The Influences of Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures on Polite Language
[Abstract] 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. Introduction
What 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 dai ly 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 roommate’s 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 friend’s 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 [2]
The 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 values
Although 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.
China’s 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 one’s 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 people’s status, but th e 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 norms
Social 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 people’s 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 mealtim e, 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 China’s 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. I’d love to. Or
That’s very kind of you, but I’m afraid I’ve already had an ap pointment.
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 “Don’t beat around the bush”, “Let’s 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 family
The 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 father’s age or grandfather’s age “shushu, bobo, yeye, nainai” to show their respect, although they have no familiar relationship. But it’s 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 language
3.1 Ways to address
Address reflects the relationships between people and the values of different people. In the cross-cultural communication, it is very important to address properly.
China’s emphasis on hierarchy can be traced back to the period of feudalism, which lasted more than two thousand years and influenced China greatly. So Chinese culture believes in a social order in which each person has a rightful and protected place, and that hierarchy presumes existential inequality. Either in formal or informal occasions Chinese usually use one’s occupation to address him to show respect when his soc ial status is considered to be high or respectful. For example, Zhao Engineer, Wang Doctor, ect. If their statuses are considered to be low, such as cleaner, plumber, blue-collar worker and most people in service profession, people always call them “shifu” instead of their occupations to show polite. Among all the examples, “surname + teacher” is a typical form of address in China. Thousands of years of Chinese traditional culture regard it as a virtue to show great respect to teachers and the elder in families, thus, Chinese children seldom raise doubts for teachers, and expressions of disagreement with parents are considered impolite behavior. There is such a saying: a teacher once, a father forever. Although great changes have taken place nowadays, children are still taught to follow the traditional virtue.
But the Westerners believe in minimizing social or class inequality, and reducing hierarchical organizational structures. In formal occasions they address people whose statuses are high with Professor Smith, Chairman Brown, ect. But they never address them with “teacher or manager”. And on common occasions everyone prefers himself to be called with his given name to show intimacy to others while Chinese may feel unpleasant to be called in such a term by an unfamiliar person. For example, if an ordinary friend calls a Chinese girl named “Zhang Qinling” as “Qinling” or “ling”, the girl will look on it as an insult.
Besides, in China, there are many terms to address relatives. Just for an “uncle” in English, there are “bofu, shushu, gufu, yifu” in Chinese.
The ways to address strangers are also different. Chinese people prefer to use family terms to address strangers or people elder than them. Students are taught to respect the old and cherish the young. For example, children are told to address adults “aunty” or “uncle” and address old people “granny” or “grandpa”, even at the first time they
meet. But in the West, it is different to call a stranger. The terms “Mr.”, “Miss”, “Mrs.”, “sir” and “madam” are wi dely used among people. “Mr.”, “Miss”, “Mrs.” Are used together with a surname while “sir” and “madam” are usually used alone.
When a Chinese want to draw the attention of a stranger, he may use “shifu” to address, no matter the stranger is a male or femal e. But there is no such a word in English, they will say “Excuse me, sir” or “Pardon me, madam” to address different people.
3.2 Ways to greet
In daily life, greeting is a polite language whenever one meets others and wherever he or she is. It plays an important role in social communication and is a norm of morality and self-cultivation. However, different cultures have different influences on greetings. The more tradition-oriented a society is, the more its members seem to make use of situational greetings. As is known to all, China is a country with a long tradition, then, Chinese greetings are more situational and less dependent on formulaic greetings, which, in English, tend to have explicit religious derivations.
