中西姓名命名规则及其文化.doc

Chinese and English Naming ConventionsAnd their Cultural Differences中西姓名命规则及其文化差异Abstract：Full name is a sing to identify blood bond and an individual .It is used by people to refer to a specific person .As a kind of phenomenon to human beings ,it bears strong relationship with society and culture .it is closely related to the nations history ,religion, cultural traditions and customs .This paper aims to introduce the naming conventions and their cultural differences ,which will benefit the research and exchange of two cultures .Key words：Chinese；English ；naming convention ；culture摘 要：姓名是社会结构中代表一种血缘关系和区别个人的标志符号，是用以指称某一确定的个人并与他人相区别的标志。作为一种人类社会特有的现象，同复杂的社会文化有着深刻的关系。它带有某一民族的印记，与该民族的历史，宗教育，文化传统和风俗习惯等密切相关。这篇文章旨在介绍英汉两个民族的国家姓名命名规则各体现在姓名中的文化差异，希望这篇文章能够有利于中西文化的研究和交流。关键词：中文：英语；中西姓名；命名规；文化ContentsAbstract (English)Abstract (Chinese )1、 Introduction 12、An introductions to naming conventions 12.1 English naming conventions 12.1.1English family names 12.1.2English given names 12.1.3English middle names22.2Chinese naming conventions 22.2.1Chinese family names 22.2.2Chinese given names 23、The similarities and differences of Chinese and English names is culture 33.1 The similarities of Chinese and English names in culture 43.2.2 Differences in historical origin43.2.3 differences in value and concept 53.2.4 differences in moral values 54、Conclusion 6Acknowledgements 6Bibliography71、 Introduction A personal name is a name that belongs to a person .Family name and given name are prominent examples of personal names. Names serve purposes . Most importantly. they can distinguish us from one another. You can find how difficult . it would be to refer to people if we do not use names.Name is a common phenomenon of both Chinese and English people .Nowadays ,the whole world has turned out to be a global country ,there still has a lot of unawareness of the two nations personal names . therefore learning some knowledge of Chinese and English names is very important .This paper aims to explore Chinese and English naming conventions and their cultural differences ,including the historical origins ,values ,religious beliefs and moral values in order to help the English or Chinese learners to improve their language learning .2、 An introduction to naming conventions2.1 English naming conventions In the USA, U.K. and other Englishspeaking countries, names(full name) usually consist of family name(or surname), given name and middle name. Generally speaking, given name is written first, then middle name and family name next. So given name is also known as first name, and family name, known as last name, which is exactly opposite to Chinese names(曾尔奇，2006：107-212).2.1.1 English family namesA family name or last name is a type of surname and part of a persons name, indicating the family to which the person belongs. Family names are mostly used between strangers or in a formal setting, and are often used with a title or honorific such as Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., and so on.2.1.2 English given namesA given name is a name given to a person, as apposed to an inherited one such as a family name. It is a personal name that specifies and differentiates individual between members of a group, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name. In English culture the given name usually comes before the family name. and so is known as a forename or first name. Beyond the fact that forename comes before the surname, there is no particular ordering rule. Given names are often used in a familiar and friendly manner in informal occasions, in more formal occasions the surname is used, unless it is necessary to distinguish people with the same surname.2.1.3 English middle names Middle names are often chosen by parents at the same time as the first name. It is traditionally reserved, however, that some parents may name the first born son after the grandfathers with the paternal grandfathers name listed as a first name and the maternal grandfathers name reserved as the middle name. Sometimes surnames are also used as middle names, usually to honor a relative. It is quite popular to use the mothers maiden name as the middle name.2.2 Chinese naming conventions Today, there are over 3000 different Chinese family names, but as few as two hundred are normally used (孙芳琴，2005：29-38)。Therefore the variety in Chinese names depends greatly on given names rather than family names . the great majority of Chinese family names have one character ,but there are a few with two.2.2.2 Chinese given names Generally speaking ,Chinese given names have one or two characters , and are written after the family name .when a baby is born ,parents often give him or her a “milk name ”(乳名)or “little name ”(小名),such as little gem (小宝)（付国伟，2005：23-46）。The given name is then usually chosen later and is often chosen with consultation of the grandparents.Almost any character with any meaning can be used ,However ,it is not considered appropriate to name a child after a famous figure and highly offensive after an elder member among the family or even a distant relative.Given names are perceived to be either masculine or feminine ,male names are linked with strength and firmness ,and females with beauty and grace (龚爱华，2005：37-40)。Females sometimes have names which repeat a character ,for example xiuxiu(秀秀)or Lili (麗麗，丽丽)this is less common in males ,although yo-yo ma (myuyu,马友友)is a well-known exception.。In some families ,one of the two characters in the personal name is shared by all members of a generation .usually it is their generational names, which is a system worked out in advance,called a generation poem ( banci lian 班次联 or paiai ge 派字歌in Chinese ).Also, siblings names are frequently related ,for example ,a boy may be named pine (松sng , considered masculine)while his sister may be named plum(梅 mi ,considered feminine ),both being primary elements of the traditional Chinese language system . Depending on region and family ,female children may not belong to the family tree ,and thus will not be given a generation name .A frequent naming pattern for female offspring in this case is to share the same last character in the given name while varying the first character (in place of the generation name ).A well known example of such system can be found from the names of the main four sisters in the novel “A Dream of red mansions ”(红楼梦).the four sisters names are 元春(yun chun )迎春（yin chun ）探春(tan chun )惜春(xi chun).3、 The similarities and differences of Chinese and English names in culture 3.1 the similarities of Chinese and English names in culture Name is a common cultural phenomenon of Chinese and English nations ,so there are some similarities in Chinese and English names .compared with the composition of names ,it is easy to find that there are two parts of Chinese and English names ,that is family name and given name ,while middle name is included in English names .because of the traditional psychology ,people in china often tend to choose a better word with good meaning while naming a baby ,which is the same with English-speaking countries .frequently ,males and females names are different (黄碧蓉，2004：167-204),males is linked with strength and firmness ,by the contrast ,females with beauty and grace .in addition , either in china or in English-speaking countries , male chauvinism exists in the society ,so there is sex discrimination in Chinese and English names. 