1、.IntroductionLanguage is the carrier and container of culture, which is influenced and shaped by culture, and simultaneously reflects culture. 1 P7 Being an integral part of language lexicon, the kinship terms is deeply embedded in culture and also directly reflect culture. Kinship terms refer to te
2、rminologies which take one as the center to definite relatives relationship with oneself. 2 P79 Their main resources are blood, marriage and law. Generally, kinship terms are classified into four series: paternal side, maternal side, side of husband and side of wife. Owing to different languages and
3、 social backgrounds, different nations have produced different kinship systems. It logically follows that varied kinship terms come into being. This paper mainly focuses on three different characters between English kinship terms and Chinese kinship terms. By contrastive study, the three differences
4、 respectively in complexity, stress point and the distinction of relationship are presented. By the comparison, the cultural differences between them are obviously observed.The comparison between English and Chinese kinship terms1.1 Complexity English kinship terms belong to Eskimo kin terminology w
5、ith a typical feature of succinctness and generality. On the contrary, Chinese kinship terms belong to Sudanese kin terminology, which entails complexity and specificity. 3 P145 As the following chart shown:English Chinese English Chinese father 父亲 mother 母亲husband 丈夫 wife 妻子son 儿子 daughter 女儿grandf
6、ather 祖父，外祖父 grandmother 祖母，外祖母brother 哥哥，弟弟 sister 姐姐，妹妹grandson 孙子，外孙 granddaughter 孙女，外孙女uncle 伯，叔，舅，姨夫，姑父aunt 伯母，婶母，姑母，舅母，姨母nephew 侄子，外甥 niece 侄女，外甥女father-in-law 公公，岳父 mother-in-law 婆婆，岳母son-in-law 女婿 daughter-in-law 儿媳brother-in-law 大伯，小叔，姐夫，妹夫，内兄，内弟sister-in-law 大姑，小姑，大姨，小姨，嫂子，弟媳.cousin 堂哥，堂弟
7、，表兄，表弟cousin 堂姐，堂妹，表姐，表妹In the chart above, kinship terms of three generations are included. The number of English kinship terms is 23 in contrast to 58 Chinese kinship terms. 4 P228 Therefore, the difference between them is clearly shown. English kinship terms are poor and general. The denotation o
8、f a certain kinship term is not designated. For example, the term “sister” can mean both older sister and younger sister. So does “brother”. Moreover, expect the kinship terms in nuclear family, there is no distinction of kinship terms by blood or marriage, or age as the chart shows. In short, Engli
9、sh kinship terms are much simpler. Sharply contrasting with English kinship terms, Chinese kinship terms are complex and descriptive. Basically, no matter what kind of relationship, age and position, there is a special kinship term employed to denote every relative. The clear division among relative
10、s in paternal side, maternal side, side of husband or side of wife necessarily adds complexity to the kinship terms. Consequently, Chinese kinship terms are considered to be various, rich and unique. Therefore, compared with English kinship terms, Chinese kinship terms are much complex.1.2 Stress po
11、intEnglish kinship terms accentuate equality. In western countries, people pay much heed to individual. From their point of view, individual is the fundamental element of society. They highlight that all men are equal. So, it is not strange to hear the junior call the senior by name in their convers
12、ations. This phenomenon is regarded as an expression of intimacy, friendliness and equality, instead of impoliteness and rudeness. For example, in Family Album, USA, the sister-in-law Marilyn calls her mother-in-law Ellen directly to show their harmonious relationship. 4 P228 Conversely, Chinese kin
13、ship terms emphasize order and hierarchy. In Chinas traditional culture, appellation is seen as a tool to indicate ones status and power. Chinese kinship terms are accurately divided in light of consanguinity and generation. The kinship terms, especially the terms to the senior are highly valued. Th
14、ere should be no mistake made when you address a senior, otherwise you will be criticized to be impolite and ill-bred. Of course, one should not be allowed to call a seniors name directly. The phenomenon happening in Family Album, USA will not appear in a Chinese family, because it is unacceptable f
15、or Chinese. The concept of observing order has deeply rooted in Chinese minds.1.3 The distinction of relationshipSolidarity is the most distinguishing feature to English kinship terms when they are related to kin relationships. No matter relatives by blood or marriage, they are presented with the sa
16、me .forms in English kinship terms, regardless of close or distant relationship. Foe example, in Websters New World Dictionary, the term “uncle” is interpreted as: “the brother of ones father”; “the brother of ones mother”; “the husband of ones aunt”. 5P204 Apparently, there is no difference among r
17、elatives in different series. However, the situation in Chinese kinship terms dramatically differs from English kinship terms. In Chinese kinship terms, a clear division among different relatives can be seen. Upon hearing the appellation, one can tell apart whether the person belongs to lineal relat
