Communication among Chinese is less direct than we're generally used to in Europe. Therefore, part of our intercultural training consists of translating direct sentences into an acceptable form. Here are some examples.These figures are inaccurate
These are interesting figures. I haven't seen them before. Here... I have some other figures, so it seems like there's a mismatch... hence... But perhaps it's only a cultural difference.
Your proposal is crap
You make a very good point. Let's talk about it some other time. [Ignore the proposal.]
I won't meet the deadline
I will do my best to meet the deadline
[In a meeting you want to hear Mr. X.'s opinion, but to ask directly could cause embarrassment]
If any one of you has comments, I would be happy to hear them. [Look at Mr. X. intently]
You're doing it the wrong way
Oh... we stupid Europeans do it like this...
Nonsense
Interesting... [do not continue the conversation on the subject]
China,Chinese,culture,language,intercultural
China,Chinese,culture,language,intercultural
2 Comments:
all this sounds like an ethnographic study of the typical rituals in all of Academia :D
"thank you for this paper, it was very interesting. However..."
"Prof. X is a very distinguished and renowed scholar. Yet in her last book..."
:) That's true, academia has undergone sinofication a long time ago!
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