英语论文-Comparison of Chinese and English Animal Words.pdfVIP

毕业论文（设计） b.a.thesis comparison of chinese and englishanimal words b.a.candidate: huang yi advisor: zheng sanliang foreign language department jiaying university may21, 2008 毕业论文（设计） i acknowledgements my deepest gratitude goes first and foremost to my tutor, miss zheng sanliang, for her constant encouragement and guidance. she has walked me through all the stages of the writing of this thesis. without her consistent and illuminating instruction, this thesis could not have reached its present form. last my thanks would go to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great confidence in me all through these years. i also owe my sincere gratitude to my friends and my fellow classmates who gave me their help and time in listening to me and helping me work out my problems during the difficult course of the thesis. 毕业论文（设计） ii abstract language is a cultural carrier. culture-loaded vocabulary plays an important role in a language. different social backgrounds and national cultures have a great effect on the cultural connotations of vocabulary. animals are friends of human beings. languages of most nations contain a lot of words denoting animals, and so do chinese and english. along with the development and progress of human society, many animals are tamed to become domestic animals serving people, and many others have become peoples pets. so animals have become part of peoples life. animal words and idioms gradually have got their established connotations in all languages. that is, people associate their feelings and emotions, even happenings and natural phenomena with various animals, which are thought to present different characters like people, or serve as symbols. many animals have become a kind of symbol in peoples thinking and this symbol is reflected in the language. however, because of different geography, different religion, different history and culture, the connotations of animal words in one language do not necessarily coincide with those in another because of different outlook of life and concept of beauty in different cultures. this thesis attempts to compare the similarities and differences of animal words, blankness in associated meanings of animal words in china and western countries, and the causes for differences and the translation methods of dealing with cultural differences. therefore, we can not only better master and use the animal words accurately, but also understand the eastern and western cultures, promoting the cross-cultural communication and translation practice. 毕业论文（设计） iii key words:animal wordsdifferent culturescauses for differences 毕业论文（设计） iv 摘摘要要 语言是文化的载体，不少词汇和习语附带着丰富的文化内涵。动物作为人类 的朋友，在人类历史和文化发展过程中扮演了重要的角色。动物词汇也逐渐形成 特定的涵义，也就是说人们把他们的一些情感，甚至是发生的事件，自然现象都 和动物联系起来，认为动物能够表现不同人的个性，或者是表示某些象征。许多 动物已经在人们的思维中形成某种象征，并体现在语言当中。然而，由于不同的 地域性，不同的宗教信仰，不同的历史和文化，不同的人生观，以及不同的文化 审美观等方面，动物词汇的内涵意义会因为语言的不同而不同。 本文就中英动物习语的异同， 中西文化中动物词汇的空缺和引起中西文化差 异的成因等三方面进行比较，使我们能够更加准确、更加形象地使用动物习语， 也能更好地了解中西文化，促进跨文化交际，对习语的翻译实践也有一定的实际 意义。 关键词：关键词：动物词不同文化不同的成因 毕业论文（设计） v contents acknowledgementsi abstract (english)ii abstract (chinese).iv 1. introduction1 2. comparison of chinese and english animal words . 2 2.1 same animal words with the same associative meanings.2 2.1.1 fox.2 2.1.2 donkey.2 2.1.3 bird3 2.1.4 parrot.3 2.1.5 sheep.3 2.1.6 wolf.3 2.2 same animal words with different meanings.4 2.2.1 same animal words with different connotative meanings.4 2.2.2 same animal words with different affective meanings.5 2.3 different animal words with the same reflected meanings7 2.4 blankness in associated meanings.8 2.4.1 unique animal words in chinese.9 2.4.1.1 仙鹤 (crane)9 2.4.1.2 乌龟 (tortoise).9 2.4.1.3 鸳鸯 (mandarin ducks).9 2.4.1.4 黄花鱼 (yellow fish).10 2.4.1.5 鲤鱼 (common carp).10 2.4.2 unique animal words in english.10 2.4.2.1 beaver.11 2.4.2.2 cat.11 2.4.2.3albatross.12 2.4.2.4 cock.13 2.4.2.5 red herring.13 3. factors causing the differences.13 3.1 different geography13 3.2 different religion14 3.3 different history.15 3.4 different fable and mythology.16 3.5 different beauty conception.17 3.5.1 magpie.17 3.5.2 dog17 3.5.3 bat.18 4. conclusion.18 references.20 毕业论文（设计） 1 comparison of chinese and english animal words 1. introduction animals are friends of human beings. languages of all nations contain a lot of