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【中图分类号】G242.36 【文章标识码】B 【文章编号】1326-3587（2013）06-0168-02
The number of the animal words which have entirely different emotional color in English and Chinese is quite large, the present examples like dragon (龙), bat (蝙蝠) , magpie（喜鹊）, fish(鱼) , vulture (雕) , goat (山羊) , sheep (羊) , white elephant (白象) , petrel (海燕) , bull (牛) , cuckoo (杜鹃) , cat (猫) may endow the point with some light, which have appreciative sense in Chinese but derogatory sense in English
1. Dragon (龙)
Dragon in Chinese history is a totem image that can give people blessedness, which symbolizes sacredness and auspiciousness, also authority, rareness and feudal kings. Just like what has been mentioned in the former part of the thesis, the animal word “dragon” is endowed with appreciative sense in Chinese. However, it is opposite in English. Dragon, an animal only found in the fairy tale, means “a mythical monster traditionally represented as a gigantic reptile having a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings, and a scaly skin” (一種传说中的怪物，一般被描述成有狮爪、蛇尾、翅膀及带鳞的皮肤)，and stands for the Satan that is called the old dragon (魔鬼、撒旦) in Bible, and evil in English. The dragonish woman is also called "dragon" in English. For example: She is a real dragon, you had better keep away from her. Furthermore, dragon’s teeth means “the root of the war” (相互斗争的根源); (Eugene, 1993) Dragonnade means “military force persecution” (武力迫害) and so on. Consequently, in English, the dragon is always used as a flag. We can see the westerners do not like dragon at all from these examples. As a result, the animal word “dragon” is endowed with derogatory sense in English. In addition, due to the emotional color difference between English and Chinese, in terms of the translation, Chinese “望子成龙” cannot be translated into “to expect one’s son to become a dragon”, but “to hope one’s son to have a bright future” in English; “亚洲四小龙”cannot be translated into “four dragons”, but “four tigers” in English (Eugene, 1993).
2. Bat (蝙蝠)
When talking about “bat”, Chinese people would associate it with commendatory meanings, which attributes to the fact that the word “bat” and the counterpart Chinese character “福 (blessing)” are homophones. “Bat” is acknowledged as the symbol of good luck, happiness, health, and longevity in Chinese culture. In terms of the legends, “bat” will become white when living through one thousand years, and will hang itself on the branches with its head downwards; people who eat this kind of bat will have longer lives. The legend may safely give an explanation about why Chinese people hang “福” upside down in Spring Festival couplets. Moreover, a red bat is the omen of being auspicious, for the letters “红蝠” and “洪福” are pun in sounds. Nevertheless, to English-speaking people, “bat” is an evil animal, and always associated with evil and ugliness. Consequently, expressions with “bat” have derogatory meanings in English, e.g., “as blind as a bat” (有眼无珠); “have bats in the belfry (异想天开); “crazy as a bat (发痴)”; “He dashed around like a bat out of hell (他发疯似的横冲直撞)”. (He Yanfang, 2001) Therefore, the animal word “bat” has appreciative sense in Chinese but derogatory sense in English. 3. Magpie（喜鹊）
To begin with, in China, a magpie symbolizes good luck, and people believe that a magpie’s singing can bring good news. On the contrary, in English, they usually symbolize bad luck. In some places in Scotland, if a magpie flies near a window, it is a symbol of bad luck. Furthermore, in a state of England, if someone comes across a magpie, he has to spit three times to avoid bad luck. Also in English, a magpie can be used to refer to those who chatter, for example, “She is a magpie of a woman”; “She kept muttering like a magpie”. Owing to these above, the animal word “magpie” has appreciative sense in Chinese but derogatory sense in English.
4. Fish(魚)
In Chinese,“鱼”and “余” have the same pronunciation, and the supper of New year's Eve in China cannot be regarded as the real dinner without fish for “鱼” means “年年有余”. As a result, “fish” has a very wonderful meaning with appreciative sense. However, in English, “fish” has derogatory sense and is used to describe the bad thing and bad person, on the base of which, “a poor fish”, “a loose fish”, “fish in the air” should be translated into “可怜虫”,“生活放荡的女人”,“水中捞月”(Eugene, 1993).
