1、中英姓名的社会文化研究研究生：孙玉娟指导教师：严幸智教授年级：2007级学科专业：英语语言文学研究方向：语言与文化中文摘要姓名不仅是人们相互区别的标志，也是人们了解一个社会及其文化诸多方面的一扇信息窗口。一个民族的历史、语言、心理、宗教、习俗以及道德价值观念都隐含在人们的姓名当中。对姓名中文化信息的了解有助于加强中西方文化的交流，增强来自不同文化背景人们的相互理解。本文基于中国的文化语言学的语言与文化相互作用、相互影响的理论模式，对中英姓名的结构、起源、特征及其所反映的文化的异同进行了分析和比较。从相反的姓名结构和导致这种结构的原因的分析中，我们可以看到中国的集体主义倾向和英语民族的个体主义倾
2、向，这正是两种文化背景最主要的不同处。从姓氏的历史和来源以及名的特点的探究中，我们得知包含在中英姓名系统中的文化相似性寻根意识、对地位和荣誉的追求、父母对子女的美好期望、男女性别的不同期待、崇尚个性、用姓做名，这些相似性使来自中西不同文化背景的人们相互沟通成为可能；而反映在中国姓名系统中的等级制度、姓氏崇拜、汉文化主导性、阴阳五行、家庭宗族观念和儒家文化，以及隐含在英语民族姓名系统中的对生活的乐观态度、不同文化的融合、平等观念和基督教影响等差异性又使我们的世界呈现出令人愉悦的多样性和缤纷色彩。关键词：姓；名；相似与差异；文化内涵A Socio-cultural Perspectiveof Ch
3、inese and English Personal NamesPostgraduate: Sun Yujuan Grade: 2007 Major Field of Study: English Language Given name; Similarity and difference; Culture connotationContentsChapter 1 Introduction.11.1 The Significance and Motivation of Personal Names Study.11.2 Literature Review11.2.1 Studies of Pe
4、rsonal Names by Chinese Scholars21.2.2 Studies of Personal Names by Scholars Abroad.31.3 General Organization of the Thesis.4Chapter 2 Theoretical Background52.1 Language and Culture52.1.1 Definitions of Language.52.1.2 Definitions of Culture.62.2 The Relationship between Language and Culture.72.2.1
5、 Boas Cultural Determinism.72.2.2 Sapir-Whorfs Linguistic Determinism82.2.3 Interdependence of Culture and Language.10Chapter 3 Structures of Personal Names, Reasons and Their CultureImplications.123.1 Structure of Chinese Personal Names123.2 Structure of English Personal Names133.3 Reasons for Diff
6、erent Name Structures.143.4 Collectivism and Individualism in the Different Structures of Personal Names.15Chapter 4 History and Sources of Surnames and Their CultureConnotations.194.1 History of Surnames194.1.1 History of Chinese Surnames.194.1.2 The Commonly-used Chinese Surnames204.1.3 History of
7、 English Surnames214.1.4 The Popular English Surnames.224.2. Similarities in Sources of Surnames and Their Culture Elements234.2.1 Surnames from Places.244.2.2 Surnames from Occupations.244.2.3 Surnames from Official Status254.2.4 Surnames from Nature264.3 Differences in Sources of Surnames and Thei
8、r Culture Contents.274.3.1 Distinctive Sources of Chinese Surnames274.3.2 Distinctive Sources of English Surnames.31Chapter 5 Features of Given Names and Their Culture Reflections.355.1 Similarities in Features of Given Names and Their Culture Elements.355.1.1 Good Implication in Names355.1.2 Gender
9、 Difference in Given Names365.1.3 Individuality375.1.4 Surnames as Given Names.385.2 Differences in Features of Given Names and Their Culture Contents395.2.1 Distinctive Features in Chinese Given Names.395.2.2 Distinctive Features in English Given Names42Chapter 6 Conclusion46Bibliography.48Publicat
10、ions during the Postgraduate Program.51AcknowledgementsChapter 1 Introduction1.1 The Significance and Motivation of Personal Names StudyWhen we first communicate with other people, we usually start the contact with nameexchanges. Each person in the society has his name which differs him from other m
11、embers in thecommunity, and each country has its own naming system owing to their different historical andcultural backgrounds. Without clear awareness of different name cultures, we may be led toconfusion and puzzle. The following experiment by R.L. Shook might help make it clear:Robert L. Shook, a
12、n American writer, once did an experiment about the names. He asked 20men whether they would like to make an appointment with a newcome secretary called HarriettFinkelstein. 18 out of them put off this appointment with the excuse of having no time. A monthlater, he asked the same group of men if the
13、y would like to have a date with another newcomesecretary called Jill Connors. This time there were 16 of them willing to know more about thissecretary. Miss Finkelstein lost her job just due to her unkind name.Obviously, names of these two secretaries have no relationship with their own physicalapp
14、earance and capability. Whereas, names might contain peoples taste towards beauty andreligion. Before seeing a person, people first hear his/her name which brings strong emotion topeoples mind, which finally leads to peoples different reaction to this name (Gao Yongcheng the secondis concerned with
15、given names: The Study of Chinese Names by Yuan Yuliu, The Chinese Namesand Nicknames by Ji Changhong; the third is on how to have a appropriate name: The Art ofNaming by Jiang Zhongzhou, The Study of Naming by Liu Caiyan, How to Have a Name For aBaby by Guan Xihua (He Xiaoming, 2001:446-447).The bo
16、oks listed above are knowledgeable, interesting and practical but lack of theoreticalvalue. The few ones with theoretical significance on personal names might be The PersonalNames of Chinese by Zhang Lianfang and The Research of Chinese Personal Names by XiaoYaotian. The former not only studies the
