英汉礼貌用语对比研究文学学士.docx

英汉礼貌用语对比研究文学学士.docx

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英汉礼貌用语对比研究文学学士

Abstract

ThispaperisacomparativestudyonthedifferentuseofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChinese.Asanuniversalphenomenon,politenessexistsinallkindsofcultures，whichplaysavitalrolenotonlyinmaintainingfriendlyrelationshipbetweenhumanbeingsbutalsoincreatingtheharmoniousatmosphereconversation.AsEnglish-speakingcountriesandChinahavedifferentcultures,theyusedifferentwaystoexpresstheirownpolitewordsanddeeds,andthedifferentnationalities’understandingofpolitelanguagealwaysaffectstheeffectivecross-culturecommunicationbetweenthem.Whatismore,itwouldcausesunsuccessfulcross-culturalcommunication.AcomparativestudyofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChinese,willurgeEnglishlearnerstoreducethefaultsinusingcross-culturallanguage,andwillsimultaneouslyachieveeffectivehumancommunicationthroughusingappropriatelypoliteexpressions.

KeyWords:

politelanguage;communication;comparativestudy;culturaldifferences

中文摘要

礼貌是人们在频繁的交往中彼此表示尊重与友好的行为标准。

礼貌现象存在于各种不同的文化之中，对于保持人们之间的友好关系，建立和谐的谈话气氛起着重要的作用。

英汉国家由于受到不同文化的影响，会用不同的方式来表达自己的礼貌言行，而不同的民族对礼貌的理解各不同，这就往往影响英汉双方进行有效的跨文化交际，甚至会导致跨文化交际的失败。

通过比照研究英汉礼貌用语的差异，会促使英语学习者在跨文化交际中减少语用失误，同时到达使用恰当的礼貌用语进行有效交际的目的。

关键词：

礼貌用语；交际；比拟研究；文化差异

Contents

1.Introduction

1.1Background

StudiesoncomparativestudyofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChinesehavegaingreatattentionathomeandabroad,andthuslargequantitiesofliteratureonthestudyoflearningcomparativestudyofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChinesewerepublished.Themainfunctionofpolitenessexpressionsistoestablishandmaintaingoodinterpersonalrelationships.DuetothedifferentculturebetweenEnglishandChinese,thepolitelanguageisquitedifferent.Contemporary,Englishhasbeenasanimportantinternationallanguage.AstheeconomicdevelopingveryfastinChina,it’sinternationalpositionismoreandmoreimportantaswell.SowhetheritisforEnglishlearnersorforeigners,interculturalcommunicationbecomesmoreandmoreimportant.Inordertoavoidtheverbalmisunderstandingandfailureincommunication,ensuresmoothcommunication,peopleshouldlearnthedifferencespolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChinese.

1.2Aimandobjectives

ThisstudyaimstofindoutthedifferencesofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChineseinordertoavoidverbalmisunderstandingandfailureincommunication.ThispapertriestoanalyzetheculturaldifferencesaffectthepolitelanguageinEnglishandChinese,andpointsoutthatthecomparativestudywillhelpustoreducethepragmaticfailureandachievethecross-culturalcommunication.

Tobespecific,thisstudyattemptstoanswerthefollowingthreequestions:

（1）Whatisthepurposetoanalyzethisstudy?

（2）WhatcausesthedifferencesofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChinese?

（3）Whatshouldwelearnduringthisstudy?

1.3Organizationofthepaper

Thispaperisdividedintofivechapters.Chapteroneservesasanoverallintroductiontotherationaleandaimofthestudy.Chaptertworeviewsthedefinitionsofpolitenessthathavebeenproposedbyscholarsathomeandabroad.Chapterthreeanalyzesthedifferencesinaddressing,greeting,inviting,andapologizingandthankingbycomparison.Chapterfouranalyzesthespecificculturalassumptions,andputforwardsuggestionsonhowtoimprovethecross-culturalcommunication.ChapterfiveisdevotedtotheconclusioninwhichwefindoutthedifferencesofpolitelanguagebetweenEnglishandChineseinordertoimprovethecross-culturalcommunication.

2.LiteratureReview

Politeness,inaninteraction,canthenbedefinedasthemeansemployedtoshowawarenessofanotherpeople’sface.（GeorgeYule,2004,10:

60）

Intheearly50s,theAmericanscholarE.Goftmanhadputforwardthe“facebehaviortheory〞intermsofsociology.BrownandLevinson〔1978〕viewpolitenessas“acomplexsystemforsofteningface-threateningacts.〞OnthebasisofthetheoryofEGoftman’s,in1978,BrownandLevinsonhaveputforwardthemature“facebehaviortheory〞intheirbook‘UniversalsinLanguageusagepolitenessphenomena’.Andtheytriedtoregard“facebehaviortheory〞asacommonlinguisticphenomenontostudy.

Asfaras1702,Theophrastusdefinedpolitenessas“asocialbehavior;askilltobeusedtoachieveaspecificaim,theprincipalaimisenhancementofego’sself-esteemandhis/herpublicstatusinhereyesofotherswithsupplementaryaimofenhancingothers’self-esteem.（Watts,1992）

AccordingtoOxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionaryofCurrentEnglish（1980）,politenessmeanstheattempttoestablish,maintainandsavefaceduringconversation.

Lakoff（1973）holdstheviewthatpolitenessisadeviceusedinordertoreducefrictioninpersonalinteraction.

