资源简介

(共19张PPT)
Unit 3
Touching in
Intercultural Communication
In many international settings, the handshake has become an accepted touch. But the type of handshake varies widely.
Germans and Americans prefer a firm handshake, which is seen as a symbol of strength and character.
The French generally have a much softer handshake. They may feel uncomfortable with the grip of a German, and a German may wonder about the limp handshake of a French person.
Middle Easterners and men from many Latin cultures may put the free hand on the forearm of the person with whom they are shaking hands. As a result, the distance to the other person diminishes. The Japanese, who are used to bowing, may shake hands but keep the arm firmly extended to maintain a greater distance. In addition, they may bow slightly and thereby combine the Japanese and Western greeting rituals. German men traditionally also bow when shaking someone’s hand. The German bow, however, differs significantly from the Japanese bow.
The handshake with the bow illustrates that greeting rituals in many cases combine different types of nonverbal communication. As was mentioned above, the German and Japanese bows differ.
The Japanese bow from the hip with a straight back. Men keep their arms at their sides with the hands extended at the sides of the upper legs. Japanese women when bowing put their hands on the front of their thighs. During the bowing the neck remains straight. In German bowing, by comparison, the hips remain straight; the bow comes out of a lowering of the head. The German bow is called a Diener.
This means it is a bow to and a recognition of authority. The word Diener means “servant,” and so with the bow the German says “at your service.” Older Germans may still do a Diener, but most people today just give a slight nod of the head. The bow does not fit with notions of democracy and equality. Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl was criticized by a number of people and magazines because he did a Diener when greeting former President Bush. The gesture was seen by many Germans as unacceptably servile.
In Argentina, when women meet work associates or friends, they stretch forward so that their right cheek is touching the other person’s right cheek and perhaps kiss the air below the other person’s right ear. Women do this when meeting men or women; men do this only when meeting women.
Not to perform this greeting ritual is to appear cold, unfriendly, and even angry. In Lebanon typically men kiss the right cheek, the left cheek, and perhaps the right cheek again of other men. In Estonia, however, cheek kissing is not approved of. Estonians expect a firm handshake upon meeting and again when taking leave of someone.
In Germany shaking hands is an accepted and expected greeting ritual; however, Germans seldom embrace. Hugging, even among family members, is rare than it is in France and in Latin cultures. The handshake establishes touch, but at arm’s length, whereas an embrace represents too much invasion of the personal bubble.
The Maori of New Zealand, in contrast, expect touching as part of the greeting ritual. Maori businesspeople may feel left out of business meetings if the traditional greeting, the hongi, or pressing of noses, and the karanga, or formal cry of welcome, are not performed. They serve a similar function to handshaking in German society, setting everyone at ease. It would be unthinkable for a Maori function not to begin with both hongi and karanga, however many non-Maori are present.
A Bolivian and a Dutchman meet for the first time. Both will be dissatisfied unless they understand each other’s touching behavior. The Bolivian comes from a culture that is close, where people touch each other frequently while speaking. He will approach his Dutch counterpart with this background and act accordingly. The Dutchman comes from a much more reserved culture where people are more distant and cold. He too will bring his background to the meeting and act accordingly. If they want to work together, they need to come to terms with these differences.
How do we know what the “right” distance is and what acceptable touch is As in childhood, we learn by observation in individual situations. Books can help, but lists of dos and don’ts, while providing some initial guidelines, do not give the underlying reasons for individual differences, variations, and changes.
Touching behavior can and does change as people adapt to new cultural environments. Sometimes they very consciously decide to change to fit it. If we understand that touching is natural to some cultures, we will be less offended if someone touches us. By the same token, if the other person knows that we need our space, he or she will allow us more room and breathing space.
When former U.S. President Jimmy Carter was mediating peace talks between Egypt and Israel, Anwar Sadat frequently place his hand on President Carter’s knee.
While this sub-textual message was intended as a gesture of warm friendship, the subtler message Sadat was conveying to the world was that he as President Carter’s equal.
Above all, we need to keep things in perspective and not get offended each time we deal with someone who has a different relationship to space. Men in Africa hold hands with men while walking down the street.
Men in the Middle East kiss the cheeks of other men in greeting. Russian men embrace in a bear hug. Being together with people from other cultures may mean setting aside ideas about touching learned in one’s culture. During a television interview the late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, in the excitement of the discussion, slapped the former British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, on the knee. Most people think of Mrs. Thatcher as properly British and fairly distant, but she was not offended. She correctly interpreted the gesture as acceptable in the Egyptian culture.
Notes
forearm
limp
bow
diminish
ritual
hip
authority
Chancellor
前臂
无力的，松软的
鞠躬
减少，减弱
仪式，典礼，老规矩
臀部
权威
（德国或奥地利的）总理
Notes
servile
Argentina
Lebanon
Estonia
embrace
invasion
personal bubble
Bolivian
过分屈从的，仆从的
阿根廷
黎巴嫩
爱沙尼亚
拥抱
侵犯
个人空间
玻利维亚人
Notes
Dutchman
counterpart
reserved
by the same token
bear hug
slap
distant
荷兰人
同伴，相似的人或物
保守的
以此类推
熊抱
猛打，用力放置
遥远的，冷漠的
Questions
What are the differences between Japanese bow and German bow Role play it.
Do you think that Americans would appreciate the way the French shake hands Why
If a man from Lebanon should greet a man from Estonia, what would he probably do Is it easily acceptable by the latter
As touching is culture-specific, how should we tourists behave properly when in foreign cultures
Do you think that Mrs. Thatcher is correct in showing no anger when being slapped on the knee by late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat Why

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