英语学年论文.doc

Table of ContentsOutline.2Introduction.3I. The Cultural Differences in Etiquette.41.1 Greetings.4 1.2 Complimenting.5 1.3 Invitation.6II. The Factors Affecting Cultural Differences.7 2.1 Cultural background.7 2.2 Different values.8Conclusion.9Bibliography.10Acknowledgements11OutlineThesis statement: Make greetings, complimenting and invitation as the representation to look at some cultural differences in etiquette between China and the United States, and then analyze the reasons.I. Etiquette is different among cultures A. Greetings have differences among culturesB. The diversity of compliment exist among culturesC. There are some slight differences in invitationII. The existence of cultural differences has many factorsA. Cultural background is a factor causing the differencesB. Different values bring about cultural differencesConclusion: Knowing cultural differences and reasons are so important that can help us succeed in etiquette. So we should have a good knowledge of the differences in etiquette to make our intercultural communication more effectively and smoothly.IntroductionEtiquette is a set of practices and forms which are followed in a variety of situations; many people hold it is a branch of etiquette, or general social behavior. Each society has its own apparent etiquette, and various culture within a society also has its own rules and social norms. Learning etiquette can be very challenging for people who are new to a particular culture, and even old hands sometimes have a rough time, providing materials for etiquette advice columnists like Miss Manners. The rules of etiquette govern how people behave. For example, the concept of greeting people politely and with respect is common to the etiquette of many cultures, although the way in which that respect is expressed may vary. In China, people may bow or clasp their hands together when greeting someone, while in the United States, people often shake hands, or hug each other in some subcultures.Therefore, the study of etiquette should not only be the complementary to the study of language, but also can help us go out of misunderstanding zone in intercultural communication.I. The Cultural Differences in Etiquette Cultural differences in etiquette between China and the United States can be found in many aspects of daily communication, including addressing, greeting and parting, compliments, apologies, thanks, etc. In the following, I will look at some cultural differences between China and the United States.1.1 GreetingsWhen people meet friends, they have the habit of greeting. Why people pleasantly repeat this action? There are many personal and social reasons. Greetings not only reflect a persons civility, identity, and equality, but also can keep and strengthen the connections they have built. There is no doubt that greeting is the etiquette around the world, but it still exists some differences in words or actions.For example, when Chinese meet each other in the morning, they will say “早”，but Americans will say “Good morning”. At first sight, they may equate. In fact, they are not the same. In Chinese, “早”means “You get up early.” But“Good morning” denotes a kind of wish. The meaning of “早” is not equal to that of “Good morning”. In English, there are many wish words, such as “Good afternoon”, “Good evening”, “Good day” and so on. However, we can not find the exact corresponding words in Chinese. We Chinese are also accustomed to say “吃饭了吗” or “上哪儿去”, but the direct translation of these greeting words can not be accepted by English speakers. Furthermore, Americans would like to greet by talking about weather or compliment. This situation can not be usually found in Chinese. So good acknowledgement of the difference in greetings is good for us to speak excellent English and advance the intercultural communication.1.2 ComplimentingComplimenting behavior is a kind of verbal communication. Apparently, the praise of a persons outstanding quality, outstanding ability, excellent work, dignified and generous appearance and beautiful clothing is the approval of his or her good quality and personal items. In fact, it is to maintain and promote an important means of interpersonal relationships. People like to hear compliment more or less. This is a psychological tendency of praise. Appropriate complementing will win others favor, make the progress of communication activities smoothly, let interpersonal relationships harmonious and help build or rebuild relationships.