Although both English and Chinese may also ask or comment on other things as a means of greeting, the two cultures differ in the ways they do this. For example, a Chinese and an English-speaker are acquaintances and came across in the way home one day. Chinese passed by and asked, “Have you eaten yet?” The English-speaker was offended by this question. This is a typically acceptable and polite greeting used by native Chinese people to show their concern for others, but it is peculiar and offensive to the Westerners. Because to some Westerners, this question might mean that, “I haven’t either. Come on, let’s go together and get something to eat” or “If you haven’t, I am just going to invite you to my place and have a dinner.” Although it takes a form of question, it is a common Chinese greeting ar ound a mealtime, nothing more than “Hello” or “Hi” in English. There is another example as follows: Chinese people are likely to say, “Where are you going?” when they meet. But in the Western culture, people prefer to comment on the weather as a means of g reeting, such as “Isn’t it a good day?”, but not on personal affairs as Chinese people do.
There is another two common ways of greeting in China to state what someone is doing and to greet the other simply. For example, if a Chinese meet someone who is obviously going to the school or washing the clothes, he may say, “Going to study?” or “Washing your clothes?” But these words sound a little strange to the West, for they would not regard these as greetings. In such situations, they are likely to simply greet the person with a common greeting like “Hello”. But if people want to appear friendlier, they can say, “Hello. Have a nice dinner!” or “Hello. You’re doing a good job!”
Although some greetings used in China do not carry any information and people do not need to answer, such as “Where are you going?” “Have you eaten yet?” and “What brings you here?”, people should avoid when they meet
English-speakers. Because these greetings are considered as questions which invade their personal life rather than friendly greetings.
We can see that greetings in Chinese are mostly situational. Whereas those in English are generally such verbal routines as: “Good morning”; “Good afternoon”; “Good evening”; “Hi”; “Hello”; “How are you?” “How are things with you?” “How’s everything?” “How are you getting on?” “What a lovely day!” and so on. Greetings in Chinese and English are quite different in linguistic forms, but their pragmatic functions are similar. By greeting, people tend to show politeness so as to establish a good social relationship with each other. In modern Chinese, more and more people greet others by such routines as “ni hao” and “zao shang hao” and so on which are equivalent to “Hello”; “How do you do”; “Good morning” and so on in English.
3.3 Differences about farewells
Farewell, means more than simply saying “goodbye” in many cases, whether in Chinese or in English. People would make use of this occasion as an opportunity to imply a future meeting, extend an invitation, express good wishes, show gratitude or concern, etc. And people also use different farewells according to the particular time, place and relationship between them.
The most popular and common farewells in English are as follows: Goodbye: Good night; Have a good day; Have a good trip; I hope everyt hing goes well with you; I’m so pleased to have met you; See you; Best regards to your parents; Thanks for everything; It’s been a pleasant stay, etc.
In Chinese, we have such sayings similar to some of those in English as “zai jian” for Goodbye, “yi lu shun feng” for “I wish you a good journey” and “zhu ni hao yun” for “Good luck”. We also have some Chinese specific farewells such as “man zou” and “zou hao” spoken by the host and the hostess. And the guest should answer “qing hui” or “qing liu bu”. While two friends departing after they meet on the road, one of them may say, “I’ve got to leave”. And the other may say, “Let’s chat next time” or “Come to see me when you are free.” All these culture-loaded linguistic farewells cannot find any English equivalents. If these phrases are literally translated into English, they can be expressed as “Walk slowly” “Be careful of walking” ect. The native speakers of English will surely be puzzled and offended. They would think, “Why should I walk slowly? It’s none of your business”, “Is it impolite to walk faster?” “Shall I be attacked by somebody or something on my way back?”
Thus we can conclude that in intercultural communication, we must make sure that the linguistic means we use to perform certain speech acts should not be translated literally from our own to another. Otherwise they may alter their original meaning may be altered and resulting in different speech acts, and consequently lead to communication failure.
3.4 Compliments and responses
Generally speaking, people like getting along with those who share the same views and tastes with them. In
offering a compliment, Hu Wenzhong points out that the speaker expresses a commonality of taste or interest with the address, thus reinforcing, or in the case of strangers, creating at least a minimal amount of solidarity. From this, we can see that compliment may be used to start a conversation, even between strangers. Furthermore, compliments are like “lubricating oil”, which can make conversations go smoothly in a harmo nious and friendly atmosphere. But in different countries the ways to compliment are greatly different.
