Abstract
The foreign employee will likely have achieved some degree of fluency in Chinese, but will find that being able to communicate in Chinese language is no guarantee for being able to communicate effectively in a Chinese corporate environment as the language of corporate communications is distinct and follows a very different set of rules than the ones with which the foreign employee may be familiar or conversant.
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- 1.
Sing-Bik Ngai and Singh compare CEO messages in Chinese and English and demonstrate there can, in fact, be a substantial difference between the content, messaging, and even branding a Chinese company presents to a local audience in Chinese and what it communicates in English to a target audience outside China.
- 2.
For sake of consistency and to make the comparison more meaningful speeches have been drawn from Chinese executives whose companies are profiled in Chapter 4 (Enterprise Experience).
- 3.
This claim comes with the caveat that although the speeches have been designated ‘internal’ the fact that they have been made publicly available raises the question about the original intent of the speech and the suspicion that the speaker had some sense that his words would find wider circulation and be exposed to a broader audience than the strictly internal one it was nominally intended for.
- 4.
Unless otherwise noted, translations of Chinese executive speeches are my own.
- 5.
“Shoucang dao ziji de chucun” 收藏到自己的储存.
- 6.
过去的一百多年,经济的竞争方式是以火车、轮船、电报、传真等手段来进行的 (Ren Zhengfei speech to party members) “Ma Yun tan ‘Xi You Ji’ tuandui ruhe chengong”, Sohu, June 15, 2018 (www.sohu.com/a/19360353_130673) (article on Jack Ma’s discussion of “Journey to the West” and corporate teams.
- 7.
Cited in: (Xing et al. 2008, page 76).
- 8.
红军从爬雪山过草地,到了北京,这过程仅仅经历了十四年。他们从一个少年才变成一个青年,到北京就当了部长. From Ren Zhengfei speech to Party members entitled “A Soldier’s Life Is The Most Rewarding and The Most Challenging”.
- 9.
“Ren Zhengfei neibu wenzhang quanji”, Huawei, 1994–2012.
- 10.
我们要做好准备,打好每一场战争、战役和战斗.
Li, Yanhong (Robin Li), “Ushering in the Modern Era”, Tencent Web, February 7, 2017, http://tech.qq.com/a/20170207/020968.htm?t=1486457334699.
- 11.
Lei Jun, “在刚刚过去的一年里,我们在每一条战线上都取得了非常了不起的业绩.
- 12.
因为在中国,像我们这样的公司真的不多,你们会经历很多。五六年前是肉搏战,今天是军团作战. Ma, Yun, “‘102’ years’ Is Not Just a Slogan”.
- 13.
This image and the ones that follow are drawn from actual corporate presentations. However, as the intent is to illustrate aesthetic and design principles, only relevant elements have been retained. All content has been removed to maintain confidentiality and preserve anonymity.
- 14.
The term ‘Credibility Quotient’ is a concept devised by the author to describe this phenomenon.
- 15.
This reference comes from “Literary Background and Rhetorical Styles” in Kirkpatrick, page 43.
- 16.
“Zai bai mang zhi zhong chou chu shijian” (在百忙之中抽出时间), one of the more commonly used of these formulations is an expression of gratitude to the members of the audience for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the event.
- 17.
Hwang, John C., “Masculinity Index and Communications Style”, Chinese Communications Theory, Chapter 5.
- 18.
Examples: “shenti yuyan” (body language), “pobing yanjiang” (ice breaker speech”) etc.
- 19.
However, this should not be interpreted as a complete abandoning of the information and data on a webpage.
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Ross, P. (2020). Metaphorically Speaking. In: Barriers to Entry. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-32-9566-7_8
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