语言上的交流是文化的载体，道歉作为语言交际的不可缺少的重要组成部分。

早在1971年，Goffman就将道歉语定义为一种弥补性行为；Brown和Levinson认为道歉是一种有损面子的行为，在某种程度上会有损说话人的正面形象。作为社会交往重要的成分，道歉可以保持社会和谐，缓解冲突，获得更好的人际关系。本文主要通过顺应论探讨中英道歉语的差异,因此建立在Jef.Verschueren的顺应论的基础上，并选取了相关道歉用语模式，目的是为了探究中英道歉语在顺应语言现实、社会规约、心理动机方面所显现的差异，从而在中英两国人民交往中，指导人们选择合适的道歉语，使跨文化交际顺利进行。

Language is the carrier of culture, to which apologies are indispensable.

Goffman(1971:140) views apologies as remedial interchanges; in Brown and Levinson’s (1978:107) terms, the act of apologizing is face-saving for the hearer and face-threatening for the speaker. As a significant element in social intercourse, apology helps to maintain the harmonious society, to relieve the conflicts, and to keep the better relationships. This thesis provides a contrastive study of apologies in Chinese and English discourses, which is based on the Jef.Verschueren’s adaptation. It also adopts the adaptability model of apologies, so as to probe into the different adaptations through linguistic reality, social conventions, and psychological motivations. Therefore, it will promote the cross cultural communication.