Example (2):
(Setting: After seeing a beautiful curtain in an English-speaker’s family, the Chinese wants to praise the curtain.)
Chinese: “How beautiful the curtain is!”
Hostess: “I made it on my own.”
Chinese: “Really? I can’t believe it!”
The Chinese used a surprising tone to show he really liked the curtain. This compliment works well in China, but the English-speaking hostess felt insulted. As is known to all, the westerners are very confident about themselves. The hostess might think that the Chinese didn’t believe she was capable of doing it and her ability was doubted. In contrast, the Westerners are generous in giving compliments face-to-face and accepting them. For example, when the guests are shown around a newly bought house, it is quite impolite not to praise the house; when the guests are invited to a dinner, they must give a positive comment on the food.
Example (3):
Guest: It’s delicious. (While eating)
Hostess: I’m glad you like it.
On the whole, the Chinese compliment each other less frequently than the Westerners do. Furthermore, in addition to compliments on people’s house and clothes, the Westerners also make favorable comments on one’s own children, pets and even husbands, wives, boyfriends or girlfriends. But in contrast, Chinese seldom make such compliments, and therefore, it is hard for them to understand and accept them. Nowadays, Chinese parents also praise their own children for their achievements and are proud of them. But compliments on one’s husband or wife seldom happen. Instead, Chinese always depreciate the husband or wife as “愚夫” or “贱内”
As for the response to a compliment, it appears in pair with compliment. That is, people who are complimented must respond to it…accept or refuse. [7] The ways to respond to compliments are different in China from western countries. The Westerners tend to accept the compliments, at least in form, whereas the Chinese rend to efface themselves in words, although they do feel comfortable about the compliments. In other words, Westerners prefer to convey their thanks directly while Chinese like to minimize themselves to achieve the same goal. Just look at the different responses in the following dialogue:
Example (4):
When someone praises them: “How beautiful your skirt is!”
Westerners: “Thanks a lot!”
Chinese: “Really? It’s just an ordinary skirt.”
Example (5):
When the y appreciate one’s help,
Westerners: “You’re really a great help to me!”
“I can’t imagine how I can manage it without you!”
“Thank you for enduring so much trouble I brought to you!”
“I really appreciate your help!”…
Chinese: “Sorry to have wasted your time.”
“Sorry for having taken up your precious time.”
“I’m not at ease for bringing you so much trouble.”…
In the majority of circumstances, it is perfectly normal to accept a compliment for the Westerners unless the compliment is very obviously untrue. So people frequently respond simply “Thank you”. For example, if the guest compliments the host on the food, it is common for the guest to say “Thank you. I am glad that you like it” in reply. On the contrary, responses in Chinese are quite different because modesty is highly valued in Chinese culture. Chinese people are apt to observe the self-denigration Maxim of Gu’s PP in modern Chinese. When the concerning compli ments are on oneself, Chinese people usually deny it with “No”.
Example (6):
A: Your skirt looks beautiful!
B: Not very good. It is very cheap.
Example (7):
(In China, a foreign traveler sent thanks to the guide.)
Foreign traveler: “Thank you very much for what you’ve done for me!”
Guide: “Not at all. That’s my duty.”
The above responses are typical in Chinese compliment-response exchanges. The differences may result in serious communicative interference in intercultural communication between Chinese and English speakers.
