The recent years have witnessed increasing opportunities for people from various cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other, which is naturally based on a general grasp of cultural knowledge and communicative...The recent years have witnessed increasing opportunities for people from various cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other, which is naturally based on a general grasp of cultural knowledge and communicative techniques in cross-cultural settings. However, there often exist cultural clashes in such cases, especially between Chinese and English speaking people, which are deeply rooted in the wide differences in their languages and thinking modes. Indeed, this also serves to be an important part in the acquisition of the English culture for Chinese students in the current educational climate. The paper is intended to provide a contrastive analysis of the major cultural differences between Chinese and English speaking people in their thinking modes in three aspects of the descriptive versus the formal, the concrete versus the abstract, and the practical versus the logical form the linguistic perspective. And the paper comes to the conclusion that a general understanding of these significant differences may enable Chinese-speaking people and English-speaking people to establish a more efficient communication with each other.展开更多
This study explores the intricate situation of the coexistence of different identities in Amin Maalouf' s Ports of Call (1996). It contends that identity is complex, flux, and not limited to what is inherited; it i...This study explores the intricate situation of the coexistence of different identities in Amin Maalouf' s Ports of Call (1996). It contends that identity is complex, flux, and not limited to what is inherited; it is rather a psychological, political, and social amalgamation. Thus, each individual has a unique and particular identity, which is completely different from the others'. This study is a theoretical and analytical survey of Maalouf's Ports of Call. It aims at proving that this novel is an example that Maalouf provides to show the challenges that characters of different identities face, and the obstacles that hinder them from assimilation. The argument is mainly based on Edward Said's theories that have opened up discussions about Otherness and multiculturalism, alongside with other postcolonial critics, such as Homi Bhabha. Maalouf's book In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong (1996) is also integral to this study. The study concludes that it might be possible for people, in parallel with the characters of the novel, to challenge the identity predicament that the world is witnessing nowadays, and accept diversities as a way of life, rather than a reason for waging wars.展开更多
文摘The recent years have witnessed increasing opportunities for people from various cultural backgrounds to communicate with each other, which is naturally based on a general grasp of cultural knowledge and communicative techniques in cross-cultural settings. However, there often exist cultural clashes in such cases, especially between Chinese and English speaking people, which are deeply rooted in the wide differences in their languages and thinking modes. Indeed, this also serves to be an important part in the acquisition of the English culture for Chinese students in the current educational climate. The paper is intended to provide a contrastive analysis of the major cultural differences between Chinese and English speaking people in their thinking modes in three aspects of the descriptive versus the formal, the concrete versus the abstract, and the practical versus the logical form the linguistic perspective. And the paper comes to the conclusion that a general understanding of these significant differences may enable Chinese-speaking people and English-speaking people to establish a more efficient communication with each other.
文摘This study explores the intricate situation of the coexistence of different identities in Amin Maalouf' s Ports of Call (1996). It contends that identity is complex, flux, and not limited to what is inherited; it is rather a psychological, political, and social amalgamation. Thus, each individual has a unique and particular identity, which is completely different from the others'. This study is a theoretical and analytical survey of Maalouf's Ports of Call. It aims at proving that this novel is an example that Maalouf provides to show the challenges that characters of different identities face, and the obstacles that hinder them from assimilation. The argument is mainly based on Edward Said's theories that have opened up discussions about Otherness and multiculturalism, alongside with other postcolonial critics, such as Homi Bhabha. Maalouf's book In the Name of Identity: Violence and the Need to Belong (1996) is also integral to this study. The study concludes that it might be possible for people, in parallel with the characters of the novel, to challenge the identity predicament that the world is witnessing nowadays, and accept diversities as a way of life, rather than a reason for waging wars.