语用学视角下中西恭维语的对比研究_英语论文

The Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Compliments from Pragmatic Perspective

摘要

恭维语是人类言语交际中使用频率较高的一种言语行为，被称作“社会的润滑剂”。每个民族有其不同于其他民族的文化和语言，每种语言和文化都具有本民族特有的表现模式和内容。本文在语用学视角下依据会话原则和礼貌原则对中西恭维语的使用和应答进行研究。研究发现，中国人接受别人的恭维，同时，也表现出自己的谦逊；而西方人更倾向于接受而不是拒绝。这可归结为中西方文化的巨大差异:中国推崇儒家文化谦虚待人，认为拒绝所受的恭维才是礼貌行为，而西方文化认为拒绝别人的恭维是不礼貌的行为。因此，中西恭维语的对比研究对于提高跨文化交际能力具有重要的意义。

关键词：恭维语  言语行为  礼貌原则  应答策略 

Abstract

Compliment, as a kind of speech act, is quite frequently applied in social communication, which is regarded as the “social lubricant”. This thesis is designed to analyze the similarities and differences in giving and responding to compliments under Speech Act Theory and Politeness Principle by both Chinese speakers and Western speakers. The result shows that Chinese people tend to reject the compliment more frequently to express their politeness while Western people tend to adopt acceptance strategy. This is due to the different culture backgrounds between China and Western countries. Modesty is frequently used in Chinese culture. However, in Western countries, it is regarded to be an impolite behavior to refuse a compliment. Therefore, it is of great significance in improving intercultural communication by comparing the similarity and difference of Chinese and Western compliments.

Keywords: Compliment  Speech Act Theory  Politeness Principle  Response Strategies  

Contents

Introduction 1

ChapterⅠLiterature Review 3

1.1 Compliments 3

1.2 Previous Studies on Compliment Speech Act 4

1.3 The Significance of Present Study 5

ChapterⅡTheoretical Framework 7

2.1 Speech Act Theory 7

2.2 Politeness Principle 8

Chapter Ⅲ Difference Between Chinese and Western Compliments 10

3.1 Topics 10

3.2 Linguistic Forms 12

3.3 Response Strategy 15

Conclusion 19

References 20

Acknowledgements 21