 |
Reliable. Social Identity. Country of Young Men?
|
|
|
|
Reliable.
pessimistic argumentative sensitive sociable
extravagant assertive inquisitive
a) Do you prefer to be in the company of other people?
b) Look at the picture. Do you think ‘my glass is half empty’?
c) Do you find it easy to tell your boss if you feel he or she has treated you badly?
d) Do you always look out of the window if you hear a car draw up?
e) Do you often buy your friends presents for no particular reason?
f) Do you frequently disagree with what other people say?
g) Do you lie awake at night if someone has said something unkind to you?
9 What questions like those in ex. 8 could you ask to try to find out whether a person is the following.
1) thrifty 3) sensible 5) even-tempered 7) obstinate
2) blunt 4) intelligent 6) original
10 How would you explain the cultural difference between Americans and Japanese?
An American woman said, “When I was in Japan, my Japanese friends often told me, ‘We Japanese do this’ or ‘We Japanese feel this way. ’ Then they’d ask, ‘How about Americans? ’ It was very difficult for me to answer these questions. I would say, ‘Well, my friends do this’ or ‘The people I know do that’ or ‘Many Americans probably think this way. ’ I think they expected me to say, ‘We Americans do this. ’ I could never say that! I don’t know how everyone thinks. You don’t hear people saying ‘We Americans. ’” (D. R. Levine et al. The Culture Puzzle).
Social Identity
11 Discuss the following points.
a) What is the most important thing that makes young people independent?
b) What is the most important thing that makes a young person typical American?
c) What is a typical Russian, Belarusian in your opinion?
Compare American, English children, teenagers and young people with Russian and Belarusian.
Country of Young Men?
What’s your idea of a typical American child? Rather noisy, perhaps? With too many expensive toys, a mouth full of chewing gum, and no respect for adults? A child who’s never happy except when watching television? Yes, maybe. But most American children are also full of energy and confidence, ready to go and make their own way in the world.
What is your idea of a typical American teenager? A rich kid with his own car? A girl whose parents let her do anything she likes? A drug addict? Well, may be you have been watching too much television yourself. Most teenagers do not have enough money to own their own car. Drugs, of course, are a serious problem, but the truth is that fewer and fewer young Americans are trying them.
Typical American teenagers are in fact very ordinary. They think their teachers make them work too hard, they love their parents but are sure they don’t understand anything, and their friendships are the most important things in their lives. Some of them do have a lot of money to spend, but usually they have earned it themselves. Most young people take jobs while they are in school. They work at movie theatres, fast-food restaurants, gas stations, and stores to pay for their clothes and entertainments. Maybe this is that makes them so independent from their parents at such a young age.
|
|
|
It isn’t always easy to keep a job, and still do well in school. But American children learn early that you have to work hard to win. Winning, in fact, is part of the American way of life. Americans just love competitions, even in their time off. Few people can enjoy a sport unless they are trying to beat someone else at it.
“America, ” wrote Emerson, the nineteenth-century writer, “is a country of young men. ” That’s not quite true anymore. The population is growing older. Fewer and fewer babies are being born, and baby food factories are closing down. America does not belong to young people anymore, in the way it did twenty years ago. Young people today have to fight harder to get kinds of jobs and homes they want. Maybe that is why young Americans are more serious now than used to be. They have less time for fun and sun these days. Now it’s all work, work, and work.
(Mamontova N. Y. “Insights into Cross-Cultural Communication”)
12 Discuss the social status of women in different countries and guess how it will influence their behaviour.
Studies show that the Nordic countries have the least distinctions between what men and women are expected to do. In 1995 Sweden, Finland, and Denmark scored in gender equality. Women in political parties used the slogan “women representing women. ” The Nordic countries have legislated equal rights, inexpensive child care, free contraception and abortions, and parental leave policies. The women’s movement now addresses the issues of wage difference, job segregation, and violence against women.
In traditional Chinese culture, the family comes before the individual and boys are valued more than girls. Before the Communist revolution, girls were subjected to feet-binding and peasant girls were at risk of being kidnapped and sold into marriage. The very first law passed by the Chinese Communist Party abolished the holding of concubines and gave women the right to own property, choose husbands, sue for divorce, and use their own names.
Family planning has been well established in China since 1956. In 1971 the third family planning campaign known as Wan, Xi, Shao program, was initiated. These terms represent the three slogans of the campaign: late marriage, longer intervals between children, and fewer children, which dramatically change women’s lives. In 1979 the people of China made a critical choice when the one-child campaign was introduced. The children of today’s children will have no brothers or sisters, no aunts, uncles, or cousins. Implications for the society range from pampered overweight children dubbed the “Little Emperors” – four grandparents to spoil one child – to the world’s largest elderly population no longer being able to rely on a large family to provide care in old age.
Saudi Arabia enforces strict codes of behaviour for women. They are not allowed to register in hotels or leave the country without a male relative’s or husband’s written permission. No women – including foreigners – may drive cars or ride bicycles. A traditional Saudi woman does not go out alone. She speaks to no men other than her husband or blood kin. All public facilities are segregated by sex. Today’s Saudi women may be teachers, computer technicians, physicists, engineers, bankers, but must work in all-female facilities. They must also follow a rigid dress code. Muslim women dress modestly and must be completely covered except the face and hands. In the streets they wear a long cloak called an abaya, or chador. Most use veils to cover the face. The abaya and the veil safeguard women from advances by strange men and represent honor, dignity, chastity, purity, and integrity.
|
|
|
(F. E. Jandt. Intercultural Communication. An Introduction).
1) What is meant by gender equality?
2) In which countries do women have more rights? Why do you think so?
3) What rights have the Nordic countries legislated?
4) What changed women’s lives in China?
5) Do you approve or disapprove of strict codes of behaviour for women in Saudi Arabia?
Рекомендуемая литература
1 Леонтович, О. А. Россия и США. Введение в межкультурную коммуникацию / О. А. Леонтович. – Волгоград: Перемена, 2003. – С. 107-115, 246-252, 265-266, 268-269.
2 Караулов, Ю. Н. Русский язык и языковая личность / Ю. Н. Караулов. – М.: Наука, 1987. – С. 48-58.
3 Battles, H. K. Contemporary English: Frameworks / H. K. Battles, F. Brengleman, N. L. Haider. – Morristown, NJ, etc.: Silver Burdett Company, 1976. – P. 173-175.
4 Садохин, А. П. Межкультурная коммуникация: учебное пособие / А. П. Садохин. – М.: Альфа – М.: ИНФРА, 2006. – С. 32-37.
|
|
|
