Study on Politeness Phenomena in Chinese and English Cultures30.doc

中英文化中的礼貌现象对比研究study on politeness phenomena in chinese and english culturescontentsabstract 1key words1 introduction 2.politeness maxims both in chinese and english cultures.2.politeness phenomena in chinese and english cultures 41. compliments and responses 42. thanks and replies53. addresses 64. greetings and farewells 85.invitations and responses in gift giving 8.cultural values reflected in different politeness phenomena 91. modesty and self -denigration 92. privacy and individualism 11.advice on communication 13.conclusion 13references14 study on politeness phenomena in chineseand english cultures 摘要：礼貌现象是语言学家关注的焦点之一。礼貌是制约会话的一个重要方面，不同国家的人们遵循不同的礼貌准则。本论文将比较分析leech 和顾曰国提出的中英文化中各自的礼貌准则，还将从语用学和社会语言学的角度，比较并分析英汉两种不同文化背境中的一些惯用礼貌套语，如 ：赞赏、谢谢、称呼、打招呼、道别等。本文将基于前人的研究结果 ，揭示英汉文化中语言交际的礼貌差异，通过分析指出它在跨文化交际中的意义。 关键词： 礼貌准则 跨文化交际 中英文化差异 abstract : politeness phenomena is one of the key issues discussed by linguistics. polite beliefs are a determining factor in natural conversations. people of different countries observe different politeness principles. this paper will give a contrastive analysis of the politeness principles in english and chinese cultures discussed by leech and gu yueguo, and also put forward some politeness strategies. this present paper will take the angle of sociolinguistics and pragmatics to compare and analyze some habitual expressions of politeness in two different cultural contexts, such as compliments and responses； thanks and replies; addresses; greetings and farewells; invitations and responses to gift giving etc. it attempts to explore the distinctions of politeness in language communication between chinese and english situations with reference to previous researches and to reveal its significance to cross-cultural communication.key words: politeness maxims intercultural communication english chinese culture differencesstudy on politeness phenomena in chineseand english cultures . introduction in intercultural communication, people from different cultural backgrounds encounter difficulties concerning both language usage and culture differences, which often hinder their smooth communication. one of the most important areas of research addressed by intercultural scholars is how misunderstandings can be minimized when people communicate with others from different cultures. misunderstandings and misinterpretations can lead to feelings of offence, insult and suspicion on the part of the individuals involved. in order to alert foreign language learners and users to this potential threat, we need too much research to be undertaken in situations of language contact, where appropriate language terms used are crucial. politeness phenomena is one of the key issues discussed by pragmatics .as a social convention, politeness phenomena possess -es cross -cultural homogeneity and also specific cultural characteristics. politeness has universality in chinese and english cultures: phenomenal, instrumental and normative by nature. despite its universality, we should delve into the depth where different cultural values are rooted. though being polite is preferred universally, the connotation of politeness might vary across culture. each society has its own politeness strategies and norms that may differ. therefore, the issue of politeness has become one of the most active of research in language use. in order to improve the intercultural communication, this paper compares and analyses pragmatics of politeness and culture value between english and chinese , points out the culture gap between english and chinese and also put forward some strategies .the study aims to help english learners use appropriate and polite expressions and avoid pragmatic failures in cross-cultural communication ,so as to guarantee the smooth achievement to communicative purposes.this paper also suggests that for cross -cultural communication to successfully take place, speakers from both cultures should understand the similarities and differences in their politeness principles. understanding cultural norms and rules such as the way we are expected to greet others, the way we are expected to eat, and the way we are expected to answer questions are also important to improving communication with people from other countries, because only the culture gap on politeness caused by different cultures between china and english speaking countries is understood can errors of language usage be avoided and reach the successful purpose of communication among different cultures. . politeness maxims both in chinese and english cultures polite beliefs are a determining factor in natural conversations. people of different countries observe different politeness principles .for cross-cultural communication to successfully take place, speakers from both cultures should understand each others politeness principles . politeness principles is a series of maxims, which geoff leech has proposed as a way of exploring how politeness operates in conversational exchanges. leechs maxims are as follows:a. tact maxim: minimize cost to others; maximize benefit to others. e.g.: (1) could you close the door ? (2) can i help you?in e.g.(1) ,as “could you ” is used ,it meets leechs “minimize cost to others”. in e.g.