Politeness Principles and Cultural Differences Between English and Chinese 中西礼貌原则及文化差异.doc

中西礼貌原则及文化差异politeness principles and cultural differences between english and chineseabstract politeness as a universal phenomenon is the symbol of human civilization and one of the important criteria of human social activities. politeness can be observed in all languages and cultures, and it has long been made an important object of the study of linguistics. politeness plays a key role in establishing and maintaining social harmony, and prescribing individuals linguistic behavior. due to cultural differences, language differs greatly from one another in expressing and understanding politeness. the misunderstanding of cross-cultural communication may occur if people from one culture impose their own principles and criteria of politeness on the people from another culture. this paper reviews the pragmatic studies of politeness carried out by the western and the chinese scholars. from the point of view of social culture, the paper attempts to shed light on some of the important differences on politeness between chinese and western cultures. understanding the differences can avoid the pragmatic failures and achieve success in cross-cultural communication. for english learners, it can also help develop and improve their pragmatic competence. key words politeness; culture; difference 中西礼貌原则及文化差异摘 要 礼貌是人类社会共有的普遍现象，是人类文明的标志，也是人类社会活动的一条重要准绳，他存在于各种语言和文化中，是语言学界研究的重要课题。它制约着人们的言行，协调着人们的社会关系和交际活动。言语交际成功与否，效果好坏，在很大程度上取决于能否用恰当的礼貌表现方式和礼貌用语。礼貌用语与价值观念、社会习惯等因素有着紧密的联系。由于文化背景的差异，不同民族对礼貌的理解也不同，所遵循的礼貌原则和评判方式也相差甚远。如果只按照某一文化的标准来使用礼貌用语或衡量另一文化中人们的言语行为，往往会导致交际失败。本文通过对礼貌原则的跨文化对比,从社会文化的角度比较中西方社会礼貌原则的差异,揭示了中西方礼貌原则及策略差异的本质是中西方文化上的差异。了解中西方社会礼貌原则的文化差异，无疑会增强英语学习者的文化敏感性，减少语用失误，帮助英语学习者通过恰当的礼貌方式来达到有效的交际目的。关键词 礼貌;文化;差异contentsabstract .i摘要iicontentsiii1. introduction.12. the definition of politeness.13. an overview of politeness theories.23.1 two influential theories on politeness in english-speaking culture23.1.1 the face theory.33.1.2 politeness principle.33.2 studies of politeness in china.44. cultural differences between chinese and english politeness principles .5 4.1 modesty and self-denigration.54.2 terms of address.64.3 the refined languages.74.4 face and面子or脸7 4.5 privacy and attitudinal warmth.84.6 politeness and individualism .95. conclusion.9bibliography.101. introductionpoliteness as a universal phenomenon is the symbol of human civilization and one of the important criteria of human social activities. politeness can be observed in all languages and cultures, and it has long been made an important object of the study of linguistics. politeness plays a key role in establishing and maintaining social harmony, and prescribing individuals linguistic behavior. due to cultural differences, language differs greatly from one another in expressing and understanding politeness. and in different cultures, the importance of each politeness maxim is different. “leech says, some cultural associations in the east (such as china and japan) prefer modesty maxim; english-speaking countries (especially england) focus on tact maxim; the countries around the mediterranean prefer generosity maxim to modesty maxim (1983:150). after the contrastive analysis of politeness, he concludes that though politeness is universal, the importance of each politeness maxim differs from culture, society and linguistic environment”. 1we are convinced that, with more and more cross-cultural interactions, the discussion of the differences between english and chinese in the area of politeness realization will definitely be significant for the purpose of increasing interlocutors cultural awareness and communicative competence. politeness is a universal feature of language. but it also has a cultural feature. understanding the differences can avoid the pragmatic failures and achieve success in cross-cultural communication. for english learners, it can also help develop and improve their pragmatic competence. this thesis tries to give a brief review of the study of politeness in the english culture as well as the study of politeness in the chinese culture. meanwhile, it introduces the main ideas of the theories concerned, namely, brown and levinsons face theory, leechs politeness principle and gu yueguos politeness maxims in modern chinese. its task is to make comparison of politeness principle between chinese and english cultures and review their cultural differences. this paper consists of five chapters. chapter one introduction gives a brief account of the purpose and approach of this paper. chapter two provides the definition of politeness from a general perspective. chapter three an overview of politeness theories dwells on some fundamental politeness theories, namely, brown and levinsons face theory, leechs politeness principle and gu yueguos politeness maxims. chapter four cultural differences between chinese and english politeness principles. chapter five is a summary and conclusion for the whole paper. 2. the definition of politenessas we all know, not everyone has the same views about politeness. politeness is universal. to be polite is considered to show that one has good manners and consideration for other people. using polite language is also one act of politeness. generally speaking, politeness involves taking account of the feelings of others. a polite person makes others feel comfortable. for example, when asking someone for help, youd better say “excuse me” first, which is considered to be polite. to speak loudly when someone is sleeping is impolite. to greet someone the first time you meet in the morning is polite. entering ones private room without knocking at the door is thought to be impolite. to offer your seat to the old or the disabled is polite, etc. so politeness can first of all be observed as a phenomenon. then politeness is readily understood as a means. it is known that being polite is a means to achieve good interpersonal relationships. in most general terms, people act politely in order