Combination of Language Teaching and Culture Teaching

PENG+Yanghui

【Abstract】Language study is an eminently cultural activity.A lot of study has done on the different meanings carried by the same concept，i.e.a single word，in different languages.This article focuses on one frequently used sentence in both English world and Chinese world，that is “i have no choice” or “wobiewuxuanze” in Chinese，they are verbally counterparts.Some examples in daily life and scenarios of TV series are chosen to make a comparison from three aspects： the connotation of the sentence，the peoples response to the sentence，and the process of choice making，elaborating them with the basic cross-culture communication theories.Combining language study with culture study，students can best grasp the exact meaning of the sentence in different languages，as a result they can best avoid misunderstanding and use it correctly and appropriately.Choice making is so omnipresent that the illustration of this commonly used sentence might be greatly conducive to understanding the cultural differences in these two given worlds，English world and Chinese world.

【Key Words】Language Teaching； Culture Teaching

Language study is an eminently cultural activity.（Kramsch，1998：9） When we think about this statement from the perspective of cross-cultural communication or second language learning，we cannot help noticing on the one hand，different people speak differently because they think differently.（Kramsch，1998：11） On the other hand，despite the general translatability from one language to another word by word，there will always be a great amount of residue of untranslatable culture associated with the linguistic structures of any given language.A great number of articles are written by researchers with different backgrounds to probe the different meanings carried by the same concept in different languages，e.g.family，God.Meanwhile there are not many on the same sentence with the same sentence pattern.In this article，we would like to focus on one frequently used sentence in both the English world and the Chinese world，that is “I have no choice” or “wo bie wu xuan ze” in Chinese.By which，we can find obvious “cultural differences in the semantic associations evoked by seemingly common concepts”，（Kramsch，1998：13） and through comparing these cultural differences in language class，students can best grasp the exact meaning of the sentence in different languages，as a result they can best avoid misunderstanding and use it correctly and appropriately.

The reason we take this sentence as a case in point is that our daily life is made up of numerous choices.Teachers have to choose the content to give in the class，the way to convey the content； when we write，we have to admit rhetoric is a choice； when we translate one language to another，it is also a choice； living in a city，to buy an apartment or to lease one is obviously a tough choice for most people.This is our life，which is composed of various choices.We are told that successful men are，first of all，excellent in choices，which can be testified by the celebrities from George Washington to Warren Buffet.Choices are so omnipresent that the illustration of the commonly used sentence “I have no choice” or “wo bie wu xuan ze” in Chinese might be greatly conducive to understanding the cultural differences in these two given worlds，the English world and the Chinese world.Hereby we will make a comparison from three aspects，the connotation of the sentence，the peoples responses to the sentence，and the process of choice making.

1.When this sentence “I have no choice” is voiced，one connotation is first of all，the decision is really a tough one.Most probably the decision maker has grappled with complicated tradeoffs.Thus the speaker hopes the choice can be accepted by others.From this point of view，the sentence works as a defense for the speaker.These are common points in both the English world and the Chinese world.Anyhow we cannot ignore the nuances.

Chinese usually want to get understanding from others.By articulating this sentence，in most cases，they tend to make it clear the choice is made under external stresses.Traditionally，even a person makes a choice for himself，he pretends the choice is made by external coercion，in hopes it will be convenient to shirk the possible corresponding responsibilities.Meantime，there are modest people，the thing is the majority of Chinese are modest，speaking of their successes，trying to contribute their success to the exterior factors rather than their own desire and choice.By amplifying the external factors，they tend to declare they are not ambitious to be at the top of the social ladder，they just happened to be.As we all know，being passive is deeply ingrained in most Chinese.

In contrast，an American implies he or she would like to take consequences or payoff resulted from his or her choice.We cannot help noticing “i have no choice” frequently linked with “but to”，thus it actually is used to make an announcement of the final choice.In real life，from a business letter which is supposed to be explicit，to a president speech，which is characterized by euphemism，the sentence “I have no choice” is mostly used to state a decision directly in the English world.“Your failure to settle your account，which is overdue for more than six months，will leave us with no alternative but resort to legal proceedings.” is the final notice sent by a bank to a client who fails to commit the corresponding responsibility.Years ago，when Theodore Roosevelt faced the choice of foreign policy for his administration，he firmly believed in expanding American power in the world.“We have no choice，”he said，“as to whether or not we will play a great part in the world.All that we can decide is whether we will play our part well or poorly.”He states clearly the mission for the U.S.is to play a great role and the determination to play it well.

