论文部分内容阅读
【中图分类号】H315.9
1. Introduction
Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach， the Greman materialistic philosopher， once said that animals were indispensable to human beings and the reason why human beings became human beings was due to their close relationship with animals. Human beings and animals are both the products of natural evolution. Language is the result of human labor and social activities. Language is human specific and it is the major factor that distinguishes human beings from animals. So far animals are still close friends of human beings. Now that animals play an important role in human lives， the animal words in human languages will bear the deep socio-cultural imprints in the course of being used by human beings.
Culture is also a historical phenomenon. Each generation inherits the culture established by its forefathers and makes its own contributions to the development of culture， therefore different nations have different cultures. Chinese people and English people have some similarity in their thinking modes ， so there exists the same animal words with the same or similar figurative meanings. However， there also exists differences between English and Chinese cultures and these differences lead to different connotations of animal words in English and Chinese languages. As a result， Chinese and English people have different figurative meanings to the same animal words or use different animal association vehicles to express the same or similar figurative meanings.
2. Comparison of animal words in English and Chinese
2.1 Same animal association vehicles and similar figurative meanings
As all human beings live in the similar environment， Chinese people and English people nearly have the same knowledge of animals. Therefore， they have the same or similar figurative meanings to animal words. For example， there is an English term “as cunning as a fox”. Similarly， Chinese people can understand the figurative meaning of this term “as cunning as a fox”. This example shows that in English “fox” can be used to describe somebody who is cunning and dishonest. This example indicates that English and Chinese languages and cultures endow “fox’’ the same figurative meanings.
Wolf（狼） is a kind of greedy， savage and cruel animal. In Chinese there exists such expressions as “豺狼当道”（meaning a world full of evil doers）， “如狼似虎” （meaning ferocious ）， “狼子野心”（meaning immorally ambitious）. Similarly， the animal wolf is also used to described someone who is greedy and cruel in western culture. There are English terms such as “a wolf in a sheep’s clothing”or “a wolf in lamb’s skin ”， “wake a sleeping wolf ”， “hold a wolf by the ears ”， “keep the wolf from the door ” etc. The animal ass in English and Chinese has the same connotation and figurative meaning “foolish， stupid”. In Chinese the expression “笨驴” is used to indicate a fool or an idiot. In English， there are set phrases and idioms that include the animal word ass e.g.“ass in grain ”， “an ass in a lion’s skin ”， “all asses wag their ear”， “asses’ bridge ”， “act the ass ”， “make an ass of oneself ”， “sell you ass ” etc. All these phrases imply the meaning foolish.
2.2 Same animal association vehicles and different figurative meanings
Different living conditions have caused varied states of mind and ways of thinking， so Chinese and English people have different ideas and attitudes to some animals. The figurative meanings of the follwing animals are different in English and Chinese languages and cultures.
The figurative meaning of the word dragon is completely opposite in Chinese and English. Dragon is not a real animal but an imaginary one. In China， dragon is the symbol of the Chinese nation. In the ancient time， Chinese people worshiped dragon to beg for rain. The Chinese feudal emperors were often referred to as “sons of dragons”. The emperors would wear clothes with designs of dragons. Chinese people always call themselves descendents of the dragon and are very proud of being the descendents of the dragon. However， in Western people’s minds， the dragon is an evil monster with a large tail and wings and claws， breathing out fire and smoke. It symbolizes evil and bad luck. Do you know the meaning of the following sentence “We are really frightened of the maths teacher. She was a real dragon.”？ The word dragon here is used as a metaphor to describe someone who is badtempered. Let us have a look at the Chinese term “望子成龙”（meaning to expect one’s son to become an outstanding person）. We can see that the figurative meaning of dragon is very different in English and Chinese.
