A Cognitive Study on Politeness Intention Processing and Its Association with Pragmatic Failure in Cross-Cultural Communication

Although a large number of studies have focused on various aspects of politeness,very little is known about how politeness intention is activated cognitively during verbal communication.The present study aims to explore the cognitive mechanism of politeness intention processing,and how it is related to pragmatic failure during cross-cultural communication.Using 30 Chinese EFL university students who were instructed to finish a probe word judgment task with 96 virtual scenarios,the results indicate that within both mono-and cross-cultural contexts,the response time in the experimental scenarios was significantly slower than that of the filler scenarios.This suggests that politeness intention was activated while understanding the surface meaning of the conversation;however,the EFL learners could not completely avoid the negative transfer of their native politeness conventions when they were comprehending the conversational intention of the target language.Furthermore,no significant differences in response time were found between the groups with high and low English pragmatic competence,illustrating that transferring the pragmatic rules and principles into cross-cultural communication skills was more cognitively demanding.Overall,this study adds to the literature on politeness research and provides some implications for foreign language pragmatic instructions.

Cross-cultural pragmatics: compliments and compliment responses in English and Chinese

Language and culture are distinctly interdependent;one reflects the other.In cross-cultural communications,it is critical for language users to use and understand the language appropriately in a certain socio-cultural context.This paper aims to compare the similarities and differences of compliments and compliment responses in English and Chinese from the cross-cultural pragmatic perspective.The implications for teaching are also discussed so as to bridge the gap caused by cultural differences and minimize the occurrence of potential cross-cultural pragmatic failures.

A Study of Pragmatic Failures in Cross-Cultural Communication

This paper focuses on pragmatic failures in cross-cultural communication and explores the difficult meanings in cross-cultural pragmatics. Through exploring the differences in address, greeting, politeness and other cross-cultural aspects, the author explains the cross-cultural basis for pragmatics. The author first explains certain concepts, including culture, pragmatics, pragmatic failures and cross-cultural communication, and then illustrates some pragmatic failures in cross-cultural communication and discusses the causes of these failures. Finally, she gives some suggestions on improving competence in cross-cultural communication. This thesis is intended to remind English learners of the importance of learning cultures of English-speaking countries and facilitate cross-cultural communication.

Cross-cultural Pragmatic Analysis on Speech Act

The theory of speech acts tells us that when words are uttered,they perform three different kinds of speech acts.But cross-cultural communication raises a question that the same locutionary acts may perform different illocutionary acts and perlocutionary acts,and in order to achieve the same illocutionary acts and perlocutionary acts,people with different native languages may employ different locutionary acts to avoid the pragmatic failure.This paper aims to illustrate the differences on greeting,requesting,and rejecting between Chinese and Americans,focus on the cultural factors in language and cross-cultural communication,and using the fundamental cross-cultural theories to analyze the distinctions,such as Austin’s Speech Act Theory,Brown and Levinson Face Theory,Edward T Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Communication,and Hofestede’s Value Dimensions.Finally,it tells the English learners to focus on the cultural difference in the cross-cultural communication to achieve the successful communication.

Pragmatic Failure in Sino-western Cross-cultural Communication and Implications for Improving Chinese EFL Learners' Communication Competence

Due to the social and cultural differences,people from different countries would always encounter pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication,which may lead to the breakdown of communication.In light of Thomas'(1983) classification of pragmatic failure,this article firstly analyzes the types of pragmatic failure in Sinowestern cross-cultural communication and their underlying factors.Then,the article tries to explore the strategies for avoiding such pragmatic failures and improving Chinese EFL(English as a Foreign Language) learners' communication competence from the perspective of English instruction.In Sino-western cross-cultural communication,there are mainly two types of pragmatic failure:pragmalinguistic failure and socio-pragmatic failure.Cultural difference and negative transfer of the mother language are the major factors for pragmatic failure.In English teaching,teachers should arouse students' cross-cultural awareness,effectively combine cultural instruction with language teaching,carry out extra-curricular cross-cultural communication activities,and develop students' good habit of leaning English.

