中西方动物词语文化对比(3)

中西方 动物词语 文化对比 英语 论文

would tell all 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 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 animal 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 used 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 similar 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, 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 remain to be studied.

References

[1] Claire Kramsch. Language and Culture [M]. Foreign Education Press in Shanghai.2000.

[2] Hornby. Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary (Extended Fourth Edition). Oxford University Press, 2002.