亲属称谓语社交称谓语文化差异

ContentsTOC\o"1-2"\uChineseAbstract……………3EnglishAbstract……………31.Introduction………………51.1AnOverviewofAppellationanditssignificance……51.2SignificanceoftheSubject…………51.3TheStatusQuoofAppellationsResearchandTheoreticalReview…62.Kinshipappellations………72.1IntroductionofKinshipAppellation…………………72.2ChineseKinshipAppellation…………72.3WesternKinshipAppellations………73.SocialAppellations………83.1

IntroductionofSocialAppellation…………………83.2ChineseSocialAppellations…………83.3WesternSocialAppellations…………84.DifferencesandCausesofChineseandWesternKinshipAppellation……………………94.1DifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternKinshipAppellation……94.2CausesoftheDifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternKinshipAppellations……………105.DifferencesandCausesofChineseandWesternSocialAppellations…………………115.1DifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternSocialAppellations……115.2ReasonsfortheDifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternAppellations……………136.Conclusion…………………14References……………………16从称谓语角度浅析中西方文化差异摘要语言是文化的载体，是反映文化的一面镜子。英汉语言和文化的差异导致了两种称谓体系的差异。称谓语属于社会语言范畴，广泛应用于人们的日常交际和文学作品中。如果我们将汉语称谓直接移植到英语中，会造成意想不到的文化混乱甚至冲击。因此，由于历史传统和民族心理的不同，不同的文化有不同的称谓。对于跨文化交际者来说，了解中西方称谓的差异，探究其背后的社会文化根源是非常重要的。本文结合之前的文献调查以及其他的社会研究，综合各方因素，浅析称谓语对于中西文化的差异影响，摆脱以往片面的研究，从亲属和社会两个角度，探究其内因。对于跨文化交际者来说做到浅析中西方称谓的差异,同时探究差异背后的社会文化根源是非常重要的。本文将称谓语大致分为了两类，分别是亲属称谓语与社交称谓语，同时将结合文献，从中西方的历史背景，家庭方式，价值追求，等级观念等方面对其进行分析。关键词：亲属称谓语；社交称谓语；文化差异TheDifferencesBetweenChineseandWesternCulturefromthePerspectiveofAppellationAbstractThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlanguagesandculturesleadtothedifferencesbetweenthetwoappellationsystems.IfChineseappellationisdirectlytransplantedintoEnglish,itwilloftencauseunexpectedculturalconfusionandevenshock.Appellationbelongstothecategoryofsociallanguage,whichiswidelyusedinpeople'sdailycommunicationandliteraryworks.Therefore,differentcultureshavedifferentappellationsduetodifferenthistoricaltraditionsandnationalpsychology.Itisveryimportantforcross-culturalcommunicatorstounderstandthedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternappellationandexplorethesocialandculturalrootsbehindthedifferences.ThisthesiswillcombinethepreviousliteraturesurveyandothersocialstudiestoanalyzetheinfluenceofappellationonthedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternculturesbyintegratingvariousfactors,getridofpreviousone-sidedstudies,andexploretheinternalcausesfromtheperspectivesofrelativesandsociety.Itisveryimportantforcross-culturalcommunicatorstounderstandthedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternappellationandexplorethesocialandculturalrootsbehindthedifferences.Therefore,Iroughlydivideappellationintotwocategories,thatis,kinshipappellationandsocialappellation.Atthesametime,Iwillcombineliteraturetoanalyzethehistoricalbackground,familystyle,valuepursuit,hierarchyandotheraspectsofappellation. Keywords:kinshipappellation;socialappellation;culturaldifferences1.Introduction1.1AnOverviewofAppellationanditssignificanceAppellationisthe“pioneer”guidingcommunication,whichstronglyreflectsthesocialattributesandvaluesofbothsidesofcommunicationandiscloselyrelatedtothesocialculture,nationalpsychology,politicalbackgroundandmoraltraditiontowhichtheybelong.Appellation,initsnarrowsense,isthelanguageofaddressbetweenpeople.Anappellationisdefinedas“anamegiventoapersonbytheinterrelationshipofrelativesandothers,bythedifferenceofstatus,positionandsoon”(邓炎昌,刘润清,1995).Appellationistobuildthebondbetweenpeople,ithasanimportantsocialfunction:itistheidentityoftheaddresseetotheaddressee'sstatus,roleandmutualrelationship,playstheroleofmaintainingandstrengtheningallkindsofinterpersonalrelations(胡文仲,1996:86-90