Abstract:Greeting is an important part of social etiquette. It is the most common language expression in social life and it has the function to establish and extend a variety of relationships among people in the world. There are many differences on greetings between China and western countries which are caused by the culture differences. Consequently, to explore the differences between English and Chinese greetings is likely to enable us to gain a better understanding of the cultural differences China and the West so as to establish the awareness of culture defenses, reduce pragmatic failure and facilitate cross-culture communication. The differences of greetings can be manifested in the aspects of greeting topic, gesture, appellation, taboo and so on This thesis analyzes the differences of Chinese and western greetings from the perspective of culture value on the basis of the above four aspects. This thesis comprises four parts. The first part of the thesis provides the general introduction of the study in the following aspects, namely, the background, purpose, significance of the study, The second part summarizes the previous study both at home and abroad on the thesis topic. The third part presents the differences of greetings between China and western countries and explores the cultural reasons which contribute to these differences. The last part draws a conclusion to the whole thesis and points out that both Chinese and Western  people should recognize the existence of cultural differences in greeting communication with due attitude, learn to understand and tolerate each other. Thus, cross-cultural communication can be more effectively conducted.

Key words:  Greetings  English  Chinese  Cultural Difference

摘要：问候语是社交礼仪的重要组成部分，是人们社会生活中最为普遍的语言表达，在各国文化中都具有建立和延续各种人际关系的作用。中西方由于各自文化差异，问候语也不尽相同。因此探究英汉问候语的差异，树立文化差异意识，减少语用失误，才能有效提高跨文化交际的能力，更好的促进社会交往。中西方的问候语在话题、手势、称谓和禁忌方面都存在很大差异，文章从以上几个方面入手从文化价值观角度对英汉问候语的差异进行对比分析，探讨其差异以及原因。本论文主要分为四个部分。第一个部分首先说明该论文的背景、目的、意义等。第二部分主要介绍国内外对中英问候语的研究先创。第三部分从四个方面对中英问候语的差异进行比较分析，并探索造成差异的文化根源。第四部分总结全文，并指出，中西方要充分认识到问候语的差异的存在，相互了解互相包容，才能进行更有效的交际。

关键词： 问候语  汉语  英语  文化差异