18、ives or not, or mothers side or fathers side. The English term “uncle” equivalently refers to bofu, shufu, jiufu, yifu, and gufu in Chinese kinship terms. But in Chinese kinship terms, they are differentiated and can not be mixed tighter, because they belong to different series. Bofu and shufu, bein
19、g collateral relatives, have consanguinity and have the same family name with oneself; jiufu, referring to the brother of ones mothers, also has consanguinity but owns different family names; gufu and yifu belong to relatives by marriage. Moreover, there is another point in Chinese kinship terms sho
20、wing the distinction of interpersonal relationship. The children of ones son are called sunzi and sunnv, while the daughters children are called waisun and waisunnv. The fathers parents are addressed yeye and nainai, while mothers parents are called waigong and waipo. The word “wai” penetratingly de
21、monstrates the strict distinction of relationship. But in English kinship terms, grandson, granddaughter, grandfather and grandmother are employed. 4P228 There is no distinction of different series relatives. Cultural differences from the perspective of family typeand conceptLanguage is a mirror of
22、culture. Being a basic component of language lexicon, kinship terms reflect culture to some extent. The comparison between English kinship terms and Chinese kinship terms made in chapter1 indicates that there exist cultural differences between western countries and China. This chapter will focus on
23、the discussion of cultural differences in family type and concept.2.1 Family type The generality and simplicity of English kinship terms show that the nuclear family takes a dominant role in western countries. The typical nuclear family refers to “a group consisting of parents and their unmarried ch
24、ildren who live far away other relative”. 6P54In western countries, people embrace the idea of self-reliance, freedom and independence under the influence of individualism. So, young people are inclined to live apart from their parents as soon as they get married, and old aged also prefer to live al
25、one. Hence, western people tend to have a small family. Furthermore, seldom do nuclear families connect each other, .because they live far away and do not visit each other frequently. As a result, their concept of relatives is weakened. From their view, there is almost no distinct difference between
26、 relatives and common people. Although the number of English kinship terms is poor, it is enough to use. Therefore, the rarity in number of English kinship terms mirrors their inclination to the nuclear family.The complexity of Chinese kinship terms adequately embodies that people lay great stress o
27、n the extended family. The extended family refers to “a family consisting of two or more adult generations of the same family sharing a common household and economic resource” 6 P56Chinese traditional culture thinks that more family members a family has, more prosperous and stronger it is. So, Chine
28、se are happy to have many descendants, otherwise they will think their family is on the wane. As the Chinese proverb said, more sons mean more blessings. Moreover, Chinese give attention to clan, so several generations usually live under the same proof. In such a family, family members are large and
29、 their relationships are complicated. In order to clearly distinguish different members, the highly descriptive kinship terms are employed. In return, the complex Chinese kinship terms justifies the extended family in China.2.2 ConceptThe emphasis on equality in English kinship terms has manifested
30、that western people highlight the concept of equality. As The Declaration of Independence says, “all men are created equal.” Since western countries have been in capitalistic society for a much longer history, the ideology of egalitarianism in deeply embedded in peoples minds. They stress freedom, e
31、quality and independence. Specifically speaking, on one hand, all members in a family are equal. Generally, there is no priority to the elders, because being elders does not mean having much more experience and greater authority in their point. The fact that several people sharing the one kinship te
32、rm and the rarity in number exactly proves that western people do not care much about the individual status in a family, because they advocate individual. On the other hand, in English kinship terms, there is no discrimination about relatives from different series, and they are treated equally. All
33、those facts fully express the concept of equality in western countries.Different from western peoples sense of equality, Chinese kinship terms distinctly demonstrate the concept of hierarchy in Chinese. Being deeply influenced by more than 2000 years feudalism, the feudal morel principle and ethics
