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摘要：语言是文化的重要内容，同时也是文化的载体。它反映着文化的发展和变化，同时也直接反映着文化的差异。本文主要论述文化差异对英汉词语翻译的影响。有些词语意在言外，语言含蓄，如果仅从字面意义直译成汉语，而不领会原文的具体含义及其效果，译文势必平淡无味，有时甚至造成误译。因此，正确地处理语言中所蕴含的文化内涵是语言翻译中的重中之重。
关键词：跨文化 概念 词汇 内涵 外延
A Comparison of Cross-Cultural Conceptualization in Words Between Chinese and English
Key words: cross-cultural; conceptualization; word; denotation; connotation
I. Introduction
Language, in its most basic sense, is a set of symbols and rules for combining those symbols that are used and understood by a large community of people. However, these symbols and rules are different in each language because of the existence of cross-cultural differences. This article tries to have a tentative study on the conceptualization in words between English and Chinese from the perspective of cultural difference contained in the words of these two languages so as to avoid the confusion and misunderstanding in cross-cultural communications.
A language is the carrier of a culture. Different countries have different cultural background. Lying under each culture is the cultural implication that has sedimented in it over thousands of years. As children, most of us asked our parents, "What does that word mean?" This question reflects the way we view language. It suggests that we tend to look for meaning in words themselves, but we are incorrect if we think that words possess meaning. It is more accurate to say that people possess meaning and that words elicit these meaning. We can have different meanings for the same word. To the people from different cultural background, the same word or expression may refer to different things; even when sometimes it refers to the same thing, people may associate it with different ideas. It is this cultural connotation "that gives back language its vitality, enables people to sense its existence and makes it a language used in a certain social environment." (Li Guangkun)
Words are the basic element of language. They are embodied in cultural differences. Explanations of words reveal national and cultural differences. A word or an expression has its connotation in addition to its denotation. It is not difficult to master its denotation, but to master the connotation is no easy thing. In this sense, cross-cultural study is just like a bridge arching across two unfamiliar cultures, overlooking two different living styles and studying the transmitting and communicating between the vocabularies of different values so as to ensure the correctness and effectiveness of language use.
In order to have a better understanding of the conceptualization in words and their cultural difference, words are classified into four categories (Jia Yuxing): 1) words of the same denotation but different or entirely different connotation; 2) words of the same denotation but sharing partial connotation; 3) words of the same denotation but one language has connotation while the other has not; 4) lexical gaps.
II. Words of the same denotation but different or entirely different connotation.
Word differences are obvious in various languages, so are the meanings of words each culture holds. It is quite possible that in different cultures the same thing may arouse quite different connotation. All people, drawing on their backgrounds, decide what a word means. Take the word "green" for example. In English, green has the meaning of "病态", "妒忌", etc. Therefore, the phrase "green-eyed" means jealous (妒忌) while in Chinese green has no such meaning, instead, the Chinese word "red" has this connotation, e.g. "红眼病". Another word is "peacock". In Chinese, a peacock in his pride stands for good luck while in English it refers to someone who gets a swelled head, smartly dressed and enjoying showing-off. The same is to the word "propaganda". Propaganda has a positive meaning in Chinese. We even have someone especially engaged in performing propaganda, "宣传部长", who is a high-ranking officer. However, according to the English dictionary, it says that "Propaganda is information, often inaccurate or biased information, which a political organization publishes or broadcasts in order to influence people, e.g. anti-capitalist propaganda movies."
We Chinese are considered to be descendants of the dragon. Early in the Chinese history, the dragon was a symbol of royal power. The king called himself "真龙天子". He wore "龙袍" and commanded his people in "龙庭". According to what Hanfeizi said: dragons as well as kings both had "逆麟" and therefore couldn't be offended, otherwise they would "龙颜大怒, 诛灭九族". Nowadays, the dragon has walked down from his Altar, as every descendant of the Chinese, no matter where he stays, calls himself "龙的传人". The dragon surely associates the Chinese with positive meanings. We have many idioms connected with the dragon, e.g. "龙飞凤舞", "龙凤呈祥", "龙腾虎跃", "生龙活虎". All this is highly connected with the Chinese cultural background. But the English people don't have such connotation. In the Bible, the dragon is the serpent. In the Genesis, there was a famous serpent that seduced Eva to eat the forbidden fruit. This serpent actually referred to Satan. The dragon is a sign of evil, often used to scare crying children.
