_chapter 2 Understanding Cultures and Their Values 跨文化交际教学课件.ppt

Understanding Cultures and Their Values Chapter 2 Contents What is culture? Why different people have different view? IF we observe a picture from different angles, we see different things. Similarly, when we look at a problem or an event, people from different cultures may have different opinions. Definition of culture Numbers of definition up to the present: more than 500 Hard to define: a large inclusive concept The most widely accepted definition: Culture is the total accumulation of beliefs, customs, values, behaviors. Institutions and communication patterns that are shared, learned and passed down through the generations in an identifiable group of people. (p41) 2. Ingredients of Culture 3. Characteristic of Culture Culture is not innate; it is learned. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation. (social heredity) Culture is selective. The facets of culture are interrelated. Culture is ethnocentric. Culture is subject to change. Enculturation Learning culture is continuous process Cultures are learned through the process of enculturation Enculturation is the socialization process you go through to adapt to your society. Examples in the textbook p43 Culture is learnable. (Acculturation: the process of adjusting and adapting to a new and different culture) Social heredity Symbolically passed down from generation to generation They all involve the use of language and symbols—things that stand for something else Culture change Cultural Change may result from internal dynamics or by outside forces The speed in which cultures change may vary much through outside forces Case study A Chinese scholar went to the USA for a cooperation program. On the first weekend, she was invented to one of her team workers’ house. She entered the house and received a warm welcome. To show friendliness as a response, the Chinese scholar went to the host’s four-year old daughter and patted the girl’s face with a compliment, “How pretty you are !” The host took the scho