（Jiang 36）American and Chinese culture are at polar opposites about compliment. A American hostess, if she is complimented for her cooking skill, is likely to say, “Oh, I am so glad that you liked it. I cook it especially for you.” In the same situation, a Chinese hostess will instead apologize for giving you “Nothing”. They will say“随便做几个菜，做得不好，凑合吃。” If translate this into English, it means “I just made some dishes casually and they are not very tasty.” Perhaps the foreigner will think why you invite me to your family and have the distasteful dish. You dont respect me. The Americans are more active to praise others than Chinese people. For example, the Americans are “straight forwardness”, while the Chinese take pride in “modesty”. Chinese politeness calls for three refusals before one accepts an offer .But the Americans hosts take “no” to mean “no”, whether it is the first, second or third time. Still bigger differences exist in peoples attitude towards compliments, especially, in the response to compliments. Chinese tend to efface themselves in words or refuse it, although they do feel comfortable about the compliments. So many native Americans simply feel puzzled or even upset when their Chinese friends refused their compliments. Due to the traditional Chinese philosophy, the Chinese people regard modesty as a most valuable virtue, so they seldom agree to complimenton their own.1.3 InvitationFor each of us, dinner with friends and family is a great pleasure. Western food culture is as rich and colorful as the East food culture. In the United States, whether there is a formal banquet or an informal family dinner, the master will carefully arrange to make guests satisfied.Americans, who are invited to visit a friends house, will never arrive ahead of schedule, and their arrival is generally later than the appointed time of 10 minutes to 1 quarter of an hour. This is because the advance has the potential to make the owner in a dilemma. In most cases, the owner is often ready at the last minute. At this time, the hostess may have a bath to wash a variety of smell fumes away when she cooked in the kitchen. Therefore, it is more appropriate that the time of arrival is later than the invited time. Americans often consider the economy and friends satisfaction, rather than the lavish and waste. However, to express the warm hospitality to their friends, we Chinese people prepare the general side of the dishes on the table in excess of the amount needed. In the West, meals are usually prepared by the number of friends. And guests do not feel affected by the slight.II. The Factors Affecting Cultural DifferencesDifferent cultural factors may result in cultural differences in etiquette between China and the United States. Consequently, the acknowledgment of the factors that affect the cultural differences will facilitate the understanding of such differences. Since it is impossible to cover all of the factors in this thesis, the factors discussed here are some important ones.2.1 Cultural Background One of the cultural different factors between China and the United States is cultural background. We all know Confucianism is the foundation stone of Chinese philosophy system. Confucianisms central doctrine is that of the virtue of Ren. What is Ren? Ren is translated variously as goodness, humanity and human-heartedness. In short, Ren means affection and love. For more than two thousand years it has molded and shaped the civilization of China and have a profound influence.Different from China, Christianity plays an important role in the United States. The United States is generally considered as a Christian country where many people believe in Christianity. Christianity is the region based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, who is the founder of Christianity. Christians believe to have been caused by God rather than by ordinary sexual union. In addition, the power of church still influences many aspects of peoples daily life.2.2 Different valuesAnother factor affecting cultural differences in etiquette is different values between China and the United States. The core of the Chinese value has some relationship with the Confucianism, which offered the solution for the ills and evils.（Zhu 43） That was the well-known “Five Relationships”: ruler-minister, father-son, husband-wife, elder-younger brother and friend-friend. In this kind of society, a minister owes loyalty to his ruler, and a child respect to his parent. The result is the humanity is neglected and people have no equality. Different from China, in the Renaissance period of England, people began to emphasize the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life. This is the basic of Humanism. People became to respect the humanity from then on. And then develop into the ideas of what we always said freedom, democracy. Today, the top six social values for the United States are freedom of expression, personal freedom, rights of the individual, open debate, thinking for oneself, and official accountability.（Hu 15） The top six social values for China are maintenance of an orderly society, harmony, accountability of public officials, openness to new ideas, freedom of expression, and respect for authority. This study finds that unlike westerns, East Asians are generally more respectful of authority and prize an orderly society. At the same time, like the United States, China honor new ideas, official accountability, free speech, and democracy.ConclusionIn this essay, I mainly talk about the differences in etiquette between China and the United States by taking greetings, complimenting and invitation as examples. From the study above, we know the cultural factors,