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1、Cultural Differences between China and West from Courtesy LanguageAbstract: Language, as part of culture, is influenced by culture. So is courtesy. Courtesy language is the important part of the culture. All the courtesy languages are the mirrors to their cultures. Different cultures between China a
2、nd West lead to different politeness principles. Courtesy language plays a very important role in the cross-cultural communication. It is the basic element to keep a good relationship. Whether the use of courtesy languages is proper or not will directly influence the communication. This article trie
3、s to analyze the cultural differences between Chinese and Western courtesy languages in their causes and effects on the cross-cultural communication, such as: addressing, greeting, compliments and responses and taboos. And, the paper deeply analyzes the causes for the differences from the histories,
4、 customs and social norms. The purpose is to know the use of the courtesy language and improve cross-cultural communication.Key words: courtesy language; cultural difference; cross-cultural communication从礼貌用语看中西文化差异摘要：语言既是文化的载体，又是文化的一部分，语言受到文化的影响，是文化的一面镜子。因此礼貌用语作为语言的一部分与文化也是密不可分的，礼貌是文化的重要组成部分.英汉文化不同
5、，英汉语言的礼貌原则也存在差异。礼貌用语在跨文化交际中起着十分重要的作用,是良好的人际关系得以维持的基石。礼貌用语在跨文化交际中使用的是否得体,将直接关系着交际是否能够顺利进行下去,甚至是否能够达到交际目的。本文试图从称谓语、问候语、称赞语、禁忌语四方面入手，重点探究中西方文化礼貌现象的差异，差异形成的原因以及对跨文化交际的启示，并从地理因素，文化因素和价值观的角度，对造成中西方礼貌差异的深层原因进行剖析，以期加深对礼貌现象的认识，旨在实现中西方文化的折中，实现正确的使用礼貌用语，提高跨文化交际能力。关键词：礼貌用语；文化差异；跨文化交际Contents1. Introduction12. D
6、ifferences in courtesy language between China and western12.1 Addressing12.1.1 The different use of the first-naming22.1.2 The different use of official and occupational titles32.2 Greetings32.2.1 The different ways to open a conversation in greetings32.2.2 The different topics of the greetings42.2.
7、3 The different thinking about privacy in greetings42.3 Compliments52.3.1 The different use of compliments to the family52.3.2 The different use of the compliments to the opposite sex62.3.3 The different responses to the compliments62.4 Taboo62.4.1 The different views on taboo for title72.4.2 The di
8、fferent views on taboo for the privacy72.4.3 The different views on taboo for the numbers73. The causes for the differences83.1 Geography83.2 Culture83.3 The values94. Things to do to improve cross-cultural communication94.1 Respecting the others culture94.2 Creating more chances to communicate with
9、 the people from the different cultures104.3 Avoiding the cultural prejudice104.4 Seeking cultural similarities during the cross-cultural communication105. Conclusion11References12Acknowledgments13Cultural Differences between China and West from Courtesy Language1. IntroductionLanguage is basically
10、a product of culture, Language coexists with culture. Courtesy language, 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. Courtesy language directly determines the success of the communic
11、ation. It generally exists in every language. But due to the cultural differences between China and west, people may have different understandings about the politeness, and they deal with politeness in different ways. When communicating with people from different cultures, one should pay close atten
12、tion to the connotation due to different cultural values; otherwise it might cause misunderstandings in actual interactions for improper usage and expression. It will lead to failures in communications. This article tries to analyze the differences and the reasons of the differences in order to make
13、 the cross-cultural communication successful. 2. Differences in courtesy language between China and westernIn the second chapter, English courtesy language has been compared with Chinese courtesy language in the specific cases and situations such as addressings, greetings, compliments and taboo.2.1
14、AddressingAddressing is the mirror to the interpersonal relation and cultural convention. People are noticeably sensitive to the implications of different address forms, so it becomes very important to choose appropriate addressing forms for different occasions if one wants to fulfill politeness. Th
15、e main function of addressing forms in the cross-cultural communication is to draw addressees attention, but they also help to establish or maintain social bonds, strengthen solidarity or show deference, the appropriate addressing does a great contribution to enhance the mutual understanding and tru
16、st while the misuse of addressing will arouse repugnance and suspicion from each other.(曹凤静,2007). Gu says that in comparison with other maxims, the address maxim can be seen as being essentially all expressions of linguistic politeness. A failure to use an appropriate address term is a sign of rude
17、ness, or a signal of a breakdown of established social relation. Addressing in China is a way to show respectfulness and attitudinal warmth (Gu, 1990, p.248). Addressing forms can be divided into the following categories: (a) personal names, which include given names, surnames, full names or nicknam
