Language and Culture -
an Analysis of a Chinese-German Conversation

Susanne Günthner (Konstanz)

English transcriptions

YANG 6

8	Yang:	this is natural.
9	Andrea:	this is NATURAL.
10		this is actually tradiTIONAL.

YANG 32

49	Yang:	you will so so you will perhaps say, I am very c conservat((HI))ive
50		/((HI))and/
51	Doris:	/I/ will say a MAN / and you see it from /
52	Yang:	/this is your opinion/
53	Doris:	your MALE PERSPECTIVE.

YANG 31

6	Yang:	yes like this. when when this problem is solved, then of course (0.3)
7		it is easier to DIScuss (0.3) [the other problem]
8	Doris:	[no. no. eh no. wait a minute]
9	Yang:	eh to UNDERSTAND. to UNDERSTAND.
10	Doris:	no. WAIT A MINUTE. eh:m eh eh for ME it's no problem,
11		for me it's CLEAR
12	Yang:	yes.
13	Doris:	ehm WOMEN AND MEN ARE NATURALLY EQUAL.
14		this is not a PROBLEM =
15	Yang:	=yes
16	Tan:	hihihi
17	Doris:	however, if YOU say, eh::: they are NOT equal, NATURALLY UNEQUAL,
18		then it is YOUR problem, but eh you understand,
19		this is nothing you can discuss.

YANG 5ff.

58	Tan:	then (0.2) it also should'=
59	Doris:	= (......./...............)/
60	Tan:	/yes be done/ by one of them. YES'
61		either by the HUSBAND OR the WIFE
62	Andrea:	yes. and when the HUSBAND doesn't feel like doing it.
63		and the WIFE doesn't feel doing it
64		then the wife has to do it.

YANG 28

92	Tan:	/ yeah how / how can. - eh
93		his girlfriend can even earn MORE money
94		than /HE/
95	Yang:	/yes/ twice/ as much as I.
96	Andrea:	/(yes: ........)/
97	Andrea:	mhm.
98	Tan:	hihihihhhhhhhhhhh
99	Andrea:	and when you have children one day,
1		then it will be your girlfriend who INSPITE OF THIS will have to stay
2		at home. probably.
3		(0.3)
4	Andrea:	/ normally /
5	Doris:	/or work/ TWICE AS MUCH

YANG 29

22	Yang:	I must yes. ehm' yes SAY like this.
23		hihi I also find it NICE
24		ehm' COMFORTABLE yes. (-) eh I think so.
25		when' when I lateron come home from work yes
26		well=I=hihihi=mean=when later=in=the=future=yes
27		and then my' my hihi wife hihi is already at HOME
28		and has prepared dinner yes.
29	Doris:	and then it is REA:LLY COZY.
30		and YOU SIT in your chair,
31		and SHE SLAVES AWAY for you. (-)
32		well I do believe [that]
33	Andrea:	[hihihihi]
34	Doris:	all MEN think this is [just GREAT]
35	Andrea:	[of course.]

YANG 19

1	Yang:	eh:m'::: I I I, I must must must say,
2		well in Germany the women's problem is'
3		eh' (-) well is eh is BIGGER than in China.

YANG 24 a

67	Doris:	well /I/ don't quite UNDERSTAND
68	Tan:	/hm/
69	Doris:	WHY you say that eh in in China there are'nt any women's problems
70		the problem actually is the same it's just that
71		- eh:m' that it is HUSHED up much more.
72	Yang:	* not as bad as here*
73	Doris:	YES BECAUSE WOMEN ARE MORE CONSCIOUS HERE

YANG 24 b

7	Tan:	and what is not good?
8	Andrea:	well I think, for example
9		he says there is no women's problem.
10		I say, there ARE problems.
11		but the women (-) don't do anything about it.
12		or:' (-) or they don't think /about them/
13	Doris:	/it is not/ made a public issue=
14	Andrea:	= ja. or don't talk about them

YANG 30

45	Yang:	I I agree with your opinion. (-) that women REALLY we::ll we:ll
46		after they graduate from university or (-)we:ll ehm:
47		as a' adults they have less chances
48		or less opportunities' than men
49	Doris:	mhm
50	Yang:	and also the future (0.3) is not as marvellous as the men's.
51	Doris:	why do YOU say , (-) that that you think eh women have ENOUGH rights.
52		it' s enough. why DO [YOU SAY THIS?]
53	Yang:	[(...............)hihi]

YANG 15

79	Yang:	this is from the traditional? or political?
80		(-) or' the (only) eh the (-) by nature
81		[(...)] I mean natural'
82	Doris:	[well] do you believe there is a NATURAL LIMITATION?
83		(0.7)
84	Yang:	I belie:ve (-) NOT, but I ((hi)) I must say, there is. (1.0) a bit.
85	Doris:	what do you mean by this?

