A Comparative Study Of Honorific Expressions In Chinese And English

This study aims at finding out the similarities and differences of honorific expressions in Chinese and English through a series of comparisons. And those findings may provide some theoretical support for English teaching and learning in Chinese. The author finds out that there are abundant researches about honorific expressions in Chinese. However, those researches are mostly confined to the Chinese language itself, which is a typical honorific language. On the contrary, when foreign scholars try to study the honorific expressions, their focus goes beyond the language proper and has a cultural tendency. The author also finds that there are few studies focusing on the systematic comparison of honorific expressions in Chinese and English. This study attempts to do this.This study is a qualitative one, adopting methods of contrasting, analyzing and exemplifying. As the main body of the thesis, the comparisons are objective, taking into consideration the culture factors, contexts and the features of the languages. In the analyses, the author tries to find out the reasons behind the linguistic phenomena. In this thesis, every example is qualified. The standard for example choosing is that the sentences are not confined to dictionaries or textbooks because what we are dealing with is the "living" languages.The first part of the study is about the definition and categorization of the honorific expressions. The author defines the honorific expressions as "the expressions that show respect to the listeners, the third-party persons or the indefinite objects." The party that respect refers to is the direction of respect. Furthermore, the categorization is not the same with the studies in the past. According to the multi-modality of honorific expressions in Chinese and English, they are divided into three types, namely lexical, pragmatic and semiotic expressions. Among them, the lexical expressions are the main body and consist of appellations and declarative expressions. The new categorization is a renovation of the study.The rest two parts deal with the honorific expression in Chinese and English respectively. The appellations of lexical expressions are divided into four parts, namely kinship terms, social appellations, nominal ones and pronominal ones. It is noticed that there are corresponding relations in the system of Chinese kinship appellations and the case is similar in English. In the discussion of nominal honorific expressions, other than general names, some special appellations of Chinese including zi, hao and lipogram are discussed. The declarative expressions in Chinese are generally affixal ones. The thesis has a look into the development and grammaticalization of the prefixes.In the discussion of pragmatic expressions, the categorizations in Chinese and English are generally the same. The first type is phonological, dealing with Erhuayin in Chinese and some sound-changing in English. The second type is about the mood of sentence. Both in Chinese and English, it is more indirect to express request in an interrogative way than in an imperative one. The third type is about the linguistic integrity, which is more used in English. The last part is on the euphemisms and taboos. In addition to the aforementioned methods, some special tenses are used in English to avoid directness and abruptness in conversations. The author thinks that it is the same usage of conditional in other European languages. The semiotic part deals mainly with the written words.It is concluded at last that, despite the great differences of culture and background, the framework and methods of honorific expressions are similar, however Under the similar framework, the most obvious difference is the self-depreciating expressions, which are nowhere to be found in English, the same with the affixal system in Chinese. Nevertheless, under the social background that is more and more similar in the global scale, the honorific systems of the two languages are developing with a similar tendency.This study is a brief summary of other comparisons, and introduces the pragmatic and semiotic honorific expressions for the first time. The study is a development of the comparison of Chinese and English. It is also useful for English teaching in China. In the studies ahead, the emphases will be put on the theories and practical significance of honorific expressions.