Leech（1983）interpretspolitenessasformofbehavioraimedattheestablishmentandmaintenanceofcomity,i.e.,theabilityofParticipantsinasocio-communicativeinteractiontoengageininteractioninanatmosphereofrelativeharmony.Furthermore,Leechputforwardsixpolitenessprinciplestorestrictinterpersonalcommunication.ThefirstoneisTactMaxim（得体准那么）:

（a）Minimizecosttoother（尽量少让别人吃亏）,（b）Maximizebenefittoother（尽量多使别人受益）.ThesecondoneisGenerosityMaxim（慷慨准那么）：

（a）Minimizebenefittoself（尽量少让自己受益），（b）Maximizecosttoself（尽量多使自己吃亏）.ThethirdoneisApprobationMaxim（赞誉准那么）：

（a）Minimizedispraiseofother（尽量少贬低别人）；〔b〕Maximizepraiseofother（尽量多赞誉别人）.ThefourthoneisModestyMaxim（谦虚准那么）:

（a）Minimizepraiseofself（尽量少赞誉自己）；〔b〕Maximizedispraiseofself（尽量多贬低自己）.ThefifthoneisAgreementMaxim（一致准那么）：

（a）Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandother（尽量减少双方的分歧）；〔b〕Maximizeagreementbetweenselfandother（尽量增加双方的一致）.ThelastoneisSympathyMaxim（同情准那么）：

（a）Minimizeantipathybetweenselfandother（尽量减少双方的反感）；〔b〕Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother（尽量增加双方的同情）.〔Leech,1983〕

Grundy（1995）considerpolitenessas“thetermweusetoextenttowhichactions,thewaythingsaresaid,matchaddresseesperceptionsofhowtheyshouldbeperformed.〞

Kasper（1990）viewthat“Politenessisthereforeatermtorefertothestrategiesavailabletointeractionstodefusethedangerandtominimizetheantagonism.〞

House（2001）sayspolitenessisasocio-culturalphenomenon,roughlytobedefinedasshowing,orappearingtoshow,considerationtoother.

InChina,theconceptofpolitenesscanbetracedbackofthenotionto礼〔rite〕.ItreferstothesocialhierarchyandorderoftheslavesocietyoftheZhouDynasty（He,1995）.Twoorthreehundredslater,thenotionof礼gainedthemeaningofpoliteness.In?

礼记?

（theBookofRites）,whichisoneofthesixConfucianclassiccompliedbyDaiSheng（辞海，1979）,theclassicalnotionof礼wasdescriedas“tohumbleyourselfbutshowrespecttoother.〞ProfessorGu（1990）fromBeijingInternationalStudiesUniversityputsitthattherearebasicallyfournotionsunderlyingtheconceptionof礼貌.Therearerespectfulness,whichreferstoself’spositiveappreciationoradmirationofotherconcerningface,socialstatusandsoon;modesty,whichisawaytoshowself-denigration;attitudinalwarmth,whichinvolvesself’sdemonstrationofkindness,considerationandhospitalitytoother;andrefinement,whichreferstoself’sbehaviortootherwhichmeetscertainstandards.ThesearethekeycomponentsofChineseconceptofpoliteness.

3.AComparativeStudyofPoliteLanguagebetweenEnglishandChinese

3.1Addressingform

Differentaddressingformsinrelations

Accordingtomoderndictionary,termsofaddressexplainlikethis:

Termofaddressisthetitletellingtheinterrelationbetweenoneandtheother,aswellasrepresenttheother’sstatusorcareer.

Fromancienttimestopresent,ChinesehavepaidmuchattentiontoaddressingotherduetoChinaisacountrywithlonghistory,andtheyrespecttheeldersverymuch.InChinese,thejuniorshouldn’taddresstheeldersbytheirnamedirectlybutusetherelativeaddresses,suchas“爷爷〞（grandpa）,“奶奶〞〔grandma〕,“爸爸〞（dad）,“妈妈〞（mum）,andsoon.Amongthepeers,theyoungershouldnotcalltheeldersbytheirfullnamedirectlybutaddressthembyusingtherelativeaddresses,suchas“大哥〞〔elderbrother〕,“大姐〞（eldersister）,whiletheeldercancalltheyoungerbytheirnamedirectly.

ComparedwithChinese,termsofaddressinginEnglisharemuchsimpler.Theyaddressalltheirfather’sandmother’sbrother“uncle〞,alltheirfather’sandmother’ssister“aunt〞andcallalltheirpeers“cousin〞.However,inChinese,itisverycomplex.Suchas“舅舅〞（mother’sbrother）;“伯父〞〔father’selderbrother〕;“叔父〞（father’syoungerbrother）;“姨父〞（husbandofmother’ssister）;“姑父〞（husbandoffather’ssister）;“姨妈〞（mother’smarriedsister）;“姑妈〞（father’smarriedsister）;“堂兄弟〞（sonsoffather’sbrother）“堂姐妹〞（daughtersoffather’sbrother）“表兄弟〞（sonsoffather’ssisterorofmother’ssisterorbrother）“表姐妹〞（daughtersoffather’ssisterorofmother’ssisterorbrother）.InEnglish,theycancalltheirnamesamongpeers,evenbetweentheirparents.ItisquitedifferentinEnglishandChinese.

Differentaddressingformsinsocialoccasion

InChina'sformaloccasions,peopleprefertousepostcall,suchas:

ministerWang,directorLi,managerZhang,etc.Ononehand,tobecalledreflectedtherespect,ontheotherhandalsoreflectedthestatusoftheidentity.However,inEngland,betweencolleagues,betweensuperiorsandtheirsubordinatesoftencalleachotherbyname,generallynotwiththetitleoftitlessuchasManagerSmithtoshowcordialityorshortenthedistancebetweenthetwosides.Especiallyinrecentyears,thewesternsocialcommunicationofthe"address"seemstobegoingthrougharevolution,regardlessofpositionandpositionis,peoplearemo