洪娇娇-中外寒暄语对比.docx

上 海 海 事 大 学2015-2016学年第一学期语言与文化课程 结课论文论文题目： A Comparative Study of Chinese and English Phatic Communion from a Cross-Cultural Perspective从文化差异角度对比英汉寒暄语交谈院系：外国语学院 专业：外国语言学及应用语言学 学号：201530810059姓名：洪娇娇2016年1月A Comparative Study of Chinese and English Phatic Communion from A Cross-Cultural Perspective摘要：寒暄交谈，这种短小，看起来毫无意义的表达，是一种表示应酬的辅助性语言，往往在谈话中起到非常重要的作用，具有缩短交际者之间的距离和维系和谐社会关系的社会功能。同时，寒暄交谈也是社会生活与文化的反映，汉英寒暄语在表达形式和话题内容上呈现出明显的不同，在深层次上受到中西文化的影响。本文试从中西价值观，思维方式和道德情操方面对比分析中西寒暄语的差异。寒暄交谈是人际交往的润滑剂，对中西寒暄语交际差异的了解，能够避免跨文化交际中的误解，减少交际障碍，促进有效沟通和交流。关键词： 寒暄语；文化差异；对比1. Introduction In linguistics, a phatic communion is one whose only function is to perform a social task, as opposed to conveying information (Bronisaw Malinowski, 1923, p. 146-152). The utterance of a phatic expression is a kind of speech act. In speech communication the term means small talk that is conversation for its own sake. It is used to create an atmosphere of shared feelings, goodwill, or to establish social contact and to express sociability rather than specific meaning. phatic communion in Chinese refers to “寒暄语”. The definition of “寒暄语” in Chinese dictionary Cihai is expressed as courtesy remarks for greeting and caring for others, etc. it is a ubiquitous phenomenon in human communications. It is widely used in daily greetings, informal visits or gatherings and even in formal business negotiations. In order to be polite or for some other reasons, people may embark on a small talk before getting to the main points. It can help shorten the distance between people and enhance the intimacy among them, and thus creates a relaxing atmosphere. Besides, Halliday (1985, p. 56) thinks there is “phatic function” in language which is used for setting up a certain atmosphere or maintaining social contacts. It strengthens its role in social communication and even in the whole human language. As phatic communion is a kind of speech act, its topic or content and the way to express may differ from language to language. And there are obvious differences of phatic communion between Chinese and English and the cultural difference behind it has great impact on the cross cultural communication concerning it.As we know, phatic communion is widely used in communication in the workplace and in the community. It has been attracting increasing attention these days. There are many studies of the origin of phatic communion or the function of phatic communion. Malinowski (1923), for instance, first introduces the concept of phatic communion into linguistics and points out “the communion of words is the first act to establish links of fellowship. After the first formula, there comes a flow of language, purposeless expressions of preference or aversion, accounts of irrelevant happenings, comments on what is perfectly obvious. There can be no doubt that we have a new type of linguistic use phatic communion” (p. 10). And the phatic function serves to establish, prolong or discontinue communication or confirm whether the contact is still there (Jacobson, 1960, p. 113). Later, the study on phatic communion mainly centers on its functions. For example, Lyons (1968) thinks it serves to establish and maintain a feeling of social solidarity and well-being (p. 417). Chinese scholars are very late to start to analysis the field of phatic communion. Zhu Yongsheng (1989, p. 33-35) is the first man who introduces the research outputs of phatic communion into China and he probes into the applied rage of phatic communion. Bi Jiwan (1997) lists four basic forms of phatic communion (p.17-19). That is greeting, inquiring, commenting and retrospection. Chinese phatic communion has another form: instructing. He only compares the form of Chinese and English phatic communion but fails to analyze thoroughly the cultural elements behind it. Liu Changqing (2000, p. 23-26) makes a primal study on the communicative features of phatic communion. Zhao Haiwei (2006, p. 20-24) studies phatic communion from a social functional perspective and finds out that there are three important social functions: Creating harmonious atmosphere, drawing peoples attention and enhance the social. Xie Jingjing (2008, p. 15-19) discusses the ways of using phatic communion in accordance with its application rage and makes a conclusion that the usage of phatic communion had to obey some specific situations. Zhang Yaping (2014, p. 27-31) makes a comparison between Chinese and Japanese phatic communion and reveals the cultural impact, which is insightful. Furthermore, Ye Linlin (2013, p. 12-15) studies the translation of phatic communion. And she gives some advice on translation strategies under the guidance of functional equivalence theory. Although previous studies have suggested its importance for the development and maintenance of positive relationships and a sense of belonging, the cross cultural analysis on phatic communion is few. Language is closely related to culture. Culture is the base of language and language is the carrier of culture. Under the influence of culture, the content and form of phatic communion are different between Chinses and English speakers. This paper attempts to analyze the difference of Chinese and English phatic communion from a cross cultural perspective. It will reveal different forms and contents of phatic utterances based on the difference of value, mode of thinking and ethnics. This paper contributes to a better understanding of phatic communion between English and Chinese and help people achieve better understanding of cultures. Therefore, it will facilitate cross-cultural communication and help people pursue better social relations.2. Differences of Phatic Communion under the Influence of CulturePhatic