to show the wish to start a friendly relation with someone, “or to maintain it if it is already existing, or to mend it if it is being threatened for some reason. politeness can also be regarded as a restraint, some kind of social norm imposed by the conventions of the community of which we are members.”2 theorists have dug in every way to discover the ways to be polite. but there have always been exceptions in the standards put by them and cultural difference has been a main source of most of these exceptions. so the actual manifestations of politeness, the ways to express politeness, and the standards of judgment are different in different languages and different cultures. such differences should be traced to the origin of the notion of politeness in different cultures. generally speaking, in the english-speaking culture, politeness has been closely related to the behaviour typical of a certain social location and a certain social group. in modern chinese, the equivalent of politeness is limao (礼貌), which is believed to have evolved in history from the notion of li (礼), which is to depreciate yourself but to show respect to others. thus, it is convinced that limao refers to self-denigrating and other-respecting. it has ever since become an essential feature of the chinese notion of politeness and has remained at the core of politeness in the chinese culture.it has become clear that while the notion of politeness is universal, it has different origins and thus different connotations in different cultures. in a word, “after the analysis of the differences between chinese and english cultures, l. r. mao concludes that politeness refers to ideal social identity in the chinese culture and it refers to ideal individual autonomy in the english culture”3.3. an overview of politeness theories politeness can be found in a number of ways, but t he expression of politeness is always through language. “a linguistic interaction is necessarily a social interaction, therefore politeness is also needed in linguistic communication”.4 thus, we can say that the use of language is one important way of polite expression. in cross-cultural communication, we must take politeness into consideration. however, different languages and cultures determine the different expressions of politeness. with the development of sociolinguistics, social psychology, and anthropology, our understanding of politeness has been widened and deepened. there are some influential theories on politeness put forward by western and chinese scholars.3.1two influential theories on politeness in the english-speaking cultureresearch into politeness is closely associated with the names of brown and levinson and leech. brown and levinsons face theory and leechs politeness principle are two most influential and successful theories to account for politeness. their theories are both about politeness, but they are posited in totally different spirits. 3.1.1 the face theorythe face theory, put forward by brown and levinson in 1978, is one influential theory on politeness, which is based on goffmans face notion in the late 50s. “according to goffman, face is a sacred thing for every human being, an essential factor communicators all have to pay attention to; face wants are reciprocal, i.e. if one wants his face cared for, he should care for other peoples face. (goffman, 1959)” 5. the general notion of “face” becomes more specific in brown and levinsons theory. according to brown and levinson, “ face means the public self-image of a person. it refers to that emotional and social sense of self that everyone has and expects everyone else to recognize. they distinguish face into negative face and positive face. a persons negative face is the need to be independent, to have freedom of action, and not to be imposed on by others. a persons positive face is the need to be accepted, even liked, by others, to be treated as a member of the same group, and to know that his or her wants are shared by others. in simple terms, negative face is the need to be dependent and positive face is the need to be connected” 6. “they hold the view that the problem for any social group is to control its internal aggression both in internal social control and, especially, in external competitive relations with other groups; politeness presupposes that potential for aggression as it seeks to disarm it, and makes possible communication between potentially aggressive parties. according to brown and levinson, nearly all speech acts are face-threatening acts. they intrinsically infringe on the hearers face wants. face-threatening acts (ftas) vary in terms of the kind of threat involved. some threaten the hearers negative face by imposing on the hearer (e.g. requests, orders, offers, expressions of anger). other ftas threaten the hearers positive face (desire to be respected) by indicating the speakers lack of concern for the hearers self-image (e.g. disagreeing, criticism, accusations, insults, contradiction, boasts). more interestingly, some ftas are threatening to the speaker himself rather than to the hearer because they either offend the speakers need not to be imposed upon (thanking, accepting offers, making unwilling promises) or they offend the speakers need for positive self-image (apologies, confessions, admissions of responsibility)”7.3.1.2politeness principleanother influential theory on politeness is leechs politeness principle. he words the maxims in terms of stressing what is good to (or about) the addressee and diminishing what is unwelcome, and reversing the strategy when speaking about oneself. the principle of politeness, proposed by leech, consists of at least six maxims:“(1) tact maxim:a.minimize cost to other.b.maximize benefit to other.(2)generosity maxim:a.minimize benefit to self.b.maximize cost to self.(3)approbation maxim:a.minimize dispraise of other.b.maximize praise of other.(4)modesty maxim:a.minimize praise of self. b.maximize dispraise of self.(5) agreement maxim:a.minimize disagreement between self and other.b.maximize agreement between self and other.