论中英问候语的差异

ChapterTwoAnOverviewofGreetingsAlthoughthegreetingsaredifferentamongtheethnicgroupsaroundtheworld,themeaningandpurposeofthegreetingsarethesame,whichreflectsthesinceregreetingsandconcernbetweenpeopleandeachother,butalsotheexpressionandtransmissionofemotionbetweenpeople.Nowadays,greetingisalsoanaturalsocialphenomenon,whichgenerallyexistsinthelanguageandcultureofvariouscountries.However,duetothedifferencesinpragmaticculturalvaluesandthedifferentcharacteristicsofpragmatichabits,peopleindifferentcountrieshavedifferentwaysofunderstanding,processingandusinggreetings.Itcanbesaidthatthereisacloserelationshipbetweenlanguageandethnicgroups.Thelanguagesofdifferentnationalitieshavedifferentlawsoflanguagedevelopmentbecauseofthedifferentformsoflanguageelements,whichwillinevitablyshowdifferentcharacteristics.Duetothedifferentnationalculturesandthedifferentcharacteristicsofthenationallanguages,thepeopleofdifferentethnicgroupsareboundtoshowtheirowndifferentcharacteristicswhenusingthenationallanguages.“InhospitalsinsouthwestNigeria,doctorsandclientssometimesexperienceinteractiveconflictsathospitalmeetingsbecauseoftheirdifferentculturalorientationtowardspolitehints.”Therefore,greetingshaveastrongnationalcharacterinlanguage.2.1TheDefinitionofGreetingsWhenpeoplemeet,inordertomaintainsocialrelationships,theywillsayakindoflanguagetopullintotherelationshipbetweeneachother,Thisiscalledgreetings,whichareshortandsimple,andisoneofthemostcommonlyusedimportantcommunicationmethodsinpeople’sdailylife,usingtoshowrespectforothers.“China,knownas‘etiquette’,hasalwaysattachedgreatimportancetotheroleofetiquetteandceremony.Asoneofthemostintuitive,vivid,normativeandoperationalbehaviormodesinsociallife,itshowsthedeepnationalculturalcharacteristics.”Languageisamirroroflife,butalsoahologramofsociety.Thechangeoflanguageistheinevitableresultofsocialdevelopment.Thechangeofgreetingsisfollowingthedevelopmentofthetimes,reflectingthetrackofpeople’spsychologicalturbulenceanddrasticchangeunderthesocialchanges.Fromthechangeofgreetings,peoplecanseethechangesofsocietyandthechangesofpeople’sideasandsocialvalueorientation.Asanimportantpartofsocialetiquette,greetingisthemostcommonlanguageexpressioninpeople’ssociallife.Itplaystheroleofestablishingandcontinuingvariousinterpersonalrelationshipsinvariouscultures.Greetingsisalsotoshowtheirrespectforothers.Greetingisanimportantwaytoopenthedoorofspeech,butalsoawaytocutintothecontentofthetopic.Thequalityoftheuseofgreetingsissometimesdirectlyrelatedtothesmoothprogressofcommunication.Therefore,incommunication,appropriategreetingsareveryimportant.Insocialcommunication,thepoliteuseofgreetingscanshowaperson’sgoodpersonalcharacterandculturalaccomplishment,sothatthefeelingsbetweenpeoplecanbefullycommunicated,soastoachievegoodcommunicationeffect,andenhancethefeelingsbetweenthetwosides.2.2TheImportantRoleofGreetingsinModernCommunicationInreallife,differentgreetingscanreflectthedifferenttasksrelationships,realisticidentities,socialstatus,andvalueorientationsamongpeople.Onlythroughacomprehensiveunderstandingofgreetingscanpeoplebetterusetheminverbalcommunicationandachievethepurposeofgreetings.People’sin-depthandcomprehensivediscussionofgreetingsisconducivetoharmoniousinterpersonalrelationshipsandimprovingpeople’scommunicationability.Atthesametime,withthedevelopmentofthetimes,theuseofgreetingsisalsochanging.Onlybyusinggreetingsthatconformtothecharacteristicsofthetimescanappropriategreetingsbecarriedout,therebydevelopinginterpersonalrelationships.Greetingisthesteppingstonetoopentheheartsofothers,andthenwithitssmoothcommunication.Althoughitdoesnotconveymoreinformationthanpoliteness,howembarrassingitwouldbetolackgreetingsindailylife.Peoplehaveamentalexpectationofrecognition,andthegreetingcanmeetthisneed,atleastpartoftheneeds.Greetingisthefirststepandthemostimportantstepinhumansocialcommunication,orthenextcommunicationguidance,whichplaysanextraordinaryroleinsocialcommunication.Fromthesociolinguisticperspective,everyoneshowsatwo-waycommunicationmodeofrespectingothersthroughlanguagebehaviorwhilegainingothers’respectfullanguagebehavior.

ChapterThreeTheDifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishGreetingsGreetingplaysanimportantroleinthecultureofsocialetiquetteinanycountry.Whenpeoplemeetacquaintancesorfriends,orwhentheymeetpeopleforthefirsttime,theyalwaysgreeteachother.Thepurposeofthegreetingistoestablishandmaintainsocialcontacts.Duetotheculturalbackground,geographicalenvironment,ideologyandotherreasons,therearemanydifferencesbetweentheChineseandBritishpeopleintheuseofgreetings.Formulaicexpressionsofgreetingsareoftenused,butgreetingsindifferentcountrieshavedifferentformulaicexpressions,sotheseformulaicexpressionsoftencauseconflict.3.1DifferencesinAppellationAppellationisoneoftheimportantcomponentsofgreeting.Inverbalcommunication,howtoaddresseachotherisaveryimportantproblem.However,therearesimilaritiesbetweendifferentcountriesanddifferentnationalitiesandobviousdifferences.3.1.1RigorousandFormalChineseAppellationVersusSimpleandMulti-usedEnglishAppellationInChina,sinceancienttimes,attentionhasbeenpaidtoorderofseniority,andcleardistinctionbetweenseniorityandinferiority.Ifapersondoesnotspeak,otherswillthinkthatheisnotpolite,whichcannotdistinguishbetweentheeldersandinferiority.Generallyspeaking,whentheyoungergenerationcallstheelder,theyshouldreplacethetitleoftheirname,andtheycanaddressthemregardlessofwhethertheyarerelatedbyblood,suchas“grandpa”,“uncle”,“aunt”,andsoon.Theyoungergenerationcannotcalltheelderbyname,whichwillbeconsideredimpolitebehavior.Thepeersarenotveryfamiliar,norcantheydirectlycallthenameoftheotherparty.Inordertoshowrespectforeachother,theycancalltheotherparty“Sir”,“comrade”or“lady”,etc.IntheUK,therearenotasmanytaboosaboutaddressingpeopleinEnglishasinChinese,andthereisbasicallynoproblemofdirectlyaddressingthembyname.Inmostcases,using“Mr.+lastname”or“Mrs.+surname”isenough.Atthesametime,Britishpeoplerefertostrangersas“Sir”and“Madam”.Forunmarriedwomenintheirteensortwenties,theycanrefertothemas“Miss”,andformarriedwomen,theycanrefertothem“Mrs”or“Madam”.Chinesepeopleaddresstheireldersspecifically,whiletheBritishaddresstheirelderscommonly.Forexample,Chinesecallfather’sbrothersandmother’sbrothers“Uncle”,whiletheBritishcancall“Uncle”toallmaleelders.Similarly,Chinesecallfathersistersandmothersisters“Aunt”,whiletheBritishcancall“Aunt”toallfemaleelderswithoutmuchdistinction.AllthesereflecttherigorousandtediousChineseappellation,andthesimpleandversatileuseofEnglishappellation.3.1.2TheChineseTitleof“Inequality”VersustheEnglishTitleof“Equivalence”InChina,theaddressoftheboss,thestudents’addressoftheteacher,etc.,allreflecttheasymmetryofChineseappellation,becauseitisconvenienttodistinguishaperson’sidentityandstatus.Forexample,betweenteachersandstudents,theteachercallsthestudentsbythestudent’sname,andthestudentsmustcalltheteacherbytheteachertoexpressthestudents’respectandgratitudetotheteacher.Thisisnottoshowdiscriminationorcontempt,butontheonehand,itreflectstherespectforthestatusandstatusoftheaddressed;ontheotherhand,italsoshowsthepolitenessandself-restraintoftheaddress.InBritain,onthecontrary,mostoftheappellationsshowreciprocitybetweenpeople.Forexample,itcanbecalled“You”betweenBritishfamilymembers.Thetitlesusedbetweenteachersandstudentsarenotasrestrictive,andinformaloccasionsorwhenthefirstteacherandstudentmeet,theyusethetitle+surnametoshowrespect,butusuallytheyareverycasual.3.2DifferencesinFormat“Thereisasignificantdifferencebetweenmaleandfemalegreetingform,theyobservethatmenaremoreinformalwhereaswomenshowmorefeelingtowardeachotherinafriendlyconversation.Contextisanotherimportantpointthatmayhavesignificantimpactonthetypeofconversationandtheformalityorinformalityofsentencesusedbypeople.Forexample,aconversationbetweentwofriendsinanacademiccontextmaydifferfromthesameconversationinapark.Inshort,peoplemayhavedifferenttypesofgreetingswiththesameinterlocutorindifferentcontexts.Anotherimportantfactoristherelationshipmentionedabove,whichcanforceormotivatepeopletousemoreformalvocabularywhengreetingortalking.”3.2.1The“Flexible”ChineseSentencePatternVersusthe“Unchanged”EnglishSentencePatternInChina,peoplesometimesuseexclamationstoexpresstheirfeelings.Forexample,whenexpressingtheweatherinChinese,peopleoftensay,(1)“Today’sweatherisreallygood!”or(2)“Today’sweatherisreallybad!”whichmeansexclamationsentencesdirectlyexpressemotionaljoyanddisgust.Sometimes,Chinesecanbeexpressedinashortform,suchas,(3)“I’llplaywithyounexttime!”Sometimesitisexpressedintheformofaquestion,suchas,(4)“Whatareyoubusywiththesedays?”ItcanbesaidthattherearevariousformsofgreetingsinChina,andanythingcanbeusedintheuseofgreetingstogreetothers.Incontrast,theEnglishsentencepatternisalmostafixedsentencepatternasagreeting,andtheformofreplyisalsorelativelyfixed.Forexample,peoplegreeteachotherandsay(5)“Howareyou？”anotherperson’sanswerisusually(6)“I’mfine,thankyou.”Alternatively,whenpeoplefirstmeet,theysay(7)“Nicetomeetyou!”anotherperson’sanswerisusually(8)“Nicetomeetyou,too.”Greetingshaveafixedandunchangingsentencestructure,andBritishpeopleoftenusethemasgreetingsintheirdailylife.BycomparingChineseandEnglishgreetingswithsentencestructures,thedifferencesinsentencestructuresbetweenChineseandEnglishgreetingsarereflected.3.2.2DifferentPositionsofAppellationsandGreetingsInChinesegreetings,generally,theappellationisthefirstandthegreetingisthelast.Forexample,(1)“Hello,MissGuo”.Onthecontrary,IntheUK,inmostcase,theappellationisthefollowedbythegreeting,asthefocusofthesentence,placedatthebeginningofthesentence.Forexample,(2)“Goodmorning,MissGreen”.Perhaps(3)“Whatareyoudoing,Mike？”Therefore,thedifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishgreetingsisalsoreflectedinthepositionoftheappellationandgreetingsinthesentence.ItalsoshowsthattheChinesegreetinghabitemphasizestheappellationinsentences,whiletheBritishgreetinghabitemphasizesthegreetinginsentences.AlthoughtheappellationandgreetingsinChineseandEnglishgreetingsaredifferent,theybothachievethepurposeofgreetingeachother.3.3DifferencesintheGreetingContentIndailycommunication,greetingiscommonbehavioramongpeopleofeverycountryandethnicgroup,makinggreetingoneofthemostfrequentlyusedlanguageformsinpeople’sdailylives.Althoughgreetingshabitsandcontentverycountriesandethnicgroups,greetingsplayanextremelyimportantroleinanylanguageandlanguagecommunicationofanyethnicgroup.Whileexpressingthesamemeaning,theyalsoreflectthedifferentculturalconnotationandcommunicationhabitsofeachcountryandethnicgroup.3.3.1DifferencesintheCommonGreetingTopicsDuetohistoricalreasons,geographicalfactors,culturalhabitsandotherfactors,differentcountrieshavedifferentgreetinghabits.