的对比研究
外国语学院
Abstract
Language is the carrier of culture, and idioms are the essence of language, which has a strong expressive function and national colors. In both English and Chinese idioms, animal idioms occupy a large number. Along with the development and progress of human society, many animals are tamed to become domestic animals serving people, and many others have become people’s pets. Many animals have become a kind of symbol in people’s thinking and this symbol is reflected in the language. These animal idioms reflect different cultural connotations of different nationalities. This paper aims to disclose the differences between English culture and Chinese culture through comparing the connotation of animal idioms in both languages.
Key words: animal idiom; comparison; cultural connotation
摘要
语言作为文化的组成部分，在文化中起着重要的作用，语言是文化的载体。而习语是语言的精华，它所承载的文化信息带有强烈的民族文化特色。动物，由于跟人们生活紧密联系，被大量作为喻体运用在英汉习语中，这些习语不但具有其表层的词汇意义，而且蕴
含着更深层更重要的民族文化内涵。而每个民族的历史文化、生活环境、传统习俗、宗教信仰、道德观念、审美价值等等都各有独特之处，所以有些动物习语虽喻义大部分一致，但其表达的含义往往有所偏差，有些动物在中英文中张冠李戴，有些貌似对等，实质意义却截然相反，这是中英两种文化差异在语言上的反映。因此，对英汉动物习语文化特色进行比较与分析，有利于了解异国文化，增加学习语言的兴趣，促进跨文化交际，从而更好地理解和运用语言。
关键词：动物习语；对比；文化内涵
Contents
Abstract………………………………………………………………2
摘要……………………………………………………………………3
Introduction……………………………………………………………5
1. Similarities between English and Chinese animal idioms…………5
1.1 Same vehicle with the same meaning…………………………5
1.2 Same vehicle with different meanings…………………………6
1.3 Different vehicles with the same meaning………………………7
2. Differences between English and Chinese animal idioms…………9
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2.1Differences in agricultural production mode……………………9
2.2 Differences in aesthetic orientation……………………………9
2.3 Differences in the standard of value…………………………10
Conclusion……………………………………………………………11
Bibliography…………………………………………………………13
Introduction
As a part of culture, language plays an important role. Language is the carrier of culture. The idiom is the essence of language, and the cultural information it carries has strong national characteristics. Animals, as living in the long-term intimate contact with people, are used in a large number as metaphor in English and Chinese, which not only has its lexical meaning , but also contains a deeper and more important cultural connotation. And each nation's historical culture, living environment, traditional customs, religious beliefs, moral values, aesthetic values, etc, have their own unique characteristics. In some animal idioms, though their English and Chinese figurative meanings are consistent, the connotation they express often means the opposite. Therefore, compared with Chinese and English animal cultural characteristics, it is conducive to understand a foreign culture and increase the interest in learning a new language and promote cross-cultural communication.
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1. Similarities between English and Chinese animal idioms
1.1 Same vehicle with the same meaning
Humans cannot live and labour without animals and some animals even become friends. During the close association with animals, people carefully observe the habits of animals and gradually sum up the characteristics of different animals, and add them to the expression in everyday language. People's way of thinking and their worldview have a great similarity, and both Chinese people and English people have nearly the same knowledge of animal’s instincts and ways of life. So the same animals with the same cultural connotations in English and Chinese culture, often express the same emotion. For example, if you want to say a person who is industrious, English people will say“as busy as a bee”, and at the same time Chinese people can understand it. Another example is that Chinese people will use“披着羊皮的狼”to describe a bad person，and in English it is said“a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. This example indicates that seen from the outside, the person is pretty kind but inside is extremely malicious. This example also states that different languages and cultures endow “wolf” the same cultural associative meaning. The following animal vehicles have the same associative meanings in both Chinese and English. Pig can be regarded as a kind of animal with lazy, dirty, greedy and rude characteristics. So “pig” is used to show the character of greedy and stupid both in English and in Chinese, e.g. “to make a pig/hog of oneself(过分贪嘴，贪婪)” , “if a pig had wings he might fly(除非猪能上树)”，and this example indicates an improbable state of affairs.
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1.2 Same vehicle with different meanings
As English and Chinese people living in different cultural backgrounds, their worldview and values have significant differences. It is natural that they will create different associations towards the same animal. Let’s take the dragon for example, in Chinese, especially in ancient time, dragon was regarded as a positive image, a symbol of good luck in traditional Chinese culture, and it is enshrined as the totem of the Chinese nation. It is the respected name of emperor, the metaphor of all outstanding figures. Chinese people are proud to call themselves “Descendants of the Dragon” and in the hope that their son could become a “dragon”, that is a Chinese people’s idiom “望子成龙 ”. But in English,“dragon”is a derogatory term. In western stories and legends, a dragon is an animal like a big lizard, it has wings and claws, and breathes out fire. Dragons are described as monsters in most western countries. “There is an example from Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary,‘If you call a woman a dragon, you mean that she is fierce and unpleasant.（如果把一个女人叫做dragon，是说她很凶，很令人讨厌。）’”［2］
In Chinese people’s eye, “bat” means “auspicious” for the letters “蝠” and “福”are pun in sounds. In traditional Chinese culture, bat is a symbol of the mascot. But westerners are afraid of bats, people think they’re disgusting, ugly and evil, so every English idiom with the word “bat” has a derogatory meaning, such as “as blind as a bat(有眼无珠)”,“crazy as a bat(发疯)”,“ have bats in the belfry（神经失常）”.
