people like to speak in indirect way and consider it’s rude to get on the point.We should not too direct to give criticism，make requests and express our needs and opinions.Because in our culture，directness will easily cause embarrassment or shame to another person.Saving face is important to each person，and it is uneducated to cause someone else to lose face.Therefore we describe situations vaguely and allusively，using euphemisms and double negatives.When criticism is given，it is indirect but effective.In our conversation “perhaps” and “maybe” are often used.

As for Americans，talking directly is regarded as one of the American features.If a person is not candid enough in a conversation，particular in a business negotiation，he would be considered not honest.He would easily lose confidence from his friend or even worse lose a partner in business.

4.Conversation Structures

When Americans have a conversation，it seems that they are having a Ping-Pong game.One person hits the ball to the other side，then the other player hits the ball back.In this way，the game continues.If a person doesn’t return the ball，then the game is over.The conversation follows this pattern.If someone talks too much，the other one may become impatient.Similarly，if one person doesn’t say enough to keep the conversation going，the conversation stops.Also，long silence in the conversation is not tolerated.

As for Chinese，it’s normal that one of the participants in conversation will monopolize the conversation，and the other is only the listener.Long silence between the conversation is tolerated and understood.

5.Expressing gratitude

In Chinese family，we rarely say “Thank you” to other family members for receiving help or service.Neither will we say so to good friends.If you say so，the counterpart will think you are treating him/her as a stranger and you are not so intimate.

But in America，“thank you” is one of the most frequently used expression.Teachers will thank a student for answering a question； husband will thank his wife for making a coffee.

6.Sensitive Questions

What’s considered sensitive in China could be considered common in America.For example，divorce or sex is a common topic in U.S.culture，but it will arise embarrassment in China.China is a traditional country.Sex is a forbidden topic in public.In contrary，the questions below which are very common in China are considered taboo in a conversation with Americans：

1）How old are you？

2）Are you married？

3）How much is your salary？

4）How much does your house cost？

5）How much did you pay for your clothes？

Part III Differences in Nonverbal Communication

1.Time conception

American’s living beat is quite fast.So Americans consider time is quite precious.So，when Americans accept an invitation，they would try their best not to be late，but they also don’t go early to the inviters’，as this is considered to be impolite，and it seems to disturb the inviters’ preparation.In China，we should also not be late for the inviters.However，in order to show our thanks and politeness，we would go to the inviters’ house to help them prepare the meals and then we will have a happy time together.

2.Relationship with Strangers

I had never say “hi” to strangers in China，but I should smile and say “hi” to strangers in America，because that will be considered rude if I don’t say anything.Americans are characterized as friendly，tend to smile and talk easily with others even if they are strangers.For example，people waiting in lines often start a conversation with each other.A woman may learn about a man who was standing behind in a line.In about 8 minutes，the woman might know that the man was married and his wife was going to have a baby； he was unhappy with his job； he and his wife were trying to figure out the way to lead a better life.This is rare in China.How can a person trust a stranger enough to chat freely and reveal personal information？ Chinese people remain reserved and careful when talking with strangers.We will be cautious and will not talk too much.Many parents always remind their children not to talk with strangers.

3.Relationship between parents and children

American culture is an individual culture，while Chinese culture is a collective one.People in the two cultures treat and educate their children differently.Chinese parents regard their children as their personal property.Children will be punished or even beaten when they make serious mistakes.In the daily life，Chinese parents make almost all decisions for their children.That explains why Chinese children are more likely to accept what is given.

4.The relationship between old-aged parents and children

A survey shows that only 23.8% of the old aged people in America like to stay with their children.Most of the old aged people prefer to stay alone or stay in retirement houses，probably because of the idea of “privacy” and “independence”.Compared with the Americans，Chinese old aged people prefer to stay with their children.In China，it is believed that the children have the responsibility to support their parents or even grandparents.Due to the great influence of Confucianism，Chinese always treat the elderly and their parents with respect.Filial obedience is very important for Chinese.Those who let their parents stay in retirement house would be scolded as “cold blooded” and would be despised by others.In recent years，this idea has changed a little.More and more old aged people choose to stay independently.In this way，they are free from the burden of the housework and can enjoy their rest life.

5.Friendship

Americans appreciate the freedom to have more privacy.Many foreigners feel disappointed at Americans because Americans do not phone or visit as much as the foreigners expect.They may say “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you”.If the Americans do not receive a specific request，they may feel that there is nothing they can do.In China，if someone is ill，he may expect “sympathy calls” or frequent visits from his friends.And his true friends will try to prove themselves real friends by giving this person more care and comforts.If not，the friendship will be easily influenced and weakened.But for Americans，if his friends call him everyday when he only has a cold，he would be uncomfortable.An American may feel that a friend needs privacy to work out a problem.Some Americans may feel that they are bothering people in such a circumstance.In contrast，Chinese would spend as much time as possible with his friend who has a serious problem.

Chinese and Americans have different expectations for friendship.Chinese pursue the full devote to the friendship for real good friends.However，Americans stress the friendship should not beyond responsibility and morality.

Part Ⅳ What can we do to treat the cultural gap？

Now we have seen that there is such a huge gap between eastern culture and western one.Then what should we do to face this gap in the gradually globalizing world？

Firstly，we cannot deny any of the cultures.Every nation has its own characteristics and it’s mainly through its culture that we first begin to know the nation and its characteristics.So we cannot say that this culture or custom is right and that is wrong.Equal respect should be attached to every culture in the world，even to those that are not in existence any more.

Next，we should get to learn how to coordinate the different cultures.We say the world is becoming smaller and smaller.More foreigners come and go everyday.When it is in the same country，the same city，the same neighborhood，the cultural collision is expected to be more serious.So we should try to avoid this happening.One important thing is to get some basic knowledge about the other cultures so as not to misunderstand some actions or habits of the foreigners.

When the above two are done，we can start to communicate.I mean we can take in some strong points from the foreign cultures.Though there isn’t correctness in terms of culture，it does have the terms of more advanced or more suitable for the world nowadays.Of course，we cannot throw away our own culture and accept another one totally.Every culture is a treasure to the history of the earth，so we should only pick out those we lack to perfect our own.

Different cultures add the most colorful element to the world of 21st century.The cultural gap should not be the obstacle to the civilization of human being.It ought to be the motivation of our going farther.

References：

[1]Zhao Yangping，Li Jielian.Culture and Communication.People’s University of China Press.1999.

[2]Huang Yi.Ma Qiong，American Probe，Xi an Jiaotong University Press，1999.

[3]Holley，S.Popshots，Foreign Language Press，1998.

[4]Gao Aiqun，Nacy.Survival Dialogs in American English.Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.1995.

作者简介：张远艳，女，（1982-）汉族，云南文山人，文山学院外国语学院讲师，研究方向：英语教学法和英美文化研究。