On The Pragmatic Inappropriateness In English In Inter-cultural Communication

With the increasing development of international communication, conversations and factors with influence on the interpersonal understanding in inter-cultural activities have been studied from perspectives of pragmatics. In inter-cultural activities, the appropriate use of language not only reflects the language competence of the speakers, but makes the activities more effective for better communication as well as promotion of harmonious interpersonal relationship. However, some pragmatic inappropriate phenomena like pragmatic failures, negative pragmatic transfer etc. can be often found in inter-cultural communication. The present pragmatics attaches more importance to the use of language in multi-cultural context and inter-cultural communication. Therefore, it is necessary to study the subject of pragmatic inappropriateness from the perspective of inter-cultural pragmatics.Based on the Pragmatic Act Theory by Jacob L. Mey,and through clear explanation of what pragmatic failures mean, this thesis first discusses the effects of both pragmatic-linguistic failure and social-pragmatic failure on communication, and makes an analysis of failures in cooperation, politeness and addressivity presented in inter-cultural communication. Then, from the angle of pragmatic transfer, it makes a comparative study of pragmatic-linguistic transfer and social-pragmatic transfer and illustrates the main causes of negative pragmatic transfer with some examples and cases, followed by some solutions. And finally, it explores an important factor causing pragmatic inappropriateness in inter-cultural communication, namely, deep culture or underlying culture. At the same time, cultural differences and pragmatic inappropriateness caused by a lack of understanding these differences are further analyzed in respect of values, ethnic norms, social relationships, thinking patterns and cultural contexts. In conclusion, the thesis summarizes three causes of pragmatic inappropriateness in inter-cultural communication: pragmatic-linguistic transfer or failure, social-pragmatic transfer or failure, and ignorance of underlying cultural factors. Furthermore, it suggests that inter-cultural communicators should develop the competence in understanding and analyzing the pragmatic meanings in culture, and above all, the effects of cultural factors on pragmatic acts in inter-cultural communication in order to avoid inappropriateness or transfer effective pragmatic meanings.Methodologically, four means have been explored in this thesis. The first is contrastive approach, making contrast in how pragmatic acts are realized between Chinese and Western cultures. The second is diagrammatization, using figures and tables to give a clearer theoretical explanation. The third one is exemplification to verify the analysis, and the fourth one is case study to improve the authenticity. All the illustrative examples and cases analyzed in this thesis come from the following sources: newspapers, journals, the author's personal experience, former research of other scholars, and relevant materials on the internet.