Quite opposite to Chinese，most American are proactive.This can be told by some other typical expressions.“There is a long way to go.” is another case in point.In the face of the uncertainties，an American usually underscores there are a lot to learn in future； a Chinese may emphasis there are lots of difficulties and problems in the coming days.Their distinctly contrasting attitudes toward life have been given away.

Apart from the differences in terms of social attitude，one is passive，the other proactive，the difference in terms of connotation best proves the difference between low-context communicators （American） and high-context communicators （Chinese）.As far as a low-context communicator，words are words，it is not necessary to think and dig further than the verbal meaning.You have to talk and talk，if you want to convey more.But a high-context communicator may choose a comparatively efficient way，that is to say，a few spoken words always embody much more information than its literal meaning.

2.From the perspective of peoples response to others choices，we may find American show great respect to individual choices.The most common response to “I have no choice” is “so，you have no choice.” i.e.the listener usually accepts the decision even though sometimes the listener and the speaker dont see the choice eye to eye.

Americans are used to making their own choices.Voters choose their political leaders.An adult choose ones lifestyle，married or single，having family or not； Young as an adolescent can make their own choice as to which university to study at，what occupation to take，and more choices alike.To illustrate，lets consider a scenario，a scenario in The Middle1.Sue wants to attend a boy-girl party，but her father，worrying about the mess in most of the teenagers gathering，says “No”.Sue insists： “Im grown up.Why couldnt you guys trust the values you instruct me are strong enough to keep me from making wrong decisions？” Sues mother is on her side，she says： “Shes in junior high.Shes ready.” Anyhow，a second later，Sues father changes his mind.This best demonstrates American parents greatly respect their childrens choices，let alone an adults choice.Thankfully，respect for others choices enables everyone endowed with an opportunity to best develop individual potentials.

In Chinese world，when “I have no choice” is heard，your best bet is to show your sympathy for the speaker.Chinese in this situation are compassionate，willing to offer more options，meaning they are willing to be of some help，and at least they would like to show their concerns for others.And this is the response the speaker expects as well.Unfortunately，in most cases，with more option sets given by listeners，the situation will be more complicated.Sometimes，when the listener is superior to the speaker in terms of social position，age，achievement，or things alike，the listeners response will be essential for the final choice.That is to say，most probably，the choice will be subject to the opinion of the listener who is superior in rank.

The great contrast in terms of listeners response best shows the levels of social attitude，esp.peoples attitude toward social relationship.As Linell Davis points out，American are living in a culture with individual values（Davis，2001：212），while Chinese are living in a culture with hierarchical values and groups values（Davis，2001：210-211）.In individual cultures，self-reliance and independence are important，and it is considered weak to be dependent on others.Each person is firstly treated as an individual and secondly as a member of a group.Hierarchies do exist in America，“but people try to communicate with one another in a way that denies their existence or reduces their impact” （Davis，2001：212）.This is what happens in America.What about China？ Typically people are fully aware of the existence of a hierarchy and act according to hierarchical principles.And in cultures with group values，people feel “dependent on the group，safe within it” （Davis，2001：211）.Obviously，cultural awareness can best help the speaker expect the possible response，on the other hand，the listener make an appropriate response.

3.As far as the process of choices making is concerned，we all know how complicated it might be，especially when facing a variety of options.Barry Schwartz's The Paradox of Choice has made a fascinating discussion on it.He “shows that a bewildering array of choices floods our exhausted brains，ultimately restricting instead of freeing us”.And he kindly suggests people should be a “Satisfier”，who “makes a decision or takes action once their criteria are met”，rather than a “Maximizer”，who “wants to make the optimal decision”.Similarly，we think choices making counts on the values people identify with.What do people value？ What do they despise？ What are the things worthy fighting？ All these build up the basic frame of choices making.Another fact we cannot ignore is choices making strategy counts as well.Now we will put core values aside，because it is too big a topic to be covered in limited space，actually we have inevitably mentioned several points in the above part.In this part，we will mainly discuss the different ploys people apply in the process of choices making based on where he is from.

There is an impressive passage about how to get rid of a bad habit written by an American author.According to the passage，the first step is to be fully aware of what is the payoff for doing this seemingly negative thing.The second is to look at the trade off，i.e.trading a bad habit for a good one.The whole process can work very well if you take getting rid of the bad habit as a choice to make.So to speak，to some extent，Americans believe life is an array of conscious choices.