3.5 Considerations of privacy
Different people hold different views about what privacy is. Privacy is valued in all cultures but it is more highly regarded in English culture than in Chinese culture. That is because English culture is characterized by individualism while Chinese culture is characterized by collectivism. The perceptions of “privacy” in the two
Differences between Chinese and Western culture As we know the differences between the our estern cultures and western cultures are quite obvious.I would like to state some of my opinions in this paper. I.difference in the thinking style People on the earth are homologous,but different people in different place have different performance on the way of thinking. Differences between Chinese and Western way of thinking reflected in many aspects.Such as the difference between abstract and concrete, reflected in their attitudes towards life can be understood as Westernersare more practical, and the Chinese are much more biased towards some spiritual experience. Westerners pay attention to logical thinking, but Chinese pay more attention to dialectical thinking and so on. As Chinese and western way of thinking are different, there are differences in expression of the order. For example,we can see that the names of western style are not like ours,they put their given names at the first place,while we put them after our family names,that is to say,we regard our family more important than ourselves,and it's the traditional way of estern thinking.Westerners have another way of thinking,they think that each person is important in our world and society,and a person should play a important role among our human beings. II.differences in daily communication Westerners are frank,but chinese are humility.The reflection between westerners and chinese on the treatment of praise is different.In the West, people can accept it generously. As the Chinese have long term impact of Confucian education, we treat others’ praise and recognition not often take the attitude of ourselves, or there is suspected of arrogant. When meeting acquaintances, chinese and westerners greet each other are also different. Chinese people often say "Have you eat ?" "Where are you going?"except the general asked”hello”. In western culture, this is not a greeting, but substantive issues. When British and American people meet,they usually use a polite phrase like "How are you?" or "Nice to meet you!" In addtion,when westerners accept gift from others,they are willing to open it and praise it directly,but chinese do not do like that. III.differences in customs Chinese people regard ourselves as descendants of the Dragon.Chinese have a supreme respect for the dragon, we think dragon is a symbol of our nation. In the dynasty time,Chinese emperors generally self-styled "dragon".However,in the West, the dragon was regarded as the devil, and it was killed by the legendary god of protection, so they set a day as a festival to celebrate the lifting of a disaster, and thank the protection of God.For this reason, when the students describe a person's lively, they say "He / She is full of vim and vigor." not"He / She is as lively as a dragon and tiger". Everyone has their favorite color, so does a country and a nation. Chinese like the red colour ,because chinese think red is a symbol of luck and enthusiam. But westerners perfer to the blue colour,they think blue can make themselves calm. Thus,the preferences of different colors can reflect the whole of a country’s aesthetic taste. IV. differences in eating cultrue Chinese and Western diets are very different, so the differences also have an impact on the national character. In China, a banquet, no matter what purpose, there will be only one form, that is, everyone sit around one table. People toast each other,and eat the same food in one plate,,It reflects the mutual respect between people even the traditional courteous virtue. Although from the health point of view, this dietary approach has obvious shortcomings, it is consistent with our
The Relation between Language and Culture Abstract: Different countries have different cultures, and also different language. Language and culture are interdependent and interactional. Language is one of the most important carriers of culture. On the other hand, culture have a great impact on language, that is culture conditioning. Knowing the language and cultural backgrounds can help our communication. Instead, it will cause many communicative barriers. In this paper, we summarize the relationship between language and culture. And example to explain it’s impact on cross-culture communication. 摘要：不同的国家有不同的语言和文化，语言和文化是相互依赖、相互影响的，语言是文化的重要载体，另一方面，文化对语言也有制约作用。了解语言文化知识有助于我们的交际。相反地，缺乏语言文化背景知识必然会导致交际障碍。本文列举了语言与文化的关系，并举例说明了这种关系对跨文化交际的影响。 key words: language, cultures, relationship, communication 关键词：语言，文化，关系，交际 1. Introduction As we all know that different countries have different cultures, and also different language. Language and culture are interdependent and interactional. Language is one of the most important carriers of culture. On the other hand, culture have a great impact on language, that is culture conditioning. Language plays a very important role in all human activity. It’s one of the indispensable part of the social life of human. You can not imagine the world would be without language. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of human language is so mystical that people do not acquaint it entirely so far. Culture is the product of social life and national spirit. In other words, culture is the genetic code of difference among the various nation, country and region. Every country has its own culture formation and individuality. This special culture is one of the most important source of affinity and cohesion of a country. For this reason, we must protect and develop the culture of the various nation, country and region, keep variety of our global culture. 2. Relationship between language and culture Relationship between language and culture can be summarized as the following: (1). Language is part of culture. Like other cultural phenomenon, language is also a social phenomenon, it occurred with the production of society, and develops with the development of society. The language is with nationality, different nationalities often have different languages; Language is also human creation. It is the most important spiritual wealth of human society .We can say that language has all the attributes of culture, so language is also a kind of culture, one of the many cultural phenomenons. The human language is not only an integral part of culture, and also the most important part. (2).Language is the main carrier of culture. Although language is part of culture, other cultural phenomenon generally can't exist being independent from language. Only through language, culture can be preserved, extended and spread.
