Abstract

Language is the carrier of culture and also part of it, so the two of them are closely related to each other. As a part of language, greetings are inseparably related to culture likewise. Nowadays, with the development of communication with foreign countries, especially English-speaking countries, Chinese people are using English more frequently. However, the cultural differences between West and China are quite different, so are differences in greetings. If Chinese people are not familiar with the differences between them, particularly in greetings, a lot of problems will arise inevitably. This author discusses cultural differences between West and China from the perspective of greetings so as to construct a bridge of communication between English-speaking people and Chinese, which is significant as to avoiding cultural misunderstandings and communication barriers and facilitating the cross-cultural communications.

Key words: cultural differences; greetings; West and China

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Literature Review-2

3 Differences in Greetings between West and China-3

3.1 Forms of Addressing People-3

3.2 Topics and Contents of Greetings-5

3.3 Taboos in Greetings-8

4 Cultural Factors Resulting in the Differences in Greetings between West and China-9

4.1 History-9

4.2 Philosophy-10

4.3 Ways of Thinking-11

5 Conclusion-11

5.1 Implications of the Present Study-12

5.2 Limitations and Suggestions-13

References-14