The Cultural Differences Reflected in Chinese and English.doc

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1、 透过日常词汇看中英文化差异The Cultural Differences Reflected in Chinese and English Daily VocabulariesContentsAbstract.1Key words.1I. Introduction.2II. The Relationship between Vocabulary and Culture.2III. Differences between Chinese and English Vocabulary.3 1. Problems in study the relationship between vocabul

2、ary and cultures.2 2. Different definitions of language.2 3. The relationship between vocabulary and language.3 4. The relationship between language and culture3 5. The relationship between vocabulary and culture3IV. Relationship between Culture and Vocabularies in Chinese and English 41.Euphemism a

3、bout death in Chinese and English.42. The research on the diminutive in Chinese and English.73. Different idioms in Chinese and English.10V. Conclusion.11References.11The Cultural Differences Reflected in Chinese and EnglishDaily VocabulariesAbstract: To learn a foreign language, we should not only

4、master the speech sounds, grammar, vocabulary and idioms, but also know how the person who selects the language as a foreign language deals with matters, observes the world and reflects their social thoughts, habits and behaviors with the language. Another point is that we should know the soul of a

5、language -its social culture. Vocabulary is an important element of a language, so we should know the cultural intension in China and in English-speaking countries according to the different Chinese and English daily vocabularies. In this thesis, I will compare the different culture through Chinese

6、and English daily vocabularies. Key words: culture; euphemism; hypocorism; idiom; vocabulary摘 要：学习一种外语，我们不仅应该掌握它的语音、语法、词汇和习语，还应该了解选择这门语言的人如何通过这门语言表达对待事物的方式，如何遵循这个世界以及如何表达他们的社会思想、习惯和行为。另外一点就是我们了解语言的灵魂它们的社会文化。词汇是语言的一个很重要的元素，所以我们应该透过汉英日常词汇的不同来了解中国和英语国家的文化内涵。关键词：文化；委婉语；爱称；成语; 词汇I. Introduction Any count

7、ry or nation has their own unique traditional culture including values, modes of thinking, moral rules, customs, life styles, etc, which forms the difference in different nations. Language is the carrier of culture, and culture is the reflection of language. To learn a foreign language, we should no

8、t only master phonetics, grammar, vocabulary and idioms, but we should also know how the person who selects the language as a foreign language deals with matters, observes the world and reflects their social thoughts, habits and behaviors with the language. Another point is that we should know the s

9、oul of a language - social culture. Vocabulary is an important element of a language, so we should know the cultural intension in China and English countries according to the different Chinese and English daily vocabularies. That we make clear the connection between Chinese and English vocabulary is

10、 good for English learning.II. The Relationship between Vocabulary and Culture1. Problems in studying the relationship between vocabulary and cultures Now, there are more and more people who study foreign languages. The scope of the study involves the similarities and differences among languages, cu

11、ltures, etc. And many linguists compare Chinese with English. But people who study the different cultures through language are not many. There are few people who pay attention to the relationship between cultures and vocabularies, especially the differences between cultures in Chinese and English da

12、ily vocabularies. 2. Different definitions of languageIt has always been difficult for linguists and philologists to give a proper definition to language. Although there has been amount of research in language in the past half century, no authoritative answer has been given to “what is language? Her

13、e are two sample definitions of “language proposed by some linguists:In the book Intercultural Communication in English (Yu Lisheng 2004), there are the following definitions:1) Language is a purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of voluntarily

14、 produced symbols (Sapir 1921).2) From now on I will consider language to be a set (finite or infinite) of sentences, each finite in length and constructed out of a finite set of elements (Chomsky 1957). 3. The relationship between vocabulary and languageLanguage is like a tall building, phonetic is

15、 the foundation; Grammar is the frame structure; Vocabulary is the building material. This is the effect of vocabulary in the whole language system.4. The relationship between language and cultureLanguage is a part of culture, and its the important carrier of culture dissemination, too. It is the cu

16、lture footstone. Without language, there is no culture. But at the same time, language is also affected by culture and reflects the culture intension. We can know the characteristics of a nation from her language. It not only includes the history and cultural background, but also contains peoples vi

17、ew on life, the way of life and thought.5. The relationship between vocabulary and cultureVocabulary is one of the important elements of a language. If we want to express something in language, vocabulary is the must. The cultural intension can incarnate in language. So we can also know the differen