).Eachnationhasitsownappellation.Duetodifferentculturalbackgrounds,thenumberandscopeofappellationsofdifferentethnicgroupshavetheirowncharacteristics.Thedifferencesinthesetermsalsoreflectculturaldifferences.1.2SignificanceoftheSubjectThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlanguagesandculturesmakethedifferencesbetweenthetwoappellationsystems.IfChineseappellationisdirectlytransplantedintoEnglish,itwilloftencauseunexpectedculturalconfusionandevenshock(Yang,2017).Appellationbelongstothecategoryofsociallanguage,whichiswidelyusedinPeople'sdailycommunicationandliteraryworks.Therefore,differentcultureshavedifferentappellationsduetodifferenthistoricaltraditionsandnationalpsychology.Itisveryimportantforcross-culturalcommunicatorstounderstandthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternappellationandexplorethesocialandculturalrootsbehindthedifferences.ThispaperwillcombinethepreviousliteraturesurveyandothersocialstudiestoanalyzetheinfluenceofappellationonthedifferencesbetweenChineseandwesternculturesbyintegratingvariousfactors,getridofpreviousone-sidedstudies,andexploretheinternalcausesfromtheperspectivesofrelativesandsociety.1.3TheStatusQuoofAppellationsResearchandTheoreticalReviewWiththerapiddevelopmentofthetimes,theoriginalbasicappellationcannotmeettheneedsofpeople,soappellationappearsthephenomenonofgeneralization,generalizationofrichcontent,diverseforms.Nowadays,mostoftheappellationresearchisontologyresearchandpragmaticfunctionresearch.However,thegeneralizationofChineseaddresstermsisnotenough,andfurtherresearchisneeded.Foralongtime,ChineseappellationteachinghasbeenthefocusanddifficultyofChineseteaching,butthereislittleresearchonappellation.Intoday'sworld,alongwithourcountry'scomprehensivenationalstrengthcontinuouslystrengthen,Chinesealsograduallybecometheworld'ssecond-largestforeignlanguage,thepopularityofChinesedevelopmentisveryfast,sotherearealotofexpertsbasedontheoutlineofHSKvocabularyandHSKdynamiccompositioncorpusstatisticsandcorpuscollection,summeduptheforeignlearnersinkinshipaddresstermsandsocialaddresstermsofuseerrors,masterthelearnersintheuseofaddresstermswhenthetypesoferrorsandcauses.Atthesametime,moredomesticandforeign,Chineseandwesternexpertsthroughinvestigation,analysis,research,publishedanumberofarticlesontheuseofChineseandwesternappellationdifferences,deeperanalysisandanatomyoftheculturalconnotationanddifferences.Forexample,thestudyofZhang(2007)emphasizedtheaddresstermshasagreatpracticalvalueforpeople'scommunication,thestudycompletedasymmetricpredicatethreedefinedindetail,andsummarizestheresearchstatusonthephenomenonofChineseaddresstermsofringandgiveopinions,aimstoprovidethemodernChineseaddresstermsmissingringphenomenonresearchreviewandenrichthesociallinguisticsresearch.AndthestudyofChinesescholarShangTing’sstudyshowsthat,asasetofconventionalsocialcommunicationsymbols,socialaddressistheproductofhistoricalandculturalaccumulation,withdistinctnationalcharacteristics.Thedifferencesinsocialhierarchy,power,kinshipandpersonalsocialstatusbetweenEnglishandChinesecultureareallthereflectionofthegreatdifferencesinEnglishandChinesesocialappellationterms.RenNing's(2006)comparativestudyofEnglishandChineseAddressLanguageCultureandPragmaticsemphasizesthatalthoughthestudyofaddresslanguageisnotanewtopic,itisstillofgreatresearchvalueduetotheimportanceofaddresslanguageinpracticalapplication.ThepragmaticcontrastivestudyofEnglishandChineseAddressWordswrittenbyscholarLiHong(2009)madeadetailedcomparativestudyonthepragmaticdifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseaddresswordsbyusingthespecifictheoryofpolitenessprinciple.2.Kinshipappellations2.1IntroductionofKinshipAppellationEverycountryandeveryethnicgrouphasalargeorsmallfamily,withdifferentstructuresandtypesoffamily.Everylanguagehasakinshipsystemtoexpresstherelationshipbetweenfamilymembers.Kinshipappellationisanappellationtermorappellationformthatshowsthatkinshipisarelationship.Itisthetruereflectionofkinship.Kinshipreferstotheinterpersonalrelationshipsystemgeneratedbymarriage,consanguinityandlaw.Kinshipisnotonlyasocialstructure,butalsoaculturalstructureinnature.Itisaspecificproductofhumanculture(潘明霞,2004:1).2.2ChineseKinshipAppellationKinshipappellationisoneofthemostimportantsystemsinChineseinterpersonalappellationsystem,whichreflectstherelationshipbetweenfamilymembersorbetweenfamilymembersbasedonconsanguinityandmarriage.Chinahasalonghistoryofstrictadherencetofamily-centeredrules,anddivideskinshipbydescent.OneofthecharacteristicsofkinshipappellationsisthattheChinesedefinekinshipaspaternalormaternal(刘超先,1994).2.3WesternKinshipAppellationsInwesternculture,"equalitybetweenmenandwomen"and"equalityforall"havebecomethemainstreamofsocialvalues.Betweentheelderandtheyoungeroftencallitsnamedirectly,thechildnameusestheparents'namesimplywith"big"and"small"distinctioncall.Youngpeopleeducateinwesternculturehavean"independent"conceptoffamilyatthecore.Ifthechildrenmoveawayfromthefamilyoforiginandbecomeindependent,theiremotionaldependenceontheirparentswillgraduallydecrease.Aftersettinguptheirownfamilies,theytendtospendmoretimewiththeirmanagersontheirchildrenandspouses(黎昌抱,2001).Andtheircontactwiththeirparentsoftenhappensduringholidays.Theyshowmoreloveandrespectfortheirparents,andcommunicatewiththemequally.TheseconceptsarefarfromChinesetraditionalculture.SocialAppellations3.1

IntroductionofSocialAppellationSocialappellationreferstothetermsofaddressforallpeopleexceptrelatives.Itistheappellationpeopleuseinsocialcommunication,whichreflectsthesocialrelations,socialrolesanddegreeofrespectofthecommunicativeparties.PolitenessandcourtesyarethetraditionalvirtuesofourChinesenation.Thisisalsoreflectedinwesterncultures.Butbecauseofdifferentculturalbackgrounds,addresstermsalsohavebiggerdifferenceinthespecificapplication,thisisespeciallyperformanceontitlesexualterms.Sincetheancienttimes,Chineseshowrespectforpeoplewiththetitle.However,inthewest,titularappellationobjectsaregenerallylimitedtotheroyalfamily,theupperechelonsofthegovernment,religiouscircles,militarycirclesorlegalcircles(庄严,2014:6).3.2ChineseSocialAppellationsThemostcommonphenomenoninChineseisthegeneralizationofkinshipappellations.Whenstrangersofdifferentagesareencounteredinlife,theywillnaturallyusekinshiptermstoaddresseachotherinordertoexpressacertainintentionofclosenessortoachievethecourtesygreetingfunction,whichisconducivetogettingfamiliarwitheachotherassoonaspossibleandreducingcoldcommunication.Intherelativelyseriousworkplace,thedailyaddressisrarelyseen,andthestatusaddressreflectingoccupation,positionandtitleismorefrequentlyused.Itisoftennecessarytoshowsufficientrespectandcourtesybyaddressingapersonofaparticularstatus,precededbyhisorheroccupation,positionortitle.ThisisespeciallyevidentinChineseappellationculture.3.3WesternSocialAppellationsThedifferencebetweenEnglishandChinesesocialappellation,andtheunitofsocietyisfamily,andsocialappellationisrootedinkinshipappellation.BothChineseandEnglishsocialaddresseshavehonorifictitles,buttheyhavedifferences.Inwesterncountries,"honorificelders"isnotfeasible.Westernersdonotrespecttheelders,butalsohatetobecalled“old”.Inwesterncultures,exceptinveryformaloccasions,saysMr,Ms,Mrs.Theyoftencalltheirfirstnamesdirectlybetweensuperiorsandsubordinates,superiorsandinferiors,betweenteachersandstudents.Especiallyamongtheelderly,ifyouput“old”infrontoftheirlastname,theytendtofeelunhappy,becausetheythinkitislookingdownonthem,andtheydonotthinktheyareoldandhealthy.Sotheyprefertobecalledbytheirfirstname.DifferencesandCausesofChineseandWesternKinshipAppellation4.1DifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternKinshipAppellationFamilyisthecoreofChineselife.FeudalritesandteachingstaughtChinathattherightsandobligationsofrelativesweremostcloselyheldinmind.Inthefeudalfamily,theoldandtheyoungwereorderly,andtheinsideandoutsideweredifferent.InChinese,thecomplicatedkinshipappellationsarenotonlyawaytodistinguishtherelationshipbetweenrelatives,butalsoanembodimentoftheconceptofhierarchyinfeudalsociety(李战杰,2004:17).Generallyspeaking,Chinesekinshipappellationshavethefollowingthreecharacteristics:First,distinguishbetweenin-lawsandbloodrelatives,insideandoutside.InChinese,therearedifferentappellationsforgrandfathersandgrandmothers,butinEnglishthereisonlyone“grandparent”.Second,theageofkinshipappellationsinChineseisdistinct.InaChinesefamily,eachpersonhashisorherownresponsibilitytothefamilyandthecountry.Theeldertakescareoftheyounger,theyoungerobeysthewishesofhiselders(赵月娥,2011).InChinesethereisacleardistinctionbetween“olderbrother”and“youngerbrother”,butinEnglishthereisonlyone“brother”.Third,kinshipappellationsinChinesearemuchmorecomplexthaninEnglish(Tang,2010).TherearemorerelevanttermsinChinesethaninEnglish.TheycanoftenfindmorethanoneequivalentEnglishappellationexpressioninChinese.Inaddition,someEnglishkinshipappellationsarenotveryclearabouttherelationshipbetweentwopeople.Forexample,theword“cousin”.WhenLucytellsherclassmatesthatshehastwocousins,theydon'tknowwhethertheyaremaleorfemale,andwhethertheyareolderoryoungerthanLucy.Inwesterncountries,themosttypicalfamilymodelisthenuclearfamily,thatis,thefamilyiscomposedonlyofparentsandchildren.Westernchildrenlearntodependonthemselvesfromanearlyage.Therefore,whentheygrowup,theideaofindependenceandfreedomisdeeplyimprintedintheirminds.Tosomeextent,kinshipisnotthatimportanttothem.4.2CausesoftheDifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternKinshipAppellations4.2.1DifferencesinSocialBackgroundSinceancienttimes,Chinaasanagriculturalcountry,hasbeenengagedinagriculturalproductionforlivelihood.Inthelong-termself-sufficientagriculturaleconomy,manypeoplerelatedbybloodormarriagelivedtogether,formingextendedfamiliesofthreeorfourgenerations,formingapatriarchalsocietybasedonfamilyunitsandbloodties.Infact,itconstitutesarigidhierarchicalstructure.Insuchasociety,peoplegenerallyabidebythesystemof“seniorityandinferiority”.Therefore,kinshipappellationsmustalsoreflectthemeaningofthehierarchydifference.Seniorityishighortheageeldercancalljuniorgenerationnamesdirectly.Youngpersoncallelderandrespectpersonmustfollowrankrulesstrictly,accordingtoitsseniority,ageandsoon.InChina,ConfucianismaffectsvirtuallyeveryaspectofChineselife.Wedon'thaveabible,buttheFourbooksandfiveClassicssetoutexactlywhatweshouldandshouldnotdo.Confucianismhasshapedthethoughts,characteristicsandemotionsoftheChinesepeople.Confucianismholdsthatsocietyshouldbeahierarchicalsociety.Everyonebelongstoacertainhierarchy,andoneshouldlivewithintheboundsofone'sownhierarchy(罗琴,2018).IntheEnglishspeakingworld,thedominantcultureisthemaritimecultureengagedincommercialactivities.Gettingridoftheconsanguinitybondbetweenpeopleisawaytocarryontherelationshipthroughcontract.Father,motherandminorchildrenformafamily.Equalityiseverywhereinwesternsociallife.Moreover,contractualrelationshipemphasizesthecooperationandequalitybetweenpeople,andtheappellationofunequalrelationshipishardtosee.4.2.2DifferencesbetweenCollectivismandIndividualismInChina,collectivismisthevalueweuphold.Thecollectiveinterestisaboveallelse.Peoplepayattentiontohowtomaintainsocialharmony.Manypeoplebelievethatfamilyisthemoststablerelationship.Therefore,kinshipappellationsaregreatlygeneralizedtoaddresspeoplewhodonothavekinshiprelations.Itwasthoughtthatthiswouldbringpeopleclosertogetherbecauseitseemedtoputeveryoneinalargergroup.Chinesesocietypaysmoreattentiontocollectivism,emphasizessocialharmony,stressessocialgroup'srestraintonindividuals,advocatesfamilyrelations,andpaysattentiontotheinternalharmonyoffamilymembers.Theindividualmustintegratehimselfintothecollectiveandbecomeonewiththecollective.Moreover,inordertorealizetheharmonyandunityofthecollective,certainself-characteristicscanbesacrificed.Inaddition,inordertobetterintegratethemselvesintothesociety,Chinesepeoplealsotendtoextendtheconceptoffamilytothesocietyoutsidethefamily,whichisreflectedintheappellationasageneralizationofkinshipappellation--referringtopeoplewhoarenotrelatedbykinshipappellation.Thevalueorientationofindividualisminwesternsocietyiscompletelyopposite.Itemphasizestheindependentpersonalityandpersonalityandadvocatestheindependenceofindividuals.Therefore,nomatterinthefamily,peoplehavegoodjudgementofindividualrightsandequalstatus,liketocalltheirnamesdirectlytoshowequality.4.2.3DifferencesinPolitenessPrinciplesPolitenessthroughproperappellationisaneffectivewaytomaintaingoodinterpersonalrelationship.However,Chineseandwesternpolitenessprinciplesarenotthesame(范杏丽,2011).InChina,respectisaverypoliteway.Peopleoftendothisby"patronizingthemselves."Butthisisnotanexistingphenomenoninthewest.Inwesternmind,equalityisthegreatestcourtesy.Theypursueindividualismandemphasizetheimportanceofthenuclearfamily.Theyespeciallyemphasizethefamilywithhusbandandwifeasthecoreratherthanthefamilywithparentsasthecore,andemphasizetheequalitybetweenmenandwomen(Samovar.LA.eta1,1998).5.DifferencesandCausesofChineseandWesternSocialAppellations5.1DifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternSocialAppellationsChinesepeopleuseawiderangeofjobtitles,whichbringgreatdifficultiestoforeignerswhoarenotfamiliarwiththeChineseculture.MostChinesejobtitlescannotbetranslatedintoEnglish.Forexample,“SecretaryLi”,“ManagerWang”,“ColonelZhou”canonlybetranslatedintoEnglishtoconfusewesterners.ThereareonlyafewofficialtitlesinEnglishculture:seniorgovernmentofficials,suchasPresident,primeminister,minister,governor,judge,senator,etc.Religiousleaders,suchaspriests,bishops,nuns,andsoon(朱厚敏,2009).ProfessionaltitlesarealsomuchmorecomplicatedinChinathaninEnglishspeakingcountries.ThereareonlyalimitednumberofprofessionaltitlesinEnglish,includingprofessor,doctor,nurse,waiterandporter.Therefore,manyChinesetermscannotbetranslatedintoEnglish.Thedifferenceofgeneralrespectfultitles.InEnglish,thecommonnameisMr.Miss.Mrs.andsoon.Itcanbeusedregardlessofoccupationorstatus.“Sir”,“Madam”,“Miss”,theseuniversaltitlescanbeusedforpeoplewithouttitles,occupationsandprofessionaltitles.Forexample,inEnglishspeakingcountriesawomanofanyagecanbecalled“Miss”.Forphysicalandmentalmaleworkerscanbecalled“Mr”.IntheChineseculture,womenovertheageof30arenotallowedtorefertothemselvesas“youngladies”.Eventhoughsomenewcomerslikethetitle,manyarestillnotusedtoitandmayevenfinditoffensive.InChina,thenamecanbeconnectedwiththekinshipaddress,toaddresstheirfriendsoracquaintanceswhoarenotrelatedtothem.Itisbothrespectfulandkind.However,inwesternculture,withtheexceptionofapersonwhoholdsatitletotheUK,onlyusedwiththefamilyname.Ifyouwanttobenice,justusefirstnames,evennicknames.Itcanonlybeusedbetweenpeoplewhoarefamiliarwitheachotherorattherequestofthosewhoshouldbecalled.BritishpeoplethinkthatsomeChinesepeopledonotwanttocallthembytheirfirstnames,indicatingthattheydonotwanttomakefriendswithforeigners.5.2ReasonsfortheDifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternAppellations5.2.