Differences between Chinese and Western Phatic Communication
Wei Xin
Abstract: People use phatic communication to establish rapport, to break ice, to begin and end a conversation in our daily life. Phatic communication plays an important role in establishing and maintaining social relationships among people. However, different countries have their own culture. A pleasant greeting in one country may be regarded as repugnant in another. So how to choose a suitable topic to start the conversation is very important. In this thesis, differences between Chinese and western phatic communication will be discussed from three aspects, greetings, farewell and ways of expressing thanks. It also attempts to seek cultural interpretations for the differences.
Keywords: phatic communication, greeting, farewell, expressions for giving thanks, historicl background, social values, thinking pattern, emotion concerns
Chapter1 Introduction
We all know that the basic social function of phatic communication is to adjust the interpersonal relationship. Phatic conversations have become indispensable social customs in most of the countries in the world. Sociologists who study the art of human communication suggest that phatic communication, such as discussing weather, opens up a social channel. This, in turn, can lead to more substantial or factual communication. Very few people start and end conversations with straight facts. Phatic communication such as a handshake helps set the stage for establishing the friendly environment.(2)
For most of us, an average day can be filled with phatic communication although we may never notice it. In fact, spending twenty-four hours without any form of phatic communication would probably seem very abnormal and unnatural. Imagine spending an entire day without greeting somebody “How are you” or “How do you do”, meeting an acquaintance without the word “Hello” or “Hi”, farewell your friend without saying “goodbye” or “bye-bye”. You’ll be considered as an impolite person. In fact, it’s also a routine to tell someone to have a nice day, or discuss the weather with a new client. All these cliched words and phrases and time-worn conversation starters are perfect examples of phatic communication.
If you think phatic communication is just a kind of language communication, you may are mistaken in that phatic communication can be verbal or non-verbal. A simple wave at a colleague or a thumb up signal to a friend can be considered as phatic communication too.(2) As non-verbal phatic communication (body language used for phatic communication, such as nod) is easier for us to understand, hereby, we’ll not discuss it.
Chapter2 Literature Review
2.1 Language and Culture
As to the relationship between language and culture, language reflects culture and culture influences the usages and development of language. Any culture phenomenon in its nation has correspondent language sign system. Language, such culture phenomenon has function of summarizing, arranging and expressing cultural peculiarities.(5) So, if one wants to grasp features of a certain culture, grasp features of the language first is a shortcut. Language is a special expression form of culture and it is one to one relationship. When we use a certain language as intermedium for cross cultural communication we should obey the cultural pragmatic rules. In such language intercultural communication, how to select a correct pragmatic rule to communicate and eliminate misunderstanding is extremely important.
Seeking reasons for the differences between Chinese and Western phatic communication has great significance when discussing cross-culture communication. The study can broaden our ken, and let us understand cross cultural communication thoroughly.
2.2 Studies at Home & Abroad
Phatic communication is advanced by B. Malinowski in his paper “The problem of Meaning in Primitive Language”.(3) Phatic communication refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than exchanging of ideas.(3) The importance of phatic language is well shown in its function of establishing and maintaining social relationships between people. Besides, he proposes many kinds of opinions about phatic communication. Though there are many different types of phatic communication ( eg. greeting, farewell, etc ), it has common aspects. Whether the whole scene will take place in phatic communication depends on what has happened on language.(3) He also holds that meaning of single word in phatic communication may have no relevance, but language expression in it is used for a certain social function. This social function may alleviate anxiety caused by silence or build a harmonious atmosphere to strengthen personal relationship.(3)
Jakobson (1960) believe that the social function of phatic communication is reflected by the usage of language communication itself, rather than transferring linguistic information. He indicates that long time phatic communication is disadvantageous mainly because of menace happened in communication.(4)
Laver (1974) believe that the basic social function of phatic communication is to deal with the details of personal relationship if human activities influenced by their mental blanks.(4)
All of them advocate the interpersonal function of phatic communication, but can people totally ignore the linguistic meaning? Communication experts suggest using phatic communication as a means to open up more substantial conversation. Too much emphasis on small talk can make a person seem unfocused or chatty, while too little can make someone appear stern or unapproachable. The trick lies in finding a proper balance between factual and phatic communication.
As far as this paper is concerned, phatic communication can be summarized as follows: phatic communication is one that does not attempt to record or communicate facts, views, or information, but serves as a means of initiating, maintaining, or concluding communication between the information sender and the receiver. In the paper phatic communication is devided into three parts, greeting, farewell and expressions of giving thanks. The following is a detailed discussion.
Chpater3 A Comparison between Phatic Communication
3.1 Greeting
3.11 Common greetings
"Hi", "Hello", “Good morning”, “Good evening", “How are you”, “How do you do” are examples of common greetings. Words or phrases in such greetings seem to have been fixed and they have been fixed as common greetings in the daily life. Their literal meanings have been desalinated while their pragmatic usages have been strengthened. General speaking, people can use them to show their friendliness on a specific occasions. They play an important role in establishing and maintaining social relationships between people.
