浅析中英语言禁忌

浅析中英语言禁忌_文档视界浅析中英语言禁忌

ADiscussionofEnglishandChineseLinguisticTaboo

[Abstract]Language,asthecarrierofculture,iscreatedduringtheprocessofhumanbeings‘productivelaborandservesasthetoolofcommunicationtoconveythemessagebetweenpeople.However,ithasbeenendowedwithmagicandpowerinparticularlanguageacts.Astheoldsayinggoes,troublescomeoutofthetongue.Superstitiouspeoplethinkthatthelanguageitselfcanbringaboutfortuneormisfortunesothattaboostorestricttheuseoflanguagearecreated.Anyonewhoviolatesthemwillgetpunishment,whereasthosewhofaithfullyobeytherestrictionsoflanguagetaboowillgetprotection.Furthermore,linguistictabooschangewiththedevelopmentofsociety.Thepaperfirstlyanalyzestheevolutionoflinguistictaboo.Secondly,itisindicatedinthepaperthatlinguistictabooexistsinalmosteveryaspectofpeople‘slifeandisauniversalsocialphenomenoninChinaandBritain.BothChineseandEnglishculturesareinagreementaboutlinguistictaboossuchaspronunciationtaboo,andvocabularytaboo.However,influencedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds,ideologiesandtheconceptsofvalue,ChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosalsohavedifferences,asisdiscussedinthepaperfromtheaspectsoftaboosubjects,taboonumbersandnames.Atlast,thispaperputsforwardtwoeffectivewaysofavoidingtaboo,thatis,usingeuphemismandhavingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture.AndthisdiscussionwouldhelpEnglishlearnersimprovetheirabilityofcross-culturalcommunicationandachievebettercommunicationaleffects.

[KeyWords]linguistictaboo;evolution;similarities;differences

浅析中英语言禁忌

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satisfyhumanbeings‘needsforsmoothcommunications.Withtheadvancementofscienceandtechnology,manypuzzlesabouttheuniversearesolved,andwiththeincreaseofmaterialwealth,humandemandsforspiritualcivilizationarealsobecominghigher.Evidently,linguistictaboosareareflectionofthesesocialdevelopmentandthevalueconceptsandbeliefsofthecultureinwhichtheyareborn.Itexistsineveryaspectofpeople‘slife.

TherearesomesimilaritiesinEnglishandChineselinguistictaboo,butdifferentculturesmaynotallagreeonwhatisorisnotatabooinaspecificcontext.SothedifferencesalsoexistbetweenEnglishandChineselinguistictaboo.ALackofknowledgeinthisfieldorimproperuseoflinguistictaboosmayleadtomisunderstandings,conflictsandotherunknownseriousconsequencesinthecross–culturecommunicationswhichisincreasinglyfrequentandwidernow.

Thispaperintendstostudytheevolutionoflinguistictaboo,toanalyzethesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictabooinpronunciationandvocabulary,andpresentthedifferencesfromtheaspectsofnames,numbersaswellastaboosubjectsinbothcultures.Lastbutnotleast,twoeffectivewaysareproposedtoavoidlinguistictaboos.

2.Theevolutionoflinguistictaboo

Thewordtaboo(alsospelledas―tabu‖,―tapu‖and―kapu‖)wasborrowedfromTonga,anislandgroupinPolynesia,anditsfirstrecordeduseinEnglishwasbyCaptainJamesCook(1729-1779),aBritishnavigator.HecametotheArchipelagoofTongaduringhisexplorationsinthesouthernpartofthePacificOcean.Thereheheardthewordfromthelocalpeople,whichoriginallyreferredtopersons,activities(includingspeech),orthingsunderprohibitionbecausetheywereconsidered,ontheonehand,‖sacred‖and―consecrated‖,andontheother,―uncanny‖,―dangerous‖and―unclean‖.HeintroduceditintoEnglishinhisdescriptionofhisthirdvoyagearoundtheworldin1777.ButtaboophenomenaarenotuniqueinTonga.Instead,ithaslongexistedinallculturesandlanguagethroughouttheworld.[2]

