英语专业毕业论文--中西方拒绝策略对比研究.docx

毕业论文（）题目中 西 方 拒 绝 策 略 对 比 研 究系别 外 国 语 言 文 学 系专 业 班 级 英 语 专 业学 生 姓 名 指 导 教 师 C ontr a st ive S t u d y on R e fu sa l S t r a t eg yb e t w ee n C h i n a a n d t he W e stA Thesis Submitted to English Depar tment ofC hina Univer sity of M ining and Technology Yinchuan C ollege In Par tia l Fulfillment of the R equirementsFor the Degr ee of Bachelor of Ar tsEnglish Depar tment ofC hina Univer sity of M ining and Technology Yinchuan C ollegeA ck no w led g em e n t sIn writing this paper, I have benefited from the presence of my teachers and my classmates. They generously helped me collect materials I needed and gave many invaluable suggestions. I hereby extend my grateful thanks to them for their kind help, otherwise the paper would not have been finished. Particularly, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Li Wenjing, who have guided me throughout my writing of this thesis. Without her consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form. She carefully read the whole draft and offered painstaking and precious criticism. Her standards of academic excellence have made my thesis writing a gratifying experience. I also wish to sincerely thank my classmates and friends Li Xiang and Ma Lina, for their brilliant ideas and perceptive observations. And many thanks goes to my parents who took good care of my life and gave me a lot of encouragement when I was working at this thesis. Furthmore, this thesis would have been impossible without the help of those individuals and organizations hereafter mentioned: our school library and its staff, the library of China University of Mining and Technology Yinchuan College and its staff.A b str a ctSpeech acts belongs to the field of culture. There are many systematic vacations in different sociocultural situations and communities. It is presumed that lack of enough social cultural communicative competence in performing the speech acts is the major cause of the communication failure. The refusals from different cultural backgrounds are not only influenced by different situational factors like social status, distance, gender and age, in the process of choosing the appropriate refusal strategies, but also by the cultural factors in which the efficiency and politeness are achieved through different ways. This article tries to analyze the cultural differences between Chinese and Western refusal strategies, such as: verbal refusal strategy and non-verbal refusal strategy. Then the paper deeply analyzes the causes of the differences in cross-culture communication from the geographical and cultural aspects. The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the use of the refusal strategies and aim to improve cross-culture communication.Key W or ds: refusal strategy, cultural differences, cross-cultural communication摘要言语行为属于文化领域， 因此缺少对特定文化情境中交际能力的培养 会导致交际失败。拒绝言语行为是一类较为特殊的行为，来自不同文化背 景的交际者不仅受不同的社会地位、亲密程度、年龄、性别等影响，在交 际过程中不同的文化因素还会影响到他们交际的礼貌程度， 因为拒绝会威 胁交际对方的面子。因此， 拒绝言语行为尤其需要运用一定的策略去降低 面子威胁的程度。本文以中外语言学家对拒绝语的研究成果为依据。试图 从言语拒绝策略和非言语拒绝策略两方面入手，重点探究中西方文化拒绝 策略的差异，并从地理因素和文化因素两方面入手，对造成中西方拒绝策 略差异的深层原因进行剖析，以期加深对拒绝策略的认识。 本论文的目的 是为了说明正确的使用拒绝策略，提高跨文化交际能力。关键词： 拒绝策略, 文化差异, 跨文化交际C onte ntsAcknowledgmentiAbstr actii摘要iii1 Intr oduction12 L iter ature R eview23 Different R efusal Str a tegies between C hina and the West33.1 R efusal Str a tegies in C hina33.1.1 Verbal Refusal Strategies33.1.2 Non-Verbal Refusal Strategies63.2 R efusal Str ategies in the West83.2.1 Verbal Refusal Strategies83.2.2 Non-Verbal Refusal Strategies104 R easons of the Different R efusal Str a tegies between C hina and the West124.1 Geogr aphical R ea sons124.2 C ultur a l R easons135 C onclusion15Bibliogr aphy17C ontr a st ive St u d y on R e fu sa l Str a teg yb e t w ee n C h i n a a n d t he W est1 IntroductionLanguage is basically a product of culture, language coexists with culture. Refusal strategy, as part of language, is no doubt a reflection of culture. It is an indispensable part in the daily life. It is the social phenomenon shared by all the societies. Refusal strategy directly determines the success of the communication. It generally exists in every language. But due to the cultural differences between China and the West, people may have different understandings about the refusal strategies, and they use and deal with refusal strategies in different ways. When communicating with people from different cultures, one should pay close attention to the connotation of the refusal strategies due to different cultural values; otherwise it might cause misunderstandings in actual interactions by improper usages and expressions, thus lead to failures in cross-cultural communications.In order to solve the above problems, the thesis tries to analyze and study the speech act of refusal in Chinese and English from the aspects of verbal refusal strategy and non-verbal refusal strategies, according to Leechs politeness principle, Beebes refusal strategy and Gu Yueguos Chinese politeness and pragmatic. It contrasts and describes the difference of the refusing strategies between China and the West with a lot of vivid examples;then it tries to find out the reasons from two main aspects to show why there aredifferences in the refusing speech act in China and the West. The paper contributes to a better understanding of systemic refusal in China and the West, and also has an important effect and realistic significance to promote effective cross-cultural communication.2 L iter a tur e R eviewRefuse language is to suggest, invite, request to the negative response, and is a certain degree of risk in the communication. In order to reduce the degree of threat and ensure the smooth of the communication, people will take a certain strategy, this strategy is called a refusal strategy. People will adopt different strateg y to the di fferent person. Under di fferent culture background peoples refusal strategies will also be different.In recent years, many domestic and foreign linguists