从性别语言谈维护面子理论Gender Language Difference:A New Interpretation
论文作者:HE Yu-jing1论文属性:短文 essay登出时间:2009-04-03编辑:黄丽樱点击率:6777
论文字数:2099论文编号:org200904031605404604语种:英语 English地区:中国价格:免费论文
关键词:face-saving theoryfacegender difference in languageNew InterpretationNegative face and positive face
Abstract: Face-saving theory (FST) advocated by Brown and Levinson emphasizes the universality of human beings to treat “face” and to take strategies so as to save face. Nevertheless, humans are quite different from one another, especially male and female. This article mainly concerns FST from gender difference in language and puts forward some new ideas about FST in order to make it a better system.
1. Introduction
Language exists in society. It must reflect phenomena in society. Spoken by human beings in society, it will be carved by different characteristics of human beings, among which gender is an aspect, which cannot be neglected.
In fact, gender difference in language has long been heated discussed. At the beginning of the 20th century, people began to pay attention to this phenomenon and ever since the 1960s especially after the woman's movement; many articles concerning this phenomenon appeared in the world. During this period, people discussed the problem from different aspects and got great achievements. In this article, we will analyze FST advocated by Brown and Levinson in a perspective of gender language differences.
2. Face-saving Theory
The word “face” was first introduced into the west by a Chinese Anthropologist, named Hu Hsien Chin. The western socialists began to analyze this phenomenon from the 1950's. It was Erving Goffman who first explained this word. He believed that “face” was connected with some emotional concepts, such as embarrass, and shy, losing face. Later two linguists Brown and Levinson presented specifically the “Face-saving Theory”. They divided “face” into two kinds: negative face and positive face. Negative face means that a person does not want others to enforce their ideas upon his/hers or to interfere in his/her behavior. Positive face is the hope that a person wants others to agree with him/her or to praise him/her.
Brown and Levinson believed that essentially most verbal behaviors threatened “face”. So people always found ways to avoid threatening others' face or to lessen the degree of making others lose face. They were:
A. bald on record without redressive actions.
B. positive politeness.
C. negative politeness.
D. off record.
E. Don't do the FTA.
3.1 Negative face and positive face
According to FST, when we're talking with others, it's likely for us to threaten our partner's face, negative or positive. However, Brown and Levinson paid little attention to gender differences. In fact, males and females are quite different in regarding positive and negative faces.
In interaction, everyone wants to maintain his/her face and to be respected by others. However, gender difference exists. Males are more likely to maintain their negative faces while females always pay much attention to their positive faces. This phenomenon can be seen in different gender languages. Although their actual usages are quite different from their self-evaluations, males tend to use low status, nonstandard variants, but females tend to use high status, standard variants. This phenomenon is best illustrated by Peter Trudgill's self-evaluation tests in Norwich. One of them is the test of vowel in “ear”, “here” and “idea”. In Norwich, there are two main variants of this vowel: [іэ ] as in RP; [εэ] with the vowel of care. So ear and air, here and hair are the same. He was surprised at the gender differences
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