会话原则文化因素英语

Abstract:Therearesomeconversationalprinciplesnecessaryforasuccessfulconversation.OneistheCooperativePrincipleoffourmaxims.Violatinganyoneofthefourmaximswillgiverisetoconversationalimplicatures;theotheristhePolitenessPrinciple,proposedtorescuetheCooperativePrinciple.

TodrawpragmaticimplicationsfromtheviolationoftheCooperativePrincipleisofnodifferencebetweenthewestandtheeast.Whataredifferentliesinpeople’schoiceofthemaximsoftheCooperativePrincipleandthisisduetodifferentculturalbackground.Chinese-styledpolitenessischaracterizedbyfouraspects:respectfulness,modesty,attitudinalwarmthandrefinement.

Language,asaspecialformofcommunication,maybeviewedasasystem,asavehicleforculturaltransmission.Itdoesnotexistapartfromculture.Thus,languageandculturalareinteractiveandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Tobetterachievethecommunicativegoal,itisnecessarytochoosetheappreciatewayofexpressionundercertaincircumstancesandculturalfactorsplaysanimportantroleinusinglanguageeffectively.

Keywords:culturaldifference;conversationalprinciples;CooperativePrinciple;PolitenessPrinciple

Fewareasofpeople’sexperienceareclosertothemormorecontinuouslywiththemthantheirlanguage—theyhavetocommunicatebyspeaking,listening,readingandwritingineverydaylife.Inthecourseofcommunication,itisnodoubtthatspeechenjoysprioritynotonlybecauseitprecedeswritingintermsofevolution,butalargeamountofcommunicationiscarriedoutinconversationaswell.Anidealconversationisusuallyassumedtobecarriedoutby“turn-taking”andthusthemeaningsoftheutteranceareexpressedaccordingly.However,therealintentionsofthespeakerscannotalwaysbedrawnbysimplyinterpretingthesurfacemeaningsofthewordsintheutterance,forpeopleoftentendtomeanmoreinaroundaboutwaythanwhattheyactuallysay.Let’sfirstlookatanexamplewhichtookplaceonthecampusatnoon:

Devin:Whattimeisit?

Jakie:Thestudentsaregoingtothedininghall.

Here,Jakie’sanswerdoesn’tseemtomakesenseonthefaceofit,butitisstillanadequateanswerforDevin,becausetheparticularcontextsofthisconversationincludethefactthatthestudentsusuallyhavelunchatabout11:30intheuniversityandDevinisawareofthis.ItispossibleforDevintoworkoutthetimebyinterpretingorguessingwhatJakiesaysandthemoresheknowsaboutthecontext,themorequalifiedherguessworkisgoingtobe.

Normallyinconversationalinteraction,peopleworkontheassumptionthatacertainsetofrulesisinoperation,unlesstheyreceiveindicationstothecontrary.Forexample,ifJakiegivesthesameanswertoastranger,it’lllikelyleadtocommunicationbreakdownbecausenobodyexpectsasuccessfulconversationinwhichpeopletrytoconfuse,trick,orwithholdrelevantinformationfromeachother.Inotherwords,asuccessfulconversationshouldbethefruitofalltheparticipants’effortsandcollaborationisanecessaryfactorforthemtoachieveacertaingoal.Therefore,peopleareexpectedtobecooperateduringaconversation,andsuchcooperativemechanismshaveverylittletodowithlogicandsemantics,butaregroundedinsomepragmaticprinciples,especiallytheCooperativePrinciple.

In1967,AmericanphilosopherH.P.GriceputforwardtheCooperativePrincipleinLogicandConversation:“Makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasisrequired,atthestageatwhichitoccurs,bytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchangeinwhichyouareengaged”(Yule,37).Supportingthisprincipleisthefourmaxims:QuantityMaxim:Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasisrequired,butnotmore,orless,thanisrequired.QualityMaxim:Donotsaythatwhichyoubelievetobefalseorforwhichyoulackevidence.RelationMaxim:Berelevant.MannerMaxim:Beclear,briefandorderly.

Theimportanceofthisprincipleliesintwoaspects:Firstly,itisthefirsttimetosystematicallyinducepeople’sconversationalactivitiesintolaw.Secondly,whenviolationoftheCooperativePrincipletakesplace,inonecase,understandingofthediscourseishinderedandthespeakershouldmakeremediesimmediatelytosmooththeconversation;inanothercase,ifthespeakerdoessointentionally,therewillbemoretoitthanwhatissaid.Conversationalimplicatures,inthisway,willbegivenriseto.