have done a lot of further research on speech act of refusal. For example, Beebes Refusa l Stra tegy Theory, Brown and Levinsons Fa ce Theory, and Leechs Politeness Principle. Besides, in China Liaos S ix Ma xims of Refusing , Wang Aihuas Refusal Speech Act of the College Students, Gu Yueguos Chinese Politeness a nd Pragma tic Culture, and Rubins Nine Form-Function Rela tions which stand for indirect strategies of refusing and Wu Jianguos Expressions of Refusa ls a t the Sentential and Contextua l Level in an Attempt to Revea l the Underlying Formality of Refusa ls. They did many research from all levels and aspects on speech act ofrefusal, but the contrast and analysis of their productions are scattered, whichneeds language learners to study more deeply and extensively.3 Different Refusal Str a tegies between C hina and the W estIn order to give a clear analyses of the differences of the Refusal Strategies between China and the West, the following parts will be focused on the delated research from two main aspects, that is , refusal strategies in China and refusal strategies in the West.3.1 R efusal Str a tegies in C hinaIn this section, the refusal strategies will be discussed in China. The proper usage of the refusal strategies can be further understood from the thorough explanation in the following points: verbal refusal strategies and non-verbal strategies, so that we can further the understanding and proper use of refusal strategies.3.1.1 Verbal Refusal StrategiesComparing to other countries, especially Western countries, China is a country with a strong social hierarchy. Generally speaking, the lower class basically do not use the direct refusal strategies in refusing their superiors, but superiors often use direct strategy to their lower class. And the Chinese culture i s the culture of collectivism, which focus on groups of people in daily interactions, friendship, relationships, in order to maintain harmonious in interpersonal relationships. Therefore, Chinese are much more euphemistic inrefusing others instead of expressing their real intention.According to the above reasons, verbal refusal strategies can be divided into direct and indirect refusal strategies. Direct refusal strategy refers to the direct refusal to someones request, and provide invitation instead of adopting any remedial measures. Such refusal strategies that are directly rejected the request or invitation without taking any remedial measures, that refused to adopt open the uncooperative direct refusal strategies. Direct refusal behavior is usually implemented in the following three cases. First, the direct use of the words for the rejection. Chinese “no”“need not”“not work”are used to directly reject the words of others. The second situation is due to the reluctance or inability, the speaker refused to each other because they are not willing or can not able to do it. For example, “I can not accept”, “I can not”and so on. The thi rd s i tuation i s that the refuse rs i nsists on their ori g i nal pl an or arrangement. Such as, “I still go home for dinner”.Direct refusal strategy, because it cannot effectively reduce face damage and is considered to be a kind of impoliteness. This refusal ignores the feelings and the face of the one who is rejected and causes embarrassment and even unpleasant of the person involved. In Chinese culture, this refusal strategy is adopted so that can easily lead to communication failure.Indirect refusal in discourse refers to the implementation of this refusal to speak the language of force can be achieved by other acts. According to the words of the speaker different habits or style, while indirect refusal strategy canbe divided into the following several strategies.Generally speaking, refusal to apply specific indirect strategy i s realized through the following words or expressions: the first way is to use the words or expressions which show a regret, such as, “Im sorry.”; and expressions which shows a hope, such as, “I also hope I can help you, but.”; or expression which shows a veil or interpretation, such as, “I really want to help, but I couldnt open the body”, “Id love to, but I have an appointment with friends to go to the movies”; and then some expressions which provides advice to others, such as, “You can go to ask someone else”; to accept the setting conditions for the past or future , such as, “If you to ask me, then I can lend it to you”; the one who guarantees of the future for acceptance, such as, “I promise Ill take a rain check”; to persuade the other party to abandon the project, such as, “Like other position is not for you”, “M y notes is a mess, Im afraid you cant see”; people avoid making answer directly or decision, such as, “Wait to say again”; in addition there is another situation that the one who refuses emphasizes the acceptable part and refuses the request of speaker finally, such as, “It is impressive, but.”Compared to direct refusal, indirect refusal can be greatly reduced the sincerity refused to bring of negative effect. Above classification is not comprehensive, but the example is very typical, and fully reflects that in the social communication indirect refusal strategies have played an important role in manners.3.1.2 Non-verbal Refusal StrategiesIn China, it can often be heard that western women always complain that the Chinese fondle their babies and young children. These actions of touching, or kissing their children, can make those western mothers feel uncomfortable. They know that those kinds of actions have no malicious meanings, just showing a kind of love, so they do not express dissatisfaction directly. But in their own culture, those kinds of action are considered as rudeness, and the actions can also cause a strong unpleasant feeling between each other. So when the western mothers are confronted with those situations, they often have complicated feelings, keep silent, and even feel embarrassed, even the one who fondles their children is their