Comparison of Chinese and English Animal Words.docx

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1、Comparison of Chinese and English Animal WordsAnimals are friends of all human beings. Languages of all nations contain a lot of words denoting animal, and so do Chinese and English. However, because of different history and culture, the connotations of animal words in one language do not parallel w

2、ith those in another. Saying like “对牛弹琴dui niu tan qin” (Plays a stringed musical instrument to the cow) in Chinese may confuse the westerners. Therefore, here I will analyze the different cultural connotations between English and Chinese through comparison .The same animal words contain similar cul

3、tural connotationAnd both Chinese and English people nearly have the same knowledge of animals natural instincts and ways of life. For example, English people would say, He is been a pig about money. At the same time, Chinese people would understand the meaning of the sentence as well, in Chinese, “

4、他对钱贪得无厌。”. This example indicates that pig can be used to describe someone who is greedy, dirty or bad-mannered person.Parrot is a kind of bird that can imitate peoples sound. English people and Chinese people use parrot鹦鹉 to refer to those people repeat someone elses word and ideas without really u

5、nderstanding what you are saying, e.g. He doesnt have an idea of his own. He just parrots what other people say. (他没有自己的主张，常常鹦鹉学舌。)Othersold fox (老奸巨猾的人)Eat like a wolf狼吞虎咽Fish in trouble water浑水摸鱼Ride the tiger骑虎难下Kill two birds with one stone一石二鸟The same animal words have the commendatory sense in

6、 English but differ in ChineseAs we know, English people regard dogs as their reliable good friends. And dogs are used to describe something good. And they have the commendatory meaning, like Love me, love my dog (爱屋及乌); a good dog deserves a good bone (有功者受赏), etc. Dog stands for loyalty, smartness

7、, and importance. This animal word is used to describe people.Examples:(1) a dog-like affection (忠实的爱) (2) an old dog (上了岁数的人)(3) a top dog（胜利者） (4) a gay dog (快乐的人) (5) lucky dog (幸运儿)However, in Chinese, dogs are related with bad things or bad guys, and they have derogatory sense, for example, 狗盗鸡

8、鸣(crow like a cock and snatch like a dog) 狼心狗肺(be as cruel as a wolf).Sometimes it used to describe “a bad person; evildoer”There are some idioms made from dog, such as：(1)狗杂种：“bastard”(2)狗腿子：“lackey”.(3)狗急跳墙：“a cornered best will do something desperate”(4)狗嘴吐不出象牙：“A filthy mouth cannot utter decent

9、 language” .From these words, it is easily to find that “Dog” is quiet cursed which was inversed in Chinese. However, with the social development in China, more and more Chinese people change their mind on dogs. This is quite true in the coinage of some cool words on the Internet. For example, “搜狗”-

10、“Sogo”, “酷狗”- “Kugoo”, etc.The same animal words have the commendatory sense in Chinese but differ in EnglishBat in Chinese because 蝠 and 福(luck) are the homophones, the bat has then become the symbol of propitious and health. Such as福寿双全 means live a long and happy life But in English culture, bat

11、is an ugly and brutal animal, which sucks blood. Such as as blind as a bat (有眼无珠), have bats in the Belfry (异想天开).Fish also differs dramatically between Chinese and English in connotations. In English, it is used to describe bad thing or poor guy, like a poor fish (可怜虫). However, as 鱼 and 余 are part

12、ial tone in Chinese, it is employed to express the best wish of年年有余（鱼）. Words are almost never found in isolation. They nearly always have partners together from meaning in certain restricted ways. Through comparison, we know that people in different cultures often entrust language with different implications because of distinct life environment, custom, social institution, religious beliefs and consideration of objective world. Every language obtains life and nourishment from its culture.