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This paper expounds the common features and different courtesy between Chinese and the west through a constructive study of politeness in English and Chinese culture. On the other hand, the paper expounds different politeness principles and the emphasis of the respective in different cultural backgrounds. The study of this subject can help people to use the right polite language, avoiding the conflict that brings about the different culture courtesy and different culture according to the different occasions in the social process. At the same time, the paper can make the reader understand and master the western culture and the right way of communication. Finally, if the politeness principles are used in the English teaching and learning, it will improve the students’ comprehensive quality, and the ability of cross-cultural communication.
II. Different Origins of the Concept of Politeness
What is politeness? It seems like a simple and naive question. We have understood this concept and it is too easy for us to give piles of examples of polite behavior in our daily life. However, it is difficult to give a satisfactory definition for politeness. Different linguists and scholars have different interpretations of politeness. As a social phenomenon, politeness can be observed in all languages, and it has been an important object of study in linguistics. English–speaking and Chinese culture are different in principles as the different sense of value.
We think politeness as one of the major social constraints on human communication and it regulates participants’ communicative behavior by reminding them to take into consideration the feelings of the others. It is necessary to consider their feelings so as to make high levels of mutual comfort and promote rapport, which in turn facilitate and accelerate human communication. We maintain that politeness is a linguistic universal by which we mean: 1) Linguistic politeness exists in all languages. 2) Politeness considerations regulate every human speaker’s verbal behavior in social interaction.
2.1 The History of Chinese Culture in the Concept of Politeness
The history of Chinese culture in the concept of politeness is universal, and different cultures may have differences in the standards of judgements. The politeness concept has a glorious history in the Chinese culture, which comes from the ritual of ancient times. As we all know that ritual is one of the most important concepts of Confucian thought, and ritual is an important part of philosophic thinking in ancient times of China. Confucius lives in the spring and Autumn Period when the feudal lord fight for hegemony, social turbulence. In order to change the social life request, he devotes himself to restoring the rituals of state. The “ritual” of Confucius is not the politeness, but the social rank order in slave society time. In the two three hundred yeas after Confucius died, the ritual have founded completely. But the ritual concept also changed afterward, having closed to modern politeness concept. The book of Rites depicted disparages oneself to respect other people is an important point of Chinese culture. Similarly, in different cultures between English and Chinese, the origin of the concept politeness is also different, it is caused by the difference of the political connotation .The politeness principles and rules that people follow are different, too.
2.2 The History of English Culture in the Concept of Politeness
The evolution and production of politeness concept in English culture has experienced constant change. Politeness is together with “palace” and “city” in English. At first, “politeness” and “polite” have direct relationship with etymology “polis, polis” from the etymology, these two etymology is changed from “polis” and “Politeia” of Greece. Moreover, the two Greece etymologies mean city or government of city. Next, The polis in English have the same meaning with courteous, urbane, civil. He Zhaoxiong pointed out that “The research results of many scholars have been demonstrated the lexical relation between politeness and palace and city. People of city considered it is polite in a certain period of history, but in another time, the people of court thought that it is impolite for them” (36-39). These etymologies refer to People’s good words and deeds manner in palace or city. The glorious historical origin of modern politeness concept in English culture decided that it is varies from the Chinese culture.