Aswehavementionedabove,linguistictabooisnotonlyalinguisticphenomenonbutalsoakindofsocialphenomenon.Thedevelopmentofsocietyhasinfluencedthedevelopmentoflinguistictaboo.Soifwewanttorevealthewholepictureoflinguistictaboo,wemusthaveareviewofthehistoryoflinguistictaboo.―Theevolutionoflinguistictaboohasgenerallyexperiencedthreestagesaccordingtothehistoryofhumansociety:theprimitivesuperstitionsstage,thefeudalpatriarchalstage,andmoderndemocraticstage.Butthereisnoexplicitdemarcationlinebetweenthreestages.‖[3]

2.1Theprimitivesuperstitiousstages

Asweallknow,Intheprimitivesociety,peopledidn‘tgettoknowwellaboutnature,mostnaturalphenomenasuchaslightning,thunder,storm,earthquake,werebeyondtheunderstandingofhumanbeings.Whenthesephenomenahappened,theythoughtthatcertainsupernaturalcreaturespossessedgreatpower.Theythoughtthatiftheywereloyaltothesesupernaturalcreatures,theywouldbesafeorrewarded.Iftheyactedagainstthem,theywouldbepunishedseverely.Asaresult,theprimitivepeoplecreateddifferentkindsofgods.Theyheldastrongreligiousconvictionthatthesegodscontrolledtheworldthattheywerelivingin.Sothefirstthingtheydidwastorespectthesegodsthroughlanguage.ThereisanexamplefromtheSeventhCommandmentoftheTenCommandmentinBible―YoushallnotmakewrongfuluseofthenameoftheLordyourGod,fortheLordwillnotacquitanyonewhomisuseshisname‖.[4]

Inaword,theearliestlinguistictabooemergedasaresultoftheignoranceandsuperstitionoftheprimitivepeopleinancienttimes.

2.2Thefeudalpatriarchalstage

Feudalsocietyisrigidlystratified.Acountryoffeudalismisusuallycontrolledbytheroyalsandsometimestogetherwiththoseconsideredwithgreatpowergivenbygod.

Duringthefeudaltimes,peoplewerenotequaltotherulersandweresuppressedbytheirsuperiors.Thedistinctionbetweentheupperandthelowerclasseswasalsoreflectedintheevaluationofthelanguageusedbythemrespectively.Thewordsofupperclassusedwereconsideredgoodandelegantwhilethoseusedbythelowerclasswereregardedasvulgarandindecentandshouldbeavoidedinthespeechofladiesandgentlemen.Forexample,whenreferringto‘出汗’,duchessesusedtheword‘perspire’,butthefemaleservantsused‘sweat’;whenreferringto‘吐痰’,theformerpeopleused‘expectorate’,butthelatterused‘spit’;Asfor‘月经’,theformerused‘menstruate’,butthelatterused‘bleed’.Themaxim“Horsessweat;menperspire;youngladiesglow”moreorlesscanreflectthestratifiedusageofwordswhichhavethesamemeaninginthisperiod.[5]InChina,duringthefeudaltimes,menusuallyplayadominantroleinfamily.WecanseeitfromtheChineseexpressions“三从四德”,“三纲五常”etc.Inordertostrengthentheirpositionandtopreventtheirsubjectsfromviolatingthem,theroyalsandkingsputforwarddifferentkindsofprohibitionsandbans.Forinstance,toshowtheirauthorityandmajesty,thenameoftheemperorandhisancestorsshouldnotbementioned.Atthesametime,peoplealwaysavoidedspeakingouttheirparents’namesoreventhecharactersintheirparents’names.Theoldsaying“古人闻父名而泣”canprovethispoint.

Mostlinguistictaboosduringthisperiodwereputintoeffectbyrulersinordertomaintaintheirsuperiorsocialpositionandkeepthesocietyundertheircontrol.However,someofthem,becauseoftheirdeep-rootedinfluenceonpeople‘smind,stillremaininlanguageevenafterthecollapseofthesocialsystem2.3Themoderndemocraticstage

Inmodernsociety,asaresultofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,manynaturalphenomenaarenolongermysterious.Humanbeingsnotonlyconstantlyimprovetheirabilitiestoexploittheworldwheretheyarelivingthroughtheirgreatwisdomandknowledge,butalsomakeeffortstoexploretheextraterrestrialworld.Sciencehasmuchmoresayintoday‘ssociety.Thereby,thesuperstitiouselementsinlinguistictaboosdecreasewhilethosereflectingspiritualcivilizationincrease.

