A Contrastive Study On Pragmatic Strategies Of English-Chinese Replies For Negative Comments Under The Perspective Of Rapport Management Theory

Since the transformation of research paradigm from communicative media to communicators,investigating the pragmatic characteristics of interpersonal communication on the internet has become one of the hot topics attracting both domestic and overseas scholarly attentions.Negative reviews will result in communication difficulties,so carrying out targeted remedy is one of the problems for online shops.The solution to this problem can be viewed from Spencer-Oatey’s rapport management theory,which focuses on how people manage social relationship in terms offace,social rights and interactional goals.The data of this study are from the Chinese feedback of Hangzhou hotels and the English feedback of London hotels against negative reviews of customers on the Tripadvisor.These two kinds of feedback are contrasted and analyzed withrapport management theory,and suggestions for managers of hotels are offered to help them construct their identities and attract consumers.The study finds that in replying to negative reviews,people will choose different discourse strategies to manage rapport and there are many differences between Chinese and English replies.The study points out that service remedy can be achieved by denying problems and managing rapport before and after that,and shops should use proper rapport management strategies to interact with consumers.