Although both Chinese and English-speaking people, when they meet, have the habit and custom of greeting each other, the expressions, the ways, the frequency of their greetings are quite different. In the morning, English-speaking people greet each other “Good morning”. In this case, Chinese would greet each other “Ni zao”(You’re early) or “Ni hao”(You’re well). Then English-speaking people have “Good afternoon” and “Good evening” for afternoon and evening respectively. However, Chinese still use “Ni hao” to greet each other in the afternoon and evening. Though Chinese have “Xia wu hao”, “Wan shang hao”, they would more likely to use “Ni hao” on informal occasions. It seems to us that Chinese “Ni hao” is an all-time greeting, which is appropriate on almost all occasions.
In Britain, when people meet each other for the first time, “How do you do?” is often used, especially on formal occasions. On informal occasions, they would like to use “Hi” or “Hello” to serve the purpose. Besides, it is always polite to say something like “I’m pleased to meet you.” Following that, when acquaintances meet each other, “How are you?” is a usual greeting, which does not mean that the person who asks the question is really interested in others’ health or body conditions. Actually it is a way of showing good wishes, so the answer is always “Very well (Fine), thank you.” Other greetings that have the same function include “Hi!” “Hello”, “How are you getting on?”, “How is everything going (with you)?”etc. By the way, the same greeting “How are you?” may be repeated many times a day to the same friend, which seems to be redundant and hence unnecessary to a Chinese speaker. He may greet his friends just once in the morning “Ni zao”.
3.12 Chinese Favorite Topics:
(1) Food
Chinese people's most favorite topic is food. When people meet around mealtime, one would greet the other “Ni chi le ma?”(Have you eaten yet?) or “Chi guo wu fan la ?” (You have fished your lunch, didn’t you?). It’s a traditional Chinese way of saying “Hello” or “Hi”. But, to Westerners, this greeting might imply a question, the question could be like this, “I haven’t either. Come on, let’s go together and get something to eat and it will be my pay” or “If you haven’t, I was just going to invite you to my place”. In other words, it could indicate an invitation to a meal. This greeting often brings about misunderstanding in intercultural communication. To Chinese, it is simply a greeting, but, to Westerners, it is an invitation to a meal. This greeting, though puzzling to Westerners, is deeply rooted in Chinese culture.
(2) Place
Another hot topic Chinese like to ask is place. When two Chinese met on the way, one would greet the other “shang na er qu a?”(Where are you going?)or “Shang na er qu la?” (Where have you been?). The natural reaction of most westerners to this greeting would most likely be “It’s none of your business!”. Since in Western culture, such questions are private questions and asking them could be interpreted as an invasion of privacy, to which Westerners are very sensitive. But in Chinese culture, asking this kind of questions shows one’s concern for another, so they are appropriate greetings. Similar greetings are very common between acquaintances such as “Shang ban qu a?”(Are you going to work?)”Xia ban la?”(Are you back from work?) “shang jie qu a？”(Are you going shopping?).
(3) Others
In addition, when two people met, Chinese would like to ask “What are you doing these days”，“How old is your wife?”, “How much is your income this month (year)?” etc. All these questions are considered by Westerns as private and improper and therefore it is rude to ask them. But, to Chinese, they are common and natural "small talk". By asking private questions, people express intimate relationship by showing concern for each other.
3.13 Westerner’s Favorite Topics
(1) Weather
The British favorite topic is the weather. It is a very common scene that a man going along the street easily agrees with someone he meets that it is "a lovely day”. People from other cultures often find it puzzlinging and wonder why they are so interested in weather. In fact, that’s mainly because people's life is always closely connected with weather in Brtain, and lives have close connection with it. In England, where the English language originated from, sometimes one can experience several seasons with one day. People can never be sure what the weather will be like next time. This uncertainty about the weather has not only had a definite effect upon the British characters but also provided a constant topic for conversation. Even the most taciturn Englishman is always prepared to discuss the weather. And, though he sometimes complain bitterly of the weather, he would not, even if he could, exchange it for the more predictable climate of other countries. The English language has experienced great changes in almost every aspect. But peoples’ feeling for the weather remains unchanged. Besides, this topic concerning is neutral which agrees with Britain culture, for which privacy is well protected. For them, mentioning the weather is a useful and inoffensive way of starting a conversation. It is not aimed at exchanging information but beginning a conversation..
(2) Cars, Traffic Conditions, Holidays. etc.
Besides the weather, some hot topics westerners choose to discuss are cars, traffic condition & holidays. Because of the highly developed economy and technology, there are so many personal cars in modern western countries and cars have become one part of western life. People drive their cars to work, go shopping and they go nearly every place by motor. So westerners often talk about cars and traffic like the breakdown of their car, the purchase of a new car, being late for company in rush hour. etc. Cars and traffic are really two hot topics in western countries. We can often hear greeting like " Nice car, isn't it? " "Hi, Tom, I heard you had bought a new car, really?" "The traffic is real bad this morning, I wait for almost two hours" "I'm afraid the bus won't arrive on time". What’s more, because of relaxed life style, holidays have also become a hot topic in western countries. eg. "Hi, Tom, how about going picnic together this weekend?", "How will you spend your summer vocation, Jack ?".etc.
