A Study of Kinship Terms Between Chinese and English in Cross Culture 英语论文.doc

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1、A Study of Kinship Terms Between Chinese and English in Cross Culture Kin refers to ones family and relatives. Kinship is an important aspect of the complex system of culture, and it is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through biological, cultural, or historical

2、descent. It is the most basic principle of organizing individuals into social groups, roles, categories and genealogy. Some form of organization based on parentage and marriage is present in every human society. Kinship term system refers to all kinship terms and their relationships-in a broad sense

3、, it is the language-culture system of all kinship terms in human societies; in a narrow sense, it refers in particular to the language-culture system of some specific kinship terms in those societies, such as Chinese kinship system and English kinship system. There are many differences between Chin

4、ese and English in kinship terms, The Chinese language has many precise terms for describing family and other relationships. Chinese speakers distinguish between relatives on the mother side of the family from those on the father side and use different terms to refer to relatives on each side of the

5、 family. Chinese speakers use specific terms to address their family members and each name contains the meaning of the precise relationship between the speaker and the person being addressed. The English are on the contrary, they do not usually pay so much attention on this.Here is an example, in Ch

6、inese, tang xiong/di/jie/mei with the label tang are the children of fathers brothers, while the rest with the label biao are children of fathers sisters and mothers brothers and sisters. tang” in Chinese literally means the main part of a house where the family get together, while biao means” surfa

7、ce, outside or distant. The differences between tang and biao are different in Chinese kinship terms, because in China there are distinctions between the relatives attached to the male and the female relatives. Thus, Sons son or daughter are sunzi/nv, while daughters son or daughter wai sunxi/nv; fa

8、thers parents are zufu/mu while mothers parents are wai zufu/mu. wai, which has the same meaning as biao, is one of the marks to distinguish the kin relations attached to the male and the female. In contrast, there is only one term cousin to refer to the kin relations mentioned earlier, which has ig

9、nored the factor of sex. And there is also no difference between fathers brothers children and fathers sisters children as well as the children of mothers siblings. Whats more, no differences exist between sons children and daughters children and fathers parents and mothers parents.Chinese kinship t

10、erms belong to Sudanese kinship system while English kinship terms are Eskimo kinship system. Sudanese kinship system is descriptive system, which makes a clear distinction between lineal and collateral relatives, maternal l and paternal relatives. It is so highly descriptive and detailed that gener

11、ally every relative is named by a different kinship term. Whats more, there is an inclination to relatives of paternal side as well as of lineal relationships because of the male people in paternal side and consanguineous relatives having been put more emphasis. Eskimo kinship term system, which is

12、a typical example of classification, puts more emphasis on the nuclear family which of only father, mother, son, daughter, brother and sister. It also ignores the distinction between fathers side and mothers side, which shows that it is bilateral. The differences between them have deep cultural root

13、s, which are the representation of their own distinctive language-culture systems. First, different family structures. In China, the dominant type of family is extended family while in the West nuclear family. An extended family refers to a family consisting of two or more adult generations of the s

14、ame family sharing a common household and economic resource. During its over 2000 years of feudalism, self-sufficient agriculture was typical of chinas economy, then based on collective farming with household as the primary production unit. Therefore, having a large family became one of the essentia

15、l conditions for developing production, in this family ,the relationship between its enormous members were so intricate that highly hierarchal rules should be made in order to prescribe their different status in it. Accordingly, a detailed division in kinship terms according to generation, age and s

16、ex was required for people to address and distinguish different family members. A nuclear family refers to a group consisting of parents and their unmarried children who live far away from other relatives. In western countries, people tend to live apart from their parents as soon as they get married

17、 because they uphold self-reliance, freedom and independence under the influence of individualism. Furthermore, aged people prefer to live in the nursery home rather than stay with their children. As a result, married children have their own family where they are family head with more freedom in all

