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Abstract:Therearesomeconversationalprinciplesnecessaryforasuccessfulconversation.OneistheCooperativePrincipleoffourmaxims.Violatinganyoneofthefourmaximswillgiverisetoconversationalimplicatures;theotheristhePolitenessPrinciple,proposedtorescuetheCooperativePrinciple.
TodrawpragmaticimplicationsfromtheviolationoftheCooperativePrincipleisofnodifferencebetweenthewestandtheeast.Whataredifferentliesinpeople’schoiceofthemaximsoftheCooperativePrincipleandthisisduetodifferentculturalbackground.Chinese-styledpolitenessischaracterizedbyfouraspects:respectfulness,modesty,attitudinalwarmthandrefinement.
Language,asaspecialformofcommunication,maybeviewedasasystem,asavehicleforculturaltransmission.Itdoesnotexistapartfromculture.Thus,languageandculturalareinteractiveandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Tobetterachievethecommunicativegoal,itisnecessarytochoosetheappreciatewayofexpressionundercertaincircumstancesandculturalfactorsplaysanimportantroleinusinglanguageeffectively.
Keywords:culturaldifference;conversationalprinciples;CooperativePrinciple;PolitenessPrinciple
Fewareasofpeople’sexperienceareclosertothemormorecontinuouslywiththemthantheirlanguage—theyhavetocommunicatebyspeaking,listening,readingandwritingineverydaylife.Inthecourseofcommunication,itisnodoubtthatspeechenjoysprioritynotonlybecauseitprecedeswritingintermsofevolution,butalargeamountofcommunicationiscarriedoutinconversationaswell.Anidealconversationisusuallyassumedtobecarriedoutby“turn-taking”andthusthemeaningsoftheutteranceareexpressedaccordingly.However,therealintentionsofthespeakerscannotalwaysbedrawnbysimplyinterpretingthesurfacemeaningsofthewordsintheutterance,forpeopleoftentendtomeanmoreinaroundaboutwaythanwhattheyactuallysay.Let’sfirstlookatanexamplewhichtookplaceonthecampusatnoon:
Devin:Whattimeisit?
Jakie:Thestudentsaregoingtothedininghall.
Here,Jakie’sanswerdoesn’tseemtomakesenseonthefaceofit,butitisstillanadequateanswerforDevin,becausetheparticularcontextsofthisconversationincludethefactthatthestudentsusuallyhavelunchatabout11:30intheuniversityandDevinisawareofthis.ItispossibleforDevintoworkoutthetimebyinterpretingorguessingwhatJakiesaysandthemoresheknowsaboutthecontext,themorequalifiedherguessworkisgoingtobe.
Normallyinconversationalinteraction,peopleworkontheassumptionthatacertainsetofrulesisinoperation,unlesstheyreceiveindicationstothecontrary.Forexample,ifJakiegivesthesameanswertoastranger,it’lllikelyleadtocommunicationbreakdownbecausenobodyexpectsasuccessfulconversationinwhichpeopletrytoconfuse,trick,orwithholdrelevantinformationfromeachother.Inotherwords,asuccessfulconversationshouldbethefruitofalltheparticipants’effortsandcollaborationisanecessaryfactorforthemtoachieveacertaingoal.Therefore,peopleareexpectedtobecooperateduringaconversation,andsuchcooperativemechanismshaveverylittletodowithlogicandsemantics,butaregroundedinsomepragmaticprinciples,especiallytheCooperativePrinciple.
In1967,AmericanphilosopherH.P.GriceputforwardtheCooperativePrincipleinLogicandConversation:“Makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasisrequired,atthestageatwhichitoccurs,bytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchangeinwhichyouareengaged”(Yule,37).Supportingthisprincipleisthefourmaxims:QuantityMaxim:Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasisrequired,butnotmore,orless,thanisrequired.QualityMaxim:Donotsaythatwhichyoubelievetobefalseorforwhichyoulackevidence.RelationMaxim:Berelevant.MannerMaxim:Beclear,briefandorderly.
Theimportanceofthisprincipleliesintwoaspects:Firstly,itisthefirsttimetosystematicallyinducepeople’sconversationalactivitiesintolaw.Secondly,whenviolationoftheCooperativePrincipletakesplace,inonecase,understandingofthediscourseishinderedandthespeakershouldmakeremediesimmediatelytosmooththeconversation;inanothercase,ifthespeakerdoessointentionally,therewillbemoretoitthanwhatissaid.Conversationalimplicatures,inthisway,willbegivenriseto.