3.2 Farewell
Farewells are absolutely necessary when people depart just as greetings cannot be omitted when people meet. They are equally important in communication. “Goodbye” in English and “Zai Jian” (“see you again”) in Chinese are the commonest farewell expressions used by English-speaking people and Chinese respectively when people depart. “Goodbye” is widely used during the daytime and “Good night” (sometimes “Good evening”) is a farewell when people depart at night. But before going to bed, some Chinese people tend to say something like “Zao dian xiu xi ba.” (“Go to bed early.”) instead of “Zai Jian”. Originally, “Bye-bye” is the informal form of “Goodbye” and used mostly by or to children. But nowadays there is a tendency that more and more grown-ups, especially American young people, prefer to use it. This change has its root in American culture—people favor informalness. The Chinese “Zai Jian” undergoes little change although some TV and radio hosts prefer “Wan an” (From English “Good night”) to end a day’s program at night, but it sounds awkward and formal to ordinary Chinese.
English “Good-bye” is a distortion of “God bye” of the early nineteenth century, and “God bye” evolves of “God be with you” of the Middle Ages. So “Good-bye” is a religion-loaded farewell.(7) In the late 1960s, young Californians, who were too hip to believe in God and too today-oriented to even consider tomorrow, came up with “Have a nice day.” Soon it became popular all over the U.S. But, to Chinese, this farewell may sound strange and confusing.
In western countries, besides "bye" "bye-bye" "good bye", People would like to say something about his feeling about the appointment. For example, "It's nice meeting you" "I'm glad to have meet you" "It's been a pleasant stay".
Other informal farewells are “Good luck”, which, in Chinese, is a wish, “Take care” is similar to Chinese “Duo bao zhong”. In Chinese, there is a kind of farewell expressions, which Westerners would find ridiculous and hard to understand. When the host accompanies the guest or visitor to the door or gateway, it is customary for the guest or visitor to say to the host “Qing liu bu.”(“Please stay here.”) The host would say “Man zou”(“Go slowly”), “Zou hao”(“Walk carefully”) or “man man qi.”(“Ride slowly”) if he (she) rides a bike. These farewells, full of considerateness, fit the Chinese culture, which values the virtue of showing concern for others.
3.3 Expressions for giving thanks
Ganxie(thanks), duoxie(many thanks) convey people’s gratitude for the other's kindness or help in Chinese. Compared with "thank you" in English, it has obviously discrepancy in cultural implications. Words expressing thanks in traditional Chinese society is used for strangers or unfamiliar person. Between acquaintances like husband and wife , or just familiar persons, they seldom use thanks which is mainly because they take it for granted that familiar people should help each other. Why? Because Chinese advocate friendliness, they always care about others’ lives and are willing to provide and accept others’ help, which can indicate a good personal relationship. However, in western culture, whoever accepts other's help should express his/her thanks, no matter it is between father and son, or boss and employee. In addition, Chinese rarely express their thanks if they think others’ help belong to official business. Westerners are the oppsite. They express their thanks whenever they accept help.
Additionally, when people accept compliments, there are obvious discrepancies between Chinese and Westerners. Westerners take others' compliments affirmatively. Chinese embody their modesty through negative tactful expressions. eg. when a Chinese girl in America is complimented with "That’s a lovely dress you have on.” She said "No, no. It’s just an very ordinary dress.” The American felt surprised and angry by the answer because he thought his asethetic ability was denied. (8)
Chapter4 Reasons of the differences
4.1 Different historical background
Chinese greeting preference of food can also illustrate cultural reasons. China is a big country with a large population .In its long history, the problem of food always haunted the Chinese people. Many people were starved to death and a lot more always lived in hunger .In people’s mind, food is the first necessity for their existence .It always tops the list of their daily concerns .In China, there goes a popular saying “Min yi shi wei tian.”(Food is people’s God.) So the greeting sounds customary, natural and intimate to the Chinese and to a certain degree reflects the historical background of the Chinese people. However, Britain is an island country. People’s main food product comes from the sea, as they need much more fish for food than Chinese so they have more concerns about the weather. Here is another example which can illustrate this well. Tens of years ago, London is a city famous for fog. Because of pollute, it fogged heavily in London. So when people met, they would more likely to talk about weather.
Chinese “Ni zao” may sound ridiculous and puzzling to a Westerner who knows nothing about Chinese culture. But, to Chinese, it is quite a common practice to greet in that manner since Chinese culture traditionally considers it a good habit to keep early hours (to get up early and go to bed early).