language, as a social element, can maintain the social function of interpersonal relationships and the phatic communion differ greatly among people with different cultural background. To some extent, it is much influenced by culture and in this part we will discuss how these cultural elements, such as values, thinking modes, and ethics, affect phatic communion and illustrate with a large number of examples.2.1 Phatic Communion under the Influence of Different Values Social value is a notional system through which individuals look on objectives and appraise the social importance and significance of objectives. It is prescriptive and can tell right from wrong, good from bad and truth from fallacy (Hu Wenzhong, 1999, p. 165). Peoples evaluation of things and social activities are determined by social values. And the differences of Chinese and western social values are demonstrated in the phatic communion of everyday life.2.1.1 Collectivism V.S. Individualism Collectivism is originated from Confucianism which emphasizes on the interest of group and nation. And it becomes dominant in Chinese society. The development of an individual isnt to become independent but to learn to cooperate with others in society. Individualism, as western cultural tradition, can date back to the time of Socrates. The ties among people are loose and everyone is expected to look after oneself. In addition, the borders between people are obvious. Thus, westerners emphasize on privacy and personal space.This kind of difference is demonstrated by the various topics in Chinese and English phatic communion. For example, Chinese people may ask such questions “ 在哪儿工作？”, “去哪儿啊？”, “生活过得怎么样？”, “家住哪儿？”, “孩子多大了？”, “衣服哪儿买的，多少钱？”, “年终奖多少啊，今年？”. Many Chinese think this is a way to get closer to their friends or families for they are familiar with and understand much of them. However, these kinds of questions may annoy westerners. They can regard this gesture as an intrusion into their privacy and they usually try to avoid such topics. People who meet with each other for the first time will simply say: “How do you do” or “Nice to meet you”. For friends, they may begin with “How are you” “How is everything going” “How are you doing” “Whats up”. Weather, leisure activities and hobbies are the most popular topics they talk about. For example, “Oh, its hot, isnt it?”, “Nice weather!”, or “How was your vacation”. However, Chinese people would like to begin a small talk with something concerning ones personal life because this is a way to show their care for others.2.1.2 Time Perception DifferenceHall (1982, p. 25-27) divides time into two types: Mono-chronic time system and Poly-chronic time system. The former one views time as dividable, but not repeatable and it is linear type; Under this system time is scheduled, arranged and managed; While the latter one regards time as scattered and several things can be done at once and time is circulatory. In general, Chinese people are more Poly-chronic time oriented. They pay more attention to the past and are proud of their long history and civilization. They tend to revere experience and observe traditional conventions. Whats more, they are more flexible on time. On the other hand, westerners are Mono-chronic time oriented. They set eyes on the future and thus are more futuristic. For them, time is like a line and can be divided into several stages. The time perception is reflected in the phatic communion. For example, Chinese people often simply greeting someone in the morning by saying:“早啊！” or “这么早啊！” because they think morning is the beginning of a day and it is good to get up early. If they meet someone in the afternoon and evening, they are more likely to say: “吃了没？” or “晚饭做了没？”. This kind of dietetic Culture is deeply rooted in the Chinese society with its long agricultural civilization. To show their care for someone, they will ask: “Have you had your meal?” especially around lunch or dinner time. But many westerners tend to say: “Good morning”, “Good afternoon”, “Good evening” and even “Good night”. It seems that they have a clear idea of the stages of time. In addition, they may have a more precise perception of time. For instance, if they would like to talk with someone, but that person is busy doing something, then they would ask: “Do you have a minute?” while, a Chinese would say in this way “你有时间吗？”. Likewise, “wait a second” “Please excuse me for a moment” these expressions can reflect westerners attitude towards time and they treasure every moment of life. On the contrary, Chinese people may have a rough idea of time. They tend to say “等一会儿哈！”, “我能离开一下吗” these are not related with specific time but a short stage of time. Furthermore, Chinese people like to take time to do something and dont rush into it. So, they like to say: “慢慢吃”, “您慢用”, “慢走”.2.2 Phatic Communion under the Influence of Different Thinking Modes Language use is correlated with the mode of thinking. In other words, language by nature is the embodiment of human thought and thought in turn is the reflection of the world around us. People live in certain area may have their own characteristics in geography, history, nation and so on. And these differences can lead to different ways of thinking. The Eastern people put more emphasis on harmony, and they like common and stable life, and focus on direct feeling and image. But the Western people like changeable and adventurous life and emphasize on logic and science and promote human right and equality. All in all, The Chinese is perceptual and empirical in their comprehensive thought, but the English and other Western nations lay have developed their own rational and analytic thinking modes. This distinct gap