5. Vulture (雕)
In English, “vulture” is always connected with the insatiable together and associated with derogatory sense. Even so, in Chinese, the vulture has a good fame “翱翔长空”, which symbolizes the fierce , vigorous and forethoughtful with appreciative sense.
6. Goat (山羊)
To Chinese people and English people, “goat” has quite different associations and emotional colors. In china, people would use “goat” to refer to those who are of great learning and great ability. So, in their view, the animal word “goat” has appreciative sense. On the contrary, in English, “goat” in derogatory sense, means lady-killer and refers to those persons behaving frivolously or irresponsibly, e.g., “Let go, you randy old goat!”
7. Sheep (羊)
The animal word “sheep” is the symbol of “the idiot” in English. The English phrase “make sheep’s eyes at some-one” means “用愚笨的眼光看人” in Chinese. But in Chinese, “sheep” is related to “the tender, lovely and kind hearted”. For instance, “可怜的小绵羊”、“替罪羊”.
8. White Elephant (白象)
As is known to all, “white elephant” refers to the precious and propitious thing in Chinese. Nonetheless, it means the expensive thing without the practical value in English. Based on this, if the instant noodles named “白象” is translated into “white elephant” in English, it cannot become a best-seller in English- speaking countries because” white elephant” has appreciative sense in Chinese, but derogatory sense in English. 9. Petrel (海燕)
When it comes to talking about “petrel”, the Chinese would consider it as a symbol of a warrior braving hardships and adversity, and advancing with perseverance and courage. Furthermore, “petrel” is pronounced as “Hai Yan” in Chinese, in other words, “petrel” and “Hai Yan” are homophones. Therefore, there are a lot of girls named as “Hai Yan”-“petrel” (Claire, 2000). However, “petrel” often gets unfair names in English, it is considered as an omen of disasters, the reason why English-speaking people dislike “petrel” and regard it as the symbol for disasters is that, when a storm is arising, “petrel” will flush and fly like lightening between black clouds and the sea. In addition, “petrel” can also refer to those who incur troubles, e.g., “stormy petrel” means “person whose presence seems to attract trouble (Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, 2002)”. Due to these points mentioned above, “petrel” is endowed with appreciative sense in Chinese, but derogatory sense in English.
10. Bull (牛)
China is a large agricultural country with 4700 years’ history of growing rice. Chinese people have been using the bull in farming for thousands of years from generation to generation so they have a great affection for the bull. Furthermore, “bull” is used to describe the person who is ready to contribute his power to others. A hardworking person is called a “老黄牛”. Lu Xun’s saying of “俯首甘为孺子牛” is known to almost everybody in china. “孺子牛” is compared to the one who likes serving the people heart and soul (Wan Qi & Zhou Su，2007). Therefore, “bull” has appreciative sense in Chinese. On the contrary, in English view, the bull has so many bad points. For instance, “a bull in a china shop” (鲁莽闯祸的人)；“like a bull at a gate”(狂怒凶悍)；“throw the bull” (胡言乱语). Besides, “calf”(牛犊) means a idiotic young man; “cow”(母牛) means a fat and ugly woman; “buffalo”(水牛) means cheating someone. All of the expressions mentioned above have derogatory sense in English.
11. Cuckoo (杜鹃)
To Chinese, “cuckoo” sings its first song means spring is approaching, so, Chinese poets eulogize it for its ability to tell people spring’s approach with appreciative sense. However, westerners hold different attitudes towards it, and endow it with derogatory sense. For example, it is said to be inauspicious that one hears cuckoo’s singing before April the sixth. There are quite a few such parlances. Another example, when a cuckoo sings, one s looking around, which means he has only one year left to live.
12. Cat (猫)
The cat is very popular in China because it is not only clear but also lively and cute, besides which, it can be a good companion of human beings and a perfect sharp-shooter against mice. What is more, “貓” and “耄” have the same meaning, that is “longevity”. On the base of these advantages of the cat, it is endowed with appreciative sense in Chinese. But, in terms of the legend, the cat stands for the evil in English, especially the black cat. For instance, “She is a cat”. (她是一个邪恶的女人). (Zhang Junxia，2007) “The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream” (掩耳盗铃)、“The cat out of the bag(泄漏秘密)”. “Like a cat on hot bricks(像热锅上的蚂蚁)”.
