An Analysis of Differences of Politeness Principle betweenChinese Culture and English CultureAbstract:Politeness is a symbol of the human civilization and a means for maintaining a harmonious interpersonal relation. Politeness is a social statute that constrains people‟s behaviors in any society. However, it shows different characteristics in Chinese culture and western culture. In recent years, scholars have shown great interest in politeness. In the west, Goffman‟s notion of face, Brown and Levinson‟s Face Theory and Geoffrey N. Leech‟s Politeness Principles are the representatives; in China, Professor Gu Yueguo‟s Five Notions of the Politeness is the pioneer in this field. This paper attempts to throw light on the differences of politeness principles between Chinese and western culture and its reasons based on the basic introduction of polite principles in Chinese and western culture. The better understanding of these differences and reasons can improve the English learners‟ cultural sensitivity, reducing pragmatic failure. Also, it can help them get the effective communication through the proper modes of politeness.Key words: Polite Principles，Cultural Differences, ReasonsTable of ContentsI. Introduction (1)II. Polite Principles in Chinese and English Culture (2)2.1 Politeness Principles in Chinese Culture (2)2.2 Politeness Principles in English Culture (3)III. Differences of Politeness Principles between Chinese Culture and English Culture (5)3.1 Terms of Address (6)3.2 Thanks and Apology W ords (7)3.3 Contents of the Conversation (7)3.3.1 Compliment and Modest Words (8)3.3.2 Euphemisms and Taboos (8)3.3 .3 Greeting and Farewell Words (9)IV. Reasons of Differences of Politeness Principles between Chinese Culture and English Culture (10)4.1 Different Values Influenced by Cultural Background (10)4.1.1 V alues of Chinese Culture (10)4.1.2 V alues of English Culture (11)4.2 Different Ways of Thinking Influenced by Cultural Backgrounds (12)4.2.1 Chinese Ways of Thinking (12)4.2.2 Western Ways of Thinking (12)V. Conclusion (12)Bibliography (14)Chinese title, abstract, key words (15)An Analysis of Differences of Politeness Principle betweenChinese Culture and English Culture I．IntroductionPoliteness is a universal phenomenon and it can be observed in all languages and cultures. In addition, it plays an important role in human communication: it helps to establish, maintain or consolidate harmonious interpersonal relationships and facilitate social interactions. Politeness as an observable phenomenon is something superficial and a reflection of specific cultural values in the language. Thus, while admitting the universality of politeness, we should realize the cultural characteristics of politeness that is, due to the influences of cultural value orientations, the actual manifestations of politeness and the standards for its judgment differ substantially from culture to culture. To explore politeness, we should consider its cultural specificity and accordingly go into the depth where cultural values are firmly rooted. Only in doing so can we uncover the essence of politeness and successfully account for its cross-cultural differences. We view politeness as one of the major social constraints on human interaction which regulates participants‟ communication behavior by constantly reminding them to take into consideration the feelings of the others (He ziran，2003:57). Politeness is a universal phenomenon, which can be observed in every society. People connect, communicate, and cooperate with each other. To some extent, the globe is a huge society; however, it can operate safe and sound. Except some laws and regulations, the social ethics plays a significant role in maintaining the social order, keeping the harmonious interpersonal relationships, reducing social conflict and misunderstandings. Among the social ethics, politeness is a key factor that can not be neglected. It is of great necessity to consider the feelings of others in order to establish mutual comfort and enhance rapport.With the trend of globalization, people in the diplomatic, intellectual, and business circles have more chances to connect with the foreigners. Through the political, economicaland cultural exchange, people around the world are getting closer and closer. However, more and more problems occur. Realizing the difficulties on our way to globalization, we need to know some basic polite Principle in communication so that a healthier discourse pattern can be adopted (Hu zhuanglin, 2007:98-99). There is a famous saying which goes like this: Courtesy costs nothing. But what is polite in one culture may be impolite in another. Thus, we should do in Rome as Romans do. Polite Principle is further highlighted. Many scholars in growing number attach great importance to the politeness Principles. This paper intends to research into the differences of polite principles between western and Chinese culture and its reasons in the hope to achieve a better understanding of them, to raise our cultural awareness and to promote English-Chinese cross-cultural communication. It also is hoped that it can give some inspirations to the college students and readers.II. Polite Principles in Chinese Culture and English CulturePolite theory is used to accounts for the redressing of the affronts to face posed by face-threatening acts to addressees (Gu Yueguo ,1992:30) . First formulated in 1978 by Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson, polite theory has since been expanded academia‟s perception of politeness (Wikipedia, part 1). In the English culture, on the basis of Brown and Levinson‟s Face Theory