语言文化论文-英汉谚语的比较.doc

语言文化论文-英汉谚语的比较AbstractProverbsarethecreamofalanguage.Theyreflecttherelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture.Humanbeingscommonsocialactivitiesareinmanyaspectssimilar,soEnglishandChineseproverbshavesimilarities.Becauseoftheculturaldifferences,EnglishandChineseproverbshavedifferencesintheirdetailedcontents.TheauthorcomparestheirsimilaritiesanddifferencesandalsoproposesthatEnglishandChineseproverbswillbreaktheboundaryandaccomplishinterfusion.EnglishandChineseproverbshavesimilaroriginandsimilarlinguisticcharacters.Theybothoriginatefromfolklife,mythology,literaryworksandfromotherlanguages.DifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseproverbsalsoexist.Thatisdifferentgeography；differenthistorycustoms；differentreligionsanddifferentvalueconcepts.KeyWordsproverbs；similarities；differences；interfusion摘要谚语是语言的一个重要组成部分，是各国语言文学艺术宝库中的一朵奇葩。谚语体现了语言与文化的关系。由于人类的普遍社会活动和心理思维过程有许多共同之处，因此英汉谚语也存在着相同之处。但由于各国具体历史文化背景的不同，所以英汉谚语又存在着差异。本文分析了英汉谚语的相同点与不同点，并提出英汉谚语在跨文化交际中的渗透与融合。英汉谚语有着相同的起源和语言特点。都来自民间生活，神话传说，文学作品和外来语。英汉谚语的语言具有简炼和生动形象的特点。但从具体内容来看，英汉谚语表现了不同的地理、历史、宗教和文化价值观念。最后指出随着世界文化的交流，谚语逐渐打破国家和民族的界限，英汉谚语在互相渗透与融合。关键词谚语；相同点；不同点；融合1.IntroductionThedefinitionofproverbbyOxfordAdvancedLearnersEnglish-ChineseDictionaryis“shortwell-knownsayingthatstatesageneraltruthorgivesadvice.”(精练的俗语，或为普遍道理或为劝诫语)WuZhankunsaidthatproverbsarethecrystalofnationalwisdomandexperience.Theyarefrequentlyusedorallyandhandeddownfromgenerationtogenerationandusuallygivepeopleinformationandspeakthetruth.Theyareshortsentenceswithcommonstyle,concisestructure,andvividlanguage.1WangQinsaidthatproverbsarethesummingupofpracticalexperiences.Theyaretheoralformsoflanguagethatgivepeopleexperience,adviceorwarning.2ThegreatEnglishphilosopherFrancisBacononcesaid:“Thegenius,witandspiritofanationarediscoveredinitsproverbs.”Fromthesedefinitions,wecanseecommoncharactersofproverbs.Proverbsarethecrystalofthenationalwisdomandexperience.Proverbsarecolloquial,sotheyareveryeasytoberememberedandhandeddown.Theyusuallygivepeopleadviceandwarning.Proverbsarethecreamofalanguage.Languageandculturearetightlyinteractedwitheachother；eachinfluencingandshapingtheother.Languageispartofculture.TheChineselanguageispartofChinacultureandEnglishlanguageispartofEnglishculture.Languageisthecarrierandcontainerofculture.Humanknowledgeandexperiencearedescribedandstoredinlanguage.3Asapartoflanguage,proverbscloselyintegratedwiththesocietyandculture.Proverbsreflectmanyaspectsofthenationsuchasgeography,history,religiousfaithandvalues.EnglishandChinesebelongtotwodifferentlanguagesystems,havinggreatdifferencesintheircultures.Buthumanbeingscommonsocialactivitiesandemotionalreflectionandobservationoftheworldareinmanyaspectssimilar.SonotonlydifferencesbutalsomanysimilaritiesexistinEnglishandChineseproverbs.Withthecommunicationofworld,EnglishandChineseproverbsarepermeatingandinterfusingeachother.2.SimilaritiesbetweenEnglishandChineseproverbsThesimilaritiesbetweenEnglishandChineseproverbsmainlylieintheiroriginsandlinguisticcharacters.2.1SimilaroriginsProverbsareconcise,vividandcommonshortsentenceswhichbeusedandpassedonorally.Theyarethesummingupoftheexperienceintheproductionstruggleandthesociallifeandthecrystalofwisdom.4AnEnglishproverbitselftellsusthat“Proverbsarethedaughterofexperience.”FromthesewecanfindthatEnglishandChineseproverbsenjoythesimilarorigin:theybothoriginatefrompeoplesdailylifeandexperience.Specificallyspeaking,theybothcomefromfolklife,mythology,literaryworksandfromotherlanguages.2.1.1OriginatingfromfolklifeProverbsarethesummaryofpeoplesdailylifeandexperience,andcloselyrelatedtothepracticeofpeopleslifeandwork,revealingauniversaltruthfromdetailssoastoenlightenpeople.Therearemanyproverbsoriginatedfromfolklife.Theyarecreatedbyworkingpeople,suchasfarmers,workmen,hunters,businessmen,army-menandsoon.Theyusefamiliartermsthatwereassociatedwiththeirownfields.E.g.:Farmerscreatedthefollowingproverbs:(1)Makehaywhilethesunshines.(2)Aprilrainyforcorn,Mayforgrass.(3)肥不过春雨,瘦不过秋霜。(4)春天不忙，秋后无粮。Workmencreatedthefollowingproverbs:(5)Strikewhiletheironishot.(6)Agoodanvildoesnotfearthehammer.(7)木匠怕漆匠，漆匠怕光亮。Hunterscreatedthefollowingproverbs:(8)Hethatisafraidofeverybushwillneverproveagoodhuntsman.(9)上山打虎心要狠，下海提龙心要齐。