18、 aspects of life. The parents also have their own families, which can avoid conflicts between parents and children brought about by the generation gap. So the overall generality of the English kinship terms reflects the much simpler and looser kinship relations in Western society.Second, different v

19、alue orientations. Kinship terms, as an address form of communication, have been greatly influenced by cultural value in its process of formation and development. Collectivism is one of the dominant value-orientations in Chinese and individualism is upheld by most western people. They have impact on

20、 society while Chinese and English kinship terms respectively. Collectivism, along with Confucianism, has had a deep-rooted influence on Chinese people, and they have also reflected by Chinese kinship terms. In China, people belong to several different groups where one can find his own identity in a

21、ll his life, and family is the most fundamental one. Chinese people are born into extended families or clans that support and protect them in exchange for their loyalty. Ones affair is an affair of the whole family himself to the family goals. In return, People tend to groups and clan; everyone shou

22、ld devote seek help and protection from their groups. Individualism prevails in most western societies, and its major characteristics areI consciousness and self-orientation along with equality and freedom.The individual is very important; it is relatively easy to forget the group from which the per

23、son came. Thus, it is common for Americans to say: I treat everyone the same”. For them, many kin relations are of the same degree of less importance, and using which way to address the relatives such as parents siblings would make no difference. Owning to their indifferent attitude towards kin rela

24、tions, the kinship terms are highly simplified with the result of several kin relations sharing one kinship term, thus the number of them is much smaller than that in Chinese. Third, different historical background. As we all know, feudal patriarchal society controlled China for two thousand years,

25、it is no doubt that the patriarchal clan system produced a great impact on Chinese culture, including the kinship term system. In ancient China, people were taught from birth authority and obedience and that power and duty were based on the position held in a hierarchy. The whole society was thus hi

26、ghly stratified and all relationships were expected to be hierarchal to some extent, from the family kinship relationship to the social relations extended from them. Just in opposite, western people take the equality as very important. Western peoples belief in equality has significant effects on th

27、e kinship term system. They hold principle that all men are born equal, in western families; all members are in an equal status. Thus, father and mother, husband and wife, son and daughter and the siblings are in the same status respectively. So kinship is only a natural biological tie among the rel

28、atives. They tend to have mutual equal relationship with each other, which have been manifested in the fact that there are no differences in kinship terms between fathers side and mothers side, the side of wife and side of husband, the younger and the older and other aspects. In general, Chinese kin

29、ship terms carry more color of patriarchal clan system and collectivism, while English kinship terms have more elements of equality, humanity, which has put more emphasis on the development of personality and a tendency of individualism. From the above, we can see that the Chinese kinship terms are

30、very descriptive bearing the semantic feature of specificity, while the English kinship terms are generous and inclusive. Chinese kinship terms are employed frequently and extensively to address both relatives and non- relatives which reflects politeness, respectfulness and friendliness. In contrast

31、, few English kinship terms have the extended and generalized usage due to different courtesy principle and value Therefore, it does not seem to be improper for us to conclude that kinship terminology actually functions as a mirror reflecting their respective social organization in both cultures. 生命

32、列车The Train Of Life1. 不久以前，我读了一本书。书中把人生比作一次旅行。2. 人生一世，就好比是一次搭车旅行，要经历无数次上车、下车; 时常有事故发生; 有时是意外惊喜，有时却是刻骨铭心的悲伤 3. 降生人世，我们就坐上了生命列车。我们以为我们最先见到的那两个人-我们的父母，会在人生旅途中一直陪伴着我们。 4. 很遗憾，事实并非如此。他们会在某个车站下车，留下我们，孤独无助。他们的爱、他们的情、他们不可替代的陪伴，再也无从寻找。 5. 尽管如此，还会有其他人上车。他们当中的一些人将对我们有着特殊的意义。 6. 他们之中有我们的兄弟姐妹, 有我们的亲朋好友。我们还将会体验千古