“Greetingisacommonhumanlanguagephenomenon,usedineverydayconversationwhenpeoplemeet.Sociolinguistsbelievethatverbalbehaviorincommunicationhasitsfixedpattern.Althoughgreetingsarediscussedinstructureandfunction,theyareinfacthighlycomplexinteractionphenomena.Therefore,substantialresearchonlanguagecontactandcultureisneeded.”IntheUK,forexample,weatherisapopulartopicingreetings,andpeopleoftensayinthemorning,(1)“Whatalovely/fineday!”AsfarasIknow,Britainisanislandcountrysurroundedbythesea,andtheweatherchangesquickly,sopeopleareusedtocarryingumbrellaswiththemwhentheygoout.Therefore,theweatherhasbecomeanimportantpartoftheBritishdailylife,andtheBritishpeoplewillmaketheirownplansforthedayaccordingtotheweather,sothisiswhytheweatherisatopicofconcern.InChina,peopleliketogreetandsay,(2)“Haveyoueatenyet?”peopleareaccustomedtodiscussingthetopicofeatingwhentheymeet,thereasonisthatChinaisadevelopingcountrybasedonagriculture.Forthousandsofyears,themainpopulationofChinewasfarmers.Inthepast,peoplehadtofindfoodtosupporttheirfamilies.Whenpeoplemeet,theyoftengreettopicsrelatedtofood,whichreflectsthestandardoflivingatthattime,sopeoplestillhavethehabitofgreetinglikethisuntilnow.Eachcountryhasitsowndifferentnationalconditions,whichdirectlyorindirectlyreflectallaspectsofpeople’slivesindifferentcountries,includingtheuseofdailygreetings.3.3.2DifferencesinTabooTopicsinGreetingsWhendiscussingcertainthingsindailylanguageisatabootopic,itisconsideredasignoflackofcultivation.Inwesterncountries,whenpeoplefirstmeet,theyshouldfirstintroducethemselves,andcanalsoasktheotherpeople’sname,country,hometown,etc.However,theyshouldavoidcertainprivacyrelatedtopicssuchasage,lifestylehabits,homeaddressandtelephonenumber.ForWesterners,religiousbeliefarealsoapartofprivacy.Britishpeoplehaveastrongpersonalconsciousnessandemphasizeself-relianceandself-improvement,evenbetweenrelatives.Inaddition,somequestionsshouldbeavoidedabsolutely,nomatterhowlongyouhaveknowntheotherparty,youcannotaskquestionsabouttheirsalaryandfinancialsituation.Inordertoexpressconcern,Chinesepeopleareaccustomedtoaskingmorepersonalinformation,suchasmaritalstatus,personalincome,workstatus,homeaddress,etc.,especiallywhencommunicatingwithelders,theywilltalkmoreaboutfamilyorrelatives.Chinesepeoplearealsoaccustomedtoaskingsimilarquestionssuchas(1)“Whereareyougoing?”or(2)“Whatareyoudoing?”,whichisalsoawayofgreeting,whilesaying(3)“Howareyou?”hasthesamemeaningasWesterners.Ingeneral,Chinesegreetingsaremoreapproachableandtherearenotmanytabooincommunication.3.3.3DifferencesintheNonverbalGreetingsNon-verbalgreetingsincludefacialexpressions,tones,gestures,andeyes,etc.Theyareanimportantpartofdailycommunication,sometimesevenmorepowerfulthandiscourse.Differentcountrieshavedifferentgesturestoexpressdifferentmeanings.Duetothedifferencesinculturalbackgrounds,thesamegestureshavedifferentmeaningsforpeopleindifferentplaces.Forexample,themosttypicalgreetingactionsofChinesepeoplearenodding,smiling,andshakinghands,whileyoungpeopleoftenwavetheirhandstogreet.ThemosttopicalwayofgreetingforBritishpeopleistosmile,hug,kissonthecheekorbackofthehand,andsometimesevenslightlyremovetheirhatstoshowrespectforeachother.ThisfullyreflectsthedifferencesinnonverbalgreetingsbetweenChineseandEnglishgreetings.Therefore,itisalsoverynecessarytounderstandsomebasicnonverbalgreetings.“Greetingsareexpressedindifferentlanguagesandcultures,buttheysharecommoncharacteristics.Greetinghasthecharacteristicsofcriticality,whichalwaysoccursatthebeginningofthepeople'sdialogue,andexistsinthespecificpositionofthedialogueinthecommunication,thatis,atthebeginningofthedialogue.Agreetingmeansthatthespeakersholdthesameviewsandcancommunicatewitheachother.Bothsidesofthecommunicationareinterdependent.Theotherpersonrespondstoagreetingafterthespeakerasksforit.Thegreetingappearsinadjacentandalternateforms.Itsformandcontentcanbeconvertedatwillaccordingtodifferentscenes,differentobjects.Themainmeaningofthegreetingisthatwhenbothpartiesareonthesameoccasion,theuserusesthegreetingtomaketheotherpersonnoticehimandtostarttheconversationnaturally.Thegreetingsusedareusuallyacceptabletobothparties.Thegreetingcanbeseenasaseparatecommunicationunit.”ChapterFourFactorsInfluencingtheDifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishGreetingsGreetingisalsoakindofpolitelanguage.Thephenomenonofpolitenessgenerallyexistsinvariouslanguagecountries.politenesslimitspeople’swordsanddeedsandcoordinatespeople’scommunicationactivities.Itisanimportantfactorthatcannotbeignoredwhenpeoplewanttocommunicate.4.1DifferentCulturalBackgroundsInChineseandWesterncultures,thedifferentfocusofattentiontosocialevaluationleadstothedifferencesbetweenChineseandWesterngreetingsintheobjectandcontentoccasions.Intheoccasionofgreetings,Chinesesocietydeliberatelypraisesandpraisewomen,especiallyintermsoftheirappearance,clothing,hairstyle,etc.Therefore,character,talent,andwisdomarethecentercontentofChinesesocietyincommunication.Duetothefeudalideologyof“genderdifference”inChinesesociety,inmanysocialsituations,men’slanguageaboutwomen’sappearanceisnotappropriate.Thisaspectofspeechismostlyconfinedtothewomen.Chinesepeopleoftenignorethechangesineachother’sappearance,andevenwhentheynoticethechangesineachother,theyoftenusesomeneutralwordstopraisethem.Westerners,ontheotherhand,tendtofocusmoreonaspectssuchasappearance,clothing,hairstyle,or.possessions,withtheirwordsbeingthemostprominent.Westernsocietyadvocates“newness”.Indailylife,anythingnew,suchasanewcar,anewclothes,anewhairstyle,etc.,ismorelikelytoattractpraisefromothers.Althoughthisnewapproachisonlyslightlymodifiedorchangedfromtheoriginal,itisimportantthattheintervieweehasnoticedthischangeandbelieveitiscommendable.4.2DifferentWaysofThinkingTheChinesewayofthinkingischaracterizedbyintuition,wholeness