英语专业毕业论文Learners-of-English

PAGELearnersofEnglishsometimescan’texpressthemselvesincommunicationinsomecircumstance:Itiscertainthatculturaldifferenceisoneofthefactorstoinfluenceit.Differentpeoplespeakdifferentlanguagesanddifferentlanguageisofdifferentculture.~Whenpeoplearelearningasecondlanguage,thetargetlanguageisinfluencedbynativelanguage.ChinesecultureisquitedifferentformthatofEnglish-speakingcounties,whichisabigproblemforChineselearners.Thisthesisreviewstheinfluencesoncommunicationbecauseofthelackofculturalknowledge.I.DefinitionsofcultureandlanguageLanguageisapatterngeneralizedandabstractedfromsocialmembersdictions,itisastructuresystemofsocialitydictionunits,semanticunitsandsynthesizedregularity.Asatoolofintercourse,languagemustbechangedwithvarietysituations.Inhistory,whenanationbecameastablecommunitywiththesamelanguage,sameexistenceregion,sameeconomiclifeandthesamestateofmind,languagebecameastyleofanation.CultureoriginatedLatinword“culture”,itmeans“thingsfromcultivated”,whichopposedtomanmadenatural.1871,EnglishlinguisticsEdwardB.Tylor(1832-1917)inhiswork“originalculture”indicatedthatcultureisacomplexunit,whichlearnedbysocialmembersinsocialevents,itincludesknowledge,religions,arts,morals,laws,customsandotherabilitiesandhabits.Languageisatoolforhumancommunication.Alanguageisapartofacultureandacultureisapartofalanguage,thetowareintrinsically,interwovensothatonecannotseparatethetwowithoutlosingthesignificance,ofeitherlanguageorculture.Therelationshipoflanguageandculturecanbeshowedbelow.A.Languageitselfisaculture.Inexterior,wecanfinddifferentculturesystemspossessedtheirdifferentlanguage.Butinessential,languagepossessesthecultures’characters.B.Languageisatoolofculture.AmericanscholarElsieRobertinhiswork“sociology”indicatedthat“languageisthefoundationofculture,withoutthat,culturecannotexist.”C.Languageisthecarrierofculture.Itcanexpressallkindsofexperiencesthroughcommunication.D.Languageistheformofculture.FrancelinguisticsClaudeLarryindicatedthat“existenceconditionsandlimitactorsofanationwouldreflectits’languagesandbehaviors”.Sowecansaythatcultureisamatterandlanguageisaform.E.Languageandcultureaffectedeachother.Languageistheessentialpremiseofculture’sgeneration.So,whenwelearnaforeignlanguage,wemustlearntheforeignculture.Therewouldbemanydifferencesbetweentwocultures.[2]II.CulturaldifferencesincommunicationWehavelearnedculturalbackgroundisoneofthepartsofcontexttounderstandparticularmeaningofdiscourse.Thereforetounderstanddiscourselearnersshouldnotonlylearnitslinguisticforms,butalsoitscross-culturalcommunicationbetweennativeandtargetlanguage,theirrespectivecustomsaswell.Iftheydon’trelatesuchstoredbackgroundknowledgetoproducingandunderstandingdiscourse,theymaymisunderstandoroffendeachotherincommunication.ThefollowingaresomecasesofChinesecultureinwesternsituations.A.StatusappellationDifferencesincommunicationStatusisverytraditionalandritualbothinChinaandBritain.Ithasbecomeacommonsensetheyoungrespecttheold,thejuniorrespectthesenior,themassesrespectthecarders,thelowofficialsrespectthehighofficials,thepeoplerespectthepresidentorchairman,andsoon.Butincommunication,speechandbehavioraredifferenttopeopleinBritainandChina.Inchinarespectingtheoldisagoodvirtueand“lao”(老)isregardedandahonorifictitle.Wheneverwemeettheoldalwayscallthem“老张、张老”“老王、王老”andsoon,whileinBritainthingsareabsolutelydifferent.Whenpeoplebecomeoldtheyliketolivealoneanddislikeotherstocallthemold.Therefore,weshouldnevercalltem“oldMr.×××”or“oldMrs.