私人空间(2/6)

The South American likes to stand much closer, which creates problems when a South American and a North American meet face to face. The South American who moves in to what is to him a proper talking distance may be considered “pushy" by the North American; and the North American may seem standoffish to the South American when he backs off to create a gap of the size that seems right to him. If Americans and Latins have misunderstandings about maintaining a sociable distance, Americans and Arabs are even less compatible in their space habits. Arabs thrive on close contact. The Mediterranean Arabs belong to a touch culture and, in conversation, they literally envelop the other person. They hold his hands, look into his eyes, and they bathe him in their breath. North Americans who have lived overseas have been highly distressed by cultural differences so subtle and so basic that their effects were felt for the most part at a preconscious level. Such distress is usually referred to as culture shock.

南美人喜欢站得更近,这导致南美人和北美人面对面时产生了问题。南美人向前进到一个他认为合适的谈话距离，这在北美人眼里可能会觉得是“爱出风头”的表现；而北美人退后到一个他认为恰当的距离时，在南美人看来这似乎是冷淡不友好的表现。如果说美国人和拉丁人在保持交际距离上的观念有所误解,那么更不用说美国人和阿拉伯人，他们简直是互不相容了。阿拉伯人都是近距离接触的。地中海阿拉伯人属于一个接触文化,在谈话中,他们都随便围着说话。他们握着对方的手,看着他的眼睛,说话的时候都能感受到彼此的呼吸。曾在海外生活的北美人一直饱受文化差异的苦恼，文化差异是如此微妙和基本以至于大部分在前意识水平都能感觉到它们的影响。通常，我们称这种苦恼为文化冲击。