The number of the animal words which have entirely different emotional color in English and Chinese is quite large, the present examples like dragon (龙), bat (蝙蝠) , magpie（喜鹊）, fish(鱼) , vulture (雕) , goat (山羊) , sheep (羊) , white elephant (白象) , petrel (海燕) , bull (牛) , cuckoo (杜鹃) , cat (猫) may endow the point with some light, which have appreciative sense in Chinese but derogatory sense in English
1. Dragon (龙)
Dragon in Chinese history is a totem image that can give people blessedness, which symbolizes sacredness and auspiciousness, also authority, rareness and feudal kings. Just like what has been mentioned in the former part of the thesis, the animal word “dragon” is endowed with appreciative sense in Chinese. However, it is opposite in English. Dragon, an animal only found in the fairy tale, means “a mythical monster traditionally represented as a gigantic reptile having a lion's claws, the tail of a serpent, wings, and a scaly skin” (一種传说中的怪物，一般被描述成有狮爪、蛇尾、翅膀及带鳞的皮肤)，and stands for the Satan that is called the old dragon (魔鬼、撒旦) in Bible, and evil in English. The dragonish woman is also called "dragon" in English. For example: She is a real dragon, you had better keep away from her. Furthermore, dragon’s teeth means “the root of the war” (相互斗争的根源); (Eugene, 1993) Dragonnade means “military force persecution” (武力迫害) and so on. Consequently, in English, the dragon is always used as a flag. We can see the westerners do not like dragon at all from these examples. As a result, the animal word “dragon” is endowed with derogatory sense in English. In addition, due to the emotional color difference between English and Chinese, in terms of the translation, Chinese “望子成龙” cannot be translated into “to expect one’s son to become a dragon”, but “to hope one’s son to have a bright future” in English; “亚洲四小龙”cannot be translated into “four dragons”, but “four tigers” in English (Eugene, 1993).
2. Bat (蝙蝠)
When talking about “bat”, Chinese people would associate it with commendatory meanings, which attributes to the fact that the word “bat” and the counterpart Chinese character “福 (blessing)” are homophones. “Bat” is acknowledged as the symbol of good luck, happiness, health, and longevity in Chinese culture. In terms of the legends, “bat” will become white when living through one thousand years, and will hang itself on the branches with its head downwards; people who eat this kind of bat will have longer lives. The legend may safely give an explanation about why Chinese people hang “福” upside down in Spring Festival couplets. Moreover, a red bat is the omen of being auspicious, for the letters “红蝠” and “洪福” are pun in sounds. Nevertheless, to English-speaking people, “bat” is an evil animal, and always associated with evil and ugliness. Consequently, expressions with “bat” have derogatory meanings in English, e.g., “as blind as a bat” (有眼无珠); “have bats in the belfry (异想天开); “crazy as a bat (发痴)”; “He dashed around like a bat out of hell (他发疯似的横冲直撞)”. (He Yanfang, 2001) Therefore, the animal word “bat” has appreciative sense in Chinese but derogatory sense in English. 3. Magpie（喜鹊）
To begin with, in China, a magpie symbolizes good luck, and people believe that a magpie’s singing can bring good news. On the contrary, in English, they usually symbolize bad luck. In some places in Scotland, if a magpie flies near a window, it is a symbol of bad luck. Furthermore, in a state of England, if someone comes across a magpie, he has to spit three times to avoid bad luck. Also in English, a magpie can be used to refer to those who chatter, for example, “She is a magpie of a woman”; “She kept muttering like a magpie”. Owing to these above, the animal word “magpie” has appreciative sense in Chinese but derogatory sense in English.
4. Fish(魚)
In Chinese,“鱼”and “余” have the same pronunciation, and the supper of New year's Eve in China cannot be regarded as the real dinner without fish for “鱼” means “年年有余”. As a result, “fish” has a very wonderful meaning with appreciative sense. However, in English, “fish” has derogatory sense and is used to describe the bad thing and bad person, on the base of which, “a poor fish”, “a loose fish”, “fish in the air” should be translated into “可怜虫”,“生活放荡的女人”,“水中捞月”(Eugene, 1993).
5. Vulture (雕)
In English, “vulture” is always connected with the insatiable together and associated with derogatory sense. Even so, in Chinese, the vulture has a good fame “翱翔长空”, which symbolizes the fierce , vigorous and forethoughtful with appreciative sense.
