语用学

The cooperative principle and the politeness principle in Intercultural communication

The cooperative principle and the politeness principle

in Intercultural communication

Abstract: This essay will focus on the cooperative principle and the politeness principle to discuss how to communication in different culture. In our daily communication, there is a phenomenon of a wide use of the cooperative principle and the politeness principle. In order to ensure the smooth progress of communication, communication must abide by some basic principles.

Key words: cooperative principle, politeness principle, culture, communication Introduction:

Language and culture are inextricably linked. The fundamental purpose of learning a language is to communicate. In order to communicate better, people began to study language. cooperative principle and politeness principle，two important theories on conversation in pragmatics, are great contribution to the study of human language in usage. In order to ensure the smooth progress of communication, communication must abide by some basic principles. America linguist Grice put forward "cooperative principle" and related "conversational implicature" theory, on this basis, as a supplement "politeness principle" proposed by the British linguist Leach.

Cooperative principles

Cooperative principles are first proposed by language philosopher, Grice, in 1967 .it is the meaning of the General Rules of the session derivation mechanism. Grice believes that people normally would not be a combination of a series of verbal communication unrelated discourse, the session is subject to certain conditions, constraints, and talk of success is the result of joint efforts of the session. When people talk in order to achieve a common goal, the two sides often want to be able to talk to understand each other, together with compliance with the principles of a cooperative. To specify the cooperative principle further, Grice introduced four categories of maxims as follow:

The cooperative principle and the politeness principle in Intercultural communication

1. Quantity Maxim:

(1) Make your contribution as informative as is required (for the current purposes of the exchange).

(2) Do not make your contribution more informative than is required.

2. Quality Maxim:

Try to make your conversation one that is true.

(1) Do not say what you believe to be false.

(2) Do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence.

3. Relation Maxim:

Be relevant.

4. Manner Maxim:

Be perspicuous.

(1)Avoid obscurity of expression.

(2)Avoid ambiguity.

(3)Be brief.

(4)Be orderly.

Comply with the four principles of socially discourse will produce a general sense, but deliberately violate one or several of these principles, the words uttered by the listener can perceive it, will have a special meaning, namely meaning of conversation. Adhere to the cooperative principle is good to our cross culture communication in compliments. What people need to do is that we should always maintain great curiosity for different cultures and keep interests to know about the cultural differences, be willing to share and exchange knowledge and information with people of different cultural backgrounds and learn the values, work attitudes or lifestyles of another culture. As we lack a common background and we already have formed a particular view of the world and the value of standard, we may lack a tolerant attitude toward different peoples. If we can not properly understand and evaluate the acts of others, it may give rise to poor communication or even serious consequences. In a word, it is necessary to take the initiative to adapt to cultural differences, and eliminate communication barriers in the context of different cultures.

The cooperative principle and the politeness principle in Intercultural communication

Politeness principles

We all know that people want to communication more efficacious, they should obey cooperative principle. However, people do not always observe the principles strictly, and often they violate the CP intentionally. In order to explain such language phenomenon, and make up for this deficiency of CP, Leech proposed Politeness principle from the pragmatic and inter personal rhetorical viewpoint, which might be constructed as “minimize the expression of impolite beliefs” and “maximize the expression of polite beliefs”.

It composed of six maxims as listed below

1. Tact Maxim

(1)Minimize cost to other

(2)Maximize benefit to other

2. Generosity Maxim

(1) Minimize benefit to self

(2)Maximize cost to self

3. Approbation Maxim

(1) Minimize dispraise of other

(2) Maximize praise of other

4. Modesty maxim

(1) Minimize praise of self

(2) Maximize dispraise of self

5. Agreement maxim

(1) Minimize disagreement between self and other

(2) Maximize agreement between self and other

6. Sympathy maxim

(1) Minimize antipathy between self and other

(2) Maximize sympathy between self and other

After know the politeness principles, we can use them to advance communication, especially, the intercultural communication. We need to update our concepts in intercultural communication. To begin with, we should admit the

The cooperative principle and the politeness principle in Intercultural communication

existence of cultural differences and to seek the point of integration of the two cultures on the basis of a certain degree of cultural identity. Just as the principle says, seek common ground while reserving differences. To maintain the vitality of intercultural communication, we should agree to China’s traditional culture, respect for foreign cultures and face up to the cultural differences. Hence, we should promote the cultural identity and intermediation, moreover, gradually forms an interlinked way of thinking.

Cultural differences constitute the complexity and diversity of intercultural communication. Therefore, for intercultural communication, we need not only have a systematic understanding of the different cultures and form an international perspective, but also require the sensitivity to understand the multiple cultures to reduce the conflicts in communication. All these are the basic guarantee for the success of cross-cultural communication. Settle the conflicts on the basis of full understanding and respecting of others is also important. To begin with, it is essential to admit many differences exist between different cultures and individuals. Only when we recognize such differences and know about the characteristics can we find the point for development of common sense. In the second place, it is necessary to eliminate the sense of superiority and ethnocentric prejudice. Finally, stand in other culture’s position, conceive and deal with problems from other people’s way of thinking. In this way, you can win proper acknowledgement.

The research on how to solve the cultural conflicts has important implications for cross-cultural communication. It is effective for communication and of high theoretical and practical significance. Poor understanding of Western and Chinese culture or lack of the necessary understanding will cause many problems in the process of communication, or even cause misunderstanding and put the both sides into an awkward position. Therefore, having a better understanding of the differences between different cultures can make a contribution to the cross-cultural communication.

Analyze the principle in Intercultural communication

Grice believes that people's language communication always cooperate with each

The cooperative principle and the politeness principle in Intercultural communication

other, so the two sides discourse can understand each other, and get together with each other. However, in actual communication, people always want to deliberately violate the principle of cooperation arising from the so-called "overtones." In any natural language communication, indirect speech act can be said to be a very ordinary imagination. Moreover, the factors affecting the indirect speech act in the background of Chinese and Western cultures are essentially the same. But the application of comparison between the cooperative principle and politeness principle, we are not difficult to discover the extent of its direct and indirect speech is very different: People is more direct in the Western cultural context in verbal expression, but the East in particular Chinese tend to be more indirect of expression.

e.g.:

Saturday shift

Mr. Jones: It looks like we are going to have to keep to the production line running on Saturday. Mr.Wu: I see.

Mr.Jones: Can you come in on Saturday?

Mr.Wu: Yes, I think so.

Mr.Jones: That will be a great help.

Mr.Wu: Saturday is a special day, did you know?

Mr.Jones: How do you mean?

Mr.Wu: It is my son’s birthday.

Mr.Jones: How nice, I hope you all enjoy it very much..

Mr.Wu: Thank you .I appreciate your understanding.

The above dialogue description is a failure of Mr. Wu and Mr. Jones experience in cross cultural pragmatic. The very beginning of the dialogue, Mr. Jones asks Mr. Wu overtime , under the Western cultural background, he assumed Mr. Wu will abide by the Conversational Cooperative Principle in the " Relation Maxim " and " Quality Maxim ", so Wu answered "Yes, I think so." made him believe his request get it. And the fact that Mr. Wu use an indirect way of euphemism refuse to work overtime which is very easy to be understood by Chinese. Mr. Wu answers "yes", although the surface