The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite LanguageWord文档下载推荐.docx
- 文档编号:18182613
- 上传时间:2022-12-14
- 格式:DOCX
- 页数:10
- 大小:28.34KB
The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite LanguageWord文档下载推荐.docx
《The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite LanguageWord文档下载推荐.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite LanguageWord文档下载推荐.docx(10页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
culturaldifference
中西文化差异对礼貌用语的影响
【摘要】语言是人类最重要的交际工具。
语言负载着深厚的民族文化涵。
自人类进入文明时代,礼貌用语就被各文化社团及学者所广为重视。
一方面,它是社会文明和进步的象征;
另一方面,它又能帮助人们建立和维持良好的人际关系。
作为一种可观察得到的社会现象,礼貌是一种表面现象,是由所有社会所认同的一种规。
人们在交流时,都会努力做到礼貌。
同时,礼貌具有文化特性,是特定文化价值在语言中的折射。
由于文化价值的影响,表示礼貌的方式方法,以及人们用以判断礼貌的标准也会有所不同。
因此在跨文化交际中,会出现一些误解,这些误解常常会导致交际失误乃至失败。
本文试图从文化角度来对比中西礼貌用语的用法,阐述文化差异对语言的巨大影响以及人们在不同文化之间的交流上要注意的问题。
【关键词】礼貌用语;
文化特性;
文化价值;
跨文化交际;
文化差异
1.Introduction
Whatispoliteness?
Wemightsayitisshowingcourtesy,respectandconsiderationtootherpeople,acknowledgingthem,andnotimposingunnecessarilyonthem.Politenessiseverywhere.Itcanbeshowedintwoaspects:
verbalformandnon-verbalform.Throughallitsverbalandnon-verbalaspects,“languageembodiesculturalreality”.[1]Indailylife,itisveryeasytogiveapileofexamplesofpoliteness.Forexample,tosay“Thankyou”toonewhohasofferedyousomehelpispolite,andtotakeabookfromyourroommate’sprivatebookshelfwithoutfirstaskingforpermissionisconsideredimpolitebehavior;
togreetyourelderswithappropriateaddresstermsispoliteandtoenterafriend’sroomwithoutknockingatthedoorisimpolite.
Allculturesrequireandvaluepoliteness.Althoughthenotionofpolitenessisuniversal,ithasdifferentoriginsandthusdifferentconnotationsindifferentcultures.Inthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury,Europeanlinguistsbecameawarethatformsoflinguisticbehaviorthatwemaynowlabelas“polite”deservedattentioninthestudyoflanguage.Fromthenon,linguistshavemadeeveryefforttodefine“politeness”asasubjectofstudy.Theyconcentrateonitssupportivefeaturesandsaythatpolitenessisforreaffirmingandstrengtheningrelationships.Politenessisadeviceusedtoavoidoffenseandreducefrictioninpersonalinteraction.Afterthat,EnglishlinguistLeechdeliveredhissixcriteriaofpolitenessin1983,whichiscalled“PolitenessPrinciples”(PP).ThemaximsofthePPproposedbyLeech(1983:
133)goinpairsasfollows:
(I)TactMaxim(inimpositivesandcommissives)
Minimizecosttoother,maximizebenefittoother
(II)GenerosityMaxim(inimpositivesandcommissives)
Minimizebenefittoself,maximizecosttoself
(III)ApprobationMaxim(inexpressivesandassertives)
Minimizedispraiseofother,maximizepraiseofother
(IV)ModestyMaxim(inexpressivesandassertives)
Minimizepraiseofself,maximizedispraiseofself
(V)AgreementMaxim(inassertives)
Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandother,
Maximizeagreementbetweenselfandother
(VI)SympathyMaxim(inassertives)
Minimizeantipathybetweenselfandother,
Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother[2]
ThemostapproximateChineseequivalenttotheEnglishword“politeness”is“limao”,whichisderivedfromtheoldChineseword“li”.Theseriousstudiesofpoliteness(limao)inChinabeganintheearly1980s.AmongtheChinesescholarswhohavecontributedsignificantlytothestudyofpoliteness,themostimportantoneisProfessorGuYueguoofBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity.Throughathoroughstudyandcomparisonbetweenancientandmodernpoliteness,GuholdsthattherearebasicallyfouressentialnotionsunderlyingtheChineseconceptionof“limao”:
respectfulness,modesty,attitudinalwarmth,andrefinement.Inhistheory,Prof.GuhastracedtheoriginofthenotionofpolitenessinChineseculture,andalsoformulatedadifferentsetofpolitenessmaxims,whichhethinksaremoresuitabletotheChineseenvironment.TherearetheSelf-denigrationMaxim,theAddressMaxim,theTactMaxim,theAgreementMaximandtheGenerosityMaxim.[3]Amongthem,theSelf-denigrationMaximisthesignificantcharacteristicofChinesepolitenessandindicatedgreatlyinpolitelanguage.