Duringsuchanopen-mindedperiod,peoplevaluefreedom,equalityanddemocracyverymuch.Manyminoritiesstruggleforequalrightswiththemajorities.Asaresult,linguistictaboosconcerningracialdiscriminationarise.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,―nigger‖waswidelyusedtocallblackpeopleinthe1960sbutnowitisforbiddeninnormalinteractionbecausesuchformofaddressingshowscontemptfortheblackandgoesagainstthespiritofhumanrights.

Inaddition,moreandmorewomenstepoutsidetheirhousestoworktogetherwithmen.Theydon‘twanttodependonmenanylonger.However,thetraditionalideasaboutwomenstiflethefulfillmentoftheirabilitiesandtheyareoftentreatedunfairlyinwork.Thisforceswomentoriseandfightforequalitieswithmenandmoreandmoremenbegintolearntorespectwomen,whichwillhaveaninfluentialeffectonthelanguage.Asaresult,taboosonsexistlanguageincrease.Besides,inaneraofpeace,therelativestabilityofsocietyandthefastpaceoflife,peopledon‘tbothermuchtoavoidthingsintheobjectiveworld.Instead,theypreferlivingapleasantandharmoniouslife.Theyenjoyspiritualentertainmentverymuch,sotheytrytoavoidthosewordsandbehaviorsthatmaymakeothersfeelunpleasanttokeeptheharmoniousrelationship.Thoseprofessionsthatwerelookeddownuponinthepastarebeautifiednow.Thesubstitutionof―sanitationengineer‖for―garbagecollector‖isagoodexampleforthis.

Asawhole,sincethethirdstage,peopletodayshowmorerespectforscienceandtechnologyandhumanrightsothatthesuperstitiousandfeudalelementsinlinguistictaboostendtoreducewhilethosereflectingtheadvancementofhumansocietyandspiritualcivilizationtendtoincrease.

3.ThesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboo

Therearetaboosforreligion,sex,death,disease,socialbias,etcinbothChineseandEnglishculturesand

theyarereflectedintheirrespectivelanguageandbecomeakindoflinguisticphenomenon.ThesimilaritiesofChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboomainlyembodyinthefollowingaspects:

3.1Inpronunciation

BothChinesepeopleandEnglishpeoplebelievethatsayingwordsthatimplymisfortunesordisastersmaybringthemtrouble,andtheythoughtmisfortunescanbepreventedbyreplacingthewordswithhomophonesthathavebettermeanings.

InChina,manytabooshavebeencausedbysuperstitions.InShanxiprovinceofChina,thereisacustomthatmulberriescannotbeplantedinfrontofthehouseandwillowscannotbeplantedbehindthehouse,becausetheChinesecharacter“桑(mulberry)”soundsthesameas“丧（mourning）and“柳（willow）”soundsthesameas“绺”.Theymayindicatethattherewillbeafuneralandsomethingwillbestolen.[6]Gamblerswon’tsay“书(book)”,becausetheChinese“shu/书(book)soundthesamewith“shu/输(defeat)”.Chinesepeoplewillnotpresentaclockasagiftinweddingsorotherceremonies,because“clock”pronounces“zhong(钟)”,whichhasthesamepronunciationas“zhong/终(end)”,meaningdeathinChinese.ManyotherexamplesalsocanbefoundinChinese.SomefishermaninSouthChinaavoidsayingsuchwordas“fan/翻(turnover)”or“chen/沉(sink)”andanyotherwordswithsimilarsounds.Someevenchangetheirsurname“chen/陈”whichsoundsthesameas“chen/沉”.ItissaidthatthechopstickspeopleintheEastusewhenhavingmealswereoriginallycalled“zhu/箸”inancientChina.Sinceithadthesamesoundas“zhu/住（stop）”,itwasreplacedlaterby“kuaizi/筷子”since“kuai/筷”soundslike“kuai/快（quick）”.Inwesterncountries,therearealsomanysuchkindsofexamples.Whenawordsoundsthesameasatabooword,itneedschangingintoanotherexpression.Forinstance,―inearlier18thcentury,thefemaleinEnglishandAmericancountriesalwaystriedtoavoidusingtheword?arse(thebottompartofthebodyonesitson)‘,whichwasconsideredinelegant.Sopeoplecalledtheanimal?ass‘as?donkey‘.‖[7]Anothertypicalexampleisthat―fuck(asail)‖,―feck‖or―fack(fact)‖areseldomusedorevengooutofuse,becausetheypronouncethesameas―fuck‖.―Neamanmadeaconclusionthatthereasonwhysomewordsdisappearedwererelatedtothefactthattheirpronunciationarethesameassometaboowords‖.[8]

