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The Polite Fiction of Culture 东西礼节大不同

课文朗读

课文讲解 

繁體中文譯本

Does this situation seem familiar?  下面这种状况你听起来很耳熟吗？

“Morning. How are you today?” says co-worker one. 「早安，你今天好吗？」一位同事这样问。

“Fine, thanks,” replies co-worker two.

“And yourself?”    「很好，谢谢。你呢？」另一位同事回答。

“Great.”  「很好。」

In all honesty, most people at 9 A.M. Monday morning aren’t “fine” or “great,” yet we invariably say so. This is a common example of “polite fiction”: statements that we are socially conditioned to make, but aren’t really true. In this instance, these co-workers are following the polite fiction of saying they are fine when they are quite likely tired or cranky.

老实说，大多数人在星期一早上九点并不感觉「很好」或「很棒」，然而我们总是这样回答别人。这是相当普通的「礼貌性谎言」例子：我们由于社会制约而说一些话，但意思上不一定真正如此。上述例子里，这些同事采用礼貌性谎言的原则，在自己很可能感觉累或不舒服的时候，仍然回答别人说自己感觉很好。

Every culture employs polite fictions: In fact, they’re so pervasive, that we rarely notice them unless they are contravened. However, there are significant cross-cultural differences involving polite fictions that may cause someone to appear rude when they had no intention of being so.

每种文化都会使用礼貌性谎言。事实上，这些话很普遍，除非遭人反驳，否则我们几乎不会察觉到它们的存在。但是因为有些礼貌性谎言有跨文化的重大差异，使某人虽然无意表现粗鲁无礼，但显示出来的却是如此。

One significant difference between western culture and Asia culture is how one addresses the boss. Westerners generally believe that bosses and employees are equal, while Asians usually expect subordinates to behave deferentially. When these cultures meet in the workplace, problems may arise.

亚洲文化和西方文化有一项重大差异就是与老板谈话在态度上有所不同。西方人一般都相信老板和员工是平等的，而亚洲人则通常认为下属应该对上司表现得毕恭毕敬。这些认知差异颇大的东西方文化一旦在职场上交会，很可能会产生问题。

What’s the best way to handle cross-cultural communication? Remember that discourse is more than just an exchange of information. Learning another culture’s polite fiction is necessary for maintaining good relationships.

用什么方法来处理跨文化的沟通最适当？要记住谈话的目的不只是交换讯息而已。为了维持良好的人际关系，学习其他文化的礼貌性谎言是必要的。

Vocabulary

单词发音

in all honesty 说实话 If you say something in all honesty, you are telling the complete truth.

invariably [ɪnˋvɛrɪəb!ɪ] adv. 一定地，总是

polite fiction 客套话

condition [kənˋdɪʃən] v. 对…具有重要影响；影响（某事发生的方式）

cranky [ˋkræŋkɪ] adj. 病弱的

pervasive [pɚˋvesɪv] adj. 普遍的

contravene [͵kɑntrəˋvin] v, 反驳；否认; 【正式】与…相抵触﹐违背〔法律﹑法规〕

rude [rud] adj. 粗鲁的，无礼的

subordinate [səˋbɔrdnɪt] n. 部下，部属

deferentially [͵dɛfəˋrɛnʃəlɪ] adv. 表示敬意地；谦恭地

discourse [ˋdɪskors] n. 谈话，交谈

Sentence of the Day

In some situations, different cultures mix like oil and water.

有些情况下，不同的文化很难融合再一起。

oil and water  油和水（指互不相容的因素或人）

课文讲解

Craig, a Canadian, approaches Josie, his Taiwanese colleague, after work: 下班后，加拿大籍的克雷格走近台湾同事裘丝：

C: Josie, wait up! Could I ask you a few questions?

裘丝，等一下！我能不能向妳讨教几个问题？

J: Sure. How can I help?

当然，什么事？

C: Uh, well …. I don’t understand why the boss seems ticked off with me. You know, I’m pretty new to Taiwan. Maybe you could help me understand what’s up?

哦，是这样…我不懂为什么老板好像对我很感冒。妳晓得，我才刚来台湾，或许妳能帮我了解是怎么回事？

J: You’re lucky I studied in America – it’s easier for me to understand some East-West cultural differences. Recall the staff meeting last week?

算你好运，我在美国读过书──比较容易了解东西方在文化上的差异。你还记得上星期的员工会议吗？

C: Of course. I was excited to share my ideas for restructuring that new project.

当然。我兴奋得很，要和大家一起分享我对重新规划那件新案子的想法。

J: That’s the problem: The boss didn’t ask for your opinion. By suggesting how things could work better, you made him lose face in front of everybody.

这就是问题所在：老板并没有问你的意见，你却建议说事情要怎么做比较好，让他在众人面前丢脸。

C: Huh? So I can never offer the boss my opinions?

啊哼？所以我绝不能向老板提供意见吗？

J: Of course you can. Just try to make it a bit quieter. Maybe approach him in private first. Also, maybe you shouldn’t take so much credit for the idea – let the boss take some credit.

当然可以，只是尽量不要当着大家的面，或许私下先知会他一声。再者，这个主意或许你不应该完全居功──要把一部份功劳让给老板。

C: Weird. At home, offering an idea like that would indicate that I’m an enthusiastic, capable employee.

真怪。在加拿大，像这样提供意见表示我这个员工既热心又有能力。

J: Don’t worry, the boss is a pretty good guy. Just let him call the shots in public unless he asks for your opinion.

别担心，老板这个人满好的。除非他问你意见，不然在公共场合还是让他来发号施令。

－by Milton Haversham

Vocabulary

单词发音

wait up  等等；停下来等候 Informal to stop or pause so that another can catch up

tick off  使愤慨 (American) (slang) angry

recall [rɪˋkɔl] v. 回忆；使想起

restructure [riˋstrʌktʃɚ] v. 重新组织﹐ 调整﹐改组

credit [ˋkrɛdɪt] n. 赞扬，功劳

weird [wɪrd] adj.【口】奇特的；不可思议的

capable [ˋkepəb!] adj. 有能力的

call the shots 发号施令  to make the decisions; to decide what is to be done

Sentence of the Day

Craig isn’t slow on the uptake, he just needed some advice.

克雷格理解力并不差，他只是需要一些好建议。

slow on the uptake  鲁钝