Difference of Cultural Connotation of Animal Words in English and Chinese英语专业毕业论文.doc

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1、Difference of Cultural Connotation of Animal Words in English and ChineseCONTENTSAbstract1Introduction.3Chapter 1 Animal Words and Its Connotation.41.1 Different Word Meanings from Different Perspectives.4 1.2 Examples of Different Animal Words.5Chapter 2 Factors Influencing Different of Cultural Co

2、nnotation.62.1 History.6 2.2 Religion and Belief.7Chapter 3 the Comparative Study of Animal Words Cultural Connotation between English and Chinese.93.1 Same Animal Words with Similar Cultural Connotations.93.2 Different Animal Words with Similar Cultural Connotations.103.3 The Rich Connotations of A

3、nimal Words in Chinese but Vacant in English.11Chapter 4 Conclusion.13Notes14Bibliography.15 Abstract: Language and culture are closely related to each other. Animal word is an important part of almost all the human languages, and many of them reflect particular connotations in English and Chinese.

4、With the development of the society, animal words which have cultural differences play important roles in the communication between China and Western world and the implication of difference can not be neglected in the language learning. Animals have the close relationship with human beings. Many ani

5、mals were tamed to become domestic animals and serve people and become friends or part of peoples life. People associate animals with natural phenomena, personalities and emotions. They play very important role in the life of human beings, so do animal words in language. Many animals have become a k

6、ind of symbolism in peoples thinking which is reflected in languages. However, due to the influence of different factors, such as history and religion, animal words have different connotations which often result in misunderstanding in communication. In this thesis, the author attempts to make a comp

7、arative analysis to the cultural connotations of animal words between English and Chinese.Key words: animal words; cultural difference; cultural connotation 摘要：语言和文化密不可分。动物词汇几乎是所有人类语言一个重要组成部分。英语和汉语中许多动物词汇都放映了各自的文化内涵。随着社会的发展，有着不同意义的动物词汇在中西交流中起着很重要的作用，在语言学习中也是不可忽视的方面。动物和人类有着密切的联系。许多动物被驯化成家养动物为人们服务并且成为

8、人类的朋友甚至成为人们日常生活的一部分。人们把动物和自然现象，性格，情感联系起来。动物在人类生活中扮演着重要的角色，动物词汇在语言中夜有着同样的作用。许多动物在人们的思维中形成某种象征，并且反映在语言中。然而，由于不同的历史或宗教原因的影响，具有不同内涵的动物词汇导致了许多交流方面的误解。在这篇论文中，作者试图对英汉动物词汇的文化内涵进行对比研究。关键词：动物词汇；文化差异；文化内涵 Introduction Fairy tales in which animals are personified. In all this process animal words gradually got

9、their established connotations in all languages, and they have rich cultural connotations and play important roles in the communication between China and western world. Because of the different connotation of animal words, they are likely to result in misunderstanding in communication. With the rapi

10、d development of the society, people from different counties find it easy to contact with each other and get into intercultural communication. In order to avoid misunderstanding of different nations, it is necessary to know the differences.This thesis aims at exploring the cultural connotations of a

11、nimal words between English and Chinese. The thesis is composed of four chapters. Chapter one introduces different word meanings from different perspectives and gives some examples. Chapter two focuses on the reasons causing different of cultural connotations: history, religion and beliefs. Chapter

12、three makes the comparative study of cultural connotations of animal words between English and Chinese. Chapter four makes a conclusion about the thesis. Chapter 1 Animal Words and Its ConnotationIn our daily life, we use words to associate with objects, action, feelings and thoughts. In other words

13、, a word matches a specific object of the outside world. Some animal words refer to animals existing in nature, and others are imaginary in the literary works. Animals play an important role in the life of human, so do animal words in language.1.1 Different Word Meanings from Different PerspectivesM

14、eaning is the only medium through which words and language are connected with the real world. There different categorizations of word meanings from different perspectives. In 1974, British linguist Leech divides the meaning of words into seven types: conceptual meaning, connotative meaning, stylisti

15、c meaning, affective meaning, reflective meaning, collective meaning and the thematic meaning (1974:9)1 .Among the seven types of meaning, conceptual meaning and associative meaning are the essential aspects of word meaning. Leech puts the study of meaning under the social and cultural background an