words denoting animals. chinese and english are no exception. along with the development and progress of human society, many animals are tamed to become domestic animals serving people, and many others have become peoples pet animals. so animals have gradually become part of peoples life. gradually, animal words got their established connotations in all languages. that is, people associate their feelings and emotions, even happening and natural phenomena with various animals, which are thought to represent different characters like people, or serve as omens. many animals have symbolism, a kind of symbolism in peoples thinking, and this symbolism is reflected in the language. saying like “as strong as an ox” appears in the chinese language or “as strong as a horse” in english language. however, “these sayings do not necessarily coincide from one language to another because of different outlook of life and conception of beauty in different cultures” (chen dezhang, 2000: 345). different people from different cultures may have different understandings of the same animal word because of the less knowledge of the target cultures. the following study on the cultural differences in animal words between china and western countries will help us to perform properly in intercultural communication and to know more about english custom and culture. 毕业论文（设计） 2 2. comparison of chinese and english animal words animal words are rich in cultural meanings. for the same word, both chinese and english may share the same cultural connotation or entirely a different one. on the other hand, a word that has cultural connotation in one language may not have any culture connotation in another but correspond to it through its contextual meaning. 2.1 same animal words with the same associative meanings animal is mans best friend. different animals have different natural instincts and life styles. during the long-term intimate contact with the animals, people have the deep-rooted understandings towards animals, and both the chinese people and english people have the same knowledge of animals natural instincts and ways of life. owing to this, animal words have the same associative meaning in chinese and in english. the following are good examples. 2.1.1 fox english people would say, “he is as sly as a fox. hes foxy, and youre got to watch him”. at the same time, chinese people would understand the meaning of the sentence as well, in chinese, “他像狐狸一样狡猾，他很狡猾，你得注意点”. in chinese and english languages “fox” can be used to describe someone who is cunning and deceitful. it also states that different languages and cultures endow “fox” the same cultural associative meaning. 2.1.2 donkey donkey can be regarded as a kind of animal with dopey and stubborn temper. so 毕业论文（设计） 3 the “donkey (驴)” is used to show the character with obstinate and stupid temper both in english and in chinese, e.g., “as stubborn as a donkey (像驴一样固执的)”. 2.1.3 bird birds can fly to any place they like to. no wonder they are the embodiment of freedom in both english and chinese. for example, “bring the child down to me for a fortnight. i have a huge old garden where he can be as free as a bird and perfectly safe. (让孩子在我这住上半个月, 我有一个庞大的旧花园， 在这个花园里， 他可以像小 鸟一样自由和安全).” 2.1.4 parrot parrot is a kind of bird that can imitate peoples sound. english people and chinese people use “parrot (鹦鹉)” to refer to those people repeat someone elses word and ideas without really understanding what you are saying, e.g., “he doesnt have an idea of his own. he just parrots what other people say. (他没有自己的主张， 常常鹦鹉学舌)”. 2.1.5 sheep sheep is regarded as a kind of docile animal in chinese and the western culture. this animal word is mostly used to describe and analogize the respectful and submissive temper of a person or other creatures, e.g., “female sheep (代表最有爱心 的人)”, “a black sheep (坏蛋, 败类)”. in chinese, the meek meaning of sheep also can be showed. just like: “她表现得像羊一样温顺” means that she played like a sheep. 2.1.6 wolf 毕业论文（设计） 4 wolf is a kind of animal whose natural disposition is greedy and flagitious. therefore, in the chinese and english languages, there are the similar expressions, such as “as cruel as a wolf (像狼一样凶残)”, “have a wolf in ones stomach (饿极 了)”, “to cry wolf” means to give a false alarm (发假的警报). 