1．ViolationoftheQuantityMaxim

1.1知之为知之，不知为不知。（《论语》）

Inthissentence,repetitionofthesamewordappearstwice,whichaccordswiththeformula“P=P”.Fromapurelylogicalperspective,thesentencehasnocommunicativevaluesinceitexpressessomethingcompletelyobvious,butitcanbeunderstoodeasilythatthissentenceprimarilyadvisespeopletobehonestinengaginginscholarship.Similarapparentlypointlessexpressionsare“Businessisbusiness”and“Girlsaregirls”.Thiskindofphenomenoniscalledtautology.Whentautologyisappliedinaconversation,itisclearthatthespeakerintendstoexpressmorethanissaid.Usually,thiskindofusagehasstrongsenseofemotion.

1.2Polonius:Whatdoyouread,mylord?

Hamlet:Words,words,words.(Shakespeare,Hamlet)

1.3“我们是睡在鼓里，等人家来杀！等人家来杀！”(矛盾：《子夜》)

FromPolonius’perspective,Hamlet’sanswerprovideslessinformationthanexpected.For“words”beingtheobjectof“read”seemstobetoogeneralandPoloniusstilldidnotknowwhatHamletread.Infact,repetitionoftheword“words”showsHamlet’sstrongimpatiencethathewasunwillingtotalktoPolonius.Inanotherpointofview,fromthefactthatPolonius’sattitudeiswarmandcooperativewhileHamlet’sattitudeisimpatientandindifferent,theremustbesomeimplications.Similarlyinexample3,repetitionofasentenceshowsthespeaker’sstrongindignation.

2．ViolationoftheQualityMaxim

2.1南唐时，赋税繁重，京城地区又遭旱灾，人民叫苦连天。一天，烈祖在北苑饮宴，对群臣说：“外地都下雨了，只是都城却不下雨，怎么回事呢？”申渐应到：“雨不感入城，是怕抽税而已。”烈祖大笑，马上下令除掉重税。（《古今谭概—微词》）

ViolationoftheQualityMaximhastwocases,onecaseisakindof“moraloffence”,whichmeansthatthespeakerisunwillingtoobservetheQualitymaximandislying.Theothercaseisakindof“falselie”,whichmeansthatthespeakerisunwillingtocooperativeandistryingtoexpressimplicitmeaning.Inthisexample,ShenJiancleverlyusedpersonificationthateventherainisscaredofthetaxbecausethemanhetalkedtowasthekingofthedynasty.JustthinkoftheimpossibilityofabolishingtheheavytaxationifShenJianusedbluntwordstoremonstrate!

2.2Tommy:Mother!Thelorrygoingbyisasbigasamountain!

Mother:Why,dear,I’vetoldyouovertenthousandtimesnottoexaggeratethingssoterriblyandyourbadhabitremainsunchanged.

Itisbelievedthatthereisnosuchalorryasbigasamountainonearthanditisalsobelievedthatthemothercouldnothavetoldhersoonovertenthousandtimes.Hyperbole,justlikeirony,metaphorandmeiosisarealltheresultsthatviolatetheQualitymaxim.Ofcourse,ifthemotherherselfhadnotexaggerated,thestorywouldnotbesofunny.

3．ViolationoftheRelationmaxim

3.1周冲：爸，我听说矿上对于这次受伤的工人不给一点抚恤金。

周朴园：（头一扬）我认为你这次话说得太多了。（《雷雨》）

ZhouPuyuandidnotprovideanyinformationaboutwhatZhouChongwasinterestedin.Onthecontrary,heusedaperformativeutterance:ToletZhouChongshutup.ViolationoftheRelationmaxim,infact,isusedtopreventZhouChongtalkingaboutmattersconcerningtheaccidentintheminesandinjuriesoftheworkers.

3.2Anotherexamplecomesfromatruestoryofthewriter.Onedaysheaskedoneofherstudentstoreadthetextinclass.Owingtolackofconcentration,thestudentmisreadanothertext,sothewritersaid,“你的书是那个版本的?”insteadofdirectcriticizing.Alltheclasshadagoodlaugh,includingtheboyhimself,buteveryoneunderstoodherintentionofirony.

