il Giardino Romantico

Some interesting facts about Third Culture Kids

什麼是第三文化小孩？

所謂第三文化小孩(Third Culture Kids)是指童年時跟隨父母至異鄉成長的孩子。這些孩子除了父母傳承的文化，也無形間接收了成長期所居住國家的文化，形成屬於自己的第三文化。

Third culture kids refers to those who, during childhood, have followed their parents to a foreign country and have lived in other countries for sometimes longer than they have in their own country.  Not only do third culture kids absorb the culture passed down by their parents, but also the culture of the country in which they lived, thus forming their own unique 'third culture'.

研究顯示，無論是私人公司或是政府機關派出國，較優秀的人才一定會被作為優先考慮對象。父母離異的狀態下，很少有人會同意一方將孩子帶出境。因此第三文化小孩大多都有平穩的家庭關係即經濟狀況。

Research have shown that those who excel in their area of work are most likely to be sent abroad by either private companies or by the government.  Because it is more difficult for a divorced parent to take their kid abroad, due to the unlikely consent of the other parent, it results in the fact that most third culture kids come from stable family and economic backgrounds.

一般第三文化小孩父母不過就是在軍事單位、政府機關、傳教單位、或是商業公司服務。許多第三文化孩子都住過兩三個以上的國家。

Most of the parents of third culture kids may occupy positions in military or government offices, international business companies, or they may be missionaries.  Many third culture kids have lived in more than two or three countries during their childhood.

第三文化的孩子比較容易接受不同文化的思想、比較容易homesick、以及與遠方的朋友保持聯繫的慾望也比較高。大多數的第三文化小孩也都有不錯的英文能力。因為大多數的國際學校都採用英語為主要教受語言。

Third culture kids are more likely to accept ideas from different cultures, more susceptible to homesickness, and have stronger desire to stay in touch with distant friends.  Most third culture kids also have a certain command of English, since most international school, assuming that is where their parents would send them, uses English as the main language.

因為特別的文化背景，時常無法與有相同經驗的朋友們建立共同話題。雖然可以用所持護照表明自己的國籍，但對許多第三文化小孩來說，這其實是一個相當難回答的問題。這些孩子常常對於自己的國家早已陌生。若是常常居住不同國家，對當地文化也不會有太深入的了解。

Due to the unique cultural background, third culture kids may sometimes find it difficult to converse with those without a similar experience.  They may use their passport to define their nationality, but for many third culture kids, it is most difficult to associate themselves with any one country.  They may have lost the intimacy toward their own country, and if they often move to different countries, they may not know any one culture in depth.


[以上資料來源：wikipedia]