,andcircularity,whiletheBritishwayofthinkingischaracterizedbylogic,analysisandlinearity.TheChinesewayofthinkinghasobviousgeneralityandambiguity,andovertime,itformsafixedpatternofthinking.Chinesepeoplehavestrongsubjectivity,whileBritishpeoplehavestrongobjectivity.Indailycommunication,Englishconversationsusuallyonlyexpresspersonalfeelings,whileChinesewillalsoaddspersonaljudgment.Forexample,whenawaiterinaChineserestaurantasksforaguest,(1)“Whatdoyouwanttoeat?”,thespeakerwillsubjectivelydetermineswhattheotherpersoniseating,ratherthanotherneeds.InEnglish,theexpression(2)“WhatcanIdoforyou?”reflectingthemoreobjective.Orinapublicplaces,nexttothesink,theChinesesignreads(3)“Pleasesavewater”,withthesubtextsubjectivelylinking“lesswater”and“morality”;andinEnglish,itonlysays(4)“Pleaseturnoff”,justremindingotherstoturnoffthefaucet,withoutanymoralimplications.Therearemanyothersimilarexamples.“Theanalysisshowedthatthemajorityofstudents'messagesdidincludesomeformofgreetings.Manyofthestudentsdidnotusethemoreconventionalgreetingtokenssuchas‘GoodMorning’and‘GoodAfternoon’(12%),butratherusedamoreinformalsalutationsuchas‘Miss’(42%)inplaceoftheexpectedconventionaltype.Otherinformalgreetingsemployedbystudentsinthesampleinclude‘Hi’anditsvariations(2%)aswellas‘Hello’(2%).Someofthestudentsalsointroducedthemselvesbyprovidingeithertheirnameand/oruniversityidentificationnumber(22%)whileothersstartedbyindicatingtheirclassnameand/orsectionnumber(12%).Onlytwostudents(6%)didnotincludeanytypeofgreetingsintheirmessages.”4.3DifferentValueOrientationAccordingtothetheoryofAmericananthropologistsBarnettPearceandsomepeople,people’srulesofbehavior,waysofthinking,moralstandardsandphilosophyoflifeareallinfluencedbythevaluesoftheirgroups.Intheactualinterpersonalcommunication,peopleunconsciouslylearntheinherentculturalconceptsoftheirowngroup,whichhasbecomethelifephilosophy,behaviornormsandmoralstandardsofthepeopleinthisgroup.However,everycountryandeverysocietyhasitsownuniquevaluesystemandjudgmentstandards.TakingBothChineseandEnglishasanexample,ChinesetraditionalcultureisdominatedbyConfucianism.Intheprocessofmorethantwothousandyearsoffeudalsocialhistory,ConfucianismhasexertedaprofoundandlastinginfluenceonChinesesociety.InChineseculture,Chinesepeopleadvocatemodestyandcomity,pursuesafetyandgowiththeflow,butdonotlikeindividualstoshowoff,anddonotliketobecompetitive.However,Britishcultureadvocatesindividualism,withindividualheroismandindividualcenteredthinkingrootedintheirminds.Westernersadvocateindependentthinkingandjudgment,andliketorealizepersonalinterestswiththeirownpersonalability.“Greetingsmarkstheboundariesofaconversationandisusuallyformulaic,oftenclaimingtolackpropositionalcontent.However,itisoftenembeddedinlongercommunication,inwhichindividualexpressionsmayormaynothavepropositionalcontent.ThiscanbeillustratedbyadiachronicanalysisofgreetingsandfarewellinBritishEnglish,recordedina40billionwordhistoricalBritishEnglishcorpus.Inthenineteenthcentury,themostcommongreetingswere‘Goodmorning’and‘Howareyou?’,todayinAmericanEnglish,expression‘hi’and‘hello’dominate.”