4.2 Different social values
Chinese and Western Phatic Communication are based on different cultures and therefore embody different cultural values. In Western culture, characterized by in individualism, people take the concept of privacy very seriously and guard their personal territory very carefully in case it should be invaded.(1) So it is a common phenomenon in life that people should keep their distance from each other's private lives. It is rude to inquire others age, marriage, salary and so on. Chinese culture is characterized by collectivism. Throughout history, there exists deprecation of individualism: Confucianism subordinates individual to group; Taoism subordinates the group to nature; Buddhism denies that the self exists. And the ultra-leftists reject and denounce what they call bourgeois individualism."(1) In such a culture, individuals belong to groups or collectivities, which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty and are required to fit into the group. People are taught to care for the group rather than themselves and to put collective interests above personal interests. So privacies are open to the public. Raised in collectivistic culture, the Chinese people have developed the habit of discussing each other’s personal or private things without feeling it inappropriate.
4.3 Different Thinking pattern
The thinking pattern is also a main factor of phatic communication differences. The thinking pattern of Chinese is a high-context system, while the thinking pattern of westerners is a low-context system and it can be reflected by language.
Here is an example to this point. When Lao Li (old Li) met Lao Zhang (old Zhang) at the entrance of a bathroom, Lao Li smiled to Lao Zhang and said "xi la?" ( You have finshed your bathe, haven't you?). Lao Zhang also smiled and said "lai la?" ( You are coming for bathe, aren't you?). The one side in the given instance haven't give an answer to suit the other's question, however, they can understand each other quite easily.(6)
Concerning the thinking pattern, the Chinese is very concise and the communication requires people to get the hints between the lines. Context somtiomes plays an important role in communication, including the physical context and utterance context. However, English is not the case. People endeavors to provide as much information as possible by language to avoid misunderstanding.
4.4 Different emotion concerns
Emotion concerns is also a important reason for Phatic Communication. Since Chinese like friendliness and intimacy, favor to strengthen the interpersonal and thus establish atmosphere of harmony. Some Chinese, those who live in a village maybe for generations, their personal affairs would more or less be known by the people around them. In addition, Chinese always care about others’ life and are willing to provide their help. They believe that the individual matter is the public matter, so they are eager to know others' feelings and hopes that others can be sincere to them too.
Therefore, westerners ask few about others’ privacy questions to show their respect while Chinese ask many about others privacy aspect questions to show their cares. Westerners would feel embrassed when asked with their personal affairs, even his/her best friends while Chinese even judge two person’s relationships by the degree of the privacy sharing. This gives a good explanation for the difference in greeting expressions between Chinese and Westerners.
Chapter5 Conclusion
The most essential function of language is to communicate. Phatic communication follows strict conversation formula, which is a preliminary in the form of light conversation to deepen human relationship followed by a more serious conversation if these are desired. It is a good means to chase away silence and remove tension on social occasions. In both English and Chinese, as in other languages, there is “Phatic communication”, yet there exists great differences between them.
Phatic communication is compatible with human society. Without such communication human beings never exist. But the manner for phatic communication are not always the same. From the contrasts shown above, it is not hard to see that there are great differences in Phatic Communication between Chinese and Westerners. If these differences are ignored, misunderstanding is sure to occur, and what is worse, cultural shock. Phatic communication, to a large degree, is influenced by the cultural traditions. Since China and the West belong to different cultures, their phatic communication can be very confusing and sometimes incomprehensible to eachother. In order to improve the intercultural communication effectiveness between Chinese and Westerners, it is necessary for Chinese to know about Western phatic routines and Westerners to get familiar with Chinese phatic expressions.(1) Developing cultural awarenessis fundamental and essential for cross-culture communication.
Bibliography:
1. 《Phatic communication Between Chinese and Westerner》[J] David Hallgren 《Chinsespod》 January 24, 2006
2. 《What is phatic communication》[M] Michael Pollick wiseGEEK 2006
3. 《The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Language》[M] Bronislaw Malinowski, Professor of Anthropology, University of London. 1923
4. 《语言文化差异的认识与超越》[M] 李战子,胡壮麟 北京大学出版社 出版日期:2005-5-13
5. 《语言·文化·跨文化交际》[J] 薛小梅 《光明日报》 2003年5月27日
6. 《汉语寒暄语的语用阐释》[J] 陈秋娜 《柳州职业技术学院院报》 Vo1．5 No．1 Mar．2005
7. 《如何道再见》[J] 李勇 《初中生(一年級)》 2003年第6期
8. 《论文化背景对语言交际的影响作用》[J] 王松珍 《高桥中学网站》 2005-8-3
摘要：人们在日常生活中使用寒暄语来建立人际关系、打破僵局、开始并结束对话。寒暄语对建立和维持人们的社会关系起着不可忽视的作用。然而，不同的国家有各自的文化，在一个国家受欢迎的问候方式可能对另一个国家的人们来说是反感的。因此，怎样选择一个适合的话题当作开场白是非常重要的。在这篇论文中，我们将从三方面来阐述中西方寒暄语不同的原因：问候语，告别语和表达感谢的方式，并且试图寻找这些不同原因文化方面的解释。
关键词：寒暄语，问候语，告别语，致谢语，历史背景，社会价值观，思维模式，情感关注
Wei Xin
Abstract: People use phatic communication to establish rapport, to break ice, to begin and end a conversation in our daily life. Phatic communication plays an important role in establishing and maintaining social relationships among people. However, different countries have their own culture. A pleasant greeting in one country may be regarded as repugnant in another. So how to choose a suitable topic to start the conversation is very important. In this thesis, differences between Chinese and western phatic communication will be discussed from three aspects, greetings, farewell and ways of expressing thanks. It also attempts to seek cultural interpretations for the differences.
