Unit 20 Culture Shock 文化冲击.docVIP

Unit 20 Culture Shock Kalvero Oberg 1 Culture shock might be called an occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Like most ailments, it has its own symptoms and cure. 文化冲击又叫人们移居国外的职业病。像大多数小病一样，它也有自己的症状和治疗方法。 2 Culture shock is precipitated by the anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social intercourse. Those signs or cues include the thousand and one ways in which we orient ourselves to the situation of daily life: when to shake hands and what to say when we meet people, when and how to give tips, how to make purchases, when to accept and when to refuse invitations* when to take statements seriously and when not. These cues, which may be words, gestures, facial expressions, customs, or norms, are acquired by all of us in the course of growing up and are as much a part of our culture as the language we speak or the beliefs we accept. All of us depend for our peace of mind and our efficiency on hundreds of these cues, most of which we do not carry on the level of conscious awareness. 文化冲击是焦虑产生的，这种焦虑是由于丧失了指导我们进行社交的熟悉的信号和符号。这些信号和暗示包含了许许多多使我们适应日常生活情况的方法：何时握手，当我们见到人时说什么，何时怎样给小费，怎样购物，何时接受何时拒绝邀请，何时把别人的话当真，何时不。这些暗示也许是词语，手势，面部表情，风俗习惯或者规范，这些都是我们在成长过程中学习得来的，它们跟我们所讲的语言，所接受的信条一样，是我们文化的一部分。我们所有人都依靠这些暗示来获得平静的心情以及高效的生活，而这些暗示的大多数并不是有意识地记住的。 3 Now when an individual enters a strange culture, all or most of these familiar cues are removed. He or she is like a fish out of water. No matter how broad- minded or full of goodwill you may be, a series of props have been knocked from under you, followed by a feeling of frustration and anxiety. People react to the frustration in much the same way. First they reject the environment which causes the discomfort. “The ways of the host country are bad because they make us feel bad. When foreigners in a strange land get together to grouse about the host country and its people, you can be sure they are suffering from culture shock. Another phase