TY - JOUR
T1 - Chinese categorization of interpersonal relationships and the cultural logic of Chinese social interaction
T2 - An indigenous perspective
AU - Ye, Zhengdao
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - This paper explores the conceptual basis of Chinese social organization, and examines how the fundamental Chinese categories of interpersonal relationships affect Chinese ways of speaking and social interaction. Firstly, the paper will analyze the full meanings and interrelationship of two of the most distinctive (complementary) dyads of Chinese social categories, namely, shēngrén (lit. "uncooked person", "stranger") vs. shúrén (lit. "cooked person", "an old acquaintance"), and zìjǐrén (lit. "oneself person", "insider") vs. wàirén (lit. "outer/outsider person", "outsider"). It will then put forward two master scripts - general principles underlying norms of social interaction - in Chinese culture that are governed by the demarcations of these fundamental categories: nèiwàiyǒubié ("difference between the insider and outsider") and yóushūzhìqīn ("from far to close"), and illustrate aspects of Chinese language use that are guided by these principles. They include dǎ zhāohu ("greetings"), the use of tóng X ("fellow X") and lǎo X ("old X"), and a brief discussion of the value of not being polite in Chinese culture. On the one hand, this paper demonstrates the need for treating interpersonal relationships as a theoretical variable in the study of human interaction and shows the importance of an indigenous perspective; on the other, it relates theoretical discussion of human interaction to practical needs of understanding Chinese interactional style for the purpose of language teaching and political and commercial negotiations. Both goals can be attained by the use of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage and "cultural scripts" theory.
AB - This paper explores the conceptual basis of Chinese social organization, and examines how the fundamental Chinese categories of interpersonal relationships affect Chinese ways of speaking and social interaction. Firstly, the paper will analyze the full meanings and interrelationship of two of the most distinctive (complementary) dyads of Chinese social categories, namely, shēngrén (lit. "uncooked person", "stranger") vs. shúrén (lit. "cooked person", "an old acquaintance"), and zìjǐrén (lit. "oneself person", "insider") vs. wàirén (lit. "outer/outsider person", "outsider"). It will then put forward two master scripts - general principles underlying norms of social interaction - in Chinese culture that are governed by the demarcations of these fundamental categories: nèiwàiyǒubié ("difference between the insider and outsider") and yóushūzhìqīn ("from far to close"), and illustrate aspects of Chinese language use that are guided by these principles. They include dǎ zhāohu ("greetings"), the use of tóng X ("fellow X") and lǎo X ("old X"), and a brief discussion of the value of not being polite in Chinese culture. On the one hand, this paper demonstrates the need for treating interpersonal relationships as a theoretical variable in the study of human interaction and shows the importance of an indigenous perspective; on the other, it relates theoretical discussion of human interaction to practical needs of understanding Chinese interactional style for the purpose of language teaching and political and commercial negotiations. Both goals can be attained by the use of the Natural Semantic Metalanguage and "cultural scripts" theory.
KW - Chinese communicative style
KW - Cultural scripts
KW - Insider-outsider
KW - Interpersonal relationships
KW - Social categories
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34248702722&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1515/iprg.2004.1.2.211
DO - 10.1515/iprg.2004.1.2.211
M3 - Article
SN - 1612-295X
VL - 1
SP - 211
EP - 230
JO - Intercultural Pragmatics
JF - Intercultural Pragmatics
IS - 2
ER -