交际中使用模糊语言表达不同观点的跨文化研究
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Chapter 1 Introduction
3
摘要
本研究在 George Lakoff 等人对模糊限制词的研究及何自然等人对言语交际中
的语用模糊的研究的基础上，从跨文化交际的角度，对比分析交际中表达不同观
点的模糊语言的使用情况。本项研究的主要目的在于调查跨文化交际中影响模糊
语言表达的因素。本项研究针对四项变量对表达不同观点的模糊语言的影响展开
调查：社会距离，社会地位，年龄以及性别。研究对象为随机抽取在上海工作的
各行各业的中外人员，包括教师，学生，医生，公司职员，工程师，记者等，其
社会阶层，年龄，性别都不尽相同。研究主要采用问卷调查方式，问卷包括了 17
个问题。
作者试图调查文化差异对不同意见的表达方式的影响；中国人和西方人对表
达不同意见时所使用模糊语的重要性认识；中国人和西方人在表达不同意见时所
使用的模糊语与社会距离因素，社会地位，性别，年龄因素的相关性及其异同。
针对以上问题，研究提出了四个假设。
通过对收集的数据进行统计分析，研究得出了以下发现：第一，由于文化差异，
中国人和西方人都能认识到在表达不同意见时的表达方式存在差别。第二，中国
人和西方人都能认识到表达不同意见时使用模糊语的重要性。第三，相关性研究
表明中国人和西方人表达不同意见时所使用的模糊语与社会距离，社会地位，性
别，年龄等因素存在相关性且相关性有不同之处。本文希望以此调查结果指出跨
文化交际中了解影响模糊语言表达的因素的重要性，从而减少跨文化交际中的误
解和交际失败。
结束语中，作者指出了此项研究的意义及论文内容的局限性，并为将来进一
步研究提出了意见。
关键词：跨文化交际 模糊语言 社会地位 社会距离 年龄 性别
Chapter 1 Introduction
4
ABSTRACT
Based on the study of hedges by George Lakoff and the study of pragmatic
vagueness in conversation by Ziran He, this thesis is an intercultural study on the use of
vague language-expressions of disagreement in communication. The major purpose of
this study is to investigate the factors influencing Chinese and westerners’ choice of
vague language-expressions of disagreement. The study focuses on four variables of
social distance, social status, age and gender in the investigation of vague
language-expressions of disagreement. The Chinese and western subjects are chosen
randomly who live and work or study in Shanghai including teachers, students, doctors,
clerks, engineers, journalists, etc. The social status, age and gender of subjects are
different. The research is based on a questionnaire survey consisting of 17 questions.
Based on the data analysis, the author manages to find out how culture influences
the use of vague language-expressions of disagreement, Chinese and westerners’
cognition of the importance of vague language-expressions of disagreement in
communication, correlations between vague language-expressions of disagreement and
the four variables of social distance, social status, age and gender and the differences of
correlations.
The data show that both Chinese and westerners have the awareness of cultural
differences in vague language-expressions of disagreement. The research results
indicate that both Chinese and westerners have strong consciousness of the importance
of the use of vague language-expressions of disagreement in communication.
Significant relationships are found to exist between vague language-expressions of
disagreement and four variables of social distance, social status, age and gender for
Chinese and westerners, and the relationships for Chinese and westerners are different.
According to the research, a better knowledge of cultural differences in vague
language-expressions can help people to minimize the risk of misunderstanding in
intercultural communication and to increase the level of success in the cooperation with
people from different cultural backgrounds.
After the analysis, the implications of the study are provided, limitations of this
research are pointed out and further researches are suggested.
