探讨英汉习语中动物词意义的跨文化研究.docx

1、探讨英汉习语中动物词意义的跨文化研究密级学号7111110035院系外国语学院 西安翻译学院XIAN FANYI UNIVERSITY 本科毕业论文（设计）Dissertation for Bachelors Degree题 目：A Comparison of the Connotation of Animal Idioms Between Chinese and English 学生姓名： 钱 林 指导教师： 韩 晴 学科专业： 英 语 2011年6月AbstractIdiom is the cream of any language. The formation of idiom is a

2、chieved under different history, geographical environment and cultural backgrounds, which is a symbol of one nationals unique culture and culture information. English and Chinese languages both have a long history, and they contain many animal idioms. Because of the history, social life and some oth

3、er influences, English and Chinese animal idioms reflect the similarities and differences between Chinese and Western cultures.Many scholars and linguists at home and abroad have done researches about idioms. Professor Deng Yanchang (2003) made a contrastive study of English and Chinese language cul

4、tures from animal idioms. The research of animal idioms laid a foundation researches on idioms later on. This thesis starts its discussion from animal idioms to show the differences between Chinese and Western culture by contrasting the different connotation in different areas. To get people to know

5、 the function that animal idioms are used in multi-cultural communication, can make people use it proficiently. Key Words: animal idiom, cultural difference, reason摘 要习语在任何语言中都是精华。它是在不同的历史，地理环境和文化背景下形成的；承载着一定的民族文化特色和文化信息。英汉两种语言历史悠久，包含着大量的动物习语，由于历史，社会生活等方面因素的影响，英汉动物习语体现了中西文化的相同和差异。动物词汇作为语言的一个重要组成部分与文

6、化也有着密切的联系。 习语正像一面镜子，透过它可以看到色彩斑斓的民族文化，更可以体验到一种语言与另一种语言的最显著的差别。这些动物习语的产生和民族文化紧密相连，而每个民族的文化背景、生活环境、风俗习惯、历史传统、思维方式、道德观念、宗教信仰等等都有自己独特之处，所以大量的以动物为喻体的习语反映出了汉英两种语言丰富的文化内涵。从社会语言学和认知语言学角度来分析动物习语所承载的不同文化内涵，可以了解更多异国文化，增加学习语言的兴趣，从而可以更好地理解和运用语言。本论文就英汉动物习语进行研究与探讨，能让我们掌握更丰富的语言文化知识，深入了解英汉的文化传统和风俗习惯的统一性和差异性，才能真正的学好英语

7、并成功的进行跨文化交际。不同国家和民族，虽然生活方式、文化背景不同，但由于某些动物的共同体形特征、生活特征或行为习性，人们在表达某一语义时，两种语言会借用同一动物名称，在英汉语言中的确存在这些在语义表达和文化内涵上具有对等性的动物词语，他们有着同样的比喻、象征和联想意义。关键词：动物习语；文化差异；原因ContentsAbstract iAbstract in chinese iiii1. Introduction 12. A Brief Review of Animal Idioms 32.1 Definition and Features of Animal Idioms 32.2 Rel

8、ationship Between Culture and Animal Idioms 42.3 Cultural meanings of animals 42.3.1 Animals with Similar Cultural Meanings 42.3.2 Animals with Different Cultural Meanings 72.3.3 Different Animals with Similar Cultural Meanings 73. Cultural Differences Between English and Chinese from Animal Idioms

9、93.1 Dog and Gou 93.2 Dragon and Long 103.3 Bat and Bianfu 113.4 Peacock and Kongque 114 Reason for the Differences Between English and Chinese Animal Idioms 134.1 Different Social Convention 134.2 Different Living Environments 145. Conclusion 16Acknowledgement 17Works Cited 181. IntroductionNowaday

10、s, with the economic globalization and the regional economic integration strengthening, the cultural exchanges between China and the West have become more and more important. Transmission and application in English is used widely, so understanding the differences between Chinese and Western culture

11、is imperative. However, the social development is reflected in the language.Without idioms, our language would become dull and dry, whereas an appropriate use of them in our speech and writing will add to the strength and vividness of our language. And the idiom can better reflect the cultural chara

12、cteristics and connotation. Idioms are fixed and unique expression, which are formed in the process of using a language. Idioms are the sediment of the history and culture, the essences of culture derived from the process of recognizing and transforming the nature, the substantial corpus of informat

13、ion, and a vivid reflection of national culture. Both English and Chinese languages have a long history, and they contain many idioms which are implicitly, humorous, serious, elegant, concise and vivid image. These idioms are closely linked with the cultural traditions, which reflect the cultural ch