3.2Invocabulary

“Roughlyspeaking,taboowordsinEnglishfallintothreetypes,namelyobscenities,profanitiesandvulgarities‖.[9]Basedonthisclassification,thepartfirstlyanalyzesthethreetypesasfollows:

3.2.1Inobscenities

Obscenewordsrefertowordsrelatingtosexinashockingandoffensiveway.Thatistosay,obscenewordsmaycauseoffencetothesocialmoralprinciples.Theyusuallygooutofuseinpublicoccasionandcannotappearinliterarylanguage.Thesewordsarerelatedtohumanbeingssexualbehaviors.InbothEnglishandChinese,thesewordsaretobeavoidedinpoliteconversations,becausetheymaycausestrongdisapproval.InAmerica,theSexualRevolutionin1960sand70smadepeoplemoreopentowardsex,butnowwordssuchas―makinglove‖and―havingsex‖stillseldomappeardirectlyinwriting,letaloneinconversation.Westernpeopleareserioustowardssextermstoacertaindegree,sotospeak.

TheChinesepeoplealsotreattermsonsexseriously.Chinesepeoplealwaysusetheexpressionof“作风问题”or“不正当关系”toshowtheimmoralrelationshipbetweenamanandawoman.

Asweallknow,pregnancyisanormalphysiologicalphenomenon,butindailylife,peoplewon‘tsayitdirectly,asitisrelatedtosex.Ifsomeoneispregnant,Englishpeoplewillsay,―sheisexpectingababy‖or―sheisinafamilyway‖.SimilareuphemismscanbefoundinChinese“有喜了”,“行动不便了”.

3.2.2Inprofanities

ProfanitiesrefertoreligiouswordsusedinawaythatshowsalackofrespectforGodorholythings.Religionisafertilefieldofthistypeoftabooterms.AtypicalexampleisthatChristiancannotreferto

GodorGod‘sname.―TheTenCommandmentsforbidpeopleto?takethenameoftheLordyourGodinvain‘.Soitisconsideredveryrudetosay?goddame‘or?goddamned‘‖.[10]Thewordssuchas―God,‖―Jesus,‖―damn‖and―hell‖etc,areconsideredhollyandonlyproperlyusedinreligion.Iftheyappearindailycommunication,theywillmakepeopleunpleasantanddisgusted.Sopeoplealwaystrytoavoidusingthesetaboowordsdirectly.Theywouldliketousetheireuphemisms―Gosh,‖―Jeeperscreepers,‖―dash‖and―heck‖.Somepeoplealsoavoidreferringtothedevil,whichisconsidereddisrespectful.Sotheyuse―thedeuce‖,―thedickens‖,―oldNick‖tosubstitute―thedevil‖.

WecanfindsimilarexamplesinChinese.Inreligion,peopleusesomecomplimentaryaddresstorefertoawesomegods,e.g.“大帝”,“大圣”,“佛陀(Buddha)”.Anotherexampleisthat,tigerisregardedasthedivineanimalneartheChangbaiMountainsituatedintheNortheastofourcountry.Therefore,therewasthecustomof“tigeristhegod”inancienttimes.Peopleavoidedcallingthe“tiger”directlyandgavethetigeranothername,“山君”or“山佛爷”.

3.2.3Invulgarities

BothinEnglishandChinesethevulgarwordsareusuallyrudeandoffensiveandbringaboutunpleasantness,angerorconflicts.

SwearwordsinEnglishareoftencalledfour-letterwords,becausemostofthemareshort,andmanyaremadeupoffourletters,e.g.:piss,shit,crap,fuck.―Theseso-calledfourletterwordsareconsideredvulgar.‖[11]

Swearwordsformedbyemployingsomeoftheanimals‘namesarevulgaritiestoo.

