The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite Language.doc

The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite LanguageAbstract Language is the most important communication tool for human beings. And in it is loaded the profound national cultural connotation. Since mankind headed into the era of civilization, polite language has been highly valued in each culture, community and group. On one hand, polite language is an indication of being elegant and civilized, and on the other hand, it is helpful to establish and maintain a good relationship between people. As an observable phenomenon, politeness is something superficial and is recognized as a norm in all societies. People in every culture are trying to be polite when communicating. Furthermore, politeness is culture-specific to some extent and a reflection of specific cultural values in the language. Due to the influence of cultural value orientations, the actual manifestations of politeness and the standards for its judgment differ substantially from culture to culture. Therefore, misunderstandings or even breakdown may occur if the cultural differences of politeness are neglected in cross-cultural communication. This thesis aims to make a contrastive study on polite language between Chinese and the West in cultural perspectives and the points that people should be aware of in communication between different cultural groups.Key Words polite language; cultural trait; cultural value; cross-cultural communication; cultural difference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内涵。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范。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. IntroductionWhat is politeness? We might say it is showing courtesy, respect and consideration to other people, acknowledging them, and not imposing unnecessarily on them. Politeness is everywhere. It can be showed in two aspects: verbal form and non-verbal form. Through all its verbal and non-verbal aspects, “language embodies cultural reality”. 1 In daily life, it is very easy to give a pile of examples of politeness. For example, to say “Thank you” to one who has offered you some help is polite, and to take a book from your roommates private bookshelf without first asking for permission is considered impolite behavior; to greet your elders with appropriate address terms is polite and to enter a friends room without knocking at the door is impolite. All cultures require and value politeness. Although the notion of politeness is universal, it has different origins and thus different connotations in different cultures. In the first half of the 20th century, European linguists became aware that forms of linguistic behavior that we may now label as “polite” deserved attention in the study of language. From then on, linguists have made every effort to define “politeness” as a subject of study. They concentrate on its supportive features and say that politeness is for reaffirming and strengthening relationships. Politeness is a device used to avoid offense and reduce friction in personal interaction. After that, English linguist Leech delivered his six criteria of politeness in 1983, which is called “Politeness Principles” (PP). The maxims of the PP proposed by Leech (1983:133) go in pairs as follows:(I) Tact Maxim (in impositives and commissives)Minimize cost to other, maximize benefit to other(II) Generosity Maxim (in impositives and commissives)Minimize benefit to self, maximize cost to self(III) Approbation Maxim (in expressives and assertives)Minimize dispraise of other, maximize praise of other(IV) Modesty Maxim (in expressives and assertives)Minimize praise of self, maximize dispraise of self(V) Agreement Maxim (in assertives)Minimize disagreement between self and other,Maximize agreement between self and other(VI) Sympathy Maxim (in assertives)Minimize antipathy between self and other,Maximize sympathy between self and other 2The most approximate Chinese equivalent to the English word “politeness” is “limao”, which is derived from the old Chinese word “li”. The serious studies of politeness (limao) in China began in the early 1980s. Among the Chinese scholars who have contributed significantly to the study of politeness, the most important one is Professor Gu Yueguo of Beijing Foreign Studies University. Through a thorough study and comparison between ancient and modern politeness, Gu holds that there are basically four essential notions underlying the Chinese conception of “limao”: respectfulness, modesty, attitudinal warmth, and refinement. In his theory, Prof.Gu has traced the origin of the notion of politeness in Chinese culture, and also formulated a different set of politeness maxims, which he thinks are more suitable to the Chinese environment. There are the Self-denigration Maxim, the Address Maxim, the Tact Maxim, the Agreement Maxim and the Generosity Maxim. 3 Among them, the Self-denigration Maxim is the significant characteristic of Chinese politeness and indicated greatly in polite language. While admitting the universal nature of politeness, we should at the same time be aware that the ways to realize politeness and the standard for its judgment vary cross-culturally. Such differences arise from the different origins of the notion of politeness and the cultural value orientations, which have been gradually formed in the course of history under the influence of various factors.2. Considerable items related to polite language.The effect of culture on daily lives is largely unrealized. Perhaps a way to understand cultural influence is by way of analogy with electronic computers: as people program computers to do what they do, culture to a great extent programs people to do what they do and to be what they are.Culture has been, from the very beginning, a special province of anthropologists. They were the first to explore the term “culture”. For them, culture stands for the way of life, attitudes and behavior patterns of a people. 4 Later, scholar gave it different definitions from different aspects of research. It is estimated that there have existed about 300 definitions of culture. As I have mentioned in the previous paragraph, polite language, as a language phenomenon, is greatly influenced by cultural factors. They are as follows:2.1 Cultural valuesAlthough each of us has a unique set of values, there also are values that tend to permeate a culture. These are called cultural values. Cultural values generally are normative in that they inform a member of a culture what is good and bad, right and wrong, true and false, positive and negative, and so on. Despite their importance in the control of cultural behaviors, values cannot be seen, heard, tasted or experienced. Values are inside people, in their minds and a way of thinking about the world. 