18、t cultural intensions in China and English-speaking countries according to the different Chinese and English daily vocabularies.III. Differences between Chinese and English VocabularyBefore 1980s, many English experts have studied English vocabulary, especially Russian. They compared Russian with En

19、glish. And on the basis, Chinese experts got great progress in the area. But in 19601976, the research was stopped . Now, the condition has changed. Since 1990s, lexicology has become an independent subject in the western countries, and linguists began admiring its position in linguistics. Many ling

20、uists wrote books about it, but few researched vocabulary and culture together, and the points of view and method of researching were different, but they were reasonable. Now, the most popular view of it is analyzed from four aspects：1. non-symmetry phenomenon: In daily life, some Chinese words cant

21、 be translated into English. For example, we can translate Chinese word “三伏into “dog days, but there are not English words which can be translated into Chinese word“三九. Other words like “阴, “阳, “太极, “气功 and “八卦 belong to this category. In the same way, some English words cant be translated into Chin

22、ese, such as cowboy, hippie, etc.2. non-equivalence phenomenon: The most marked word is “lover, we can realize the different cultures according to the different understanding of the word.3. speciosity phenomenon: In English, there are many compound-words. But their meanings are complex. For example,

23、 1)Place: fire company纵火公司, high school高等学校, etc.2)People or object: French window法国窗, goldbrick金锭, etc.3)Idioms: see you见你. Its right meaning is“Goodbye. see John拜访约翰. It means that someone goes to WC.4. analogy phenomenon: 1) Chinese word: 鸡皮疙瘩. Its English equivalence is“goose flesh;2) Chinese wo

24、rd: 吹牛. Its English equivalence is “talk horse, etc.IV. Relationship between Culture and Vocabularies in Chinese and English 1. Euphemism about death in Chinese and English Generally speaking, we think “death is not propitious, though it is a physiological and social phenomenon which can not be avoi

25、ded.1) Euphemism about death and religionIn English, there are many euphemisms about death which come from the Bible. Those words express Christians philosophy and the religion explanation to death. For example, Christians think that people are made with clay by God. So they believe that someone ret

26、urn to dust after death. Christians think that people are guilty, and they must atone for our sin. So they consider that someone would go to pay the debt of nature after he/she died. God is the host of everything in the world, people must “be called to God.Comparing with English speaking countries,

27、there is not a common and unified religion in China, although there are Taoism, Buddhism and Hui religion. The believers of those religions are very few, so those religions do not make far-gone effect to Chinese.Taoism is our native religion. The believers want to be supernatural beings. They consid

28、er “death as “仙逝 or “仙游. Another parlance refers to crane. They would go to Pure Land by riding cranes when they become supernatural beings. So “骑鹤 and “化鹤 are another two parable words of death.Nowadays, many Chinese words come from Buddhism. But some euphemisms still used in Buddhism, such as “圆寂,

29、 “归寂, “顺化. Now, those words are usually used when monks and Buddhist nuns die.2) Euphemism about death and gradeChinese and English abstain from different objects. English taboos deity which stands for obvious character of religion; Chinese evades person which stands for strong character of graduati

30、on and grade rating. In China, feudatorial hierachica was very maturity. We call monarch death “弃朝, “弃君臣, “弃天下. There are still some expressions about death, such as “山陵崩, “晏驾, “大行, etc. We call populaces death “弃世, “弃平居, “弃馆舍, “弃堂帐.There was feudatorial grade in Britain feudalistic society, but thi

31、s kind of system was kept by field-relationship among feudaries but logos. So the difference between grades did not reflect in language. The occidental believe in Christianism, and they think people were made by God and everyone is au pair. There is an archaic proverb in English: Popes, Kings, begga

32、rs, and thieves alike must die. In 1740s, there appeared a new party, and it allegated to eliminate the distinction and prerogative which existed because of status and grade. The members of the party called themselves “leveler. So in English, Azrael is called “the great leveler. Now, the au pair not

33、ion also has some other nice Nelly, such as “join the great majority, go the way of all flesh.3) Euphemism about death and value conceptionEthic and value conception are different in different countries. In China, if someone sacrifices his/her life for the motherland or the mass, we usually appraise

