在《跨文化交際》這門公共選修課的授課中，談話（conversation）是跨文化交際中重要的一個知識點。課堂上我們提到了兩個與之相關(guān)的有趣的案例，在此和大家共同分享下。
Case 1 . Conversations at work
Wu Chang arrived in San Francisco to begin working as a manager for a manufacturing company. After being at his new assignment for a few months, he hired Linda, a new female employee, to work as his assistant.
Linda was very good at her job and she was a very friendly person who treated everyone she met with the same smile and pleasant conversation. Wu Chang was invited to a cocktail party that would take place the following Saturday at his apartment complex. Since he was new to San Francisco and hadn’t met many single women, he decided he would invite Linda to be his date for the party.
The following conversation took place the next morning at work.
W : good morning, Linda, how was your drive to work?
L : Hello, traffic was very heavy this morning, but fortunately I had left early enough so I make it to work with time to spare.
W : well , that was good planning. Linda, I’ve been invited to a party Saturday evening and I would like you to accompany me.
L : that’s very nice of you to ask me, but I already have plans for Saturday evening and won’t be able to go with you.
Comments: In a work environment, there are civil laws that protect an employee from undue pressure from a superior to fulfill a social or personal request. Then when that request is not complied with, and in consequence the superior limits the employee’s opportunities for advancement or pay increases, the employee can sue the company and that superior in a civil court. This is especially important in a male-boss- female-subordinate or female-boss-male-subordinate situation. it is called sexual harassment, and the civil war is based on situations when a boss may pressure a subordinate for personal favors, including sexual favors, in order to keep his or her job.
Any conversation requesting personal favors from a subordinate, no matter how innocent that request may appear, can be construed as sexual harassment; especially if the subordinate feels opportunities for advancement were withheld following his/her refusal to comply with the request. Therefore, it is imperative that supervisors in any capacity should not ask a subordinate to engage in any activity that does not come within the realm of the person’s job description.
Case 2 conversations during meals
Wang Ming lives in Salt Lake City next door to Bob and Helen. He has been invited to a dinner party at their home. Wang Ming knows that Bob was recently in hospital and is concerned about his health. When everyone is seated at the dinner table, Wang Ming turns to Bob and says, “bob, how are you feeling?”
Comments: Wang Ming is very concerned about his friend Bob’s health. However, a conversation about health, or illness, is never appropriate during meals. In fact, discussion of illness is never an appropriate subject of conversation. If someone starts talking about his illness, you can respond by saying, “I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you are doing better.” or “I hope you’re feeling fine now.” don’t ask for details about the illness.
In the united states, when a person asks, “How are you feeling?” the question is not taken literally, and you would not expect the response to be a list of the other person’s aches and pains. It is meant as a generic greeting, and the standard reply is, “oh, fine, thank you.” even if the person is not in good health.
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