×××”.Eveninspeechorinbehavior,weshouldnevergiveanysigntoshowabouttheirages.Ifweaskthem“Howoldareyou?”theBritishpeoplewouldgetangrywithyou,butinChinaaskingone’sageisawaytoshowthespeaker’sconcernaboutorloveforthelistener.AnotherinterestingthinginChinaisthatChinesechildrenmustcallthesewhoarebrothersorsistersoftheirparentsas“伯伯，叔叔，舅舅，姨姨，姑姑”.Thoughtheyareofthesameagesofthechildrenoryoungerthanthem,whileinBritaintheycaneitherbe“called”“Mr.×××”or“Mrs.×××”“Uncle×××”or“Aunt×××”.Lookatthefollowing: Father-in-law岳父，公公 Mother-in-law岳母，婆婆 Brother-in-law姐夫；妹夫；内弟；内兄；大伯；小叔；连襟 Sister-in-law嫂子；弟媳；大姑；小姑；大姨；小姨；妯娌 Uncle叔叔；伯伯；姑父；舅舅；姨夫 Aunt婶婶；伯母；姑母；舅母；姨母 Niece侄女；外甥女 Nephew侄儿；外甥 Cousin表兄弟；表姐妹；堂兄弟；堂姐妹FromtheabovewecanseeinChinesethe-kinterns,aresocomplexthatitfullyexplainsChinesestressfamiliesandrelatives.AccordingtoChineseetiquetteruleifachildaddressesapolicemanbyhisoccupationtitle“jingcha”whithoutaddingthekinterm“shushu”(uncle),thechildcouldbethoughtill-mannered.Whereasinwesterncountriespeoplekeepadistancebetweeneachother,eventhekinsmen.Thechildrenaddresstheirrelativesofascendinggenerationbyusingeithersimplykinterms,orkintermsfollowedbytheirfirstmanes,whichseemsimpoliteandadistancebeforerelatives.ThereisarigidroleinChinaaboutaddressingpeopleproperly.Wemustcallourteachers“Teachersoandgo”,IlearnedthatnobodyinEnglish-spokencountriesaddressateacherby“Teachersoandso.Chinesepeopleliketocallsomebody’srankortitleas“王司令，李军长，张主任，贾校长，李书记，孟经理”,andsoon.ButinBritainwealreadyhearEnglishpeoplecallone“ArmyCommanderZhang,DirectorWandManagerLiu,etc.”B.ConditiondifferencesinspeechcommunicationConditionscanbeclassifiedintolivingconditions,timeconditions,placeconditionsorformal/informalconditions.Accordingtoappliedlinguistics,thesameideascanbeexpressedtodifferentpeopleatdifferentplaceortime,soitisthesamewithcultureinourdailycommunicationactivities.Inourdailylife,it’snaturaltogreeteachotherwhenwemeetsomefriendsorcolleagues,butbecauseofdifferentnations,thewaysofgreetingaredifferent.Onesocialphenomenonrevealsthatlivingconditionsmayplaysomeroleincultureinoralcommunication.Forexample,inthe1960sinChina,becauseofseveredisaterof“civilwar”andflood,peoplesufferedfrompovertyandstarvation.Whatwasthemostconcernedaboutwaswhetheronehadenoughfoodornot.Thusatthattime,wheneverpeoplemet,theywouldsay“吃了没有(Haveyoueatenyet?Haveyouhadlunch?),becauseas.Thattimepeoplehadonlytwomeans-breakfastandsupper.SuchawayofgreetingisdifferentfromthatinBritain.Usuallytheymaysay“Howareyou?”“Hi”togreetwithpeople.ButnowwiththeimprovementoflivingconditionsinChinathefamiliescanhaveatleastthreeorfourmealsaday.Theydon’tworryabouttheirmeals.SowhenChinesepeoplemeeteachother,theycanalsosay“您好.”,whichisthesameexpressionofgreetinginBritain.Ofcourse,people;insomebackward/poorregions,stillhavesuchadifferenceofgreetingwithwesternpeople.Timecanbeclassifiedintomorning,noon,afternoon,eveningandnight,oritcanbeclassifiedintofreetomeandworktime.Thefollowingchartcanbestshowthespeechdifferencesintimeconditions.TimeChineseEnglishWrongspeech第一次见面你好Howdoyoudo?Howareyou?Goodmorning.早上你好/早上好Goodmorning.Fine,howareyou?Goodafternoon.中午你好Goodnoon.下午你好/下午好Goodafternoon.Goodevening.Goodmorning.晚上你好/晚上好Goodevening.Goodnight.晚上分别再见/晚安Goodnight.Goodevening.与别人分别慢走/走好/再来GoodBye.Bye-bye.Seeyoulate.Solong.Allright,cheers.Ihopewewillbeabletogettogetheragain.Goslowly.Walkslowly.Rideslowly.Comeagain.上车时你先走Afteryou.Yougofirst.旅途归来时你辛苦了Youmusthavehadatiringjourney.You’vehadahardtime.向陌生人问路向某人道歉请问,ⅩⅩ路怎么走？对不起Excuseme,couldyoutellmethewayto……I’msorry.Sorry/PardonWhereisthewayto……Excuseme/Pardon请某人重复话时请再说一遍Pardon?Excuseme/sorry路上遇到熟人时到哪里去？