17、names of Han people but those of other 55 minorities aswell in detail, while the latter, as a production of many years with full material andcomprehensive demonstration, provides nearly all the issues on personal names, including theorigins of names, the usual practice of naming, features of naming
18、in different historical periods,the relationship between surnames and given names, the pronunciation, form and meanings ofnames and so on. In addition, one of the prominent values of On the Personal Names is that theauthor Naribilige has made some limited but substantial attempts to construct the on
19、omastictheories with Chinese characteristics.Besides the studies of Chinese personal names, some Chinese scholars also make researcheson English names. A Brief history of English Personal Names by Zhu Xiaogang and A Handbookof English Personal Name Reference by Huai Lu respectively offers the genera
20、l historicaldevelopment and some basic knowledge of English personal names. Zhang Lianfangs ThePersonal Names of Foreigners introduces the origination, evolution and structure of personalnames from 41 countries and regions. It also explains the basic concepts of Onomastics and itsresearch object, ra
21、nge, method and significance.2Since 1990s, more and more scholars began to study the connections between personalnames and culture. The Mirror Image of CulturePersonal Names, published in 1990 by WangJianhua, is a book about personal names and their culture connotations from the angle of culturallin
22、guistics. It mainly analyzes personal names from the following four aspects: the universalcultural elements in personal names of Han people and minorities, the conflict and integration ofname cultures, social reality embodied in personal names as well as psychological effect onnaming process. Anothe
23、r book called Personal Names and Chinese Culture by He Xiaomingassociated many aspects of culture with personal names including politics, religion, ethic, art,custom, law and so forth.The few comparisons between English and Chinese personal names might be as follows:Tian Huigang provided a chapter i
24、n his bookChinese and Western Interpersonal AppellationSystems to give a detailed comparison of family names and given names in Chinese culture aswell as Western culture, offering some comprehensive knowledge of names. Du Xuezeng in hisbookThe Comparison of Culture and custom in China and English-Sp
25、eaking Countriesdevoted one chapter to name customs both in China and in English-speaking countries, which,however, is only a general introduction to name diversities in both Chinese and English cultures.Unfortunately, although pathetically sincere, they are far from in-depth investigations in thisf
26、ield.1.2.2 Studies of Personal Names by Scholars AbroadScholars in English speaking countries such as the United States and Canada have madegreat achievements on this subject. Name study in Western countries has become an independentsubject called Onamastics much earlier than that in China. Onomasti
27、cs is the field of studyconcerned with the content and meaning of all types of names and naming. Among its majorconcerns are literary names, place names and personal names.Elsdon C. Smith in 1952 published his Personal Names: A Bibliography which had over3400 entries, whose impact was to stimulate s
28、cholarly work on names. In the following yearssince the original bibliography was published there have been a tremendous number of booksand articles published on personal names, among which Lawsons two important bibliographybooksPersonal Names and Naming in 1987 and More Names and Naming in 1995 wit
29、happroximately 1200 items and close to 2200 items respectivelydeserve special attention. Hisworks are treated as excellent references for scholars specialized in name study. The Origin ofEnglish Surnames published in 1979 by P. H. Reaney covers every detail of the surnames originfrom the perspective
30、 of history. Leslie A. Dunkling in his book The Guinness Book of Names hasbrought a mixture of information including first name origins, first name fashions, first names3reasons for choice, given names around the world, history of surnames, psychology of surnamesand nicknames, so has B. Cottle done
31、in his book Names.Besides the works on English personal names, foreign scholars have also paid attention toChinese names. Evelyn Lips Choosing Auspicious Chinese Names, published in 1988, was thefirst book written in the English language on the subject to analyze the Chinese names, whereinthe author
32、 discussed the Chinese traditional naming methods such as the Yin-Yang of names,names and the five elements, eight characters of names and so on, which is really a revealing andfascinating guide. Later, more works on Chinese names appeared, including Chinese names: thetraditions surrounding the use
