发布时间：2023-10-12 17:42:55
绪论：一篇引人入胜的中西文化的差异性，需要建立在充分的资料搜集和文献研究之上。搜杂志网为您汇编了三篇范文，供您参考和学习。
一.中西方文化差异的内敛性与开放性
1.中西方内敛性与开放性的文化差异在语言表达方式上的体现
我们中国人要向对方表达意见时往往比较含蓄、内敛，而西方人则会直接地说出来。举个比较生动的例子吧，一邻居夜晚唱歌的声音很大打扰大家睡觉，他的中国邻居就会去敲门然后委婉地说：“我也不睡觉，来听你唱歌。”而他的外国邻居则会开门见山地说：“对不起，你的歌声太大打扰我们睡觉了，请你小声一点。”这样对比看来西方语言表达方式的直接和开放显而易见。
2.中西方内敛型与开放性的文化差异在园林建筑风格上的体现
中国在园林建筑风格上贵曲折，讲究“步换景移”，忌一览无余，如苏州园林就以盘环曲折闻名世界，中国人普遍喜欢那种“山重水复疑无路，柳暗花明又一村”的意境美。而西方建筑则多是拔地而起，直率张扬，注重表现自我，如高耸入云的哥特式建筑，典型代表是德国科隆大教堂。
3.中西方内敛型与开放性的文化差异在文学上的体现
中国文学在表达上也是重含蓄，忌直露，以淡为美。而西方则比较奔放，会很直接地表现人物的思想感情，以感情激越为胜。这方面很突出的例子就是对待爱情题材的诗歌上。中国诗人描写爱情“才下眉头，却上心头”，始终不把那种爱表达出来，而西方诗人会高喊“你是我的太阳，爱情之火烧得我浑身焦灼。”这种直言不讳是中国人很难接受的，产生差异的实质在于彼此的审美取向不同。也正因为如此，当我们把某些中国经典文学作品，尤其是诗歌，翻译成英语时往往会狼狈不堪。因为要把那些含蓄深藏的情感一一挖出来，数明白，不免显得有些奇怪和唐突。
二. 中西方文化差异的形象概括性与实证严谨性
1.中西方形象概括性与实证严谨性的文化差异在语言结构上的体现
我们中国人说话一般都带有很强的随意性，比如我们见面打招呼时常说：“吃了吗？”还有如“你来了，我走”“看看吧”等简练的语言都反映出中国文化重视思想意念的心领神会，不强求语言形式，注重直观感受和形象概括。相对来说，西方的语言就较为严谨，例如这个英文句子“If you're stuck with someone and feeling tongue-tied，console yourself by remembering that the other person may be feeling as agonized as you.”，乍一看语言表达比较繁琐，要一层层分析才能明白意思，反映了西方文化在语言结构上具有很强的严谨性。
2. 中西方形象概括性与实证严谨性的文化差异在绘画上的体现
中国传统绘画贵泼墨写意，重在“写”，强调“以形写神”，善于表现精神，讲究意境、神韵，偏抽象；而西方传统油画则多注重形式上完整，重在“仿”，善于描摹、仿造事物，重形似、重再现、重理性，偏具象。例如中国画家齐白石的写意画《墨虾》和西方画家达芬奇的油画《蒙娜丽莎的微笑》，这两幅作品大家都很熟悉，通过对比不难发现二者这方面的风格差异。
3.中西方形象概括性与实证严谨性的文化差异在戏剧上的体现
中国在传统戏曲上提炼出了许多艺术化的“程式”，忌生活化的写实，例如我国国粹京剧的四项基本功“唱、念、坐、打”中就有很多虚拟化无实物的表演，具有很强的形象概括性。相对来说，西方戏剧表演多以主客体的对立为出发点，情节跌宕起伏，比如经典剧目《哈姆雷特》中就有多方面的矛盾冲突，分析性的逻辑结构很强，引人入胜，有着其理性严谨性的独特魅力。
三. 中西方崇尚集体主义与个人主义的文化差异
1.中西方崇尚集体主义和个人主义的文化差异在价值观念上的体现
中国人自古以来就有谦虚的美好品质，做人做事都比较低调，凡事多以集体利益为重，“孔融让梨”这个家喻户晓的道德故事就很好地反映了中国人这种集体主义精神。另外，中国古人为了表示自谦，经常会用“在下”“草民”“敝人”等表示尊重对方的词语自称，中国的姓氏排列一般也都是家族整体姓在前，个人的名在后。还有我们在汉语中提到地方时也总是先大后小，例如我在介绍自己时往往就会说“我是山东省临沂市临沭县临沭镇人”。
相比较而言，西方的个人主义观念突显出来，例如西方人在书面语中自我称呼时都习惯用一个大写的“I”，似乎显得有些张扬。而且西方其他方面的价值观念也几乎与我们相反，比如他们的姓氏总是个人名在前，家族整体姓在后。不仅如此，提到地方时也总是先小后大。西方这种崇尚个人主义的文化是西方人自信与个性的表现，但是从某种程度上说，中国比西方更团结，集体观念更强，毕竟“众人拾柴火焰高”嘛。但我们也应看到西方人更注重表现自我这一特点所突显的优势，他们注重个人的力量和价值，极富钻研和探索精神。很多科学领域也涌现出了非常多的伟人，如爱因斯坦、牛顿、霍金等伟大的科学家，在人类历史发展的进程中起到了强有力的推动作用。
