The Cultural Connotation in English Vocabulary英语专业毕业论文.docx

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1、The Cultural Connotation in English VocabularyAbstract It has long been recognized that language is an essential and important part of a given culture and that the impact of culture upon a given language is something intrinsic and indispensable. With the change of time and development, language shou

2、ld also change for new situations. Language reflects unique national character because of its own characters. Vocabulary is like the shadow of the society because it reveals the cognitive shape of that culture in an abstract sort of way. Vocabulary is also a media of communication and expression, so

3、 it is endowed with national characters with strong ethnicity and spirit of time. Since culture and vocabulary are closely related, we cant separate them from each other. A good understanding of the cultural background of the target language is essential to language learners. English is one of the m

4、ost popular and developing language. In many countries, there are trends of studying English. Therefore, it is important to study English vocabulary in cultural background. To learn English vocabulary correctly and make great efforts to study its cultural connotation will improve the understanding a

5、nd using of the language. The paper attempts to show that English vocabulary is indispensable from its culture. From the aspects of cultural connotation reflected in English vocabulary, including their view of values, social problems and unique characteristics, their interrelationship and inseparabi

6、lity can be proven. English vocabulary also changes with the development of culture. The thesis reveals cultural character fully from the aspects of vocabulary and vice versa. Knowing the importance of cultural connotation in English vocabulary can change some peoples wrong idea that they can learn

7、English well only by learning its vocabulary so that we can break the traditional way of English studying which separates culture from language. At the same time, developing a new way to study English well is important. The new way is studying English in its culture.This thesis consists of an introd

8、uction, the main body and a conclusion. Its main contents are as follows: The first part is the introduction. It introduces the researches that have been done in foreign countries and in China and the main purpose and meaning of this essay. The body of the thesis is composed of four chapters. In the

9、 first chapter, it introduces vocabulary and culture, and the relationship between vocabulary and culture. The second chapter is the main part of the whole essay. It introduces three main aspects of culture of English-speaking countries reflected in English vocabulary. In this part, it shows many wo

10、rds and phrases and the cultural connotations or stories behind them. Thus, we can see the close relationship between vocabulary and culture clearly. In the third chapter, it introduces three trends of vocabulary development with the culture changes, and then we know vocabulary changes as its cultur

11、e changes. It further proves that vocabulary cant exist alone. In the last chapter, it shows the meaning and importance of studying culture in English vocabulary. It refers to the practical significance of this essay. Athough the black are liberated legally after the Civil War, it is still unfair in

12、 many fields. During the cultural hybridity, the white culture is still the mainstream. And the black people as well as their culture are marginalized because of the cultural hegemony of the white culture. In his novel Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison, the black writer, explores this situation exactly a

13、nd quests for the individual identity of the African Americans. This is also what this thesis is going to discuss. However unlike the black writers before him, Ellison does not depictpurposefully the unfairness and discrimination of the blacks;instead, he remains calmly objective when it comes to th

14、e black-white relations and reveals his uniqueopinions on blacks search for identities. This thesis intends to reveal the individuals persistent pursuit of his own worth and the sense of meaning. The hero, known as the invisible man in the novel, is an African American. He experiences his existentia

15、l predicaments in the context of the anti-black racism in postwar America. For this reason, he feels anguished, despairing and lonely.This novel is different from other novels created by other black writers, for it doesnt emphasize the blacks revolt in black-white society,it emphasizes the blacks in

16、visibility in white controlled world. Key Words: culture; vocabulary; inseparabilityIIICONTENTS Introduction 1Chapter One General Introduction to English Vocabulary and Culture 2 I. What is Vocabulary 2II. What is Culture 2III. The Relationship Between Vocabulary and Culture 3Chapter Two Cultural Co

17、nnotation Reflected in English Vocabulary6I. View of Values 61. The Frontier Heritage 62. Basic American Values and Beliefs 73. American Dream 84. Time in English Peoples eyes 9 5. Money in English Peoples eyes 9II. Social ProblemsEvil of the Society 101. Racial ProblemsRepresentation of Ethnocentri

18、sm 10 2. SexismMan Dominated Society 123. Political ScandalA Complicated Issue 154. War Influences 16III. National Characteristics 161. Pluralism 162. Way of Life 183. Unique Concept 19Chapter Three Development of English Vocabulary in Culture Change 21I. Culture Change Influences English Vocabulary

19、 21II. Major Trends of English Vocabulary 211. Rapid Growth of Science and Technology 22 2. Social, Economic and Political Changes 223. Influences of Other Cultures and Languages 22Chapter Four Meaning of Studying Cultural Connotation in English Vocabulary 23I. Importance of Culture in English Vocab

20、ulary 23II. Difficulties Caused by Lacking Cultural Connotation 23III. The Significance of Cultural Teaching and Learning 24Conclusion 25Bibliography 28ii IntroductionIt has become axiomatic to state that there exists a close relationship between language and culture. Many scholars, linguists, and a

21、nthropologists study the relationship between language and culture. Though the endeavor in the pursuit of interrelationship between language and culture has never been dormant in the development of linguistic science, this embedding of language and culture has been the focus of intense and sustained

22、 research efforts since 1960.Ever since the beginning of the 18PthP century, the linguistic inquiry of language has been either comparative and historical or structural and formalized in nature. Some changes, however, were observed at the start of the 20PthP century. An anthropological orientation i

23、n the study of language was developed both in England and in North America. Malinowski and Firth can be regarded as the pioneers of this movement in England. Boas, Sapir and Whorf are the representatives from North America. A lot of important and creative work has been done in the research of the re