(6) sympathy maxim:a.minimize antipathy between self and other.b.maximize sympathy between self and other.” 8according to leech, not all the maxims and sub-maxims are equally important. of all the maxims, tact maxim appears to be a more powerful constraint on conversational behavior than generosity maxim, and approbation maxim more powerful than modesty maxim. in all maxims, part (a) is more important than part (b) as it emphasizes the avoidance of imposition or disagreement in conversation. in a word, the principles are not motivated by cross-cultural conversational data, they seem to be derived from strategies used by speakers of british english and do not always apply to other cultural settings, even if their relative weight is varied.3.2studies of politeness in chinain china serious study of politeness within the linguistic circles did not begin until the early 80s. among the chinese scholars who have contributed significantly to the study of politeness, prof. gu yueguo of beijing foreign studies university should be mentioned. in his articles related to the study of politeness in modern chinese, prof. gu has traced the origin of the notion of politeness in the chinese culture. based on modern chinese data, gu modifies some of leechs assumptions and put forward his own set of politeness maxims which he thinks are more suitable to the chinese environment.gu holds that “there are basically four notions underlying the chinese conception of limao: respectfulness, modesty, attitudinal w armth, and refinement. respectfulness is selfs positive appreciation or admiration of other concerning the latters face, social status, and so on. modesty can be seen as another way of saying self-denigration. attitudinal warmth is selfs demonstration of kindness, consideration, and hospitality to other. finally, refinement refers to selfs behaviour to other which meets certain standards (gu 1990: 239) the four essentials are elaborated into politeness maxims. gu (1990) demonstrates four maxims:(1) the self-denigration maxim,(2) the address term maxim, (3) the tact maxim and the generosity maxim,(4) the principle of balance, and the principle of sincerity”9gu (1992) offers further revision of them and demonstrates altogether five maxims.“(1) the self-denigration maxim: the maxim consists of two clauses or submaxims: a. denigrate selfb. elevate other this maxim absorbs the notion of respectfulness and modesty.(2) the address term maxim: the maxim reads: address your interlocutor with an appropriate address term. this maxim is based on the notions of respectfulness and attitudinal warmth.(3) the refinement maxim: the maxim refers to selfs behaviour to other which meets certain standards. with regard to language use, it means the use of refined language and a ban on foul language. the use of euphemisms and indirectness is also covered.(4) the agreement maxim: the maxim refers to efforts made by both interlocutors to maximize agreement and harmony and minimize disagreement.(5)the virtues-words-deeds maxim: the maxim refers to minimizing cost and maximizing benefit to other at the motivational level, and maximizing benefit received and minimizing cost to self at the conversational level.” 104. cultural differences between chinese and english politeness principles“politeness is what people of different cultural background all try to observe and maintain. while admitting the universal nature of politeness, we should on the other hand be aware what cultures differ in the actual ways to realize politeness and also in the standards for its judgment. such differences stem from the different histories that the notion can be traced back to and also the cultural values gradually formed in the course of time under the influence of a variety of factors, social, historical, anthropological, geographical, etc. thus, in discussing politeness theories, such cultural specificity must be taken into consideration” 11.4.1 modesty and self-denigrationit is universally accepted that to show modesty is a way to be polite. but how this maxim is adhered to in different cultures is very much a matter of degree. it is difficult for english speakers to interpret the cultural connotation of chinese谦虚that is different from leechs “modesty” in his modesty maxim in many ways. 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, which is the english convention. but a chinese speaker would try to deny the truth of the compliment. for example:(1)when hearing the praise: “how beautiful your wife is!”westerners would answer: “thanks a lot!”and the chinese would say: 不，不，不，还过得去！(“no, no, no, she is just so so!”)they are both modesty and they both think they are behaving properly. yet either of them would think the other is being polite. the english-speaker is very confident about himself. when his praise is denied, he may feel his self-esteem is being hurt and his ability is doubted. he is being polite to the extent that by accepting and showing appreciation of the compliment, because he avoids hurting the positive face of the person who makes it. however, the chinese speaker is showing modesty by denigrating himself, ignoring the factuality of the compliment given to him.there is another example to show the differences of the modesty between chinese and english cultures. when a chinese gives a present to other, he usually denigrates the gifts in order to denigrate himself and to show respect to other, he will say:(2)礼物很轻薄，不成敬意，请笑纳。（this is just a trifle, but please accept it.）in similar situations, an english-speaker may say:(3)its not much. its just a trifle. i picked it up in a bargain basement sale at macys last week. i thought that maybe you could use it.english-speakers may say directly and hope other prefers the gifts, but it is unacceptable to chinese. because they think it constitutes a threat to the face of the chinese. in chinese culture, people usually denigrate self to show respect to others.the differences also show in the written