《The Similarities and Dissimilarities of The Cultural Connotations of Animal Words in Both Chinese and English.doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《The Similarities and Dissimilarities of The Cultural Connotations of Animal Words in Both Chinese and English.doc（9页珍藏版）》请在三一办公上搜索。
1、The Similarities and Dissimilarities of The Cultural Connotations of Animal Words in Both Chinese and EnglishAbstract: Any language bears a lot of cultural connotations, language is the vehicle of culture， and vocabulary is the most active part of language. Animal metaphors, with the cultural connot
2、ations of their own, are widely employed in both English and Chinese language. This article compares and analyses the connotations of animal metaphors in different aspects, revealing the relevant social and cultural psychology and its influences on intercultural communication. Key words: animal meta
3、phors; cultural connotation; intercultural communicationI. Introduction Animals are friends of human beings from ancient times. Languages of all nations contain a lot of words denoting animals and so do Chinese and English. In the social development, animal words gradually get their established conn
4、otations in all languages, that is, people associate their feelings and emotions, even happenings and natural phenomena with various animals which are thought to represent different characters like people, or serve as omens. Many animals have become a kind of symbol in peoples thinking, and this sym
5、bol is reflected in the language. In recent years, many linguists, as De Yanchang, He Ziran, Hu Wenzhong, have paid much attention to cross- cultural communication. They devote much to pragmatics, comparison of languages and cultures between English and Chinese. II. Literature reviewBecause connotat
6、ions of animal words in one language do not necessarily coincide with those in Chinese and English and scattered in many books. In order to find how animals stand for different symbols, over 200 questionnaires were distributed in Chinese and English respectively to Chinese and English speaking peopl
7、e (De Zhang, 1997). In a way the opinions thus gathered can represent the English speaking people and Chinese though they are neither accurate nor very authentic, but as a comparative or contrastive study.The first part of questionnaire intends to the symbolism of some animals standing for. The resu
8、lt reveals that the connotations of some animals in the two cultures vary greatly while those of others are very similar as the following tables show.Animal Symbol(s) Percentage in Chinese Percentage in EnglishFox Cunning, Slyness 100% 94%Swan Gracefulness, Nobility 80% 78%Snake Slithery, Harmful 54
9、% 72%Duck Stupidity 40% 50%Note: In English, snake also stands for usefulness (32%) and duck stands for ugliness (24%), too. In Chinese In EnglishAnimal Symbols(s) Percentage Symbols(s) PercentagePeacock Beautifulness 38% Conceit 40%Dog Faithfulness 96% Friendship 88%Rabbit Timidity and meekness 60%
10、 AttractiveInsecure 24%32%Chicken Low class prostitute 20% Timidity 68%Tiger FerocityDignity 34%36% Ferocity 62%Lion Ferocity 66% Dignity and royalty 88%Owl Evil omenDarkness 40%22% Wisdom 80%Dragon AuspiciousDignityPower 26%18%10% FieryMysteryScareFerocity 18%16%8%8% The second part of the question
11、naire asks what qualities some animals have .The findings are also very interesting. In Chinese In EnglishSymbol Animal Percentage Animal PercentageFaithfulness Dog 96% Dog 92%Friendship DogCamelDove 36%22%14% Dog 96%Hardworking Bee 54% HorseAnt 40%22%Love Mandarin duck 98% DogDoveCat 46%38%16%Majes
12、ty DragonTiger 30%24% Lion 52%Longevity CraneTurtle 48%26% ElephantTurtle 52%6%Stupidity(Greediness) Monkey TatWolfSnakeBearCrowPig 14%14%14%8%8%4%4% pig 94% It can be seen from the answers that the English-speaking people have very different associations of most animals from the Chinese. This is a
13、reflection of different cultures:In Chinese In EnglishFavorite animal Percentage Favorite animal PercentageDog 18% Dog 48%Crane 8% Cat 24Cat 6% Horse 8%Rabbit 6% Birds (not specified) 6%Ox 6% Sheep 4%Horse 6% Panda 6% Swan 4% Peacock 4% . Cultural connotation of animal words in English and Chinese S
14、imilarities and dissimilarities in the cultural connotations of animal words in the two languages should be taken into consideration in cross-cultural communication and translation because both English and Chinese are rich languages with a great number of words in which there are many words concerni
15、ng animals related with people closely. On the one hand, animals is one of the most important sources of humans living. On the other hand, some animals are divined and respected by people. The symbolism of animals reflect special animal cultures of different nations. Because peoples ways of living,