1.ViolationoftheQuantityMaxim
1.1知之为知之,不知为不知。(《论语》)
Inthissentence,repetitionofthesamewordappearstwice,whichaccordswiththeformula“P=P”.Fromapurelylogicalperspective,thesentencehasnocommunicativevaluesinceitexpressessomethingcompletelyobvious,butitcanbeunderstoodeasilythatthissentenceprimarilyadvisespeopletobehonestinengaginginscholarship.Similarapparentlypointlessexpressionsare“Businessisbusiness”and“Girlsaregirls”.Thiskindofphenomenoniscalledtautology.Whentautologyisappliedinaconversation,itisclearthatthespeakerintendstoexpressmorethanissaid.Usually,thiskindofusagehasstrongsenseofemotion.
1.2Polonius:Whatdoyouread,mylord?
Hamlet:Words,words,words.(Shakespeare,Hamlet)
1.3“我们是睡在鼓里,等人家来杀!等人家来杀!”(矛盾:《子夜》)
FromPolonius’perspective,Hamlet’sanswerprovideslessinformationthanexpected.For“words”beingtheobjectof“read”seemstobetoogeneralandPoloniusstilldidnotknowwhatHamletread.Infact,repetitionoftheword“words”showsHamlet’sstrongimpatiencethathewasunwillingtotalktoPolonius.Inanotherpointofview,fromthefactthatPolonius’sattitudeiswarmandcooperativewhileHamlet’sattitudeisimpatientandindifferent,theremustbesomeimplications.Similarlyinexample3,repetitionofasentenceshowsthespeaker’sstrongindignation.
2.ViolationoftheQualityMaxim
2.1南唐时,赋税繁重,京城地区又遭旱灾,人民叫苦连天。一天,烈祖在北苑饮宴,对群臣说:“外地都下雨了,只是都城却不下雨,怎么回事呢?”申渐应到:“雨不感入城,是怕抽税而已。”烈祖大笑,马上下令除掉重税。(《古今谭概—微词》)
ViolationoftheQualityMaximhastwocases,onecaseisakindof“moraloffence”,whichmeansthatthespeakerisunwillingtoobservetheQualitymaximandislying.Theothercaseisakindof“falselie”,whichmeansthatthespeakerisunwillingtocooperativeandistryingtoexpressimplicitmeaning.Inthisexample,ShenJiancleverlyusedpersonificationthateventherainisscaredofthetaxbecausethemanhetalkedtowasthekingofthedynasty.JustthinkoftheimpossibilityofabolishingtheheavytaxationifShenJianusedbluntwordstoremonstrate!
2.2Tommy:Mother!Thelorrygoingbyisasbigasamountain!
Mother:Why,dear,I’vetoldyouovertenthousandtimesnottoexaggeratethingssoterriblyandyourbadhabitremainsunchanged.
Itisbelievedthatthereisnosuchalorryasbigasamountainonearthanditisalsobelievedthatthemothercouldnothavetoldhersoonovertenthousandtimes.Hyperbole,justlikeirony,metaphorandmeiosisarealltheresultsthatviolatetheQualitymaxim.Ofcourse,ifthemotherherselfhadnotexaggerated,thestorywouldnotbesofunny.
3.ViolationoftheRelationmaxim
3.1周冲:爸,我听说矿上对于这次受伤的工人不给一点抚恤金。
周朴园:(头一扬)我认为你这次话说得太多了。(《雷雨》)
ZhouPuyuandidnotprovideanyinformationaboutwhatZhouChongwasinterestedin.Onthecontrary,heusedaperformativeutterance:ToletZhouChongshutup.ViolationoftheRelationmaxim,infact,isusedtopreventZhouChongtalkingaboutmattersconcerningtheaccidentintheminesandinjuriesoftheworkers.
3.2Anotherexamplecomesfromatruestoryofthewriter.Onedaysheaskedoneofherstudentstoreadthetextinclass.Owingtolackofconcentration,thestudentmisreadanothertext,sothewritersaid,“你的书是那个版本的?”insteadofdirectcriticizing.Alltheclasshadagoodlaugh,includingtheboyhimself,buteveryoneunderstoodherintentionofirony.