of thinking pattern between Chinese and westerners is widely demonstrated in the phatic communication. Chinses culture is human-oriented and they think people are living in relations. Thus many Chinese address a stranger as though they have kinship relation. For example, “ 大婶好”, “大妈好”, “大姐，天安门怎么走啊”, “快谢谢这位阿姨”, “李师傅来啦”, “张奶奶好”, “王大爷早”, “刘大哥”, “大兄弟”, “李老弟，好久不见啊” etc. In this way, people feel close to each other and the atmosphere of communication is good and harmonious. For a westerner, he may never call a stranger uncle or aunt because they are objective and wont strengthen a relation in this way. Even they are father and son, but they prefer to call each other by name. This is a way for them to respect each humans independence and equality. Meanwhile, Chinese people are more emotional and subjective and do not pay much attention to logics. So they usually begin a communication through his or her evaluation on what is going on at that moment. For instance, when a Chinese encounters an acquaintance who is repairing a bike, he or she may say: “修自行车呢你！”. When one sees that a friend carrying a basket, he or she would say: “买菜去啊？”. When an acquaintance comes, one may say: “你来啦！”. While a westerner may never ask in this way because they consider it illogical for it is obvious that the man is repairing the bike and the one carrying a basket is not necessarily to buy something. Under these conditions, they may simply say: “How are you”, “Hello” or “How are you doing”. The westerners cognition thought is the extroversion, the radiation, the emphasis on object. But Chinese is the rule by people language, while English is the government by law language. Chinese expressions take the subject as the center of the topic, while English is more logical and objective. For example, when picking up a friend at the airport or train station, the Chinese may begin a conversation like this “一路辛苦了”, “累不累啊”, “没晕车吧”. These expressions are all centered the subject-his friend and the feeling of his friend. Under the same situation, a westerner is likely to say: “How was the trip?”, “Do you have a good trip?”, and “Did you enjoy the trip”. They take an angle from the object-the trip. If they want to end a conversation, they tend to say: “I am sorry, I have to go back to work”, “I got to do something else” or “I have to go now”. They often try to emphasize the objective reason. And this can be further manifested in their expressing gratitude towards others. For instance, they are prone to say: “Thank you for the time”, “Thank you for the dinner”, “Thank you for the tea”, “Thank you for the information” and “Thank you for the book”, etc. while a Chinese may say: “谢谢你的一片盛情”, “给您添麻烦了”, “耽误您的宝贵时间了”, or “打搅您了”,etc. 2.3 Phatic Communion under the Influence of Different Ethics In China, the standard of morality is highlighted and if an individual did something that is immoral, he or she would be criticized by the public. As is known, Chinese people respect the elder for they believe they are full of life experience and they are aged so young people need to take care of them. When addressing those who are older, people in China tend to say: “王老” or “郑老师”. Though that person may not be a teacher or not very old, people prefer to address them in this way to show their respect for them. However, expressions like these can never be translated as “old Wang” or “Professor Zheng”, otherwise it will cause misunderstanding for native English speakers and even offend them. Also note that “您老”, “老人家，小心点儿”, “您这么大年纪了， 可别累着了”. These are to show sympathy for the elder. Nonetheless, oldness are considered useless and outdated. Even when you want to offer help for the elder, you need to ask his or her permission before helping them. In addition, modesty is one of the traditional virtues the great sage Confucius advocated. To Confucius modesty and humility are required qualities for a society to sustain itself while pride will lead to destruction. Chinese people take pride in modesty, but westerners are more straightforward. Some foreigners misunderstand Chinese modesty or humility as hypocrisy. Furthermore, the way people in China respond to compliment may differ from that of the English speakers. For example, when a hostess is complimented for her cooking skill around the table, a western hostess may answer like this “I am glad you like it” or “Thank you, I cooked especially for you”. However, a Chinese hostess may reject the compliment by saying “随便做几个菜，不好吃” or “手艺不行，您将就着吃哈”. In addition, when praising a child “your son is really cute and smart”, a Chinese mother may say: “哎哟，您是不知道他有多调皮啊！” or “他哪里聪明啊，就只会玩，不像你家小孩懂事，听话”. Westerners are more confident and tend to praise and encourage others but Chinese hardly praise others and always try to be modest and avoid being too showy. So there are many things English speakers like to compliment on. For example, “Your dress is very suitable for you”, “I like your hairstyle”, “You look great today”, “Good job”, “Well done”, “you have a nice garden” or “Your presentation is brilliant”, etc. Chinese responses to these compliments are mostly repulsive. For example, “哪里，哪里”, “您过奖了”, “我做的一点都不好”, or “没有你说的那么好啦”. On the contrary, English speakers responses are various like “Thank you very much”, “Yean, I think it went well, too”, “It is very kind for you to say so”, “Thank you, you look great too”, “I am sure you can do it well” or “I am enjoying doing it”. In cross-cultural communication, we need to be aware of these cultural gaps in phatic communion, otherwise it can cause misunderstanding and affect peoples interrelation.3. ConclusionThis paper is a tentative study of phatic communion between Chinese and native English speakers. The forms of Chinese