16、histories, social customs, and so on and so forth, all play important roles in the change of connotative meaning of animal words. In a word, all the people, drawing on their background, decide what a word means. So the cultural connotations of animal words in one language sometimes coincide with tho
17、se in another. However, under more circumstances, they are distinguished from each other.1. An animal word has the same cultural connotation in English and ChineseThanks to the similar ecological environment, animal has marked characteristics whether Chinese or English speaking people have something
18、 in common on the attitude towards them even use them in comparison to describe the special properties of people or things. So people in the two cultures try to study animals from their basic properties, which offer them the same or similar association and cultural connotation of animals. There are
19、similar sayings in the two languages such as “as fat as a pig” “肥得像头猪”, “as happy as a lark” “像百灵鸟一样快乐”, “make a monkey out of somebody” is like the Chinese saying “拿某人当猴耍”. People in China explain “He is as cunning as a fox” as “他这个人像狐狸一样狡猾”. Swan stands for holiness and purity in English ,meanwhil
20、e, in Chinese ,the saying “癞蛤蟆想吃天鹅肉” refers to fantasying impractically. The ugliness of toad is used to lay emphasis on the holiness of swan. Swans dance in China originated form a legend in which a beautiful girl jumped into the water in order to fight against feudal marriage. Finally, she became
21、a pretty swan. In English, the swan in “All your swan is goose” refers to nice wish.English speaking people use bug to refer to someone who is partial to somebody or something, such as “a camera bug”（摄影迷）, “a football bug”（足球迷）, “a bug at sports（体育迷）”.In China , bug has a similar usage, for example,
22、 “懒虫”means a lazy person; “糊涂虫”refers to an unwise person; “蛀虫” refers to someone who embezzle national or others properties.These animal words with both the same denotative meaning and connotative meaning prove that they reflect the common characters of the two cultures in some aspects. To most peo
23、ple, there are some similarities in the national environment and their living conditions. So many animal words possess the same connotation, even in two different cultures. There are many other examples to show the same animal has the same cultural connotation in both languages，such as：Wolf as cruel
24、 as a wolf（像狼一样凶残）Pig eat like a pig , make a pig of oneself（大吃大喝）Bee as busy as a bee（像蜜蜂一样忙碌）Ass make an ass of oneself（干蠢事）Dog live a dogs life(过着狗一样的生活)2. An animal word has different cultural connotations in English and ChineseIn most cases, the referential meanings of an animal are the same bu
25、t their cultural connotations are obviously different, conflicted even opposite in two cultures. The common phenomenon in language is worth attention. Different cultural environments provide Chinese and English speaking people with different imaginations on animals and offer richer cultural connotat
26、ions to animal words .In the following paragraph, the author presents the differences of cultural connotation of animal words in English and Chinese from two aspects: different conventional cultures and different aesthetic appreciations.2.1. Different conventional culturesThe dragon in English and “
27、龙”in Chinese are both imaginary animals but have very different connotations.To Chinese “龙” is something sacred and has been referred to as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. That is why the Chinese call themselves “龙的传人”(descendants of the dragon) and Chinese feudal emperors were often referred to
28、 as “真龙天子”,wearing “龙袍”，living in palaces decorated with the dragon. “龙王”（the dragon king）is a powerful god in Chinese legendary which rules the seas and other water bodies and in charge of raining . Many Chinese would “望子成龙”，but its literal translation “to expect ones son to become a dragon” would
29、sound ridiculous to the English speaking people, because in their mind the dragon is some evil monster which can spit fire and sometimes possesses three to nine heads. There are very few English idioms with the word “dragon” except “blind dragon” and “fight like a dragon”. Out of such consideration,
30、 “亚洲四小龙” is properly turned into “the four tigers of Asia”.Phoenix is an unusual kind of animal, which is the king of all the birds in Chinese legendary. It is believed that phoenix is the symbol of peacefulness and it brings people good luck. In ancient times, it was used to compare to a person wit
31、h virtue. “凤毛麟角”refers to rare, precious persons or things. “山窝里飞出了个金凤凰”means that a person with special ability comes from a remote village. However, In English, it is said that phoenix lived in Sahara fro about 500 years. It would build a nest covered with spice before burning itself into ashes fr