Keywords: phatic communication, greeting, farewell, expressions for giving thanks, historicl background, social values, thinking pattern, emotion concerns
Chapter1 Introduction
We all know that the basic social function of phatic communication is to adjust the interpersonal relationship. Phatic conversations have become indispensable social customs in most of the countries in the world. Sociologists who study the art of human communication suggest that phatic communication, such as discussing weather, opens up a social channel. This, in turn, can lead to more substantial or factual communication. Very few people start and end conversations with straight facts. Phatic communication such as a handshake helps set the stage for establishing the friendly environment.(2)
For most of us, an average day can be filled with phatic communication although we may never notice it. In fact, spending twenty-four hours without any form of phatic communication would probably seem very abnormal and unnatural. Imagine spending an entire day without greeting somebody “How are you” or “How do you do”, meeting an acquaintance without the word “Hello” or “Hi”, farewell your friend without saying “goodbye” or “bye-bye”. You’ll be considered as an impolite person. In fact, it’s also a routine to tell someone to have a nice day, or discuss the weather with a new client. All these cliched words and phrases and time-worn conversation starters are perfect examples of phatic communication.
If you think phatic communication is just a kind of language communication, you may are mistaken in that phatic communication can be verbal or non-verbal. A simple wave at a colleague or a thumb up signal to a friend can be considered as phatic communication too.(2) As non-verbal phatic communication (body language used for phatic communication, such as nod) is easier for us to understand, hereby, we’ll not discuss it.
Chapter2 Literature Review
2.1 Language and Culture
As to the relationship between language and culture, language reflects culture and culture influences the usages and development of language. Any culture phenomenon in its nation has correspondent language sign system. Language, such culture phenomenon has function of summarizing, arranging and expressing cultural peculiarities.(5) So, if one wants to grasp features of a certain culture, grasp features of the language first is a shortcut. Language is a special expression form of culture and it is one to one relationship. When we use a certain language as intermedium for cross cultural communication we should obey the cultural pragmatic rules. In such language intercultural communication, how to select a correct pragmatic rule to communicate and eliminate misunderstanding is extremely important.
Seeking reasons for the differences between Chinese and Western phatic communication has great significance when discussing cross-culture communication. The study can broaden our ken, and let us understand cross cultural communication thoroughly.
2.2 Studies at Home & Abroad
Phatic communication is advanced by B. Malinowski in his paper “The problem of Meaning in Primitive Language”.(3) Phatic communication refers to language used for establishing an atmosphere or maintaining social contact rather than exchanging of ideas.(3) The importance of phatic language is well shown in its function of establishing and maintaining social relationships between people. Besides, he proposes many kinds of opinions about phatic communication. Though there are many different types of phatic communication ( eg. greeting, farewell, etc ), it has common aspects. Whether the whole scene will take place in phatic communication depends on what has happened on language.(3) He also holds that meaning of single word in phatic communication may have no relevance, but language expression in it is used for a certain social function. This social function may alleviate anxiety caused by silence or build a harmonious atmosphere to strengthen personal relationship.(3)
Jakobson (1960) believe that the social function of phatic communication is reflected by the usage of language communication itself, rather than transferring linguistic information. He indicates that long time phatic communication is disadvantageous mainly because of menace happened in communication.(4)
Laver (1974) believe that the basic social function of phatic communication is to deal with the details of personal relationship if human activities influenced by their mental blanks.(4)
All of them advocate the interpersonal function of phatic communication, but can people totally ignore the linguistic meaning? Communication experts suggest using phatic communication as a means to open up more substantial conversation. Too much emphasis on small talk can make a person seem unfocused or chatty, while too little can make someone appear stern or unapproachable. The trick lies in finding a proper balance between factual and phatic communication.
As far as this paper is concerned, phatic communication can be summarized as follows: phatic communication is one that does not attempt to record or communicate facts, views, or information, but serves as a means of initiating, maintaining, or concluding communication between the information sender and the receiver. In the paper phatic communication is devided into three parts, greeting, farewell and expressions of giving thanks. The following is a detailed discussion.
Chpater3 A Comparison between Phatic Communication
3.1 Greeting
3.11 Common greetings
"Hi", "Hello", “Good morning”, “Good evening", “How are you”, “How do you do” are examples of common greetings. Words or phrases in such greetings seem to have been fixed and they have been fixed as common greetings in the daily life. Their literal meanings have been desalinated while their pragmatic usages have been strengthened. General speaking, people can use them to show their friendliness on a specific occasions. They play an important role in establishing and maintaining social relationships between people.