Businessmencreatedthefollowingproverbs:(10)Youpayyourmoneyandtakeyourchoice.(11)货有高低三等价，客无远近一样待。Army-mencreatedthefollowingproverbs:(12)Agoodgeneralmakegoodmen.(13)养兵千日，用在一时。Thesewerefirstusedbyalimitedgroupofpeopleinthesamefields.Becausetheyarephilosophicalcolloquialism,latertheygraduallygainedwideacceptanceandpartlybecamepartofthecommoncornoflanguageandarenowusedinmanyothersituations.2.1.2OriginatingfrommythologyEachnationhasitsownmythology,fableandallusion.Chinesetraditionalculture,ancientGreekandRomancivilizationbequeathmanymythologiesandallusions.Theybecomeoneofthemajorsourcesofproverbs.ThestoriesandheroesinGreekMythology,TheFableofAesopandTheHomerleftalotofproverbs.E.g.:(14)IfeartheGreeks,evenwhenbringinggifts.(Fromthewell-knownstoryoftheTrojanhorsebywhichtheGreekstookthecityofTroy.)(15)YoucannotmakeaMercuryofeverydog.(FromRomanMythology.Itmeansthatnoteverymindwillanswerequallywelltobetrainedintoascholar).(16)Thefoxsaidthegrapesweresour.(FromTheFablesofAesop.Itmeansthatonesaidsomethingisbadwhenonecannotgetit.)Chineseculturecantracebacktoancienttimes.Thereweremanynaturalphenomenonsandourancestorcantexplainthesephenomenons.Theycreatedthemythologyandfabletoexplainthephenomenon.SomanyChineseproverbscomefrommythologyandfable.E.g.:(17)八仙过海，各显神通。（from八仙过海）(18)过着牛郎织女的生活。（fromafolklegend）2.1.3OriginatingfromliteraryworksManyEnglishandChineseproverbscomefromliteraryworks.Anationsliterarylanguagesareitslanguagesginger.Theypromotethedevelopmentoflanguage.Someofbrilliantsentences,plotandherosnameinliteraryworksbecomeproverbs.5Therearemanygreatwritersinwesternsociety,suchasShakespeare,FrancisBacon,JohnMiltonandsoon.TheyhadmadedistinctivecontributionstothedevelopmentofEnglishliterature.TheirworkswereacceptedandpassedonbyEnglishpeoplefromgenerationtogeneration.ManysentencesbecometheEnglishproverbs.Shakespearesworksarethemostcolorfulliteratureoriginofproverbs.ManyEnglishproverbsarefromtheworksofShakespeare.E.g.:(19)“Thebiterissometimesbit.”isfromShakespearesHamlet.Ittellspeoplethatthosewhodobadthingstootherswillbringthemselvestrouble.(20)“Allisnotgoldthatglitters.”isfromShakespearesTheMerchantsofVenice.Itmeansthatthosewhohaveagoodappearancearenotnecessarilyprofoundorlearned.Someotherwriters,philosopherswordsalsobecomeproverbs.E.g.:(21)“Readingmakesafullman,conferenceareadyman,andwritinganexactman”isfromadistinguishedEnglishphilosopherandwriterBaconsOnReading.Ittellspeoplethatreading,conferenceandwritingcanmakeapersonlearned,sharpandprecise.And(22)“Thechildhoodshowstheman”isfromMiltonsParadiseRegained.ManyChineseproverbsarefromclassicChineseliteraryworks.Thefourgreatworks:ThePilgrimagetotheWest,TheThreeKingdoms,ADreamofRedMansionsandTheMarshRebellionarethemostpopularclassicsinChina.Suchas:(23)温故而知新。(Bystudyingtheoldonelearnssomethingnew)-论语(SelectedReading)(24)三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮。(ThreecobblerswiththeirwitscombinedequalZhugeLiangthemaster-thewisdomofthemassesexceedsthatofthewisestindividual.)-三国演义(TheThreeKingdoms)(25)三十六计,走为上计。(Ofthethirty-sixstratagems,thebestisrunningaway.)-水浒传(TheMarshRebellion)(26)谋事在人,成事在天。(Manproposes；Goddisposes.)-红楼梦(ADreamofRedMansions)(27)说曹操,曹操到。(Talkofthedevilandheissuretoappear.)-三国演义(TheThreeKingdoms)Literature,asamirrorofsociallife,isanothersourceofproverbs.Manysentencesintheseliteraryworksarefullofwisdomandeasytoberemembered,sopeoplelikethemandusethemagainandagain.Atlast,theybecometheproverbsandarewidelyused.Wecansaythatproverbsarethecreamoftheliteraryworks.2.1.4OriginatingfromotherlanguagesWiththecommunicationofworld,nationsboundaryisbeingbroken.Moreandmorelanguagescontactedwitheachother.Becauseofthegeographyandhistory,Englishwasinfluencedandimpactedbyotherlanguagesinitsdevelopmentprocess.SoEnglishhaveabsorbedagreatnumberofexpressionsofothernationsculture.Sodoproverbs.ManyEnglishproverbsarefromLatin,Greek,FrenchandChinese.Asthereasonofhistory,mostoftheseloanedproverbsweretransferredintoEnglishandsomemaintaintheoriginallanguages.ManyEnglishproverbsoriginatefromLatin.E.g.:(28)Artislong,lifeisshort.(29)Thewishisfathertothethought.SomeLatinproverbsaretransferredintoEnglish.ForexampleEnglishpeoplehavegot(30)“Soonripe,soonrotten”from“Citomaturumcitoputridum”.ManyEnglishproverbscomefromFrench.Forexample,Englishpeoplehavegot(31)“Whenthefoxpreaches,takecareof