32、om which a new phoenix was born. Therefore, phoenix, in English, stands for regeneration. For example, Religion, like a phoenix, has been resurrected form the ashes of the war.2.2. Different aesthetic appreciations Aesthetic appreciation is related with peoples preference or detestation towards anim
33、als. The corresponding animal word will have favorable meaning if the animal is appreciated, on the contrary, it will have negative meaning if the animal is disgusted.2.2.1. The same animal word bears favorable meanings in English but derogatory meanings in ChineseLets take dog for example, in most
34、cases, the word “dog” is favorable in its connotation in the English language. This is reflected in sayings like “Love me, love my dog”; “a lucky dog”. “To help a lame dog over the stile” means to help someone in difficulty. “Every dog has its day” means every person will some day succeed or become
35、fortunate. But figures of speech like these are not proper in Chinese as the word 狗in most Chinese phrases is associated with some derogatory connotation, as is reflected in sayings like “狗急跳墙,狗头军师,狗仗人势，狐朋狗友,狗心狼肺,狗眼看人低,狗嘴里吐不出象牙,丧家之犬”,etc.In Greek and Roman mythology, owl always stays by the goddess
36、of witness. It is invited to make a verdict on arguments between animals, especially on emergent occasions. Therefore, in English, owl is a bird standing for witness. Such as “as wise as an owl” Owlish refers to clever, shrewd. For example, Patrick peered owlishly at us through his glassed. However,
37、 in Chinese, owl is thought as a symbol of omen because it always flies around graveyard at night, sending out sad voice. In the old legend ,it is said that someone would die if the owl rest on his house . Owl is related to bad luck, death .There are many expressions showing peoples view towards owl
38、, such as “夜猫子进宅,无事不来”, “夜猫子抖翅,大小有点事”, “夜猫子进屋,全家都哭”,etc.Whale is a huge animal, so in English it is a symbol of valuable things. The following examples proves it- a whale of a chance(一个极好的机会), whale on skating (滑冰高手), a whale at tennis(善打网球的人).However, in china, people pay little attention to its va
39、lue but to its huge appetite. “蚕食鲸吞”means that a small country is embezzled like a silkworm eating little by little or like a whale swallowing.2.2.2. The same animal word bears derogatory meanings in English but favorable meanings in ChineseIn Chinese, “猫” is a symbol of loveliness, shrewdness. Chin
40、ese people love cat because it is a lovely companion and it is a master in catching mice. Some ancient poets wrote poems to prize cats. But in English, cat is embodiment of devil. People detest cat, especially the black cat. In Chinese , “喜鹊”is an auspicious bird .it is said that its voice brings go
41、od news as the following saying shows:今朝闻鹊喜,家信必有归;破颜看鹊喜,拭泪听猿啼;鹊声喳喳宁有知,家人听鹊占归期.Whats more, its voice is the forest of fine weather, such as鹊声宣日出晴色喧从喜鹊知It is proved that magpie can bring us good luck, whereas in English, it refers to wordy,garrulous people .for example:She is a magpie of a woman. She
42、kept muttering like a magpie.It is suggested that people in English speaking counties feel disgusted towards its voice. Besides, it stands for chaos, disorder. For example, “a magpie collection”, “to magpie together”. Apart from the above examples, there are many other animals, such as cricket, cuck
43、oo, bat, petrel, and mouse, having favorable meanings in English but having derogatory meaning in Chinese. 3. An animal word has both the same and different cultural connotations in English and Chinese Language, the reflection of especially social culture, is the result of social development and eff
44、ects peoples idea, thought and imagination. Different nations have different imaginations about animals according to their own thinking rules, knowledge scales, living customs and moral standards and the people endow them different cultural functions. Meanwhile, because of the similarity of the obje
45、ct living circumstances, it is unavoidable that some animal words, on the other hand, have the same cultural connotation.Fox, in both English and Chinese, refers to a common wild animal with a cunning nature. When used in comparison, it is a synonym of “slyness, trickiness, and deceitfulness ”. On t
46、his point ,the similarity of cultural connotation of the animal word is beyond our mind .People are very familiar with a series of English and Chinese idioms or sayings .For example, as cunning as a fox(狡猾得像个狐狸),as sly as a fox(像狐狸一样狡猾),a sly old fox(一只狡猾的老狐狸); “露出了狐狸尾巴”, “狐狸再狡猾也逃不过猎人的眼睛” Meanwhile,
47、 fox have different connotations in the two respective cultures. For example, in Chinese ,the coquettish women are blasphemed as “狐狸精”;a group of evil people who accomplish with each other are called “狐朋狗友”;the behavior that a person bullies others by evil authority is referred to “狐假虎威”;flattering is known as “狐媚”.In English, fox does not have a derogatory meaning to such an extent. It refers to deceitfulness while it refers to prizing on the fine