33、of Chinese surnames and personal names by Russell Jones in1997, Chinese American names: tradition and transition by Emma W. Louie in 1998, In searchof your Asian rootsGenealogical research on Chinese surnames by Sheau-yueh J. Chao in2000.Western scholars have also founded organizations on names stud
34、y. Among them are theAmerican Name Society established in 1951 in the United States with Elsdon C. Smith as itsfounder and the first president, and the Canadian Society for the Study of Names founded in1967 in Canada, both of which aim at promoting worldwide onomastic investigations by meansof confe
35、rences, paper presentations and panel discussion to share the achievements andpublications of onomastic theoretical investigation, views and concepts by scholars all over theworld. Names: Journal of Onomastics, a quarterly magazine published by the American NameSociety, is one of the worlds leading
36、journals of Onomastics.1.3 General Organization of the ThesisThis thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapter 1 states the significance and motivation ofthe study, and presents a brief review of the previous personal name researches by scholars athome and abroad. Chapter 2 is the theoretical founda
37、tion with the emphasis on the relationshipbetween language and culture. Chapter 3 describes the different structures of Chinese andEnglish personal names, analyzes the reasons for the different name structures and reveals thecultural connotations conveyed by them. Chapter 4 probes into the history a
38、nd sources ofChinese and English surnames and their culture implications. Chapter 5 compares the features ofChinese and English given names as well as their reflected culture. Chapter 6 sums up the wholepaper and presents the conclusion derived from the previous chapters.4Chapter 2 Theoretical Backg
39、round2.1 Language and CultureSince the 20th century, language research has put more and more stress on the study oflanguage system itself with the emergence of Structural Linguistics of F. de Saussure, aSwedish linguist who defined language as “a system of symbols”, and the AmericanLinguist Noam Cho
40、msky who contributed Transform Generation Grammar. As a result,the scope of the language research has become increasingly narrow so that manyresearchers are confused about the significance and value of language research. Thissituation did not change until anthropological linguists, like Franz Boas,
41、Edward Sapirand Benjamin Lee Whorf, associated language and culture, which leads to the new field oflanguage research with the emphasis on the observation of the world of object rather thanthe language itself. This “Language-and-Culture Craze” promotes globe wide researchinto the relationship betwee
42、n language and culture. Before probing into the relationshipbetween language and culture, the author thinks it is necessary to have a clear mind of thedefinitions of language and culture.2.1.1 Definitions of LanguageAs we all know, language is one of the greatest achievements humankind has evercreat
43、ed. Language separates us human beings from animals, and it is not a system ofinnate human knowledge but something created by human beings as a whole during thelabor process. Just as Sapir defined, “Language is a purely human and non-instinctivemethod of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by
44、 means of a system ofvoluntarily produced symbols”(Sapir, 2002:7). Inheriting the predecessors consideringlanguage as a tool for communication and a system of symbols, Sapir further relatedlanguage with culture. In the chapter entitled Language, Race and Culture in his bookLanguage: An Introduction
45、to the Study of Speech, Sapir pointed out that “Language is themost significant and colossal work that the human spirit has evolvednothing short of afinished form of expression for all communicable experience. This form may be endlesslyvaried by the individual without thereby losing its distinctive
46、contours; and it isconstantly reshaping itself as is all art. Language is the most massive and inclusive art weknow, a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations” (Sapir, 2002:181).Kramsch holds a similar view as Sapir: “Language is not a culture-free code, distinct fromthe way people
47、 think and behave, but, rather, it plays a major role in the perpetuation ofculture, particularly in its printed form” (Kramsch, 2000:8).5In a word, language plays a crucial role in our life. Without the creation andutilization of language, human knowledge can not be preserved, and there would be nohuman progress.2.1.2 Definitions of CultureIn recent years the word “culture” has been frequently mentioned both by scholars orspecialists and by
