Comparison on Making Polite Requests in English an Essays

Comparison on Making Polite Requests in English and in Chinese Abstract: Polite requests play an important role in daily communication. Different culture has various ways of making request. In order to get rid of misunderstanding, it is necessary to clarify the different polite expression of making request in diverse culture. This paper chooses to compare English and Chinese polite request making. Key words: Politeness; Request; English; Chinese Introduction With the development of mass media and information technology, communicative borders are removed and people become closer and closer. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the different lifestyles of various cultural community. However, the main reasons of successful communication does not only include how well a language is spoken, but also some personal and cultural elements. When considering social context, non- verbal communication plays an important role in language learning. A very interesting topic in this large field is politeness, since forms of politeness are often misinterpreted and lead to misunderstandings. So I chose to have a closer look at the differences between politeness in Chinese and English. Politeness is known as a courteous manner that displays respects, show deference in society where people live and communicate together (OED online). Furthermore, according to Brown and Levinson (1978), politeness theory is the speaker's expressions use toward receiver in soft manner of Face Threaten Acts (FTAs) to saving face of addressees. There are four main strategies in politeness theory as: bald-on record, positive politeness, negative politeness and off record. Bald- on record, a type is commonly with people known each other very well and very comfortable in their environment, is reduce the impact of FTAs. Off record is removing the speakers from any imposition whatsoever (Zhan, 1992). "Positive politeness is redress directed to addressee's positive face" (Brown and Levinson, 1978, p.101), while negative politeness is making a request less intrude into a person's private. Alternatively, request is a type of speech of act where the speaker ask or demand from the hearer to perform an act which is for the benefit of the speaker. A request has two parts: head act and modifiers. Head act is the main utterance which conveys a complete request and can stand by itself without any modifiers for express demand. The head act is follow by modifiers that moderate or exaggerate the impact of the request on the addressee. For example, "Could I borrow your dictionary, please?" where "Could I borrow your dictionary" is head act and "please" is modifier. So, every culture, every language has different ways to making requests in politeness. Therefore, the scope in this research is compared the differences expression of politeness requesting in two languages: English and Chinese. Following to House and Kasper (1981), their research claimed that speakers prefer to choose negative politeness strategies than positive politeness because when the relative face threat is high because negative politeness strategies are easily compensation than positive politeness strategies. To evaluate the difference of politeness in making request in two languages English and Chinese, the research will analyse three difference situations in classroom, at restaurant and at home. Discussion In English grammar, in order to make a polite request, people usually use the modal verbs like can, could, will, would to allow the speaker to ask their need by asking for or giving permission, and so on. The formation of making a polite request is: (Leech, Cruickhank, Ivanic, 2001) Modal Verb (Could/ Can/ Will/ Would) + Subject + Base Verb +.... ? For example, Can you give a book? So, in this sentence, "can" is a modal verb, "you" is subject and "give" is base verb. In Chinese grammar as like as English grammar, speakers use optatives verbs (e.g. ?,,?)to express wishes, making a request, and have permissions. Follow to the grammar rule, the optatives verb put before the main verb and add"?" - question particle at the end of the sentence: (Wang, 1996) S + Opt. Verb + Main Verb + Obj. + (e.g. ) Or in an affirmative-negative question, the negative adverb should be put between the optatives verb instead of the main verb: (Wang, 1996) S + Opt. Verb + ? (Negative Adv.) + Opt. verb + Main Verb + Obj. ? (e.g. ) Additionally, in imperative sentences or interrogative sentences English is adding the conventional expression "please" to make their requests more polite and to make soften their utterance text (E.g. Please give me a book! or Could you give a book, please?) (Leech, Cruickhank, Ivanic, 2001) On the other hand, Chinese grammar has many strategies to making a request in politeness by using reduplication of verbs, using

Genetic manipulation essays

Genetic manipulation essays One of the most controversial issues in America today is about genetic manipulation. Nearly all sectors of American society have a say about this matter, and so many sides to it have been argued. There are people for and against it. Yet, who really has the right to say what is right and what is wrong? Isnt the process of genetic manipulation a choice that the people have a right to take? There are some who say that genetic manipulation will lead to excessive individualism on the part of the people. People who are give a choice to choose their offsprings biological traits might abuse this kind of power. Still, modern America is slowly backing up the Human Genome Project. By permitting genetic manipulation in human embryos, American society allows the violation of a persons basic rights and promotes excessive individualism. The term genetics is the biology of heredity; especially the study of mechanisms of hereditary transmission and variations of organismal characteristics. The term engineering is the application of scientific principles to practical ends, as the design, construction and operation of efficient and economical structures, equipment and systems. Genetic engineering allows scientists to identify, store, and manipulate the chemical blueprints or the DNA of living organisms. By reprogramming the genetic codes of living organisms, scientists will be able to customize and mass-produce a completely new culture of living things. Human genetic manipulation, as its name states, is the ability to directly manipulate or exploit genes of human beings. Human genes can be manipulated in various ways. They can be changed, improved or completely removed altogether. The most popular method of genetic manipulation is by using human embryos. An embryo is a fertilized egg cell. When an embryo is healthy enough, genes that are undesired can be changed so that ...

An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of realist, neoliberal and Essay

An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of realist, neoliberal and social constructivist approach on European integration and European security - Essay Example Firstly, the end of the Cold War would increase relative gains concerns among the European states, creating barriers to cooperation. Secondly, institutions could not overcome this barrier to cooperation. (Smith, 2000, p.40). In Mearsheimer's view international institutions were 'merely an intervening variable in the process' by which the balance of power mechanism leads to war (Mearsheimer, 1995a, p.13). Neorealist Joseph Grieco (1995) argued that the successful negotiation of the Treaty on European Union (TEU, 1992) and Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) rebuked the neorealist theory that states hold international institutions in low esteem (Rosamond, 2000, p.133). Further, a more likely explanation of the EU's longevity was the post-Second World War balances of power politics (Rosamond, 2000, p.134). Grieco stated that throughout the last 20 years: Grieco's alternative hypothesis offered a potent explanation for the intensification of European integration in the 1980s/1990s. For Grieco EMU negotiations were an interstate bargain without initial supranational sponsorship. This questions how and why states came to choose the mode of EMU development in the TEU (Rosamond, 2000, p.134). "if states share a common interest and undertake negotiations on rules constituting a collaborative arrangement, then the weaker but still influential partners will seek to ensure that the rules so constructed will provide sufficient opportunities for them to voice their concerns and interests and thereby prevent or at least ameliorate their domination by stronger parties". (Grieco, 1995, p.35) The key question for Grieco was "why did the EC countries undertake such an ambitious risky, programme of institutional innovation as is envisioned by the Maastricht Treaty, and especially its elements on EMU" (Grieco, 1995, p.23) More specifically, Grieco argued that neorealism faced "an acute need" to explain why "key middle-rank" EU members, particularly France and Italy, decided to "join with a potentially hegemonic partner in an economic balancing coalition" (Grieco, 1996, p.304). Grieco proffered a revised neorealist argument about secondary states and the interests that might lead them to cooperate with stronger partners through international institutions (1995, p.24). There were economic and policy influence benefits for doing so (Grieco, 1996, p.287). The 'voice opportunities' associated with participation in institutions offered states a means both to encourage the 'compliance of stronger partners' and to address any unequal distributions of gains which may arise in the course of cooperation (Grieco, 1996, p.288). Grieco believed that 'neorealism should be amended to ascribe significance to institutions' because the 'voice opportun