Pragmatic Study Of Chinese Requests

In this thesis, we first make a literature review of the theories concerning"request", including politeness theories, speech act theories and the indirectness of language. Then we introduce the CCSARP project and focus on the components and strategies of"request". Of all the languages investigated in CCSARP, conventional indirectness is the most preferable strategy in the five situations. In this thesis, we try to (1) find out whether conventional indirectness is the most preferable request strategy type in Chinese, and (2) explore how the contextual parameters interact with the three levels of request strategy types in Chinese. The study reveals that, due to the specific linguistic conventions in a language such as the rich inventory of politeness markers, internal modifications and supportive moves in Chinese, Chinese have a preference for direct request strategies, but not at the cost of politeness. The choice of request strategies in Chinese is also influenced by social parameters as in the six languages investigated in CCSARP. Yet the degree and the result of these influences are of Chinese characteristics, reflecting socio-cultural values unique to the Chinese culture.