Theyareveryimproperexpressionsinmostconversations,especiallywhentherearemaleandfemaleatthesametime,suchas―bitch‖,―cow‖,―swine‖,―pig‖etc.―TheBritishParliamenthasoncepublishedawordlist.Thewordsonthelistareabusiveandwereunparliamentaryexpressions,suchas?cad‘,?cheeky‘,?liar‘,?prevaricating‘,?fascist‘etc.‖[12]Ingeneralsituation,evenindailycommunications,thesevulgarwordsareconsideredtaboowords.

InChinese,therearealsomanysimilarsayings,suchas“小兔崽子”,“羊巴羔子”,“狗娘养的”,“小王八”etc.Thesewordsareusedtoinsultothers.Peoplealwaystrytoavoidusingtheminanormalandpolitecommunication.

Theevolutionoflinguistictabooindicatesthattaboosinvolveinalmosteveryfieldoflife.Thereforetheabovethreetypesoftaboowordsdon‘tpresentacompletelistoftabootermsandtheauthorhasfoundothertypesoftaboowordsinotherreferences.

3.2.4Intermsconcerningdisease,deathandphysicaldisability

EitherinEnglishorinChineseculture,disease,death,andphysicaldisabilitymayhorrifypeople.Sopeopledon‘tliketomentionthesedirectlyinconversation.Therefore,theyareconsideredtaboos.

InbothEnglishandChinese,deathisviewedas―departing‖.InEnglish,wecanfindmanyeuphemismsfordeath,suchas―go‖,―depart‖,―departfromthisworld‖,―gotoabetterworld‖,―gothewaysofallflesh‖,―passaway‖etc.InChinese,wealsocanfindsimilareuphemisms:“去了”,“离开了我们”,“辞世”,“去见马克思了”,“归西”,“升天”,“上路”etc.InbothEnglishandChinese,deathiscomparedto“sleeping”,“sleep”inEnglishcorrespondto“正寝”，“长眠”，or“永眠”inChinese.

Wordsdenotingterriblediseasearealsosourcesofhorror.InEnglish,peopledon‘tliketotalkaboutterriblediseaseordiseaserelatedtosexualorgansdirectly.Forinstance,theyuse―V.D‖insteadof―veneraldisease‖;use―bigC‖,―longdisease‖,or‖terminalillness‖toreplace―cancer‖.Abbreviationsareoftenusedtoalleviatetheshockingeffect.Forinstance,SARSisusedtosubstitutetheterriblename―SevereAcuteRespiratorySyndromes‖.

InChinese,whenwetalktoapatient,wemaysay“你今天不舒服，别上班了”.Here,weuse“不舒服”insteadof“病”.Asasoldier,wemaysay“挂彩了”insteadof“伤”.

Mentalillnessesarethoughtnottobementioneddirectly.Forexample,whenreferringtoamentalillness,wejustsay―alittleeccentric‖or―alittleconfused‖.

EitherinChineseorWestern,peoplehavesympathyforone‘sphysicaldisability.Ifsomeonelooksugly,wewillsayshe/helooksplain/ordinaryandwewon‘tusetheword―fat‖todescribeaman.Weonlyuse―heavilyset‖or―ontheheavyside‖.Ifagirlisthin,wewon’tuseskinny.Wejustsayslender,andwhenwerefertoacrippled,wewillsay,“physicallyhandicapped”.InChinese,ifoneisdeaf,wewillsay“耳朵背”,“耳朵有点不好”,“说话得近点”.InEnglish,itiscalled“hardofhearing”.

3.2.5Intermsconcerningpartsorexcretionofthebody

Inbothcultures,peoplethinkthatcertainpartsofthebodyandtheexcretionofbodycannotbementionedindailyconversations.Theyareoftenconsideredtaboos.

Forexample,inEnglish,therearesomanyeuphemismsforlavatory,suchas―washroom‖,―restroom‖,―bathroom‖,―comfortstation‖.Iftheywanttogotolavatory,theywillsay:―gotothebathroom‖,―dotheirbusiness‖,―answernature‘scall‖.InChinese,“厕所”isalwaysavoidedinpublicoccasion,onemaysay:“去一号”or“去方便一下”..

