Politeness differences between English and Chinese politeness and its usage in cross-cultural communication

Politeness is a universal social phenomenon,a criterion that people from different cultural backgrounds must observe.By comparing politeness principles raised by Leech and Gu Yue-guo,this article analyzes politeness differences and the causes of their formation in English and Chinese and puts forward the conclusion that in cross cultural-communication,we must respect and put emphasis on using the politeness principles correctly and try to avoid pragmatic failures and ensure that cross-cultural communication can go smoothly.