从英汉谚语看中西文化差异_英文_

1 Proverbs and Culture Proverbs, most outstanding part of a language, represent the unique characteristics and cultural features of a nation. In content, proverbs are closely connected with history, everyday life and living conditions of a nation. In form, they are mostly presented by sentences that cannot be substituted easily. In usage, they are mainly employed by the grass roots in their daily oral communication. Chinese proverbs and English proverbs have more differences than similarities, because they belong to two different language systems of the different language families, though both Chinese and English proverbs embedded respectively in their unique cultures share much in common. Since culture plays an important role in the formation of proverbs, it is natural and necessary to bring forth the culture issue. According to The new Encyclopaedia Britannica “, Culture is the behavior peculiar to mankind together with material objects that are part of this behavior. Culture consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of arts, rituals, ceremonies, ”and so on . We may safely draw the following conclusion: culture refers to the sum total of material wealth and spiritual value created by people in the course of social practice and historical development. Culture can be divided into high culture and low culture. High culture refers to man-made products of technology and all products of the mind; while low culture refers to the total way of life. Just because Chinese and English languages have their abundant proverbs respectively, the treasure of both English 董and Chinese cultures have been lavishly enriched ( 爱智、宋铁琛, 2005:226) . 2 Cultural Differences in Chinese-English Proverbs The influence of the culture is very important to the characteristics of the language. So the differences between Chinese and English proverbs are very obvious. 从英汉谚语看中西文化差异 许俊芳 （长江工程职业技术学院，武汉 ） 430212 摘 要： 英汉谚语作为两种不同的语言瑰宝，由于谚语独特的文化而表现出明显的差异。本文借助一些典型的例 子，从自然环境、生活方式、宗教信仰、道德观念、民族心理等文化侧面入手，探讨了英语谚语和汉语谚语之间 存在的差异 并从中得到了一些有益的启示，可为英汉语言教学和跨文化交际提供一定的借鉴意义。, 关键词：英语谚语；汉语谚语；文化差异 中图分类号：G04 文献标识码： A 文章编号： － （ ） － －1673 0496 2009 02 0068 04 Cultural Differences in Chinese-English Proverbs Xu Jun-fang （ ）Changjiang Engineering Vocational College, Wuhan 430212,China Abstract : English and Chinese proverbs, being treasures of two different languages, show differences resulting from cultural discrepancies. This essay illustrates and discusses the differences between English and Chinese proverbs from the point of natural environment, living ways, religious thoughts and concepts, moral concepts and national psychological differences, so as to provide some implication for teaching English and Chinese languages and intercultural communication. Key words : English proverb; Chinese proverb; cultural difference 收稿日期： — —2009 02 26 作者简介：许俊芳（ —），女，湖北阳新人，助教，1984 大学，主要从事学生管理工作。 第 卷第 期26 2 年 月2009 6 长江工程职业技术学院学报 Vol.26 N o.2 June. 2009Journal of Changjiang Engineering Vocational College － －68 The differences are formed from the differences of society, region, religious thoughts and concepts, national psychological differences and so on. 2.1 Environment 2.1.1 Geographical Conditions A kind of culture always exits in a certain region, so it inevitably reflects the natural characteristics of the region. English and Chinese proverbs, originating in particular geographical regions and under specific geographical contexts, respectively reflect different geographical conditions of the two nations'. For example, there are many famous mountains and rivers 桂林山水甲天in China, so there are some proverbs: 下，阳朔山水甲桂林 有眼不识泰山 长江后浪推前; ; 浪，一代新人换旧人。 王勤 ：( , 1980 11 ) But England, an island country, is located in the western seaside of Europe. This special geographical location determines their particular way of life and climate. So there are many proverbs are related to the sea. Such as: All is fish that comes to one's net; It is hard sailing where there is no wind; A smooth sea （曾自立 ： ）never made a skillful mariner. , 1983 15 2.1.2 Ways of Living Francis Bacon once said that a nation's wisdom and spirit could be both found in proverbs. English and Chinese proverbs are created in English and Chinese people's life and work, and they reflect their different living ways. China has been a large country chiefly based on agriculture, and a majority of the people live in the rural areas, so that there are many proverbs from agricultural activities. Many Chinese proverbs such as 农夫不耕田，城里断炊烟；农民不使劲，饿死世 间人 show the importance of agriculture in people's life. Chinese people have many other proverbs about 农为百计之本，the fatal role of agriculture such as 田为农民之根；三百六十行，庄稼是上行.Chinese people have different types of farming proverbs. And each type can be categorized more exquisitely. Farming proverbs constitute a large part of Chinese proverbs and they are categorized in detail. English proverbs are mostly about the fisherman and water transporting career. Such as:He that has been shipwrecked shudders at still water; It is too late to cast anchor when the ship is on the rocks; A little （曾自立 ： ）leak will sink a great ship. , 1983 16 All these proverbs are about sailing. England is an island country which has a long history of navigation, therefore a great number of English proverbs are derived from the sea. English people live by seaside and their life cannot do without sailing and fishing. It is obvious that the differences of natural environment, natural resources are all reflected in the corresponding proverbs. 