Comparative Study on Politeness in Chinese and English Languages.docVIP

Comparative Study on Politeness in Chinese and English Languages Abstract：Politeness, as a symbol of human civilization, is a social-cultural as well as linguistic phenomenon that can be found in all societies all over the world. It has drawn much attention from linguists, psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists since 1960s. As a result of the rapid development of the study of cross-cultural communication, people are now getting more and more interested in investigating what politeness is and how to be polite in cross-cultural interactions. As people from different cultures may have different views on what politeness is and how to be polite, misunderstanding or even breakdown may occur if the cultural differences of politeness are neglected in cross-cultural communication. Therefore, it is necessary and of great significance for the Chinese learners of English to have a good knowledge of politeness in both Chinese and English. This thesis is intended to make a comparative study on politeness in English and Chinese from the perspectives of both the theoretical principles and the manifestations of politeness, and analyze that the different cultural values between them are the main cause of such differences. The comparative study and analysis of polite behavior and politeness principles in English and Chinese are expected to be of some help to Chinese learners of English and English teaching as well. Key Words: Politeness English Chinese Culture Values Introduction Politeness seems to be a social value that occurs in all civilized societies, even though the social norms relating to what is and what is not considered polite behavior may vary across cultures. Politeness has been a focus of interest in pragmatics for decades. As a common social phenomenon, politeness is not only a universally highly valued virtue, but also a widely employed strategy to realize tactful and effective communication. Despite its universality of politeness, the way to realize politen