Politeness In Chinese Culture

Great Essays
Linguistics
‘Politeness is considered to be a universal feature of language but it’s pragmatic, linguistic, social, intentional, and conceptual realisations vary considerably across different languages and/or cultures.’
Brief outline of Confucianism -
When discussing the topic of politeness in Chinese culture it is important to address the concept of Confucianism and the role that it played in forming what Chinese culture is today. Confucianism can be defined as a way of life that was first established by Confucius in the 6th–5th century BCE. Confucianism is a western term used to describe the set of values propagated by Confucius himself, this set of rules and values have been the foundations of Chinese society for over two millennia; this
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Controlling one’s emotions, showing restraint, acting with obedience towards authority, conforming and “face” are highly valued and deemed to be very important. Traditionally Chinese values put the family and society over the individual. In some cases, during interactions people may nod, which can be an indication that they understand you, but they are trying to seem obedient to authority, rather than to come off as deviant.

Chinese politeness strategies and etiquette –
Speech and pragmatics-
Pragmatic politeness within china can be extremely different from politeness within the UK, Chinese politeness revolves around Face, the social hierarchy (五论) and age. Politeness is a social practise that reflects the historical developments and political environment within a country. Politeness in contemporary china is a dynamic practise which involves the participants own perceptions, thoughts and feelings about distance, the relationship status and power relations between them and the person they are interacting with.
In China, there is a very specific set of rules to follow when introductions are made:
• The younger should be acquainted with the elder first.
• The man should be acquainted with the woman
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On informal meetings it is not considered disrespectful to one give your first name.
Much like Britain, Chinese people are particular about table etiquette. However, Chinese table manners are different from British table manners, at a Chinese dining table the guest of honour will always be seated on the right-hand side of the host; the eldest son or daughter (the next in line) will be seated on the left-hand side. It is considered to be discourteous to seat guests in the same place that the food has been served. During a formal Chinese dinner, the dinning can only begin once all the guests have been seated and to start eating before all in attendance are seating is deemed to be

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