中英文中动物词汇文化差异的研究 毕业论文.doc

【标题】中英文中动物词汇文化差异的研究 【作者】王晓夏 【关键词】动物词汇；文化意义；文化差异；文化影响 【指导老师】张亚军 黄凤菊 【专业】英语 【正文】I. IntroductionAnimals play a very important part in the lives of human beings. Animals exist everywhere that human exist. They are friends or enemies of human beings. Every kind of animal has their own characteristics, which endow them with many cultural meanings. Language is an essential element of one concrete culture of a people, and it influences culture deeply. Animal words, as an essential aspect of language also influence culture. At the same time, culture also influences language and animal words. Along with the development of human society, animals in different peoples own different cultural meanings by different prospect of views according to their characteristics, their stories, and their relation with human beings, etc. This phenomenon can be found in Chinese and English easily. China, which has a long history of 5000 years, possesses rich culture which influences Chinese language and the animal words. In Chinese, many animal words have their own cultural meanings and these meanings are used frequently in the lives of Chinese people. What will reflect in peoples mind as soon as mentioning one concrete animal is not only the image of that animal, but also its cultural meaning. English, which is most widely spoken in the world, is also influenced by the culture of English-speaking countries. So animal words also load as rich cultural meanings in English as that in Chinese. Because of these differences in Chinese and English culture, the cultural meanings in Chinese and English of animal words are different.II. The Cultural Meaning of Animal Words in Chinese and EnglishThere are many animal words as well as animals in the world. However, animal words in different culture may not necessarily have the same meanings. In fact, they might be quite different in Chinese and English.A. The Same Animal Words with Different Cultural Meanings in Chinese and EnglishSome of the animal words have totally different cultural meanings in Chinese and English. There are some animal words have commendatory meanings in Chinese but derogatory meanings in English. While some other animal words have derogatory meaning in Chinese but commendatory meanings in English.1. The Same Animal Words with Commendatory Meaning in Chinese but Derogatory Meaning in EnglishIt is quite common to find that many animal words have completely opposite meanings in Chinese and English. Some of the animals are appreciated by the Chinese people, so those animal words own commendatory meanings in Chinese. While the people in English-speaking countries do not like those animals, so in English the cultural meanings are negative.Every Chinese is quite familiar with dragon, which has rich cultural meanings in Chinese. It symbolizes the Chinese nation. To Chinese, a dragon is something sacred and has been referred to as the ancestor of the Chinese nationthats why the Chinese all call themselves descendents of the dragon. In ancient time, people thought dragon is a mythical animal with great power. It symbolized the king in feudal society. So the kings were called“sons of dragons”(真龙天子). In China parents all hope their children to become“dragon”, which means parents hope that their children can amount to something when they grow up, so many parents would like to name their sons with“龙”. Dragon is sacred to every Chinese. However, in western peoples minds, dragon is a large imaginary animal that has wings and a long tail and can breathe out fire. Dragon, is a word that generated from Greece word“drakon” that means“to see”,“to look at”,“to watch” and“to flash”. In English speaking countries people think a dragon is dangerous, winged monster that kills and eats people, lives in caves and breathes fire.1 Therefore, in western, it is like a snake. In middle ages, dragon is a symbol of sin, a fierce monster that destroys and therefore must be destroyed. In English dragon also symbolizes evil or a woman who is fierce, unpleasant or has bad temper. For example, her mother is a real dragon.(她妈妈把她管得很严。) It is very distinctive of dragon in Chinese and English. This is the most typical example to show the different meanings of animal words in Chinese and English. Sometimes it will make people in English speaking countries confused why Chinese like calling themselves“dragon”.Cattle(牛) play an important role in Chinese life. Cattle, the basis of farm work, plough in the farm land and dedicate beef, milk, ox hide and bones to human being. People raise them, use them, like them, and respect them. Chinese call people who is earnest and diligent in his work“老黄牛”. Ox is a symbol of strength, Chinese people often say“健壮如牛” to describe a man. In English there are many forms of address to“cattle”, including cattle(牛的总称), ox(不分性别的牛的通称), bull(公牛), cow(母牛), calf(牛犊), heifer(未生过牛犊的小母牛), steer(小公牛，菜牛), bullock(阉牛), and stag(成年的阉公牛) among which“bull” and“cow” are the most meaningful words. Cow is a derogatory term, meaning fat, clumsy, rude and disgusting. In proverbs and slang, it refers to a prostitute, such as“Cow son”, and“coward”.“Bull” in English stands for ponderous, savage, and violent people. For example, the phrase“bull gang” means“bull workers”(一批笨拙工人). Bull, the word also means absurd and speculative, such as“shoot the bull”, which means to brag,“bull market”, which means the market of profiteer. The cultural meaning of cattle is totally opposite in Chinese and English. The strong, honest image in Chinese peoples mind turns into another image in English peoples mind. When mentioning cattle to Chinese and English, they will have distinctive feelings.“Crane”, in Chinese tradition, has various cultural meanings and colors. Firstly, it is a symbol of longevity. So parents like to give their names with crane, like“鹤年” or“鹤龄”. They wish their children good health and long life. Crane is usually drawn with pine trees, and given to oldsters as a welcome present with the metaphorical meaning of“松鹤延年”. Secondly, it also means eminence. For instance Chinese idiom“鹤立鸡群”implies somebody is so unusual that it can be picked out in a crowd. Thirdly, crane is a metaphor for hermit.“闲云野鹤”in Chinese means somebody who withdraws from society and lives freely. However, in western culture, we cannot find any idioms about“crane”, because it doesnt have such kind of metaphorical meaning. In English, crane is just thought to be an ugly bird, which does not load so rich cultural meanings. In Washington Irvings novel The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the hero Ichabod was called“Crane”.“The cognomen of Crane was not inapplicable to his person. He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together.”2 From these descriptions reader would find that Ichabod was certainly an ugly man. As there are so many cultural meanings of crane in Chinese, Chinese would say many expressions about crane which might make English get confused. English might not understand what Chinese imply when Chinese say some words related to crane if the English person only knows the literal meaning of crane.In Chinese peoples eye,“bat” means“auspicious” for the letters“蝠”and“福”are pun in sounds. In some Chinese traditional pictures, bat is the image which symbolizes happiness. To English people, they do not have any good sense towards bat. The cultural meaning of bat in English is negative. People are very frightened because bat is annoying and ugly and connected with evil and darkness, especially“vampire bat(吸血蝠)”. Therefore, in English, expressions with“bat” have derogatory meanings. E.g.:“as blind as a bat(像蝙蝠一样瞎)”;“crazy as a bat(像蝙蝠一样疯)”;“bat out”(草草了事) which means to complete the tasks without any special care.“magpie” in Chinese is a welcomed bird and has commendatory cultural meanings. To most of the Chinese people it is a messenger of good news. When it calls out, it is believed that something good is going to happen. The bird will bring good luck to you. So there are expressions such as“晴色先从喜鹊知”,“今朝闻鹊喜，家信必有归”,“喜鹊报喜”, etc. On the contrary, westerners pay more attention to the physiological characteristics of this black and white bird. That is, the noises it makes. Because of the characteristics they think magpie is too gossip. In their daily life people in English-speaking countries use magpie to describe a person who has too many word and chat a lot. It is not so much welcomed in English-speaking countries as in China.2. The Same Animal Words with Derogatory Meaning in Chinese but Commendatory Meaning in EnglishThere are also many animals which are appreciated by the people in English-speaking countries while rejected in China. Those animal words have completely opposite meanings in Chinese and English as well.Owl is a kind of usual animal. But its cultural meaning is totally different in English from in Chinese. Its cultural meaning in English is quite positive while in Chinese it is completely negative. In English culture, owl symbolizes wisdom.“As wise as an owl” indicates that the native English people associate wisdom with this bird.“as solemn as an owl”, which means holding a serious attitude towards tasks and work. In childrens books and cartoons, owl implies calmness and solemn, who often give some good ideas. For example,“He peers owlishly at us through his glasses”, which means that he is wise and knowledgeable.(他透过他的眼镜严肃而机智地打量着我们);“A tenant offering five bales of cotton was told, after some owl-eyed figuring, that this cotton exactly balanced his debt”, which means he works in mind quickly and accurately.(一个佃农交了5包棉花，老板精明地一盘算，告诉他说这些棉花刚好抵上他所欠的债务。). However, it is totally distinctive in Chinese. There is a superstitious belief that owl is an unlucky bird and is the symbol of disaster and death in Chinese peoples minds. Their cry symbolizes that some bad things would happen in a short time and it is also related to the corpse and funeral. As the Chinese saying goes,“猫头鹰进宅，好事不来（an owls visiting a home indicates misfortune to that house）”. It is difficult for English to understand why so wise a bird is considered as bad luck in Chinese. Chinese also can not understand why English would say they are as wise as an owl.Another animal that people are familiar with is dog. It is a distinctive example in the two languages. In Chinese dog is not so lucky. They are not respected by people. It is pejorative. Some bad behaviors done by people are related to dogs. For example,“狗仗人势”,“狼心狗肺”,”狗嘴吐不出象牙”, which are used to describe a bad person, and“狗咬吕洞宾，不识好人心”, which means mistaking a good man for a bad one. Many others phrases can be added to this list. All the“dogs” in the idioms symbolize bad images. But in English dogs are much luckier. A dog is a pet, which can even be considered a family member. People in English-speaking countries treat dog as their faithful friend. They are often used to compare people. For example,“a lucky dog”,“top dog”, which means the winner,“every dog has its day”, which means every person will someday succeed or become fortunate,“help a dog over a stile”, which means to help someone to overcome difficulties.“There are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog and ready money.” 