2。1 Previous Studies of Interpersonal Meaning 3

  2。2 Previous Studies of Diplomatic Speech 5

  2。3 The Definition of Quotation in the Present Study 6

3。 The Frequency and Features of Quotations in President Xi’s Diplomatic Speeches 7

  3。1 The Frequency of Quotations 7

  3。2 Interpersonal Features of Quotations 9

     3。2。1 Promoting Understanding through Culture 9

     3。2。2 Showing Politeness to the Audience 11

     3。2。3 Spreading China’s Diplomacy 12

4。 Conclusion 15

  4。1 Major Findings of the Study 15

  4。2 Limitations and Further Suggestions of the Study 15

Appendix: List of President ’s Diplomatic Speeches in His State Visits From January, 2015 to November, 2016 17

References 18

1。 Introduction

1。1 Research Background 

Diplomacy is the communication system of the international society and the conduct of relations between sovereign states。 The label “diplomacy” was first given to this system by Edmund Burke in 1796 (Berridge and James, 2003: 69)。 Diplomacy is not only the bilateral activity of managing relations with other countries through state visits, but also the multilateral activity, such as international conferences with regard to issues of common concern of most countries, ranging from peace-keeping, trade, economics, to culture, environment, and human rights。 Diplomacy has already become an indispensable and important part of all countries and international activities。源Y于Y优E尔Y论L文W网wwW.yOueRw.com 原文+QQ752018.766

Nowadays, China has witnessed unprecedented development and exerted great influence on international affairs。 Particularly, Chinese leaders contribute a lot to the progress by actively taking part in diplomatic activities and frequently making diplomatic speeches in all kinds of international conferences。 Diplomatic language is more formal and serious than the language used in daily communication in which the speaker pays more attention to the methods and strategies。

, President of the People’s Republic of China, has delivered diplomatic speeches for 79 times in different countries and different conferences from January, 2013 to November, 2016。 And he has created a unique speech style by successfully using the people-first strategies such as “touching stories”, “ingenious quotations”, “vivid metaphors” and “local language”, which are highly appreciated by the target audience。 Above all, the good use of quotations makes his speeches even charming。 

 1。2 Research Significance

    This thesis is designed to investigate the interpersonal meaning of quotations in president ’s diplomatic speeches。 And the significance of this study can be described as follows:

First, although there exist some studies of diplomatic speeches, most of them concern about differences between Chinese and English diplomatic speeches or the translating strategies, few have specifically studied the interpersonal meaning of quotations used in diplomatic speeches。 The present study exactly covers this part。 Therefore, it expects to catch more attention from the academic world to this research field and provide more useful material to prospective researchers。