5 Therefore, they are mental programs that govern specific speech choices.Chinas traditional culture emphasizes the great esteem for harmony among people, between people and nature, which is profoundly influenced by Confucianism and Taoism. Confucius advocated the restoration of “li”, which referred to the social hierarchy and orders of the Zhou Dynasty and each individual must have his place according to his social position. It can be traced back to the period of feudalism, which lasted more than two thousand years. Chinese value was greatly influenced by traditional philosophies. In China, it is polite to give others face and at the same time avoid losing ones own face. Chinese are reserves and unwilling to be conspicuous, for they believe the sayings that “The nail that sticks up is hit”, and “Birds that come forward will be shot first”. Since the founding of the new China in 1949, the feudal system has been abolished and a new order of social structure has been introduced, this certainly has had some effect on peoples status, but the social relations, in general, are still “vertical lines”.But in the West, people believe that each person is rational and capable of making choices. Each one should be responsible for him. Consequently, they develop themselves freely, emphasize on individual intelligence and ability, and hold that group benefits should make a concession to individual ones. There are many aspects showing the thought of individualism among the Westerners. Just as the words composed of “ego” or “self”, such as egocentric, egoism, ego ideal, and so on; self-control, self-confidence, self-dependence, self-reliance, ect. The differences discussed above are showed clearly in the polite language. Chinese usually give advice to show their concern and the “we” thinking, such as “Eat more” and “Put on more clothes”. But when you say these to a westerner, he or she does not like that and will think that you are ordering.2.2 Social normsSocial norms, as one element of culture, are rules about what people should or should not do, say, or think in a given situation. According to the scholars, norms are patterns of appropriate ways of communicating. It is important not only to speak with symbols that are understood, but also to use the symbols at acceptable times with the appropriate people, with the fitting intensity. For example, patriotism is a value; showing respect for the flag is a norm. Norms describe how people should behave. Norms are standards that are shared by members of a certain culture. They provide guidelines for every activity: birth and death, what to eat and what to wear, and when and where to make a joke. Norms are formed in a long period of development. They are rules not written into a law, but realized by peoples habitual behavior. Sometimes, even people themselves do not know why they should follow certain norms.Norms are reflected in the polite language. Take greetings as an example. In Chinese, “Have you eaten yet?” and “Where are you going?” are the most common greetings. The former is a greeting around mealtime, but in the West, it might mean an invitation if you say to an English-speaker. The latter may use anytime in China when two acquaintances meet while in the West it is an invasion of their privacy, especially those who are in China but not familiar with Chinese culture. Regarding the reason why Chinese like to greet people in this way, some scholars think that it has something to do with Chinas backward economy and poor living standard in the past, therefore, it is natural to care for whether others have eaten or not. But nowadays, the two above-mentioned greetings are the habit of Chinese and good wish but not mean anything. So people just respond to it very vaguely. Greetings that are commonly used in the West are as follows: Hi, Hello, Morning, Good morning/afternoon/evening, and so on. 2.3 Patterns of thought  The mental process, forms of reasoning, and approaches to problem solution prevalent in a community are another major element of culture. They vary from person to person, but differ much more greatly between people from different cultures. For example, in writing a letter, Chinese address is different in order from the western one, which reflects the thinking differences. Chinese and Westerners differ greatly in respect with patterns of thought. Kaplan, an English linguist, concludes that the English speakers thought pattern is linear, while the Oriental pattern is like a “gyre”. 6   The distinction between these two patterns reflects cultural differences between China and the West. Consequently, communications in different cultural backgrounds are also different. Take the response to an invitation for example; there is obvious difference between them.Example (1):        A: How would you like to come to my party?        B: (Chinese) Maybe I will come to.  But the Westerners like giving a definite answer, and the responses are as follows:A: How would you like to come to my party?        B: Thank you very much. Id love to. Or Thats very kind of you, but Im afraid Ive already had an appointment.     In the West, the speaker or writer organizes his or her ideas and tries to send them explicitly and directly. In contrast, in China the listeners have to infer the intended meaning from the dialogue. According to an investigation, the majority of Chinese people first give reasons then raise a request, but the Westerners are the opposite. Some English idioms, such as “Dont beat around the bush”, “Lets get down to business” and “Get to the point”, reflect western style. In a word, Chinese are more indirect and ambiguous than the Westerners.2.4 Value of familyThe manner in which a culture organizes itself and its institutions also affects how members of the culture perceive the world and how they communicate. As the smallest social organization in a culture, the family greatly influences its members, including the ways of thinking, the attitudes to everything, and the ways of living. From the ancient, Chinese usually live in a big family. Many married young couples live with their parents. So they can take care of their parents. Filial piety is highly valued in China and considered part of morals. In a family, the parents are the “leaders”. When children encounter problems, they always go back home to consult with their parents. On the other hand, their parents can help take care of their children if they are busy with their work. The relationships between Chinese family members are mutually complementary and unshakable. In contrast, the vast majority of the Westerners live in nuclear families. Children live in their separate rooms, and they are encouraged to make decisions for themselves and learn to be responsible for things since they are very young. When old enough, they are encouraged to do some odd jobs, such as delivering newspapers, baby-sitting, cleaning the yard to get their own money. Thus, children may learn how to depend on their own from an early age. Independence is a remarkable characteristic of Western life. Generally speaking, the family plays a more important role in China than in the West. The difference takes very important part in polite language. It influences the form of address terms greatly. For example, Chinese children are told to address people at their fathers age or grandfathers age “shushu, bobo, yeye, nainai” to show their respect, although they have no familiar relationship. But its different in the West. Once there was an English-speaking old lady who visited China and complained, “I love China, but I hate to be called nainai”. Different cultures cause different views of values, which affects the criteria of politeness and lead to differences of polite language in various aspects.3. Differences in polite language3.1 Ways to addressAddress