16、d recognizes the importance of the communicative function of word meanings. The conceptual meaning of a word is its definition given in a dictionary. It functions to describe something. To study the connotation of words, we must know its definition. The definition in oxford advanced learners English

17、- Chinese Dictionary is“idea which a word makes one think of in addition to the main meaning ”(1997:295) 2. Associate meaning involves the elements of cultural backgrounds and is liable to the influence of history, customs and religion, thus the same things may acquire different associative meanings

18、 to people of different cultures.1.2 Examples of Different Animal WordsSayings like “as cunning as the fox” appear in many languages. Such connotation in Chinese and English are scattered in many books. To find out animals stand for different symbols, the author of this thesis referred to many books

19、. Analysis based on the information about animal words in these books, a conclusion can be made that the connotations of animals in English and Chinese cultures are very similar while others may vary greatly. For example, both cultures think the fox stands for cunning. To Chinese (94%) and the Engli

20、sh speaking people (100%) the swan stands for gracefulness and nobility. Both Chinese（54%）and the English speaking people（72%）consider the snake to be a dangerous animal, but some English speaking people（32%）suggest it also stands for usefulness. To many English speaking people（40%）the peacock symbo

21、lizes conceit, but to many Chinese (38%)it stands for beautifulness. Chapter 2Factors Influencing Differences of Cultural Connotations Language is a mirror of culture, which reflects its specific cultural feature. Every nation has its special background which has close relationship with the words wh

22、ich are related to the history, religion and belief.2.1 HistoryDifferent history cultures have different influence on the nation and reflect the rich nationality of words. Britain is one of the western counties with a long history. It gradually developed from feudal period to capital period for a lo

23、ng time. Thus, many expressions derive from the historical event in English. Take “John bull” as an example, this phrase is originally used as a derogatory term to describe the typical character of British in the book “the history of john bull”, written in 1775 by English writer. Because “bull” in E

24、nglish often refers to a strong and careless man, the expression about “bull” often has the ridiculous meaning. For example: “a bull in chinas shop(笨拙粗鲁的人)”. Now its original meaning has disappeared instead of its symbolic figure of average Englishman, such as “John Bullish (典型英国的)”, “John Bullish (

25、英国迷)”. It is known that England is governed by the pope and the king for many years. There are many words to show the resentful and disdainful feeling during this period, such as “the king the pope, the lion and wolf(国王教皇)”， “kings and bears often worry their keepers(伴君如伴虎)”. China is a country with

26、 ancient civilization of five thousand years. The emperor of ancient China is regarded as a dragon, the chair of the emperor as called “龙椅”, the emperors dress is called “龙袍”. In Chinese, dragon is the symbol of dignity, power and prosperity and the “phoenix” is also a favorable animal word. It is u

27、sually considered as the chief of all birds and is regarded as the queen.2.2 Religion and BeliefReligion is a cultural phenomenon, which takes great influence on the peoples life. In the western counties, Christianity is the dominant religion, which influences peoples life and thinking for several h

28、undred years. The Bible is already deeply rooted peoples mind. “a lion in the road (道上有猛狮)”, “beard the lion in the Bible (入狮穴掳狮须)”, lions are mentioned in the Bible for their strength, boldness and ferocity. In China, Buddhism has always been popular for over one thousand years. The Chinese believe

29、 Buddha can control all the things in the world. In Buddhism, “dragon” is the symbol of power and success, while in Christianity the lamb is the symbol of the Gods people and tameness. From these examples, it can be seen that religion and belief are the important factors affecting cultural differenc

30、es.Chapter 3Comparative Study of Animal Words Cultural Connotations between English and ChineseJust because the cultural difference may result in the misunderstanding, the thesis makes a comparative study of cultural connotations between English and Chinese.3.1 Same Animal Words with Similar Cultura

31、l ConnotationsDue to the similar experience of English people and Chinese people, they share the similar cultural connotations of animal words. For example: “fox” and “狐狸”, “pig” and “猪” share the same cultural connotations. “Fox” is the symbolism of “cunning and fraud” in both English and Chinese.

