On the Cultural Connotation of Kinship Terms in Chinese and English.doc

毕业论文(设计)Acknowledgements I wish to express my thanks and appreciation to my supervisor, Ms Wu Bifang, whose careful reading and suggestions have been invaluable to me throughout my thesis writing. Meanwhile, I am also most grateful to all of my teachers in Foreign Language Department. They have directly or indirectly imparted knowledge to me and educated me in the past years, which makes my paper become a possibility. I am also grateful to my classmates and roommates for their psychological support and encouragement. In particular, I own a special debt of thanks to Xu Jing, who has given me many suggestions to revise the paper. AbstractLanguage and culture have very close relationship in society contexts. For the same word, people of different culture backgrounds may have different impressions or understandings. Language is the presentation of culture. Without knowledge of culture, it is difficult to learn language well. Therefore, “Culture is a system of symbol, and language is only one element of the symbolic system in this network. And it is obviously that one should think of language in culture and not just of language and culture.” (Chang Zonglin，2004：90-91). Kinship system，as part of language, fully reflects its culture. This article makes a comparison study between kinship terms in Chinese and English firstly. Different structures and different features of two kinship systems are displayed. Based on the analysis above, the author seeks different culture connotations of Chinese and English, on different family structures, different blood relationships, different patriarchy concepts, different social stratum concept, different cultural adoptions and different courtesy principle. Actually, though the study on Chinese and English kinship terms is still new, this article attempts to display different cultural connotations between Chinese and English by the analysis on the two kinship terms. Key words: Chinese/ English kinship terms comparison cultural connotations 摘 要在社会环境中， 语言与文化有着非常密切的联系。当面对同一个词，来自不同文化背景的人会有不同的理解和想象。语言是文化的化身。如果首先没有对文化进行了解，是很难学好一门语言的。因此，“文化是一种符号系统， 而语言只是这个符号系统网络中的一个元素。” (常宗林，2004：90-91)。作为语言的其中一部分，亲属称谓充分反应了其中隐含的文化背景。 文章首先对汉英亲属称谓作了一个比较研究。其中体现了汉英亲属称谓系统的不同结构以及不同的特征。在此分析的基础上，作者探求了汉英亲属称谓反应出的中西方不同的文化内涵，包括不同的家庭结构、血缘关系方面、不同的宗法观念、社会等级观念、不同的文化取向以及不同的礼貌原则。事实上，关于汉英亲属称谓方面的研究目前来说还是比较新的。但本文尝试了对汉英两种称谓系统的分析，并再现两种不同的文化内涵。关键词： 汉英亲属称谓 比较 文化内涵Contents Acknowledgements.iAbstract(English).iiAbstract(Chinese). .iiiContents.iv1. Introduction.12. A comparison between kinship terms in Chinese and English .12.1 Different structures of kinship terms in Chinese and English.12.2 Different features of kinship terms in Chinese and English.5 2.2.1 The description of Chinese kinship terms. 5 2.2.2 The recapitulation of English kinship terms.6 2.2.3 The generalization of kinship terms in Chinese and English.73. Cultural connotation of kinship terms in Chinese and English.9 3.1 Family structure.9 3.2 Blood relationship.10 3.3 Patriarchy concept.10 3.4 Social stratum concept.12 3.5 Cultural adoption.12 3.6 Courtesy principle.144. Conclusion .15References.17iv 嘉应学院毕业论文(设计)On the Cultural Connotation of Kinship Terms in Chinese and English1. IntroductionLanguage is the carrier of culture. Kinship terms system itself is not only a part of language, but also a kind of culture. To some extend, we can see the cultural differences between Chinese and English from different kinship terms in Chinese and English. The focus of this paper is to present the cultural implication in different kinship terms in Chinese and English. According to E.R.Leach, kinship terms are “category words by means of which an individual is taught to recognize the signficant groupings in the social structure into which he is born” (1958, p.143). Every human language has a different kinship term system, which reflects its unique culture. There are some main causes to understand the different cultures, that is family structure, blood relationship, patriarchy concept, social stratum concept, cultural adoption and courtesy principle. Therefore, to analyze these causes is very helpful to the cultural understanding and intercultural communication.2. A Comparison between kinship terms in Chinese and EnglishChinese and English languages have their own definitions on kinship terms and the roles they serve in the society. There are several differences between Chinese and English kinship terms. 2.1 Different structures of kinship terms in Chinese and EnglishKinship term is a common phenomenon throughout all kinds of social contexts. To further study up on kinship systems of Chinese and English, the following two tables show the comparison of the kinship terms in Chinese and English of the same generation. Table 1 The kinship terms between Chinese people of the same generation (Cai Fang, 2007)Position in the family hierarchyFactorsKinship TermsNo.Father-generationmale, linealFu qin1female, linealMu qin2male, maternal, consanguineous, collateralJiu fu3female, maternal, in-law, collateralJiu mu4female, maternal, consanguineous, collateralYi mu5male, maternal, in-law, collateralYi fu6male, older, paternal, consanguineous, collateralBo fu7female, older, paternal, in-law, collateralBo mu8male, younger, paternal, consanguineous, collateralShu fu9female, younger, paternal, in-law collateralShen mu10female, paternal, consanguineous, collateralGu mu11male, paternal, in-law, collateralGu fu12Table 2 The kinship terms between English people of the same generation (Cai Fang, 2007)Position in the family hierarchyFactorsKinship TermsNo.Father-generation male, linealfather1female, linealmother2male, collateral uncle3female, collateralaunt4From Table 2 and Table 