初中英语语言与文化的关系 学习任何一门外语，都不仅要掌握语音是、语法、词汇和习语，而且还要知道和熟识使用该语种的人如何看待事物，如何观察世界；要了解他们如何用他们的语言来反映他们的思想、习惯和行为；更要了解他们社会的文化，语言是文化的一部分，并对文化起着重要作用。它们之间互相影响、互相作用；理解语言必须了解文化，理解文化必须了解语言。 我们学习应用外语，目的是为了交际，并且是跨文化的交际，故此必然涉及不同的习俗文化、不同的世界观、人生观；不同的思维方式、行为方式和生活方式；以及不同的政治信仰和宗教信仰等。我们所指的文化，并不单纯是狭义上所指的文学、音乐、美术等，而更广义上所指的：一个社会所具有的独特的信仰、习俗、制度、目标和技术的总模式。所以在跨文化的交往中，没有这些的深入认识，只局限地以自己母语文化中所形成的各种思维方式、行为方式，习俗观和世界观去和外国人进行交往，必然会形成不同文化观念在某个话题或论点方面的冲突和不快。 在初中阶段的英语教学中，英语教学工作者更多地强调了“听”“说”“读写”四大技能的培养及素质教育在教材的安排和教学时间的分配上，忽略了英语文化的进一步的学习、了解和渗透。同时，作为素质教育，我们在语言教学中，应尽量多地全方位体现该语言范畴的文化现象、文化特征。虽然对事物的理解受到年龄、职业、信仰、思维等影响，但对于初中学生来说，他们应该可以理解在欧美国家最常用的成语、谚语、格言和典故。这些内容在教材中安排得并不多，尽管 有 "A friend in need is a friend indeed" "An apple a day keeps the doctor away","There os a will, there is a way"------ 等等。但我认为仍不足够，英语文化中，常用的谚语还很多，而
中西节日文化差异英文公司内部编号：（GOOD-TMMT-MMUT-UUPTY-UUYY-DTTI-
The comparison between Chinese and Western festivals 中西方节日文化的差异比较 Abstract: the process of comparing the Chinese and Western festivals and studying Western histories and cultures can help people promote the communication and understanding of different cultures. With the further development of society and inter-cultures, globalization will affect many aspects of life in all countries. And western festivals are becoming more and more popular in China. We should respect them and select the essence. China boasts a brilliant history and splendid traditions. In modern times, Chinese tradition should be preserved and promoted. But it seems that young people no longer treasure the tradition. On the contrary, they turn to pursue enthusiastically a seemingly more modern culture. If this trend is allowed to continue, the priceless heritage of our ancestors will be replaced by western traditions. Nobody expects such a consequence. So let’s join hand in hand to protect and carry forward Chinese tradition. Key words: Traditional festivals; Chinese and Western cultures; difference; globalization Introduction: “A holiday of a nation represents a glorious culture and concentrated customs of a nation.” To understand a nation's
如何对待中外文化差异英语作文 我们如何去看待，中外文化差异所带来的英语学习的思维转换?下面是给大家整理的怎样对待中外文化差异英语作文，供大家参阅! 如何对待中外文化差异英语作文篇1 The culture differences between the East and West. As we know ,there are so many differences between culture of the East and West that I can not list all of their different aspects.I will focus on the differences of diet custom and teaching system.For your better understanding ,I will set examples of China and America. It is no doubt that it is a tradition to use chopsticks for Chinese.But people in America prefer to forks and knives.This different result is based on different food they are like .Americans choose to eat beefsteak,bread,and salad,while Chinese people choose noodles ,pancakes and rice.What is more,the custom of drinking tea in China and drinking coffee in America are stand out particularly.However,there is a trend that the food in both countries has been mixture.For example,the coffee and bread have introduced to China.The famous KFC is very popular at children. The gap of teaching system between China and America is big.Chinese students always complain about their homework.Too much homework has limited the time to exercise and relax.They have to recite many things as to get a high mark.Homework comes the first to them. In my opinion,the study in America is more interesting .Teachers pay attentions to training students skills in thinking in realastic life not to emphasis on the importances of memories.In a addition,the rate of going to school ,the salary of teaching ,and the job of gruduates are quite different,too.I should say that Chima government should make great efforts to improve its teaching syetem.I am also expect to be one day ,the West give more cheers to our country.
