跨文化交际中的语用失误分析论文

1、题目题目姓名院系专业指导教师本科生毕业论文（设计）The Enlightenment of Critical Period Hypothesis onChildrens English Teaching学号外国语学院英语职称年 月 日ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSI am deeply indebted to my supervisor, who has given me constant and valuable advice, read my drafts through meticulously and offered incisive comments on them. Withou

2、t her help, the thesis could never have reached its present form.My sincere gratitude also goes to all my teachers who have given me excellent lectures and great help, which are indispensable to the completion of this thesis. I also give my hearty thanks to all my classmates who have offered generou

3、s help and useful suggestions in the process of writing this thesis.Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to all the writers whose works have been referred to in this thesis.随着社会和经济的发展，国际之间的合作与交流不断深入，跨文化交际语用 失误已成为语用学和应用语言学研究的一个重要领域。本文从语用学和跨文化交 际角度出发，首先回顾了语用学的定义以及跨文化交际和语用学的关系，并且对 语用失误概念进行界

4、定和归类;然后，从中西语言和文化差异、语用负迁移、思 维方式和言语行为差异、语用原则、分析了跨文化语用失误的原因；最后，通过 分析现实生活中出现的语用失误现象，提出在跨文化交际中如何避免语用失误及 其对外语教学的启示;总结得出外语教学应该通过文化意识的培养、传统教学理 念和教学方法的改革，培养和提高学习者的语用能力和跨文化交际能力。关键词：跨文化交际；语用失误；语用能力；交际能力；外语教学AbstractWith the development of society and economy, the communication cooperation between nations becom

5、es more and more frequent. Pragmatic failure has been one of the heated topics in the field of pragmatics and applied linguistics. From the view of pragmatics and cross-cultural communication, the thesis firstly reviews the definitions of pragmatics and the relationship between pragmatics and interc

6、ultural communication. Then, pragmatic failure is defined and classified. At the same time, I probe into the causes of the pragmatic failure from the following aspects as: language and culture differences, negative pragmatic transfer, different thinking patterns and speech behavior, pragmatic princi

7、ples. Through analyzing many phenomena of pragmatic failures collected from the real life, the thesis finally puts forwards some practical suggestions and implications for foreign language teaching, arriving at the conclusion that foreign language teaching should concentrate on improving the student

8、s intercultural communicative competence and pragmatic competence through the cultivation of students cultural awareness, reformation of traditional teaching concepts and methods.Key words: intercultural communication, pragmatic failure, pragmatic competence, communicative competence, EFL teaching a

9、nd learningCONTENTS TOC o 1-5 h z 0. Introduction1 HYPERLINK l bookmark18 o Current Document Literature Review2 HYPERLINK l bookmark22 o Current Document Definition of Pragmatics2 HYPERLINK l bookmark26 o Current Document Language and Culture2Analysis of Pragmatic Failure in Intercultural Communicat

10、ion3 HYPERLINK l bookmark36 o Current Document Definition of Pragmatic Failure3Classifications of Pragmatic Failure4Causes of Pragmatic Failure6 HYPERLINK l bookmark40 o Current Document Differences in Culture Context6 HYPERLINK l bookmark44 o Current Document Negative Pragmatic Transfer7 HYPERLINK

11、l bookmark48 o Current Document Differences in Pragmatic Principles7 HYPERLINK l bookmark52 o Current Document Implications for Teaching and Learning8 HYPERLINK l bookmark56 o Current Document Cultivation of Students Cultural Awareness.9Reformation of Traditional Teaching Conceptsand Methods10Conclu

12、sion11 HYPERLINK l bookmark60 o Current Document Works Cited130. IntroductionAs a communication tool between Chinese people and foreigners, English is one of the most important and popular languages in international communication. Most of Chinese learners of English have learned English learning for

13、 many years, but they often find that they still have difficulties in communication with foreigners. students from primary school to university should learn it. For a long time in China, foreign English language teaching has been influenced by structuralism, which results in putting excessive emphas

14、is on language knowledge teaching in classroom and ignoring the language use in real life. The major tasks and aims of classroom teaching are stuffing with English language knowledge such as grammar, vocabulary usages and so on. And the teaching goal is mainly examination-oriented.How to solve the p

15、roblem and take measures to change the current situation of English learning and teaching in China still remains a hot issue. In the recent years, the pragmatic knowledge and awareness is becoming more and more important in the language teaching, especially in the college English teaching. Language,

16、 culture, and communication influence each other. Cultural differences are the basic causes of pragmatic failure in intercultural communication. Culture is the inner core of language . The culture information carried by language is the premise of correctly using language.The analysis of intercultura

17、l pragmatic failure in communication holds important implications for EFL teaching and learning. The main purpose of learning a foreign language is communication, and the college English syllabus should give part of their attention to the communication and it is better to add culture language knowle