3, we may realize all the factors that influence the kinship terms in Chinese and English. There are more complicated factors that make up Chinese kinship system than that of English. In the Chinese language, age is a very important factor in the organization of the kinship system. Specific terms are used to address different relations in accordance with their different ages. A very typical example is the kinship terms “bo fu” and “shu fu.” The former is used to address ones fathers elder brother, while the latter is for ones fathers younger brother. If one has more than one “bo fu” or “shu fu”, then the ordinal numbers are prefixed to these terms, such as “first bo fu”, “second bo fu”, or “first shu fu”, “second shu fu” and so on.The Chinese language considers the differences between paternal and maternal relations seriously. The differences mean very much to Chinese people and determine the real relationships, close or distant, inside or outside between relatives. Therefore in China, there are different terms for ones paternal and maternal relations. Take grandparents for example. Paternal grandfather and grandmother are called “zu fu” and “zu mu” respectively, whereas maternal grandparents are called “wai zu fu” and “wai zu mu”. “wai” in Chinese literally means “outside”, which suggests maternal grandparents are less powerful and not so close as paternal grandparents. Meanwhile, “wai” shows the relationship between generations not only related purely by blood, but certain external factors such as marriage. (Xu Hong，2006). The same is true with the terms for grandchildren. Sons son and daughter are called “sun zi” and “sun nv”, while daughters son and daughter should be called with the word “wai”, which implies the married daughter is an outsider of the family and her children outsiders as well.While in English kinship system, we may see a quite simple and general one. Compared with Chinese kinship system, English kinship system pays little attention to the differences of the ages, the patrilineal or matrilineal relations, and the consanguineous or the in-law relations. According to statistics, there are only 13 basic kinship terms, namely, father, mother, uncle, aunt, husband, wife, brother, sister, cousin, son, daughter, nephew and niece. (Cai Fang，2006) As regards age, there is not a criterion in distinguishing personal relationships or grouping kinship terms in the English kinship system. Within the same generation, a certain term may cover different relationships, not being relevant to age. It is quite common in English to say, “He is my brother,” no matter whether he is older or younger than the speaker. Only when it is necessary may one say, “He is my elder or younger brother” to emphasize the age. In addition, the English language attaches little importance to the differences between consanguineal and in-law relations in its kinship system. Besides, it sees no difference between paternal and maternal relations. The same kinship term can be used to address relations of the same sex within the same generation. For instance, uncle may be employed to address both fathers brother and mothers brother. A typical nuclear family in West is usually made up of father and mother with several ingrown children. With less family members, the family structure becomes simpler. The influence from outside factors, such as relatives and friends on the family, becomes weaker. Within the family, a few basic kinship terms are enough for peoples daily use. Accordingly, the simple family structure can be a reason why the English language has such simpler and fewer kinship terms. 2.2 Different features of kinship terms in Chinese and English Chinese and English kinship term systems have different features. Chinese kinship term system is descriptive, while English is recapitulative. Besides, the generalization of kinship terms exists in both Chinese and English.2.2.1 The description of Chinese kinship terms Comparatively speaking, Chinese kinship system is a richer and more complicated one, not only including positions in the family hierarchy and genders, but also strictly distinguishing the old and the young, the patrilineal and matrilineal, and the consanguineous and the in-law. The Chinese kinship terms are classified in greater details based on different relationships. According to different positions in the family hierarchy, ages and kinship relationships, Chinese people use different kinship terms to address kins, which produces a large number of kinship terms. It is roughly estimated that Chinese kinship terms within three generations reach as many as 60 (Cai Fang, 2007). Therefore, the uniqueness and complexity of Chinese kinship terms comes, that is to say, there is a particular and fully descriptive term responding to each relative. For instance, when one person is addressed by a kinship term, we may see clearly his status information and the relationship between him and the addresser. For example, as one of the kinship terms, tang ge tells us an exact information as following: tang ge is male, elder, consanguineous, and of the same generation as the addressor. 