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1、跨文化交际中的语用失误：原因及对策Pragmatic Failure in Cross-cultural Communication:Causes and CountermeasuresAbstract: With the rapid development of globalization and frequent contacts among different countries, cross-cultural communication is becoming more and more important and becomes one of the most frequent an
2、d significant activities in the twenty-first century. However, people from different countries may have different beliefs, values, attitudes and world views. They may use their own cultural values, beliefs and attitudes to understand the others who have different cultural backgrounds. As a result, p
3、ragmatic failure will come into being and bring many obstacles into cross-cultural communication.In cross-cultural communication, due to negative transfer, different cultural connotations, cultural values, social norms, and improper foreign language teaching in the classroom, pragmatic failure can h
4、ardly be avoided. To cultivate the learners pragmatic competence and to improve the awareness of cultural differences of the learners are also important to reduce pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication. Key words: cross-cultural communication； pragmatic failure； causes and countermeasures
5、摘 要：随着全球化进程的加快，跨文化交际越来越成为当今世界重要活动之一。但是，由于交际者可能来自于不同文化，他们不了解异族文化的特点，各自遵循的信念、价值观、世界观等也不尽相同，经常会在跨文化交际中出现语用失误，影响跨文化交际的成功进行。在跨文化交际中，由于不适当的文化迁移，不同的文化解读、价值观念，社会习俗，及不当的外语教学方法，语用失误几乎不可避免。培养学习者的语用能力及提高学习者的文化差异意识，可有效地减少跨文化交际中的语用失误的发生。关键词：跨文化交际；语用失误；原因及对策Contents. Introduction.1. Literature Review.2Definitions
6、to some terms.21. Cross-cultural communication.22. Pragmatics.23. Pragmatic failure.2. Classification of Pragmatic Failure .3A. Pragmalinguistic failures.31. Pronunciation and intonation.32. Vocabulary.33. Grammar.44. Text .4B. Social-pragmatic failure.51. Address.52. Greetings.53. Compliments.64. T
7、aboos.6. Main Source for Pragmatic Failure.6A. Negative transfer.7B. Improper teaching in the classroom.7C. Different cultural connotation.8D. Different social norms.8E. Different cultural value system.9. Countermeasures to Pragmatic Failure.10A. Using knowledge of pragmatic principles in cross-comm
8、unication.10B. Teaching the second language with the help of pragmatic knowledge.11C. Increasing students awareness of cultural differences11D. Cultivating learners communicative competence.12. Conclusion.12Works Cited.13. Introduction：The rapid development of economy and technology has brought the
9、human beings into an age of globalization in which people of one culture are increasingly in contact with people of other cultures. There is a great potential for communicators to suffer from communication breakdowns in cross-cultural context because of the cultural differences. In cross-cultural co
10、mmunication, the communicators are inclined to negatively transfer their native cultural conventions and linguistic knowledge into communication， thus they will commit pragmatic failurefailing to understand the counterparts intentions, and they will transmit their actual ideas into the communication
11、. With an analysis of classic examples and application of pragmatics theory, the purpose of the thesis is to provide some useful references for foreign language teaching in China and for a better cross-cultural communication.The thesis is divided into five parts:Part one gives the basic concepts of
12、some terms, such as cross-cultural communication, pragmatics, pragmatic failure, communicative competence，so that a clear view of pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication is formed in the reader mind.Part two focuses on the pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication, which is general
13、ly reflected in social-pragmatics and pragmalinguistics. In this part, a lot of real examples from different angles are given to analysis their manifestation forms in cross-cultural context.Part three explores the causes of pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication. From this point of view,
14、negative transfer, different cultural connotations, cultural values, social norms, and improper foreign language teaching in the classroom and cross-cultural barriers such as ethnocentrism and stereotypes and so on, are all considered as the causes of pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communicatio
15、n. Part four is about the countermeasures to pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication. It is of great importance to learn some principles in communication and to teach foreign language with some pragmatic knowledge. In addition, cross-cultural communicators should cultivate the awareness of
16、 cultural differences and to develop the pragmatic competence of communicators. Part five is the conclusion of this thesis, in which a brief summary of this thesis is made. Literature ReviewA. Definitions to some terms1. Cross-cultural communicationCross-cultural communication is the communication a
17、ctivities between people from different cultural backgrounds (including different cultures between different nations and different sub-cultures in the same culture). Cross-cultural communication may produce two quite opposite consequences. On one hand, exposure to another culture can broaden ones pe
18、rspective, promote personality growth and promote mutual understandings between the people of different cultures, which can lead to better international relations and less inter-group friction and hostility. On the other hand, cross-cultural communication often leads to hostility and poor inter-pers
19、onal relations among those involved in this communication because of some cultural and psychological factors.2. PragmaticsThere are various definitions to pragmatics from different scholars. Based on their ideas, we can summarize it as the study of meaning in context which is distinct with word and
20、sentence meaning.3. Pragmatic failureThomas J. is the first one to put forward with the term “pragmatic failure”. And she has defined it to “the inability to understand what is meant by what is said. It seems to Thomas that it is the hearers fault that causes pragmatic failure. (Thomas 91)According
21、to the Chinese scholar He Ziran, pragmatic failure refers to the errors resulting from inappropriate utterance, intact manner, or unidiomatic expressions, and as a result, the communication fails to achieve the expected effect. (He Ziran 348)In Qian Guanlians opinion, speakers can make grammatically
22、 correct utterances in communication, but they may unconsciously violate interpersonal or social norms, or produce utterances that are not in accordance with the time, the place, or the interlocutors, and then pragmatic failure occurs. (Qian 195)As stated above, pragmatic failure should be defined f
23、rom two perspectives. First, pragmatic failure refers to the failure resulting from the hearers faulty interpretation of utterances. Second, it refers to the speakers unconscious violation of interpersonal, social norms, value systems, and intact manners. As a result, the effect of communication can
