The Cultural Differences between Chinese and Engli

The Cultural Differences between Chinese and English Reflected by Their Languages

作者：Li Qian

来源：《校园英语·下旬》2015年第06期

【Abstract】Social scientists tell us that cultures differ from one another，and each culture is unique.Learning a foreign language well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation，grammar，words and idioms.In fact，it is inseparable from learning its culture.This paper attempts to do a brief study of certain cultural differences between Chinese and English reflected by everyday conversations，proverbs，metaphor and association as well as taboos. 【Key words】differences； proverb； metaphor； taboo； culture

【摘要】社会学家告诉我们，一切文化都是独特的，互不相同的。学习一种外语不仅要掌握语音、语法、词汇和习语。实际上，学习语言与了解语言所反映的文化是分不开的。本文粗略探讨日常对话，谚语，比喻和禁忌语这些语言现象所折射出的两种语言之间存在的文化差异。

【关键词】差异 谚语 比喻 禁忌语 文化 Introduction

Although the language used in communication may be faultless，misunderstandings may arise.The same words or expressions may not mean the same thing to different peoples.Because of cultural differences，a serious question may cause amusement or laughter； a harmless statement may cause displeasure or anger.Because of cultural differences，jokes by a foreign speaker may be received with blank faces and strong silence.Thus it is necessary to study the cultural differences while learning a foreign language.

1.Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversations

An American studying in china had an appointment at noon.As he was getting on his bicycle a Chinese friend passed by.吃了吗？ The young Chinese asked.This，of course，is a common Chinese greeting around meal time and the American merely nodded with a smile，waved goodbye and went off.He realized that his friend's remark was nothing more than a Chinese way of saying hello or hi.If the greeting had been put literally into English“have you eaten yet？”or“have you had your lunch？”It would have sounds rather unusual.

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To Americans，the greeting might mean this：“I haven't either，come on，let's go together and get something to eat”or“if you haven't，I was just going to invite you to my place.”In other words，it could indicate an invitation to a meal.

Actually，another foreign student who had not been long in China once complained in broken Chinese“你们为什么老问我吃饭了没有，我有钱。”To his way of thinking，people were concerned that he was not getting his meals properly because of lack of money.Clearly，he was offended. 2.Proverbs

Now we shall look at proverbs and sayings.Proverbs are short sayings of folk wisdom--of well-known facts or truths--expressed succinctly and in a way that makes them easy to remember.Because the sayings are so pithy，they have universal appeal.Students love to pick up proverbs，and the use of one or two in the original language is often a minor triumph for beginning foreign language learners. There are also some fairly common English proverbs that do not seem to have common Chinese equivalents.The four proverbs below deserve special mention because they illustrate differences，though the sayings have surface similarities：

“It takes two to make a quarrel”could be regarded as similar to 一个巴掌拍不响.The Chinese saying has roughly the same connotation as the English--meaning both people may be at

fault.However，the Chinese also has another meaning： that it often takes more than one person to achieve anything significant.

“A miss is as good as a mile”might be considered as equivalent to the Chinese 差之毫厘，失之千里.However，the moral often associated with the Chinese is： a small fault if not corrected will end up in a major error.The Chinese is thus a warning，whereas the English merely states a fact，or a philosophic attitude，that to miss one's mark even very slightly is to as bad as missing it by a mile. Due to the cultural component，it is difficult to render Chinese proverbs and sayings into English.Seemingly，the best method is to give a literal translation--with due attention to tone and style，then add a tag phrase or comment that brings out the wit or humor.The tag phrase is often most effective if there is one readily made in English. 3.Metaphor and Association

This part shall discuss differences relating to certain birds and animals.It shall consider two categories：

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1.Creatures having certain associated characteristics in one culture but not in the other 2.Creatures with certain associated qualities in both cultures，but with different qualities. Under the first category，it shall take as examples the bull and the crane.

To Chinese，the first creature carries no particular association.It is merely animal that may or may not be common，may or may not be rueful.Chinese might be able to guess the meaning of “a bull in a china shop”，but they would not have the image that would be evoked in the minds of English-speaking people： an angry，snorting bull charging into a shop filled with exquisite fragile porcelain.Consequently，Chinese would be less appreciative of the vividness of the expression--meaning a person who is clumsy and bungling and causes a lot of trouble in a situation requiring tact and delicacy.