and Grice‟s Cooperative P rinciples, Geoffrey N. Leech (1983:132) developed the face theories and formulated the polite Principles.2.1 Politeness Principles in Chinese CultureDue to different values, different cultural orientations and different ways of thinking, languages are different greatly from one another in expressing and understanding politeness. And in different cultures, the importance of each politeness maxim is different. Some cultural associations in the east (such as China and Japan) prefer modesty maxim; English-speaking countries (especially England) focus on tact maxim; the countries around the Mediterranean prefer generosity maxim to modesty maxim. Based on Leech‟s theory and Chinese politeness features, Prof. Gu Yueguo studies the politeness phenomenon in the C hinese culture. He summarizes the polite Principles with Chinese characteristics.According to Gu Yueguo there are basically four notions underlying the Chineseconception of “politeness”，which reads respectfulness, modesty, attitudinal warmth, and refinement. Respectfulness is self‟s positive appreciation or admiration of other concerning the latter‟s face, social status, and so on. …Modesty‟ can be seen as another way of saying …self-denigration‟. …Attitudinal warmth‟ is self‟s demonstration of kindness, consideration, and hospitality to other. Finally, …refinement‟ refers to self‟s behavior to other wh ich meets certain standards. The four essentials are elaborated into politeness maxims. Gu Yueguo (1992:37) demonstrates four maxims:(1) the self-denigration maxim;(2) the address term maxim;(3) the tact maxim and the generosity maxim;(4) the Principles of Balance, and the Principles of Sincerity;According to the characteristic of Chinese culture, Gu Yueguo(1992:43) has proposed five politeness maxims:(1) Self-denigration Maxim: a). Denigrate self;b). Elevate other;(2) Address Term Maxim, which requires addressing your interlocutor with an appropriate address form;(3) Refinement Maxim, which requires using refined language, including the use of euphemisms and indirectness, and avoid foul language;(4) Agreement Maxim, which maximizes agreement and harmony between interlocutors, and minimizes disagreement between them;(5) Virtues-words-deeds Maxim, which minimizes cost and maximizes benefit to other at the motivational level, and maximizes benefit received and minimizes cost to self at the conversational level.2.2 Politeness Principles in English CultureTalking about the polite principles in English culture, we should know that it mainly includes Brown and Levinson‟s Face Theory and Geoffrey Leech‟s Politeness Principles. These two theories have important roles in politeness principles in English culture.Brown and Levinson‟s influential theory is based on Grice‟s maxim theory and Goffman‟s“face” as the positive social value a person effective ly claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact‟ (Goffman, 1967:51) face can be likened to a person‟s public self-esteem or self-image, which can be damaged, maintained or enhanced in interaction with others (Leo, 2001:57). Brown and Levinson divided the notion of face into positive face and negative face, according to interactants‟ wants. Brown and Levinson define …positive face‟ as the positive and consistent image people have of themselves, and their desire for ap proval. On the other hand, …negative face‟ is “the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, and rights to non-distraction” (Brown and Levinson, 1987:61). Deviations from Gricean maxims are motivated by employing strategies to counteract so-called “f ace-threatening acts” (FTAs) by using these politeness strategies speakers communicate both their primary message and also the message that they intend to be polite, which has the status of a Gricean conversational implicature (Leo, 2001:57).Leech divides the Politeness Principles into six different maxims:(1) Act maxim: a) Minimize cost to otherb) Maximize benefit to other(2) Generosity maxim: a) Minimize benefit to self.b) Maximize cost to self.(3) Approbation maxim: a) Minimize dispraise of other.b) Maximize praise of other.(4) Modesty maxim: a) Minimize praise of self.b) Maximize dispraise of self(5) Agreement maxim: a) Minimize disagreement between self and other.b) Maximize agreement between self and other.(6) Sympathy maxim: a) Minimize antipathy between self and other.b) Maximize sympathy between self and other.(Leech 1983:132).Leech‟s Polite Principle is built on the basis of the concept of “cost” and “benefit”. Costrefers to the inconvenience or loss that the content of the interaction brings to the speaker and the hearer; benefit means the convenience or the advantage to the speaker and the hearer. The degree of politeness is consistent with the scale of indirectness, which can be observed superficially. As a matter of fact, the level of politeness is in contrast to other‟s cost or self‟s benefit. Generally speaking, the more the content of interaction benefits the hearer, the less the speaker‟s goods, thus the communication is politer. Otherwise, it is impolite. This is the essence of the phenomenon. This is why people choose to use euphemism or the indirect language to minimize the impolite speech. For example, when a woman is pregnant, it is impolite to say you are pregnant directly. However, it is better to say “She has canceled all her social engagements.” or “She is in an interesting condition.” The six maxims of Leech‟s Politeness Principles are interrelated with one another, restrained with one another and can not be understood in isolation.According to Leech, not all the maxims and sub-maxims are