Different Space Concepts
between the English and the Americans
黄 微
王 哲
刘 燕
王利洁
曹娟娟
Ⅰ. Introduction
As foreign language especially English learners, Uncle Sam and John Bull are not strange to us. As is known to all, Americans are optimistic, confident, brave and active, while traditional Englishman are introversive, indifferent, polite, loyal and full of sense of national superiority. Englishman and Americans respectively complain so much that Englishman dislike Americans’ lack of history whereas Americans say Englishman are void of future sense. In spite of their shared language, their culture is totally different. American culture is unique because it is nurtured, formed and developed under certain conditions, which are characteristically American. The major factors contributing to the making of this new nation and the forming of a new culture are the hard environment, ethnic diversity and plural religion, which is quite different from other nations in the world. What is more, these elements are still influencing the American culture. However, the culture of England refers to the idiosyncratic cultural norms of England and the English people. Because of England’s dominant position within the United Kingdom in terms of population, English culture is often difficult to differentiate from the culture of the United Kingdom as a whole. It is culture that makes them hold different attitudes towards space. What’s more, in regard to the need for a screen for the ego, this places the Americans somewhere between the Germans and the English. Some examples which can obviously illustrate these differences are as follows.
Ⅱ. Contrasting
1. Class distinctions
In the United States, we use space as a way of classifying people and activities, whereas in England it is the social system that determines who you are. In the United States, your address is an important cue to status. The Joneses from Brooklyn and Miami are not as "in" as the Joneses from Newport and Palm Beach. Greenwich and Cape Code are worlds apart from Newark and Miami. Businesses located on Madison and Park avenues have more tone than those on Seventh and Eighth avenues. A corner office is more prestigious than one next to the elevator or at the end of a long hall.
In England, the particularly complex and confusing class system is simply made up of the upper, middle and lower class. The wealthy families who run the City of London are at the core of the British class and they pass on wealth from generation to generation and enjoy a dominant position in society, which marks it as different from the American or Chinese structure. The middle class can be divided into even smaller segments. Some people who are dependent on the tight class structure of the British Empire for his position, but poorer than many people in supposedly lower classes may refer to his own family as “lower-upper-middle class”. Unfortunately, lower-class is related to those whose backgrounds are working class. They seldom have the right to do what they want to do. Thus, in Britain, with an inherit title such as baronets, barons and duck, the upper-class does have a lot of privilege. They most likely have a seat in the House of Lords and vote as individuals for serving their own interests. They, the Englishman, are born and brought up in a social system. He is still Lord--no matter where you find him, even if it is behind the counter in a fishmonger's stall.
2. In addition to class distinctions, there are differences between the Englishman and Americans in how space is allotted.
The middle-class American growing up in the United States feels he has a right to have his own room, or at least part of office. Some American subjects, when asked to draw an ideal room or office, invariably drew it for themselves and no one else. When asked to draw their present room or office, they drew only their own part of a shared room and then drew a line down the middle. Both male and female subjects identified the kitchen and the master bedroom as belongings to the mother or the wife, whereas Father's territory was a study or a den, if one was available, otherwise, it was "the shop," "the basement," or sometimes only a workbench or the garage. American women who want to be alone can go to the bedroom and close the door.
The Middle-and upper-class Englishman, on the other hand, is brought up in a nursery shared with brothers and sisters. The oldest occupies a room by himself which he vacates when he leaves for boarding school, possibly even at the age of nine or ten. The difference between a room of one's own and early conditioning to shared space, while seeming inconsequential, has an important effect on the Englishman's attitude toward his own space. He may never have a permanent "room of his own" and seldom expects one or feels he is entitled to one. Even Members of Parliament have no offices and often conduct their business on the terrace overlooking the Thames. As a consequence, the English are puzzled by the American need for a secure place in which to work, an office. Americans working in England may become annoyed if they are not provided with what they consider appropriate enclosed work space. In regard to the need for walls as a screen for the ego, this places the Americans somewhere between the Germans and the English.
3. The closed door is an unremarkable phenomenon, while it has great distinction among American, English and German.
The closed door is the sign meaning “Do not disturb” or “I’m angry.” An American is available if his door is open at home or at his office. He is expected not to shut himself off but to maintain himself in a state of constant readiness to answer the demands of others. Closed doors are for conferences, private conversations, and business, work that requires concentration, study, resting, sleeping, dressing, and sex. When the American wants to be alone he goes into a room and shuts the door. For an American to refuse to someone else present in the same room, to give them the “silent treatment,” is the ultimate form of rejection and a sure sign of great displeasure.
The English, on the other hand, lacking rooms of their own since childhood, never developed the practice of using space as a refuge from other. They have in effect internalized a set of barriers, which they erect and which others are supposed to recognize. Therefore, the more the Englishman shuts himself off when he is with an American the more likely the American is to break in to assure himself that all is well. Tension lasts until the two get to know each other. The important point is that the spatial and architectural needs of each are not the same at all.
In an instance where the Americans would consider himself not to intrude Germany and by definition would not become involved with him, while Germany would think they have already entered their territory. The following experience brought the conflict into focus. As Hall stood talking on the doorstep, he glanced to the left and noticed that some fifty to sixty feet away, inside the studio, the Prussian artist and two of his friends were also in conversation. The artist was facing so that if he glanced to one side he could just see Hall. Hall had noted the artist’ presence, but not wanting to appear presumptuous or to interpret his conversation, unconsciously applied the American rule and assumed that the two activities - he quiet conversation and the artist’s conversation - were not involved with each other. As Hall was soon to learn, this was a mistake, because in less time than it takes to tell, the artist had detached himself from his friends, crossed the intervening space, pushed Hall’s friend aside, and with eyes flashing, started shouting at Hall. By what right had Hall entered his studio without greeting him? Who had given Hall permission?
Ⅲ. Summary
Like most writings of an academic nature, this article is neatly-structured. It uses introduction-elucidation-conclusion structure. Its thesis is clearly stated in the first paragraph that there’re differences between the English and the Americans and the reason causing this is communications on other levels beginning with English intonation and continuing to ego-linked ways of handling time, space, and materials. In the second and third paragraphs, the author draws how the Americans and the English handle or deal with rooms by detailed examples. Comparing English and American patterns, Englishman sometimes have the built-need to shut off. Finally, the author tells us even though we should spend too much time in understanding; we can identify the different features between the Americans and the English in handling space. While the article builds on contrast, contrasting the two major English-speaking cultures is not the ultimate purpose. The aims of contrasting that are letting us understand the differences among many countries about the space. We should respect the different cultures. When we communicate or get on with foreigners, we’d better learn something about their culture at first and then try to respect their cultures. Only by this way can we keep harmony with people from other countries.
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