Abstract

Greetings are indispensable components of everyday communication. As a significant aspect of courtesy language, many scholars home and abroad have studied greetings from the linguistic, sociological and anthropological perspective. There is a close relationship between language and culture. Language influences and is influenced by culture. Due to the different cultures, English and Chinese greetings have their own characteristics. Therefore, it is of great importance to make a study on the differences between English and Chinese greetings from the cultural perspective for the purpose of helping people to achieve more successful and effective intercultural communication. Through a series of studies and careful observation, three cultural factors, views on self-worth, dominant orientations and patterns, are selected for the analysis of the differences between English and Chinese greetings. 

Key words: greetings; culture; difference

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Literature Review-2

  2.1 Definition of Greeting-2

  2.2 Greeting and Culture-3

  2.3 Previous Studies on Greeting-3

3 Different Views on Self-worth: Equality vs. Self-denigration-4

4 Different Dominant Orientations: Individualism vs. Collectivism-6

5 Different Patterns: Fixed vs. Flexible-8

6 Conclusion-10

 References-….13