equally important. Of all the maxims, Tact Maxim is more powerful on conversational behavior than Generosity Maxim and Approbation Maxim is more powerful than Modesty Maxim. In all maxims, part a) is more important than part b) as it emphasizes not to impose or disagree in conversation (Sara, 2003:129). In all, the Principles are not motivated by the need of the cross-cultural communication; they seem to be derived from strategies used by English speakers. In addition, these Principles do not always apply to other culture. Though some of the maxims can be applied to other cultures, the differences still exist. In the English culture, individualism is the center of their value system. The privacy, freedom and personal realization are sacred and inviolable. Tact Maxim is frequently used. Even when the parents “order” their children to do something, they will follow the tact maxim in order not to threaten their children‟s nega tive face. People often use indirect and tactful language.For example:Would you please pass me the salt?Would you mind passing me the salt?Could you possibly pass me the salt?I was wondering if you could pass me the salt?…Some of the people can give order, request, suggestion or even threatening, while others have no choice but to accept the instructions unconditionally. In a word, Leech‟s Politeness Principle is measured by the speaker‟s and the hearer‟s benefit and cost.III. Differences of Politeness Principles between Chinese Culture and English CultureStemming from different cultural backgrounds, the Chinese politeness Principle and the English politeness Principle may have different response and explanation to the same politeness phenomenon. Different cultures may focus on different maxims. In the English-speaking countries, the tact maxim is the most important, which forms the core of the English language and culture. People usually follow this maxim when they perform the speech act, such as requesting, ordering or warning. While in the Chinese society, the self-denigration maxim is the core. This well explains why whenever Chinese people hear the compliment, they would negate the compliment and depreciate themselves to show modesty. In addition, we may observed that the Chinese place more emphasis in their talk on the needs of the group rather than those of the individual, but we can not conclude on the basis of these observations alone that they are genuine more altruistic than members of o ther communities. The major differences between Chinese and English politeness Principles are discussed as follows.3.1 Terms of AddressThe differences between the Chinese and English politeness Principles are also reflected in the terms of address. Every language has its own specific address system and its usage is closely related with the cultural background. When people greet, people in the English-speaking country use the terms of address as well. The terms of address show the social relationships between people. From top to bottom, there are social ranks, high or low, young and old. The change of the terms of address means the change of the relationship. Affected by the social structure, traditional ethics, blood relation and religious factors, Chinese address system is rather complicated than those of the English-speaking countries.Chinese people like to use the blood relations to call their family members and relatives; what‟s more, they call non-family friends and relatives, which is rare in the English-speaking countries. Owning to its social structure and cultural orientation, the interpersonal relationship of the English-speaking countries is totally different from that of Chinese. So the use of the address is varied as well. Generally speaking, English people like to call each other‟s name. This fully shows the cultural orientation of equality. Friends usually address each other‟s name (not including the family name). On the formal occasion, “Mr”, “Miss”, “Mrs” and some other appellations are often used. There are a few titles can be used to address others, except Doctor, Professor, President, etc. the terms of address in the Chinese culture is rather complicated. Chinese people like to add the title before someone‟s family name, such as Director Huang, Manager Ma, or Deputy Li. Thus, the addresses that Chinese people think is polite may be rude according to the English culture. For instant we add “small” or “old” before one‟s family name. This is considered rude in the English-speaking countries. People do not like to be named with words like small or old. When referring to old people, they use the senior citizen instead. For instance, in China, if we call someone “老李”, it actually shows ours respect for him. But if you call a foreigner “Old Brown”, he may think you are impolite or rude.3.2 Thanks and Apology W ordsThe words of thanks belong to the polite language. When one spends time and energy in helping another, it is the basic politeness for one to express his gratitude to the other part. In the aspect of “Thanks”, the English use “thank you” more often than the Chinese. For the English, everyone says “Thank you” even the family members have no exception. While in China, the more intimate the relationship is, the less they say “thank you” to each other. Saying “thank you” is considered to enlarge the interpersonal distance. When people are praised by others, they do not usually say “thank you”, so as not to leave an impression of immodesty. The differences also exist in different culture for using the words of apology. But Chinese people do not apologize very frequently. In China, when doing the wrong things or making mistakes, the