Английский для социологов. Астафурова Т.Н. - 27 стр.

mustn’t give cutlery in Latin America because it suggests that you want
to cut off the relationshi p.You mustn’t give aclock in Chinabecause
the Chinese word for clock is similar to the word for funeral. It is to
research the attitudes to gifts in any country before entering into
negotiations there.
      The amount of touching acceptable in different cultures also
shows great variation and depends on the gender of the participants.You
have to shake hands when you are coming or going in Russia,
Germany, but in Britain you usually only shake hands when you
meet someone for the first time. Latin American cultures permit more
physical contact between men than, for example, European cultures.
The distance at which two people stand from each other also differs.
In Arab and Latin- American cultures, people generally stand closer
together when talking than European or Americans do.
      It is certainly prudent to avoid controversial topics at the early
stage of negotiations. However, the conventional «taboo» topics of
politics and religion may be acceptable if you concentrate on
information-gathering type questions (who/what/how) rather than
questions which may imply comment or criticism.
      Americans usually mean «Yes» when they nod their heads. An
English person probably just means «I understand», and an Asian is
just showing interest. «Come any time» means «I want you to visit me»
in India. If you don’t suggest a time and arrange a visit immediately, an
Indian will think you are refusing the invitation. But if an English
person says «Come any time», they will think you are bad-mannered
if you start fixing a date.

     GROUP DISCUSSION
     Interview two or three students in your group to find out their
answers to the following questions. Note down the individual speakers’
answers:
    1. When introducing yourself to someone you don’t know at a
       party, what do you usually say?
    2. When you are introduced to a man of your age or younger/
       what do you usually say?
    3. When you are introduced to a woman of your age or younger/
       what do you usually say?
    4. When you are being introduced to someone, do you usually
       shake hands?

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