A Comparative Study Of Invitation Letters In English And Chinese

This is a comparative study of the language use of invitation letters in Chinese and English. The deficiency in the comprehensive and comparative study in the written form of invitation in English and Chinese, the objectivity in implying two language discourses as a mutual reference to work out their distinguishing features, and the difficulties, which the language learners may encounter when writing the invitation for cross-cultural communication that conforms to correct linguistic etiquette and appropriate social norms make me to take up this task. This paper attempts to discuss two basic points: (1) the similarities and differences between Chinese native speakers and English native speakers in the choice of politeness strategies in the written forms of inviting. (2) The choice of politeness strategies to realize 'inviting' is affected by the social relationship and social distance between the participants.The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter one serves an introduction, in which I present the topic, the rationale, the ways of data collection and the organization of the thesis. In the second chapter, I try to give the definitions of invitation letters in my research, and discuss the basic theories involved in the study such as speech act theory, politeness principle, and some politeness strategies used in my study. Chapter three introduces the types of invitations focusing on the spoken and written invitation; formal and informal invitation; and the distinctions between them. In chapter four, I analyze the strategies of positive politeness and negative politeness used in both Chinese and English invitation letters. The strategies of positive politeness include: noticing invitee's condition, intensifying interest to invitee in inviter's contribution, using in-group identity markers, seeking agreement in safe topics and repetition, asserting knowledge of invitee's wants and indicating that inviter is taking account, offering and promising, and including both Inviter and Invitee in the activity. The strategies of negative politeness include: minimizing the imposition, giving options, and using honorifics. In chapter five, I analyze thesimilarities and the differences of inviting in these two languages. They are different in the use of request of response, address forms and the introduction of the topic. I also discuss the possible factors that cause the differences. In chapter six, I conclude the thesis and discuss the practical applications in the language learning and teaching.I hope this study might make up for the deficiency in literature in the invitation letter. I also cherish the hope that the study on the politeness strategies in Chinese and English invitation letters analyzed in the fourth chapter; the similarities and the differences; and the factors causing the differences between Chinese and English invitation letters, might be of some help to further study on inviting as well as to those who write invitation letters for the purpose of cross-cultural communication.