【正文】 o problems. However, even among these there are culture differences. In Chinese,謝 is seldom heard between relatives and friends, and (這里缺一詞 )however even between parents and children, husband and wife. On the contrary, English word”thank you” may be heard many times a day. In the view of foreigners, the Chinese seem impolite in this aspect. For example, when other people passed him the letter, the Chinese takes it for granted, and expresses no thanks for it,the English would think it is impolite. Secondly, there are differences between 謝謝 and thank you” in the range of us. When invited to take part in a party or attend a banquette Chinese seems not so ready to accept it first. This kind of attitude makes the English amaze. For example, when a scholar who left Beijing for England invited by his tutor to take part in a informal dinner, he said continuously” thank you” and added all right, I’ll try to e.” This made his tutor uneasy and asked him simply”yes or no”?This embarrassment is caused by the different understandings of how to use polite language. In addition, the Chinese expresses his thanks on his initiative when he goes to shopping, and has a meal in the restaurant or puts up at an inn for the night while in the eyes of westerners, salesclerk attendants should express their thanks to customers. The answers to 謝謝 and thank you” are also different. After saying thank you, the Chinese A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Polite Language would say 不用謝，這是我應(yīng)該做的 .But the westerns would answer:”You are wele, I’m glad to be of help.” If the Chinese answer is translated directly into English. It bees”Never mind, it’s my duty”.This will make the westerners unhappy because that39。s studies show that people determine their own politeness level on the basis of the following three factors. First, the social distance between speaks and listeners. This greater the distance is, the higher the degree of politeness is. For example, people are more polite when they speakers to strangers than to their friends. Second, the distribution of powers between the two sides,it decides the degree of politeness,the greater the listener39。 reducing conflicts and misunderstandings by means of polite speech acts as to attain the aim of munication. The principles of politeness Leech proposes Politeness Principle and its six maxims: (1) TACT MAXIM (in appositives’ and missives) (a) Minimize cost to other (b) Maximize benefit to other (2) GENEROSITY MAXIM (inexpressive an assertive) (a) Minimize benefit to self (b) Maximize cost to self （缺空格、及拼寫(xiě)錯(cuò)誤 → ） (3) APPROBATION MAXIM (inexpressive and assertive) (a) Minimize dispraise of other (b) Maximize praise of other (4) MODESTY MAXIM (inexpressive and assertive) (a) Minimize praise of self (b) Maximize dispraise of self (5) AGREEMENT MAXIM (in assertive) (a) Minimize disagreement between self and other A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Polite Language (b) Maximize agreement between self and other (6) SYMPATHY MAXIM (in assertive) (a) Minimize antipathy between self and other (b) Maximize sympathy between self and other Of the six maxims, (1) and (2) go in pairs, they are both used in appositives and missives. The difference is that (1) deals with the benefit and cost of others, while (2) deals with the benefit and cost of self. According to these two maxims, I can lend you my bike.Is polite? While you can lend me your bike?” is impolite? (3) And (4) also go in pairs. According to Approbation Maxim, you should praise others when it is necessary and avoid saying unpleasant things about others. So” What a marvelous meal you cooked. is highly valued, while” What an awful meal you cooked. is not. It39。 When they are not sure if they can make the same request, he will use more indirect expression, (such conversation: It39。 it has fine tradition which is known as the country of ceremonies. With globalization and more international contacts expression, (大小寫(xiě)錯(cuò)誤 → ) in both the East and the West cultures, politeness has long been regarded as an indispensable part of language. There exists a wideranging use of politeness and polite language that have clearly demonstrated people39。 關(guān)鍵詞 ： 文化；禮貌；用語(yǔ)差異 A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Polite Language Introduction Politeness is a very important topic in modern linguistics. With the development of the study of linguistics, a lot of people lay the emphasis on the study of polite language. It can be observed in all languages and cultures as a social phenomenon, which plays an important role in individuals39。 Pragmatic difference A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Polite Language 摘 要 ： 禮貌，作為人類(lèi)社會(huì)一種普遍存在的現(xiàn)象，其主要功能就是運(yùn)用禮貌的語(yǔ)言行為來(lái)