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A Comparative Study of Chinese and Western Greetings from the Perspective of Politeness Principle

Xiaochen Zhang
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21013/jmss.v18.n4.p2
Abstract

A greeting is a common polite behaviour that also helps to build a relationship. Knowing the difference between Chinese and western greetings will help communicate better with foreigners in the future, and help Chinese and western cultures communicate better with each other. This paper looks at the differences in greetings between Chinese and western cultures and societies and explains why these differences exist based on economy, culture, and society. Furthermore, this paper also suggests that to achieve a better expression result, it is important to pay attention to these differences in communication.

Keywords
politeness principle; greeting language; difference between Chinese and western
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