ChapterFiveTheSignificanceofStudyingtheDifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishGreetingsGreetingisalsoveryimportantforpeople.Itisnotonlythestartingpointofinterpersonalrelationship,butalsocanbreaktheboundariesbetweenstrangers.Itcanalsosmooththeemotionaldistancebetweenpeople,exportthetopicofconversation,andmaketherelationshipbetweenpeoplebetter.Warmandconcisegreetingsarethelubricantofinterpersonalcommunication.Ininterpersonalcommunication,appropriateandsinceregreetingsareallwarmspringbreeze,whichmakepeoplefeelwarm,soastostimulatetheinterestofcommunication.Intermsofthebasicfunctionoflanguage,languageitselfisfunctionalandisacommunicativetool.5.1AvoidingMisunderstandinginCommunicationDuetothevariousdifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlanguages,manypeopledonotpayattentiontosometopicsthatarenotsuitableforgreetingorconversationincross-culturalcommunication.Whenpeoplefirstmeet,duetothelackofattentiontoculturaldifferencesbetweenthetwopartiesduringtheconversation,misunderstandingoftenarise,whichunintentionallyoffendtheotherpartyandaffecttheircommunicationandemotionalcommunication.Therefore,eachofpeopleshouldcarefullystudythedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishgreetings,understandthecorrespondingculturalbackground,andavoidunnecessarymisunderstandingsininterpersonalcommunicationwithpeople.Greetingsasasignificantaspectofpolitenessphenomenonexistglobally.AsBrownandLevinson(1978)claim,greetingsoccurinalllanguages.Theyprovidethemeansforopeningconversationsappropriatelyandforestablishingandmaintainingsocialrelationships(Goffman,1971).Forexample,suchgreetingsas“Hello!”and“Howareyou!”and“Iampleasedtomeetyou.”frequentlyoccurinEnglish.Chineseontheotherhandarequiteusedtogreetingslike“Haveyoueaten?”or“Whereareyougoing?”or“Whatareyoubusywith?”,etc.Obviously,peopleinEnglishcultureaswellasinChinesecultureattachgreatimportanceto“speakingpolitely”.YetsomepeopleinEnglishculturemayfindChinesegreetingsunacceptableorevenoffensiveforthesegreetingsseemtobeconcernedaboutpersonalmattersalthoughtheyarequiteappropriateandfriendlyinChineseculture.AnotherexampleisthataChinesecangreetalongtimedepartedfriend:“Youstillremainthesameanddonotlookolderthanbefore”.ThiswillsurelyoffendanativespeakerofEnglishbyimplicatingthathe/sheislackofchangeorshouldhavebeenveryold.Asacommonphenomenonofhumanlanguage,greetingisaparticularlyimportantpartoflanguagecommunication.Itopensthedialoguebetweenpeopleandevenbetweenmanandnature,andisanimportantmeanstoestablishandmaintainaharmoniousinterpersonalrelationship.Fromtheperspectiveoflinguistics,greetingfocusesonfollowingthepoliteprincipleofverbalcommunication.Inexpression,greetingwillcreateaharmoniousatmosphere,andpeoplefeelrespectandpolitenessincommunication.Ininterpersonalcommunication,sincereandfriendlygreetingsshouldbeproactive,youngpeopleshouldtaketheinitiativetogreettheelderly,menshouldtaketheinitiativetoaskwomen,andsubordinatesshouldtaketheinitiativetogreetthesuperiors.Takingtheinitiativetogreetothersisasignofrespectforothers,anditwillalsoenhancethefriendshipbetweeneachother.Theharmonyofinterpersonalrelationshipcannotbeseparatedfromcertainemotionalfactors,andacertainemotionalexpressionisusuallypassedonthroughcertaingreetings.5.2ImprovingPersonalCommunicationSkillsGreetingisakindoflanguagewiththefunctionofgreetingspokenbetweenpeopleinordertomaintainarelationship.Itgenerallydoesnotcarryinformation,butistogreet,thatistosay,itonlyhasemotionalfunctionbutnotinformationfunction.Greetingisthefirststepofinterpersonalcommunication,whichisthebasisoftherealizationofconversation.Regardlessofthelanguageofanycountry,greetingisani