Todays translation features lesson 27 in textbook 3 in the New Practical Chinese Reader series. The title of the lesson is When in Rome, do as the Romans do,’ which translates into Chinese as:
入乡随俗 – Ru xiang sui su
Lesson 27 in the New Practical Chinese Reader textbook features two listening tasks. The first features a dialogue between four friends who are about to order drink in a traditional Chinese teahouse.
Characters:
服务员 – waiter / waitress
陆雨平 – Sui YuPing
马大为 – Ma DaWei
王小云 – Wang XiaoYun
林娜 – Linna
Lesson 27 New Practical Chinese Reader – Dialogue 1
0.14 服务员: What would you all like to order?
0.18 陆雨平: Bring a pot of tea and also some snacks.
0.20 服务员: Ok,wait a moment.
0.26 陆雨平: This is the traditional teahouse that I have mentioned a few times. Today I brought you here so you could find out a bit about teahouse culture.
0.39 马大为: There are a lot of people in this teahouse, and it’s very lively.
0.45 林娜: Their voices are too loud when they are speaking.
0.48 服务员: TEA……….HAS…….. ARRIVED. Please enjoy it.
1.22 马大为: Just as we were saying how noisy it is in here, that waiter’s voice became even louder.
1.28 王小云: Teahouses are actually the most busy of places. There are people who move a stage into the teahouse and then put on an opera performance, at these times it is even more noisy than usual.
1.40 林娜: I think people should speak a bit more quietly when they are in a public place. Since I’ve been in china I have found that in restaurants, shops or railway stations people speak very loudly. To be honest I’ve not got used to it.
1.59 王小云: The people who come to teahouses like a lively atmosphere. They chat while drinking their tea. Their chatting makes them happy and so this makes their voices more and more loud. People who prefer peace and quiet don’t come to teahouses, they often go to different places like coffee shops.
2.19 陆雨平: What Linna said is correct; many people do speak too loudly in public places.
2.21 王小云: I wanted to come here to have a chat, but you feel it is too noisy. Ok, let’s go. Across the road there is a park, let’s go to there and have a walk.
2.42 马大为: Ok, let’s have a chat while walking in the park.
New Practical Chinese Reader Lesson 27 – Dialogue 2
The topic discussed in the second dialogue in lesson 27 is customs associated with food and drink, more specifically the differences in dining etiquette between China and foreign countries.
Listening task 2 of New Practical Chinese Reader book 4 features a dialogue between three of the four friends in dialogue 1. However, 王小云(WangXiaoYun),the female Chinese lady that appear in dialogue 1 is replaced by a male called 丁力波 (Ding Libo) who opens the conversation:
5.58 丁力波: Will you be offended if we express our true opinion about something?
6.00 陆雨平:Of course we won’t be offended. We often spend time with foreign friends, so we know people who come from different countries have different customs. To us this very ordinary.
6.10 丁力波:What do (chinese) people who are not familiar with foreign culture think about it?
6.14 王小云: There are some things that they are not accustomed to. For example, when Chinese people eat they use chopsticks, whereas westerners use a knife and fork to eat. Westerners also have their own food on their own plate, they cut the foot into small pieces before putting it into their mouths. If there is a bit of food on their fingers they will lick it off; Chinese people don’t see this as polite.
6.39 马大为: Indeed. Using a knife and fork, and licking our fingers clean, these are habits in our countries. 力波 don’t you agree?
6.48 丁力波: Sue, we start doing these things when we are children and continue them into adulthood.
6.54 王小云: However, licking your fingers after a meal in China is considered impolite.
7.00 陆雨平: The way I see it we should follow the local customs. When we are in a public place in a foreign country we should lower our voices a little. When you are in a Chinese home you shouldn’t lick your fingers.
7.13 丁力波: Yes, I follow the saying when in Rome do as the Romans do. When i am eating Chinese food I use chopsticks; when eating western food I use a knife and fork. I think both are good. My mum and dad follow this principle as well.
7.29 王小云: Li Bo, how do you say ‘入乡随俗’ in English?