Although both Chinese and English-speaking people, when they meet, have the habit and custom of greeting each other, the expressions, the ways, the frequency of their greetings are quite different. In the morning, English-speaking people greet each other “Good morning”. In this case, Chinese would greet each other “Ni zao”(You’re early) or “Ni hao”(You’re well). Then English-speaking people have “Good afternoon” and “Good evening” for afternoon and evening respectively. However, Chinese still use “Ni hao” to greet each other in the afternoon and evening. Though Chinese have “Xia wu hao”, “Wan shang hao”, they would more likely to use “Ni hao” on informal occasions. It seems to us that Chinese “Ni hao” is an all-time greeting, which is appropriate on almost all occasions.
In Britain, when people meet each other for the first time, “How do you do?” is often used, especially on formal occasions. On informal occasions, they would like to use “Hi” or “Hello” to serve the purpose. Besides, it is always polite to say something like “I’m pleased to meet you.” Following that, when acquaintances meet each other, “How are you?” is a usual greeting, which does not mean that the person who asks the question is really interested in others’ health or body conditions. Actually it is a way of showing good wishes, so the answer is always “Very well (Fine), thank you.” Other greetings that have the same function include “Hi!” “Hello”, “How are you getting on?”, “How is everything going (with you)?”etc. By the way, the same greeting “How are you?” may be repeated many times a day to the same friend, which seems to be redundant and hence unnecessary to a Chinese speaker. He may greet his friends just once in the morning “Ni zao”.
3.12 Chinese Favorite Topics:
(1) Food
Chinese people's most favorite topic is food. When people meet around mealtime, one would greet the other “Ni chi le ma?”(Have you eaten yet?) or “Chi guo wu fan la ?” (You have fished your lunch, didn’t you?). It’s a traditional Chinese way of saying “Hello” or “Hi”. But, to Westerners, this greeting might imply a question, the question could be like this, “I haven’t either. Come on, let’s go together and get something to eat and it will be my pay” or “If you haven’t, I was just going to invite you to my place”. In other words, it could indicate an invitation to a meal. This greeting often brings about misunderstanding in intercultural communication. To Chinese, it is simply a greeting, but, to Westerners, it is an invitation to a meal. This greeting, though puzzling to Westerners, is deeply rooted in Chinese culture.
(2) Place
Another hot topic Chinese like to ask is place. When two Chinese met on the way, one would greet the other “shang na er qu a?”(Where are you going?)or “Shang na er qu la?” (Where have you been?). The natural reaction of most westerners to this greeting would most likely be “It’s none of your business!”. Since in Western culture, such questions are private questions and asking them could be interpreted as an invasion of privacy, to which Westerners are very sensitive. But in Chinese culture, asking this kind of questions shows one’s concern for another, so they are appropriate greetings. Similar greetings are very common between acquaintances such as “Shang ban qu a?”(Are you going to work?)”Xia ban la?”(Are you back from work?) “shang jie qu a？”(Are you going shopping?).
(3) Others
In addition, when two people met, Chinese would like to ask “What are you doing these days”，“How old is your wife?”, “How much is your income this month (year)?” etc. All these questions are considered by Westerns as private and improper and therefore it is rude to ask them. But, to Chinese, they are common and natural "small talk". By asking private questions, people express intimate relationship by showing concern for each other.
3.13 Westerner’s Favorite Topics
(1) Weather
The British favorite topic is the weather. It is a very common scene that a man going along the street easily agrees with someone he meets that it is "a lovely day”. People from other cultures often find it puzzlinging and wonder why they are so interested in weather. In fact, that’s mainly because people's life is always closely connected with weather in Brtain, and lives have close connection with it. In England, where the English language originated from, sometimes one can experience several seasons with one day. People can never be sure what the weather will be like next time. This uncertainty about the weather has not only had a definite effect upon the British characters but also provided a constant topic for conversation. Even the most taciturn Englishman is always prepared to discuss the weather. And, though he sometimes complain bitterly of the weather, he would not, even if he could, exchange it for the more predictable climate of other countries. The English language has experienced great changes in almost every aspect. But peoples’ feeling for the weather remains unchanged. Besides, this topic concerning is neutral which agrees with Britain culture, for which privacy is well protected. For them, mentioning the weather is a useful and inoffensive way of starting a conversation. It is not aimed at exchanging information but beginning a conversation..
(2) Cars, Traffic Conditions, Holidays. etc.
Besides the weather, some hot topics westerners choose to discuss are cars, traffic condition & holidays. Because of the highly developed economy and technology, there are so many personal cars in modern western countries and cars have become one part of western life. People drive their cars to work, go shopping and they go nearly every place by motor. So westerners often talk about cars and traffic like the breakdown of their car, the purchase of a new car, being late for company in rush hour. etc. Cars and traffic are really two hot topics in western countries. We can often hear greeting like " Nice car, isn't it? " "Hi, Tom, I heard you had bought a new car, really?" "The traffic is real bad this morning, I wait for almost two hours" "I'm afraid the bus won't arrive on time". What’s more, because of relaxed life style, holidays have also become a hot topic in western countries. eg. "Hi, Tom, how about going picnic together this weekend?", "How will you spend your summer vocation, Jack ?".etc.