The animal bat is considered as an evil animal in the eyes of the western people. It is always associated with darkness and sin. Western people are afraid of the bats because they think that bats are blood-sucking animals. Therefore the animal bat contain derogatory sense in western culture. The English terms “as blind as a bat”， “as crazy as a bat” reflect a glimpse of derogatory meaning of the animal bat in western culture. However， the connotation of the animal bat is commendatory in Chinese culture. The animal bat is a symbol for felicity in the eyes of Chinese people because the Chinese letters 蝠（bat） and 福（felicity） are homophones. 2.3 Different animal association vehicles and similar figurative meanings
Different animal words have similar cultural connotations in English and Chinese languages and people use different animal words to express similar meanings. Even though the animal association vehicles are different， they have similar figurative meanings.
Agriculture is the foundation of China’s economic development， so the cattle play a great role in Chinese culture. Presently， there has been a popular Chinese saying such as “你真牛”（meaning you are extremely excellent）. However， in the Middle Ages， horse was not only the inseparable part of Knights’ lives， but also the animal kept and used by the imperial families. So English people give horse many good figurative meanings such as “as strong as a horse”， “to work like a horse”， “get on one’s high horse”. In English， there are many figurative expressions using the word “horse” as association vehicles， e.g. “change horse ” is likened to “change groups or leaders ”， “from the horse’s mouth ”means “firsthand”， “talk horse ” means “to boast” etc.
Different animal association vehicles with similar figurative meanings can be also seen from the following expressions. There are English terms such as “as timid as a rabbit， chicken-hearted or pigeon-hearted ” that are used to describe someone who is fragile and timid while Chinese people would use the animal “mouse” to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “胆小如鼠”. English people would describe someone who is anxious as “a cat on hot brick” while Chinese people would express the same meaning with the help of the animal ant in the Chinese term “热锅上的蚂蚁”. English people would say “as wet as a drowned rat ”that means totally wet while Chinese people would use the animal “hen” to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “落汤鸡”. There is the English term “goose flesh” while the Chinese would use the animal “hen” rather than the animal goose to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “鸡皮”.
3. Influence of figurative meanings of animal words on intercultural communication
3.1 communicative problems of animal words
Intercultural communication is concerned with communication among people from different cultural backgrounds. With the rapid development of science and technolog，the world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is necessary to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds. However， different cultures have different value systems and worldviews. Furthermore， people from different countries have different belief， customs and habits. In the human communication， a plenty of animal words are widely used to enrich the language and culture. The vivid images of animals enhance the expressive ability of language by associating with their features showed from outside appearances or individual temperaments. As the above comparisons represent， animal words have the same or different figurative meanings in English and Chinese. If people do not know the cultural information of the animal words in target language， they would make a misunderstanding of target language in intercultural communication .
Let us have a look at the following sentence “Jones family live like fighting cocks ever since he got that new well paid job at the ministry.” 4 The structure is very simple but many Chinese people would make a wrong understanding. The problem lies in the phrase “fighting cocks”. To Chinese “fighting cocks” is usually used to describe two people not living a peaceful life. In ancient China， the palaces or the folks liked gamecock to make a pleasure， which brought out the association. But in English， “live like fighting cocks” means “to enjoy the best possible food or life”.
We can see that specific cultures exert a strong influence on language. Animal words as association vehicles are the products under the specific cultural backgrounds.
Terms with animals as association vehicles can be from the literature works. There is an English term “as merry as crickets”. It was created by Shakespeare in his great literature work Henry Ⅳ. However， Chinese people do not give any figurative meaning to the animal cricket. The animal cricket is just a common animal in Chinese people’s eyes. Animal words reflect the fact that English people and Chinese people understand the natural world in different ways.
3.2 linguistic problems of animal words
Animal words in English can be used as verbs. Let us have a look at the following sentence “Jane craned her head to look for her brother in the crowd.” The animal word crane is used as a verb here to make the vivid image of someone stretching her head. This usage of the animal word crane from noun to verb is called conversion in lexicology. But this vivid image of the animal crane would be lost in Chinese translation because the animal crane can not be used as a verb in Chinese. There are more examples such as “ to fox someone”， “to duck the issue”， “to snake one’s way”， “to fish out”， “to mouse out the secret”， “to ape one’s behavior”. All the animal words in these English terms cannot be used as verbs in Chinese. Therefore the beauty and the vivid image of the animal words in English is lost in Chinese. According to Arensberg and Niehoff， there is “nothing more clearly distinguishes one culture from another than its language.”3 We can see that animal words in English and Chinese reflect quite different cultural meanings as well as unique linguistic features. These animal association vehicles have their respective cultural connotations which are completely strange to people from other cultural backgrounds. Therefore， we should pay attention to the figurative meanings and unique linguistic features of animal words to make cross-cultural communication successful and keep the beauty of source language.