2.2.2 The recapitulation of English kinship termsThere are only 4 descriptive terms in English nuclear family, that is, father, mother, son and daughter, all referring to the unique person respectively. On the other hand, other English kinship terms are used vaguely to address other relatives, without referring to the unique person. And some of these terms do not distinguish between the elder and the younger. For example, brother can not only refer to the elder brother, but also the younger one, so does sister. Take another case for instance; grandfather can not only refer to fathers father, but also mothers father, and so does grandmother. Furthermore, certain terms are used to mark different relationships. For example, the term uncle is used to designate at least five relations, both consanguineous and in-law, namely, fathers elder or younger brother, mothers brother, fathers sisters husband and mothers sisters husband. Besides, a typical instance of English kinship term cousin for addressing sons and daughters of parents brothers and sisters, no matter ones cousin is a male or a female, or whether he or she is a paternal or maternal relation, or a consanguineous or in-law one. While in Chinese, there are at least 8 kinship terms in this case, biao ge (older son of ones mothers brother), biao di (younger son of ones mothers brother), biao jie (older daughter of ones mothers brother), biao mei (younger daughter of ones mothers brother), tang ge (older son of ones fathers brother), tang di (younger son of ones fathers brother), tang jie (older daughter of ones fathers brother), tangmei (younger daughter of ones fathers brother).2.2.3 The generalization of kinship terms in Chinese and EnglishThe generalization of kinship terms refers to addressing non-kins or strangers by kinship terms. Tanaka(1977) points out, “In many societies some lexically identical terms are applied not only to formally recognized fictive kin (e.g. blood brothers, godparents, etc.), but to other non-kin as well, and sometimes not egocentrically at allThe existence of such a phenomenon, if recognized, is rather casually interpreted as a self-evident case of the metaphorical or fictive extension of the egocentric kinship ideology to wider social areas”(p.211). In social communication, some of the kinship terms in the Chinese language can apply to any person according to the persons sex and relative age. Actually kinship terminology is often employed to address non-kins or strangers. This phenomenon exists in both Chinese and English kinship systems, with different characteristics. The Chinese kinship terms are more often and widely used to address people who are very obviously not kin by any criteria in the daily life. Some of the kinship terms in the Chinese language can apply to any person according to the persons gender and relative age. On the one hand, the difference between “close” and “distant” is taken as a serious case in Chinese traditional culture. The order from close to distant is: directly related relatives to collateral relatives. In addition, choosing address forms is attached important in “Respect Rule”. Children may address non-kinship relatives “lao ye ye (big grandpa)”, “lao nai nai(big grandma)”, “shu shu(fathers little brother)” and “a yi(mothers little sister)”. This generalization phenomenon indicates that interpersonal relation net of Han Nation has the function of promoting group cohesion and deepening peoples emotion. A middle aged man traveling in unfamiliar places and asking for directions, would adderess an old man as da ye (big grandpa) or da bo, da shu (big uncle), a man of the same age as da ge (big elder brother), a woman of the sam age as da jie or da sao (big elder sister), a child as xiao di di (little younger brother) or xiao mei mei (little younger sister). For a child, all the old men are grandpas, and all the old women grandmas, all the middle aged men and women uncles and aunts, all the children older than him/her elder brothers and elder sisters. According to Baker (1979), using these terms is “not merely a politeness,” but also carries “the expectation of commensurate respectful treatment” (p. 163.). In particular, kinship terms are frequently used to address even strangers to initiate verbal communication for the purpose of shortening the social distance and showing politeness and respect. Addressing others by kinship terms helps one gain compliance.On the other hand, in English terms like “uncle” and “aunt” can be used to designate non-kin relationships, as when children are sometimes taught to use them for close friends of their parents. In English, there are only few terms, which can be applied in this way. (Qiu Yanping, 2002)Chinese language has much more kinship terms than the English language and there exist great differences between the two kinship systems. Then some questions are raised. Why does the Chinese language have so many kinship terms? Are there any reasons for Chinese people to consider seriously all those consanguineous, in-law, lineal and collateral relations? Can we find some natural links between this aspect of language and culture? Yotsukura (1977) states, “Language and culture are fused as denotation and connotation of words. Thus, when linguists try to analyze language, they cannot neglect to refer to the culture behind language. Analyzing language requires analyzing culture”. (p. 270). The kinship system in a certain society is dominated by its culture and in turn reflects its cultural reality. As it should be, behind the kinship terms in the Chinese languages, there must be some relevant influential factors of Chinese culture. The same is true with the kinship systems in English language. 3. Cultural connotation of kinship terms in Chinese and English There are seven different cultural connotations of kinship terms in Chinese and English, the family structure, blood relationship, patriarchy concept, social stratum concept, cultural adoption and courtesy principle.3.1 Family structureThere is a known saying in China: “The more sons one has, the more happiness one enjoys”, “bearing up children with the aim to guard against troubles in ones late year”, “of three kinds of ungratefulness to ones parents, the greatest is not to have a male descendant”. An extended family becomes the basic unit of the society. It is necessa