Assignment 3

When I was a child I used to learn English from TV programs, and one of the things that impressed me but puzzled me at the same time was the fact that in each and every English learning program, the American speakers had a wide variety of expressions and gestures. It impressed me because I hadn't seen anyone talking with so many exaggerating facial expressions and hand gestures, and it puzzled me simply because we didn't do it in my home country Taiwan. I suppose that was the first difference that I noticed between American and Taiwanese cultures.

A major divide between two cultures can always be found in their forms of non-verbal communication, and it wouldn’t be understood if one hadn’t experienced it vicariously. I was lucky enough to be able to visit the U.S in person, and if I didn’t go on the trip, I would never learn that what I observed from the TV programs was nothing but the tip of the whole iceberg of cultural difference. Also, without this experience I wouldn’t also realize that a culture’s significance can only be seen when you are outside of it. Taiwanese and American cultures, without a doubt, vary from each other greatly, but similarities still exist. A shared pattern of non-verbal communications, for example, is a proof that the two cultures have exercised certain influences on each other.

Nonverbal communications take place on a daily basis, and thus cultural difference can be noticed in everyday life. For instance, when you catch a stranger’s eyes as you walk down a Taiwanese street, normally that person will return you with a careless, cold, and even icy glance that signifies indifference. If you smiled and even nodded at that person, he or she might simply avoid your look or even turn the head away to ignore your presence. However, when I catch somebody’s eyes, even those of a total stranger, on a U.S street, I often receive a gentle nod or a quick smile of recognition despite the fact that I have never met that person before. In another case, cultural differences exist on the level of close interactions. For example, in China people don’t hold a strong sense of personal space, and touching a person can be regarded as a display of friendliness. However, in the U.S touching a person might be found offensive and rude by the majority of people. Doing so can be misread as a disrespectful act even if it is an attempt to convey friendliness.

Despite the differences pointed out above, when one culture is heavily influenced by another it can take on certain values of that influential culture. It is especially so in Taiwan where American media are largely introduced through movies, books, and magazines, while other American values are brought back from generation after generation of the students studying overseas. The impact of American culture thus becomes obvious: in Taiwan people have developed a strong sense of personal space, and might consider some previously held values outdated and inappropriate. Moreover, in recent years they have gradually adopted certain American forms of nonverbal communication unconsciously as their hand gestures grow more and more differentiated and important in aiding conversations.

Regardless of the differences presented above, we should know that cultures are constantly changing. Both American and Taiwanese cultures are being reshaped as they integrated new elements, and more or less both cultures have exercised a certain amount of influence on each other, even though some aren’t obvious. In other words, the differences between cultures around the world are gradually minimized through cultural interactions in many aspects, and some defining differences have submerged under the waves of globalization and thus become less distinguishable in everyday activities and communications.