2.中西方崇尚集体主义和个人主义的文化差异在医学上的体现
中国人善于从整体上把握事物的规律和实质，往往强调整体而忽视个体的作用。古代我们先人发明的中医就将人的身体看作一个整体，当人身体的某一部位产生不适时一般都是通过把脉、看气息、喝中药、针灸等方法观察病因并内调外理，通过人体各个机制的协调运作改善患病部位的症状，从而达到药到病除的效果。中医比较注重修养调节，自然恢复，治疗方法比较温和。
西方医学上则习惯把人身体的各个部位看作不同的个体，常常是头痛医头，脚痛医脚，哪个部位患病了就重点针对这一部位进行诊治，而且动不动就喜欢动刀子做手术。虽然最终一般也能达到治病的目的，但总会让人感觉有些惧怕和不适，治疗方法比较极端。不过现在都讲究中西医结合疗效好，中西方不断相互借鉴对方医学上的优势技术，融合趋势不断加深，如今的治疗方法也不像以前区别那么大了。
3.中西方崇尚集体主义和个人主义的文化差异在宇宙观上的体现
身势语是人们相互交流的重要媒介，它涉及的范围很广，如身体动作、姿势、目光、面部表情、四肢动作、坐力姿态和接触等。但由于文化传统和风俗习惯不同，身势语也不尽相同，同一种手势在不同的文化中所表达的意思可能就有很大差异。因此，为了减少跨文化的障碍，我们必须了解一些中英身势语之间的差异。下面主要针对手势、面部表情、目光接触、身体接触在中西文化中进行对比。
一、手势
提到非语言行为，首先会联想到手势。手势语在整个非语言交际中占有举足轻重的作用，可以说是身势语的核心。它通过手和手指的动作和形态来代替语言交流和思想表达。但手势在各国有不同的含义，不同的文化背景赋予手势不同的交际功能。手势动作稍微不同，就会与原来的意图大相径庭；对某种手势理解错了，也会引起意外的反应，犹如人们在不合适宜的场合下说了不合适宜的话语。
表示“胜利”，英美人是用食指和中指构成V形，并且手心面向别人。在中国，表示胜利的方式是高举双臂，在空中挥舞着双手，正如人们经常在体育赛事中看到的那样，中国运动员获得奖牌后站在领奖台上举着双手挥动着手中的鲜花。如今随着中西文化交流的深入，越来越多的人渐渐使用V形来表示胜利。此外，这一手势还可以用来表示数量2，并且此时不管手心还是手背面向对方意义一样，但在法国手心面向自己的时候就是一个侮辱性的动作。
招呼人过来的手势，英语国家的人是食指朝上向里勾动。中国人对此较为反感，因为这一手势在中国文化中具有挑衅的意思。中国人是用手掌向下朝自己方向招动来招呼别人。英语国家的人使用这一手势，是让人“慢一点”，如果手掌向外举起向下招动，则表示“你好”或“再见”。此外，中国主人常见“老外”在酒足饭饱时，一只手放在自己的喉头，手指伸开，手心向下，（常会同时说道：I’m full up here.）然后在自己的脖子上一横，这一手势在中国文化中表示杀头、威胁的意思，而在西方国家是代表我已经吃饱了，已经到脖子这儿了。在表示害羞的手势中英语国家是双臂伸直，向下交叉，两掌反握，同时脸转向一侧，就表示害羞。而中国人表示害羞时，喜欢用手臂捂住脸，头向一侧低垂。同样，在祈祷和发誓时，汉英身势语也是有所差异的。祈祷时，中国人一般是双手合十虔诚地放在胸前，英美人则是“keep one’s fingers crossed”，即用中指搭在食指上。发誓时，中国人是用手指向天或太阳发誓，有成语曰：“对天发誓”或“指天誓日”。而英美往往有两种方式表示发誓。一种是举起右手，伸开手掌，有时会将左手放置在《圣经》上；另一种则是用右手高举《圣经》。
二、面部表情
面部表情对于交际的重要性是公认的，但其中的多种文化内涵却难以估量。可以说面部表情对非语言交际起着决定性的作用，其变化也是人们在交际过程较容易留意到的。由于生理特征，人们在用面部表情来表示情感的时候具有较多的共性。正是由于共性较多，以致人们在交际过程中往往忽视了因文化造成的差异，没能正确理解其行为含义，常会引起交际双方的尴尬、困窘，甚至误解。
微笑是一种常见的面目表情。在中国和英语国家的文化中，微微一笑表示略有快意；张嘴露齿而笑表示较大的欢快情绪；嘴张得越大，牙齿露得越多，所表达的欢快之情越强。但在日常行为举止中，中国人的谦虚态度和英语国家的人的自负态度之间确实出现了值得提起的差异。受到了别人诚恳赞扬时，中国人一般都会从动作到语言给予否定，脸上表现出“否认”、“不能接受”、“不相信”等表情；而英语国家的人受到赞扬时一般是报以微笑、接受赞扬并说“谢谢”，这种态度在中国人看来，似乎不太谦虚，太骄傲或太自负了，反过来，英语国家的人认为中国人过于谦虚。还有一个面部动作，那就是“伸舌头”。中国人在表示十分惊愕或知道自己做错事后会伸伸舌头（尤见于女性和小孩），而美国人朝别人伸舌头则表示对此“不屑一顾”。