A Study of Cross-cultural Pragmatic Failures in Tourism Interpretation

In the tourism interpretation,guide interpreter incompetent in cross-cultural pragmatic awareness and ability happensto make various cross-cultural pragmatic failures,which would result in misunderstandings or even failures in communication.Thephenomenon of cross-cultural pragmatic failures in the tourism interpretation from two subdivisions:pragmalinguistic failure andsociopragmatic failure would be discussed from the interdisciplinary perspective,aiming to the promotion of the quality of tourisminterpretation and the advancement of the cross-cultural communication between China and the west.

Reflection on Cross-cultural Pragmatic Failure

In cross-cultural communication,we often encounter several problems resulted from cross-cultural pragmatic failure.The reason for this phenomenon is that,as communicators,people often ignore the existence of pragmatic differences in social contact and human relations between Chinese and other foreign languages,and we are often confused about when,where,how,what and to whom we should speak.In this paper,I will try to discuss cross-cultural pragmatic failure,pragmatic differences between Chinese and the native speakers of English and what we should pay attention to in our ESL teaching.

Cross-cultural Pragmatics within Speech Act:Refusal in Chinese and American Culture

This essay concentrates on the differences in one cross-cultural pragmatics within one speech acts-refusal in both Chinese culture and American culture.Some background theories are introduced at the beginning,followed by specific pragmatics situations of refusal.At the end of the essay,some concepts of cross-cultural pragmatics speech acts teaching are also discussed.

A Pragmatics Analysis on Cross-cultural Business Negotiation——Based on Canton Fair Cases

Accurate and appropriate pragmatics strategies play a significant role in cross-cultural business negotiation between exhibitors and buyers.Through the analysis of cross-cultural business negotiation dialogue between exhibitors and buyers in Canton Fair Cases,pragmatics strategies,on the basis of Cooperative Principle,Politeness Principle and Face Theory,can be obtained as follows.When negotiating over product,although Cooperative Principle is expected to be followed,exhibitors are more likely to break it and thus buyers are supposed to identify the authenticity of exhibitors'presentations.When negotiating over quote,both ex-hibitors and buyers are more likely to flout Cooperative Principle under some circumstances and therefore they should follow Politeness Principle and care of the other's face for win-win cooperation.

Motor competence and health-related fitness in children:A cross-cultural comparison between Portugal and the United States

Background: Motor competence and health-related fitness are important components for the development and maintenance of a healthy lifestyle in children. This study examined cross-cultural performances on motor competence and health-related fitness between Portuguese and U.S.children.Methods: Portuguese(n = 508; 10.14 § 2.13 years, mean § SD) and U.S.(n = 710; 9.48 § 1.62 years) children performed tests of cardiorespiratory fitness(Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run), upper body strength(handgrip), locomotor skill performance(standing long jump), and object projection skill performance(throwing and kicking). Portuguese and U.S. children were divided into 2 age groups(6à9 and 10à13 years) for data analysis purposes. A twoàfactor oneàway analysis of covariance(ANOVA) was conducted with the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run, handgrip, standing long jump scores, kicking, and throwing speed(km/h) as dependent variables.Results: Results indicated that Portuguese children, irrespective of sex, presented better performances in locomotor and cardiorespiratory performance(standing long jump and Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run) than U.S. children in both age bands. U.S. children outperformed Portuguese children during throwing and handgrip tests. Kicking tests presented gender differences: Portuguese boys and U.S. girls outperformed their internationally matched counterparts.Conclusion: Cultural differences in physical education curricula and sports participation may impact differences in motor competence and fitness development in these countries.

The “Colour Family Drawing Test”: Assessing Children’s Perception of Family Relationships. Studies on Mental Health and Cross-Cultural Comparisons

We apply the Colour Family Drawing Test, as a development of the traditional black and white test, for cross-cultural comparison. The participants, aged 7 - 10 years, both genders, were examined individually. Each subject sat at a single table with a white rectangular card of standard size, 24 well-sharpened colour pencils, a black pencil, an eraser and other appropriate tools. S/he received this verbal instruction: “Draw your family”. The procedure was firstly applied to 120 participants attending primary schools of Rome (Biasi, Bonaiuto and Levin, 2014). The families were evaluated through a semi-structural interview conducted with the children’s teachers and divided into: Harmonious versus Very Conflictual Families. The drawings made by children of Harmonious Families consistently used “Reassuring and Playful Colours” (Pink, Orange, Sky Blue, Light Green, Light Yellow, other pastel colours);and were larger, tidier and more proportioned to respect the opposite group. Children belonging to Conflictual Families used mostly “Alarming and Serious Colours” (Grey, Black, Dark Bleu, Violet, Olive Green) and their drawings were less extended, more often disordered and had typical deformations such as figures too thin. A second investigation examined 120 participants belonging to Asian immigrant families residing in Italy. A third investigation examined 120 participants belonging to Russian families of Moscow. Both last two investigations obtained very similar results on the use of colours, and gave a confirmation of the relevance of the Colour Family Drawing Test.