34、are instilled firmly into people. The emphasis on seniority in kinship terms explicitly shows the inequality in status and authority among members in a family. Generally, the senior generations are superior to junior generation; older people are superior to younger ones and men are superior to women
35、. 7P94 Whats more, there is a difference in relatives from different series. They are divided into paternal side, maternal side, side of husband and side of wife and so on. In Chinese kinship terms, the number .of paternal side is larger than that of maternal side. Within the paternal side, the term
36、s of ones son side differ from those of daughters side, such as the word “wai” mentioned in chapter 1. To sum up, Chinese kinship terms show hierarchical concept of Chinese. Cultural differences from the perspective of valuesThe cultural differences conveyed by kinship terms are not just confined to
37、 those mentioned in chapter 2. In this chapter, attention will be paid on the cultural differences from the perspective of values. Values refer to “ideas about the worth or importance of certain qualities, especially those generally accepted by a particular group”. 8P19303.1 Individualism vs. collec
38、tivismThe generalized English kinship terms with an emphasis on equality manifest that individualism prevails in most western countries. Individualism means the moral worth of the individual and makes individual primary importance with the virtues of self-reliance and independence. 9In English kinsh
39、ip terms, it is common that several relatives possess the same term. This point shows that western people do not care much about kin relations. But they stress individual and freedom, and advocate independence. Under the influence of individualism, people tend to be emotionally independent on organi
40、zations and institutions, and have their own goals and desires opposing external interference whether by society or family. 9 The English kinship terms are not particular about patriarchal kin or not, senior or junior, or age. It reflects that every person is equal, free and does not necessarily cla
41、ssify himself to be a certain position. The kin relationships for western people are only a tie, without meaning of status or priority. They are more concerned about the realization of personal value.Unlike individualism in western countries, Chinese kinship terms show that collectivism occupies an
42、important position in Chinese culture. Collectivism refers to “any philosophic, political, economic or social outlook that emphasizes the interdependence of every human in same collective group and the priority of group goals over individual goals” 9In collective societies, the individual is emotion
43、ally dependent on organization and institutions. So, collectivism attaches importance to the concept of group and individual is based on the group. A typical Chinese family is a large group with many family members. The complicated kinship terms endow every member with a certain position. With the d
44、efinite position, every member would observe the order and rules of the large family. In other words, individual is restrained to the group which is the core of their life. Members in a family have a strong sense of clan and are demanded to perform their obligation, cooperate with others for family
45、goals not just for their own interests.3.2 Law vs. liThe English kinship terms demonstrate the sense of law in western peoples minds. The kinship term “sister-in- law” can be viewed as a sister stipulated by law through its etymological structure. 10P50 So does those kinship terms similar in structu
46、re of “-in-law”. They manifest that western people see their kin relationships from the perspective of law to some extent. Hence, the concept of law is pervasively permeated in their daily life.While, Chinese kinship terms reflect the deep-rooted thought of li. In history, li once was an effective m
47、oral system for rulers to consolidate their power and position. Then, it combined with Confucianism and became a part of the ruling ideology of feudal society. The core of li is identity, which is plainly shown in Chinese kinship terms. In Chinese kinship terms, each member in an extended family is
48、given an identity. Their behavior should accord with identity and are not allowed to surpass their designated position. All these justify that li is profound in Chinese culture. ConclusionEach language is bred and matured in certain culture and reflects the culture nourishing it. So does the kinship
49、 terms which is a part of language. This paper focuses on cultural differences reflected by the comparison between English kinship terms and Chinese kinship terms.Firstly, cultural differences are seen from the perspective of family type and concept. Different family typesthe nuclear family and extended family are obvious and fundamental cultural difference. After that, the conceptual direction is analyzed. Western people uphold the concept of equality while Chinese hold the concept of hierarchy. Secondly, values as a most last