authority and the elder do not need to apologize. It is the embodiment ofthe power. There are also some young people, even though their parents have done a lot for them, they seldom say “thank you” to their parents. Westerners consider attitudes like this as rude and unreasonable.3.3 Contents of the ConversationPeople who use different language may hold different views about the world. About one thing, people of different cultural backgrounds may have different ideas. For the English value, “individualism” is the core. They advocate individualism. Individual rights and the private property are inviolable, while the Chinese people appreciate collectivism, promoting mutual friendship. The English people focus on the concept of privacy, but the Chinese people prefer the intimacy. Respecting for individual privacy is one of the major values of the English ideology. In daily life, the English do not want to interfere in other‟s private business, particularly with regard to age, family, income, marital status. In China, on the contrary, nothing is private. People do not think these acts are intrusive other‟s private space. In their mind, it is natural and ordinary. In fact, these acts are beyond the English people‟s psychological limit and privacy. This may fail to achieve the communicative purpose and it may lead to other‟s indifference and alienation.3.3.1 Compliment and Modest W ordsLeech's Modesty maxim is equivalent to part of Gu‟s self-denigration maxim. When referring to self, one should depreciate oneself and be modest. When referring to other, one should show one‟s appreciation and respect to other. For the usag e of compliment and modest words, the Chinese and the English have significant differences. In the English-speaking countries, people usually adopt agreement maxim when they are praised. They seldom negate the praise in order not embarrass others. For example, an actor just finished his performance, one of his friend said to him: “Hey, you really did a good job tonight!” The actor may answer: “Well, thank you very much.” However, in China, it is the other way round, in the face of such recognition; one can not be so straightforward. It is customary to use "self-negation" or "deny" approach. China's historical and cultural traditions emphasize collectivism, resulting in a unique habit of modesty. In this case the Europeans may think Chinese are impolite becausethey have been rejected bluntly.3.3.2 Euphemisms and TaboosThe refined language maxim requires not using offensive language, being more tactful and less straightforward. In order to avoid rude words in the English language there are a number of taboo words and euphemisms. People use those words to avoid direct reference to something unpleasant or something embarrassing. These taboo words and euphemism can be widely used. They are the products of the conventional social orders and politeness Principles. To some degree, Chinese and English are the same in the use of taboo words. For example, talking about the body organs and sex on the public occasions is rude. The differences lie in the following aspects. The English do not like to ask people‟s privacy, such as age, income, marital status, political orientation, religious belief and so on. These inquiries may be considered inappropriate, offensive and unrespectable for other‟s privacy. However, it is common in China. If your friend introduces another friend to you, you may ask your new friend “where is your hometown? What do you do?” or “where do you live?” The common interpersonal communication may look weird in the foreigners‟ eyes. It is, to some degree, an act of invading their privacy rights.3.3 .3 Greeting and Farewell W ordsIt is natural to greet when people meet. The expressions may vary from one culture to another. In the English-speaking countries, there are some fixed greetings, such as: How are you? (In fact, people are not really care about other‟s health status), replies often go like this: Fine, thank you (Regardless of whether the listener really feel good). For greeting, Chinese people often say: "do lunch", "Where to", "Where to go" and so on, we think those expressions are very natural, it is just greeting. Hearing the Chinese style of greeting, foreigners may have a misunderstanding: Chinese people like to mind other‟s business. Respectively the English people often say: "Goodbye. Bye-bye. So long or See you later, tomorrow on the next morning". It is equivalent to Chinese like "Good-bye, Bye, now see, See you tomorrow, or see you next Monday." Chinese people sometimes say so. Although in the English-speaking countries, biding farewell is roughly the same, yet there are differentways to bid farewell. Compared with the English, Chinese are more subtle. Although the Chinese and the English are more or less the same in the farewell words, Chinese are more reserved.IV. Reasons of Differences of Politeness Principles between Chinese Culture and English CultureDifferent cultural factors may result in cultural differences, and consequently, the acknowledgment of the factors affecting the cultural differences will facilitate the understanding of such differences. However, it is impossible to cover all of the factors in this thesis, so the factors discussed here are some important ones. So, we can see there are many differences of politeness principles between the western and Chinese culture as we discussed in chapter three. In this chapter, we will talk about the main reasons from their different families‟ features and concepts as well as different values between them.4.1 Different Values Influenced by Cultural BackgroundsAnother