【篇一】如何对待中西文化差异英语作文 In many parts of the world , personal influence is essential in achieving success. This is not true in the United States, where success usually results from hard work , education, skill, and personal initiative , America is truly a "do-it-yourself" society ; success is not dependent on family origins or the help of an influential person . Personal progress is the result of individual effort. Because effort and initiative are so important in America , there are many customs that may be different from those practiced in other countries. For example , it is not considered dishonorable to quit a job, even if you have had it for only a short time . Moving from job-to -job , or "job-hopping ", as it is called , is quite acceptable in the United States. Frequently , the opportunity to change jobs offers workers a chance to move up to a better position. Americans like to move from place to place trying new jobs, meeting new people and living in different parts of the country. "Job-hopping" also gives employers a chance to benefit from the new ideas and skills that different people bring to their jobs even if such people are employed for only a short time. 【篇二】如何对待中西文化差异英语作文 The whole question of the changing role of Blacks in American society as been the subject of news***** articles around the world so frequently that visitors to the United States do not know what to expect when they arrive. They may be surprised when they see that Blacks and Whites work side by side in offices , factories , and schools across the country . The majority of Blacks in the United States, however, live in and around only a small number of American cities. Many dark-skinned visitors arrive in the United States fearing personal attack or expecting various degrees of racial prejudice. Some forms of discrimination [1] still exist ,unfortunately, especially in the areas of the housing , schools , and jobs . The school equality is still more a dream than a reality. There are still too many areas of the country where Black Americans do not enjoy the same full opportunities as White Americans . However, the vast majority of American s are working , studying , and sharing public places together. This was not true even a few years ago in some parts of the country , but progress is steadily being made . You will be able to observe the improvement in race relations as soon as your plane lands . You will see it in the airport, in public buses and trains , in theaters , restaurants , rest room, in sops and libraries , in offices and factories . Close personal friendships between Blacks and
浅析语言与文化的关系 文化语言学是研究语言与文化的关系——语言所蕴含的民族文化内涵，以及民族文化对语言的存在形式和演变怎样产生影响的一个语言学分支学科。它是语言学众多学科中与人和社会紧密联系、最富人文内涵的一个分支学科。经过一个学期的学习，我逐渐对这门课程有所了解，作为期末论文，我将结合书本知识和课外参考文献，同时联系自身专业，浅析语言和文化的关系。 一、“文化”的概念 为了更好地理解语言与文化的关系，首先要先了解什么是文化。人们关于“文化”的讨论延续了很长时间，至今仍未得出一个统一的看法。19世纪英国人类学家爱德华·泰勒在他的《原始文化》一书中,曾给文化下过一个著名定义:“文化是一个复杂的整体,其中包括知识、信仰、艺术、法律、道德、风俗,以及作为社会成员个人所获得的任何其它能力和习惯。”这个定义强调的精神方面的文化，是一般文化人类学家所持的观点。我国国学大师季羡林先生对文化下的定义是:“文化就是生活,包括物质文化和精神文化两方面,由社会的生产关系所产生出来的物质生活方式,如衣食住行，便是物质文化;由社会的生产关系所反映出来的意识形态,如法律、政治、艺术、哲学，便叫精神文化。”从一直以来人们对“文化”讨论的发展来看，文化的内涵越来越宽广。文化不仅包括了人的知识、信仰、艺术、道德、