YANG 17 ff.

86	Doris:	this is not a natural difference in my [eyes]
87	Yang:	[mhm yes.] mhm
88	Doris:	where do YOU see NATURAL differences? (-)
89		because you mentioned something about natural differ[ences]
90	Yang:	[per]haps
91		I have these eh: (1.0) eh it's difficult to say
........
8	Doris:	[you] are now talking about purely physical?
9	Yang:	not physical eh now well
10	Doris:	concerning physical strength? *or what do you mean?*
11	Yang:	(not clear) for example the police
12	Doris:	POLICE?
13	Yang:	CRIMINAL investigators. this is not physical.
14	Doris:	no. this is NOT physical. but it does have to do' with
15		the status of women in the society.
16		MEN can represented as authoritative figures in the society
17		who have MORE to say than WOMEN.
18	Yang:	yes.
19	Doris:	and wh' THEN it becomes of course problematic
20		when there is such an UNequal concept of society ,
21		then then it becomes difficult to suddenly place WOMEN in the same position
22		as men (most of the time) but if men and women
23		had the same roles
24	Yang:	yes.
25	Doris:	so that eh' when a woman says something, it is treated just
26		AS (-) AUTHORITATIVE as when a man would say it
27	Yang:	yes.
28	Doris:	then it wouldn't be a problem.
29		this is a SOCIAL difference then
30		and not a (-) NATURAL.
31	Yang:	yes'hh((hi))'hh
32	Doris:	yes. I do think so. so. this is no difference then.
33		what what might be true is
34		[or what]/
35	Yang:	[and and also] I also think the
36		WAY OF THINKING of women and of men
37	Doris:	try it eh what kind of difference
38		is [this?]
39	Yang:	[way] of thinking.
40	Doris:	what kind of difference do you mean? (0.6)
41	Doris:	how women think, [how men (...) think]?
42	Yang:	[(..........................)]
43	Tan:	[ I believe that ] already (-) also (-) eh:
44		because of the tra(-)dition because of THE tradition or=something=like=that
45	Doris:	well [I]
46	Yang:	[per]haps because of [the tradion]
47	Andrea:	[well] women cannot
48	Andrea:	well women are not stup)der than men.
49	Yang:	no.( - )[this is right]
50	Doris:	[or think differently]
51	Andrea:	you mean they are more em[OTIONAL or what]
52	Yang:	[I believe eh ]
53	Yang:	sometimes in certain areas they are better than men.
54		and the MEN work better in certain areas
55		than [wo]men
56	Andrea:	[mhm]
57	Doris:	but this is also something that is
58		VERY STRONGLY determined by tradition
59		suppose women have ALWAYS worked in one area
60		then they DEVELOP their abilities in this area.
61		when I as a WOMAN have always worked in a typical MALE profession
62		then I develop the abilities,
63		which belong to this MALE PROFESSION=
64	Yang:	= and I I must say, for MEN there is no limit
65		for the, for the work. for the jobs. for women there is a limit.
66	Doris:	what sort of limit?
67	Yang:	for example (0.3) physical

YANG 30

45	Yang:	I I agree with your opinion. (-) that women
46		REALLY we::ll we:ll
47		after they graduate from university or (-)we:ll ehm:
48		as a' adults they have less chances
49		or less opportunities' than men
49	Doris:	mhm
50	Yang:	and also the future (0.3) is not as marvellous as the men's.
51	Doris:	why do YOU say , (-) that that you think eh women have ENOUGH rights.
52		it' s enough. why DO [YOU SAY THIS?]
53	Yang:	[(...............)hihi]

YANG 33

4	Yang:	they also have thought very little about this ++reflected on this++ THEREFORE
5		is it a little bit more (quiet) in China
6		concerning this problem. concerning the women's problem.
7		this might be. (0.2) we eh the' my /second/
8	Andrea:	/mhm/
9	Yang:	second second opinion. that is there is still a lot
10		a very lot to do for us. to improve very much from /now/
11	Andrea:	/mhm/
12		(0.5)
13	Doris:	mhm. well I think it is probleMATIC ehm: I
14		eh: because I eh it is' well' you might think
15		emancipation means (-) women and men become similar
16		and that women and men SHOULD BE the same
17		however THIS is not ema.cipation (-)
18		for me. emancipation means

