The Comparative Study on Animal Terms between
English and Chinese from the Perspective of Culture
ABSTRACT
Culture and language are inseparably interwoven. Language is a vehicle that helps record and interpret culture; it’s through language that pieces of abstract impressions and conceptions in man’s mind can be reconstructed in concrete words. Only when words and phrases in a certain language are combined with some cultural elements could they cease to be dead symbols of meaning as what they are in the dictionary. Culture becomes alive by means of language. On the other hand, culture is more than the interrelationships and behavior patterns of mankind, in other words, culture is not only unique to human, but also something concerning animals. Humankind is not separate beings, for animals came before us, now surround us and will help us along into the future. They facilitate and add spice to human life. Animal terms, as one group of the most frequently used lexicons, carry some extended meanings more than what they denote on the surface, since with the elapse of time, human beings have tied these words with their habits, customs and society. This article will analyze several animal terms and the relevant expressions in terms of the Chinese and English cultures, histories, thinking models etc., and explore the possible reasons which can account for these differences.
Keywords：animal terms comparative analysis extended meaning culture
英汉动物词汇的文化比较研究
摘 要
文化与语言密不可分。语言是种有助于记录和阐释文化的媒介，正是通过语言，人脑中零碎的印象和概念才得以以具体的文字方式重组。一种特定语言中的词汇，除非包涵了文化元素，否则只是字典中毫无生命力的符号。文化因语言而得以活灵活现。另一方面，文化不仅仅是人类自身的相互关系和行为方式，即文化不只关乎到人类本身，还关系到动物。人类不是孑然一身的，因为无论过去，现在，将来，动物都相伴其间。它们使人类的生活变得便利，并为其增添乐趣。动物词汇应用频繁，除了本身所指的动物外，还包含一些引申义。本文拟从中英文化，历史，思维模式等方面对一些动物词汇及相关词句进行分析，并探究造成这些差异的可能原因。
关键词：动物词汇 比较分析 引申义 文化
CONTENTS
Abstract…………………………………………………………I
摘要……………………………………………………………II
1 Introduction………………………………………………… 1
2 The Comparative Analysis of Some Animal Terms ………. 2
2.1 Dragon….…………………………………………………2
2.2 Cat ………….………………………………………………2
2.3 Goat (Sheep) ………………………….…………………….3
2.4 Rat (Mouse) ………………….……………………………5
2.5 Elephant……………………………………………………6
2.6 Raven (Crow) ……….………………………………………7
3 The Causes of Cultural Differences…………………………9
3.1 Language Determinism………………………………………9
3.2 Lexical Gap and Cultural Gap………………………………9
3.3Different Histories,Geographic Features and Mode of Production
……….…………………………………… ………………. 10
3.4 Mythology, Religions and Customs………………………….11
3.5 Different Thinking Models and Aesthetic Judgements……….12
3.6 Associative Meaning and Semantic Change………………….13
4 The Significance of the Study……………………… …….15