Americans are adept at reasoning and logical analysis，or we have to admit they are well trained to make a comparatively rational choice.Ever since early age，kids in America are given choices，like food to feed，places to play.With age grows，they are given courses at school specifically designed for choices making or decision making.By and by，they have some common skills and patterns in the process of choices making.Consequently，when it comes to choices making，very often American will list pros and cons of each choice，pointing out compelling reasons to choose one option over the other.

Whats more，Americans are generally concerned about the process of decision making.There are detailed rules that define processes，which makes the choices making easier and more importantly，the choice can be made impartially.Choices ranging from an employee to be hired to a contractor to take the project can be made with fixed proceedings and high efficiency.And very often，rules are rules，with few exceptions and hidden agendas.（The power of the rules and the rarity of hidden agendas might be reciprocal.It is worthy writing another paper.） The result is there are some choices which can be made very quickly，and no alternatives.

While in China，parents order the kids to take this food rather the other，teachers tend to correct every error and peccadillo of students，seeing it to that everyone be disciplined and conformed to regulations and customs.The right of choices making has been taken away by parents and the elders.According to the teachings of Confucius，people are believed to be basically good，but they may go corrupt after having contact the society.So it is the authorities responsibility to protect them from being corrupted.They tend to offer their children things they perceive good，make a choice for them they perceive right.Almost every parent strongly believes in it，even the Chinese parent who has lived abroad.Amy Chua，law professor at Yale University，alleged as “Tiger Mom”，she points out，kids have no idea how tough the outside world is，so that it is parents job to plan and supervise them and finally help them be well equipped.This idea is common among Chinese parents.

While growing up，most Chinese people might not have clear idea how to make a choice for themselves，let alone be responsible for the coming results.Some make a decision on a whim.Ironically，though they are taught to be disciplined at school，one day when they set their foot in society，they solve problems posed at them with great casualness due to the shortage of choices making training.Another thing we cannot ignore is Chinese people may depend more on personal likings and preferences when they make a choice.Some think it might be categorized as a high form of choice making skill in that making a choice on emotion rather than logic analysis is the way people choose to handle complicate problems.Here we would like to point out due to the shortage of relevant rules to follow in the face of some commonly encountered decision making，consequently Chinese have to rely on emotion，instead of logic reasoning.Today，young people in 20s call for making choices by themselves.Anyhow，the lack of experience in early age and skills concerned results in inability to make up in short time.

In todays China，people learn to make a choice or decision for themselves，but when it comes to the serious and influential choice for ones happiness，say，marriage，it is usually not the one of the man and the woman in question.Instead，it is the choice made by families，sometime friends involved，of this man and this woman.In China，over the past decade the house price has increased 5-6 times than 10 years ago.Now when people ask whose fault it is.Theres a funny reply widely spread in Shanghai，Chinas biggest city.People assume it is the mothers of brides who single-handedly rise the house price，for they insist on no apartment，no marriage.Apart from having fun，we can tell clearly in China whether a girl should marry a man or not depends greatly on the girls mother，the boys mother，and a lot of people concerned.Again it is typical in the group pattern that decisions should satisfy everyone and people will compromise to reach agreement.The whole process will last longer time，aiming to make a balance between all kinds of relationship.

Conclusion： The generic semantic meanings of the code that have established themselves over time within a given discourse community are subject to the various and variable uses made of them in social contexts （Kramsch，1998：14）.With the frequent communication between China and the outside world，esp.English speaking countries，like America，culture changes will surely take place，and universal rules will be accepted by and by.But there is no doubt the deeply rooted cultural differences will not disappear all of sudden，so awareness and acceptance of the differences are still essential for foreign language learners.

Note：

1.The Middle，an American sitcom，was premiered September 30，2009[1]on the ABC network.The show is distributed by Warner Bros.Television Distribution and Blackie and Blondie Productions.

References：

[1]Kramsch， Claire， Language and Culture Oxford University Press， 1998.

[2]Davis， Linell， Doing Culture—Cross-cultural Communication in Action， Foreign Language and Research Press， 2001.

[3]Hatim， Basil， Discourse and the Translator， Addison Wesley Publishing Company， 1990.

[4]Barry Schwartz， The Paradox of Choice： Why more is less， Harper Collins Publishers Inc.2004.