1DifferencesinFolkloricLinguisticsBackgroundLanguageisaspecialsocialandculturalphenomenon.Asakindoffolklanguage,socialaddressisalanguageandculturalsymbolthatcontainstheelementsofvulgarity.Chinesefolkculturehasalonghistoryandwasformedmorethantwothousandyearsearlierthanthatofthewest.Chineseandwesternetiquettesystemaredifferent.Chineseandwesternthoughtpatterns,behaviornormsandotherculturalfactorsarealsodistinct.Theconceptsof“Elderrespect’’and“Ancestorworship”arethebiggestcharacteristicsofChinesesocialetiquetteandalsothemainfactorsinfluencingtheselectionofsocialaddress.Forexample,inChinese,thepoliteaddressformenis“Sir”,thepoliteaddressforyoungwomenis“Miss”.Fromtheliteralroot,theserespectfulnamesarenothingmorethantoindicatetheage,whileinwesterncountrieslikeBritainandAmerica,nomatterhowoldoryoung,theyareallequalinpersonality.Whenchildrencalltheirparentsbytheirnames,studentsandteacherstreateachotherasequals,whichisirreverentinChina,butitisanaturalthinginBritishandAmericansociety.Theydonothavestrictconceptsofseniorityandinferiority,sotheydonothavecomplicatedtitleslikeChinese.Addresswith“old”wordhasbecomeabigfeatureofChinesesocialaddress.“ZhangLao,liLao”andsoonsuchanameisregardedasasymbolofrespectingtheeldersandsages;“Laoban”isasalutationgivenbyemployeestomanagersorsuperiors.“LaoWang,LaoHe”andsoonexpressthefriendshipbetweentheagedpeers;“Laobo,Dashu”isthemostappropriatenamefortheelderly.Inturn,theelderorsuperiortotheyoungersubordinates’appellationsnotonlyreflectsthelovefortheyoungpeople,butalsotoacertainextenttoshowtheirpower.Ifawesternerhearssomeonecallhimorher“OldJohnson”or“LittleOliver”,hewillnottakeitasasignofrespectorlove.5.2.2DifferencesinValuesInChinesesocialactivities,peopleliketocallthepersonwhohasachievedsomethingasanexpert,whichisapoliteandfriendlygesture.Westernersworshippowerandcompetence,andtheyexpectthesetobefactuallyreflectedinhowpeoplearecalled.Itcanbeseenthatwesternersworshipabilityandpower.WesternerscarealotaboutwhethertheirabilityandcareercanberecognizedbyothersEnglishsocialaddresscannotbereduced,cannotexpand,cannotbechanged.AlthoughChinesesocialaddressingshouldnotbereduced,itcanbeexaggeratedaccordingtothesituation.TheunderstandingofofficialtitlesisalsodifferentinEnglishandChinese.Confucianismisthetheoreticalexplanationofthishierarchy.Confucianismstronglyadvocatedthe"fivevirtues"ofKingsandministers,fatherandson,brothers,husbandandwife,andfriends.Inadditiontothe"onevirtue"offriends,therelationshipbetweenKingsandministers,fatherandson,brothers,andhusbandandwifeallcontainshierarchyandsuperiority.Amongwhichtheabsoluteobedienceandrespectofkindsandministershasalwaysbeenregardedasthemostimportantmoralnorm.InBritishandAmericancountries,thesizeoftheofficialrankdoesnotrepresentthepersonalprivileges,butonlyasymbolofcareersuccess.Peopleagreethateveryoneisequal.5.2.3DifferencesinTraditionalThoughtForthousandsofyears,ConfucianismhasexertedanimmeasurableinfluenceonallaspectsofChinesesociety.Confucianismstronglypromotedtheimportanceoffamilyrelations.TheprofoundinfluenceoffamilyrelationsinChinesecultureisreflectedintheuseofkinshipappellationsforunrelatedfriendsandcolleagues.Addressoldercolleaguesandfriendsofparentsasiftheyweredistantrelatives.ThedominantideologyinBritishandAmericancountriesis“individualfreedom”,whichgivesprioritytoindividualfreedom.Asaresult,theypaylessattentiontobloodandrelationsthanChinese.Theyaremorefocusedonthefriendshipswhichtheyformthroughprofessionalrelationships.ThisisreflectedinthefactthatinEnglish,peoplerarelyusekinshipappellationstoaddressoldercolleaguesandfriendsofparents.Theyrespectindividuality,sotheselectionoftitlesislessinfluencedbyfactorssuchasseniorityandage,andmorebyfamiliarity,formalityandpersonalpref