Abstract: Under the trend of globalization, the cross-cultural communication between China and Western countries is becoming a hot issue. Today, one’s table manner is becoming one of the important factors that affect the success of cross-cultural communication. This paper aims to make readers to know better about major differences between Chinese and Western table manners so that they can avoid unnecessary confusion or embarrassment and gain more benefits in daily communication. The author first gives the definition and importance of table manners. The research methods used in this paper are comparison and contrast. The author makes a comparison of table manners between China and the west from the following aspects: tableware setting, orders of serving dishes, and toasting and to work out the major differences of Chinese and Western table manners. It is beneficial to understand these differences, and cultivate people’s adaptabilities and avoid misunderstandings and conflicts in the cross-cultural communication.
Key words: table manners; differences; cross-cultural communication
摘要：在全球化背景下，随着中西跨文化交际活动的日益频繁，今天餐桌礼仪已渐渐成为影响跨文化交际成功与否的重要因素之一。本文旨在让读者能够对中西餐桌礼仪的主要差异有一个更加深入的了解，以便在日常生活中能更好的运用正确的餐桌礼仪，为日常交际带来更多便利。本文首先概述了餐桌礼仪的定义以及了解不同餐桌礼仪的重要性，然后采用对比和对照的分析方法，对中西餐桌礼仪的餐具设置，上菜顺序，饮酒礼仪这几个方面进行了研究从而探求中西方主要餐桌礼仪差异。深刻了解这些差异有助于培养人们在跨文化交际时的适应能力，避免在跨文化交际中造成不必要的误解与冲突。
关键词：餐桌礼仪；差异；跨文化交际