14、aracteristics and cultural information of the nation. Therefore, the idioms of English and Chinese, especially the animal idioms, reflect sharp differences of national culture. Deeply understanding animal idioms makes cross-cultural communication go smoothly. Animal idioms have been emphasized and s

15、tudied at home and abroad. At home, Yu Fumin (1996) made strenuous and successful efforts in comparing English and Chinese idioms to illustrate the authors pertinent points. Chen Dezhang (1999) had a research of cultural connotation of animal words in English and Chinese and find out what images peo

16、ple have over 30 common animals. Jiang Lei (2000) analysed animal idioms and made a survey of contrastive studies of English and Chinese idioms, which show the nations long history and cultural character. There are also overseas linguists who have done researches of idioms. Strassler (2004) made a p

17、ragmatic analysis on English idioms and created a pragmatic model for English idioms and to provide a basis for a theory of idioms as a phenomenon of natural language. (Chang Chenguang, 2004:36) A contrastive method will be taken to analyze the difference of animal idioms between English and Chinese

18、 to help people have a good understanding of the different cultures. It contains five parts. Introduction, the first part, states the significance, method, framework and modern researches of the thesis. The second part of this thesis is a brief review of animal idioms such as definition, features, t

19、he relationship between culture and animal idioms. Cultural differences between English and Chinese from animal idioms are illustrated in the third part. The fourth part of this thesis lists the reasons for the differences between English and Chinese animal idioms. The last part is a summary of the

20、whole paper. 2. A Brief Review of Animal Idioms2.1 Definition and Features of Animal IdiomsAnimal idiom, just as its name implies, is one type of idioms which are combined by animal words, therefore it is essential to define idiom first of all.Idiom is a phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear

21、 from the meaning of its individual and which must be learnt as a whole unit, in Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary. Idioms are fixed phrases or short sentences derived from a long-term use of language. “It contains a wealth of cultural information, cultural characteristics and cult

22、ural background. It has a distinctive image and metaphor, showing the distinctive national characteristics and geographical color.”(Bao.2001:148) The fixed phrases or sentences in English and Chinese are called “idiom”, and can also be interpreted as “set phrase”. “Idioms, fixed in their structure,

23、have been used for expressing the full meaning for a long time. Such phrases or short sentences are gradually formed in the development of the language, so they can not be opened or re-combined.”(Jiang.2000:49)Last but not least, idiom means an accepted phrase, construction, or expression contrary t

24、o the usual patterns of the language or having a meaning different from the language or having a meaning different from the literal, written in Websters New World Dictionary of the American Language.The Chinese equivalent for “idiom” is 熟语(sh y). It means a kind of set phrase or sentence, which, lik

25、e a stock expression, is often quoted by the common people. (Yu,Guo,1999:8) English idioms, in a broad sense, include idiomatic phrases, proverbial sayings and a number of slang expressions. Whereas Chinese idioms can be roughly divided into: set phrases(成语), common sayings(俗语), proverbs(谚语), a two

26、-part allegorical sayings(歇后语), and some vulgar expressions(粗俗语).As a particular linguistic unit, idiom shows its own specific characteristics. Firstly, idioms are usually forceful, concise, vivid and comprehensive, and some idioms such as animal idioms, often contain images and figures of speech, s

27、o they have acquired a figurative meaning. They convey more meanings as a whole than the few words could carry separately. Secondly, many idioms do not follow any standard rules, for they often violate conventional grammatical rules, and sometimes are wrong in logic. They seem arbitrary and it can n

28、ot be explained how or why a particular idiomatic phrase has assumes its present form. They are the brief statement of English and Chinese idioms. Knowing the definitions and features of idioms will help people understand their cultures better.2.2 Relationship Between Culture and Animal IdiomsAnimal

29、s are friends of human beings. Languages of all nations contain a lot of words denoting animals, and so do Chinese and English. With the development and progress of human society, many animals were tamed to become domestic ones serving people, and many others have become peoples pets. So, animals ha

30、ve become part of peoples life. As science develops, people learn more and more about animals. Zoological gardens are now necessary scenes in many major cities all over the world. Hundreds of thousands of books on animal have been published. Every TV station broadcasts special programs about animal

31、in certain channels. In all this process, animal words gradually got their established connotations 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

32、serve as omens. “Many animals have become a kind of symbolism in peoples thinking and this symbolism is reflected in the language. However, because of different history and culture, the connotations of animal idioms in one language do not necessarily coincide with those in another. So, the idioms of animal best are reflected the culture.” (Hu.1999:236)2.3 Cultural Meanings of AnimalsThere are so many kinds of animals in the nature, and they each have their own nature and living habits. Animals are the indispensable part o