18、es such as Alice, Bevin, Mr. Smith in English and Mao Zedong毛泽东,Wang Xiansheng 王先生in Chinese; (b) kinship terms like father, uncle, aunt in English and Ge(ge)哥哥, Jie(jie)姐姐in Chinese; (c)titles, including social titles, official titles and occupational titles.The common social titles in English are
19、Mr., Miss, sir; in Chinese are Xiansheng先生, Xiaojie小姐, Shifu师傅, Tongzhi同志etc. There are offical titles indicating ones ranks, for example, Prime Minister, Captain in English and Zongli总理, Shengzhang省长, Chuzhang处长 in Chinese. Occupational titles are to show occupation, such as Professor, Doctor and D
20、aifu大夫, Hushi护士(Jiang Zhongheng, 1995, p.17). 2.1.1 The different use of the first-naming First-naming has a very high frequency of occurrence in English-speaking countries. As Chaika stated, “Recently in America，there has been a strong trend toward first-naming. First-naming, originally a sign of c
21、onsiderable intimacy and comradeship between close friends, relatives, neighbors, classmates and colleagues, has now extended itself to strangers, people of asymmetrical age and status”(Chaika, 1982, p.50). Nowadays, it is more and more common for people to exchange mutual or reciprocal address. It
22、should be noted that the reciprocal use of first names is informal. Its main purpose is to stress solidarity and deliberately avoid any manifestation of differences in social status(Jiang Zhongheng, 1995, p.17). Western culture allows status or age inferiors to first-name their superiors, for exampl
23、e: students and employees may address professors and bosses in first name. In contrast, the Chinese culture strictly forbids this. A failure to address elders in a respectful way may be regarded as a sign of rudeness, or a deviation from the established social order. In Chinese, the reciprocal use o
24、f first names is strictly limited to status equals of the same sex. One explanation is that addressing by given names in Chinese indicates a much closer relationship between female and male than it does in English; another possible explanation is that Chinese people do not forget to respect others a
25、nd denigrate themselves even in addressing. We do not adapt to calling Westerners by their given names and automatically add some titles when we address foreigners. We consider it more polite than first-naming. As a matter of fact, Westerners may feel offended at not being called by their given name
26、s and conclude that Chinese are unwilling to make friends with them.2.1.2 The different use of official and occupational titles Western addresses are occasionally linked with official or occupational titles due to the reason that the equality and justice arc emphasized in the Western culture. And th
27、erefore, Western people do not intentionally show their official or occupational distinction in their address forms. For example, address forms like Engineer Smith, or General Manager Bush are not allowed in English. However, the situation is quite different in China. Almost all the official, admini
28、strative titles can be used as addressing forms with or without the given name. The addresses like Manage Liu，Director Chert, Division Commander Luo will be found everywhere in China. Chinese culture emphasizes the different social status and power, and therefore, the official title is used to manif
29、est the social status of the other while the occupational title is to differentiate the social role of the other. That is the reason why the high social status and the decent job will be manifested in addressing (Abrams,2004. p.197).As for the social and occupational titles, it should be pointed out
30、 that some titles combined with surname, which are common in Chinese, are unacceptable in English. Native English speakers do not say Teacher Kane, Engineer Smith or General Manager Jones. In English speaking communities, there is no need to add titles to show the achievements, importance or seniori
31、ty of the addressees. The addressing like Xu Shifu徐师傅, He Yeye何爷爷, Li Buzhang李部长 etc, has no English equivalents at all. 2.2 GreetingsGreetings are important as well as frequent in everyday social interactions all over the world. Appropriate greeting behavior is crucial for the establishment and mai
32、ntenance of interpersonal relationships. Greetings as a significant aspect of politeness phenomenon exist globally. “Greeting is used to establish bonds of personal union between people brought together by the mere need of companionship.” (Malinowski, 1972, p.15)2.2.1 The different ways to open a co
33、nversation in greetingsThe greetings such as Hello!, How are you!. I am pleased to meet you. frequently occur in English. Chinese on the other hand are quite used to greetings like你吃了吗?(Have you eaten?). 上哪去?(Where are you going?) or 你在忙什?(What are you busy with?) etc. Obviously people in English cu
