Jerry要去中國出差,找同事Amy請教。
Jerry: My book on Chinese culture says that the idea of shame is a big part of how society works.
A: That's true. Chinese culture places more value on the group and less on the individual.
J: Pretty much the opposite of the U.S. huh?
A: Yeah. In China your actions at work reflect on your employer and your daily conduct reflects on your family.
J: So if you shame yourself you're also shaming your employer?
A: In some cases, yes.
集體的概念在中國文化里很重要。Amy說,Chinese culture places more value on the group and less on the individual. 相對個(gè)人而言,中國文化更重視集體,the opposite of the U.S.,跟美國正相反。你工作時(shí)的表現(xiàn)會影響到你公司的形象,你的日常舉止行為能反映出你的家庭教養(yǎng),to reflect on someone,是影響到某人形象的意思。
A: Chinese culture doesn't encourage showboating or aggressive self-promotion.
J: Ha! In America, we promote ourselves all the time! It's the only way to get noticed.
A: But in Chinese society, you might have a better chance at getting a promotion at work by being a real team player. The best advice I can give to a foreigner who wants to do business in China is this: be sincere, try not to offend and tone down the volume.
中國文化不鼓勵showboat,自我吹噓,也不鼓勵self-promotion,自我宣傳。在美國,只有自我宣傳才能得到上司的注意,然而在中國,最好的途徑是be a real team player,做團(tuán)隊(duì)的一員。Amy說,她給外國人最好的建議是:be sincere,真誠;try not to offend,不要冒犯別人;以及tone down the volume,調(diào)低音量。
J: What do you mean when you say, "turn down the volume?"
S: Well, for one thing: don't talk so loud! Americans are loud and although China is a very noisy country, people don't like it when you draw attention to yourself.
J: Would that include how I dress as well?
A: Certainly. Try to blend in as much as possible. The locals will appreciate the effort.
J: Wow, Amy....I'm so glad I talked with you! You've been a great source of information.
A: Sure. Let me know if you need more specifics.
Amy建議Jerry講話不要太大聲,因?yàn)?People don't like it when you draw attention to yourself,大家不喜歡那些故意吸引別人注意的人。
另外,穿著打扮也不要太醒目,Try to blend in as much as possible,意思是融入周圍的環(huán)境,也就是說,Jerry應(yīng)該盡量設(shè)法跟周圍的人打成一片。