法律、习俗、观念等精神方面的内容，也包括人的生产生活活动所产生的种种产品、结果或遗迹，也包括人的行为方式、思维方式、实践能力，甚至社会活动的组织形式等。 二、语言和文化的关系 语言是人类思维和交流的工具，它作为人们认识、思维、交际、表达的符号，参与到文化形成的具体过程中。每一种语言都是在具体、特定的社会历史环境中产生和发展起来的；每一种语言中的形象意义都是在自己独特的历史、社会条件和民族风俗语境下形成的。与语言的发展相似，文化也是社会发展到一定阶段的产物。各民族文化所具有鲜明的个性，不仅决定了人的认知结果，还制约着语言形式。语言与文化相互依存。语言是文化不可分割的一部分，同时又担负着传达文化的任务。因此，我们的教材中说“文化和语言之间起码有了两种关系：语言是文化的载体，语言是一种文化样式”。 第一，语言是文化的载体,是文化存在的物质表现形式。 各民族的文化由于所处的环境不尽相同，民族区域生态环境不同，文化积累和传播方式的不同，社会和经济生活的不同等等，从而产生了文化的不尽相同和各个民族文化的鲜明个性。民族文化的传承和发展最重要的手段就是利用语言,是语言记录了民族文化并保存了民族文化。语言单位,特别是词语,体现了人们对客观世界的认识和态度,烙上了某一民族的历史、社会生活的印记。 比如，在表达赞美时，美国人通常会说“You look good in this
东华大学本科生课程论文封面 教师填写： 本人郑重声明：我恪守学术道德，崇尚严谨学风。所呈交的课程论文，是本人独立进行研究工作所取得的成果。除文中已明确注明和引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的作品及成果的内容。论文为本人亲自撰写，我对所写的内容负责，并完全意识到本声明的法律结果由本人承担。 论文作者签名： 注：本表格作为课程论文的首页递交，请用水笔或钢笔填写。
浅谈语言与文化 摘要 语言，是人们相互交流的重要工具。文化，是人类千万年历史发展的结晶。语言与文化，自诞生之日起，这二者之间就有着说不尽的关系。我们研究一种文化，往往要从它的语言着手；同样的，对于一种语言的学习，也决不能脱离其所属的文化背景。本文针对语言与文化间复杂多样的联系，从语言要素、修辞方法和言语行为三个方面进行了举例分析，以说明语言中所蕴含的丰富文化信息。 关键词：语言，文化，关系
目录 一、语言与文化 .............................................. - 3 - 1.我们的语言............................................. - 3 - 2.所谓文化............................................... - 3 - 3.水乳交融——语言与文化................................. - 4 - 二、寻找语言中的文化信息 .................................... - 5 - 1.分而观之——语言要素中的文化信息....................... - 5 - 2.优美的词句——修辞方式中的语言信息..................... - 5 - 3.话里有话——言语行为中的语言信息....................... - 6 - 三、结语 .................................................... - 8 - 参考文献 ....................................................... - 9 -
Language and Culture I firmly believe that language and culture are familiar with everyone on earth. Nevertheless, I don’t think everyone is clear about the real meaning of language and culture. On this basis, this essay will explain some basic information about language and culture, including what is language, what is culture and the relationship between language and culture. What’s more, quite a number of examples will be cited to help you have a better understanding of language and culture. Let’s begin with the concept of language. When we put a key word “language”into the online Wikipedia(维基百科)，which is a free encyclopedia to people all over the world, we find that language is defined as the human capacity for acquiring and using complex system of communications , and a language is any specific example of such a system. From this definition, we have a clear consciousness towards language. When we look into the Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary, Language is divided into several meanings as follow：1. use of words in an agreed way as a method of human communications 2. system of words of a particular community or country etc. 3. faculty of speech 4. system of symbols and rules for writing computer programs 5. any method of communication.6. professional or specialized vocabulary. Besides, I have also learned the definition of language from my linguistics class. In the book A New Concise Course in Linguistics for Students of English(新编