24、not be as satisfactory as expected or even worse. Communication breaks down or ends in failures. Classifications of Pragmatic FailureThomas has categorized pragmatic failure into pragmalingluistic failure and socio-pragmatic failure. (Thomas J 91)A. Pragmalinguistic failuresPragmalinguistic failure
25、refers to the failure in the language use itself. It occurs when language users can not avail themselves of the same language form and function to make them understood. It mainly manifests itself in the arrangement of phonetics, lexicon, grammar and discourse, mostly the failures in lexicon and gram
26、mar.1. Pronunciation and intonation Pronunciation is the martial body of language. It has physical, biological and social attributes as its common characters in language use. In cross-cultural communication, the pronunciation prosperities of the target language should be paid highly attention, so th
27、at they can be utilized effectively and correctly. As to pronunciation, English has phonetic symbols which do not exist in Chinese which is a little bit difficult to pronounce appropriately. The most obvious mistakes in pronunciation are the distinction between the consonants and s, l and n. A great
28、 number of people often pronounce night as lait, thanks as snks. All these mentioned above are likely to cause misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication. The intonation of a speaker is a useful basis to tell his or her attitude. Though the literal sentence is the same, the expressed connotat
29、ion would vary due to the different intonation. In a French restaurant, a waiter asks a gentleman “Is there anything I can do for you” in a falling instead of a rising tone. Then there comes the problem. The gentleman becomes angry and gives up enjoying the dinner, because he thinks the waiter is im
30、polite to him by a falling tone!2. VocabularyA principle of verbal communication is to be polite and courteous. And politeness is fully connected with how to apply a language appropriately. Thus the word “please” is undoubtedly involved in some phrases related to politeness both in Chinese and Engli
31、sh. However, students of English, for example, often equate the usage of “please” in English with that of “请” in Chinese. Because they do not pay attention to the differences of these two linguistic words on a pragmatic level no matter how similar they are on a semantic one. As a result, the Chinese
32、 students commonly misuse “please ” in the expression of “请”, which comes out to be a pragmalingluistic failures in cross-cultural communication.On the other hand, in some situations, “please” indicates a meaning of an order or impatience, which is considered to be impolite. For instance, “请打开窗户” in
33、 Chinese is not always equal with “Please open the window”. In English, if the addressee in communication is a guest or elder, we should say “Do you mind opening the window?” in order to overcome the misunderstandings.3. GrammarIn cross-cultural communication, the use of a target language requires b
34、uilding a new set of linguistic system, including a new grammar different from that of a source language. For instance, some Chinese often use “although” and “but ”in one English expression, because they do not realize that “虽然” and “但是” cannot be used at the same time in English. On the contrary, i
35、t is common to use both of them simultaneously in Chinese. Yes-or-no question exists both in Chinese and in English. Though it seems to be simple, the answer to this typical question reflects the differences of thought patterns between the two languages. When responding to a yes-or- no question in C
36、hinese, we should answer it directly on the utterance of speaker, such as the answer of “你不去看电影吗？” can be divided into an affirm one“是的，我不去。” and a negative one “不，我去。” However, the yes-or-no question in English does not aim at the addressee but at the intention of the speaker. Thus the answer of “A
37、rent you going to the park?” in English should be “Yes, I am.” or “No, Im not.”4. TextThere are terms that both Chinese and foreigners use to express their emotion. Although they can express the same meaning, they are used to different people on different occasions. For example, the use of the locut
38、ion “I love you” fluctuates greatly across cultures. In some cultures, the connotation of the declaration is marriage while in other cultures, people say it all of the time to their family, friends, lovers and so on. B. Social-pragmatic failureSocial-pragmatic failure refers to the failure in the cu
39、ltural context where the hearer cannot understand the speaker. It occurs when the communicators cannot appropriately use language according to different communicative occasions, different language habits and different characteristics of different cultural background. It mainly includes the address,
40、greetings, compliments and taboos.1. AddressWhen a form of address is appropriate to the relationship of the speaker and the addressee, and is in accord with the rules of the communication, it will always be regarded as adequately polite. However, any forms of address that are not correspond to the
41、relationship of the speaker and addressee, or to the rules, can be perceived as impolite no matter which variant is used for a break of the rules. For example, in England, the job title of “engineer” seems more highly respected than it is in the United States. When a group of workers from England ca
42、me to the United States on business, the Americans did not give the engineers in the visiting group any special treatment to distinguish them with job title from the rest of the group, because the Americans didnt think it necessary, or inappropriate to do so. But the engineers felt frustrated since
43、they thought they are superior to other workers.However, a violation of address norms does not necessarily lead to impoliteness, such as to call the name of ones parents, or teachers directly. Whether a spontaneous change of address is to be interpreted as appreciating or as offensive, can be gather
44、ed from the context and from the custom, etc.2. GreetingsGreetings happen at very low levels of interactions in peoples daily life. But this everyday practice can help people to realize that life is important for the understanding of the structure, the essence of a society and culture. For example,
45、friends can acknowledge, conform and strengthen theist relationship with the performance of a greeting. Moreover, like many other situations, such as parting, complimenting, apologizing, wedding, etc., greeting is one of the excellent tools of cultural behavior expression. In western countries, peop
46、le sometimes talk about such things as greetings on the surface. If one engaged in such a greeting, s/he might always hear “Nice day, huh?” “Rainy, isnt it?” which “should go without saying”. When we encounter such kind of greetings, we may get frustrated, because they are so meaningless. As a result, possible cross-cultural difficulties occur.3. ComplimentsIn daily life, when being praised by others, the Chinese students often deny t
