Astudy Of Pragmatic Failures In Intercultural Communication And Their Strategies From The Perspective Of Politeness Principles

Politeness as a social phenomenon can be observed in every society, and it is resorted to by speakers of different languages as a means to avoid social conflicts and recognized as a social contract in all cultures. Therefore, politeness, as a symbol of human civilization, has long been considered as an important linguistic research field, in which scholars both at home and abroad have made preeminent studies. Among numerous researchers, Grice, Leech, Brown and Levinson, Mao Luming and Gu Yueguo are the figures that must be mentioned, for they have made valuable contributions to guide people to communicate effectively by means of politeness.The ultimate purpose of interlocutors is to achieve successful and effective intercultural communication. Whether the communication is successful or not, largely depends on the appropriate use of politeness expressions. Despite its universality, politeness is culture-specific. Due to cultural differences, people might have different perceptions of politeness. In intercultural communication, interlocutors are likely to judge others'behaviors in the light of the politeness principles shaped by their native cultures, and thus a misunderstanding or even a breakdown of the communication may arise inevitably. Linguists define this kind of communicative failure as pragmatic failure. Pragmatic failures are more unacceptable by native speakers than linguistic mistakes and apt to engender ill feelings between native speakers and non-native speakers. Hence, it is necessary for participants of intercultural communication to command a good knowledge of politeness principles and the manifestations of politeness in different cultures.This thesis is oriented to study pragmatic failures of politeness in intercultural communication from the perspective of politeness principles. Based on the empirical analysis of pragmatic failure, the thesis aims at providing the practical solutions and strategies to minimize the possibility of pragmatic failure and achieve effective intercultural communication.The thesis consists of five chapters, in addition to an introduction and a conclusion.The introduction gives a short account of the research background, significance, purpose and the main content of the thesis.Chapter One presents an overview of some fundamental studies of politeness both at home and abroad, which serves as a theoretical foundation for the analysis of pragmatic failures of politeness from the perspective of politeness principles.Chapter Two develops in three parts. First, it deals with the relationship between culture and communication. Second, it defines intercultural communication and introduces its main features. Third, it introduces the definition and classification of pragmatic failures in pragmatic framework. According to Jenny Thomas, pragmatic failure falls into two groups: pragmalinguistic failure and sociopragmatic failure, which is widely accepted in pragmatic research circles.Chapter Three makes a detailed survey of different politeness manifestations in both Chinese and English from five aspects, including address forms, greetings, compliments, apologies, and gratitude; meanwhile it studies pragmatic failures of politeness in intercultural communication from the perspective of politeness principles. Politeness in different cultures makes of certain kinds of behaviors. Due to the influence of one's native culture and the scant knowledge of the politeness strategies in the target culture, the speaker is prone to observe and inappropriately transfer his/her native politeness principles in intercultural communication, which may lead to pragmatic failure in intercultural communication.Chapter Four offers a thorough account of the causes of pragmatic failure in intercultural communication at pragmalinguistic, sociopragmatic and cultural levels, such as negative pragmalinguistic transfer, perception failure of speech acts, inadequate teaching guidance, value and cultural differences, different communicative patterns, and improper use of politeness gradation in a given context, and so on.Chapter Five provides the practical solutions and strategies to minimize the possibility of pragmatic failure and achieve effective intercultural communication. Specifically speaking, it is crucial for interlocutors to strengthen the cultural awareness, and develop intercultural communicative competence and adopt the empathy maxim, if they desire to achieve the successful and effective intercultural communication.The conclusion includes a brief summary of the thesis, and suggestions for further study.