ABSTRACT

Face culture is a very common cultural phenomenon as well as a social phenomenon that exists everywhere in the world. However, due to the differences of cultures and customs, people from different countries often have different understandings of face. They often suffer from culture shock when they communicate with each other. So we must know the different meanings of face and the face-saving strategies between China and West in order to find a best way to communicate with others, thus we could get away from culture shock. This thesis is undertake to study the different definitions of face and the different strategies to save face between China and west, and study the influence on Chinese English learners. Give them suggestions on how to communicate with others and how to keep face in the process of their English learning so that they can improve the efficiency.

Key words: Face Culture Face-Saving Strategies    Differences Chinese English Learners Influence
  
摘  要

面子文化是存在于世界的每个角落的文化现象和社会现象。 然而，由于不同的文化和习俗，不同国家的人对面子文化有着不同的理解,当他们相互交流时会产生文化冲突。因此，我们需要了解中西方的不同面子文化以及面子维护策略，从而远离文化冲突，更好地与人交流。本文将要研究中西方不同的面子文化的定义以及不同的面子维护策略从而探讨出对中国英语学习者的影响，为他们有效地交流及在英语学习中如何维护面子,提高学习效率提出建议。

关键词：面子化  面子维护策略  差异  中国英语学习者  影响

Chapter One    Introduction
1.1 Background Information
The increasing globalization of the world brings about more and more frequent contacts among different cultures. Since there are so many differences among different cultures, people often suffer from culture shock when they communicate with others, because they tend to consider others’ speeches and behaviors according to their own beliefs and values. Face is such an important part of people’s daily life. Due to the different understandings of face, people often have problems and misunderstandings when they communicate with people who come from a different culture.