3.2 Farewell
Farewells are absolutely necessary when people depart just as greetings cannot be omitted when people meet. They are equally important in communication. “Goodbye” in English and “Zai Jian” (“see you again”) in Chinese are the commonest farewell expressions used by English-speaking people and Chinese respectively when people depart. “Goodbye” is widely used during the daytime and “Good night” (sometimes “Good evening”) is a farewell when people depart at night. But before going to bed, some Chinese people tend to say something like “Zao dian xiu xi ba.” (“Go to bed early.”) instead of “Zai Jian”. Originally, “Bye-bye” is the informal form of “Goodbye” and used mostly by or to children. But nowadays there is a tendency that more and more grown-ups, especially American young people, prefer to use it. This change has its root in American culture—people favor informalness. The Chinese “Zai Jian” undergoes little change although some TV and radio hosts prefer “Wan an” (From English “Good night”) to end a day’s program at night, but it sounds awkward and formal to ordinary Chinese.
English “Good-bye” is a distortion of “God bye” of the early nineteenth century, and “God bye” evolves of “God be with you” of the Middle Ages. So “Good-bye” is a religion-loaded farewell.(7) In the late 1960s, young Californians, who were too hip to believe in God and too today-oriented to even consider tomorrow, came up with “Have a nice day.” Soon it became popular all over the U.S. But, to Chinese, this farewell may sound strange and confusing.
In western countries, besides "bye" "bye-bye" "good bye", People would like to say something about his feeling about the appointment. For example, "It's nice meeting you" "I'm glad to have meet you" "It's been a pleasant stay".
Other informal farewells are “Good luck”, which, in Chinese, is a wish, “Take care” is similar to Chinese “Duo bao zhong”. In Chinese, there is a kind of farewell expressions, which Westerners would find ridiculous and hard to understand. When the host accompanies the guest or visitor to the door or gateway, it is customary for the guest or visitor to say to the host “Qing liu bu.”(“Please stay here.”) The host would say “Man zou”(“Go slowly”), “Zou hao”(“Walk carefully”) or “man man qi.”(“Ride slowly”) if he (she) rides a bike. These farewells, full of considerateness, fit the Chinese culture, which values the virtue of showing concern for others.
3.3 Expressions for giving thanks
Ganxie(thanks), duoxie(many thanks) convey people’s gratitude for the other's kindness or help in Chinese. Compared with "thank you" in English, it has obviously discrepancy in cultural implications. Words expressing thanks in traditional Chinese society is used for strangers or unfamiliar person. Between acquaintances like husband and wife , or just familiar persons, they seldom use thanks which is mainly because they take it for granted that familiar people should help each other. Why? Because Chinese advocate friendliness, they always care about others’ lives and are willing to provide and accept others’ help, which can indicate a good personal relationship. However, in western culture, whoever accepts other's help should express his/her thanks, no matter it is between father and son, or boss and employee. In addition, Chinese rarely express their thanks if they think others’ help belong to official business. Westerners are the oppsite. They express their thanks whenever they accept help.
Additionally, when people accept compliments, there are obvious discrepancies between Chinese and Westerners. Westerners take others' compliments affirmatively. Chinese embody their modesty through negative tactful expressions. eg. when a Chinese girl in America is complimented with "That’s a lovely dress you have on.” She said "No, no. It’s just an very ordinary dress.” The American felt surprised and angry by the answer because he thought his asethetic ability was denied. (8)
Chapter4 Reasons of the differences
4.1 Different historical background
Chinese greeting preference of food can also illustrate cultural reasons. China is a big country with a large population .In its long history, the problem of food always haunted the Chinese people. Many people were starved to death and a lot more always lived in hunger .In people’s mind, food is the first necessity for their existence .It always tops the list of their daily concerns .In China, there goes a popular saying “Min yi shi wei tian.”(Food is people’s God.) So the greeting sounds customary, natural and intimate to the Chinese and to a certain degree reflects the historical background of the Chinese people. However, Britain is an island country. People’s main food product comes from the sea, as they need much more fish for food than Chinese so they have more concerns about the weather. Here is another example which can illustrate this well. Tens of years ago, London is a city famous for fog. Because of pollute, it fogged heavily in London. So when people met, they would more likely to talk about weather.
Chinese “Ni zao” may sound ridiculous and puzzling to a Westerner who knows nothing about Chinese culture. But, to Chinese, it is quite a common practice to greet in that manner since Chinese culture traditionally considers it a good habit to keep early hours (to get up early and go to bed early).