三、目光接触
目光语是眼神、目光传达信息，表达思想感情，是人们非常重要的交际手段。俗话说“眼睛是心灵的窗户”，这说明通过眼睛及眼神，我们就可以了解别人的内心世界。但由于各国文化的异同，它们之间所表达的意思也不一样。“例如：英美国家的人为中国人回看时间过短而反感，认为看不起自己，而中国人却感到英语国家的人在交谈中总爱死盯着人，尤其是中国女子对英美男子的这种盯视感到极不自在，这就是中西方不同文化传统和习惯的结果”，在交际时，美国人往往先进行目光接触，表示对对方的谈话感兴趣，但是，他们并不目不转睛或死死地盯着看，他们看一眼之后就把视线移开，或从一只眼睛移到另一只眼睛，之后再目光接触。这种目光传递的信息是：“我在听你的谈话，而且也不冒犯你隐私。”这种行为也传递“我与你平等”的信息。中国人那种谦卑的目光行为对美国人来讲，也可能意味着“我把你排除在外”，而美国人那种频繁的目光接触对中国人来讲，也可能是不礼貌乃至侵犯性的行为。正如习语所说：“Don’t believe those who dare not look straight at your eyes.”（不要相信那些不敢正视你眼睛的人。）这也是为什么中国人与英美人握手时可能会造成误会的原因所在。
还有关于“目光礼节”的差异，如：中国的会议和报告常常是发言人一个人在专心地读稿，而听众可看、可听、可记笔记甚至可翻阅资料，发言者很少和听众进行目光交流。但在美国人就可能认为对听众态度冷漠，听众也对发言人不大尊敬。因此我们在与西方人交际时，应该做到把握其中的分寸，通过这些比较可以帮助人们克服在跨文化交际中所产生的障碍。
四、身体接触
身体接触主要指双方通过身体部位接触而交流信息的方法。中国人属于低接触文化，见面招呼往往仅限于点头、举手问候、握手等方式，好友重逢也不过是拉拉手或轻轻打几拳。在英语国家，同性和异性间的人们都有互相拥抱和亲吻的习惯，这两个动作中国人是无法接受的，因为在中国一般只有情人或夫妻之间在私下才会这样做。
在中国，同性好友经常有勾肩搭背、手拉手之类的亲密动作，对英美人而言就觉得非常别扭，因为在他们那边通常是“同性恋”所为。还有，在英美国家，如果确实因为拥挤或不小心发生意外碰触，大多数会立即表示道歉，而在中国却很少，因为他们对于公共场合的拥挤早已习惯，比如，买菜“贴身紧逼”是经常的事，那你还需要道歉吗？
身势语在特定的场合下可以成为表达思想和感情的一种交际方式或手段，往往带有比较强的感彩。身势语有时单独使用，有时与口头言语一起使用。如果使用得好，可以取得较好的交际效果。反之，可能会使对方感到不愉快或处于尴尬的地位。因此我们必须了解身势语的方式和含义，了解中西身势语之间的差异，从而在以后的日常交际中进行更好的、有效的沟通，不至于引起不必要的误解。
参考文献：
［1］毕继万.跨文化非语言交际.外语教学与研究出版社，1999.
［2］杨平.非语言交际述评.载.外语教学与研究，1994，（3）.
1 Introduction
Human beings can not live without culture， nor can they survive without communication. When an individual enter into a new environment， no matter how broad-minded or full of good will he or she is. He or she is like a fish out of water， and it is no easy for he or she to adapt to the new environment quickly. This is followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. First， they reject the environment which causes the discomfort： “the ways of the host country are not appropriate because they make us feel bad.” So what should we do is to avoid the feeling of frustration and anxiety？ Learning English culture can help us not only avoid the negative feeling of culture shocks but also communicate with people who speak English effectively. Otherwise， lacking knowledge of English culture will surely lead to communication problems， such as conflicts or misunderstanding， as we can call them “pragmatic failures”.
In addition， with the development of science and technology， the world seems becoming smaller and smaller. More and 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 misunderstandings resulting from culture differences. 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. With the frequent communicating with western countries in economy， politics， culture and other aspects， learning how to communicate with westerners has become very important.
The first part is the general introduction of the purpose and the background of the thesis.
The second part discuss the definitions of culture and communication， and analyzes the relationship between culture and communication， culture and language. The third part shows several examples to analyze the cultural differences between China and the West in verbal communication. The forth and fifth parts deal with the culture conflicts and its causes in the cross-cultural communication， based on previous discussions. The last part is a conclusion based on the discussions in the previous chapters.
In this essay， we do not talk about the unclear expressions caused by grammatical structure error， but the improper speaking manner which we perform. How can we express our words to meet the habits of western people， or when should we speak to meet the right situations， or what conversations can we make according to the social customs and habits of western people. Here we are discussing some conventional misunderstandings that appear in our daily communication. Thus， we can communicate with western people more fluently.