3.2 the differences of Chinese and English names in culture There are some similarities in Chinese and English names ,but affected deeply by their own national traditional culture ,china and English-speaking countries have formed distinctive culture of names .we can get a glimpse of the differences between Chinese and English names in terms of historical origin ,value and concept ,religious beliefs and moral values ,etc . 3.2.1 Differences in historical originChinese surname appeared very early, surname and clan are different concepts at first. The origin of surname can be traced back to the period of matriarchal clan system in primitive society, while clan roots later. The surname and clan began to combine since the Qin Shi Huang unified the world. The surname and clan didnt fully integrate until the Western Han Dynasty (胡红云，王玉华，2004：5355). Compared with surnames, Chinese given names came later, which emerged after the Xia and Shang Dynasties. This clearly reflects the psychology of Chinese nation“surnames are more important than given names”.In contrast with China, the emergence of English surnames is much later than given names. So in a very long time in the history, the English nation has only given names with no surnames. It makes people in the English nation value surnames little, they can even easily change their surnames. It is the reason why they think” given names are more important than surnames”, which is in great contrast with China.3.2.2 Differences in value and conceptAs referred before, people in China and Englishspeaking countries have different national psychology, that is “surnames are more important than given names ” and” given names are more important than surnames” .The main reason that causes it is the English nations individualism and the Chinese collectivism .These two different concepts of value can be fully illustrated by analyzing the Chinese and English naming arrangement.Chinese name is composed of surname and given name, and surname is in front of given name. Surname is a symbol of a family, representing a clan or a group related by blood or origin, is a common symbol of a family, representing a clan or a group related by blood or origin, is a common symbol of all members (饶严彬，2007：1523). Given name belongs to individual, represents one person, China is a typical collectivist culture, traditional values advocates that the clan is more important than anything else, and traditional morality emphasizes on the idea to “bring honor to the family”. Affected deeply by this traditional culture, it is no wonder that surname, which is on behalf of ancestors, family and groups, is put before given name, for given name just stands for individual.On the contrary, English name is composed of given name and surname, that is to say, given name comes before surname. Englishspeaking countries advocate individualism, emphasize individuality, promote personal struggle, and respect for individual independence and realization of selfvalue, It is natural that they put given name before surname, for given name stands for individualism while surname is on behalf of collectivism.3.2.3 Differences in religious beliefsBesides the differences in surnames and the order of names, the differences in Chinese and English given names directly reflect that the two peoples hold different religious beliefs, especially in the Englishspeaking countries. Chinese believe in Buddhism and Taoism. As a monk or Taoist, one should take a Buddhist name or a Taoist monastic name to replace his original name.Englishspeaking countries are completely different from China, naming started to become a major religious and cultural ceremony after the emergence of religion. Therefore, naming is related greatly to religion. In accordance with the beliefs of Christianity and Catholicism, the child should be baptized after birth,and hold a grand religious ceremony(林莺，2008：4587). In the past, a child must be named by a pastor first, and then by his parents, while in modern times even relatives and friends can also name a child. But someone still attach importance to the naming ceremony by pastor if he believes in Christian devoutly. Whether baptized or not, most children generally use Christian names as their names, reflecting that the religious beliefs in Western countries has become deeprooted.As a custom, parents like to use Christian names to name their children to express good wishes and sincere hopes to the future of their children and the whole family, even though many people share the same given names. Christian names mostly come from the names of characters in the “Bible” and the ancient Greek and Roman mythologies. For example: Adam. A human ancestor; Augustus,(honorific) the first emperor of the Roman.3.2.4 Differences in moral valuesIn traditional Chinese culture, the basic principle of feudal moral conduct mainly comes from Confucianism and Taoism, with the main idea of “Three Cardinal Guides (Ruler guides subject, father guides son and husband guides wife) and Five Constant Virtues (benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge and sincerity)”(陈婷，2008：6776). Affected deeply by it, Chinese all respect ancestors, so from ancient time Chinese people avoid using the same name as the royal family, ancestors and elders or addressing the elders by his name directly, which is considered as an “irreverent” behavior. Even nowadays Chinese are openminded, in order to express their respect to the elders, people normally would not use the same name as them. However, there are no similar examples of avoiding using the same name as the emperors in the Englishspeaking countries. For example, a lot of woman in Britain are named after Elizabeth (the queen of Britain). The westerners also do not have the tradition to avoid using the same name as elders. The child often has the same name as his father. These reflect that different ethnic groups have different social ethics.4. ConclusionName is not only a language symbol to distinguish each other, but also represents the similarities and differences between Han and English nations in historical origins ,value and concept, religious beliefs and moral values, etc. Frankly speaking, the names are really complex , and this paper only introduces some basic knowledge of Chinese and English naming conve