4.2 Different social values
Chinese and Western Phatic Communication are based on different cultures and therefore embody different cultural values. In Western culture, characterized by in individualism, people take the concept of privacy very seriously and guard their personal territory very carefully in case it should be invaded.(1) So it is a common phenomenon in life that people should keep their distance from each other's private lives. It is rude to inquire others age, marriage, salary and so on. Chinese culture is characterized by collectivism. Throughout history, there exists deprecation of individualism: Confucianism subordinates individual to group; Taoism subordinates the group to nature; Buddhism denies that the self exists. And the ultra-leftists reject and denounce what they call bourgeois individualism."(1) In such a culture, individuals belong to groups or collectivities, which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty and are required to fit into the group. People are taught to care for the group rather than themselves and to put collective interests above personal interests. So privacies are open to the public. Raised in collectivistic culture, the Chinese people have developed the habit of discussing each other’s personal or private things without feeling it inappropriate.
4.3 Different Thinking pattern
The thinking pattern is also a main factor of phatic communication differences. The thinking pattern of Chinese is a high-context system, while the thinking pattern of westerners is a low-context system and it can be reflected by language.
Here is an example to this point. When Lao Li (old Li) met Lao Zhang (old Zhang) at the entrance of a bathroom, Lao Li smiled to Lao Zhang and said "xi la?" ( You have finshed your bathe, haven't you?). Lao Zhang also smiled and said "lai la?" ( You are coming for bathe, aren't you?). The one side in the given instance haven't give an answer to suit the other's question, however, they can understand each other quite easily.(6)
Concerning the thinking pattern, the Chinese is very concise and the communication requires people to get the hints between the lines. Context somtiomes plays an important role in communication, including the physical context and utterance context. However, English is not the case. People endeavors to provide as much information as possible by language to avoid misunderstanding.
4.4 Different emotion concerns
Emotion concerns is also a important reason for Phatic Communication. Since Chinese like friendliness and intimacy, favor to strengthen the interpersonal and thus establish atmosphere of harmony. Some Chinese, those who live in a village maybe for generations, their personal affairs would more or less be known by the people around them. In addition, Chinese always care about others’ life and are willing to provide their help. They believe that the individual matter is the public matter, so they are eager to know others' feelings and hopes that others can be sincere to them too.
Therefore, westerners ask few about others’ privacy questions to show their respect while Chinese ask many about others privacy aspect questions to show their cares. Westerners would feel embrassed when asked with their personal affairs, even his/her best friends while Chinese even judge two person’s relationships by the degree of the privacy sharing. This gives a good explanation for the difference in greeting expressions between Chinese and Westerners.
Chapter5 Conclusion
The most essential function of language is to communicate. Phatic communication follows strict conversation formula, which is a preliminary in the form of light conversation to deepen human relationship followed by a more serious conversation if these are desired. It is a good means to chase away silence and remove tension on social occasions. In both English and Chinese, as in other languages, there is “Phatic communication”, yet there exists great differences between them.
Phatic communication is compatible with human society. Without such communication human beings never exist. But the manner for phatic communication are not always the same. From the contrasts shown above, it is not hard to see that there are great differences in Phatic Communication between Chinese and Westerners. If these differences are ignored, misunderstanding is sure to occur, and what is worse, cultural shock. Phatic communication, to a large degree, is influenced by the cultural traditions. Since China and the West belong to different cultures, their phatic communication can be very confusing and sometimes incomprehensible to eachother. In order to improve the intercultural communication effectiveness between Chinese and Westerners, it is necessary for Chinese to know about Western phatic routines and Westerners to get familiar with Chinese phatic expressions.(1) Developing cultural awarenessis fundamental and essential for cross-culture communication.
Bibliography:
1. 《Phatic communication Between Chinese and Westerner》[J] David Hallgren 《Chinsespod》 January 24, 2006
2. 《What is phatic communication》[M] Michael Pollick wiseGEEK 2006
3. 《The Problem of Meaning in Primitive Language》[M] Bronislaw Malinowski, Professor of Anthropology, University of London. 1923
4. 《语言文化差异的认识与超越》[M] 李战子,胡壮麟 北京大学出版社 出版日期:2005-5-13
5. 《语言·文化·跨文化交际》[J] 薛小梅 《光明日报》 2003年5月27日
6. 《汉语寒暄语的语用阐释》[J] 陈秋娜 《柳州职业技术学院院报》 Vo1．5 No．1 Mar．2005
7. 《如何道再见》[J] 李勇 《初中生(一年級)》 2003年第6期
8. 《论文化背景对语言交际的影响作用》[J] 王松珍 《高桥中学网站》 2005-8-3
摘要：人们在日常生活中使用寒暄语来建立人际关系、打破僵局、开始并结束对话。寒暄语对建立和维持人们的社会关系起着不可忽视的作用。然而，不同的国家有各自的文化，在一个国家受欢迎的问候方式可能对另一个国家的人们来说是反感的。因此，怎样选择一个适合的话题当作开场白是非常重要的。在这篇论文中，我们将从三方面来阐述中西方寒暄语不同的原因：问候语，告别语和表达感谢的方式，并且试图寻找这些不同原因文化方面的解释。
关键词：寒暄语，问候语，告别语，致谢语，历史背景，社会价值观，思维模式，情感关注
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