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1、渭南师范学院本科毕业论文 题 目：中西方礼貌原则的文化差异 学院名称： 外国语学院 专业班级： 08级英本1班 毕业年份： 2012年6月 姓 名： 杨 雪 学 号： 080241095 指导教师： 李 会 琴 职 称： 副 教 授 渭南师范学院教务处 制Study on the Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Politeness Principles By Yang XueA Thesis Presented to School of Foreign Languages ofWeinan Normal Universitya
2、s Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsfor the Degree ofBachelor of ArtsMay 13, 2012Class: Class 1 of 2008Advisor: Yang Xue中西方礼貌原则的文化差异摘要：礼貌是民族文化重要的组成部分，它反映了一个民族的特征, 包含着该民族的思维方式和价值观念。礼貌是受礼貌原则制约的，不同的文化有不同的礼貌原则，礼貌原则规范着人们的言行举止, 融洽彼此间的关系。中西方虽然在礼貌原则上的提法有所不同, 但其重视和强调礼貌在社会和人际交往中的作用确是相同的。在跨文化交际中, 我们要了解不同文
3、化间的差异, 取得文化认同, 跨越交际障碍, 不同文化相互交流中减少摩擦, 不断融合, 共同发展, 以达到自然和谐的交际效果。本文旨在通过对中西方礼貌原则在跨文化交际中运用的对比研究， 发掘得体运用背后的中西文化差异，有助于人们选择得体的行为，克服失误，保证交际顺利进行。 关键词：文化差异；礼貌；跨文化交际;礼貌原则Study on the Cultural Differences between Chinese and EnglishAbstract ：Politeness is a kind of social phenomenon, and different cultures have
4、 different politeness principles. Each kind of politeness reflects the culture it represents. It also reflects a national characteristics, contains the way of thinking and the values. And the politeness principle constraints peoples behaviors, smooth peoples relationship. Chinese and westerners have
5、 different polite principles, but both emphasize the effect of politeness in society and interpersonal communication. In inter-cultural communication, we have to notice the differences between different cultures, acquire cultural identity, and avoid communication barriers, so as to achieve the natur
6、al and harmonious effect in communication. This thesis is to make a comparative study of those socially acceptable appropriate behaviors in China and western counties to help people choose appropriate behaviors to have a successful communication.The key words :cultural differences；politeness；communi
7、cation；politeness principlesTable of ContentsI. Introduction1IITheories of Politeness Principle2A. Politeness principle in western civilization21. Cooperation principles32. Politeness principles33. The face theory .3B. Politeness principle in Chinese civilization4III Differences of politeness princi
8、ples in English and Chinese cultures5A. Differences of Cultural connotation between politeness principles5B. The differences of the most important politeness maxims5C. Different attitudes towards privacy6IVThe cultural differences between Chinese and English polite manners6A. Thank, praise and apolo
9、gy61. Thanks and responses62. Compliments and responses73. Apology7B.Social phatic language.81. Invitation and the banquet82. Accepting gifts93. Salutation94.The daily greetings10C. The reasons of pragmatic failures101.Different time expressions 112.Slang, proverbs in Chinese and English culture113.
