cultural differences between the u.s. and china.doc

Cultural Differences between the U.S. and China


页数：15 字数：4709

Cultural Differences between the U.S. and China
Abstract: With the apparent tendency of globalization, cultural exchange is becoming more and more extensive. The cultural differences between one nation and the other nation affect directly the communications of the two nations. This article compares cultural differences between the U.S and China in four parts: cultural backgrounds, the way of speaking, the way of acting and the way of thinking. On the basis of differences in cultural backgrounds which are reflected in differences in every days life, I hope that this article will arouses some responses with those who are interested in the cultures between the U.S and China.
Key words: Cultural Differences; The Way of Speaking; The Way of Acting; The Way of Thinking; Cultural Backgrounds
Introduction
Culture is reflected in our everyday lives in our language, our actions and reactions, our habits and practices and in the objects we use and make use of .All of the dimensions of our daily lives reflect our values and beliefs passed to us via previous genre- actions and the society. Culture is customs, things and values. It is seen in our clothing, artwork, food and dance as symbols. It is experienced in our family roles, childrearing patterns, communication styles, and traditions and in our beliefs about human nature, life and death, and time references. Culture is learned and it is lived and passed on. It is modified and passed on again. It is dynamic yet it is constant. Since the U.S and China established friendship in 1979, many sociologists and anthropologists have paid much attention to the study in the two nations cultures. There are many cultural categorizations available. In this thesis, I divide culture into four parts: cultural background, the way of speaking, the way of acting, and the way of thinking. And on the basis of this classification, the thesis focuses on the differences of the American and Chinese cultures. I expect that it will be of some help to those who are interested in the cultures between the U.S and China.
Part One: Differences in Cultural Backgrounds
If an infant is isolated from the society right from his/her birth, he/she will form a different cultural background from that of his/her birthplace. From the above example, we can see that all human communities have a culture. The forming process of a culture is closely related to the history, social development and belief, etc. of that social group. Since the differences of these elements exist in the U.S and China, the two nations have established their own cultures, which are different from each other.
1. Historic