18、dge to college English syllabus.The goal of EFL and English teaching and learning should set on the developing college students communicative competence, so as to help them achieve the goals of successful inter-cultural communication. One of the goals and targets for the teaching of college English

19、is to promote the communicative competence to meet the communication needs.Literature ReviewDefinition of PragmaticsThe term pragmatics was first put forward by American philosopher Charles Morris in the book Foundation of the Theory of Signs, in which he distinguished three distinct branches: synta

20、ctic (or syntax), semantics and pragmatics. Pragmatics was not recognized as an independent subject in linguistics until 1977 when the Journal of Pragmatics was published in Holland. In the study field of pragmatics, linguists carry out researches from different aspects and define it from different

21、perspectives.Therefore the definitions of pragmatics are given in different angles.Pragmatics is the study of the relations between language and context that are basic to an account of language understanding (Levinson 1983).Pragmatics is a study of how language is used in communication (Leech 1983)P

22、ragmatics is the study of the relationship between linguistic forms and the users of those forms (Yule 2000).Pragmatics is the science of language seen in relation to its users (May 1993).From the statements above, it shows that though pragmatics is defined in different perspectives, the explanation

23、s are generally the same. Pragmatics is study of how to interpret the meaning of utterances and how to appropriately use language to conduct communication in a particular context. It is especially concerned with appropriateness and the situation the language used.Language and CultureAs to the relati

24、onship between culture and language, they tie up with each other but differ from each other. A language is a part of culture and a culture is a part of language. The two are interwoven intricately so that one cannot separate the other without losing the significance of either language or culture. Th

25、us no language can be separated from its social and cultural environment(Brown 1987: ?). Language and culture are interdependent and they complement each other. Broadly speaking, every utterance occurs in its cultural context. However, language is merely a part of culture, an aspect of culture, not

26、the whole. Some cultures embody themselves in objects such as the necessities of daily life, which are not concerned with language in a direct way.So it is believed that without language, there is no culture and without culture, language will lose its all meanings and vanish in the end. The intimate

27、 relation between language and culture determines that in the process of language learning more stress should be laid upon cultural elements. As a result, intercultural misunderstandings occur due to the differences between different languages and cultures. Language does not always convey the same m

28、essage to people from different culture though the words are the same. Cultural background provides its context for interpretation. Therefore, language, as an integral part of culture, can only be really understood on condition that the culture is understood.Analysis of Pragmatic Failure in Intercul

29、tural CommunicationDefinition of Pragmatic FailureIn intercultural communication, people often meet such problems as they often cannot understand the meaning of the sentences, while the sentences have no grammatical mistakes. For example, an American talked with a Chinese interpreter, a young lady w

30、ho has graduated from one Chinese university: “Your English is excellent.” The Chinese lady responded, “ No, no. My English is quite poor.” Then the American appeared apparently a bit puzzled. Linguists call this kind of phenomenon “ pragmatic failure”. Thomas (1983:96) defines the pragmatic failure

31、 as “the inability to understand what is meant by what is said”. In intercultural communication there are many factors that can influence peoples communication such as ways of thinking, rules of speaking and behaving, social values. When people from different cultures communicate, they may encounter

32、 communicative failure due to cultural differences.As we all know, communication is an interactive process, and pragmatic failure is involved with both participants in communication. From our daily experience, we know that sometimes even persons in the same culture make pragmatic failures because th

33、ey dont have enough information about what is talking about or because one doesnt have the others experiences or background. Therefore, it is better to define pragmatic failure as follows: The communicative failure is caused by the two parties of communication misunderstanding or inappropriately exp

34、ressing verbal or nonverbal information because of the lack of the competence of correctly understanding communicative information or efficiently using language in communication. Pragmatic failure can not only take place in different cultures but in the same culture. As pragmatic failure mostly happ

35、ens between cultures, this essay will lay more emphasis on intercultural pragmatic failure, especially the intercultural pragmatic failure between the Chinese and western cultures.2.2 Classifications of Pragmatic FailureIt is usually believed that pragmatic failure is divided into two types, which a

36、re pragmatic failure and social pragmatic failure. However, most scholars also have ignored an important aspect of 一 pragmatic failure, which is nonverbal pragmatic failure. In fact, pragmatic failure also exists in nonverbal communication, which refers to the error that occurs because of misinterpr

37、etation of the nonverbal signals. So pragmatic failure should be classified into three types: pragmatic linguistic failure, social pragmatic failure and nonverbal pragmatic failure.Pragmatic linguistic failure is related to the inappropriate expression of language, or misunderstanding of the others

38、utterance. It is related with the language itself. Pragmatic failure arises when non-native speakers mapped the pragmatic force onto agiven utterance and the force is systematically different from that of target language, or when speech act strategies are inappropriately transferred from one languag