3.2.6Indiscrimination

“Inrecentyears,thereisagrowingtendencytoregardastaboolanguagethatreflectsademeaningattitudetowardscertainsocialorethnicgroups.Racistlanguageandsexistlanguage,forexample,areoffensivetothesocialorethnicgroupsdiscriminatedagainst.‖[13]

Discriminationagainstwomanisauniversalandunreasonablephenomenoninthesociety.Anditsreflectiononlanguageissexistlanguage.BothinEnglishandChinese,therearetracesofsexistlanguage.Unlessoneiscarefulenoughwithhis/herspeech,onemayeasilyoffendothersunconsciously.

InChina,underthecontrolofstricthierarchyfeudalsociety,thefemaleswereregardedinferior.Theydependonmaleandweredominatedbymale.Sothediscriminationandprejudiceagainstwomenisthelong-termaccumulation,whichisinevitablyreflectedinChinese.Forexample,thesayings“妇人之见”,“头发长见识短”,“男子汉不和妇人一般见识”,“长舌妇”,etc,reflectthepejorativeattitudetowardwomen.Andtherearealsomanyderogatorytitlesforwomen,suchas“贱人”,“泼妇”,“母老虎”,“母夜叉”,“娘儿们”，“悍妇”etc.

SincetheChinesewomen‘ssocialstatuseshaveincreased,thesesayingsareusedmuchlessfrequently.Theusingofthescornfulandpejorativewordsforwomeninpublicoftengetscriticismandresentment.

InEnglish,therearealsomanysexistexpressions.Forexample,apersonofunknownsexisreferredas―he‖,or‖him‖ratherthan―she‖or―her‖.Apersonwhopresidesameetingisthe―chairman‖,evenifsheisawoman.Therearemanyotherexamplesaboutit.―cow‖means―(a)womanwhohasmanychildren‖,―mutton‖means―(a)dissolutewoman‖,―hen‖means―(a)womanwholikesgossip‖,―cat‖means―(a)maliciouswoman‖,―crone‖means―(an)uglywitheredoldwoman‖etc.

―Nowadays,perhapsasaresultoftheWoman‘sLiberationMovementinthe1960sand70sinwesterncountries,especiallytheU.S.Aandsocio-culturedevelopment,mostnativeEnglishspeakerstrytoavoidsoundinglikeasexist.‖[14]Forexample,theychangetheword―chairman‖into―chairperson‖,―gentleman‖into―gentleperson‖.Whenreferringtohumanbeings,peoplebegintouse―humankind‖or―thehumanrace‖insteadof―man‖or―mankind‖.

―Racismisthebeliefthatcertainhumanracesareinherentlyinferiortoothersandracistlanguageisthatwhichshowsabiasedattitudetowardscertainracialorethicgroups.‖[15]InEnglish,nomatterintentionallyornot,thefollowingwordsareagainstblackpeopleandannoyingthemunsatisfied.Forexample,―white‖means―pure‖,―clean‖,―benevolent‖,whichhavepositivemeaning.While―black‖isrelatedto―evil‖,―wrongdoing‖,and―dirty‖suchas―blackguard‖,―blacklist‖,―blackmark‖etc.Besides,―nigger‖and―boy‖,forablackadultman,oftenhaveoffensivemeaning.

InChinese,thereisalsoracistlanguage.Forexample,“using“蒙古大夫”foranincompetentdoctors;using“小鬼子”forJapanese.“洋鬼子”,“大鼻子”forwesterners.”[16]Mostofthesewordsarederogatory.ItshowsoffthatChineseismoresuperiorthanotherracialorethicgroups.

4ThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboo

AlthoughtherearemanysimilaritiesinEnglishandChinese,differentviewsaboutwhatisorisn‘ttaboocanbefoundintwocultures.DifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictabooembodythefollowingaspects:

