In various expressions of being polite,different understandings of individualism in Chinese and English cultures produce each own politeness language.

It extends the concept of FTAs (face-threatening acts) into FTAs and non-FTAs, and then demonstrates that politeness language can roughly be divided into five categories as its different levels.

However,it is not always true that polite expressions can reflect the respectable,close relations among people.

Based on the English and Chinese Politeness Principle, this paper makes a contrastive analysis of the difference of English and Chinese polite language and gives examples to illustrate it.

The polite languages of English and Chinese basically correspond ecch other semanticaly, but rather incongruously pragmatically.

Differences of polite language exists because of differences between oriental historical and cultural background,geographical environment and thinking manner and those of western.

Based on a brief study of Grice s conversational implicature and Leech s polite principle,this paper explores the scale of polite language from the angle of linguistics.

People,coming from different cultural background,will have different understanding to courtesy language with the differences in moral value view,cultural custom and regulation in behavior.