39、e to another language. Even when two languages share the same expression way but use it in different situations, such kind of failures arise. Pragmatic linguistic failure has todo with the inappropriate use of linguistic forms and is considered relatively easy to overcome.Social pragmatic failure re

40、fers to the misunderstanding caused by the social conditions placed on language in use which are very difficult to influence or change. Social pragmatic failure mainly stems from social pragmatic mismatches. The diversity in social value systems, language and cultural norms always makes the communic

41、ation poorly interpreted. Thus, its inevitable to misunderstand ones intention and it is much subtler and more difficult to deal with. Social pragmatic failures are due to the different social values between Chinese and westerners, which are related to the beliefs, customs, concepts of the world and

42、 other culture-oriented factors. Without adequate cultural knowledge background and experiences, the communicators cannot identify them at all.The nonverbal behavior consciously or unconsciously conveys messages and its an important symbol system. Nonverbal behavior can be used to express attitudes,

43、 feelings and emotions. Since communication includes verbal and nonverbal ones, pragmatic failure in nonverbal communication cannot be ignored. Actually nonverbal communication exists everywhere. The messages of action, space, time, and silence, the clothes they wear, and how close they stand to eac

44、h other and whether they touch each other. All messages communicate. It is generally accepted that the interaction between people is made by combining verbal and nonverbal communication, which are complementary to each other. Different social group has different ways of making nonverbal communicatio

45、n. When people converse with each other, they communicate using facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, the use of space and time and other body movements besides words. Appropriate use of nonverbal behavior contributes to effective communication, while inappropriate use of them brings about prag

46、matic failure because nonverbal behavior is rooted in culture.Causes of Pragmatic FailureDifferences in Culture ContextIntercultural communication involves interaction between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol system are distinct enough to affect the communication process. Although all cu

47、ltures share a common set of components including history, religion, values, social organizations and language, these components often distinguish one culture from another. Each of us has the unique individual values, and these values tend to reflect the culture. An awareness of cultural values help

48、s us appreciate the behavior of people from other cultural background. Chinese people have a completely different value system from native English speakers. Chinese people value tradition, but some westerners dispose it and consider it as old, rusty or something to be thrown away”. Chinese people te

49、nd to express their feelings in an indirect way and they think highly of modesty and collectivism while westerners place high value on independence, individualism, and self-confidence. These differences are all caused by different cultural values. Different emphasis on context leads people in differ

50、ent cultures to communicate and behave differently. Communicators in high-context cultures tend to be indirect, and communicators in low-context cultures tend to be direct. In Chinese culture, people tend to communicate in an indirect and subtle way, and listeners are expected to interpret the messa

51、ge correctly. This communication style is named “high context. When requested to do something, Chinese people may say they are not sure or they will try to do it, but frequently their real meaning is no. While in such situation, Americans5 communication way tends to be relatively explicit and direct

52、. This kind of communication style is called “low context. When the communication takes place between people from different context, it often leads to failure.Negative Pragmatic TransferPragmatic transfer indicates that foreign language users apply the pragmatic rules of their mother tongues mechani

53、cally to the target language, which is a kind of cultural interference caused by the influence of their native languages and cultures. In human communication, people unconsciously use their own language structure, semantics, and the linguistic rules and value perspectives to conduct their own though

54、ts and behaviors, and at the same time use them as criteria to judge other peoples behaviors and thoughts. That is why pragmatic transfer often occurs in intercultural communication. Pragmatic transfer can be divided into two types: positive transfer and negative transfer. In this thesis, the emphas

55、is is put on the negative one, for it often leads to misunderstanding, communicative failure and even conflicts.Negative transfer occurs when the foreign language learners apply the pragmatic rules of their mother tongue into the target language communication; the resultant utterance is full of erro

56、rs. Individuals tend to transfer their native language forms and meanings to the foreign language and culture. Thats to say, negative transfer has negative transfer of native linguistic knowledge and negative transfer of cultural conventions. Chinese and English has their own vocabulary and semantic

57、 structures, and they denote different conceptual systems respectively. Although learners of English are able to communicate with native speakers in English, sometimes they would also misunderstand one another because the messages of the target language are encode inexactly by non-native speakers. I

58、n other words, people tend to avail their present linguistic knowledge to convey the intended meaning in real communication.Differences in Pragmatic PrinciplesReferring to the causes of pragmatic failure, it is unavoidable to point out some important pragmatic principles. In order to conduct effecti

59、ve communication, it is necessary for interlocutors to acquaint themselves with the maxims of pragmatic principles. Grices Cooperative Principle and Leechs Politeness Principle are two major pragmatic principles, and they are universally applicable, however the application of the principles differs

60、across cultures.Politeness is used to show ones respect to the others face by means of speech.Social pragmatic failure occurs in many cases due to the intercultural communicators5 unawareness of the differences in the actual ways to realize politeness and the standards for its judgment in different