中西文化差异英文 Differences Betwween Chinese And Western Clture As we know,there are many obvious differences between chinese and western clture.Here I will epress some opinions about this. Chinese culture is the collectivist culture.Chinese put the benefit of groung the first place.The value of people can not be allowed to set up over the the benefit of the grounp.On the contrary,western culture is the individualist culture.They spare no efforts to show off themselves. 1、Differences in addressing Chinese put the given name after the family name.While in the western country,their given names were put at the place.We can see that Chinese regard the family name more important than the given name.It reflects that Westerners have a thought that each person is significant in our world and a person should play a important role among our beings. 2、Differences in rendering thanks Generaly,in China the family members hardly say “thanks”.If say it,we will feel strange and have distance beween each other.But Westerners can it on any occasion and beween any people.When someone give they a cup of drink,they will say“Thanks”.What,s more,when someone ask you“Would you like something to eat/dirnk,”Chinese would say a few words of courtesy although they would like.But in th e west,peole will say“Yes,please”if they would like and will say“No,thanks”if they would not.
【个人简历范文】 一方水养一方人，中西方的文化也是有差异的，用英语描写一下你所知道德1中西方的文化差异吧。下面是为你整理的有关中西文化差异的高中英语作文，希望你喜欢! 描写中西文化差异的英语作文范文篇1 Through I am a Chinese,I have some west country friends.They lived in China for many years, from their tone ,I know that there are many cultural difference between West and China.Such as difference of dinner manners……In west countries ,when people are having dinner ,if one of them want to go to a WC.He or she shoud say”Excuse me ,I want to go to the toilets…”Only in such a way can others think you are of good manners.And in the bathroom,you can relieve the bowels, wash you faces, refine the make-up ,pick your teeth and so on.When you finished yourself,you can return to you set.A wonderful dinner can be continue.But in China,there are some different of it.When you want to have a bath,you shoud only say”I want to go to washroom”.That just means:I want to go out for a while.If you finished you dinner ,you can also say:”I'm full”That means:I am full ,help youselves.And then ,you can go out to have a rest or walk.That just some of the difference of dinner manners in west and in China.When we face it in the future ,don`t forget that! 描写中西文化差异的英语作文范文篇2 Long history in China in 5000, western social process of world 56 a hundred years.China is brilliant abundant, great and deep food culture;The western nation then has delicately and particularly , from become the food civilization of system.Medium the west food cultural collision, exchanges and melted into whole mankind's civilization to fill up with wear colourful function.Medium the Spanish turn of the difference of educated medium west food culture of difference, but this kind of difference come from medium the west different mode of thinking with conducting philosophy. This text introduced a medium Spanish to turn in the difference of food.West food from the food idea, food object, food method, food ownership and property etc. carry on the comparison of the culture. 描写中西文化差异的英语作文范文篇3 There are many difference between China and America such as in the field of geography ,culture, language ,politics ,economy and education with the development of science and technology .The word get even more smaller ,the communication between them is more frequent . Our country, China absorbs the essence and doesn’t eliminate the bad thing . Because a proverb ever since said when the fresh air come in ,the flies will also accompany it . At times we may not determine our countries’ geography