Key Words: intercultural communication, vague
language-expressions, social distance, social status, age, gender
Chapter 1 Introduction
5
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABSTRACT
中文摘要
Chapter 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................1
§1.1 Background of the Study ................................................................................... 1
§1.2 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................2
§1.3 Organization of the Thesis .................................................................................4
Chapter 2 Literature Review ..........................................................................................5
§2.1 The Previous Studies of Vague Language ......................................................... 5
§2.1.1 The Ontological Study of Vague Language ................................................5
§2.1.2 The Study of Vague Words - Hedges ..........................................................7
§2.1.3 The Study of Pragmatic Vagueness of Language Expressions ................... 9
§2.2 Related Theories of Pragmatics ....................................................................... 12
§2.2.1 Politeness Principle by Leech ...................................................................12
§2.2. 2 Grice’s Cooperative Principle ..................................................................15
§2.3 Main Theories on Cross-Cultural Studies ........................................................16
§2.3.1 Hofstede’s Dimensions of Cultural Values ............................................... 16
§2.3.2 Hall’s High-Context and Low-Context Communication ..........................22
Chapter 3 Research Design and Implementation .........................................................25
§3.1 Objectives and Hypotheses ..............................................................................25
§3.2 Instruments ...................................................................................................... 26
§3.3 Research Procedure ......................................................................................... 26
§3.4 Sampling .......................................................................................................... 27
Chapter4 Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 29
§4.1 Awareness of Cultural Differences in Language-Expressions of Disagreement
in Communication ....................................................................................................... 29
§4.2 Awareness of Importance of Vague Language Expressions of Disagreement in
Communication ............................................................................................................29
§4.3 A Contrastive Analysis of the Factors Influencing Chinese and Westerners’
Choice of Vague Language-Expressions of Disagreement ..........................................32
§4.3.1 Social Distance ......................................................................................... 32
§4.3.2 Social status .............................................................................................. 35
Chapter 1 Introduction
6
§4.3.3 Gender .......................................................................................................38
§4.3.4 Age ............................................................................................................40
Chapter 5 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 44
§5.1 Implications of This Study ...............................................................................44
§5.2 Summary ..........................................................................................................45
Appendix ......................................................................................................................48
Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 54
在读期间公开发表的论文和承担科研项目及取得成果 ......................................... 56
Chapter 1 Introduction
7
Chapter 1 Introduction
§1.1 Background of the Study
Undoubtedly language is very useful for people to convey information and
accurate language plays an important role when the exact information is wanted.
Teachers may tell their students not to do this or not to do that with accurate language in
the course of education and students get the exact educating words which can lead them
to doing the right things. Managers may tell the employees the tasks of work with
accurate language and then the employees can implement the tasks according to the
managers’ desire without misunderstanding the managers’ words. In writing the items of
law, accurate language is applied, so the clear meaning of the items can be got. With the
clear meanings of the items of law, the right and the duty can be prescribed clearly and
the justice can be guaranteed. The language in the contracts should be as accurate as
possible, so people can avoid unnecessary dissention. For example, in a contract of
goods-shipping, the date of goods-arriving in destination should be made clear with
accurate language, such as May 1, 2005, in stead of the vague language like “after a few
days” or “a month or so” etc. Especially in the modern society, high efficiency in work
is important and with accurate language people avoid misunderstanding and do what is
told in an exact way without vagueness.
Accuracy of language for a long period of time till now is emphasized in
conveying the accurate useful information. “It is not strange that fuzziness and laxness
are scorned because human respect for accuracy and rigidness which are important in
computer programming and other various field. Naturally accuracy more or less
blanches rays radiated from fuzziness. It is very natural to set about research of
language variable after retreat from accuracy in front of extreme complex”. (Zadeh ，
1982) Vague language, as the counter partner of accurate language, attracted people’s
attention in 1960’s when the mathematician Lofiti Zadeh created the fuzzy set. From
that time influenced by the idea of fuzzy set many linguists were interested in studying
vague language. As another essential feature of language besides accuracy, vagueness of
language can’t be neglected in the function of expressing ideas and information. When
we see a man with less hair we needn’t count how many pieces of hair he has and just
say he is bald. Bald is a vague word. Baby recognizes his mother’s face with some
Chapter 1 Introduction
8
vague impressions, or vague language if he can speak such as a little high nose, white
skin, dense eyelash, special odor and so on. Baby hasn’t got precise data about his
mother’s size of nose, color spectrum feature of skin, etc. Vague reflection in baby of
his mother’s outlook is effective for him to find his mother.
Some vague language-expressions have got the vivid cultural characteristics.
Chinese always say “ 研究研究”(to take it in consideration) when they don’t want to
give the direct negative reply and this is because most of Chinese are conservative.
