Pragmatic Transfer and the Suggestions for the Future Teachers

董軒嫣玥

【Abstract】pragmatic transfer has been becoming one of the most significant aspects of inter language pragmatics in the last 20years.This paper starts with the definition of pragmatic transfer and discusses 2 types of pragmatic transfer.Based on how to improve students pragmatic competence and reduce the negative pragmatic transfer， we must pay more attention to culture teaching， encourage students input more the target language and cultivate students cross-culture awareness and pragmatic competence.

【Key words】pragmatic transfer， negative pragmatic transfer

1. Introduction

Along with the development of pragmatics as an emergent branch of learning， in the perspective of pragmatics； we begin to study linguistic transfer， namely pragmatic transfer.Pragmatic transfer refers to the phenomenon that under influence of mother language and its culture， People with different culture apply their own cultural backgrounds， value and social standard into linguistic act of target language， causing pragmatic transfer even pragmatic failure.We can give a lecture about pragmatic knowledge， so that students cross-culture intercourse competence.

2 .The manifestation of pragmatic transfer

2.1 negative pragmatic transfer

The negative transfer belongs to one form of influence on the target language， showing it a new way to the comprehension and expression.No matter whether it is good or not， or rather it may not exert a negative effect on the second language study.The negative pragmatic transfer lays in the learners comprehension and usage of the target language and continuous process.As the study is the developing in depth， the interference will be smaller and smaller.The negative pragmatic transfer can be divided into two parts； the negative pragmatic linguistic and sociolinguistic transfer.The former one is mainly about the equivalence transfer in semantic， lexicon and linguistic strategy； the latter one focuses on social customs and gap of values.

2.2 The positive pragmatic transfer

The pragmatic knowledge of the mother language can have a positive influence on the second language acquisition， which is to say the positive pragmatic transfer exists.The positive pragmatic transfer is a communicative strategy， which has a positive effect on the foster of pragmatic competent.The positive pragmatic transfer can help the learners to deal with the problems in the communications.In the real communicative situations， learners are faced with the problems and difficulties which can not be removed by the way of using the target language of pragmatic knowledge.At this moment， learners have two choices： one is to give up the communication； the other one is to borrow the related knowledge from the mother language.

3.The suggestion for the future teachers

3.1 Fully understanding the status of culture in the language teaching

Languages are the carrier of culture， which is a dispensable part of culture.Teachers of English should be aware of the cultural elements and the gravity of pragmatic failures in the cross-culture intercourse.In the whole process of language teaching， combining culture with language， teachers only require students to memorize the content and form of culture mechanically， but also let them grasp the background knowledge.Only in this way， can students comprehend meanings correctly and guarantee the whole process can move on smoothly.

3.2 Cultivating students cross-culture awareness and pragmatic competence

Studying a foreign language can not take place in the situation without society and culture.Even though a large number of people have already been aware that validity of language is an important pat of pragmatic competence， but in English teaching， attention is not much paid to culture backdrop of the target language.Teachers should seize the opportunity to warn students to take notes of the gap between the west and the east.Impart pragmatic knowledge to students and expand different culture background.

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