4.ViolationoftheMannermaxim
4.1“一个人死了之后,究竟有没有魂灵?”
“也许有罢,我想。”我于是吞吞吐吐地说。
“那么,也就有地狱了?”
“啊!地狱?”我很吃惊,只得支吾着,“地狱?论理,就该也有。然而也未必……谁来管这等事……”(《祝福》)
Toviolatethemannermaximmeansthatthespeakerspeaksobscurelyandambiguouslyinsteadofspeakingbrieflyandorderly.LuXunisagreatmasteroflanguage,soheusedmildandindirectwordsinplaceofmoreaccurateordirectwordsinordernottobringmentalagonytoher.Also,pun,whichis“aformofspeechplayinwhichawordorphraseunexpectedlyandsimultaneouslycombinestwounrelatedmeanings”(Huang,139),isoftenusedtoproduceconversationalimplicature.
4.2Mrs.Jones:We’regoingtobeneighborsnow.We’vebroughtahomenexttoyou,rightontheedgeofthelake.
Mrs.Brown:Soglad!Hopeyou’lldropinsometimes.
4.3Ifinallyfiguredouthowgovernmentworks.ThesenategetsthebillfromtheHouse,thePresidentgetsthebillfromtheSenate,andwegetthebillforeverything.
Thekeywordinexample2is“drop”,whichbearsthemeaning“fall”andleavesspacetothereaderstoimagineifMrs.Jonesfellintothelake.IfMrs.Brownchangedtheambiguous“drop”into“visit”,nohumorwillbeproduced.Inexample3,thefirstandthesecond“bill”srefertothedraftofaproposedlaw,whilethethirdonereferstoawrittenstatementofmoneyowned.Theauthorsatiricallyexposesthecorruptionoftheofficials,whilethecommonpeoplehavetobeartheburden.
SincepeopleshouldfollowtheCooperativePrincipleinconversation,thenwhydotheyviolateit?Whydonottheystatetheirviewsfrankly,butlettheirlistenersrecognizethecommunicatedmeaningsviainference?G.LeechhasproposedthePolitenessPrincipletorescuetheCooperativePrinciple.Inhispointofview,thereasonwhypeopleviolatetheCooperativePrincipleisoutoftheconsiderationofpoliteness.SothemorepeopleknowaboutthePolitenessPrinciple,thebettertheyunderstandconversationalimplicatures.
BeforetalkingaboutthePolitenessPrinciple,theFaceTheoryshouldbeintroduced.Asatechnicalterm,facemeansthepublicself-imageofaperson.Itreferstoothatemotionalandsocialsenseofselfthateveryonehasandexpectseveryoneelsetorecognize.Thatistosay,peoplehavetheneedtobeconnected,whichiscalledpositiveface,andtheneedtobeindependent,whichiscallednegativeface.Inordertokeepthelistener’spositiveface,thespeakershouldfallinwithhislistener’swishes;atthesametime,hisownnegativefaceisthreatened.Also,inordertokeepthelistener’snegativeface,thespeakershouldapologize,belittlehimselfandtalkambiguously,whilehisownpositivefaceisthreatenedsimultaneously.Sopeople’conversationalactivitiesareactuallyfacethreateningacts.Inordertokeephislistener’sfaceaswellashis,thebestwayforthespeakertodoistobepolite.
Politeness,inaninteraction,referstothemeansemployedtoshowawarenessofanotherperson’sface.InLeech’sPolitenessPrinciple,therearesixmeansormaximsasfollows:tactmaxim,generositymaxim,approbationmaxim,modestymaxim,andagreementmaximandsympathymaxim.In2.1ShenJianhadtodetermine,ashespoke,therelativesocialdistancebetweenhimandtheemperorandhencetheemperor’s“facewants”,whichreferstoaperson’sexpectationsthattheirpublicself-imagewillberespected.TheemperorissupremeandShenJiansuccessfullyappliedthetactmaxim.LuXunalsoappliedthePolitenessPrincipleinexample4.1.
TodrawpragmaticimplicationsfromtheviolationoftheCooperativePrincipleisofnodifferencebetweenthewestandtheeast.Whatisadifferentlieinpeople’schoiceofthemaximsoftheCooperativePrinciple.Forexample:
1.A:Youdancewell.
B:I’mgladtohearthat.
