A Comparative and Translation Study of English-Chinese Greetings under the Theory of Intercultural Communication

Abstract

Greetings are a sign of a communicative relationship between one party and another, and an important aspect of politeness in
every language. As a universal phenomenon of human language, greetings can be said to be the most commonly used communication
language in peoples life. Language is the carrier of culture, and greetings exist in all languages. They provide the means for conversation
initiation and for establishing, maintaining and negotiating social relationships. Therefore, the use of greetings plays a very important role
in the smooth development of communication. This paper analyzes the various functions of greetings, compares the differences in content,
structure and use of personal pronouns between English and Chinese greetings, and analyzes the deep cultural reasons for the differences.
This paper, through a comparative analysis of English and Chinese greetings, discusses how to choose a greeting that conforms to the
cultural norms of the other party in cross-cultural communication, so as to avoid cultural barriers caused by differences and successfully
complete cross-cultural communication.