Linguistic evidence of cultural differences Linguistic evidence of

Linguistic evidence of cultural differences 小组成员：吴颖颖 王乐 胡月 吴佳佳 张玲玲

Linguistic evidence of cultural differences （语言文化差异的证据） • • • Greetings and terms of address Thanks and compliments Color words Privacy and taboos Rounding off numbers

Greetings and terms of address(问候与称谓) • Greetings 问候 • East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. " At least, that's what English writer Rudyard Kipling said. Truth is, nowadays Easterners and Westerners meet quite often. And when they do meet, naturally, they have to find an appropriate greeting. What's culturally appropriate for people in one culture may be completely out of line in another culture. So the best approach is to follow the well-known maxim, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do

• In America： “How are you? “ ”How’s it going? ” Hello, it is nice to see you. It’s a fine day

v In France Salut~ 你好 Bonjour (白天）好

v Above all , different people exposed to various cultures greet in different ways

Terms of address In America , the terms of address between relatives are not so clear E. g. uncle(叔叔，舅舅，姑父…. . )

In China, the terms of address between relatives are much clearer. Different relationships have different words. 叔叔，舅舅，姑父…. . 婶婶，舅妈，姑姑……

In Japan，terms of address between relatives are even various according to speakers and listeners.

Color words v The meanings that color words stands for various from cultures to cultures

Color words in the west • Green means envy , or someone who is inexperienced • E. g. green with envy，green as jealousy，green-eyed monster。 • The new typist is green at her job. 刚来的打字员是个生手。 • Red means violence and blood • Yellow means timidity contemptibility • E. g. ： a yellow dog 可鄙的人，卑鄙的人 • a yellow livered 胆小鬼 英语中的黄色还用来作为事物的特定颜 色， • 例如，美国有些城市的出租车上标有“yellow”（而不是“taxi”）的 字样，代表出租车，因为那里的出租车为黄颜色

Color words in the east § Green means hope § Red means happiness § Yellow means magnificence

Privacy and taboos (隐私 和禁语) • In social occasion , different cultures form many kinds of privacy and taboos • E g, Chinese prefer to asking for income, age, and marriage etc. to show their kindness. • American think asking this questions is impolite. • E g. How old are you? • Are you married? • What is your salary?

Thank you！