Comparison of the Speech Act of Refusal in Chinese and English — A Case Study of China’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent_英语论文

摘要

国内外拒绝言语行为已有的研究主要从跨文化和语用的视角展开。本文以《中国达人秀》和《英国达人秀》评委的拒绝话语为语料，对比分析中英拒绝言语行为的异同。研究表明，中英都倾向于使用间接拒绝言语行为；说话人在受到权威挑战和不受尊重的情况下会使用直接拒绝，用表达遗憾或给出意见的方式进行间接拒绝。不同之处在于，英国人使用直接拒绝的频率超过中国人；在公众场合下，中国人很少甚至根本不使用直接拒绝，这既是出于对他人面子的保护，也是中国作为“礼仪之邦”的外在表现。本研究对于了解中英语言和文化差异以及跨文化交际具有一定的积极意义。

关键词：《中国达人秀》；《英国达人秀》；拒绝言语行为；面子

Contents

Acknowledgements I

Abstract II

摘要 III

Chapter One Introduction 1

1.1 Defining Speech Act of Refusal 1

1.2 Reasons for the Research 1

1.3 Significance of the Research 1

1.4 Structure of the Thesis 2

Chapter Two Previous Studies on the Speech Act of Refusal 3

2.1 Cross-Cultural Perspective 3

2.2 Pragmatic Perspective 3

Chapter Three Face Theory 5

Chapter Four Chinese and English Speech Act of Refusal 7

4.1 Source of the Data 7

4.2 Chinese Direct Speech Act of Refusal 7

4.2.1 Saying “No” 7

4.2.2 Denying Abilities 8

4.3 Chinese Indirect Speech Act of Refusal 8

4.3.1 Showing Regret and Giving Reasons 9

4.3.2 Stating Philosophical Proverbs 9

4.3.3 Offering Advice 9

4.3.4 Using Ostensible Refusals 10

4.4 English Direct Speech Act of Refusal 10

4.4.1 Saying “No” 10

4.4.2 Expressing Unwillingness 11

4.5 English Indirect Speech Act of Refusal 11

4.5.1 Showing Regret and Giving Reasons 12

4.5.2 Making Options 12

4.5.3 Offering Advice 12

4.5.4 Adopting Hesitation Fillers 13

4.6 Comparison of the Speech Act of Refusal between China and English 13

4.6.1 Similarities 13

4.6.2 Differences 14

Chapter Five Conclusion 15

5.1 Research Findings 15

5.2 Research Limitations 15

References 16