The Analysis of Pragmatic Comparison in the Intercultural Communication and its Implications on English Teaching

Since each language has its own language application rules, the ignorance of social and cultural diversities can result in various pragmatic failures in the intercultural communication. This thesis analyzes the pragmatic differences between China and those western coun- tries and then gives some suggestions on how to improve language learners’pragmatic ability.

A Comparison of Languages on the Chinese and English Clothing Tags from the Cross-cultural Perspective

With the rapid growth of China's marketing economy, a lot of China-made clothes sweep into the foreign markets in recent years, so the internationalization, standardization and normalization of the languages of the clothing tags seem more important than they probably are. From the cross-cultural perspective and with the help of stylistic analysis, the author studies the languages of 10 Chinese-version clothing tags and 10 original English-version clothing tags respectively in lexis, syntax and discourse. The English version of Chinese clothing tags inclines to use the imperative sentences with strong tone of command, and their corresponding sentence structures and those of the original English clothing tags are not alike. Comparatively the latter give a more static feeling in a milder tone. In the perspective of lexis and discourse, clothing tags, both home and abroad, use the simple words and add the words with pictures. Tentatively, the author gets a general conclusion of the skills and characteristics of English clothing tags' language. Besides, according to the current problems existing in the Chinese clothing tags' translation,the author gives the relative advice to the Chinese clothing company in order to promote the international commercial communication, besides, the author expects more studies on this field with a new view point.

Cross-Cultural Comparison: Aesthetic Appreciation of Palace Art in the Mid-Qing Dynasty and French“Rococo”Art

In the cross-cultural context,as artistic and cultural phenomena between the East and the West,the palace art in the mid-Qing Dynasty and the French“Rococo”art is bound to be influenced by the social history,artistic and cultural environment in which they live.Through a parallel comparison of the aesthetics of court art in the mid-Qing Dynasty and French Rococo art,it is found that there are similarities in the social and cultural environments and the aesthetic tastes of the aesthetic subject at that time,and there are differences in the presentation of the function of art culture and the aesthetic style of the aesthetic subject.At the same time,there is a phenomenon of the east-west integration of“western law for use”and“eastern elements”.

The Study of Pragmatic Failure:From the Perspective of Cultural Differences between China and Britain

The intercultural pragmatics is a field that is concerned broadly in recent years. Cultural difference is an essential factor that caused the pragmatic failure. It is an inevitable fact that Chinese and British have different language habit because of different cultural backgrounds. As a result, pragmatic failure has an effect on the access to information and cause communication misunderstanding even influence communication going with a swing. This thesis tries to analyze the pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication from the perspective of cultural differences, find the reason and put forward the measures that can solve this problem.

Analysis of Pragmatic Failures and Strategies for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language

Cross-cultural communication has become an essential course for international students.As foreign students have different cultural backgrounds and languages,pragmatic failures are inevitable for them when communicating in Chinese,thus resulting in unpleasant communication.In order to effectively reduce pragmatic failures,it is necessary to analyze the problems that arise in the process of teaching Chinese as a foreign language and determine the causes.This research is separated into three aspects.Firstly,with the support of the theory of pragmatics and by analyzing the life and learning of foreign students,it can be appreciated that the pragmatic failures of foreign students in using Chinese for communication are very much detailed in the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language[1].Secondly,after arranging and analyzing these corpora,the reasons for the pragmatic failures of foreign students are determined.Finally,aiming at the causes of pragmatic failures,corresponding countermeasures and teaching suggestions are proposed.The conclusion drawn from this research is that pragmatic failures occur due to various factors,some of which are essential factors that cannot be changed.This requires effort from both Chinese language teachers and students in the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language to lessen the occurrence of pragmatic failures.