6. Goat (山羊)
To Chinese people and English people, “goat” has quite different associations and emotional colors. In china, people would use “goat” to refer to those who are of great learning and great ability. So, in their view, the animal word “goat” has appreciative sense. On the contrary, in English, “goat” in derogatory sense, means lady-killer and refers to those persons behaving frivolously or irresponsibly, e.g., “Let go, you randy old goat!”
7. Sheep (羊)
The animal word “sheep” is the symbol of “the idiot” in English. The English phrase “make sheep’s eyes at some-one” means “用愚笨的眼光看人” in Chinese. But in Chinese, “sheep” is related to “the tender, lovely and kind hearted”. For instance, “可怜的小绵羊”、“替罪羊”.
8. White Elephant (白象)
As is known to all, “white elephant” refers to the precious and propitious thing in Chinese. Nonetheless, it means the expensive thing without the practical value in English. Based on this, if the instant noodles named “白象” is translated into “white elephant” in English, it cannot become a best-seller in English- speaking countries because” white elephant” has appreciative sense in Chinese, but derogatory sense in English. 9. Petrel (海燕)
When it comes to talking about “petrel”, the Chinese would consider it as a symbol of a warrior braving hardships and adversity, and advancing with perseverance and courage. Furthermore, “petrel” is pronounced as “Hai Yan” in Chinese, in other words, “petrel” and “Hai Yan” are homophones. Therefore, there are a lot of girls named as “Hai Yan”-“petrel” (Claire, 2000). However, “petrel” often gets unfair names in English, it is considered as an omen of disasters, the reason why English-speaking people dislike “petrel” and regard it as the symbol for disasters is that, when a storm is arising, “petrel” will flush and fly like lightening between black clouds and the sea. In addition, “petrel” can also refer to those who incur troubles, e.g., “stormy petrel” means “person whose presence seems to attract trouble (Oxford Advanced Learner’s English-Chinese Dictionary, 2002)”. Due to these points mentioned above, “petrel” is endowed with appreciative sense in Chinese, but derogatory sense in English.
10. Bull (牛)
China is a large agricultural country with 4700 years’ history of growing rice. Chinese people have been using the bull in farming for thousands of years from generation to generation so they have a great affection for the bull. Furthermore, “bull” is used to describe the person who is ready to contribute his power to others. A hardworking person is called a “老黄牛”. Lu Xun’s saying of “俯首甘为孺子牛” is known to almost everybody in china. “孺子牛” is compared to the one who likes serving the people heart and soul (Wan Qi & Zhou Su，2007). Therefore, “bull” has appreciative sense in Chinese. On the contrary, in English view, the bull has so many bad points. For instance, “a bull in a china shop” (鲁莽闯祸的人)；“like a bull at a gate”(狂怒凶悍)；“throw the bull” (胡言乱语). Besides, “calf”(牛犊) means a idiotic young man; “cow”(母牛) means a fat and ugly woman; “buffalo”(水牛) means cheating someone. All of the expressions mentioned above have derogatory sense in English.
11. Cuckoo (杜鹃)
To Chinese, “cuckoo” sings its first song means spring is approaching, so, Chinese poets eulogize it for its ability to tell people spring’s approach with appreciative sense. However, westerners hold different attitudes towards it, and endow it with derogatory sense. For example, it is said to be inauspicious that one hears cuckoo’s singing before April the sixth. There are quite a few such parlances. Another example, when a cuckoo sings, one s looking around, which means he has only one year left to live.
12. Cat (猫)
The cat is very popular in China because it is not only clear but also lively and cute, besides which, it can be a good companion of human beings and a perfect sharp-shooter against mice. What is more, “貓” and “耄” have the same meaning, that is “longevity”. On the base of these advantages of the cat, it is endowed with appreciative sense in Chinese. But, in terms of the legend, the cat stands for the evil in English, especially the black cat. For instance, “She is a cat”. (她是一个邪恶的女人). (Zhang Junxia，2007) “The cat shuts its eyes when stealing cream” (掩耳盗铃)、“The cat out of the bag(泄漏秘密)”. “Like a cat on hot bricks(像热锅上的蚂蚁)”.