4. Translation of animal metaphors
4.1 Keeping image of animal association vehicles
English culture and Chinese culture have much in common， so the English and the Chinese share the same or similar feelings or attitudes to some animal words. They use the same animal images to express the similar figurative meanings. Therefore， we can adopt literal translation to keep the original association vehicles. To a certain extent， this method helps to keep the source national sense and makes the target language readers understand the source language culture. Let us see the following exemples.
There is an English proverb “The early bird catches the worm.” Chinese people also express the same meaning with the image of the animal bird in the Chinese saying “笨鸟先飞”. There is another English proverb “One swallow does not make a summer.” The image of the animal swallow is kept in the Chinese translation of this English proverb “一燕不成夏”. The image of the animal horse in the English term “dark horse” is kept in its Chinese translation “黑马”. The image of the animal tiger in “paper tiger” is also kept in its Chinese translation “纸老虎”.
Keeping image of association vehicles can make language vivid and vigorous and preserve the original style. Adopting this method not only reproduces the source language meaning and charm but also benefits the cultural exchange between Chinese and English.
4.2Changing image of animal association vehicles
English language and Chinese language have some cultural discrepancies. If some original association vehicles are kept in the process of translation， the target language readers may not understand them. Indeed， there are occasions where certain cultural aspects of original cannot be directly transferred into the target language culture. Thus， in the process of intercultural communication， we may replace the original image with a different one that retains the meaning of the original message and well fits in with the target language. For example： There is an English term “a lion in the way” which means trouble or difficulties. Chinese people would use the image of the animal tiger to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “拦路虎”.
In English culture， people will use the term “as timid as a rabbit” to describe someone who lack courage. But Chinese people would use the animal “mouse” rather than the animal “rabbit” to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “胆小如鼠”..
Chinese and English people adopt different animal images to express the similar figurative meanings， so this method of changing images is the best way and this conforms to the thinking modes and expressions of the source and target language readers.
4.3 Discarding image of animal association vehicles
Some animal words contain opposite figurative meanings with commendatory or derogatory sense and exist semantic gaps. If these culturally loaded association vehicles can be represented in the target language version， it would cause many misunderstandings and language barriers. So the best way is to discard the images of animal association vehicles. For example：
The Chinese saying “炒鱿鱼” is a dialect in the area of Guangdong province.This dialect uses the image of the animal squid. The meaning of this dialect is equal to “fire sb.” in English language. We have to discard the image of the animal “鱿鱼”（squid） in the dialect so that the English readers would not be confused. In western culture， people would use the term “as mute as an oyster” to describe someone who seldom talk. But there is no such semantic meaning with the animal association of oyster in Chinese. As a result， the animal oyster should also be discarded in its Chinese translation.
When this method is used in translation， the target language readers have no difficulty in reading and they do not need to stop to guess the meaning of the figurative expressions as well.
Along with the development and close contact with the foreign countries， the western people have been learning the Chinese culture all the time. When translating， we can use literal translation plus annotation in the beginning. After the target language readers have been very familiar with the expressions and known their meanings in the source language texts， we can omit the annotation. With the lapse of time， Chinese and English language will be absorbed each other. This will benefit more to know the two countries’ cultures and customs， and the two countries can keep their own national flavors. 5. Conclusion
Human beings always have inseparable relations with animals. In the long period of time when man is in harmony with animals， he has come to realize that all animals， whether they are friends or enemies， contribute much to man’s living. Therefore， animal words come into human communicating language. It can be said that human language reflects human ideas and acts； so animal words play a very important role in human linguistic communication.