34、 them with commendatory and laudatory words to express our respect and lament, such as “壮烈牺牲, “慷慨就义, “为国捐躯, “以身许国, “马革裹尸, “肝脑涂地, “流尽最后一滴血, “永远地离开了我们, others like “献身, “捐躯, “殉职, “阵亡, “效死, “就义, “成仁, “受命, etc.In Britain, native heroes are also respected by people, and we can find some euphemisms to the

35、 person who sacrifices his/her life for the motherland or the mass, such as fall, lay down ones life, give ones life, lay down with ones shovel and hoe, kiss the dust, bite the dust/the ground, make the ultimate sacrifice, be present at the last roll call, be written off, fire ones last shot. But th

36、ose words are inferior to Chinese words. Different from Chinese culture, English culture emphasizes that spirit should rest in peace after someones death. Although some heroes dedicated their life for justice or truth, people think those heroes finished their errand endued by God. In China, if villa

37、ins and criminals die, we usually say “横死, “丧生, “丧命, “吹灯了, “见鬼去了, “玩完了, “拔蜡了, “吃枪子, “见阎王, “一命呜呼, “翘辫子, “送命, “毙命, “回老家, “呜呼哀哉. There are some related euphemisms, such as drop off the hooks, kick the bucket, slip the hooks, hive up, yield up the ghost, be done for, etc.4) Particular euphemism about de

38、ath in Chinese Chinese people tabooe “death and the related things. So there are many euphemisms about death in Chinese. For example, we call eternity box “寿木, “寿材, “长生木 and so on. The euphemisms about cerement are “寿衣, “长生衣, etc. The house where corpses are kept in hospital is called “太平间. In ancie

39、ntry, plebeians body would be placed ravine, so “填沟壑 is the fungible word of death. And the ancients tabooed “sepulture and “graveyard, and there were euphemisms, too. Emperors sepulture was called “陵, “陵寝, “柏城, “玄宫, “鼎湖, etc. Plebeian s graveyard was called “蒿利, “蒿丘, “坯土, “阡原, “丘墟, “幽宅 and so on. C

40、hinese people also taboo the word which has the similar sound with death, the best example is “4”. When elders age is 74 or 84, they dont want to tell others the real age. Most people dont like the numbers with “4”, because they think this kind of telephone numbers are not lucky. So the price of the

41、m is lower than others. Those things reflect the unique culture of Chinese. There are hundreds of euphemisms about death, and many of them are idioms. For example, “百年之后, “千秋之后. Because the ways of death are different, the euphemisms are different, too. “寿终正寝 refers to regular death; “山高水长, “三长两短 re

42、fer to accidental death; “一病不起 refers to die in ones bed; “马革裹尸 refers to die in the last ditch; “葬身鱼腹 refers to drowning; “自寻短见 refers to suicide. The euphemisms are different because of different decedents status. “千秋万岁 and “宫车驾宴 are the euphemisms of emperors death; the euphemisms of plebeians de

43、ath are “命归黄泉 and “撒手人寰; “香消玉殒, “珠沉璧碎, “葬玉埋香, “玉陨香断 and “倩女离魂 are the proper euphemisms of belles death; “英勇就义 and “为国捐躯 are the proper euphemisms of heroes death; “哲人其萎 and “蘭摧玉折 are the euphemisms of wisdoms death; “玉楼赴召, “ 玉楼修记, “地下修文 and “英人早逝 are the proper euphemisms of literators death.The pa

44、rlances of death are different because of the decedents different status, degrees and ages, the reasons and modes of death. So the number of euphemism about death is very large.5) Particular euphemism about death in English Most of the euphemisms about death root in tales and literary quotations of

45、Christianism, and those tales and literary quotations are from myth of Greece and Roman. For example, pay Charon, Charons boat (ferry), etc. There are many loan words that express death . “Pass away is one of the examples, and “pass rooted in French word “passer which means “mourir (death). The word

46、 “decease rooted in Latin word “decedere, and it means “go away; cedere means go; decease means go away.Euphemism is a reflection of social psychology on language. Its appearance, development, change and contabescence are related to zeitgeist. Life is kind of gambling. You will lose, if the life fin

47、ishes. So some euphemisms are related to games, such as cashed in / handed in his chips, jumped the last hurdle.2. The research on the diminutives in Chinese and English Diminutive is a kind of friendly appellation, and it is used most aboard. Appellation is related to social customs, value systems and ideology. So China and English speaking countries reflect their own cultural background and social life. But the similar languages have different language rules, especially English. English has extended to America,