Westerners and Chinese also can consider asking or commenting on something as a greeting, but there are some different points in Chinese and English cultures, so need note that avoid offending others or misunderstanding。 Sometimes Chinese people will ask why the British often talk about the weather。 In Britain, it is a very popular way to talk about the weather。 British people have a quite strong sense of privacy。 The topic about weather which has nothing to do with their inpidual situations is a very suitable for them。 It’s easy to offend them by discussing the issue of invasion of their private lives, so Chinese greeting, “where are you going?” is especially annoying。 If they are unacquainted with the Chinese culture, they will not know that this is just a greeting, you can give a vague answer, while they think it is a violation of their privacy。

4。3 The differences between Chinese and English compliments文献综述

As a kind of social speech acts, compliment can perform different functions in different environments。 Compliment is that praise the value of someone for the purpose of pleasing the other person。 There are obvious differences between Chinese and English in terms of compliments。 Everyone is equal in the hearts of the British and American people，which has taken a deep basis in their minds, so they usually praise a person through an objective means。 For example, when a person praises you for great cooking, you should answer, “Thank you!” their praise is usually impersonal and sincere。 Therefore, people in Britain and the United States will be very glad to receive compliments from others。 Whereas, in Chinese culture, upon receiving a compliment, immediately answer with some self-deprecating words to show polite。 For instance, when the Chinese invite other people to have meals at home, the host often says: “饭做得不够好，希望你见谅”(The meal does not cook well, I hope you can forgive it。) after eating。 Chinese people like to use this sentence to lower themselves, yet this will make the western people feel confused and even doubt your sincere desire。 

In the Anglo-American culture, the praise of a person’s appearance and achievement is one of the most common compliments。 For instance, a man in a public place compliments a woman's appearance and dress。 And women are pleased to receive compliments, but it’s considered impolite in China; those compliments are considered to lead a fast and not polite。 We all have heard the story of a man on a bus in praise of the appearance of a young lady。 The woman gave a heavy slap in the man’s face, rather than accepting his praise。 You can imagine the embarrassment of the parties。

According to the survey, in addition to expressing appreciation, the main function of English compliment is to cooperate with the consistency of the relationship between the two parties, while Chinese compliments function mainly concentrates on: to make each other feel good, appreciate, exploit others。 Westerners love seeking something new and special, so they often compliment on a certain “change” and “novelty”。 And Chinese tend to seek common points, so the degree of “change” and “novelty” by compliment is far less than the west。