4.1.Insubjects

Englishpeopleplaceahighvalueonprivacy.―TheEnglishhaveasaying?Aman‘shomeishiscastle,meaningaman‘shomeissacredtohim;nooneshouldcomeinwithoutpermission.Soitisalsowithhislifeandpersonalaffairs‘‖.[17]Chinesepeopleoftenliketogreettootherslike―Haveyouhadameal?‖Thiscommongreetingindicateswebeginourconversationwithouracquaintance,justasforeignersask―Hownicetheweather!‖ButtheChinesegreetingwillmaketheforeignerssuspectthatyouwanttoinvitehimtojointhedinner.Sometimeswhenwegettogetherandtalknaturallyaboutthesequestions:―Howaboutyoursalary?‖―Areyoumarried?‖,―Whatdoyourwife/husbanddo?‖,―Howmuchisyourskirt?‖Inthisway,weexpressourcareforourfriends.Generallyspeaking,weneverfeelembarrassedabouttheseconversations,butwhenweaskthewesternersthesamequestions,theywillthinkwemayinvolveintheirprivacy.Annoyingly,inwesterncountries,itisalsoimpropertoaskaboutotherpeople‘sreligiousbeliefs.―Areyoureligious?‖―Whatisyourreligion?‖―AreyouCatholic?‖etcarequestionsthatmightbeoffensivetomostEnglishspeakers.Peopledon‘tlike,especiallyfemale,otherstoaskthem―Howoldareyou?‖,becausetheyareverysensitivetotheirage.―Evenonabirthdaycallonemayfindthefollowingcongratulation:Youmaynotliketoberemindedthatyouareayearoldertoday,butthatwouldnotkeepmefromsaying?happybirthday!‘.‖[18]Butincontrast,therewasnosuchconceptofprivacyinChinesepeople‘smind.

4.2Innumbers

InChina,thenumber“4”andtheword“死(death)”almostsoundthesame.Peopledonotlikethenumber“4”,becauseitremindsthemof“death”.Amongoldpeople,theythink“73”and“84”aretwokeyages.Ifyouare73or84yearsold,youwilldiebeforetheKingofhellinvitesyou.Somanyoldpeopleavoidtalkingtheirexactages.

Whileinwesterncountries,oneofthemostinfluentialtaboonumbersis13.Accordingtothestoryof―Thelastsupper‖:Judas,thepersonwhobetrayedJesus,satintheNo.13chair,therefore,Numberthirteenisuniversallyconsideredtobeunlucky.Nodoor‘snumberisthirteen;nohotelhastheNo.13Room;theydon‘tallow13peoplehavedinnertogether.Allinaword,theyavoidnumberthirteenineveryaspect.Ordinarypeoplefeelupseton13thineverymonth.Therefore,thirteenbecameataboowordinwesterncountries.

AnothernumberconcerningtabooinwesternisFriday.Italsohaslongbeenconsideredasanunluckyday.―ThistabootermaffectspeopleprobablynotonlybecausetheybelievethatJesusChristwasputtodeathonthecrossonFriday,butalsobecauseFridayisformanyyearsthedayofexecutionofcriminals,commonlycalled―hangman‘sday‖.[19]

AnotherstrikingcontrastisthatChinesepeoplelikeevennumbers.Forexample,theysay“好事成双”，“成双成对”。Chinesepeopleespeciallyliketheevennumber“6”and“8”.Thesaying“六六大顺”canproveit.Butinwesterncountries,theylikeoddnumbers.“TheRomanpoetVirgilsays,?Thegoddelightsinanoddnumber‘.InShakespeare‘splayMerrywivesofWindsor,Falstaffsays,?Goodluckliesinoddnumbers—‘Theysay,?thereisdivinityinoddnumbers,eitherinnativity,chanceordeath.‘‖[20]

4.3Innames

Howtocallothersinverbalcommunicationisveryimportant.InChinese,theancestors’andtheoldergeneration’snamescannotbereferreddirectly.Forexample,becausethesecondnameofSimaQian’sfatherwas“谈”.WhenwritingtheHistoricalRecords，(SimaQianchanged“赵谈”into“赵同”and“李谈”into“李同”[21])Asaresult,wecannotfindsuchaChinesecharacter“谈”intheHistoricalRecords.[22]ButintheEnglishculture,therearenosuchnametaboos.Theyoungergenerationcanrefertheeldergeneration‘snamedirectly.Itshowsthattheyareequal,friendlyandintimate.IntheUnitedStates,manyblackpeoplebearthename―Lincoln‖,apparentlyafterAbrahamLincoln,the16thpresidentofthecountry.Englishbabiesmaybenamedaftertheirgrandparentsorotherrelativestoshowrespectortohonorth