1、题目：中西方动物词语文化对比摘 要语言是文化的载体，在中西方的语言中， 动物词语都扮演着重要的角色。动物词语不仅仅是单纯意义上的名词，它们的内涵在语言文化的发展过程中不断被扩展，增加。同一个动物在中西文化中可能承载着同 样的文化内涵，也可能 蕴含不同的含义。而不同的动 物也可能在不同的文化中代表相同的内涵。本文从上述几方面进行探讨，有助于人 们增加对东西方文化的理解和进行跨文化交际。关键词：动物语言；文化内涵；中西文化IIntroductionWith the development of human history, animals became our basic necessities
2、and keep a close relationship with us. So, it is inevitable that animals convey many humans emotions, such as fear, sympathy, loyalty and so on. The same animal may have the same connotation as well as different connotations in different culture, and different animals can also present the same conno
3、tation in different culture. II. The same animal words have the same cultural connotationsBecause the animals have their particular appearance and attribute. So from the view of animals attribute, they present the same or similar connotations whether in Eastern or in Western culture.For example, coc
4、k are the symbol of “pride“ in both Eastern and Western culture.In English, there is a phrase, “as arrogant as a cock“. In Chinese, we say “像公鸡一样骄 傲”. Another example is sheep. No matter in English or in Chinese, sheep is considered as a kind of tame and docile animal. So, in English, “a wolf in she
5、eps clothing“, means someone who seems to be friendly but is in fact, unpleasant, which in accordance with Chinese phrase,“披着羊皮的狼”.There are other examples. Snail is slow (as slow as a snail). Fox is cunning and sly. Bee is busy (as busy as a bee) and monkey is naughty (as naughty as a monkey).The s
6、imilarity of human evolutionary process and the civilization development is the main reason that the same animal words have the same cultural connotations. III. The same animal words have different cultural connotationsIt is natural that under different culture, different backgrounds cause different
7、 association to the same words. The most impressing animal is dragon. As we all known, dragon is the most suitable image presented the Chinese tradition. Once Chinese people mentioned dragon, the phrase like “望子成龙”, “龙腾虎跃”, “龙的传人”etc. come to their minds. In addition, Chinese people have special aff
8、ection for this animal. While in Western culture, dragon is seen as horrible and evil. In the famous old English heroic epic poem, Beowulf, the dragon was depicted as a great evil which finally killed by the hero Beowulf. The phrase “saw dragons teeth“ came from a Greek myth, in the legends of the P
9、hoenician prince Cadumus the dragons teeth, once planted, would grow into fully armed warriors. Now, this is used as a metaphor to refer to doing something that has the effect of fomenting disputes. And English slang “ chase the dragon“ means “to smoke the drug heroin“. Another example is bat. In Ch
10、inese culture, because of bat is the homophone of happiness（蝙蝠的 “蝠”字与幸福的“福”字同音）, bat was the symbol of auspicious. Especially when five bats appeared at the same time, which means the greatest happiness（五福 齐天）. In comparison, the western people connect some bad and evil things to bat. As a result, t
11、he word “batty“ means slightly crazy and “old bat“ refers to an unpleasant old woman. Because of the difference of the traditional culture, aesthetic orientation and the type of thinking, the same animal word have different cultural connotations.IV. The same animal word have on responding cultural c
12、onnotations in Eastern and Western cultureWith the development of language, the animal words may have abundant and luxuriant cultural connotations in one culture but have no association in another culture. Cat is not a good image in Western culture, so if the sentence “And I suppose she would tell a
13、ll the people, the old cat.“ was translated as “我猜想这位温 顺的老太太会告 诉所有的人。 ”, it would be a big mistake. Actually, the cat means an unkind and unpleasant woman, so the sentence should be translated as “ 我猜想她会告诉所有的人，这个长舌的老太婆！ ”. Crane is the symbol of longevity in Chinese traditional culture. People like
14、presented a picture of crane and pine to someone as a birthday gift in the past, which represented the wish of longevity. But in Western culture, the image of crane will not bring such a kind of recognition.The different geographic environment and the different position and influence of the same ani
15、mal in different culture make this inconformity.V. The different animal words have the similar cultural connotations in Eastern and Western culture.Some animals share some similar characteristics, as a result, in Eastern and Western culture, there is a coincidence that different animal words was use
16、d to describe similar things. Take horse as an example, in English, horse is a word appears frequently to modify someone who is strong. But in Chinese people always say as strong as a bull（力大如牛） . Other examples like mule and bull. In English, they say as stubborn as a mule, but in Chinese, the simi
17、lar expression is “犟得像头牛”. To depict anxiety, in Western culture, the suitable metaphor is “like a cat on hot bricks“, while in Eastern culture, the situation is described as “热锅上的蚂蚁”.VI. Conclusion The same animal may have the same connotation as well as different connotations in different culture,
18、 and different animals can also present the same connotation in different culture. After the comparison and analysis of the animal words and their connotations in the Eastern and Western culture, the cross-cultural communication would become easier. And there are other aspects and understanding rema
19、in to be studied. References1 Claire Kramsch. Language and Culture M. Foreign Education Press in Shanghai.2000. 2 Hornby. Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary (Extended Fourth Edition). Oxford University Press, 2002. 3 黄静 英语汉语 中动物词语的文化内涵分析J兰州大学学 报（社会科学版）， 2003（05）4 胡文仲英美文化 词典 M北京：外语教学与研究出版社，19955 韦森英汉动 物词的文化内涵J广西师范学报（哲学社会科学版），2003（01）6 杨坚定英汉动 物词文化内涵探源J绍兴文理学院学报 ，1998（04）
