The Influence of Cultural Connotations of Words on Intercultural Communication 英语论文.doc

the influence of cultural connotations of words on intercultural communication language is intimately associated with culture and the two can not be separated. language is the cornerstone of culture. there is a need to point out that without language, there will be no culture. on the contrary, language is affected by culture and also reflects culture. the linguist deng yanchang who have ever said: language is the carrier of culture and plays an overwhelming part in culture. words in language are the most outstanding reflection of culture and embody the social cultural features of a nation to the full. therefore, an overwhelming majority of words possess specific cultural messages. a language is influenced to various degrees by its national culture. as the fundamental component of a language, words are the pillar on which the large-scale language system can entirely depend and also bear a marked brand of the national culture. when boiled down to an individual word, it is safe to say that the meaning of a word goes far beyond what it refers to in some objective known, pre-given world, but includes the world of cultural and social understanding it brings into being when used. hence, while learning a word, we should start from the following two aspects. one refers to referent meaning, the other connotative meaning. referent meaning is actually the liberal meaning of words, which expresses the relations among linguistic factors-the internal relation of language. but, connotative meaning is the cultural and social meaning of words, which not only illustrates the relations among linguistic factors itself, but also among non-linguistic factors as well as among the relevant society and culture. in the process of acquiring words, only through these two ways can we grasp the words precisely and completely. otherwise, in the course of cross-cultural communication, we will encounter difficulties when translating the source language into the target one.it is widely acknowledged that language is a system of signs which are accepted by people through repeated practice. however, we should not solely attach the great importance to language signs and its materiality. obviously, everyone grows up under the circumstances of specified culture which exercises influence on us. in respect of language learners, if they dont have a good knowledge of the specific cultural connotations of words, they may fail to have a thorough understanding of those words, which will result in their incorrect use, not to mention how to make the appropriate use of language. for instance, the word pumpkin has the same conceptual meaning in both chinese and english. however, among diverse cultures, the associations aroused from peoples mind are varied. on seeing the pumpkin, chinese people, especially the older generation, may think of the difficulties and hardships they have undergone. because, for them, the pumpkin is intimately associated with hard years. nonetheless, the british or the american will probably not generate such sense of feelings. on seeing the pumpkin, they will just recall thanksgiving day or halloween. because, for them, the pumpkin is closely linked with happy lives. taking another word bat as an example, it refers to evil in western culture, but a symbol of happiness in china because of its homonymic relation with the word happiness. the word bamboo, which symbolizes a sense of high and upright character in chinese culture, represents a spirit of pureness and freshness, freeing from vulgarity. while in regard to the west, it is merely an upshooting plant. would prefer to eat no meat, cant live without bamboo. if people dont know the symbolic meaning of the bamboo well, they are unable to have a complete understanding of the implications of su shis this saying. citing the word moon as another example, it reflects the cultural education and custom of different nations. on seeing the moon, the chinese will immediately remember the famous sentences in ancient poetry, such as i saw the moonlight before my couch, and wondered if it were not the frost on the ground., i miss my family all the more on every festive day, and the resembling nice legendary traditions, like change flying to the moon. in spite of this, the west will always associate the moon with the universe or the space. in addition, the word individualism has the following two meanings in english: (1) the idea that the rights and the freedom of the individual are the most important rights in a society; (2)selfishness. (longman 1988: 729). from these we can see the word highlights personal principle of selfishness. in western culture, the word individualism is a spirit which extraordinary deserves high praise. it contains the core of american culture the position of personality value goes beyond everything. it also includes the intentions of independence, struggle and innovation. even so, in chinese culture, the word individualism has a derogatory sense by reason of differences of cultural connotations. people always relate it to selfishness or self-centredness. in china, this word is not identified by most of the chinese because it goes against the word collectivism and the traditional pleasant virtue 先天下之忧而优, 后天下之乐而乐. another example quoted is the dragon. it is a kind of animal in the fairy tale. in the western fairy legend, dragon is a large imaginary animal that has wings and a long pointed tail and can breathe out fire. the west consider dragon as a ferocious and ugly monster. they reckon it a symbol of evil. in the bible, the demon satan who shows a feeling of strong opposition