These words, of the same denotation but absolutely different connotation in different cultures, should be paid much attention to as they would most probably lead to misunderstanding and failure in cross-cultural communication.
III. Words of the same denotation but sharing partial connotation
In two cultures, such words will incur partial connotation in common in some respects but different connotation in others. Take the word "lion" for example. In both Chinese and English, it is easily transformable in communication owing to the basic identification of the connotation and denotation in terms of respect, nobility, and authority. In English, we have the saying: "British Lion", which means "雄狮英国" while the phrase "twist the lion's tail" means "藐视英国, 侮辱英国". The national emblem of Britain also bears the figure of a lion. The English poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley in his "The Mask of Anarchy" wrote:
Rise like lions
Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you
You are many, they are few
Similarly in China, early in the Han Dynasty, the king then regarded the lion as a sign of luck and brave. He ordered his men to choreograph the so-called "Lion Dance", imitating the image and action of a lion. The greatest influence that the lion lays is on the Chinese architecture. Lions are used as door-guarding animals. More often than not, stone lion, even today, are seen in front of many Chinese houses, as lions to us Chinese are signs of authority and solemnity. We believe that they will guard our house anddrive away evil things.
However, apart from this meaning, Chinese lion language, compared with that of the English, contains dominantly derogatory connotation. Moreover, the lion language in China is limited. It is because lions were introduced to China at the same time that the Buddhism was. These two were closely related and considered rare. So they don't have much influence on the Chinese people and they most often used negatively. For example, the Chinese idiom "河东狮吼", coming from the poem of Shu Dongpu, is used to describe someone who is henpecked because of having a jealous and hot-tempered wife.
However much of the lion language in English is employed positively and flexibly. Lions have always held a very high status in most English people. To them, lions are the king of the beasts. We can see this from the idioms: "regal as a lion", "majestic as a lion", "lion-hearted", etc. Lions can also refer to "a person who is a center of attraction, or an object of admiration, interest, or curiosity", for example, lion-hunter.
One more example is the English phrase, "the lion's share", which has a positive or neutral connotation, meaning "the largest or the best part of something that is divided". This can be seen from the following two sentences:
The lion's share of investment has gone to a few favored companies.
The central government collects and spends the lion's share of the citizens' tax dollar.
While in Chinese we also have the saying, "狮子大口". Though it has the same meaning - "large amount", it connotes derogatory association.
IV. Words of the same denotation but one language has connotation while the other has not
Influenced by its own culture, a common word in one language may have rich implication whereas in the other language it is just a code. For example, Chinese scholars, both in the old time and nowadays, profoundly use "plum blossoms, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum" to implicate a kind of spirit, a spirit they pursue, as most of them prefer to lead a lofty and honest life. Plum blossoms defy from and snow, orchid refers to a pure heart and spirit; and bamboo is compared to an honest and staunch character. The cultural connotation of these plants is a symbol of Chinese scholars' life creed and reveals their high-mindedness. To the English people, they are just language codes and no such implication exists.
However, there are also words that have rich implication in English but none in Chinese, for example, the word "daffodil". In the Chinese language, it is only the name of a flower. But in English it is a symbol of spring and happiness. Shakespeare wrote: When daffodils begin to peer/with heigh, the doxy over the dale! / Why, then comes in the sweet o'the year … These two examples reflect the characteristics of different cultures.