10、Different values114.Different listeners in communication125.Situations126.Different ways of thinking13V.Conclusion13ivI. IntroductionPoliteness is a common phenomenon in all social groups. Its a tool to keep interpersonal harmony. Its a symbol of anthropological civilization and the lubricant to kee
11、p social harmony. To a great extent the politeness help us promote the social progress and cultural development of civilization. But at the same time, as to the universality of politeness, we also need to keep our eyes open to find standards of courtesy in different cultures. Its also a kind of soci
12、al conventions that constrain the role of every member of society, so the politeness principle is the most important in every nation. As the politeness principle of different cultures derived from different sources, so more or less they will have differences. But these differences often influence th
13、e cross-cultural communication. The politeness principles have a long history, no matter in ancient China or western countries. In their history or cultures, we could find the differences in many aspects, such as concepts, connotations, and guidelines and so on. This paper makes Leechs politeness pr
14、inciple as the theoretical framework. By comparing the differences of China and other western countries, as well as the relevant cultural differences, we can find different politeness principles are the keys to ensure proper manners and politeness principles play a significant role in the cross-cult
15、ural communication. By understanding the differences of Chinese and western politeness principles, the countries will eliminate the misunderstanding as far as possible and promote the development friendly and peaceful diplomatic relationship.IITheories of Politeness Principles Politeness is a social
16、 phenomenon with a long history. In the 1980s, Leech put forward the famous idea of “politeness principles” from the rhetoric and the style in a conversation with the British linguists. Leech said: “In order to explain language, people need to explain the concept that Grices implications to the conv
17、ersation, including the politeness principle at least.”(Leech, G. 34）A. Politeness principles in western civilizationIn the West Country, first Grice, followed by Levinson, Leech and other linguists does effective research on the politeness principle of interpersonal communication.1. Cooperation pri
18、nciples So if we want to get successful communication, we must obey the following four maxims:(1) Quantity: The information should be in a limited scope.(2) Quality: Provide the correct information.(3) Relation: Provide the relevant information to the topics.(4) Manner: Provided the clear and concis
19、e information. （伍修仪 116)2. Politeness principlesIn the conversation, people often break the cooperation principles. So Leech puts forward the politeness principles from the social psychology- the cooperation principle and makes up for the disadvantages of cooperation principle by Grice in 1983. It i
20、ncludes these following six maxims: (1) Tact maxim: Try to reduce the cost of others and increase benefits of others(2) Approbation maxim: Namely more praise others, less critical of others.(3) Modesty maxim: Namely more criticism, less praises you.(4) Sympathy maxim: Reduce the feelings of oppositi
21、on; increase the fillings of the harmony between each other.(5) Phatic maxim: Avoid ice communication in the situation. ( 廉哲 223）3. The face theoryAccording to the Goffmans explanation, Brown and Leinson put forward the face theory in 1987. Face theory is another perspective discussion of politeness
22、. People think that face is a precious thing in social communication. Therefore, Brown and Levinson say that if people want to get mutual cooperation in communication, they have to keep “face”. According to their theory, politeness strategies include the positive and negative two categories:(1) Posi
23、tive strategy: To close as the foundation, mainly through the performance, ensure the common place to content each others positive face (2) Negative strategy: To avoid as the foundation, mainly through do not affect or impact each other less as far as possible to content their negative face. (伍修仪 11
24、6)B. Politeness principle in Chinese civilization The politeness in Chinese culture is closely related to the Confucian. It says “The etiquette is the beginning of the movement.”(管子 五辅十 57) and explicitly points out social gap at that time. Politeness exists in all different stages of Chinese histor
25、y and plays an important role all the time. According to Chinese historical cultural background and the characteristics of Chinese daily communication, people put forward the politeness principles related to the Chinese culture, such as Gu Yueguo puts forward four aspects about the politeness princi
26、ples according to Chinese language and culture. Those are reportage, modesty, and refinement. At the same time, Gu Yueguo summarizes the politeness principles that suit for Chinas national conditions according to Leechs theory:(1) Self-belittling and Others-esteeming Maxim: To self-thing we must be
27、self-belittling or self-effacing and to listeners people must to honor or to be others-esteeming(2) Call Maxim: People should call each other according to up and down, rich and poor, young and old to reflect the social relations(3) Refinement Maxim: Selection of elegant language and avoid offensive
28、language. People must choose more euphemism, less bluntly words in communication.(4)Seek the common Maxim: People strive to keep harmony in many aspects to get aspirations of respecting for each others face.(5) Morality, word, and behavior Maxim: Minimize the price paid by others at the time; try to