2.AnEnglishteacherispraisingaChinesegirl’scalligraphy,“Oh,whatbeautifulhandwriting!”Butthegirlreplied,“No,no,notatall.”“You’rejoking.”TheEnglishteacherbecameangryandwentaway.
Here,neitherB’sreplyisimmodestnortheChinesegirl’sremarkisinsincere.ThereasonwhytheEnglishteacherbecameangryandwentawayisthatthegirlhasmadeagreatmistake—sheunintentionallymakestheforeignteacherfeelbeingmocked.Suchkindofmistakeiscalled“pragmaticfailure”,thatistosay,theinabilitytounderstandwhatismeantbywhatissaid.Byculture,wemean"asystemofsharedbeliefs,values,customs,behaviors,andartifactsthatthememberofasocietyusetocopewiththeirworldandwithoneanother,andthataretransmittedfromgenerationtogenerationthroughlearning"(Bates,28).Generallyspeaking,ChinesepaymoreattentiontothePolitenessPrinciplewhilethewesternerslaymoreemphasisontheCooperativePrinciple,andChinese-styledpolitenessischaracterizedbyfouraspects:respectfulness,modesty,attitudinalwarmthandrefinement.
Respectfulnessmeanstorespectoneselfandappreciateothers,andtoshowawarenessofanotherperson’sface.OnepeculiarexamplecanbefoundintheChineseandtheEnglish–speakingpeople’sdifferentwaysofaddress.Inrecentyears,thetrendofmanyEnglish-speakingpeoplehasbeentoaddressothersbyusingthefirstname,evenwhenpeoplemeetforthefirsttime.Thisappliestopeopleofdifferentageanddifferentsocialstatus.Forexample,manycollegestudentscalltheirprofessorsbytheirfirstnames.Theprofessorsdonotregardthisasasignofdisrespectorfamiliarity,butrather,asanindicationthattheprofessorisconsideredaffableandhasasenseofequality.Also,itisnotatalluncommontohearachildcallingamucholderperson“Joe,Ben”etc.This,ofcourse,isquitecountertoChinesecustom.Onecanimaginethereactionsofadultsofachildweretocallagrandparentbyhisorherfirstname,orastudenttodothesameincallingateacher.Aquickreprimand,andpossiblyevenaspankingforthechild,wouldbesuretofollow.
Modesty,whichisregardedasakindofvirtuebyChinese,meanstobelittleoneselfandpraiseothers.ToEnglish-speakingpeople,praiseistobeaccepted,generallywitharemarklike“thankyou”or“I’mverygladtohearthat”.Itisassumedthatthecomplimentissincere;therefore,thereshouldbenoshowoffalsehumility,nopretendedmodesty;ToChinese,however,thecustomaryreplytoacomplimentwouldbetoclaimthatoneishardlyenoughorthatsuccesswasmoreamatterofluckorsomeothercircumstances.Acceptanceofacomplimentwouldimplyconceitorlackofmanners,andtheChinesegenerallymurmursomerepliesaboutnotbeingworthyofthepraise.Thisalsoexplainswhyinsomewesterners’eyes,theeasternersareinferior,hypocriticalandinsincere.SoitwouldnotbeunusualtohearanAmericanwomantalkingabouthowhardherhusbandworksandhowwellhehasdone,aboutallthepromotionsandhonorsthathehasreceived.Shemightdothesameaboutherchildren.ButinChina,thiswouldbeconsideredbadtaste:onesimplydoesnotpraisemembersofone’sownfamilyinfrontofothers.AnotherexampleofaChinesetabooiscomplimentingamanonhiswife’slooks.ManyChinese,especially,thosebeyondtheiryouth,wouldregardtheremake“Youhavealovelywife”asalmostindecent.Yetthesamecomplimentwouldbeconsideredperfectlynaturalandevenhighlyappreciatedbywesterners.
AttitudinalwarmthmeanstheChineseseemtoshowmuchconcernabouttheotherpeople.OnetypicalwayfortheChinesetoshowcareistoaskotherpeopleagesincome,ormaterialstatus.Forexample,“Howoldareyou?”“Howmuchdoyoumake?”“Soyou’redivorced?Whatwasthereason?Couldn’tyoutwogetalong?”AlloftheseaspectsareconsideredasprivacyonwhichEnglish–speakingpeopleplaceahighvalue.TheEnglishhaveasaying“Aman’shomeishiscastle”,meaningaman’shomeissacredtohim;nooneshouldcomeinnwithoutpermission.Itisalsowithhislifeandpersonalaffairs.Sothesequestionsareconsideredpryingintoanindividual’spersonallife,whichisanotherformofinvadingaperson’s“castle”.