Whileadmittingtheuniversalnatureofpoliteness,weshouldatthesametimebeawarethatthewaystorealizepolitenessandthestandardforitsjudgmentvarycross-culturally.Suchdifferencesarisefromthedifferentoriginsofthenotionofpolitenessandtheculturalvalueorientations,whichhavebeengraduallyformedinthecourseofhistoryundertheinfluenceofvariousfactors.
2.
Considerableitemsrelatedtopolitelanguage.
Theeffectofcultureondailylivesislargelyunrealized.Perhapsawaytounderstandculturalinfluenceisbywayofanalogywithelectroniccomputers:
aspeopleprogramcomputerstodowhattheydo,culturetoagreatextentprogramspeopletodowhattheydoandtobewhattheyare.
Culturehasbeen,fromtheverybeginning,aspecialprovinceofanthropologists.Theywerethefirsttoexploretheterm“culture”.Forthem,culturestandsforthewayoflife,attitudesandbehaviorpatternsofapeople.[4]Later,scholargaveitdifferentdefinitionsfromdifferentaspectsofresearch.Itisestimatedthattherehaveexistedabout300definitionsofculture.AsIhavementionedinthepreviousparagraph,politelanguage,asalanguagephenomenon,isgreatlyinfluencedbyculturalfactors.Theyareasfollows:
2.1Culturalvalues
Althougheachofushasauniquesetofvalues,therealsoarevaluesthattendtopermeateaculture.Thesearecalledculturalvalues.Culturalvaluesgenerallyarenormativeinthattheyinformamemberofaculturewhatisgoodandbad,rightandwrong,trueandfalse,positiveandnegative,andsoon.Despitetheirimportanceinthecontrolofculturalbehaviors,valuescannotbeseen,heard,tastedorexperienced.Valuesareinsidepeople,intheirmindsandawayofthinkingabouttheworld.[5]Therefore,theyarementalprogramsthatgovernspecificspeechchoices.
China’straditionalcultureemphasizesthegreatesteemforharmonyamongpeople,betweenpeopleandnature,whichisprofoundlyinfluencedbyConfucianismandTaoism.Confuciusadvocatedtherestorationof“li”,whichreferredtothesocialhierarchyandordersoftheZhouDynastyandeachindividualmusthavehisplaceaccordingtohissocialposition.Itcanbetracedbacktotheperiodoffeudalism,whichlastedmorethantwothousandyears.Chinesevaluewasgreatlyinfluencedbytraditionalphilosophies.InChina,itispolitetogiveothersfaceandatthesametimeavoidlosingone’sownface.Chinesearereservesandunwillingtobeconspicuous,fortheybelievethesayingsthat“Thenailthatsticksupishit”,and“Birdsthatcomeforwardwillbeshotfirst”.SincethefoundingofthenewChinain1949,thefeudalsystemhasbeenabolishedandaneworderofsocialstructurehasbeenintroduced,thiscertainlyhashadsomeeffectonpeople’sstatus,butthesocialrelations,ingeneral,arestill“verticallines”.
ButintheWest,peoplebelievethateachpersonisrationalandcapableofmakingchoices.Eachoneshouldberesponsibleforhim.Consequently,theydevelopthemselvesfreely,emphasizeonindividualintelligenceandability,andholdthatgroupbenefitsshouldmakeaconcessiontoindividualones.TherearemanyaspectsshowingthethoughtofindividualismamongtheWesterners.Justasthewordscomposedof“ego”or“self”,suchasegocentric,egoism,egoideal,andsoon;
self-control,self-confidence,self-dependence,self-reliance,ect.
Thedifferencesdiscussedaboveareshowedclearlyinthepolitelanguage.Chineseusuallygiveadvicetoshowtheirconcernandthe“we”thinking,suchas“Eatmore”and“Putonmoreclothes”.Butwhenyousaythesetoawesterner,heorshedoesnotlikethatandwillthinkthatyouareordering.
2.2Socialnorms
Socialnorms,asoneelementofculture,arerulesaboutwhatpeopleshouldorshouldnotdo,say,orthinkinagivensituation.Accordingtothescholars,normsarepatternsofappropriatewaysofcommunicating.Itisimportantnotonlytospeakwithsymbolsthatareunderstood,butalsotousethesymbolsatacceptabletimeswiththeappropriatepeople,withthefittingintensity.Forexample,patriotismisavalue;
showingrespectfortheflagisanorm.Normsdescribehowpeopleshouldbehave.Normsarestandardsthataresharedbymembersofacertainculture.Theyprovideguidelinesforeveryactivity:
birthanddeath,whattoeatandwhattowear,andwhenandwheretomakeajoke.Normsareformedinalongperiodofdevelopment.Theyarerulesnotwrittenintoalaw,butrealizedbypeople’shabitualbehavior.Sometimes,evenpe
- 配套讲稿:
如PPT文件的首页显示word图标,表示该PPT已包含配套word讲稿。双击word图标可打开word文档。
- 特殊限制:
部分文档作品中含有的国旗、国徽等图片,仅作为作品整体效果示例展示,禁止商用。设计者仅对作品中独创性部分享有著作权。
- 关 键 词:
- The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite Language
链接地址:https://www.bdocx.com/doc/18182613.html