汉韩典型性话语标记语语用功能对比研究——以提请注意式话语标记语为例

某种语言形式从一般属性,经过语法化过程,在原本意义基础上增添了其程序上的意义,具有了话语标记语的功能。典型性话语标记语的语法化程度较高,与其原本意义相比,各话语标记语的程序意义占主导地位。因此所属不同语系的汉韩两语典型性话语标记语的表现形式差异显著。拟以提请注意式话语标记语为例,依据关联理论从语言认知学的角度对汉韩典型性话语标记语的语用功能进行跨语言对比分析,考察其相似性与差异性。弥补学界从大类型视角对话语标记语跨语言研究的不足,加深对典型性话语标记语的认知,以期对语言教学和习得研究有所裨益。

A Comparison of Chinese and English Classroom Management:A Case Study of“Are Our Kids Tough Enough?”

In the documentary Are Our Kids Tough Enough,five Chinese teachers went to teach at a High School in Hampshire,England,and had a final assessment comparison of the quality of teaching with the English teachers.The collision of different cultures in the documentary has caused people to ponder over education both at home and abroad.This study explores effective classroom strategies and the positive role of cross-cultural factors in Chinese and English classroom management models to build an effective and dynamic classroom.Through a comparative study of Chinese and English classroom management models,this paper mainly finds out that English teachers tend to be more free-ranging in classroom management.Besides,the classroom atmosphere is relaxed,and students are active in thinking,but not concentrative.Chinese teachers,on the other hand,tend to have very serious management styles,and set strict discipline in the classroom.They concentrate under high pressure and,to a certain extent,suppress students’flexibility.In addition,this paper also elaborated three elements which are closely related to classroom management:(1).Teaching methods;(2).Teaching activity design;(3).Assessment.Through the comparative study,we find that Chinese classroom management model is more rigid,in which teachers can easily grasp the situation,but the classroom atmosphere is not very active.The British classroom management model is more flexible;students will not be too constrained,and classroom atmosphere is more active.But this has higher request to the teacher’s classroom management ability:avoiding loss of control of the classroom discipline.

Attitudes toward forest diversity and forest ecosystem services—a cross-cultural comparison between China and Switzerland

Aims Despite the current interest in services provided by ecosystems and the role of biodiversity,the relationship among human attitudes,biodiversity and ecosystem services has hardly been investigated.Moreover,few studies have examined attitudes toward nature in cross-cultural comparisons.This study investigates the attitudes of Chinese and Swiss people,both environmental experts and laypersons,toward forest biodiversity and ecosystem services.Methods Overall,640 people in China and Switzerland were interviewed with the help of a standardized questionnaire.In each country,the study population was equally divided into an urban(80 city dwellers and 80 environmental science students)and a rural(80 forest visitors and 80 farmers)study group.The 15-minute interviews took place in the cities of Beijing and Zurich and in the rural forested areas of Dujiangyan,Sichuan Province and Lake Sempach,canton Lucerne.Attitudes toward forest biodiversity were investigated with the help of color photographs that depicted both monocultures and speciesrich forests typical for China and Switzerland.Attitudes toward ecosystem services were investigated with the help of 13 statements on provisioning,regulating,cultural and supporting services of forests.Important Findings On average,Chinese participants showed no strong preferences for biodiversity,whereas the Swiss clearly preferred species-rich forests over monocultures.However,Chinese environmental science students did prefer species-rich forests and attributed to them a higher conservation value because of their higher biodiversity.Although there were no strong preferences for Chinese versus Swiss forests,all participants correctly answered that Chinese forests are more species rich in terms of plants and animals and thus found them less boring and more interesting,but also less managed,than Swiss forests.All participants highly valued the ecosystem services provided by forests;especially the regulating and supporting ones.Environmental science students and farmers placed more importance on the provisioning services,whereas city dwellers and forest visitors emphasized more on the regulating services.The disjuncture between the high ecological quality of species-rich forests and their low attractiveness to Chinese study participants points to a potential conflict between conservation policies and the public’s preferences.A better communication of ecosystem services provided by forest biodiversity to the public might change these preferences in favor of ecological quality,as already observed among Chinese environmental science students.

襄阳方言的指示叹词

襄阳方言有“么儿”和“么儿唠”两个指示叹词,它们除了有现场指示功能外,还有抽象的非现场用法。文章从语法和语用两个方面对这组指示叹词进行分析,并选取了若干方言点从共时角度与之进行跨方言比较。