33、不朽的爱情故事。7. 坐同一班车的人当中，有的轻松旅行。8. 有的却带着深深的悲哀 还有的,在列车上四处奔忙，随时准备帮助有需要的人 9. 很多人下车后，其他旅客对他们的回忆历久弥新 但是，也有一些人，当他们离开座位时，却没有人察觉。10. 有时候，对你来说情深义重的旅伴却坐到了另一节车厢。你只得远离他，继续你的旅程。11. 当然，在旅途中，你也可以摇摇晃晃地穿过自己的车厢，去别的车厢找他 12. 可惜，你再也无法坐在他身旁，因为这个位置已经让别人给占了 .13. 没关系。旅途充满挑战、梦想、希望、离别 就是不能回头。因此，尽量使旅途愉快吧！14. 善待旅途上遇见的所有旅客，找出人们身上的闪光

34、点。15. 永远记住，在某一段旅程中，有人会犹豫彷徨，因为我们自己也会犹豫彷徨。16. 我们要理解他人，因为我们需要他人的理解。17. 生命之谜就是：我们在什么地方下车？坐在身旁的伴侣在什么地方下车？我们的朋友在什么地方下车？我们无从知晓 18. 我时常这样想：到我该下车的时候，我会留恋吗？我想我还是会的。和我的朋友分离，我会痛苦。让我的孩子孤独地前行，我会悲伤。 我执著地希望在我们大家都要到达的那个终点站，我们还会相聚 19. 我的孩子们上车时没有什么行李，如果我能在他们的行囊中留下美好的回忆，我会感到幸福。20. 我下车后，和我同行的旅客都还能记得我，想念我，我将感到快慰。21. 献给你,

35、 我生命列车上的同行者, 祝您旅途愉快!1. Not long ago, I read a book, in which a mans life was compared to a journey.2. The life of a man is just like a hitchhiking，during which many times we go up and down. Now and then things will happen accidently, some of which are to be unexpected excitement，while some heart-bre

36、aking sorrows. 3. When first embraced the world，we are already on the train of life. We take it for granted that the first two persons, our parents, whom we are encountered with, will accompany us all the way.4. Sadly，things do not go on as we thought.Our parents will get off the train at a certain

37、station，leaving us, bereft and helpless.Their love and emotion to us and their irreplaceable company can be found in nowhere.5. However，there will be somebody else who will get on the train. Some of them will have special meaning to us.6. Some of them may be our siblings , relatives and friends, and

38、 we will also expereince the imperishable love.7. Some of our travelling companions are quite light-hearted on the way.8. While some may bear immense sorrow.Still some ,back and forth, are ready to hold out their hands for others who need help.9. Some people alight off the train, yet they are still

39、kept in the mind of the other passengers for long;some, to the opposite, leave their seats without being noticed.10. Sometimes, the one,who is dear to your heart, has huddled into another carriage. Nothing but one you can do is just to keep on going, far away from him.11. Of course, during the journ

40、ey, you may stagger to another carriage to look for him.12. Its a pity that you will never seat yourself beside him because the seat has been engaged by others. 13. Never mind. The journey is full of challenges,dreams, hopes and departures- but only one thing is that you cant turn back. So, have a g

41、ood journey with heart and soul.14. Show your good-will to all the passengers you are encountered with, and find the merits of theirs.15. Remeber that someone may oscillate just as we do in the journey.16. We should understand others just as we need others understanding.17. The enigma of life is：Whe

42、re shall we get off the train of life?And how about the companions beside us?And our friends?We dont know.18. Sometimes I think：When my time comes to get off the train，shall I miss it？I think I will.It is a suffering when I part with my friends.I will be sorry for leaving my kids going alone.I firml

43、y hold that when we get to the terminal，we will have another reunion.19. When my kids get on the train of life, they have only little luggage in their travelling bags. However,if I can leave the beautiful memory in them,I will be happy. 20. After getting off the train of life, I will be content if my fellow passengers will remember me and miss me.21. To you , the companions on my train of life.May you have a good journey!6