旅游英语综合教程（第二版）PPT Unit2.pptVIP

Unit 2 Being, Becoming and Doing Cultures LOGO 单击此处添加文本 Is it important to be engaged in activities in order to be a “good” member of one’s culture? Can and should people change the circumstances of their lives? Is work very different from play? Which is more important, work or play? Is life a series of problems to be solved or simply a collection of events to be experienced? Keeping these questions in mind, in intercultural communication, cultures are divided into being, becoming, and doing cultures. “Being” is an activity orientation that values inaction and an acceptance of the status quo. African American and Greek cultures are usually regarded as “being” culture, which believes that all events are determined by fate and are therefore inevitable. Hindus from India often espouse this view. A “becoming” orientation sees humans as evolving and changing. People with this orientation, including Native Americans and most South Americans, are predisposed to think of ways to change themselves as a means of changing the world. “Doing” is the dominant characteristic of European Americans, who rarely question the assumption that it is important to get things done. Thus, Europeans Americans often ask “What do you do?” when they first meet someone, a common greeting is “Hi! How are you doing?” and Monday morning conversations between coworkers often center on what each person “did” over the weekend. Similarly, young children are asked what they want to be when they grow up and cultural heroes are those who do things. The “doing” culture is often the striving culture, in which people seek to change and control what is happening to them. The common adage “Where there is a will, there is a way” captures the essence of this cultural pattern. When faced with adversity, for example, European Americans encourage one another to fight on, to work hard, and not to give up. In cultures with a “doing” orientation, activity is evaluated by scrutinizing a tangible product or by eva