忙什么呢？Hello/Hi/Lovelyweather,isn’tit?Goodmorning…Whereareyougoing?Whereareyoudoing.Spaceconditionscanbeclassifiedintoformalconditionsandinformalconditions.Ininformalconditionspeoplecanspeakwhattheywanttosay,thetoneisnotserious,butthespeechisregulated.Forexample,weseldomsay“谢谢”toourrelativesorfriendsinChina,otherwisetheymayfeeltheyareregardedasstrangers.Furthermoreinthefollowingsituationsweneedn’tsay“谢谢”,either.Forexample,whenweareinthelibrarytoborrowbooks,intherestauranttohavemeals,intheshoptobuygoodsorinthebustobuyticketsandsoon,ButinBritain,suchexpressionsas“Thanks,Thanksalot.Thankyou.Thankyouverymuch”canbeheardinanysituation,evenwhenonesaytoone’swifeorhusband.Ininformalconditions,Chinesepeopletendtotalkaboutone’sincome,ages,marriage,religionetc,butinBritainsuchtopicas“Howoldareyou?Howmuchdoyouearn?Areyoumarriedorsingle?”wouldbetooimpolitetopeople.Onlywhenpeopleareinformalconditionsuchasinhospitals,inhotelsorwhenfillingforms,cansuchtopicbeusedproperly.C.ActiondifferencesincommunicationbetweenBritainandChina.Action,heremeansresponseofthelistenertothespeaker,whatthespeakersaysgivesthelistenerstimulusforresponse,ifthelistenerunderstandsthecultureandmeaningofwhatthespeakersayshemaygiveacorrectresponse,sothathecangetaregardoranswerfromthespeaker.Ifthelistenercannotunderstandthebackgroundofhowthespeechismade,hecannotfurthercommunicatewiththespeaker.Therefore,itisnecessarytoknowtheactiondifferencesmcommunication.1.Differencesingivingmodestremarks.ChineseandBritishpeoplehavemanydifferentwaystogivetheirmodestremarks.InChinathemostcommonexamplewouldbetheselfderogatory.IfoneChinesestudentsay“你的字写的真棒！”theChineselistenerwouldway“不行”or“不好”;IfChinesepeopleask“你的字的好吗？”TheChineselistenerwouldrespond,“不行，瞎写一通”.InBritainpeopleneverusederogatoryformstoreactone,responseofpraiseorcompliment.Theyonlyuse“Thankyoutoexpresshisthankfulness.Thefollowingmaybegoodexamplestoexplainsuchdifference.SituationA:AsaystoB-AWhatabeautifulhatyou’rewearing!BThankyou!I’mgladyoulikethishat,too.SituationB:AforeignerandhisChinesecolleagueintheiroffice.Theforeigneriseatingoranges.Heboughtseveralones:Foreigner:Morning.(Beginningeatingoranges.)Oh,verynice.Doyouwantone?Chinese:No,No.Helpyourself.Foreigner:…(eatingbyhimself.)Chinese:…(Lookingattheforeignerinastrangeway.)Chinesewithgoodmannerswouldnormallyrefuseafewtimesbeforeacceptinganythingfromanyone.Thustheforeignersexpressthemselvesinafrankanddirectway.Thustheforeignerreallythinksheorshedoesn’treallywantitandgiveitupandtheChinesethinktheforeignerisnotpolite.SituationC:Aforeignermeetshiscolleagueandhisson.Foreigner:Whatalovelyboyyoursonis!Chinese:No,heisverynaughtyandfoolish.Chinesearemodestanditmightseemtobearroganttoacceptacomplimentincline.Butitseemsillogicaltowesterners.InEnglishtoacceptacomplimentisperfectlynormal,unlessthecomplimentisveryobviouslyuntrue.Thusinteractionmightbringaboutanegativeconsequence.2.Differencesinacceptingone’sgiftsitisacommonsenseforanyonetopresentsomegiftstoothers,especiallywhenitisonone’sbirthday,NewYear’sDay,Christmas,orwhenonegoestoexpresshissympathyandsolicitudesforthesick.GenerallyspeakingChinesepeoplemaypolitelydeclinethegiftbeforetheyacceptit.Inadditionthegiftisnotopenedifthepresenterispresent.Incaseitmaygivepeopleanimpressionofgreediness.WhileinBritain,itmaybedifferentforthepeopletoacceptone’sgift,becausethey’llneverdeclinebutshowtheirthankfulness,what’smore,theyalwaysopenthegiftsandsaysomecomplimentwordsforsometimesoastoshowtheirthankfulnesstothepresenter.However;thegiftgivenbytheBritishpeoplewouldbeoflittlevaluebutcommunicativebecausewhatisaimedistoexpresstheirgratitudeandcongratulationsorsolicitude.3.Differencesingreetingsituation:AnelderlyBritishladyvisitsaChinesefamily,whichhasasix-year-oldgirlYanyan.Chinesemother:Yanyan,sayHowdoyoudo,Granny.Yanyan:Howdoyoudo,Granny.Britishlady:Howdoyoudo?