中西文化差异对英语阅读理解的影响.docx

中西文化差异对英语阅读理解的影响.docx

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中西文化差异对英语阅读理解的影响

CulturalDifferencesandEnglishReading

Comprehension

[Abstract]WithEnglishteachingandlearningprevailinginChina,wehavemadegreatprogressinthisfield.However,therearestillmanyproblemsinourEnglishteachingandlearning.AcriticaloneisthatstudentsfrequentlymakecomprehensionmistakeswhenreadingEnglishtexts.ThiskindofcomprehensionbarriersiscausedmostlybytheculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlanguage.Thispaperfirstillustratestheeffectsofculturaldifferencesonreadingcomprehension,thenanalyzesthecausesofculturaldifferences,andfinallydevelopssometentativemethodstohelptoimprovereadingcomprehensionbothinEnglishteachingandlearning.

[KeyWords]culturaldifferences;readingcomprehension;Englishteachingandlearning

1.Introduction

InourtraditionalEnglishlearningandteachingclasses,especiallyinthereadingpart,theteachersalwaysemphasizethelanguagepointsandthegrammaticalstructuresofthereadingtextsbyanalyzingthesentencesonebyone.Asaresult,mostofthestudentscanonlygetasuperficialunderstandingofthemeaningofthereadingmaterial,whichmeansthatthestudents’readingabilitycannotbeactuallyimproved.Asamatteroffact,Englishreadingcomprehensionismoreofaprocessofinterculturalcommunicationthanamaterialofgrammarandlanguagepointslearning.Consequently,teachingcultureinEnglishreadingclassesisveryimportant.Generallyspeaking,itisfoundthatwhetherornotthestudentscangetacompletecomprehensionofatextandacompletemasteryofaforeignlanguagedependsontheirknowledgeofthetargetculture.ThispaperfocusesontheeffectsofChineseandWesternculturaldifferencesonEnglishreadingcomprehension,tryingtoarousetheechoinEnglishteachingandlearning:

howculturalcontentcanaffectuswhenwelearnaforeignlanguage?

WeshouldinvolveculturaleducationinEnglishteachingandlearninginordertoteachorlearnitbetter,whichisverysignificant.Toelaboratemyopinion,thisthesisfirstillustratestheeffectsofculturaldifferencesonreadingcomprehension,thenanalyzesthecausesofculturaldifferences,andfinallydevelops

sometentativemethodstohelptoimprovereadingcomprehensionbothinEnglishteachingandlearning.

2.Effectsofculturaldifferencesonreadingcomprehension

2.1Thecomprehensionofwords

Wordscanreflectculturaldifferenceswidely.Notonlydoesawordhaveadirectandsuperficialmeaninginthedictionary,itcanalsohaveanimpliedandaffectivemeaning,whichcanalwaysbethebarriersinreadingcomprehension（LuoXiaoling,2008:

114.Consequently,ifwelearnnewEnglishwords,itisofgreatimportanceforustoknownotonlytheirdenotations,butalsotheirconnotations.Generallyspeaking,thewordsthatcancausebarriersinreadingcomprehensionbecauseofculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandtheWestcanbedividedintotwotypes:

wordsthathaveambiguousmeaningandwordsthathavespecificmeaning.

Wordsthathaveambiguousmeaningrefertotheonesthathavethesamedenotationbutdifferentculturalconnotations.Forexample,theEnglishword“dragon”hasitsequivalent“龙”inChinese.Althoughtheirdenotationissimilar,theydiffergreatlyintheirconnotation.InLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,wecanfindtwoexplanationsoftheword“dragon”:

（1animaginaryfire-breathinganimalinchildren’sstories.（2afierceolderwoman,esp.onewhoallowstoolittlefreedomtoayounggirlinhercharge.Fromthesetwodefinitions,wecanknowthat“dragon”isnotlikedintheEnglishculture.Andjustbecauseofthis,“dragon”isalwaysusedasanegativewordinthewesterncountries.Tothecontrary,Chinesepeopleareparticularlyfondoftheword“龙”.Wecallourselves“DescendantsoftheDragon”.Theword“龙”inChinesecultureisanobleandauspicioussymbol.Itsymbolizesauthority,power,wealthandfuture.Ifweknowtheculturaldifferenceinthisrespect,wewillnotmisinterprettheterm“theolddragon”,whichactuallymeans“thedevil”,as“thedragonthatisold”whenweencounteritinourreadingcomprehension.Inconsequence,weshouldnotsimplyequatesomeEnglishwordwithaChinesewordinreading.

Wordsthathavespecificmeaningrefertotheonesthatdon’thavetheirequivalentsinanotherlanguage.Thatistosay,theyonlyexpressthingsand

phenomenathatarepeculiartoacertainlanguage,andwecannotfindanyequivalentsinanotherlanguagebothinformandincontent.Anexamplethatisoftencitedistheword“hippe”.Theword“hippe”isapeculiarwell-knownproductofAmericansocietywhichreferstothedecadentandpassiveAmericanyoungpeoplewhoarerebelliousanddiscontentedtothesocialreality.Theyventtheirdissatisfactionbywearinglonghair,dressinginunusualclothes,believinginse