礼貌原则视角下英汉称呼语对比研究_英语论文

A comparative analysis of Chinese and English Address Terms with Politeness Principle----A case study of two sitcoms in China and in America 

摘要

近年来，关于称呼语的研究在国内外受到了越来越多专家学者的关注。本论文以礼貌原则为基本理论框架，以中美家庭情景喜剧《家有儿女》和《摩登家庭》为例，对中美家庭成员的称呼语进行系统分析，总结出中美家庭称呼语的异同，并从语言、社会文化因素的角度分析差异产生的原因。

数据分析结果显示，相较于美国家庭，中国家庭使用称呼语的频率更高，在称呼语的选择上中美家庭成员各有侧重。美国家庭成员主要选取单一的名字作为称呼语，中国家庭成员更倾向于富于变化的称谓方式，主要包括亲属称呼语，昵称等。父母与孩子之间称呼语的对比尤为明显，这与中国传统的长幼尊卑礼制和西方崇尚平等的观念密切相关。该研究希冀为跨文化语言学以及礼貌研究做出一点贡献。

关键词: 称呼语  礼貌原则  英汉对比

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed the growing interest in address terms among both domestic and overseas researchers. Based on Politeness Principle this study collects address terms in two sitcoms Home with Kids and Modern Family respectively, investigates the similarities and differences of these address terms between Chinese and American family members and explores the possible reasons for the differences from the perspective of language, society and culture. 

Statistics show that both Chinese and American family members are inclined to adopt addressing terms. Compared with American family, Chinese family are more likely to use address terms. There are many differences in choosing address terms. Americans mainly choose the first name as the address terms, while Chinese tend to use different address terms according to the circumstances, mainly including kinship terms, nicknames and so on. The address terms between the parents and children particularly mirror the traditional notion of hierarchy in China and the concept of equality in America. The research hopes to contribute more to the study of cross-cultural linguistics and politeness.

Keywords:  address terms  Politeness Principle  comparative analysis between Chinese and English  

Contents

1 Introduction 3

1.1 Research Background 13

1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Study 4

1.3 Structure of the Thesis 5

2 Literature Review 6

2.1 Adress Terms 6

2.1.1　   Definition of Address Terms 6

2.1.2　   Classification of Address Terms 7

2.1.3　   Study of Address Terms abroad and at home 8

2.2  　Kinship Terms 9

2.2.1     Definition of Kinship Terms 9

2.2.2　   Study of Kinship Terms abroad and at home 9

2.3　  Politeness Principle 12

2.3.1　   Leech's Politeness Principle 13

2.3.2    Gu Yueguo's Politeness Maxim 14

3 Research Methodology 16

3.1 Research Materials 16

3.2 Research Questions 17

3.3 Data Analisis 19

4  Results and Discussion 19

4.1 Frequency of address terms in two sitcoms 19

4.2 Comparison of address terms in Modern Family and Home with Kids 20

4.2.1    Address terms from parents to children 21

4.2.2     Address terms between a couple 25

4.2.3     Address terms between children 27

4.3 Factors affecting differences 27

Conclusion 30

Acknowledgements 31

References 32