32、When English people say he is as cunning as a fox, Chinese people can understand the true meaning. In Chinese, there are some expressions about “fox”, such as: “老狐狸(old hand at tricky)”, “狐疑不决（foxy and undetermined）”. When we talk about “pig”, we get the impression of stupidity and dirtiness. So Eng

33、lish have some expressions: make a pig of oneself(大吃大喝), to teach a pig to play on a flute(做不可能的的事). In Chinese, we also have similar connotations, such as: “蠢猪”, “猪头猪脑”. These identical animal words with similar cultural connotations show that in different cultures there exists something in common.

34、3.2 Different Animal Words with Similar Cultural Connotations In English and Chinese, there are many different animal words which possess similar cultural connotations. Because of the different cultural backgrounds, people use different animal words to express similar meanings. It is known that Chin

35、a is an agricultural country. Chinese have been using “cow” in the farming for thousands of years while the British people used the “house” to do farm work. In Chinese, cow is the symbol of diligence. So we often use “老黄牛” to refer to the person who is working hard without any complaint, while in En

36、glish the similar saying is “a willing house(埋头苦干的人)”. “Tiger” in Chinese and “lion” in English also have the similar connotations. Because the Chinese consider the “tiger” as the king among forests, and it is the symbol of power and courage, while in English, “lion” means courage. In Chinese we hav

37、e “虎口拔牙”, while the English use “beard the lion in his den”. Another example is “老虎屁股摸不得”, but the English say “One should not twist the lions tail”. There are still many other different animal words with similar cultural connotations but completely different in ways of expressing between English an

38、d Chinese, such as: 落汤鸡(a drowned rat), 胆小如鼠(as timid as a rabbit or chicken hearted), 害群之马(black sheep), 牛饮(drink like a fish), 过着牛马般的生活(lead a dogs life). 3.3 Animal Words with the Rich Connotations in Chinese, but Vacant in English There are a group of cultural connotations of animal words only e

39、xists in Chinese, which is easily understood by Chinese people, such as: dragon (龙), crane (鹤) and mandarin duck (鸳鸯).To Chinese, dragon (龙) is something sacred and has been regarded as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. Thats why the Chinese call themselves 龙的传人(descendant of the dragon). Accordin

40、g to the Oxford Intermediate Learners English Chinese Dictionary, the definition of dragon is “an imaginary animal with wings which can breathe out fire” 3. But in the mind of English speaking people, the dragon is related to the evil monster. In Chinese “鹤”(crane) is the symbol of longevity. For th

41、is reason, in some paintings, the crane and pine tree are often appeared together with the motto “松鹤延年”, which means sturdiness and long life. For instance, “鹤发” (cranes hair) means gray hair of the old. “鹤发童颜” refers to the elderly but keeps healthy, and “闲云野鹤” means to live a free life. In the anc

42、ient Chinese poetry “诗曰，鹤鸣九天，声闻盖于天” . Here crane is the image of freedom and pureness. Mandarin ducks(鸳鸯) in Chinese is the love birds. People believed that a devoted couple could turn into a pair of mandarin ducks or butterflies after death, and the belief gave rise to a custom: people decorate a m

43、andarin duck painting in the meticulous style for their weddings, and a girl may give her lover a cloth bag with a pair of embroidered mandarin ducks on it. But it has no symbolic meaning at all to a Westerner.Chapter 4ConclusionThis thesis makes a comparative study of cultural connotations between

44、English and Chinese animal words. Through comparative study, we know that cultural differences result in the misunderstanding in communication due to the different history, religion and belief. From above, we know that the translation when dealing with the animal words with cultural connotation is a

45、 tough job. It is clear that the comparative study on the cultural connotations of animal words is a very effective method in learning a foreign language and plays important role of instructing people to develop their intercultural communication competence.Notes1 Leech, G. Semantics. Suffolk: The Ch

46、aucer Press, 1974, 9.2 Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (fourth edition)M. Beijing: The Commercial Press. 1997,295.3 Sally Wehmeier, Oxford Intermediate Learners English Chinese Dictionary (new edition) M. Beijing: The Commercial Press. 2000,282.Bibliography1 Cheng S

47、hen, The Teaching of Culture in Foreign Language Education. M. Beijing:Beijing Language and Culture University Press, 1999.2 Hornby, A. S. Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (fourth edition)M. Beijing: The Commercial Press. 1997.3 Newark, Peter. A Textbook of Translation, M. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign LanguageEducation Press, 2001.4 胡文仲，跨文化交际与英语学习 M. 上海：上海译文出版社，1988.5 郭建中，文化与翻译