YANG 19

91	Andrea:	or they have to hh' (-) eh ++ I saw it in Tibet ++,
92		they have to cast stones,
93		bricks or'(-) EXACTLY the same
94		work as the men did.
95		(0.3)
96		when you NEED their work force,
97		then you say that women can do the SAME job.
98		(-) and when you don't WANT
99		/them/ then you say that they lack
1	Tan:	/mhm/
2	Andrea:	physical ENERGY. it' (-) eh you can look at other
3		/countries/
4	Tan:	/HAVE/ YOU BEEN TO TIBET?
5	Andrea:	yes.
6		(0.2)
7		and to China.
8	Tan:	eh hi/hi/
9	Yang:	/ah yeah/ (-) what's your name?
10	Andrea:	Andrea.
11	Yang:	Andrea. ah.
12		(0.2)
13	Andrea:	mhm.I SAW IT it always depends,
14		when (0.2) when in a' country eh a lot of hard work needs to be done
15		due to the climate or so, then all people together
16		have to do ALL sort of work.

YANG 30-32

1	Yang:	FIRST OF ALL we must discuss THIS problem=
2	Doris:	= well I would say, there is a natur[al equal]ity
3	Yang:	[and this problem]
4	Yang:	eh. natural equality.
5	Doris:	EQUALITY.
6	Yang:	yes like this. when when this problem is solved, then of course (0.3)
7		it is easier to DIScuss (0.3) [the other problem]
8	Doris:	[no. no. eh no. stop for a moment]
9	Yang:	eh to UNDERSTAND. to UNDERSTAND.
10	Doris:	no. WAIT A MOMENT. eh:m eh eh for ME it's no problem,
11		for me it's CLEAR
12	Yang:	yes.
13	Doris:	ehm WOMEN AND MEN ARE NATURALLY EQUAL.
14		this is not a PROBLEM =
15	Yang:	=yes
16	Tan:	hihihi
17	Doris:	however, if YOU say, eh::: they are NOT equal, NATURALLY UNEQUAL,
18		then it is YOUR problem, but eh you understand,
19		this is nothing you can discuss.
20		MEN CLAIM /h' th[ey are] un' just a MOMENT, men claim
21	Yang:	[(i:s)]
22	Doris:	they are DIFFerent that the na' that women b' by natural'
23		eh b' by nature canNOT do certain things or can do other things BETTER,
24		and this how they ACCOUNT for the fact, that they cut back on w' women's
25		rights eh their (-) in certain areas
26		(1.0)
27	Yang:	well:: I: I: I believe, I have (-) THIS opinion
28		(-) and eh eh I believe ALSO the other people ALSO
29		perhaps have this opinion
30	Doris:	which opinion? that human beings,
31		that women and men are /diff/erent
32	Yang:	/I belie'/
33	Doris:	by nature?
34	Yang:	of course there are of course differen- differences.
35		(-) there are for example in sports (-)
36		the the the eh the the women' s (-) records world records
37		and the the men's records are different
38		/this is (............concerning the body concerning the body....)
39	Doris:	/THERE ARE (-) I mean a female body and
40		a male body are normally different
41	Yang:	I THINK we all know, that the the the differences between
42		well the MALE body and eh' the womanly female body.
43		we all know this. (-)
44		I believe perhaps there are still OTHER differences
45		Andrea:intellectual? /that they/
46		Yang:/intellectual./ or something like that
47	Andrea:	but (-) /(I mean)/
48	Yang:	/and/ eh eh n (I want) perhaps hihi
49		you will so so you might perhaps say that I am very c- conservat((HI))ive
50		/((HI))and/
51	Doris:	/I / will say you are a MAN /and have /
52	Yang:	/that is your opinion/
53	Doris:	a MALE PERSPECTIVE.
54	Yang:	yes.
55	Doris:	*that's what I am saying*
56	Yang:	hihihihihi
57		(-)
58	Yang:	and (-) eh' (-) I mean also the:: for example eh the the female IN THE WORLD
59		we say (-) eh the WOMAN is halfs HALF SKY eh HALF THE SKY.
60		the MEN HALF THE SKY.
61		(-) this eh this is an image
62		the this world is cordinated. has has to be cordinated,
63		then we can have a GOOD life also good also he::: good future.
64	Doris:	mhm
65	Yang:	this is also I believe this is reason also from NATURALLY.
66		this is from NATURALLY a principle
67	Doris:	mhm
68	Yang:	therefore I must say if men and women are TOTALLY alike. (0.3)
69		this is (0.5) unthink[able.]
70	Andrea:	[no but]