V. Lexical gaps
Lexical gaps are a universal phenomenon. They exist in every culture. People tend to think that text in one language can be accurately translated into another as long as the translator uses a good bilingual dictionary. Unfortunately, languages are not that simple, and direct translations in many cases are difficult if not impossible because many words are culture-bound and have no direct equivalents and a culture may not have the background and understanding to translate experiences specific to other cultures. For example, how to translate the Chinese phrase "木讷" into English? Can it be translated into "woody"? Apparently it loses its original meaning if thus translated as in Chinese it refers to someone who is sincere and honest but slow of speech.
The same is to the English word "Hippie". Hippies refer to the American young people in the 1960s and 70s who rejected conventional society and tried to live a life based on peace and love. As there were no such young people in China, no Chinese word matches this one. So the American historian Henry Brooks Adams once wrote: "Words are slippery".
VI. Summary
From the above we can see that a proper understanding of other cultures is of key importance in order to achieve successful cross-cultural communication. As the world evolves into a global village, the importance of international communication takes on added urgency. Many misunderstandings arise from failure of this, which will bring us great loss. One famous example is that the brand of one of our first-class batteries is "White Elephant". This name associates us Chinese without any bad connotation, and instead, it is a symbol of strength and loveliness. However, in English, white elephant refers to someone who is stupid. It is a word of abuse and connotes the English people with derogatory association. This company is certain to lose business there. This example illustrated the difficulties of foreign-language translation and the serious consequences of inept understanding of words in other languages.Invariably, a word contains the implication of its own culture. It, then, can elicit many meanings. As the English poet Tennyson said, "Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within." American scholar Larry A Samovar added: what is `half concealed` often may be more important than what is revealed. This is especially true to cross-cultural communication. "Only a knowledge of all the possible meanings of a word and the probable intent of the speaker enablesone to arrive at the correct interpretation" (J. Reineke) Therefore, successful cross-cultural communication requires a good command of the connotation of words in other languages.
References
[1]"跨文化交际学" 贾玉新 上海外语教育出版社
[2]"Communication Between Cultures" Third edition Larry A. Samovar Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
[3]"只眼看东西"泽熙新世界出版社
[4]"中西文化概论" 张忠利;宗文举 天津大学出版社
[5]"Culture and Translation"(Lecture notes) 方永德
[6]"中西500年比较" 郝侠君 中国工人出版社
[7]"比较与翻译" 汪榕培 上海外语教育出版社
关键词：跨文化 概念 词汇 内涵 外延
A Comparison of Cross-Cultural Conceptualization in Words Between Chinese and English
Key words: cross-cultural; conceptualization; word; denotation; connotation
I. Introduction
Language, in its most basic sense, is a set of symbols and rules for combining those symbols that are used and understood by a large community of people. However, these symbols and rules are different in each language because of the existence of cross-cultural differences. This article tries to have a tentative study on the conceptualization in words between English and Chinese from the perspective of cultural difference contained in the words of these two languages so as to avoid the confusion and misunderstanding in cross-cultural communications.
A language is the carrier of a culture. Different countries have different cultural background. Lying under each culture is the cultural implication that has sedimented in it over thousands of years. As children, most of us asked our parents, "What does that word mean?" This question reflects the way we view language. It suggests that we tend to look for meaning in words themselves, but we are incorrect if we think that words possess meaning. It is more accurate to say that people possess meaning and that words elicit these meaning. We can have different meanings for the same word. To the people from different cultural background, the same word or expression may refer to different things; even when sometimes it refers to the same thing, people may associate it with different ideas. It is this cultural connotation "that gives back language its vitality, enables people to sense its existence and makes it a language used in a certain social environment." (Li Guangkun)
Words are the basic element of language. They are embodied in cultural differences. Explanations of words reveal national and cultural differences. A word or an expression has its connotation in addition to its denotation. It is not difficult to master its denotation, but to master the connotation is no easy thing. In this sense, cross-cultural study is just like a bridge arching across two unfamiliar cultures, overlooking two different living styles and studying the transmitting and communicating between the vocabularies of different values so as to ensure the correctness and effectiveness of language use.