2.2 Religious Thoughts and Concepts The religious thoughts and concepts are a kind of social ideology, which affect the human society deeply. Now religion still plays a very important role in many nations.Religion is related to the development ，of language and the proverbs created by different nations are also related to the religious thoughts and concepts of the nation. Most of English people believe in Christianity. Many English proverbs originate from Bible and they reflect English people's religious faith. There are many words with religious “ ”culture in the English proverbs such as God , “ ” “ ”church , heaven , and so on. For example, Have God and have all; The way to heaven is by weeping cross; God sends meat and devil sends cooks. English people believe in Christianity and it is by far the most influential religion in the west. Every period of man's life is touched by this religion, so much so that it has become part of western culture. And the Bible, which includes the Old Testament and the New Testament, is revered as the scriptures. Almost every family has a version of Bible and so it has come to be one of the major sources of English culture. Many English proverbs show the doctrines of their religion. For example:Chastity covers a multitude of sins; Don't cast your pearls before swine; Hide not your light under a bushel. Many Chinese people believe in Buddhism and it is the most popular religion in China. Many Chinese proverbs are about 跑了和尚，跑不了庙 平时不烧Buddhism such as: ; 香，临时抱佛脚 放下屠刀，立定成佛; . From the comparison of English and Chinese proverbs, we can get the totally different religious culture. 2.3 National Psychological Differences Under different ecological environment, different nations set up their own cultural system and form their own unique psychological characteristics. The － －69 许俊芳 从英汉谚语看中西文化差异 different associations have different connotations. The different attitudes toward some animals reflect national psychological differences. For instance, in China, tiger is the king of all animals, but in England, lion replaces tiger. In the late 12th Century, Richard I is acclaimed as King Richard, the lion-hearted 罗震山、莫颖because of his courage and boldness ( , 2005:26) . No wonder English people chose lion as the symbol of their nation. In China, dragon is mascot, and the symbol of ancient emperor. But English consider dragon as the symbol of evil, and they think dragon is fierce and cruel monster. The two nations have different attitudes concerning “ ” the same animal. Take dog for example. English people tend to keep dogs as their pets. In their eyes, dogs are human's companies and close friends. And they are symbol of good qualities. To them, dogs are faithful, reliable, brave and smart. Many proverbs are concerned with the images of dogs and they show human's life and behaviors. For example:Every dog has his day; Love me, love my dog; He who would hang his dog gives out first that it is mad; Give a dog （曾自立 ： ）a bad name and hang him. , 1983 16 Like English people, Chinese people also like to keep dogs. So many Chinese proverbs are also about 狗嘴里吐不出象牙 狗走千里吃屎，狼dogs such as: ; 走千里吃人 救了落水狗，反被咬一口。（曾自立; , ： ）1983 16 In China, especially in the countryside, dogs are kept mainly for the sake of guarding door entrance. Chinese people tend to disgust and despise dogs psychologically. The images of dogs often remind them of a bad person or dislike as a dog. 2.4 Moral Concepts Many English proverbs show American people's advocation of freedom and individualism, such as: What is yours is mine, and what is mine is my own; Every man for himself and God for us all. In the west, independence and privacy play a very important role in their life. They insist that “people should live a life of pleasure and the pursuit ”of happiness is an inherent right. So many people are preoccupied with pleasure seeking. The proverb “ ”Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. is an actual example of this. Under the effect of individualism, people value self-reliance and independence, such as:Self-help is the best help; God helps those who help themselves; Help yourself and heaven will help you. On the contrary, Chinese people pay much attention to collectivism and tend to hold a negative attitude to those who give prominence to an individual. Traditionally,Chinese people are conscious of groups or a collective and they think mutual help and mutual reliance seriously. To give prominence to collective 胡振东interests is still the main trend in China.