“Hanxu dictates a style of communication that emphasizes nonverbal behavior and an
indirect mode of communication.”(Gao, Ting-toomey and Gudykunst, 1996) The vague
language-expressions reflect some features of the cultures of the nations. I heard about
one thing from my teacher Gang He who had been the student of the linguist Searle. He
said that in the class of Searle the students were free to express their different ideas from
Searle’s and Searle always invited scholars who had different views on some linguistic
topics from his. Mr. He said this is different in China. In Chinese class students always
listen to the teachers and write the notes carefully and seldom debate with teachers. For
most of Chinese students are conservative, they rarely tell their disagreement directly, if
they tell, they always choose the vague language-expressions like “maybe that is not
right” or “that’s part right”. Obedience is a good moral character for students in Chinese
culture and teachers like the docile students. So when students have different views
from their teachers’ they are inclined to make use of vague language-expressions.
Through some vague language-expressions the differences of culture can be known and
the knowledge of culture of certain country redounds to making use of vague
language-expressions correctly.
§1.2 Significance of the Study
Vagueness is an important characteristic of language. In recent years the study of
vague language is carried out by many linguists. Rosch (1978:104) explain the
vagueness of semantics category with the principle of economy of cognition. She says
that each person expects a number of information about surroundings and at the same
time consumes limited resource of capability of himself as little as possible. Economy
of cognition makes human’s brain working in high efficiency which inevitably causes
the vagueness of the category of semantics. So according to the opinion of Rosch the
Chapter 1 Introduction
9
rootstock of the vagueness of the category of semantics comes from the economy of
cognition. From McCawley’s (1981) point of view, the value of rating in fuzzy set is
uncertain and there exits a suitable way to deal with that because the relative concepts
are difinite. Hooper(1994)pointed out that the extent of category is continuous which
should be considered when the kind of nominal words is analyzed. Willianson (1996)
made a research on origin of vagueness from the angle of cognition. He thought that
vagueness occurs because of the limit of human’s knowledge. Pierce(1911:748) gave his
definition of vagueness: “ A proposition is vague when there are possible states of
things concerning which it is intrinsically uncertain whether, had they been
contemplated by the speaker, he would have regarded them as excluded or allowed by
the proposition.” Fraser(1990:383) analyzes the modal verbs of hedge, the function of
politeness, softening and marked feature of hedges. The book titled Vague Language
published in 1994 by Joanna Channell is the first major descriptive study of linguistic
vagueness. The description draws on language data which occur in natural condition,
and examines semantic, pragmatic and syntactic characteristics of vague language, as
well as the conversational effects which arise from its use. She comments on strategies
for being vague constitute a key aspect of the communicative competence of the native
speaker of English.
In this paper the author wants to do some research of vague language through the
analysis of vague language-expressions of disagreement. Based on the study of hedges
by George Lakoff and the study of pragmatic vagueness in conversation by Ziran He,
this thesis is an intercultural study on the use of vague language-expressions of
disagreement in communication. In theory, this study is anticipated to contribute to
enriching the research about hedges and pragmatic vagueness in conversation. In this
paper the awareness of importance of vague language-expressions of disagreement is
surveyed and the elements which influence the usage of vague language-expressions of
disagreement are analyzed. The author hopes that after reading the paper people can
know more about vague language-expressions and in some cases make communication
go along smoothly with vague language-expressions.
Through the contrastive study of vague language-expressions between Chinese and
westerners, the author illustrates the differences of culture embodied by vague
language-expressions of disagreement in this paper. Different culture leads to the
different usage of vague language-expressions in disagreement. The author hopes that
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Chapter1Introduction3摘要本研究在GeorgeLakoff等人对模糊限制词的研究及何自然等人对言语交际中的语用模糊的研究的基础上，从跨文化交际的角度，对比分析交际中表达不同观点的模糊语言的使用情况。本项研究的主要目的在于调查跨文化交际中影响模糊语言表达的因素。本项研究针对四项变量对表达不同观点的模糊语言的影响展开调查：社会距离，社会地位，年龄以及性别。研究对象为随机抽取在上海工作的各行各业的中外人员，包括教师，学生，医生，公司职员，工程师，记者等，其社会阶层，年龄，性别都不尽相同。研究主要采用问卷调查方式，问卷包括了17个问题。作者试图调查文化差异对不同意见的表达方式的影响...
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