24、lationship between language and culture. In recent years, the research about socio-cultural linguistics is also booming in China. Many experts take great efforts to study in this field and have made many achievements, which shows that the research about language and culture attracts peoples more att

25、ention and great efforts. All these prove that culture plays more and more important role in language. English vocabulary is widespread and popular. There are 600 millions people take it as their native language, and three billions people take it as a foreign language or second language. More than 5

26、0% of the scientific documents are written in English. More than 60% of the radio programs are broadcast in English. More than 70% of the E-mails are written in English. And we can find English in all areas such as international politics, military, economics, etc. The importance of English is self-e

27、vident. Vocabulary, which is the most active factor in language, often reflects social life and thoughts. English vocabulary has a mixed character. The culture behind its vocabulary is various and colorful. So studying cultural connotation in English vocabulary is meaningful for English study nowada

28、ys. Chapter OneGeneral Introduction to English Vocabulary and CultureI. What is Vocabulary? When we say one knows a language, we mean the person knows the words and morphemes which are in that language. These basic units constitute the vocabulary. Vocabulary is one of the three elements of language:

29、 speech sounds, grammar and vocabulary. “Language is a tall building. Phonetics is its foundation and grammar is its plan and structure, while vocabularies are all building materials. Without building materials, the building is no more than a design.”（汪榕培, 2002: 220）This statement shows that vocabul

30、ary plays an extremely important part in language.Hu Zhuanglin points out that the basic element in vocabulary is word, which is a unit of expression that has universally intuitive recognition by native speakers. Not only vocabulary refers to the total number of the words in a language, but it can s

31、tand for all the words used in a particular historical period. Every word in English vocabulary has its story, because the etymology of a word is basically a description of its history.The same words in different languages may be entailed with different connotations. Connotation means “the implicati

32、on of a word, apart from its primary meaning” or “the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes”, according to Webster. The connotation of lexical items is influenced by the prototypes of the dominant culture. It seems a difficult task to find truly neut

33、ral and cultureless words. Words are full of cultural connotation. (汪榕培等, 2006: 346) English is one of the worlds highly developed languages. The general estimate of the present-day English vocabulary is over one million words. (张维友, 1997: 10) Naturally the vocabulary is one of the largest and riche

34、st.II. What is Culture?Culture is too inclusive a concept to define. Scholars differ in its definition. Many philosophers, sociologists, anthropologists and linguists tried, from perspectives of different fields, to make a satisfactory definition for it. Yet none of them has ever been recognized as

35、a norm.There are various ways of its classification. In consideration of its scope, extent or range, culture can be taken in a narrow sense and in a broad sense. Culture, in a narrow sense, refers to the social ideology or to the intellectual wealth in education, philosophy, art and literature. In a

36、 broad sense, culture refers to the total sum of the material wealth and the intellectual wealth, which have been created in the whole process of human social and historical development or to the way of life. It also can be defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors and art

37、crafts, etc, that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another. Edward Tylor put forward a classic definition in 1920. According to his view, culture is a compound, which includes knowledge, beliefs, law, morals, customers and any other capabilities and habits acquired by

38、 man as a member of society. All these definitions are similar to some extent. From all above we can define it as the way of life of group of people, developed over time and passed down from generation to generation. Culture includes every aspect of human life and interaction.III. The Relationship B

39、etween Vocabulary and Culture Vocabulary, as one of the most active and flexible elements, is heavily loaded with cultural factors. As for the relationship between vocabulary and culture, in a broad sense, it refers to the relationship between language and culture. Culture consists of all the shared

40、 products of human society. Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it. Some social scientists consider it as the keystone of the culture. On the other hand, language is influenced and shaped by culture. It reflects culture. In the broadest sense, language is the symbolic re

41、presentation of a people and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approaches to life and their ways of living and thinking. Malinowski (胡壮麟, 2001: 224) observed that in primitive culture, the meaning of a word greatly depended on its occurrence in a given context,

42、or rather upon a real language situation in life. He argued that “In its primitive uses, language functions as a link in a concerted human activity.” For many years, ethnologists, linguists and sociologists have been dwelling in the relationship between language and culture. They have contributed ma

43、ny theoretical comments and innumerable facts. Among their arguments, there is an undeniable fact that language study cannot be separated from culture study and vice versa.Much of the recent work has revealed that language is related to cognition and cognition in return is related to the cultural se

44、tting. (戴炜栋等, 2002: 137) Their relationships can be further divided as follows:1. Vocabulary Permeates CultureCulture means the total ways of life of a people, and language that characterizes the life of the human community. As culture is so inclusive, it permeates virtually every aspect of human li

45、fe and influences predominantly peoples behavior, including linguistic behavior.2. Vocabulary is Heavily Tinted with its CultureWhen we learn a new word, we tend to look for its meaning in word itself. Yet in addition to its dictionary meanings, the same word may stir up different association in peo

46、ple. For example, in America, the word dog is related to a domestic pet. In some other areas of the world, such as Hong Kong, however, dogs often are eaten. Therefore, the word dog carries quite different meanings because of different cultural experiences.3. Vocabulary Symbolizes Cultural RealityVoc

47、abulary not only expresses facts, ideas, or events which represent similar world knowledge by its people, but also reflects the peoples attitudes, beliefs, world outlooks, etc. In a word, vocabulary expresses cultural reality. To dig it further, vocabulary with its own cultural substance and values

48、may be viewed as a symbol of social identity. People are identified via their use of vocabulary. For example, in English, politician can be a very derogatory term, one that arouses contempt. It implies a person who is in public life merely for personal gain, one who schemes for self-interest. It can also mean a smooth-operatorone who acts or speaks with assurance and easy competence. Statesman would be appropriate in both British and America English, for it means a person with wisdom and skills in manag