4．ViolationoftheMannermaxim

4.1“一个人死了之后，究竟有没有魂灵？”

“也许有罢，我想。”我于是吞吞吐吐地说。

“那么，也就有地狱了？”

“啊！地狱？”我很吃惊，只得支吾着，“地狱？论理，就该也有。然而也未必……谁来管这等事……”(《祝福》)

Toviolatethemannermaximmeansthatthespeakerspeaksobscurelyandambiguouslyinsteadofspeakingbrieflyandorderly.LuXunisagreatmasteroflanguage,soheusedmildandindirectwordsinplaceofmoreaccurateordirectwordsinordernottobringmentalagonytoher.Also,pun,whichis“aformofspeechplayinwhichawordorphraseunexpectedlyandsimultaneouslycombinestwounrelatedmeanings”(Huang,139),isoftenusedtoproduceconversationalimplicature.

4.2Mrs.Jones:We’regoingtobeneighborsnow.We’vebroughtahomenexttoyou,rightontheedgeofthelake.

Mrs.Brown:Soglad!Hopeyou’lldropinsometimes.

4.3Ifinallyfiguredouthowgovernmentworks.ThesenategetsthebillfromtheHouse,thePresidentgetsthebillfromtheSenate,andwegetthebillforeverything.

Thekeywordinexample2is“drop”,whichbearsthemeaning“fall”andleavesspacetothereaderstoimagineifMrs.Jonesfellintothelake.IfMrs.Brownchangedtheambiguous“drop”into“visit”,nohumorwillbeproduced.Inexample3,thefirstandthesecond“bill”srefertothedraftofaproposedlaw,whilethethirdonereferstoawrittenstatementofmoneyowned.Theauthorsatiricallyexposesthecorruptionoftheofficials,whilethecommonpeoplehavetobeartheburden.

SincepeopleshouldfollowtheCooperativePrincipleinconversation,thenwhydotheyviolateit?Whydonottheystatetheirviewsfrankly,butlettheirlistenersrecognizethecommunicatedmeaningsviainference?G.LeechhasproposedthePolitenessPrincipletorescuetheCooperativePrinciple.Inhispointofview,thereasonwhypeopleviolatetheCooperativePrincipleisoutoftheconsiderationofpoliteness.SothemorepeopleknowaboutthePolitenessPrinciple,thebettertheyunderstandconversationalimplicatures.

BeforetalkingaboutthePolitenessPrinciple,theFaceTheoryshouldbeintroduced.Asatechnicalterm,facemeansthepublicself-imageofaperson.Itreferstoothatemotionalandsocialsenseofselfthateveryonehasandexpectseveryoneelsetorecognize.Thatistosay,peoplehavetheneedtobeconnected,whichiscalledpositiveface,andtheneedtobeindependent,whichiscallednegativeface.Inordertokeepthelistener’spositiveface,thespeakershouldfallinwithhislistener’swishes;atthesametime,hisownnegativefaceisthreatened.Also,inordertokeepthelistener’snegativeface,thespeakershouldapologize,belittlehimselfandtalkambiguously,whilehisownpositivefaceisthreatenedsimultaneously.Sopeople’conversationalactivitiesareactuallyfacethreateningacts.Inordertokeephislistener’sfaceaswellashis,thebestwayforthespeakertodoistobepolite.

Politeness,inaninteraction,referstothemeansemployedtoshowawarenessofanotherperson’sface.InLeech’sPolitenessPrinciple,therearesixmeansormaximsasfollows:tactmaxim,generositymaxim,approbationmaxim,modestymaxim,andagreementmaximandsympathymaxim.In2.1ShenJianhadtodetermine,ashespoke,therelativesocialdistancebetweenhimandtheemperorandhencetheemperor’s“facewants”,whichreferstoaperson’sexpectationsthattheirpublicself-imagewillberespected.TheemperorissupremeandShenJiansuccessfullyappliedthetactmaxim.LuXunalsoappliedthePolitenessPrincipleinexample4.1.

TodrawpragmaticimplicationsfromtheviolationoftheCooperativePrincipleisofnodifferencebetweenthewestandtheeast.Whatisadifferentlieinpeople’schoiceofthemaximsoftheCooperativePrinciple.Forexample:

1.A:Youdancewell.

B:I’mgladtohearthat.