( , ：2006 42)Many Chinese proverbs give expression to this trend. Some proverbs show the strength of 众人拾柴火焰高；众木成collective or union, e.g. 林。Some reflect the importance of mutual help and 一个篱笆三个桩，一个好汉mutual reliance, such as 三 个 帮 ； 在 家 靠 父 母 ， 出 门 靠 朋 友 。 2.5 Philosophical Values English and Chinese proverbs reflect different philosophical values in the following aspects: different tendency towards time perception and different senses of families and marriage. 2.5.1 Different Tendency towards Time Derception Renaissance set the western free from the binding up of religious authority. With the expansion of commercial capital, the westerners tend to have their eyes on the future, not on the far or ideal future, but on the near future that can be realized soon. Due to this tendency, some westerners seldom look back upon things that have passed by. In their eyes, old ages and experience do not necessarily deserve their respect. On the contrary, old ages may bring about some negative or unpleasant associations. This can be reflected in some proverbs.The properer man, the worse luck; Experience is the mistress of fools; Experience keeps a dear school, but fools learn in no other. Due to their time perception, Americans hold that they should get prepared in advance and do things at their earliest convenience. Concerned with time perception, Chinese people are different from American people and they tend to have their eyes on the past. The past is much valued in Chinese culture. To some degree, this is due to the connected Chinese civilization that can be traced to the same origin. Chinese people, with a long history of 5 000 years, have rich experience. And people tend to look back to draw out experience from the past. This time perception has been all along influencing － －70 年 月 长江工程职业技术学院学报 第 卷第 期2009 6 26 2 people's behavior and mode of thinking. They like to take the past as the measures to weigh up the gains and losses. Therefore, they have great respect for the old and the teachers. And they value experience, ages and qualifications that are correlated with the past. Many Chinese proverbs suggest this. The two 吃一堑，长一智 前车之覆，后车之鉴proverbs and 树suggest people to draw lesson from the past. From 多根多，人老识多 姜老辣味大，人老经验多and , we may see Chinese people's respect for the old. 2.5.2 Different Senses of Families and Marriage Chinese people have a strong sense of family as 金窝银窝，不如is reflected in the proverbs such as 自家草窝 子不嫌母丑，狗不嫌家贫 and . Each person has a close tie with his family and cherishes it very much. Comparatively speaking, the American family tie is much looser. Though they have a similar “ ”proverb East, west, home is best to express their “love for their families. In their eyes, Home is where ”the heart is. In western countries, in the period of Renaissance, people began to seek for liberty, the freedom of 罗震山、莫颖humanity and free courtship ( , 2005: 25).They hold that Love comes first, and then “ ” “marriage. All is fair in love and Love is the ”reward of love . These proverbs express their understanding of love. Chinese, on the other hand, are much more implicit and conservative towards love. Once a woman gets married, she will stick to the conventions 嫁鸡随鸡嫁狗随狗 生是夫家人，死是夫家that , and 鬼. Though the traditional dross has been rejected and now many people give priority to love, Chinese people are still comparatively more conservative and reserved towards love and marriage. 3 Conclusion English and Chinese proverbs, imprinted by the two nations' cultural generalities and differences, have their similarities and differences. A comparative study of them can help a language learner to learn a language efficiently and proficiently so language learning may become a much easier job. Proverbs learning can be of great help to language and culture acquisition, which can facilitate human communication. From cultural perspective, learning English and Chinese proverbs can sharpen our sense of close relationship between culture and language, and facilitate our cross-culture communication. So the appropriate use and interpretation of proverbs can tell us how proficient a language learner is in learning language. The proper use of proverbs in a language is often a mark of a person's command of the language. Close relations between language and culture enable us to draw a conclusion that the adequate use of proverbs can be a sign of a person's competence of cultural communication. Reference： [1]Mieder, Wolfgang. The Prentice-Hall encyclopedia of world proverbs [Z].Englewood Cliffs, N. J. : ．Prentice-Hall, 1986 董爱智 宋铁琛 从英汉谚语的简单比较看中英文化差[2] , . 异 ．商场现代化•理论探索，[J] 2005,(15): 225-226. 胡振东 从英汉谚语反映的道德观看中西文化差异[3] . 岳阳职业技术学院学报， （ ）：[J]. 2006, 4 74-77. 罗震山，莫颖 从英汉谚语对汉语的影响看中西文化的[4] . 异同 南宁师范高等专科学校学报， ， ：[J]. 2005 4 23-27. 王勤 谚语歇后语概论 湖南：湖南人民出版社，[5] . [M]. 1984. 曾自立 英语谚语概说 北京 商务印书馆，[6] . [M]. : 1983. － －71 许俊芳 从英汉谚语看中西文化差异