cultural reason for differences between China and western countries is different value under the different cultural backgrounds. In the following, we will talk about the values in Chinese culture and western culture.4.1.1 Values of Chinese CultureIn spring and autumn and Warring‟s periods of China, Confucianis m, Taoism and other ideologies emerged. As different ideologies developed and combated each other, the basic framework of Chinese civilization was established. And then Confucianism became the foundation stone of Chinese philosophy system. Confucianism‟s c entral doctrine is that of the virtue of Ren. What is Ren? Ren is translated variously as goodness, benevolence, humanity and human-heartedness. In short, Ren means affection and love. For more than two thousand years it has molded and shaped the civilization of China and exerted a profound influence upon almost one fourth of the human race. The core of the Chinese value has some relationship with the Confucianism. That is the well-known Five Relationships: ruler-minister, father-son, husband-wife, elder-younger brother and friend-friend. This was explained as“There should be affection between father and son, righteous sense of duty between ruler and minister, division of function between husband and wife, stratification between old and young, and good fait h between friends.” During the more than two thousand years of the feudal period, the ruling class arranges every thing by this relationship, and then formed a class society. In this kind of society, a minister owes loyalty to his ruler, and a child filial respect to his parent. As a result, humanity is neglected and people have no equality. In recent years, this kind of relations has changed greatly. People in China also hope to have an equal status, but the Confucianism is still rooted in people‟s mind, a nd it needs a long time to realize to be truly equal.4.1.2 Values of English CultureThe concept of Chinese values is usually placed in opposition with English values. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how people define English values. Some have stated that the modern English value system originated in Victorian England, and describe it as social norms and behaviors well-known in European people during that time. The core of English values is individualism. English values have three levels: 1) physical level –science, technology, business, public administration, and modern capitalist economics; 2) conceptual level – equal opportunity, the role of law; and time management; and 3) core values – open debate, equality, balance of power, Free speech and democracy( Zhangzhanyi, 1990:103). Different from China, religion plays an important role in English culture. The English speaking countries are generally considered as religious countries, and among all the religious groups by which people seek to worship, Christianity is by far the most influential in the west. Almost every phase of man‟s life is touched by religion, so much so that it has become part and parcel of English culture. Christianity is the religion based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, who is the founder of Christianity. According to the doctrine of Christianity, the Trinity is the union of the three forms of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although in the English countries religion provides the customs and ceremonies that mark lif e‟s most important events－birth, coming of age, marriage, and death, religion has declined in importance in terms ofinfluencing behavior and philosophical outlook. Now when people need personal advice, they usually turn to psychiatrists or to professional counselors rather than to Fathers for help. Although, the power of the church cannot compare with the past, it still influences many aspects of people's daily life. For example, there are a few important festivals in the English countries is concern with Jesus Christ. Christmas day is a festival in celebration of the birth of the Jesus Christ on Dec.25 (Chenlinhua, 1998:67).4.2 Different W ays of Thinking Influenced by Cultural Backgrounds4.2.1 Chinese W ays of ThinkingChinese people lived in a vast and rich land in East Asian Continent in the North Temperate Zone. In ancient times, they enjoyed the favor from nature without too much fear. The stable agricultural society made Chinese people in harmony with nature. On one hand, Chinese people were clear that everything came from nature, and the relationship between man and nature was very close; on the other hand, nature was so mysterious to them that they were satisfied with what they had got, and they thought their existence relied on the bounty of nature. This kind of viewpoint resulted in the fact that Chinese people lacked the feelings of hostility to nature, and tried to seek for the harmony between man and nature. They made efforts in the stability of society and happiness of people. As for the traditional Chinese thought, Confucianist thought originated from the semi-closed continental surroundings and the small peasant economy. What‟s more, the Taoism influences Chinese thought pattern as well. LaoZi holds that the world is full of opposites and contradictions. In order to eliminate them to come to harmony, man must get to the level of “Wu Wei”, which derived from a point of Dao and De. Influenced by the above Chinese philosophy, Chinese thought pattern tend to be synthetic and subjective. Chinese way of thinking decides Chinese people express their polite culture more directly.4.2.2 Western Ways of ThinkingContrary to the Chinese, English speaking people usually consider the objective things。