In order to have a better understanding of the conceptualization in words and their cultural difference, words are classified into four categories (Jia Yuxing): 1) words of the same denotation but different or entirely different connotation; 2) words of the same denotation but sharing partial connotation; 3) words of the same denotation but one language has connotation while the other has not; 4) lexical gaps.
II. Words of the same denotation but different or entirely different connotation.
Word differences are obvious in various languages, so are the meanings of words each culture holds. It is quite possible that in different cultures the same thing may arouse quite different connotation. All people, drawing on their backgrounds, decide what a word means. Take the word "green" for example. In English, green has the meaning of "病态", "妒忌", etc. Therefore, the phrase "green-eyed" means jealous (妒忌) while in Chinese green has no such meaning, instead, the Chinese word "red" has this connotation, e.g. "红眼病". Another word is "peacock". In Chinese, a peacock in his pride stands for good luck while in English it refers to someone who gets a swelled head, smartly dressed and enjoying showing-off. The same is to the word "propaganda". Propaganda has a positive meaning in Chinese. We even have someone especially engaged in performing propaganda, "宣传部长", who is a high-ranking officer. However, according to the English dictionary, it says that "Propaganda is information, often inaccurate or biased information, which a political organization publishes or broadcasts in order to influence people, e.g. anti-capitalist propaganda movies."
We Chinese are considered to be descendants of the dragon. Early in the Chinese history, the dragon was a symbol of royal power. The king called himself "真龙天子". He wore "龙袍" and commanded his people in "龙庭". According to what Hanfeizi said: dragons as well as kings both had "逆麟" and therefore couldn't be offended, otherwise they would "龙颜大怒, 诛灭九族". Nowadays, the dragon has walked down from his Altar, as every descendant of the Chinese, no matter where he stays, calls himself "龙的传人". The dragon surely associates the Chinese with positive meanings. We have many idioms connected with the dragon, e.g. "龙飞凤舞", "龙凤呈祥", "龙腾虎跃", "生龙活虎". All this is highly connected with the Chinese cultural background. But the English people don't have such connotation. In the Bible, the dragon is the serpent. In the Genesis, there was a famous serpent that seduced Eva to eat the forbidden fruit. This serpent actually referred to Satan. The dragon is a sign of evil, often used to scare crying children.
These words, of the same denotation but absolutely different connotation in different cultures, should be paid much attention to as they would most probably lead to misunderstanding and failure in cross-cultural communication.
III. Words of the same denotation but sharing partial connotation
In two cultures, such words will incur partial connotation in common in some respects but different connotation in others. Take the word "lion" for example. In both Chinese and English, it is easily transformable in communication owing to the basic identification of the connotation and denotation in terms of respect, nobility, and authority. In English, we have the saying: "British Lion", which means "雄狮英国" while the phrase "twist the lion's tail" means "藐视英国, 侮辱英国". The national emblem of Britain also bears the figure of a lion. The English poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley in his "The Mask of Anarchy" wrote:
Rise like lions
Rise like lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you
You are many, they are few
Similarly in China, early in the Han Dynasty, the king then regarded the lion as a sign of luck and brave. He ordered his men to choreograph the so-called "Lion Dance", imitating the image and action of a lion. The greatest influence that the lion lays is on the Chinese architecture. Lions are used as door-guarding animals. More often than not, stone lion, even today, are seen in front of many Chinese houses, as lions to us Chinese are signs of authority and solemnity. We believe that they will guard our house anddrive away evil things.
However, apart from this meaning, Chinese lion language, compared with that of the English, contains dominantly derogatory connotation. Moreover, the lion language in China is limited. It is because lions were introduced to China at the same time that the Buddhism was. These two were closely related and considered rare. So they don't have much influence on the Chinese people and they most often used negatively. For example, the Chinese idiom "河东狮吼", coming from the poem of Shu Dongpu, is used to describe someone who is henpecked because of having a jealous and hot-tempered wife.
However much of the lion language in English is employed positively and flexibly. Lions have always held a very high status in most English people. To them, lions are the king of the beasts. We can see this from the idioms: "regal as a lion", "majestic as a lion", "lion-hearted", etc. Lions can also refer to "a person who is a center of attraction, or an object of admiration, interest, or curiosity", for example, lion-hunter.