2.AnEnglishteacherispraisingaChinesegirl’scalligraphy,“Oh,whatbeautifulhandwriting!”Butthegirlreplied,“No,no,notatall.”“You’rejoking.”TheEnglishteacherbecameangryandwentaway.

Here,neitherB’sreplyisimmodestnortheChinesegirl’sremarkisinsincere.ThereasonwhytheEnglishteacherbecameangryandwentawayisthatthegirlhasmadeagreatmistake—sheunintentionallymakestheforeignteacherfeelbeingmocked.Suchkindofmistakeiscalled“pragmaticfailure”,thatistosay,theinabilitytounderstandwhatismeantbywhatissaid.Byculture,wemean"asystemofsharedbeliefs,values,customs,behaviors,andartifactsthatthememberofasocietyusetocopewiththeirworldandwithoneanother,andthataretransmittedfromgenerationtogenerationthroughlearning"(Bates,28).Generallyspeaking,ChinesepaymoreattentiontothePolitenessPrinciplewhilethewesternerslaymoreemphasisontheCooperativePrinciple,andChinese-styledpolitenessischaracterizedbyfouraspects:respectfulness,modesty,attitudinalwarmthandrefinement.

Respectfulnessmeanstorespectoneselfandappreciateothers,andtoshowawarenessofanotherperson’sface.OnepeculiarexamplecanbefoundintheChineseandtheEnglish–speakingpeople’sdifferentwaysofaddress.Inrecentyears,thetrendofmanyEnglish-speakingpeoplehasbeentoaddressothersbyusingthefirstname,evenwhenpeoplemeetforthefirsttime.Thisappliestopeopleofdifferentageanddifferentsocialstatus.Forexample,manycollegestudentscalltheirprofessorsbytheirfirstnames.Theprofessorsdonotregardthisasasignofdisrespectorfamiliarity,butrather,asanindicationthattheprofessorisconsideredaffableandhasasenseofequality.Also,itisnotatalluncommontohearachildcallingamucholderperson“Joe,Ben”etc.This,ofcourse,isquitecountertoChinesecustom.Onecanimaginethereactionsofadultsofachildweretocallagrandparentbyhisorherfirstname,orastudenttodothesameincallingateacher.Aquickreprimand,andpossiblyevenaspankingforthechild,wouldbesuretofollow.

Modesty,whichisregardedasakindofvirtuebyChinese,meanstobelittleoneselfandpraiseothers.ToEnglish-speakingpeople,praiseistobeaccepted,generallywitharemarklike“thankyou”or“I’mverygladtohearthat”.Itisassumedthatthecomplimentissincere;therefore,thereshouldbenoshowoffalsehumility,nopretendedmodesty;ToChinese,however,thecustomaryreplytoacomplimentwouldbetoclaimthatoneishardlyenoughorthatsuccesswasmoreamatterofluckorsomeothercircumstances.Acceptanceofacomplimentwouldimplyconceitorlackofmanners,andtheChinesegenerallymurmursomerepliesaboutnotbeingworthyofthepraise.Thisalsoexplainswhyinsomewesterners’eyes,theeasternersareinferior,hypocriticalandinsincere.SoitwouldnotbeunusualtohearanAmericanwomantalkingabouthowhardherhusbandworksandhowwellhehasdone,aboutallthepromotionsandhonorsthathehasreceived.Shemightdothesameaboutherchildren.ButinChina,thiswouldbeconsideredbadtaste:onesimplydoesnotpraisemembersofone’sownfamilyinfrontofothers.AnotherexampleofaChinesetabooiscomplimentingamanonhiswife’slooks.ManyChinese,especially,thosebeyondtheiryouth,wouldregardtheremake“Youhavealovelywife”asalmostindecent.Yetthesamecomplimentwouldbeconsideredperfectlynaturalandevenhighlyappreciatedbywesterners.

AttitudinalwarmthmeanstheChineseseemtoshowmuchconcernabouttheotherpeople.OnetypicalwayfortheChinesetoshowcareistoaskotherpeopleagesincome,ormaterialstatus.Forexample,“Howoldareyou?”“Howmuchdoyoumake?”“Soyou’redivorced?Whatwasthereason?Couldn’tyoutwogetalong?”AlloftheseaspectsareconsideredasprivacyonwhichEnglish–speakingpeopleplaceahighvalue.TheEnglishhaveasaying“Aman’shomeishiscastle”,meaningaman’shomeissacredtohim;nooneshouldcomeinnwithoutpermission.Itisalsowithhislifeandpersonalaffairs.Sothesequestionsareconsideredpryingintoanindividual’spersonallife,whichisanotherformofinvadingaperson’s“castle”.