to god is called the great dragon which bewilders and confuses people all over the world. so, some saints deem it a great honor to kill the dragon. in the fine arts of christianity, dragon at all times represents the wicked. from this point of view, dragon is fierce and cruel. in western countries, it is also a synonym for monsters and sins. as a consequence, the west named the ferocious and harsh people dragon. that is why the police who hit or strictly supervise some guys of bad behaviour is called dragon. the interpretation of the word dragon in is: (1) an imaginary fire breathing animal in childrens stories; (2) a fierce older woman, esp. one who allows too little freedom to a young girl in her charge (longman 1988:426). for that reason, we can clearly know if a female is named real dragon, she must be an ugly shrew instead of a real dragon which means an emperor in china. hence, at the time people say a female is a dragon, that exactly is not a praise. instead, the true meaning is that she is very cruel, malicious and dreary. a good case in point is the sentence: she is a bit of a dragon around this place. but, in china, the associations aroused from dragon is totally different from those of the west. dragon is a totem figure in our history, a most representative thing in chinese ancient myth. in the widely spread chinese ancient legend, dragon is a mystical animal which can prosper the cloud and pour the rain. in chinese culture, dragon is a symbol of fortune, authority and nobility. in feudal era, dragon symbolizes an emperor, who claims himself to be a real dragon. the emperors wear dragon robe and sit in a throne to demonstrate majesty and rights. for the chinese, dragon means the highest power. up to now, the chinese still proudly declare themselves to be the descendants of dragon. in the transition of thousands of history, dragon is gradually treated as an imaginary and mysterious things which has miraculous strengths. many idioms fully illustrate that we chinese people all regard dragon as a nice thing, such as to hope ones children will have a bright future, a scene of bustling activity, prosperity brought by the dragon and the phoenix, lively and vigorous flourishes in calligraphy, like a coiling dragon and a crouching tiger, hidden people of talent, play up to people of power and influence, a lively dragon and an active tiger. for one another example, the west show tender affection for dogs in particular. in english, there are only a few words like be dog-lazy which has a derogatory meaning. in fact, the most usage of the related words or phrases of dog has no derogatory sense. dog is usually used to refer to peoples behaviour and life. in the west, dog is regarded as an intelligent animal by people who love them so much. it is also treated as a member of family as well as the best friend of a man. it is also used to symbolize the distinguished character like loveliness, loyalty, courage and smartness. therefore, considerable quantities of phrases in english relevant to the dog possess commendatory or neutral sense. for instance, the wording as sick as a dog is used to describe a man who is seriously ill. the aged who believe they are too old to learn any new things may say i am too old a dog to learn any new tricks. love me, love my dog are frequently used between lovers. die a dogs death, a top dog, a lucky dog, every dog has his day, work like a dog, old dog, gay dog, and so on. nevertheless, the word dog has a disgusting image in chinese peoples mind. the chinese often think it as a bestial animal. speaking of the dog, people always think about repugnant things. the words or phrases related to dog are generally of derogatory sense. in chinese culture, dog is a servant, a humble follower which is reflected by the phrases: a homeless dog, a running dog, like a dog threatening other people on the strength of its masters power, a henchman, monstrous audacity, dog in the water, crowing like a cock and snatching like a dog, as cruel as a wolf, to let loose a stream of abuse against somebody, a dogs mouth emits no ivory, to act like a snob, a dog-eat-dog fight, etc.from the examples given above, we can fully understand and naturally make complete use of those words on condition that we know the cultural background of those words very well. from those given illustrations, we can come to a conclusion that a large amount of words have distinct social and cultural connotations which lie in social life and cultural spirit of every nation. intercultural communication is the course that people from different nations exchange information or ideas with each other. it is also said to be a course of cultural exchange. so, two abilities are needed on cross-cultural communication: the ability of using language and understanding culture. culture is deeply rooted in a series of cognition of linguistic and non-linguistic meaning.language, of which words are the significant part, plays a role of building bridges for cross-cultural communication. words are the carrier of meanings which tell the connotations of culture and its differences. influenced by the national culture, a common word always has several accompanied cultural meanings because different national cultures will give the word varied emotions. the acquisition of the words and language itself is in some sense the acquisition of culture. admittedly, we are able to write sentences in correct grammar if we know english language well. but, it doesnt mean we can make communications successfully in our daily life with the language acquired. taking english as a second language, if we dont deepen the understanding of sino-western cultures and the co