跨文化交际英语论文
姓名： 柳剑刚
学号： 201304129
任课教师： 徐立
Intercultural Communication
Cultural differences on politeness between western and Chinese can be found in many aspects of daily communication, including addressing, greeting and parting, compliments, apologies, thanks, etc.
1. Greeting and Parting
When people meet acquaintances or friends, people usually greet each other. The purpose of greeting is to establish or maintain social contact. So formulaic expressions are often used, but such formulaic expressions often causes conflict because of the great cultural differences between Chinese and native English speakers. In English, people often employ the following expressions to greet each other “Good morning/evening/afternoon. “Fine day, isn’t it? ” “How’s everything going?” “Have you eaten yet?” What are you going to do?” “Where have you been?” etc. Westerners treat them as real question. While in Chinese, we always say “Have you had dinner?”“What are you going?” to show our consideration. Parting may be divided into two steps. Before the final prating, there is usual a leave-taking. Western and Chinese cultures have diverse ways to deal with leave-takings. Firstly, in English society, during the closing phase of an encounter, from” I” perspective, reasons for terminating the encounter are presented in mediatory comments. Typical comments are associated with expressions of apology, such as “I” am afraid I must be off, I have to relieve the baby-sitter” etc.
2.Form of address
Every country has its own way to address people. In the process of cross-cultural communication, we have to be cautious enough to choose the right form of address according to other people’s culture.
Case (1) (A Chinese student greets his foreign teacher)
Student: “Hello, Teacher Hedges.”
Analyses: In china, it’s quite natural for students to call their teachers by combing the title of the profession and the first name. But in western countries, especially in American, “teacher” is just a profession but not a form of address. The right way to greet teachers is to add M r/ Mrs/Miss in front of one’s family name, or call their name straightforwardly.
Case(2) (A child in china met an American in a park and tried to speak to him courteously)
A: Uncle, how do you do?
B: Please call me John; I’m not your uncle.
Analyses: In China, children often call the elder people uncle or aunt for the sake of showing their great respect to them. But in western countries, the appellation of “uncle” can only be used by relatives. If they heard unfamiliar people call them “uncle” or “aunt”, they may feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.
But the order and the use of these names in the two languages are somewhat different. In Chinese, the surname comes first and then the given name. And people like add “xiao” before their family name. Such as “xiao wang”、“xiao li ”、and so on.. While westerners names are written and spoken with the given name first and the family name last. So John Smith's family name is Smith, not John. In a formal setting, address men as "Mister" (abbreviated as "Mr."), married women as "Misses" (abbreviated as "Mrs."), and unmarried women as “Miss" (abbreviated as "Ms."). These days many women prefer to be addressed using the abbreviations "Ms." pronounced "miss" .In an informal situation, westerners will introduce each other by first name, without titles, and occasionally by just the last name. If you are introduced to somebody by first name, you can address him or her by first name the next time you meet. The only exception would be for someone who holds an important position, such as the university president or provost. Unless they tell you otherwise, faculty should be addressed using their title and last name . When in Doubt, use the formal manner of address, since it is better to err on the side of formality. It is also appropriate to ask how they prefer to be addressed. Children should always address adults in the formal fashion, using their title and last name.
3. Compliments and Response
Compliment is to praise the addressee’s virtues, ability, behavior, appearance, clothing, personality and belongs. Appropriate compliments can serve as effective supplementary means in inter-personal communication. Western and Chinese culture are at polar opposites about compliment. The English-speaking people are more active to praise others and to be praise than Chinese people. For example, the Americans are “straight forwardness”, the Chinese take pride in “modesty”. That modesty has left many a Chinese hungry at an Americans table, for Chinese politeness calls for three refusals before one accepts an offer and the Americans hosts take ”no ” to mean “no ”, whether it is the first, second or third time. Still bigger differences exist in people’s attitude towards compliments, In the response to compliments. Chinese are tending to efface themselves in words or refuse it, although they do feel comfortable about the compliments. So many westerners simply feel puzzled or even upset when their Chinese friends refused their compliments. The Chinese people are not intending to be modest with the sacrifice of friendship in so doing, but it is rather due to the traditional Chinese philosophy, that of modesty. The Chinese people regard modesty as a most valuable virtue, so they seldom agree to the compliment on their own.
4. Apologies and Responses
If wrong things are done, there must be apologies .As to how to offer apologies, both western and Chinese people may “I am sorry….” “I apologize for…” etc. But Chinese would like to apologize for the crowded state of their dwellings and for small numbers of dishes, although the room is big enough and there are many dishes. Chinese stay these to express self-depreciation only out of courtesy, not having other implication. But the westerners would wonder, since the room is so large and there are so many dishes, why do they say so. May be they do not welcome our visit; they don’t like us to eat more. When Chinese contact with westerners, if they do not know these differences, if will lead to misunderstanding. The ways to respond to apologies are different, too.
A: Oh, I’m sorry. I forget it.
B1: It doesn’t matter.
B2: That’s all right.
B2 is westerners. B1 is a Chinese person. “It doesn’t matter” is a common pattern in Chinese to respond to apologies. If a Chinese uses this to respond to apologies, westerners will think that he is a sharp person, who simply cannot forgive a very little wrong thing.
5. Thanks and Responses
“Thank you” is widely used in English to show gratitude in such cases as being invited, helped, given a gift, etc. Cultural differences exist between Chinese and western in how to express thanks and responses. In fact, “Thank you” is uttered in English for more than acknowledging favor or gratitude, and it is often a means to show politeness. As a matter of fact, “Thank you” is used more widely by westerners than Chinese use “thank you”, for minor favors like borrowing pencil , asking directions, requesting someone to pass on a message , receiving a telephone, etc. “Thank you” not only shows politeness but also carries a person’s grateful feeling for those who offer help. Without using expressions of gratitude, misunderstandings may arise because the help seems to be taken for granted and is most appreciated, For westerners, each person is an equal individual, whether he is a family member of not. In Chinese, “thank you ”is not frequently used between intimate friends and family members because it may imply a certain distance between the addresser and the addressee. Native speakers may respond to “Thank you” by saying: You are welcome /It’s a /my pleasure/ Not at all/ don’t mention it/That’s all right. While Chinese people may say:“This is what I should do”， which may convey to westerners the message that the Chinese did not really want to do it, or that he /she did it only because it wall his/her duty. This message is quite different from what the Chinese speaker intended to express.
6. Asking Personal Affairs
People from China do not regard it as asking personal affairs when they ask others name、year、marital status、wages、personal life、belief and political points. It is regard as concerns. While the westerns will think you violation their right of privacy. When we talk to the westerns, we must avoid asking some questions like this:” How old are you?”、“Are you married?”、“How many children do you have?”、“How much do you make?”、“What’s your weight?”、“Do you go to the church?”
Linguistic behavior is part of human behavior that differs from cultural to cultural. We will know more about English and Chinese cultures if we look hard at the ways in which everyday conversation is conducted in English and Chinese and try to find out the cultural differences underlying them. In everyday conversations the exchange of communion is particularly revealing.
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