摘要

近年来，言语行为已成为语用学和社会语言学领域中研究的重要课题之一。对拒绝言语行为的研究是言语行为研究的一个重要部分。不同文化背景下的交际者在交际过程中会受文化模式、传统、社会地位、亲密程度等影响，导致他们的礼貌程度不同，拒绝行为会威胁交际双方的面子。因此，拒绝言语行为尤其需要采取一定的策略来降低面子威胁的程度。礼貌语言是符合礼貌原则而使用的语言，以体现说话人对别人的礼貌行为，如友好，尊重，不伤害别人面子等行为。本研究以合作原则和礼貌原则为基础，比较英汉直接和间接拒绝言语策略的共性和差异，并分析其产生的原因和对交际所产生的影响，找出挽救方法，以进一步促进交际。

关键词：拒绝言语行为；直接拒绝言语策略；间接拒绝言语策略；合作原则；礼貌原则

ABSTRACT

Recently，the study of Speech Acts has been one of the most frequently addressed issues in Pragmatics and Sociolinguistics. Refusal Speech Acts is an important part of the Speech Acts. Under different culture backgrounds, the communicators will be affected by the cultural pattern, tradition, social status and degree of closeness. Every factor can lead to communicators’ different degree of politeness. The refusals will threaten the faces of both parties in communication. Therefore, the level of face-threating from the speech act of refusal especially needs to be reduced by taking some strategies. Polite language complies with the politeness principle, on which embodies the speaker's politeness to others, such as friendliness, esteem, sparing others' face, etc. This paper, based on the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle, aims at comparing the refusal strategies in English and Chinese. The reasons and influence are analysed in this paper, and suggestions are made for the further improvement of communication.

Key Words: refusal speech act; direct refusal strategy; indirect refusal strategy; cooperative principle; politeness principle

1.    Introduction
1.1     Background of the study
We cannot survive in society by ourselves. We have to communicate with each others with voice, eye contact, and body language and so on. Therefore, refusal cannot be avoided between the speakers. Just as Lu Jiawei and Zhang Xiaoli (2009) note, refusal is a response to an initiating speech act. The acts from the refusers consist of six types, i. e. request, invitation, offers or suggestion. Both domestic and overseas scholars try to define refusal from different aspects. Brown and Levinson (1987) classify refusal into the category of “Face Threatening Acts” (FTA), claiming that refusal can damage the hearer’s positive face.