Analysis of Looking at America Using Hofstede’s Value Dimensions

【Abstract】Against the backdrop that communication across cultures plays a paramount role in contemporary international environment， study on literary works about cross-cultural communication has been attached great importance. This report， resorting to two of Geert Hofstede s value dimensions， intends to analyze the book—Looking at America， Memoirs of a Chinese Girl. Not only the influences of cultures on differences and similarities of the various situations that the protagonist has experienced will be analyzed in this report， but also detailed analyses about how Hofstede s value dimensions work in this book will be presented.

【Key words】Hofstede s Value Dimensions； Looking at America； Analysis

【作者簡介】李敏，西北大學外國語學院。

1. Introduction

The value dimensions put forward by Geert Hofstede is one of the most important ways to analyze cultural patterns and is popular among scholars. It is meaningful to use Hoftstede s value dimensions to analyze literary works related to cultures.

Looking at America， Memoirs of a Chinese Girl is about the cultural differences and similarities between China and America. This thesis will probe into it with two of Geert Hofstede s value dimensions， by which cultural influences on the protagonist experiences and how value dimensions function in the book will be revealed.

1.1 A Brief Introduction to Looking at America

Looking at America， which depicts true stories is written by Kelly Cha who once studied in the USA. By recalling her own memories， Cha wrote her stories down when she returned to China. All the stories in this book are told in a fourteen-year-old girl s tone， so the language is sweet and intelligible.

This book includes thirteen chapters， covering topics varying from daily life and study to traveling. The author shares her interesting adventures with readers and maps out a picture of a little foreign student living and studying in America. Besides， according to Yang （1990）， literature concerning America is prosperous in the 1980s. The analyzed book is almost written at that time， which is helpful for scholars to study America of 20th century.

1.2 An Introduction to Two of the Hofstede s Value Dimensions

Hofstede s theory of value dimensions include： masculinity and femininity， uncertainty avoidance， individualism and collectivism as well as power distance. In this thesis， the last two value dimensions will be used to analyze the book.

Power distance which means the degree to which people in a society agree with the phenomenon that there is an unequal distribution among power in organizations， can bring out different outcomes in different countries. In high power distance cultures， the principle that there should be an order of inequality in this world is upheld. People show respect to their superiors and behave formally in workplaces. Differently， in low power distance cultures， what is maintained is that inequality in society should be minimized.

Individualism and collectivism is the most frequently applied theory among those put forward by Hofstede. The distinction between them can be seen in behavior of people in different countries. In individualistic cultures， personal competence， independence， straightforwardness are advocated. Besides， individual interests and happiness outweigh those of a society. Collectivist cultures， however， value cooperation and group wisdom at work and prefer interdependence， mutual help as well as tolerance towards family members.

2. Analysis of Looking at America Using Hofstede s Values Dimensions

2.1 Power Distance

According to Hofstede， different cultures have different levels of power distance. Compared with the power distance index score of China， that of the U.S. is twice lower， which indicates China belongs to the high power distance culture while the U.S. the low power distance culture.

In one respect， different levels of power distance can be discovered in schools. In the second chapter—“I teach you Chinese”， the author describes the indoor decoration of American classrooms for primary school students， whose walls are covered with beautiful paintings， pictures and various posters and whose floor is decorated with carpets. Desks and chairs are arranged in circle to let students communicate freely. Conversely， Chinese classrooms， where most often just pictures of famous quotes are hanged on the walls and desks are placed row by row， look relatively drab. American way of decoration give people a cozy feeling， invisibly decreasing people s distance. Contrarily， Chinese way of decoration creates a serious atmosphere， highlighting the key role of teachers—organizers and controllers.

In another respect， how to address teachers can also present different levels of power distance. The author portrays an embarrassing scene while she met her American teacher for the first time. To show her manners， the author called her teacher “Teacher A”， but her teacher said “Mrs. A. not Teacher A”. This way of calling teachers is quite different from the Chinese way. American way of addressing teachers creates an equal state between teachers and students， but Chinese way enlarges their distance.

2.2 Individualism and Collectivism

The distinction between individualism and collectivism is the most obvious difference between the U.S. and China. The former belongs to capitalism and prefers individual development， while the latter maintains communism and values the progress of all people and the prosperity of the society.

From the author s statement， both America and China provide twelve basic years of education， but there are differences in their detailed education.

First and foremost， the author states that Americans advocate students freedom and rights ， which can be seen in courses and textbooks provided for students. Except those obligatory courses， the author， who studied in an American primary school， can choose different optional courses and study different textbooks. When studied second foreign language， she chose Germany and French in different terms. However， for Chinese primary school students， completely same textbooks are provided within a city.

Then， the author calculates how much time students spend in school each year. American students spend about 5 months at school while Chinese students 8 months. American students have more time to pursue their own interests， while Chinese students， without enough personal time left， can only adjust themselves to national standards for students development.

Last but not least， compared with the number of American students in a class， that of Chinese students is twice bigger. The author states that there was only 19 students in her class when she was in the third grade in America. This can show Americans value the development of individuals most because small number of students in a class can ensure every student s potentiality is discovered. Besides， according to students performance in class and their grades， American schools will adjust students grades to fully develop students potential ability. Contrarily， Chinese students， in most situations， just move up to higher education step by step.

3. Conclusion

This thesis， resorting to Hofstede s two cultural dimensions， aims to analyze the influence of culture on the book Looking at America. After an analysis of the stories in the book， similarities and differences of American culture and Chinese culture involved in the book can be presented.

In terms of power distance， different ways of decorating classrooms and arranging indoor facilities can reveal American and Chinese different attitudes of treating the relationship between teachers and students. Chinese classrooms are more formally decorated while American ones attempt to create an equal and comfortable atmosphere. Besides， different ways of addressing teachers also show different levels of power distance of America and China.

With respect to individualism and collectivism， in the book， Chinese culture is characterized by valuing all students same development， providing the same courses and textbooks for students and cherishing happy times when family members travel together. Nonetheless， individual potentiality， interests and personal rights are preferred by Americans.

In a nutshell， despite the above detailed analysis of the book applying Hofstede s value dimensions， there are still useful data in this book can be used to do further analysis. For example， texts about the bad experiences encountered by the author in America can be used to analyze how racial discrimination treated differently in America and China. Therefore， it is worthwhile to make further analysis of this topic.

References：

[1]Cha，Kelly（2003）.Looking at America，Memoirs of a Chinese Girl.Tianjing：Tianjin People s Publishing House.

[2]Samovar，L.A.，Porter，R.E.，and Stefani，L.A.（2000）.Communication Between Cultures.Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Rearch Press.

[3]楊玉圣.八十年代的中國美國學[J].美國研究，1990：146-157.