A Study of Social Address Terms From the Perspective of Cross-cultural Interactions_英语论文

摘要

称谓语是说话者用来称呼与其说话的人的语言，它在人们的日常生活中占据着不可或缺的位置。中西方之间由于地域及文化的差异，导致汉英社会称谓系统存在着很大的差异。随着社会的不断发展，中西方之间的交流与合作也越来越密切，在跨文化交际的过程中，若不了解对方称谓语的使用习惯，就会造成语用失误，给双方交际带来极大的不便。因此本文将从跨文化的角度出发，研究中西方称谓语的差异，并就跨文化交际中常出现的语用失误给出个人建议。

本文主要分为三个部分，第一部分简要回顾了国内外学者在这一领域所取得的成就并介绍了本文的研究目的及研究背景。在第二部分中，首先给出了社会称谓语的定义。接着研究了影响称谓语选择的主要因素并将这些因素归为两大类：外部因素和个人因素。其次对中西方社会称谓语进行了对比并分析了导致差异的原因。除此之外，本文还分析了跨文化交际中出现的问题，针对这些问题给出了适当的解决方法。最后一个部分是总结。

关键词：称谓语；社会称谓语；跨文化交际；对比研究

Abstract

Address terms are the words speakers use to designate the person they are talking to in communication and it plays an indispensable role in our daily life. Proper address forms can provide both addresser and addressee with effective means of communication that help establish and maintain interpersonal and social relations.

This thesis is a comparative study about social address terms between Chinese and Western countries. It mainly studies the differences between Chinese and Western social address terms and the causes from the perspective of cross-cultural interactions. Meanwhile, this essay offers some solutions to the possible problems caused by these differences in cross-cultural communications between Chinese and Westerners.

This paper can be divided into three part. The introduction part briefly reviews the former scholars’ studies about social address terms. Then in the Demonstration factors influencing the choice of social address terms are discussed. This part also includes comparison between Chinese address terms and Western address terms and causes for the differences. In addition, problems resulting from these differences in cross-cultural communication as well as possible solutions are also included in this part. The third part is conclusion.

Key words: address terms, social address terms, cross-cultural communication, comparative study

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2.Demonstration 2

2.1 The Definition of Address Terms and Social Address Terms 3

2.2 The Functions of Social Address Terms 3

2. 2.1 Emotional Indicator 3

2.2.2 Characteristic Indicator 4

2.2.3 Interpersonal Relationship Indicator 4

2.3 Factors Influencing the Choice of Social Address Terms 4

2.3.1 Outer Factors 5

2.3.1.1 Context 5

2.3.1.2 Social Status 5

2.3.2 Individual Factors 5

2.3.2.1 Emotion 5

2.3.2.2 Psychology 6

2.3.2.3 Age 6

2.3.2.4 Gender 6

2.4 Comparison Between Chinese Social Address Terms and Western Social Address Terms 7

2.4.1 Similarities 7

2.4.2 Dissimilarities 7

2.4.2.1 Different Formation Rules 7

2.4.2.2 Different Usage of Names 8

2.4.2.3 Different Fictive Kinship Terms 8

2.4.2.4 Unique Chinese Social Address Terms 9

2.5 Causes for the Differences 9

2.5.1 Different Historical Origin (feudalism VS Capitalism) 9

2.5.2 Different value orientation (Collectivism VS Individualism) 10

2.5.3 Different Power Distance ( High-Power-Distance VS    Low-Power-Distance) 10

2.6 Problems and suggestions 11

2.6.1 Lack of knowledge about target culture 11

2.6.2 Interference of Mother Tongue 12

2.6.3 Suggestions 12

3. Conclusion 12

Works Cited 14

Bibliography 15