2 Culture and communication
2.1 Definitions of culture
Semantically， the word “culture” stems from the Latin “colere”， translatable as “to build， to cultivate， and foster”. This term， referring to something constructed willingly by men， composes the opposite of “nature” that is given in itself. As has been mentioned above， culture is a very large， complicate and elusive concept.（Zhang Ailin， 2008： 9）Then what the culture is？ Culture， in a broad sense， means the total way of life of a people， including the patterns of belief， customs， objects， institutions， techniques， and language that characterizes the life of the human community. （Dai Weidong， 2010： 125）. The Chinese term of culture is “wenhua”（文化）“wen”（文）as a noun， can have such diverse meaning as writing， script， language， or civilian， etc； and “hua”（化）as a verb， can mean to transform， influence， melt， and digest.（Ma Aiying， 2006： 40）
2.2 Definitions of communication
As for communication， the definitions are more diverse and varied in nature and scope. S. S. Stevens defined communication as the discriminatory response of an organism to a stimulus. This means that communication occurs as the stimulus from outside occurs， like environmental disturbance. Niklas Luhmann defined communication as social interaction through messages which could be formally coded， symbolic or representational events of some shared aspect of a culture.
In my opinion， actually， communication occurs in any place where there are human beings. When a baby is just born， it usually cries. Does the crying communicate anything？ When you graduate， your friends usually say “Congratulations！” to you. When a driver sees the red light， he or she will stop. All these connected with our everyday life and we can hardly survive without them. Communication is the basis of all human contact and with which human was born. Today it has become even more important. Some people believe that communication means power and money. Whoever has information has power， and hence has control over those less informed. Whether you agree or not， it indicates that we have to take communication very seriously.
2.3 Relationship between culture and language
Language is not only the tools that express human’s thoughts and feelings which is used for communication， but also a part of the culture， and has the rich culture connotation. （Li Hongmei， 2009） Language is an indispensable part of social life of human beings， which is affected by culture deeply and plays an important role in all activities of human being. It is also a special component of culture. If we regard culture as an all-embracing concept， then the language will belong to people’s overall culture. But when compared with other parts of culture， it has a special status. At this sense， we can see language as a kind of social phenomenon， a tool that people use for communication， a medium that harmonize people with culture.
3 Cultural differences between China and the West in verbal communication
With a long history of China， Chinese people have set up a series of communication system. This system is based on our thoughts， our culture， our society and so on. When we communicate with western people， we are often used to communicate by our ways. But in western people’s view， some of these ways are not appropriate. That is the reason why we study western culture. We can easily find out some specific differences in some aspects through the comparison between Chinese culture and western culture， such as the value orientation， the concept of time， privacy concepts and so on. In this essay， we just talk about the differences between China and the West in verbal communication behavior.
3.1 Ways of addressing
When we communicate with other people， the first thing we should concern about is how to call him， that is to say the ways of addressing. Due to the influence of different culture， China and the West have different moral concepts. And we will see this concept will reflect the ways of addressing. In China， the ways of addressing are different between noble people and humble people， the old and the young， and people from different grades etc. （Xu Haiying， 2006） In the West， the ways of addressing have their own characteristics which is more simple than that in China. How to address people appropriately and correctly？ If you use the right ways， you can not only get closer to other people but also make the conversations successful. So it is necessary to discuss about the differences of the ways of addressing between China and the West.
The first thing we should mention about is the difference in the sequence of name. In China， we usually put the surname at the first， but in the West， they usually put the given name at the first. In China， people usually call the name of his or her imitate friends directly. But in the West， it is common to see that people call one’s name directly. For example， in the West， children often call their grandparents’ names directly instead of calling grandpa or grandma. This case， in our eyes， seems unreasonable， and we also consider this to be impolite and uncomfortable. On the contrary， the western people consider this to be kind and appropriate.
4 The conflicts appeared in verbal communication
In verbal communication between China and the West， it’s not difficult for us to find some culture conflicts， such as the conflicts on privacy and the conflicts on traditional cultures.