29、 increase the benefits of others in communication. In words, try to exaggerate the others own benefits, to lower the price paid by the small own and to increase self-payment and self-ability. (Gu Yueguo 33- 35.)III Differences of politeness principles in English and Chinese cultures A. Differences o
30、f Cultural connotation between politeness principles Due to special historical origin and the important influence of Confucianism in ancient Chinese culture, politeness has always referred to a high degree of ethics and personal integrity. In Confucianism, “Courtesy” refers to the criteria of indivi
31、dual behavior and social, moral norms, the purpose of paying attention to politeness is to train the moral personality. Polite words and deeds are closely linked with morality. It also is societys moral requirements for every member in the society. It requires members in line with the ceremony in so
32、ciety in order to get appropriate communication.In western culture, politeness is seen as a strategy of interpersonal communication to avoid contention and discord. It is a method to prevent someone else committing to reduce friction in interpersonal communication.B. The differences of the most impo
33、rtant politeness maxims. The most important English and Chinese cultural politeness maxims are entirely different. Gu Yueguo puts forward five maxims in line with Chinese culture. Self-belittling and Others-esteeming Maxim are the most important one. But in Leechs, appropriateness is the important o
34、ne. Self-belittling and Others-esteeming maxim includes the richest Chinese cultural characteristics. It requires people to be modest, prudent. Interpersonal demeanors are in line with their own identity and status. This feature fully reflects the mutual salutation, introduction, greeting, invitatio
35、n, and response appreciation and praise. Appropriateness is considered as the most important politeness maxims in western society. Because the appropriateness is the most important thing in requirement of politeness, is also the most widely used, the most indispensable one. In fact, Leech thinks tha
36、t appropriateness is foundation of politeness. The essence of politeness is speech appropriateness; the fundamental purpose is to promote the success of communication.C. Different attitudes towards privacy In English culture, there is a great relationship between politeness and personal privacy. Eng
37、lish politeness Principe is influenced by Tact Maxims. On privacy the aspect of understanding the meaning of the word, privacy is more comprehensive. It includes major aspects, such as social class, family structure, income, etc. And small areas such as appointments, phone calls, habits, taboo, etc.
38、But in traditional Chinese culture, by the impact of “Our culture”, seems to be no privacy this concept. Chinese people not only like to open their hearts to others as the relatives, but also like to inquire other peoples privacy. For example, when two Chinese meet each other on the street, they wil
39、l ask each other:“Where did you go?”They will ask each others age, marital status, income when they chat. It will be considered as impolite behavior, even an invasion of privacy in western culture.IVThe cultural differences of different polite mannersA. Thank, praise and apologize 1. Thanks and resp
40、onses Although all the Chinese and westerners will say thanks to thank people who helped them, but the method is quiet different to express their appreciation. Thank you is used more widely by westerners than Chinese for minor favors like borrowing pencils, asking directions, etc. For Westerners, ev
41、eryone is equal individual, whether he is a family member or not. Thank you not only shows politeness, but also a feeling of appreciation. But in China, to show to thank is not commonly used among close friends and family, because it may mean a certain distance from the speaker and listener The coun
42、tries with English as mother tongue may respond to: “Thank you”, as “You are welcome / I am pleased / not / trumpet determine.” In China, if people respond to thanks. they will say “no, no, no . This is my responsibility,”. Chinese do not really want to do so not only because it is his or her duties
43、. The information westerners get from Chinese is quite different.2. Compliments and responsesExpressing compliments is the way to achieve and maintain successful social relationships with others. It contains a positive evaluation by the speaker to the listener. And it would be usual to hear an Ameri
44、can lady talking about how hard her husband works and how well he has done, and about all the promotions and honors that he has received, etc. But in China, people simply does not praise their own family members in pubic. It would be polite to accept praise, rather than deny it in English culture. T
45、hey would say “Thank you” to show appreciation for others praise. But in China, people usually deny:“No, no! I am not good enough.” to show their modesty. Modest is a virtue. This faith is deeply rooted in Chinese mind. They think, its suitable that to say “Thank you” to respond to others compliment
46、s. 3. Apology Except mistakes needing apology, Chinese may apologize for the crowded residential state and small amount of dishes, although the room is large enough and there are many dishes. Maybe they say that just to express self-depreciation and politeness. Westerners will be amazed why Chinese
47、people say so. Maybe they do not welcome others visit, they do not like others eating, because the room is so large, and there are so many dishes, To sum up, the salient features of the Chinese politeness, for Chinese people self-slander is as a way of respect for others, but native English speakers think that is impolite, even hypocritical. In addition, Chinese people want to choose a direct way to express their apology, that is to save their and the others face. In Western countries, things are quiet different. People always ch