(smilingunnaturally.)TheelderlyBritishladyfeelsuncomfortableandthinksthattheydonotknowhowtoaddressaguestproperly.UnawareoftheBritishlady’sfeelings,theChinesemotheranddaughterfeelself-satisfiedbyemployingthekintermofgreatrespect.GrannyusedinthissituationisnolongerEnglishnativediscourse,whichreflectsthetransferenceoftheChinesepragmaticrulesandcognitivemodel,whichregardtotheemploymentofkintem.Thelinguisticrealizationofthespeechact(greeting)nolongersoundspleasanttotheBritishlady’sear,aprototypeeffect,whichcanbeexplainedbythedeviationofgrannyfromtheBritishpragmaticrulesandcognitivemodel,whichusedifferenttermsofaddresstoshowrespect,inwesterncountries,thetermgrannysuggestsaladyisveryold.4.Differenceinsmokinganddrinking.Chinesesmokersliketogivecigarettestoothersandlightitforthem.Inaddition,beforetheelders,thejuniorshowedneversmokeinitially.InBritain,smokinghasgotmanyrestrictionsinsocialsituations,forexample,smokingshouldgetapprovalofthehostess,otherwiseitwouldbeimpolitetoothers.AstodrinkingChinesehostsalwayspersuadetheirgueststodrinkmore.Themoretheguestsdrink,themoresatisfiedtheymaybewiththeguests.Itisacommonwaytoshowthathostsarehospitable.InBritain,thingsaredifferent,guestscanhelpthemselvestothedrink.Itwouldbeimpolite,however,forthegueststogetthemselvesintheircups.5.Differencesinthanksandresponse.BothChineseandEnglishcommonlyusethephrase“Thankyou.”Itshowsgratefulnessforthenumberthingssuchasgirls,aninvitationorhelpandotherkindsofoffers.However,itisusedinquitedifferentways.InChinesethisphraseisseldomusedbetweenveryclosefriendsorfamilymembers,otherwiseitmaywoundstrangeorimplyadistanceintherelationship.WhileinEnglish“Thankyou“isusedinalmosteverycircumstance,nomatterwhetherthepersonsarestrangersorintimate,rods.Itisthoughtrudenotusingthephraseandthepersonistakingotherforgranted,Infact“Thankyou”:hasnoparticularmeaningbutanexpressionofpoliteness?InChina,whenforeignteachersthanktheirstudentsforgivingthemtheirhomeworkorextrawork,studentsareoftenconfused.Theythinkittheirresponsibilitytothankteachers,notviseversa,andtheysometimesthinktheteachermustbethankingthemfortheirhardwork.Theteachersays“Thankyou“becausesomethinghasbeenpassedfromsomeunsetworktobemarkedwithoutsaying“thankyou”,theyseemtobeunwillingtodotheextramarking.Inothercasessuchasinrestaurantsorshops.Chineseoftenthinksincetheyhavepaidmoney.Itisunnecessarytosay“Thankyou”andwhatthewaitersorshopassistantsdoistheirduty.HenceaChinesewholackssuchrealizationofdifferenceswillbethoughtimpolite.ConclusionSeenfromabove,cultureandEnglishspeechincommunicationaredifferentinmanyways.IfEnglishlearnerswanttolearnEnglishwell,theymustknowsomethingaboutitsculture.Otherwise,theremayappearsomeproblemsinspeechcommunication.Astohowculturecanbelearnedortaught,itneedsusEnglishteacherstohavefurtherresearchinlearningandteachingculture.I’msuremoreandmorebetterwayscanbeshowninthecomingdays.

Notes[1]裴文，2002《现代英语语体学》（VARJETIESOFMODERNENGLISH）P9,安徽：安徽大学出版社。[2]裴文，2000《现代英语语境学》（CONTEXTINMODERNENGLISH）P173-178，安徽：安徽大学出版社。

BIBLIOGRAPHY[1]Alessandro,Duranti.LinguisticAnthropologn.Peking,PekingUniversityPress,2000.[2]Holliday.SmallCuliures(J).Appliedlinguistis.Oxflrd,OxfordUniversityPress,1984.[3]Lave,Situated,LearningInCommunities