(2), offering help to others ,it meet “maximize benefit to others. ”b. generosity maxim: minimize benefit to self; maximize cost to self. e.g.: (3) do have another sandwich ,please. (4) use my bike, please.c. approbation maxim : minimize dispraise of others ; maximize praise of others. e.g.: (5) you are a really good guy . (6) you are the best teacher in my mind.d. modesty maxim: minimize praise of self; maximize dispraise of self. e.g.: (7) a: what a bright boy you are ! you have done a good job. b: thank you ,i have a very good cooperator .the first person owes his successes to his partner and shows his modesty.e. agreement maxim: minimize disagreement between self and others; maximize agreement between self and others.e.g.: (8) a: the dress he is wearing is beautiful ,didnt you think? b: well, i like the color .in order to avoid his disagreement with the other, the second person use “well,i like the color .”as an answer.f. sympathy maxim: minimize antipathy between self and others; maximize sympathy between self and others. e.g.: (9)a: we lost the game . b: never mind .better luck next time. e.g.: (10)a: my mother was sick last week. b: oh, im sorry to hear that.politeness plays a very important role in peoples interaction and serves as a kind of social lubricant .the case is similar in chinese culture.gu can be regarded as a pioneer in the study of chinese politeness .he introduces four maxims on chinese politeness ,which he claims to be very characteristic and almost unique to the chinese culture .they are the self-denigration maxim(i.e. to denigrate self and to elevate the others),the address maxim, the generosity maxim and the tact maxim. the first maxim of denigrating self and honoring the others, which absorbs the notions of respectfulness and modesty, is alleged to represent the most eminent characteristics in chinese politeness . this maxim consists of two clauses or sub maxims: (a) denigrate self and (b)elevate others .this maxim absorbs the notions of respectfulness and modesty .the breach of sub maxim (a),i.e. denigrate others ,is perceived as being impolite or rude .the breach of sub maxim (b) ,i.e. elevate self ,is construed as being arrogant ,boasting ,or self -conceited.the second maxim of address is based on the notions of respectfulness and attitudinal warmth. 1 the above are politeness principles studied by linguistics both in english and chinese. there are many general characters on politeness about each politeness norm of english speaking countries discussed by leech and china discussed by gu yueguo. their ideological core is to try to reduce others cost and tries to exaggerate others benefit . politeness phenomena in chinese and english cultures different cultures do things in different ways. the variety of ways we express politeness and respond to speech acts featuring politeness is determined by underlying, cultural-based assumptions about what it means to be polite. politeness maxims in china and english speaking countries are different. people of different countries observe different politeness principles, so what is polite in one culture is not in another. thats to say , politeness phenomena in chinese and english cultures are not the same .1. compliments and responsesit is quite common for people to exchange compliments in english speaking countries and china. however, there are cultural differences between english and chinese compliments and responses. such differences are not just linguistic differences and they are fundamentally cultural differences and they may cause problems or even breakdowns in intercultural communication. when being complimented ,an english-speaking person would readily accept the compliment by saying something like “thank you ”to show his appreciation of the praise, but a chinese speaker would try to deny the truth of the compliment. they both think they are behaving properly, yet neither of them would think the other is being polite. cultural differences exist first in who can be complimented. in english speaking countries ,one can praise members of ones own family. it would not be unusual to hear an english speaking woman talking about how hard her husband works and how well he has done in his career.she might do the same about her children :how well they do at school and how active they are in other activities .this might be considered bad taste in china . chinese people do not praise members of their own family in front of others. they consider it bad taste to praise themselves in front of others, they would not praise their family members before others either. 4cultural differences also exist in what can be complimented. it is quite common for a male english speaker to compliment females on their good looks ,while it is almost a taboo in chinese culture.striking cultural differences exist in how to respond to compliments. for instance ,when being complimented“ your shoes are very pretty .,an english may reply with a simplethank you” or “they are ancient ,ive had them for years.” a chinese may respond with “no. they are not as pretty as yours.” or “really? i got them very cheap.” now consider the following examples : a young chinese woman in britain was complimented for the lovely dress she was wearing. “its exquisite. the colors are so beautiful!” she was pleased ,but somewhat embarrassed. in typical chinese fashion, she replied,“ its just an ordinary dress that i bought in china.” at a reception in an english college, a newly arrived chinese scholar was chatting with the hostess, who was an old friend. as an acquaintance of hers came up ,she said, “ron, let me introduce mr chen, an outstanding physicist, and one of the nicest people i know.” mr chen offered his hand to the newcomer but looked at his hostess and said with a smile, “should i blush, or should i tell him you dont really mean it? ”in both cases, the words of the chinese conveyed a message quite different from what was intended. in the case of the chinese woman, the reply could have meant that the one paying the compliment did not know what a really good dress is, otherwise, how could she got so excited about an ordinary dress? the implication was that the english womans taste in clothing was questionable. in the second case, if chen had not been smiling, his words could have been