On the Gender-related Differences in Courtesy Principles in Language Communication

Courtesy is one of the important pragmatic principles in language communication.However,both men and women follow their own courtesy principles in cross-sex communication.These differences may inevitably lead to communication break-downs in cross-sex communication.This paper,based on the six maxims of courtesy principles,tries to deal with the gender-related differences in courtesy principles in language communication.The purpose is to reveal the different positions men and women may hold as well as the different strategies they might take.It may contribute to the improvement of the classroom teaching,especially the teaching of oral English.