One more example is the English phrase, "the lion's share", which has a positive or neutral connotation, meaning "the largest or the best part of something that is divided". This can be seen from the following two sentences:
The lion's share of investment has gone to a few favored companies.
The central government collects and spends the lion's share of the citizens' tax dollar.
While in Chinese we also have the saying, "狮子大口". Though it has the same meaning - "large amount", it connotes derogatory association.
IV. Words of the same denotation but one language has connotation while the other has not
Influenced by its own culture, a common word in one language may have rich implication whereas in the other language it is just a code. For example, Chinese scholars, both in the old time and nowadays, profoundly use "plum blossoms, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum" to implicate a kind of spirit, a spirit they pursue, as most of them prefer to lead a lofty and honest life. Plum blossoms defy from and snow, orchid refers to a pure heart and spirit; and bamboo is compared to an honest and staunch character. The cultural connotation of these plants is a symbol of Chinese scholars' life creed and reveals their high-mindedness. To the English people, they are just language codes and no such implication exists.
However, there are also words that have rich implication in English but none in Chinese, for example, the word "daffodil". In the Chinese language, it is only the name of a flower. But in English it is a symbol of spring and happiness. Shakespeare wrote: When daffodils begin to peer/with heigh, the doxy over the dale! / Why, then comes in the sweet o'the year … These two examples reflect the characteristics of different cultures.
V. Lexical gaps
Lexical gaps are a universal phenomenon. They exist in every culture. People tend to think that text in one language can be accurately translated into another as long as the translator uses a good bilingual dictionary. Unfortunately, languages are not that simple, and direct translations in many cases are difficult if not impossible because many words are culture-bound and have no direct equivalents and a culture may not have the background and understanding to translate experiences specific to other cultures. For example, how to translate the Chinese phrase "木讷" into English? Can it be translated into "woody"? Apparently it loses its original meaning if thus translated as in Chinese it refers to someone who is sincere and honest but slow of speech.
The same is to the English word "Hippie". Hippies refer to the American young people in the 1960s and 70s who rejected conventional society and tried to live a life based on peace and love. As there were no such young people in China, no Chinese word matches this one. So the American historian Henry Brooks Adams once wrote: "Words are slippery".
VI. Summary
From the above we can see that a proper understanding of other cultures is of key importance in order to achieve successful cross-cultural communication. As the world evolves into a global village, the importance of international communication takes on added urgency. Many misunderstandings arise from failure of this, which will bring us great loss. One famous example is that the brand of one of our first-class batteries is "White Elephant". This name associates us Chinese without any bad connotation, and instead, it is a symbol of strength and loveliness. However, in English, white elephant refers to someone who is stupid. It is a word of abuse and connotes the English people with derogatory association. This company is certain to lose business there. This example illustrated the difficulties of foreign-language translation and the serious consequences of inept understanding of words in other languages.Invariably, a word contains the implication of its own culture. It, then, can elicit many meanings. As the English poet Tennyson said, "Words, like Nature, half reveal and half conceal the soul within." American scholar Larry A Samovar added: what is `half concealed` often may be more important than what is revealed. This is especially true to cross-cultural communication. "Only a knowledge of all the possible meanings of a word and the probable intent of the speaker enablesone to arrive at the correct interpretation" (J. Reineke) Therefore, successful cross-cultural communication requires a good command of the connotation of words in other languages.
References
[1]"跨文化交际学" 贾玉新 上海外语教育出版社
[2]"Communication Between Cultures" Third edition Larry A. Samovar Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press
[3]"只眼看东西"泽熙新世界出版社
[4]"中西文化概论" 张忠利;宗文举 天津大学出版社
[5]"Culture and Translation"(Lecture notes) 方永德
[6]"中西500年比较" 郝侠君 中国工人出版社
[7]"比较与翻译" 汪榕培 上海外语教育出版社