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Cultural Differences
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来源：大耳朵英语 2007-6-29 16:02:00 |
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In the United States, it’s important to be on time for appointments, classes, meetings, etc. This isn’t true in all countries, however. An American professor discovered this difference while teaching a class in a Brazilian university. The two-hour class was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and end at noon. On the first day, when the professor arrived on time, there was no one in the classroom. Many students came after 10 p.m.; several arrived after 10:30 a.m. Two students came after 11 a.m. Although all the students greeted the professor as they arrived, few apologized for their lateness. Were these students being rude? He decided to study the students’ behavior.
The professor talked to American and Brazilian students about lateness in both informal and formal situations; lunch with a friend and a university class. He gave them an example and asked them how they would react. If they had a lunch appointment with a friend, the average American students defined lateness as 19 minutes after the agreed time. On the other hand, the Brazilian student felt the friend was late after 33 minutes.
In an American university, students are expected to arrive at the appointed hour. By contrast, in Brazil, neither the teacher nor the students always arrive at the appointed hour. Classes not only begin at the scheduled time in America, but also end at the scheduled time. In the Brazilian class, only a few students left the class at noon; many remained past 12:30 to discuss the class and ask more questions. While arriving late may not be very important in Brazil, neither is staying late.
The explanation for these differences is complicated. People from Brazilian and North American cultures have different feelings about lateness. In Brazil, the students believe that a person who usually arrives late is probably more successful than a person who is always on time. In fact Brazilians expect a person with status or prestige to arrive late, while in the United States, lateness is usually considered disrespectful and unacceptable. Consequently, if a Brazilian is late for an appointment with a North American, the American may misinterpret (误解) the reason for the lateness and become angry.
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