Chinese friends or acquaintances. In addition to the action of touching, the embracing in public will be discussed. In many countries, it is a very common phenomenon for two women to embrace and kiss each other when they meet. In most industrialized countries, couples and close relatives often embrace each other when they reunion after a long separation. Whether two men should embrace each other; people in different countries act differently. In Arabia, Russia, France, Eastern Europe and some countries on the coast of Mediterranean Sea, men will embrace and kiss each other to welcome, and it is the same in some Latin American countries. However, in East Asia men seldom embrace each other, instead they just shake hands with each other, for example, several years ago, the Japanese prime minister Fukuda Takeo went to the United States for a state visit. When he got off in front of the White House,the President of the United States embraced him tightly to express his welcome.While Prime minister Fukuda Takeo was surprised, and representatives from Japan also was stunned. And many Americans feel strange too. This kind of situation is rare, completely beyond peoples expectation. Because both people the United States and Japan do not use an embrace to welcome each other.In Chinese and English-speaking countries, whether smiling or laughing, usually express kindness, commendation, satisfaction and joy, but Chinese peoples laughter will cause resentment of the Westerners in some situations. At the same time, the der-oration of laugh is not the same in different nations. For instance, when an American deposits bicycle but the bicycle fell down, he would feel embarrassed because of his own actions.And the Chinese people who saw this man will laugh. And the American will be very angry for being laughed. A similar situation occurred in the restaurant. A foreigner accidentally threw a plate, the laughter of the presence Chinese people make him feel embarrassed, angry and even disgusted.However, such laughters in China does not only mean to ridicule someone, but also mean to laugh at somebody. Instead it always refers to nothing serous, they will be unhappy about the laugh or even disgusted with the person who laughs, the one who do not know the meaning of the Chinese culture.3.2 R efusal Str a tegies in the WestRefusal strategies in the West also can be divided into the verbal and non-verbal refusal strategies, then the following two points will be explained indetail.3.2.1 Verbal Refusal StrategiesIn the West, people often refuse each other directly, while in China people are much euphemistic. Direct refusals are direct denials of compliance without reservation. They are most explicit in the speakers intention to refuse, leaving no chance for the interlocutor to misunderstand them, so that direct refusals are regarded as very effective refusal strategies. Two strategies are included in direct refusals:Using performative verbs is the first strategy. The intentions of refusing expressed by such performative verbs are used as a kind of refuse and decline. Such as “Uhm, I have to refuse.”and “This time I have to refuse your good intention.”And using non-performative statement is the other strategy the author of this thesis mentioned here. Non-performative statements include three parts: the use of “No”, negative willingness, inability.First, direct use of a denying lexical item, such as “Dont, dont do that.” “No! I wont do that.”“No, thanks.”etc. Second, negative willingness means utterances showing unwillingness to comply with the interlocutor. For example, “I dont want to go out side right now.”“I dont want to lend it to you.”“I wont do that.”Third, inability means utterances stating that the refuser is unable to do something. When some one want to refuse something such expressions can be used: “I cant agree with you.”“I really cant eat any more”,“B ut I cant”Indirect refusals mean that the illocutionary force of refusal is uttered bymeans of the performance of other speech acts, so the refusers real intentioncan be concealed, thus face can be satisfied to some degree. The following categories of indirect are identified in terms of their pragmatic functions.In indirect refusing statements of regret, such as the function of the expression “Im sorry”usually works as a refusal, carrying a strong force of non-compliance, for example, “Im really sorry, Madam”, or “W hat is a pity!”By stating the wish for performing the proposed action, the refuser want to show that he is willing to help, but because of something he has no control, he is not able to help. So, this strategy mitigates the face threat and shows the refusers politeness and consideration. For example, “I wish I could help you, but.”, “Im so eager to go there, but.”Reason is the most frequently used semantic element in making indirect refusals, it has been proved in many researches. Reason can appear as external explanation, excuse or even lie, by which the refuser transfers his real intention into some commitment or something beyond his control, thus avoiding the risk of losing or hurting face of either the refuser or the refuser. This strategy is supplied in a variety of situations, as in the following examples, “B ut I have to save my tuition of the next semester.”“No, I am sorry but the professor has left specific instructions to not let anyone in”.Alternatives are suggestions that provide a way to a direct confrontation and may be softening and mitigating for the threatening force of the refusal. Moreover, it illustrates the needs of preserving the refusers face and showingthe refusers concern for the needs of the interlocutor. Although the refusercannot do what he or she requests, by offering alternatives the refuser can possibly meet part of the interlocutors need or at least show the refusers sincerity and concern. The first way is “do X in stead of Y ”, for example,“Its cold outside; Id rather stay at my computer.”or “I can arrange another one fo