The crane is a symbol for lingering in Chinese culture.Thus parents giving names like 鹤年and 鹤龄 show their hope that the child will live to a ripe old age.The crane is often paired with the pine tree，which is a symbol for sturdiness and long life.In paintings and art designs the two often appear together with the motto 松鹤延年.Gifts with such designs are favorites for older people，especially on birthday occasions.But to western minds，the crane does not arouse any such association. Under the second category let us consider the owl and the bat.

“As wise as an owl”indicates that English-speaking people associate wisdom with this bird.In children's books and cartoons，the owl is usually solemn and wise.In disputes among birds and beasts，it is the owl that acts as judge.In moments of crisis，it is the owl that they go to for advice.Sometimes the bird is considered as impractical and foolish，but in the main，the owl stands for wisdom.Among many Chinese，however，there is a superstitious belief that this bird is a sign of bad luck.There is a saying 夜猫子进宅（an owl visiting a home），portending misfortune in that household.The mere sight of an owl or the sound of the creature’s hooting is enough to cause people to draw back in fear.

The bat is usually associated with negative qualities in the west.As blind as a bat，crazy as a bat，he's a bit batty，have bats in the belfry are typical expressions of the negative associations.They may be even worse.Mention of the bat often evokes the image of an ugly，sinister，blood-sucking creature.This may possibly be because of the vampire bat.The emotions aroused in English-speaking people are similar to those that the owl arouses among Chinese： fright and revulsion. To Chinese，however，the bat is a symbol of good fortune，well-being，happiness--all positive qualities.The reason for such associations is probably because the name of the creature is pronounced the same as the word 福.Hence the popularity of the traditional design that shows the bat

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and the deer together蝠鹿，pronounced the same as 福禄--good fortune happiness，wealth and position. 4.Taboos

An American teacher in her fifties was invited to the home of a young Chinese colleague for dinner.When she arrived，the 4-year old daughter of the hostess was presented to her.“Hello，Auntie”the little girl chirped in English.This was how her mother had taught her to greet grown-up women.

“No，no，not auntie，”the mother hurriedly corrected，“say granny.” “No，not granny，please，just call me auntie.” “But that is not polite.You're so much older than I am.”

The American woman's face flushed a second，then she smiled and said，“just have her call me auntie，I'd prefer that.”

What was the reason for the awkwardness in this situation？ It was one of different attitudes towards age.

Age，to most British and Americans，is one of the things considered improper to ask a stranger or a person that one does not know well.Besides age，other such matters include one's income，marital status，politics and religion.Some people may not mind and will readily talk about such things，but it is not polite to ask unless the other person shows that he/she will not be offended.Thus questions like the following，although inoffensive to Chinese，should be avoided when conversing with English-speaking people： How old are you？ What’s your age？ What’s your income？

How much did that dress cost you？ How much did you pay for that car？ Are you married or single？

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How come you’re still single？

So you’re divorced？ What was the reason？ Couldn’t you two get along？ Are you a Republican or a Democrat？ Why did you vote ----？ Do you go to church？ What’s your religion？ Are you catholic？

One of the reasons behind the taboo on questions about personal matters is that English-speaking people place a high value on privacy.The English have a saying “A man’s home is his castle”，meaning a man’s home is sacred to him，no one should come in without permission.So it is also with his life and personal affairs.To ask questions such as those mentioned above would be considered prying into an individual’s personal life，which is another form of invading a person’s “castle”. Conclusion

Language is part of culture and plays a very important role in it.Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture.Without language，they maintain，culture would not be possible.On the other hand，language is influenced and shaped by culture； it reflects culture.In the broadest sense，language is the symbolic representation of a people，and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking. References：

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[2]周玉忠.英汉对译中的不可译现象[A].胡文仲（主编）.文化与交际[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1994，427-434.

[3]平洪，张国扬.英语习语与英美文化[M].北京：外语教学与研究出 版社，2000.