Differences of Politeness Principles Between English and Chinese Cultures

Leech's Politeness Principle is another important rule for discourse communication. It explains to us why people do not always talk directly but imply their meanings, and teaches us how to talk politely. The Politeness Principle contains six maxims. Among the maxims, the Tact Maxim is the most important one. In a sense, the other maxims are only the further explanations of the Tact Maxim. The most important function of the Politeness Principle is that it can help people communicate successfully by building a friendly relationship between the speakers. However, sociologists tell us that cultures differ from one another, and that languages are diverse. It is only natural then that with differences in cultures and languages, difficulties often arise in communication between people from different cultures. In different cultures, people's understanding of politeness differs more or less. People can't achieve successful communication by just abiding by the Politeness Principle. In this paper, the author mainly discusses the rise of the Politeness Principle, its contents and applications. Moreover, some examples of the differences in politeness between English and Chinese cultures are also discussed here. It aims to be beneficial to the English learners in cross-cultural communication.