interpreted as “youre just saying that to be polite, you dont really mean that.” so in one case, the person had poor judgment. in the other, the latter case, the hostess was not sincere. is there quite a gap between intention and message ?compliments are usually intended to have a positive effect on interpersonal relations, yet for the outcome actually to be positive, both the compliment and the compliment response need to be handled appropriately.2. thanks and repliesin both english and chinese there are expressions of gratitude. for example, there are in english “thank you ;many thanks; thank you very much; thank you all the same; im really appreciative of your time;its very kind of you to offer help; im grateful for what you have done for me; i cant thank you enough, etc. and in chinese there are “谢谢”，“谢谢你”，“非常感谢”，“万分感谢”，“真不知道怎么感谢你才好”，“多谢了”，“谢谢你的好意”and many others. it seems that they are quite similar and present no problems. however, even among these there are cultural differences.differences lie in what to thank for. for minor favours like borrowing a pencil, asking for directions, requesting someone to pass on a message, receiving mails for others, calling a person to the phone, etc, the chinese people often omit these polite expressions. this is especially true among close friends and family members. however, english speakers “feel grateful” for many things that seem to us chinese too trivial to deserve a “thank you” in short. english speakers thank others for many reasons and on many occasions and this more frequent use of polite expressions may seems to be unnecessary and sometimes even hypocritical to many chinese people. on the other hand, chinese people tend to thank the one who has done a major favour several times. this practice should not be carried over into english.differences also lie in whom to thank. in english speaking countries a male thanks his wife for making a cup of coffee for him and a female thanks her husband for carrying her handbag for her. english speakers are treated as friends or family members if they are. but simultaneously they are also treated as individuals. but in chinese most of the polite expressions are reserved for strangers and casual friends. there seems to be a rule governing the use of thanks in chinese; the closer the relationship between the inter locators, the fewer polite expressions are used. the chinese attitude is that the appreciation is understood and needs not be expressed among close friends and family members.as there are expressions of gratitude in english and chinese, there are replies to them in the two languages. the most common english ones are : not at all;dont mention it; youre welcome,;its my pleasure ; its ok; i am glad to be of help and im happy to do it for you, which make chinese think that they lack the attitude of modesty. when thanked, the chinese public servants customarily reply, “it is my duty” or “it is what i should do.” they sound very cold to the english speaking people, for them they imply that the chinese public servants do not really want to help and they do it only because it is their duty. in chinese they certainly do not have this connotation.3. addressessome chinese kinship terms have extended and generalized usage, which is not the case with the english counterparts. for example, yeye(lt:grandpa), nainai (lt:grandma),shushu(lt: uncle) , ayi(lt：aunt), ect. can be used to address people who have no familial relation whatever with the addresser. another difference is that most occupational titles can be used as address terms in chinese, but their english equivalents are not necessarily used in the same manners. this can be illustrated by the following talk exchange which actually occurred between a chinese student (c) and an english lecturer (e):(1) c: teacher, how do you do?(2) e: how do you do? where do you teach?(3)c: no, i am not a teacher, i am a student. the english lecturer felt puzzled and asked why that student told her that he was a teacher but at the same time denied it. the puzzlement is caused by the use of the word “teacher” .as an address term, the chinese equivalent for “teacher” is laoshi, which is an address term. when c said (1) to e, c was using teacher as an address term, which was interpreted by e as a self-introduction. many chinese titles can be used in combination with the addressees given name, surname or full name. for example ,“林同志”,“德清同志”,“林德清同志”are all acceptable forms of address ,even though the addressees emotional reaction to them might be different .in contrast ,the small set of english titles are normally used in combination with the addressees surname .“mr. tom”,“mrs. jane”, or “miss helen ”are not acceptable forms of address in english.2 “mother”, “father”, “grandmother” and “grandfather”, “uncle”, “aunt” are normally used alone as forms of address by the chinese people. in english “uncle” and “aunt” are often used together with the addressees given name, e.g. uncle tom and aunt mary. other kinship terms like mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother, sister and cousin are not often used as vocatives. english speakers address these family members or relatives by using their names. some english speaking children even use their parents and grandparents personal names to address them. in short, names are the frequently used forms of address in english among family members and relatives.however, in chinese the names of the family members or relatives who are one generation or two above the addresser are taboos to him. he is never allowed to address his grandparents, parents, uncles or aunts by using their names. and even the names of his elder brothers and sisters are not used when he addresses them. if he has two elder brothers, he names them “大哥”and “二哥”. in fact, o