34、lture as well as in Chinese culture attach great importance to speaking politely. Yet some people in English culture may find Chinese greetings unacceptable or even offensive for these greetings seem to be concerned about personal matters although they are quite appropriate and friendly in Chinese c
35、ulture. Another example is that a Chinese can greet a longtime departed friend: 你还是老样子，一点也没变老(You still remain the same and do not look older than before). This will surely offend a native speaker of English by implicating that heshe is lack of change or should have been very old. 2.2.2 The differen
36、t topics of the greetingsIn the Western culture, talking about the weather is a well-known example of a greeting and an opening of a conversation. In the Chinese culture, talking about age marital status, occupation and other personal information, rather than the neutral topic like weather, has been
37、 a way to show the speakers concern for others and his or her intention of establishing friendship. It may be easily noticed that in public places a senior citizen initiates a conversation with a young lady by saying: gu niang jin nian duo da le? 姑娘今年多大了?(T: How old are you, young lady?). In most ca
38、ses, if the senior citizen does not harbor any ill intention, the girl will tell him her exact age. They may talk with each other on topics such as where they are from, what they are doing and what they are going to do as well as other subjects that Westerners may avoid touching upon.2.2.3 The diffe
39、rent thinking about privacy in greetingsIn English-speaking cultures there is not too much demonstration of some other things. Privacy plays an important role in Western culture, and thus Western people try to avoid any involvement of private topics in greeting. In their view, whether they have eate
40、n something, whether they have been married, where they are going. Or how much they are paid are all their own business people. In contrast with Chinese greetings, greetings in English are composed of neutral questions concerning the hearers well-being, state of affaires and other safe topics. Due t
41、o different attitudes toward the conceptions of individualism and privacy, Chinese people would like to inquire others living situations and regard meticulous concern for others as the best expression of politeness. Chinese greeting formulae and the degree of concern are problematic for English-spea
42、kers to accept.2.3 Compliments A compliment is a speech act which explicitly or implicitly attributes credit to someone for something which is valued positively by the speaker. How to give compliments and respond to them, therefore, constitutes a part of the communicative competence of every member
43、of a speech community, which is taken for granted by the speakers. However, studies of compliments and compliment responses have shown that this small speech event is actually far more complicated and revealing than it appears, in terms of the relation between language and culture. Paying appropriat
44、e compliments is an aspect of communicative competence, which differs in a variety of ways from one culture to another.2.3.1 The different use of compliments to the familyGenerally speaking, people in Western attach much importance to the function of the language of praise. They are always pleased t
45、o hear words of praise in their presence, and are willing to praise others as well. They often compliment their family members or relatives in the presence of other people. For example:1. (Mother to son): You look cute today.2. (Husband to wife): The meal you made is great, I like it.Such compliment
46、s are so prevalent among Western people that they may be seen as daily routines rather than real praise. On the contrary, the Chinese people do not have such a custom. They seldom compliment their family members publicly. If they do it, they will be regarded as lacking self-restraint or modesty. In
47、China, the closer the relationship, the less politeness there will be. Since the family is the most intimate circle among the Chinese, compliments between family members or relatives are seen as rude behaviors in the eyes of outsiders. When compliments do appear among family members in China, they a
48、re given by parents to children, but they seldom occur between husband and wife. People in China think that there is no need for them to praise each other, which forms a sharp contrast to the Western people.2.3.2 The different use of the compliments to the opposite sexAnother difference between the
49、two cultures is that in West, it is very common for males to compliment females. In the West, womens clothes, figures, hairstyles, etc. are frequently complimented and the person who conducts it may be a male and female. For example: “You look so pretty when you smile, you should do it more often”. “You look great on this cloth”. The women in we