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 certainly lovely. Dog in Chinese and English convey the same conceptual meaning, but their cultural meanings are quite different in English and Chinese cultures. From the examples above, it is easy to realize that people in china and English-speaking countries have totally different views towards dog.It is known that bear is one kind of charmingly naive animal. However, you can not imagine how many differences there are in bears cultural meanings between English and Chinese. In oral English, people often use“bear” to describe someone with a special talent, for example“He is a bear at math” meaning,“He is talented in math”. But in Chinese, the cultural meaning is completely different. When people talk about the meaning of bear, people always associate them with someone who is stupid, cowardly and timid; for example,“真熊”(hopelessly stupid),“瞧他那熊子”(coward), etc. It is difficult for people to find any positive meaning of bear in Chinese.The literal meanings of animal words in Chinese and English are the same, but their cultural meanings are completely different. Therefore it is difficult for the people in China and English-speaking countries to understand each other when they are using the cultural meanings in their expressions.B. Different Animal Words with the Same Cultural Meanings in Chinese and EnglishBesides those animal words which have different cultural meanings in Chinese and English, different animal words with the same cultural meaning in Chinese and English could also be found easily.To most of the English, lion is considered to be the king of the animal world. In their mind lion is solemn, regal and majestic. So Englishmen consider lion as the symbol of their nation. But to the Chinese, they think lion is just a kind of animal which is strong and violent, but not solemn. However, another animal takes the place of lions in Chinese peoples mind. That is tiger. So English people say“as brave as a lion”, while Chinese people say“勇猛如虎”. Englishmen use“a lion in the way” to describe difficulties while Chinese people use the expression“拦路虎”. English people describe a dangerous situation using the expression“put ones head in the lions mouth”, while Chinese people would say“羊入虎口” to express the same meaning. To describe the people who rely on others who are more powerful, English use the expression“like the donkey in a lions hide”. Lion stands for power in this expression. While in Chinese there is an expression that shares the same meaning. That is“狐假虎威”. Tiger stands for power here. Englishmen use the expression“beard the lion in his den” to show someone who goes to the dangerous place. While Chinese people would use the expression“深入虎穴” to describe the same meaning. When people want to warn the others of not doing any dangerous things, in English people would say“one should not twist the lions tail” while in Chinese, people would say“老虎的屁股摸不得”. In these expressions“tiger” in Chinese and“lion” in English stand for the same image. Their cultural meanings are the same.To mean“boast”, in Chinese, people would say“吹牛”.But in English, people like using“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 which 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”. Similarly, in English people say“he is really a willing horse.” to show someone who works hard. While in Chinese people would say“他真是条老黄牛”. People in English-speaking countries like using“horse” to describe the meaning which“cattle” describes in Chinese.To mean drinking a large amount of water quickly, in Chinese people say that is“牛饮”. In English people will say“drink like a fish”. Cattle and fish share the same meaning here.When people want to describe“a person out of favor, someone oddly different”, in English people would say he is“the black sheep”. While Chinese people would say“害群之马”. 3 Sheep and horse are used to describe this kind of person in English and Chinese.Chinese people usually like to use“鸡”as a vehicle, such as“鸡皮疙瘩”, and in English people would use goose, so English people would say“goose flesh”.4 Chinese people say“杀鸡取卵”, but English people give such idiom“to kill the goose that lays the golden egg”. Chicken and goose have the same cultural meanings here.5In Chinese peoples mind pig is the most stupid animal in the world, but Englishmen think that goose in the most stupid. So when Chinese people say“蠢得像猪”, English people would say“as stupid as goose”. 6 It is quite difficult for Chinese to understand that goose is stupid.To refer to“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(热砖上的猫)”. Ant and cat are used to express the same cultural meaning in Chinese and English.To mean someone is wet through, Chinese people would say“像只落汤鸡”. In English, people would say“like a drowned rat”.7 Here chicken and rat have the same cultural meaning.To mean someone is quiet with frightening, Chinese people would say“噤若寒蝉”. While in English, people would say“as mute as fish”.8 Quite different two kinds of animals have the same meaning in these two languages.To mean a person who can not escape, Chinese people would use the expression“瓮中之鳖”. While in English people would say“a rat in a hole”.9 Rat and turtle share the same cultural meaning here.From the examples above it is easy to find that people in china and English-speaking countries will use different animal words to express the same meanings. Different animals may have the same image in those peoples minds.III. Reasons for these DifferencesThere are so many differences in the cultural meaning of animal words in Chinese and English. With the development of culture in china and English-speaking countries, the languages develop as well. These differences are mainly caused by the different culture of china and English-speaking countries. Therefore, different animal words have different cultural meanings in Chinese and Englis