4.1 The conflicts on privacy
The privacy sense of Chinese people is very weak. Chinese people think individual should belong to the collective； they think people should be united like a big family； they think people should care for each other. So， Chinese people are willing to know the other people’s things and the others also want to tell them. But western people think the personal privacy is more important. They want to have personal space and they are not willing to tell others their own stuff， they do not even want others interfere with their life. So， there are many conflicts on privacy between Chinese people and western people.
The westerns advocate individualism. Individualism refers to the doctrine that the rights of the individual are the most important ones in a society. Most westerners believe that each person has his own separate identity and personality， which should be recognized and reinforced. Only with the cognition of individualism can we understand how westerners conceptualize family， friendships， and privacy. The core of individualism is the pursuit of personality and achievements. It is highly valued， earnestly believed and well appreciated as a fundamental social virtue. In Christianity traditions， individuals are important not only to each other， but also to the society. Individualism has been handed down from their ancestors. Therefore， to westerners， individualism is not selfishness but rather virtue. They emphasize individualism so much that they believe that there must be something wrong with someone who fails to demonstrate individualism. God helps those who help themselves. However， to Chinese people， the word “individualism” is related to the derogatory meaning as egoism， which represents selfishness in quality and looseness in discipline. In traditional Chinese beliefs， especially in Confucianism， collectivism is appreciated. It emphasizes cooperation among group members and individual success is due to the collective effort of the staff in a unit， an organization or a community.
4.2 The conflicts on traditional cultures
Chinese people pay special attention to modesty. When they communicate with others， they often respect others but look down upon themselves. They think this is a virtue and this makes the conversation begins with a good start. When others praise Chinese people， they often show very modest. Western countries do not have this phenomenon， when they are praised， they are often very happy and say “thank you” to others to show they accept the praise. Because of the cultural difference， Chinese people often hold that western people are too confident and ignorant of the fact that modesty is one kind of politeness in Chinese cultures. But， when western people know Chinese people do not agree with others when others praise them or when western people know Chinese people deny their own achievement， western people will feel very surprised， they think Chinese people are not honest. To the western people， if you ask them： “Have you had the meal？” They may think that you are going to invite them to have a dinner.（Cai Liying， 2007）But in China， it is just a way for greeting.
5 The reasons for cultural differences
There are many factors lead to cultural differences， such as religion， value， history， geography and so on. The basic reason is that China and western countries have different culture， different history background. All of these will surely bring the difference of people’s mode of thinking， difference in language transference， thus conflicts can hardly be avoided.
5.1 The difference in the mode of thinking
Culture has an effect on people’s view and cognition. Different countries have different cultures. So， the difference in people’s thinking way must exist. You can easily find such difference between Chinese culture and western culture. Chinese people think individual should belong to the collective； but western people think the personal privacy is more important.
5.2 The difference in language transference
Some people meet troubles in intercultural communication. One reason is that they neglect the language transference. The rule of using language is different because of the difference of culture. One can explain something in its own culture， but fail to do so in another culture. The basic reason is that people lack the sensation of the difference of social language. They will use language transference unconsciously. The result of this action is very serious， may cause some big problem.
6 Conclusions
In the past decades， many linguists， sociologists， language teachers and communication specialists have done a lot of researches concerning verbal communication. But verbal communication is still quite young as a discipline which needs to be studied further. Successful communication among China and the west concerns verbal behavior.
For the difference in the mode of thinking and the difference in language transference， there are many cultural conflicts： the conflicts on privacy， the conflicts on traditional cultures， in intercultural communication， and it affects the comsxmunication between Chinese and westerners. So， it is necessary for us to improve the ability of intercultural communication. This is the right way to avoid the cultural conflicts. And we had better obey the westerner’s norms when we are communicating with the western people. In addition， we should maintain the cultural identity of native culture. Only in this way can we improve our communicative competence.
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