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1.3 Different vehicles with the same meaning
In English, the lion is the king of the beasts, it is the symbol of the brave, strong and dignified. “The British lion” is Britain's nickname. We can see from such expressions, as bold as a lion (如狮子般勇猛); as majestic as a lion (像狮子般威风) . The lion in English culture enjoys high prestige. In Chinese, the tiger becomes the king of the beasts for its character “王” forehead. And it is the symbol of brave, mighty, such as“山中无老虎猴子称大王”“卧虎藏龙”“生龙活虎”“如虎添翼”and so on. The lion and the tiger both have the same figurative meaning in English and Chinese culture, therefore, they can often be replaced by each other in idiom translation, such as：a lion in the way(拦路虎); one should not twist the lion’s tail(老虎屁股摸不得); beard the lion in his den(虎口拔牙); the lion’s mouth(虎穴).
Here comes another example, the cattle in Chinese and the horse in English can sometimes be replaced by each other in translation. The early British ploughed the land with horses, and Chinese with cattle, the two animals both have great strength and patience in common. So Chinese people describe someone who works hard as “老黄牛”, servant of the people is“俯首甘为孺子牛”, who has temper as“牛脾气”and there are“牛气冲天”,“牛市”and other expressions.“力大如牛”in Chinese is“as strong as a horse”in English;“像牛一样干活”can be translated as“work like a horse. To mean boast, in Chinese people will say“吹牛”. But in English people would like to use “talk horse”.
Chinese people usually like to use“鸡”as a vehicle, such as “鸡皮疙瘩”，but English people will say “goose pimple”. Chinese people say “杀鸡取卵”，but
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English people give such an idiom, “to kill the goose that lays the golden egg”. To mean someone is wet through, Chinese people will say “像只落汤鸡”，but in English people will say “like a drowned rat”.
2. Differences between English and Chinese animal idioms
2.1Differences in agricultural production mode
China, a continental country, an agricultural country, has been putting stress on developing agriculture for a long time. In the long-term process of laboring, people contacted with cattle, horses, sheep, dogs and other animals regularly, and compared with cats and dogs and other animals, people appreciate the strength and patience of cattle, so people praise cattle a lot. From examples above we can see people’s attitude towards cattle.
Many English-speaking countries are islands and mountainous countries. Under the influence of the natural and the geographical environment and constraints, English people made a living by hunting, fishing and herding, so they were impressed by dogs and horses. Island surrounded by water makes fish become commonplace in people's lives, so in English fish usually means slightly derogatory, such as a dull fish (笨汉)，a poor fish (可怜虫)，look with a fish eye (冷眼旁观)，fish in troubled water (浑水摸鱼) etc.
2.2 Differences in aesthetic orientation
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Different nations have different aesthetic orientation. One thing, in this nation appears to be beautiful, in another nation seems very ugly, such as owl, a symbol of bad omen in Chinese and it makes people chilling. This is because the owl has a nocturnal habit and it sounds shrill, then people superstitiously believe its voice is associated with the dead. So people are afraid to see it or hear it cry, they think it will bring bad luck. In English, owl is a bird of wisdom, generally used to indicate intelligent, alert, serious people, “as wise as an owl” is a typical example. “To send owls to Athens” means superfluous, because there are plenty of owls in Athens, Greece, and then an owl became a symbol of Athens.
In English peacock has another meaning as “flamboyant, vain man”. The British like to emphasize peacock the arrogant side, such as the young peacock (年轻狂妄的人), as proud as a peacock (目空一切), play the peacock (沾沾自喜). Peacock in Chinese culture is a symbol of beauty and luck, Chinese people focus on the action that it spread its tail which is considered a lucky thing.
2.3 Differences in the standard of value
Chinese people, especially those in some rural areas, keep dogs as the watchdog, while Westerners keep them just for company. Westerners regard dogs as pets and loyal friends, and dogs play an important role in their lives. Generally speaking, Chinese people dislike the habits of dogs and they often despise dogs. Dogs used to be described as bad things in China, such as: “狼心狗肺”, “狗眼看人低”, “狗改不了吃屎” etc. Westerners admire dog’s loyalty, people love it, praise it and affectionately call it “he”. In English, idioms about dogs are much
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more than those in Chinese, such as : a lucky dog (幸运儿), top dog (身处要职的人物), gay/jolly dog (快活的人), work like a dog (拼命工作); every dog has his / its day (凡人皆有得意日), love me love my dog (爱屋及乌) and so on . With the development of society and the influence of loving dogs in Western, more and more Chinese people have dogs as pets rather than watchdogs, and that indicates the standard of value of dogs in Western is gradually narrowing.
Another example is that Chinese people fancy cats very much. They would like to say “馋猫” to indicate people who are greedy and use“猫眼” to refer to some rare and precious stones . But in English, the expression with cats are mostly pejorative, for instance, she is a cat(她是个包藏窝心的女人); he is a queer cat(他是个怪人); a cat in the pan(临阵脱逃); turn the cat in the pan(见异思迁); let the cat out of the bag(泄露秘密).
Conclusion
By comparing and analyzing the similarities and differences of animal vehicles both in Chinese and English Animal idioms, it can help people understand English and Chinese animal idioms better, and dig out the cultural connotations behind them, which are the crystallization of the collective wisdom of all ethnic groups. Different cultural origins, are bound to carry different cultural connotations. The above examples are only the tip of the iceberg among the animal idioms, but we can also catch a glimpse of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures. So use the language in a right way will help people make the cross-cultural communication smoothly and properly.
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Bibliography:
［1］Chang Chenguang. English Idioms and Interpersonal Meanings［M］. Guangzhou: Sun Yat-sen University Press.2004
［2］李晓强、高燕红.东西方文化中动物隐喻的差异［J］.苏州职业大学学报，2004,2.P70
［3］唐振华. 论汉译英中的文化迁移［J］.外语与外语教学，2000,（11）
［4］王芳. 中英习语翻译文化特色的处理［J］.中国科技翻译，2001,（2）
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