Refinementmeanstoospeakinmildandelegantway.ThentheChineseintendtopraiseone’snoblecharacter,theymayuse“松，竹，梅”toimply“高风亮节”,but“pine,bambooandplum”cannotrecallthesamemeaningtotheEnglish-speakingpeople.“柳”inChinesecultureoftenhassuchabadsenseas“花街柳巷”，“寻花问柳”，whileinEnglishcultureitisasymbolofmisery.Also“秋”isconnectedwith“悲，凉，伤，愁”inChineseculture,suchas“逢秋悲寂寞”,“夜静风竹敲秋韵，万叶千起皆是恨”，butitisjustthecontrarythatautumnisalwaysassociatedwithtranquilityandmerrimentinEnglishculture.

Inrespecttomarriageandlove,theChinesearemorereservedandself-restrained,especiallyintheolddays.Itisseldomforthemtoexpresstheirpassionas“I’mdyingtomarryyou,Iwanttobemywife,orI’lldevotemyselftoyou.”Thefollowingexamplesprovideasharpcontrast:

宝玉，黛玉一起偷读《西厢记》后，宝玉笑道：“妹妹，你说（书）好不好？”黛玉笑着点头儿。宝玉笑道：“我就是多愁多病的身，你就是那倾国倾城的貌。”黛玉听了，不觉带腮连耳的通红了……桃腮带怒，薄面含嗔，指着宝玉道：“你这该死的，胡说了，好好儿的，把这些淫词艳曲弄了来，说这些混帐话，欺负我……”说到“欺负”二字，就把眼圈儿红了，转身就走。（《红楼梦》）

“Ifit’scrazytoloveyou,IguessIam”Marvastoppedherstepsandsaid,”Thenthatmakestwoofus”Maurice,feelingencouraged,clutchedhertohim,heldherinhidtightgrip…andputhislipsonhers.(H.E.Harper’sMagazineReader)

Marvaspokeout“loveyou”straightforwardandMauricewnaturallykissedher.Thisisthecommonwayforthewesternerstounbosomthemselves.WhattheyconsiderfirstistofollowtheQualitymaxim.Whileinthefirstexample,thoughJiaBaoyvandLinDaiyvlovedeachother,JiaBaoyvrevealedhisfeelingviaanillusionandLinDaiyvpretendedtobeoffended.This,again,reflectstraditionalChinesesocialmoralandvalueconcept.Peoplewouldrathersacrificethetruthtogetamityandunity.SotheywouldbettersacrificetheQualitymaximandtheMannermaxim.

Language,asaspecialformofcommunication,maybeviewedasasystem,asavehicleforculturaltransmission.Itdoesnotexistapartfromculture.Thus,languageandculturalareinteractiveandunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Speakingandwritingareallbasedontheneedofsocialcommunication.Tobetterachievethecommunicativegoal,itisnecessarytochoosetheappreciatewayofexpressionundercertaincircumstances.Inspeechonecanexpressmeaningseffectivelywiththehelpofgestures,facialexpressions,ortoneofvoice.Forexample,whenonesays“He’sagenerousguy!”ifonegivesasarcasticintonationtotheword“generous”,thenthesenseoftheword“generous”istwistedinto“stingy”.Inwriting,itisprimarilytheconcept—theotherwordsinthesentence,paragraph,oreventhetotalcompositionandbackgroundofthepeople,includingtheirculturalconcept,status,profession,age—thatcontrolsafigurativeword,pointingitsmeaninginaspecialdirection.Sincerhetoricistheartofusinglanguageeffectivelyandinvolvespracticingthemosteffectivemeansorstrategiesforinformingorpersuadingtheothers,thendecidingwhattowriteorspeakandhowtowriteorspeak,howbesttogetone’sarticleorspeecheffectivelyrequiresnotonlycreativityandimagination,butalsogoodbackgroundknowledgeofboththespeakerandthehearer,too.Thusculturalfactorsplayanimportantroleinusinglanguageeffectively.

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