i
题
目 口语交际中汉英恭维语的对比研究
Acknowledgements
This thesis would not have been completed without numerous people’s help and support. To whom, I would like to take this opportunity to show my heart-felt gratitude.
Firstly, I am especially grateful to my supervisor, Tang Shizhong. He has offered me constructive and insightful instructions to help me complete this thesis.
Besides, I extend my thanks to Professor Li Qiang and every teacher who has helped me with useful suggestions and comments. At last, I would like to express my warmest gratitude to my family for their unconditional love and support.
iii Abstract
Compliments are especially important for people’s communication, and their role can be overlooked. Compliments are also called the lubricant of social interaction. China is distinct from English-speaking countries in its history, language, cultural background and social values. Therefore, each country shapes diverse communication styles. Both English and Chinese are rich in compliments for better and harmonious communications. Based on the previous studies, this study will provide deeper research on differences of compliments between Chinese and English from a cross-cultural perspective. This paper will analyze the following five aspects, including occasions, distributions of the topic, objects, forms of syntax and responses, in order to promote communicating and appreciating each other among different languages and cultural backgrounds, and thus to successfully achieve intercultural communication.
Key words: English compliments; Chinese compliments; oral communication; cross-culture communication
iv 摘 要
恭维语在人们日常交流中显得尤为重要，其作用是不容小觑的，往往被称之为社会交往的润滑剂。由于中国与英语国家的历史、语言文化背景、社会价值观不尽相同，故形成了不同的交际风格。不论是英语还是汉语，在口语交际的过程中，都会有大量的恭维语穿插其中，以促进交际的和谐与融洽。
本论文将在以前学者研究的基础上，从跨文化的视角，对汉英恭维语之间的差异进行较为系统的对比研究，试图从恭维语的使用场合，话题分布，对象，句法形式以及应答策略这五个方面进行分析，意在促进不同语言和文化背景的人们互相交流、互相欣赏，从而成功地实现跨文化交际。
关键词：汉语恭维语；英语恭维语；口语交际；跨文化
v Contents
云 南民族大学毕业论文( 设计) 原创性声明 .................................... 错误! 未定义书签。
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... i Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iii 摘 摘 要 ............................................................................................................................... iv 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Background ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aims and Significance of the Study ..................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Aims of the Study ....................................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Significance of the Study ............................................................................ 2 2. The Term “Compliments” and Literature Review ................................................... 4 2.1 Compliments ......................................................................................................... 4 2.1.1 Definition of Compliments ......................................................................... 4 2.1.2 Functions of Compliments ......................................................................... 4 2.1.3 Types of Compliments ................................................................................ 5 2.2 Literature Review ................................................................................................. 6 2.2.1 Foreign Literature Review .......................................................................... 6 2.2.2 Domestic Literature Review ....................................................................... 7 2.2.3 Speech Act Theory ...................................................................................... 7 2.2.4 Politeness Principle .................................................................................... 8 3. Differences Between Chinese Compliments and English Compliments ............... 11 3.1 Causes of Differences Between two Cultures .................................................... 11 3.2 Occasions ............................................................................................................ 11 3.3 Distributions of Topics ....................................................................................... 12 3.4 Objects ................................................................................................................ 13 3.5 Forms of Syntax ................................................................................................. 15 3.6 Compliment Responses ...................................................................................... 17 3.6.1 Compliment Responses of Chinese .......................................................... 18
vi 3.6.2 Compliment Responses of English ........................................................... 19 4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 21 References ....................................................................................................................... 23
1 1. Introduction Compliments Speech Act, a widespread social phenomenon that mirrors human beings communicative activities are contained in each language system. The so-called compliment is a sort of speech act that definitely or implicitly makes comments about someone or something, mainly expressing appreciation, envy and admiration. Compliments are particularly important in people’s daily communication, and their role cannot be ignored. Furthermore, people usually treat compliments as a social interaction’s lubricant, and they are used to maintain or save hearers’ faces. Under the joint action of utterance’s rules, social norms and communicative needs, compliments shape a communication model. Admittedly, how to compliment and how to respond to compliments are a reflection of organizational competence among people from diverse cultures.
1.1 Research Background With the development of the modern society, interpersonal communication, especially oral communication, is on the increase, so oral language expression plays a decisive role in communicating with others. People intend to convey information, exchange opinions and contact efficiently, in order to achieve oral communication subjects of interactivity by virtue of spoken language, a tool for communication. China is different from English-speaking countries in its history, language, cultural background and social values. Both English and Chinese are rich in compliments for better harmonious communications. However, there exist extremely distinct discrepancies in compliments usage and understanding among people of different backgrounds. To a certain extent, the use of compliments reflects disparate social values from the side. However, few scholars study the differences of Chinese compliments and English compliments from the perspective of native English speakers and Chinese. China is more closely linked with other countries in recent years. Therefore it is necessary to acquaint these differences in the round. With the increasing development of cross-cultural communication, Chinese and Western cultural interactions are prone to being merged step by step. In spite of this,
2 there is no doubt that culture shock is equally unavoidable. In the process of interpersonal oral communication, people might encounter such awkwardness that the communicative effect is terrible or communicative failure on account of cultural influences of native language, different utterance and illegitimate presentation. The cause of this predicament is not misusing of grammar or words, but comprehensive understanding of second language culture. Since language and culture are interdependent, native English speakers and Chinese should balance the differences between two cultures while communicating. If cannot correctly recognize the differences, then they would encounter misunderstanding and communicative failures in the process of communication. As has been noted, compliment can be regarded as a verbal communicative behavior, and a kind of national culture epitome. 1.2 Aims and Significance of the Study 1.2.1 Aims of the Study Compliments are a kind of polite language and lubricant of interpersonal relationships, which have substantial implications for narrowing the social distance among communicators, maintaining interpersonal relationships, opening the topics and alleviating contradictions and embarrassment. Compliments become a kind of speech act, and a social phenomenon. Certainly, native Chinese speakers and native English speakers unavoidably have different social and cultural backgrounds, social values and communication rules, which determine the diversities of Chinese and English compliments in the implementation process, and these differences may give rise to some consequences such as emotional breakdown and business failure. Therefore, the aim of this study is to make language speakers correctly realize that people from different cultures have different thinking modes and social values. Familiar with differences of compliments between English and Chinese in oral communication, speakers can better comply with their speech acts, create a harmonious communication atmosphere, minimize the conflicts in the process of cross-cultural communication, achieve the best effect of communication and in due course avoid pragmatic failures. 1.2.2 Significance of the Study
3 Through researching compliments of English and Chinese in oral communication, the author will do her best to ...