3 次の英文を読んで、その要旨を300字程度の日本語で書きなさい。句読点も字数に
含めるものとする。(30点)
Learning to interpret what others mean is complex. Because we learn early to
interpret meanings by the form of expression a person uses, there is much room for
misunderstanding. This may lead us to make value judgments and become convinced
that a speaker is insincere, dishonest, or disrespectful when we misread the intentions
or the significance of a message within a social setting.
One example of the need to use and understand socially appropriate messages is in
the determination of when a speaker has said no.
In many languages and societies,
people usually don't say no directly. Instead, they have less direct ways of expressing
refusal. The nonnative speaker needs to recognize the ways in which this is done.
For example, in Hispanic cultures it is considered inappropriate for servants to say no
directly to their employers. Instead, the social norm requires the servant to reply to a
request from an employer with the form manana. Although a literal translation of
manana is “tomorrow," the most frequently intended meaning for it in this situation is
simply “no." But, this is a polite no, since the request has not been refused directly,
just postponed. A nonnative employer will wait a long time for service if he or she
relies on the literal meaning of the word manana.
Still another example of misinterpretation has to do with who may initiate a
conversation.
In some Asian languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, or Korean,
children do not usually initiate conversations with adults and do not speak unless
spoken to.
In contrast, American children are free, and even encouraged, to initiate
conversations with adults. Similarly, whenever there is a perceived difference in
status for example, between student and teacher-the inferior usually does not
