浅谈国际商务谈判中的语言禁忌_英语论文

A Brief Study of Linguistic Taboos in International Business Negotiation    

摘要

英汉两种语言必然存在着差异因为他们依附于不同的社会文化背景而存在。作为一种特殊的语言现象，禁忌语体现了各民族不同的价值体系和传统观念。研究英语和汉语的语言禁忌，对于中西方交际参与者来说有助于冲破各自文化的束缚去领略、认可和接受对方文化的隐蔽特征，从而加深沟通，理解并掌握多元文化背景下的跨文化交际的知识和技巧，在国际商务谈判中避免歧义，减少或消除因文化差异而引起的摩擦、误会和冲突，从而避免在交际过程中触犯禁忌，因此提高商务谈判的流畅性、有效地从事国际商务活动。本文介绍了语言禁忌的定义和在国际商务谈判中出现的语言禁忌的现象，然后大概分析了在国际商务谈判中可能出现的禁忌类型：宗教上的禁忌、隐私方面的禁忌、关于性的禁忌、死亡的禁忌、不吉利的数字和其他等等。并且本文还介绍了语言禁忌的特点：普遍性，国际性，阶级性和时代性。接着分析了在国际商务谈判中出现这些禁忌现象的原因，比如文化原因，宗教原因，历史原因等等。最后提出了如何在商务谈判中回避上述语言禁忌。

关键词：语言禁忌；国际商务谈判；分类；原因

Abstract

Different culture and social backgrounds are the reasons for the existence of the differences between the Chinese and English language. As a special and complex linguistic phenomenon, taboos reflect the different traditional views and values of each nationality. The study of linguistic taboos between English and Chinese can help people from different country break through their cultural constraints to appreciate, acknowledge and accept the characteristics of other culture. It can also promote the exchange and communication between different cultures; moreover it can help people learn how to avoid ambiguity and master the skills of intercultural communication, reduce and even eliminate conflicts and misunderstandings caused by cultural differences, and avoid the taboos during the communication to smooth the business negotiation. This thesis introduces the definition of linguistic taboos and mention the phenomenon appeared in International business negotiation. Then it analyses the types of linguistic taboos: religion, privacy, sex, death, unlucky numbers and other kind of taboos. And the writing also introduce the features of linguistic taboos：universality, nationality, class and contemporariness. Then the thesis elaborates the causes for taboos which may appear in international business negotiation, such as cultural reason, religious reason, historical reason and so on. At the end of the writing, the author talks about how to avoid taboo words as much as possible in international business negotiation.

Keywords: linguistic taboos; international business negotiation; types; reasons 

Contents

Acknowledgements .. i

Abstract & Key words in English .. ii

Abstract & Key words in Chinese .. iii

Introduction . 1

1. Overview of linguistic taboos . 2 

  1.1 Definition of linguistic taboos  2

  1.2 Related theories  3

2. Analysis of linguistic taboos in international business negotiation  5

  2.1 Types of linguistic taboos . 5

     2.1.1 Religion . 5

     2.1.2 Privacy . 5

     2.1.3 Sex . 6

     2.1.4 Death . 6

     2.1.5 Unlucky numbers  7

     2.1.6 Other taboos  8

  2.2 Features of linguistic taboos . 8

     2.2.1 Universality . 8

     2.2.2 Nationality . 9

     2.2.3 Class  9

     2.2.4 Contemporariness  9

3. Reasons for taboos in international business negotiation . 9

  3.1 Cultural reason . 10

  3.2 Religious reason . 10

  3.3 Historical reason . 11

  3.4 Other reasons  11

4. Ways to avoid linguistic taboos in international business negotiation . 12

  4.1 Study of different cultures and customs of different countries . 12

  4.2 Use of euphemistic expressions . 12

  4.3 Use of body language . 13

Conclusion  14

References  16