On the Differences between Chinese and English Appellation

楊曉云

【Abstract】Appellation refers to the designation about people because of the relationship of family and other relationships. Appellation is a sign of social status and social relations to certain relationships and roles in human society. To a certain extent， it reflects the social culture and way of thinking and communication. Appellation is an integral part of peoples daily life and literary works. It plays a very significant role in the daily communication. Owing to different languages， cultural backgrounds and social structures， there are a lot of differences between English and Chinese appellation. Due to the different history and culture and way of thinking， every country and nation also reflects a certain differences about appellation. In this paper， we will talk about these differences briefly.

【Key words】appellation； difference； Chinese； English

【摘要】稱謂語是指人們由于親屬和其他親緣關系而得來的名稱。稱謂語是在人類社會中用來對特定人際關系和身份角色的稱呼。它是社會地位、社會關系的標志，在一定程度上反映了社會的文化和思維以及交際方式。稱謂語是人們日常生活和文學作品中不可缺少的重要組成部分，在人們的日常溝通中起著舉足輕重的作用。但是，由于語言、文化背景和社會結構的差異，英漢稱謂語之間存在著明顯的差異。而每個國家和民族由于歷史文化及思維方式的不同，反映在稱謂上也就體現出了許多差異。在這篇文章中，我們將詳細地討論這些稱謂語的異同及了解這些異同的重要性。

【關鍵詞】稱謂語 不同 漢語 英語

1. Introduction

As we all know， different countries have different cultures. Moreover， it is inevitable that the cultural differences have effect on daily life.

During the course of communication， appellation is usually the first information conveying to others .When one person speaks to another， there will be created a thing about how people would be addressed or named. Appellation not only reflects different statuses， roles， social positions， but also shows the politeness. It is known that using appellation in the right way can make communication go on smoothly. Otherwise， it will make people feel unhappy. The different cultures between Chinese and English lead to two distinct appellation systems. If Chinese appellation is directly translated into English appellation， it would cause some unexpected cultural conflict. Since various cultures have their own addressing， it is very important for intercultural communicators to pay attention to such diversity.

2. The Differences of the Appellation between English and Chinese

The appellation system of each language contains its special cultural connotation. It also reflects the social values， national psychology and political background， the ethical and moral values.

2.1 The Difference of the Degree of Generalization in English and Chinese Appellation

Non-relatives appellation， or social appellation refers to the call to the members of society except the relatives. It is an extension of the interpersonal relationship on the basis of relative range. In communication， the relative appellation is used to call those who do not have blood relationship or by marriage. This kind of situation is called relative appellation virtual usage or quasi-kinship appellation. （Baker， H.D.R， 1978）.

In Chinese， the kinship appellation can be used in the social appellation. For example， people can call the strange man “大伯、叔叔”， and so on. The use of the quasi-kinship appellation can improve interpersonal intimacy. and it can also eliminates the sense of distance. In English， the relatives appellation is limited to use for a few people in a few cases.

2.2 The Different Using Principles of English and Chinese Appellation

Now we have known of the difference between English and Chinese appellation. So， it is better for us to understand the using principles of English and Chinese appellation in order to improve the communication skills in the cross-cultural communication. （Dance， F. and E Larson， 1977）.

In Chinese， the name is the surname add to the name generally. But in English， the name means name， surname. The name of the Europe and the United States is the First name add to the surname， such as George Smith， Smith is a surname. George is the English name. There is also a name between the first name and the last name in some peoples names， such as Geor Clark Smith. Clark is called the middle name in English. In the Western culture， calling the first name directly can express respect， equality and non-estrangement. The name of the old can be called by the young directly. It is also available that adding Mr.， Mrs. or Miss to their names. For example， “Mr.Smith， Mr.Black， Miss.John”， and so on. The above mentioned situation not only represents the gender differences but also suggests the women marital status. “Mrs.” expresses the married. “Miss” suggests the unmarried. Many Western women say that they could not accept that because Marital status has been considered to be related to the issue of personal privacy. So， it is gradually popular that “Ms. + family name” be used to address the unidentified woman after the issue of the feminist movement. However， it is usually that the surname of Western women after marriage is her husbands. For example， if John White and Henry Bellow are married， Joan White is called Joan Bellow or Mrs. Bellow. And it is traditional that women took her husbands name in ancient China. Chinese women dont need to be called by their husbands surname after the founding of the new government of China in 1949. In addition， the English men are often called the affectionate form of address that is used for close relationship between family members and friends， such as David as Dave， Bess， Elizabeth， and so on.

3. The Reasons of the Differences between English and Chinese Appellation

As we all know， every language has its own corresponding culture. And it is the different structure， blood relationship， different social systems， cultural traditions， religions and values that determine the different patterns of appellations. There are a lot of social cultural factors of the differences between English and Chinese kinship appellation. Chinese relative appellation system develops and completes in the background of the feudal patriarchal clan culture.（汪美瓊， 2007）.

4. The Importance of Understanding the Different Appellation

Appellation is a necessary implement in the communication. It plays a role in setting up， maintaining and improving the relationship with others whether in English or Chinese. And it is inevitable to use the appellation when people communicate with others although it seems to be an easy problem. If we cant use appellations correctly especially when communicating with foreigners， it will lead to some misunderstanding or troubles. So we must pay attention to the use of appellations when communicating with others. （Brown， R. and A Gilman， 1961）.

Whats more， when we are doing a cross-cultural communication， much more attention should be paid in the use of appellation because there are a lot of differences between different languages such as English and Chinese.

5. Conclusion

As far as we can see， there are so many differences between Chinese and English appellation because of their different social and cultural backgrounds. If we communicate with others with wrong appellation， the others will think that we have a bad character. So in order to improve our capability in cross-cultural communication， we have to pay enough attention to the function of culture. And we should try our best to avoid the inappropriate usage of the words and expressions， especially the appellations.

To sum up， there are differences between English and Chinese appellation not only in form but also in semantic meaning and pragmatic meaning and cultural connotation. Therefore， it is hard and unrealistic to pursuit the full equivalence in the process of cross-cultural communication between English and Chinese. The cause of the differences of English and Chinese appellation of semantic differences can be attributed to cultural factors.（王振亞， 1999）. We Must consider English and Chinese language specific appellation forms and its difference in the process of cross-cultural communication to let the language communication conform to the pragmatic rule.

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