2.2 same animal words with different meanings everybody knows that words represent meaning. the problem is that they may represent several types of meaning simultaneously. “according to geoffrey leech (1981:9-23), meaning in the wider sense may embrace 1.conceptual meaning (or sense); 2.connotative meaning; 3.social meaning; 4.affective meaning; 5.reflected meaning; 6.collective meaning; and 7.thematic meaning. among them, connotative meaning, social meaning, affective meaning, reflected meaning and collective meaning can be brought together under the heading associative meaning.” (wang zhenya，2000：34) . since animal words are due to different cultural, historical and traditional background, chinese people and english people have different associative meanings towards the same animal words or different animal words with same reflected meaning. 2.2.1 same animal words with different connotative meanings connotative meaning is the communicative value an expression has in addition to the purely conceptual meaning. connotations of words vary from culture to culture. iftheyareignored,seriousmisunderstandingscanoccurincross-cultural communication. the connotations of a great many english words are different from those of their translation equivalents in chinese can be seen from animal words. take 毕业论文（设计） 5 the animal word “dog” as an example. dog is a distinctive example in the two cultures. “ 狗 ” is very pejorative in meaning in chinese. this can be readily illustrated by the chinese words and idiomatic expressions in which it is an element: “走狗”, “丧家狗”, “狗头军师”, “狗 急跳墙”, “狗腿子”. many others can be added to this list, but they are enough to exemplify the negative attitudes of the chinese people towards this creature. in english culture, however, a dog is a pet, which can even be considered a family member. for example, “there are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog and ready money” (人有三个忠实的朋友：老妻、老狗和现金). it is hard for english speakers to understand why “走狗” is a pejorative term in chinese. to them a dog is lovely and a “running dog” is doubly lovely. “dog” and “ 狗 ” convey the same conceptual meaning, but their connotations are quite different in english and chinese cultures. 2.2.2 same animal words with different affective meanings “affective meaning is communicated when the feeling or attitudes are expressed in language. in other cases, affective meaning is conveyed through the mediation of conceptual, connotative, or stylistic meaning.” (wang zhenya, 2000: 34) lets take dragon for example. in chinese, especially in ancient times, people thought dragon is a mythical animal with great power. to chinese, the dragon is something sacred and has been referred to the ancestor of the chinese nationthat is why the chinese all call themselves descendents of the dragon and the chinese feudal emperors were often referred to sons of dragons, wearing clothes with designs of 毕业论文（设计） 6 dragons. further more, there are many chinese idioms that involve the word “龙” with good connotations. as follows: “龙腾虎跃”, “龙生龙，凤生凤”, “龙凤呈祥”, “生龙活虎”. many chinese would say “望子成龙”, but its literal correspondence meaning is: “to expect ones son to become a dragon” would sound puzzled and ridiculous to the native english people. in western peoples minds, the dragon is a large imaginary animal that has wings and a long tail and can breathe out fire. to westerners, dragon is often a symbol of evil, a fierce monster that destroys others in the world and therefore it must be destroyed. it originates from the bible story, in which satan, who fought against the god, was called the great dragon. dragon in the western world is a cruel and vicious creature. “there is an example in the collins conbuild english language dictionary, if you call a woman a dragon, you mean that she is fierce and unpleasant.（如果把一个女人叫做 dragon，是说她很凶，很令人 讨厌。 ）” (li xiaoqiang，gao yanhong，2004：70) lets take petrel for another example. chinese people give preference to petrel. petrel is a bird that flies over the vast ocean with courage to brave the storms. so petrel is associated in china with braving hardships and ordeal and courage. the petrel emerges in many juvenile diaries, youthful fictional writings, and appears as the trademark for a number of products. however, english speaking people do not like petrel, because they think petrel is the symbol for disasters, for when a storm is arising, petrel will flush, flying like lightening between black clouds and the sea. so the petrel is considered as an omen of disaster in english. for example, “storm petrel” means a person regarded as a herald of trouble, strife or violence or someone who delights in 毕业论文（设计） 7 such trouble, etc. 2.3 different animal words with the same reflected meanings “reflected meaning arises in words of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to another sense.” (wang zhenya, 2000: 34) reflected meaning can be seen in most animal words. “it reveals the fact that english and chinese speakers may view the same thing in different ways.” (wang zhenya, 2000: 34)these views above will be illustrated by the following examples. to chinese people, tiger is a big and powerful carnivorous animal that is called the king of the beasts, so tiger is the symbol of the bravery, courage, vigor, decisiveness and power, e.g., “虎虎有生气, 虎头虎脑，虎将” etc. in contrast, english speaking people consider that the king of the beasts is lion, and lion is the symbol of the courage, ferocity, dignity of dominance, as can be seen from such expressions: “regal as a lion (狮子般庄严)”; “majestic as a lion (像狮子一样雄伟)”. the lion in english culture enjoys high prestige. “richard i, king of england in the latter part of the 12th century, was known as lion-hearted for his courage and chivalry. there is an expression “to be brave as a lion”. when someone is called a lion, he is referred to a celebrity or a famous person. therefore, there is another idiom like “a lion-hunter”, which means “hosts or hostesses who seek out celebrities with whom to impress their guests.” it is no wonder, then, that the english speaking people have chosen the lion as their symbol as in the expression “the british lion”. the word has been used to form many english idioms with such connotations. for instance, “lions share” means the largest part; “the lions den” means a place of great danger; “to meet 毕业论文（设计） 8 a lion in ones path” means to encounter a daunting obstacle etc. to mean “boast”, in chinese, people would say “吹牛”. but in english, people would like to use “talk horse”. in western countries, horses are beasts of burden, while oxen are raised for milk and beef. horses have more opportunities to demonstrate their strength than oxen that are strong domestic animals, too. so even though “strong as an ox” can be heard in english, “strong as a horse” is used more frequently. in china, however, oxen are the major beasts of burden in rural areas. no wonder there are such idiomatic expressions as “力大如牛”, “壮得如牛” in chinese. but no chinese would say “力大如马”, “壮得像头马”. to express the meaning of “urgent”, chinese people would say “热锅上的蚂蚁”. but the english people would prefer to say, “ like a cat on hot bricks (热锅上的猫)”. to mean someone is wet through, chinese people would say “像只落汤鸡”. in english, people would say “like a drowned rat”. chinese people usually like to use “鸡” as an animal word used in idioms, such as “鸡皮疙瘩”, and english people would say “goose pimple”. chinese people say “杀鸡取卵”, but english people give such idiom, “to kill the goose that lays the golden egg”. 2.4 blankness in associated meanings animal words have got their established connotations in all languages. and people have associated their feelings and emotions, even happenings and natural phenomena with various animals. so many animals have become a kind of symbol in peoples thinking and this symbol is reflected in the language. however, because of 毕业论文（设计） 9 different history and culture, some animal words in one language can not find the correspondent meaning in another language because of different outlook of life and concept of beauty in different cultures. 2.4.1 unique animal words in chinese there are many culturally-loaded animal words in chinese, mostly are locally grown products, especially the poultry, fish comes next. the following animal words can not find these correspondent meanings in english language. 2.4.1.1 仙鹤仙鹤 (crane) all the chinese people know that “crane” in chinese stands for longevity. so chinese parents name their child as “鹤年”or “鹤龄” to show their hope that the child will live to a ripe old age. the crane is often paired with the pine tree, which is a symbol for sturdiness and long life. but to western minds, crane is thought to be