Refinementmeanstoospeakinmildandelegantway.ThentheChineseintendtopraiseone’snoblecharacter,theymayuse“松,竹,梅”toimply“高风亮节”,but“pine,bambooandplum”cannotrecallthesamemeaningtotheEnglish-speakingpeople.“柳”inChinesecultureoftenhassuchabadsenseas“花街柳巷”,“寻花问柳”,whileinEnglishcultureitisasymbolofmisery.Also“秋”isconnectedwith“悲,凉,伤,愁”inChineseculture,suchas“逢秋悲寂寞”,“夜静风竹敲秋韵,万叶千起皆是恨”,butitisjustthecontrarythatautumnisalwaysassociatedwithtranquilityandmerrimentinEnglishculture.
Inrespecttomarriageandlove,theChinesearemorereservedandself-restrained,especiallyintheolddays.Itisseldomforthemtoexpresstheirpassionas“I’mdyingtomarryyou,Iwanttobemywife,orI’lldevotemyselftoyou.”Thefollowingexamplesprovideasharpcontrast:
宝玉,黛玉一起偷读《西厢记》后,宝玉笑道:“妹妹,你说(书)好不好?”黛玉笑着点头儿。宝玉笑道:“我就是多愁多病的身,你就是那倾国倾城的貌。”黛玉听了,不觉带腮连耳的通红了……桃腮带怒,薄面含嗔,指着宝玉道:“你这该死的,胡说了,好好儿的,把这些淫词艳曲弄了来,说这些混帐话,欺负我……”说到“欺负”二字,就把眼圈儿红了,转身就走。(《红楼梦》)
“Ifit’scrazytoloveyou,IguessIam”Marvastoppedherstepsandsaid,”Thenthatmakestwoofus”Maurice,feelingencouraged,clutchedhertohim,heldherinhidtightgrip…andputhislipsonhers.(H.E.Harper’sMagazineReader)
Marvaspokeout“loveyou”straightforwardandMauricewnaturallykissedher.Thisisthecommonwayforthewesternerstounbosomthemselves.WhattheyconsiderfirstistofollowtheQualitymaxim.Whileinthefirstexample,thoughJiaBaoyvandLinDaiyvlovedeachother,JiaBaoyvrevealedhisfeelingviaanillusionandLinDaiyvpretendedtobeoffended.This,again,reflectstraditionalChinesesocialmoralandvalueconcept.Peoplewouldrathersacrificethetruthtogetamityandunity.SotheywouldbettersacrificetheQualitymaximandtheMannermaxim.
Language,asaspecialformofcommunication,maybeviewedasasystem,asavehicleforculturaltransmission.Itdoesnotexistapartfromculture.Thus,languageandculturalareinteractiveandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Speakingandwritingareallbasedontheneedofsocialcommunication.Tobetterachievethecommunicativegoal,itisnecessarytochoosetheappreciatewayofexpressionundercertaincircumstances.Inspeechonecanexpressmeaningseffectivelywiththehelpofgestures,facialexpressions,ortoneofvoice.Forexample,whenonesays“He’sagenerousguy!”ifonegivesasarcasticintonationtotheword“generous”,thenthesenseoftheword“generous”istwistedinto“stingy”.Inwriting,itisprimarilytheconcept—theotherwordsinthesentence,paragraph,oreventhetotalcompositionandbackgroundofthepeople,includingtheirculturalconcept,status,profession,age—thatcontrolsafigurativeword,pointingitsmeaninginaspecialdirection.Sincerhetoricistheartofusinglanguageeffectivelyandinvolvespracticingthemosteffectivemeansorstrategiesforinformingorpersuadingtheothers,thendecidingwhattowriteorspeakandhowtowriteorspeak,howbesttogetone’sarticleorspeecheffectivelyrequiresnotonlycreativityandimagination,butalsogoodbackgroundknowledgeofboththespeakerandthehearer,too.Thusculturalfactorsplayanimportantroleinusinglanguageeffectively.
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