The Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Reflected by Their Languages.pdf

《The Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Reflected by Their Languages.pdf》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《The Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Reflected by Their Languages.pdf（7页珍藏版）》请在淘文阁 - 分享文档赚钱的网站上搜索。

1、The Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Reflectedby Their Languages【Abstract】Social scientists tell us that cultures differfrom one another，and each culture is unique.Learning a foreignlanguage well means more than merely mastering thepronunciation，grammar，words and idioms.In fact，it is

2、inseparable from learning its culture.This paper attempts to doa brief study of certain cultural differences between Chineseand English reflected by everyday conversations，proverbs，metaphor and association as well as taboos.【Key words】differences；proverb；metaphor；taboo；culture【摘要】社会学家告诉我们，一切文化都是独特的，

3、互不相同的。学习一种外语不仅要掌握语音、语法、词汇和习语。实际上，学习语言与了解语言所反映的文化是分不开的。本文粗略探讨日常对话，谚语，比喻和禁忌语这些语言现象所折射出的两种语言之间存在的文化差异。【关键词】差异 谚语 比喻 禁忌语 文化IntroductionAlthough the language used in communication may befaultless，misunderstandings may arise.The same words orexpressions may not mean the same thing to differentpeoples.Beca

4、use of cultural differences，a serious question maycause amusement or laughter；a harmless statement maycause displeasure or anger.Because of cultural differences，jokes by a foreign speaker may be received with blank faces andstrong silence.Thus it is necessary to study the culturaldifferences while l

5、earning a foreign language.1.Cultural Differences in Everyday ConversationsAn American studying in china had an appointment atnoon.As he was getting on his bicycle a Chinese friend passedby.吃了吗？The young Chinese asked.This，of course，is acommon Chinese greeting around meal time and the Americanmerely

6、 nodded with a smile，waved goodbye and went off.Herealized that his friends remark was nothing more than aChinese way of saying hello or hi.If the greeting had been putliterally into English“have you eaten yet？”or“have you hadyour lunch？”It would have sounds rather unusual.To Americans，the greeting

7、might mean this：“I haventeither，come on，lets go together and get something to eat”or“if you havent，I was just going to invite you to my place.”In other words，it could indicate an invitation to a meal.Actually，another foreign student who had not been longin China once complained in broken Chinese“你们为

8、什么老问我吃饭了没有，我有钱。”To his way of thinking，people wereconcerned that he was not getting his meals properly becauseof lack of money.Clearly，he was offended.2.ProverbsNow we shall look at proverbs and sayings.Proverbs areshort sayings of folk wisdom-of well-known facts ortruths-expressed succinctly and in

9、 a way that makes them easyto remember.Because the sayings are so pithy，they haveuniversal appeal.Students love to pick up proverbs，and the useof one or two in the original language is often a minor triumphfor beginning foreign language learners.Under thesecond category let us consider the owl and t

10、he bat.“As wise as an owl”indicates that English-speaking peopleassociate wisdom with this bird.In childrens books andcartoons，the owl is usually solemn and wise.In disputes amongbirds and beasts，it is the owl that acts as judge.In moments ofcrisis，it is the owl that they go to for advice.Sometimes

11、the birdis considered as impractical and foolish，but in the main，theowl stands for wisdom.Among many Chinese，however，there isa superstitious belief that this bird is a sign of bad luck.There isa saying 夜猫子进宅（an owl visiting a home），portendingmisfortune in that household.The mere sight of an owl or t

12、hesound of the creatures hooting is enough to cause people todraw back in fear.The bat is usually associated with negative qualities in thewest.As blind as a bat，crazy as a bat，hes a bit batty，have batsin the belfry are typical expressions of the negativeassociations.They may be even worse.Mention o

13、f the bat oftenevokes the image of an ugly，sinister，blood-suckingcreature.This may possibly be because of the vampire bat.Theemotions aroused in English-speaking people are similar tothose that the owl arouses among Chinese：fright andrevulsion.To Chinese，however，the bat is a symbol of good fortune，w

14、ell-being，happiness-all positive qualities.The reason for suchassociations is probably because the name of the creature ispronounced the same as the word 福.Hence the popularity ofthe traditional design that shows the bat and the deer together蝠鹿，pronounced the same as 福禄-good fortune happiness，wealth

15、 and position.4.TaboosAn American teacher in her fifties was invited to the homeof a young Chinese colleague for dinner.When she arrived，the4-year old daughter of the hostess was presented to her.“Hello，Auntie”the little girl chirped in English.This was how her motherhad taught her to greet grown-up

16、 women.“No，no，not auntie，”the mother hurriedly corrected，“say granny.”“No，not granny，please，just call me auntie.”“But that is not polite.Youre so much older than I am.”The American womans face flushed a second，then shesmiled and said，“just have her call me auntie，Id prefer that.”What was the reason

17、for the awkwardness in thissituation？It was one of different attitudes towards age.Age，to most British and Americans，is one of the thingsconsidered improper to ask a stranger or a person that onedoes not know well.Besides age，other such matters includeones income，marital status，politics and religion

18、.Some peoplemay not mind and will readily talk about such things，but it isnot polite to ask unless the other person shows that he/she willnot be offended.Thus questions like the following，althoughinoffensive to Chinese，should be avoided when conversing withEnglish-speaking people：How old are you？Wha

19、ts your age？Whats your income？How much did that dress cost you？How much did you pay for that car？Are you married or single？How come youre still single？So youre divorced？What was the reason？Couldntyou two get along？Are you a Republican or a Democrat？Why did you vote-？Do you go to church？Whats your re

20、ligion？Are you catholic？One of the reasons behind the taboo on questions aboutpersonal matters is that English-speaking people place a highvalue on privacy.The English have a saying“A mans home ishis castle”，meaning a mans home is sacred to him，no oneshould come in without permission.So it is also w

21、ith his life andpersonal affairs.To ask questions such as those mentionedabove would be considered prying into an individual s personallife，which is another form of invading a persons“castle”.ConclusionLanguage is part of culture and plays a very important rolein it.Some social scientists consider i

22、t the keystone ofculture.Without language，they maintain，culture would not bepossible.On the other hand，language is influenced and shapedby culture；it reflects culture.In the broadest sense，languageis the symbolic representation of a people，and it comprisestheir historical and cultural backgrounds as well as theirapproach to life and their ways of living and thinking.References：1冯玉律.词语的文化内涵与翻译A.郭建中（编）.文化与翻译 M.北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，2000，292-304.2周玉忠.英汉对译中的不可译现象A.胡文仲（主编）.文化与交际M.北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1994，427-434.3平洪，张国扬.英语习语与英美文化M.北京：外语教学与研究出 版社，2000.