Different cultures of Chinese and English nations entrust cultural connotations to the animal words， which cause discrepancies in the application of animal association vehicles. These discrepancies bring obstruction of intercultural communication. As an important means of cross-cultural communication， translation is also closely connected with culture. For the purpose of our effective communication， we should understand these culturally loaded animal words correctly and do the equivalent translation between English language and Chinese language and build a bridge for the linguistic cultural exchange.
Bibliography
L.Samovar， R.Porter， & L.Stefani. Communication Between Culture. 3rd ed.（Wadsworth Publishing Company， 1998）
Mona Baker. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2001
Eugene A.Nida. Language and Culture. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2001
伍卓. 英汉动物词汇的文化内涵[J]. 邵阳师范高等专科学校学报. 2001.2（1）.P71， P73
金惠康. 跨文化交际翻译续编[M]. 北京：中国对外翻译出版公司. 2004. P362-363
李秀萍. 动物名词中的中西文化内涵之比较[J]. 丹东师专学报. 1999.21（4）.P86
刘铁铠. 英汉动物词语的文化内涵与差异[J]. 佳木斯大学社会科学学报. 2002.20（2）.P66
韦森. 英汉动物词的文化内涵[J].广西师范学院学报. 2003.24（1）. P139
詹蓓. 英汉动物喻体语用含义的对比分析[J]. 外语研究. 2003.3. P35
1. Introduction
Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach， the Greman materialistic philosopher， once said that animals were indispensable to human beings and the reason why human beings became human beings was due to their close relationship with animals. Human beings and animals are both the products of natural evolution. Language is the result of human labor and social activities. Language is human specific and it is the major factor that distinguishes human beings from animals. So far animals are still close friends of human beings. Now that animals play an important role in human lives， the animal words in human languages will bear the deep socio-cultural imprints in the course of being used by human beings.
Culture is also a historical phenomenon. Each generation inherits the culture established by its forefathers and makes its own contributions to the development of culture， therefore different nations have different cultures. Chinese people and English people have some similarity in their thinking modes ， so there exists the same animal words with the same or similar figurative meanings. However， there also exists differences between English and Chinese cultures and these differences lead to different connotations of animal words in English and Chinese languages. As a result， Chinese and English people have different figurative meanings to the same animal words or use different animal association vehicles to express the same or similar figurative meanings.
2. Comparison of animal words in English and Chinese
2.1 Same animal association vehicles and similar figurative meanings
As all human beings live in the similar environment， Chinese people and English people nearly have the same knowledge of animals. Therefore， they have the same or similar figurative meanings to animal words. For example， there is an English term “as cunning as a fox”. Similarly， Chinese people can understand the figurative meaning of this term “as cunning as a fox”. This example shows that in English “fox” can be used to describe somebody who is cunning and dishonest. This example indicates that English and Chinese languages and cultures endow “fox’’ the same figurative meanings.
Wolf（狼） is a kind of greedy， savage and cruel animal. In Chinese there exists such expressions as “豺狼当道”（meaning a world full of evil doers）， “如狼似虎” （meaning ferocious ）， “狼子野心”（meaning immorally ambitious）. Similarly， the animal wolf is also used to described someone who is greedy and cruel in western culture. There are English terms such as “a wolf in a sheep’s clothing”or “a wolf in lamb’s skin ”， “wake a sleeping wolf ”， “hold a wolf by the ears ”， “keep the wolf from the door ” etc. The animal ass in English and Chinese has the same connotation and figurative meaning “foolish， stupid”. In Chinese the expression “笨驴” is used to indicate a fool or an idiot. In English， there are set phrases and idioms that include the animal word ass e.g.“ass in grain ”， “an ass in a lion’s skin ”， “all asses wag their ear”， “asses’ bridge ”， “act the ass ”， “make an ass of oneself ”， “sell you ass ” etc. All these phrases imply the meaning foolish.
2.2 Same animal association vehicles and different figurative meanings
Different living conditions have caused varied states of mind and ways of thinking， so Chinese and English people have different ideas and attitudes to some animals. The figurative meanings of the follwing animals are different in English and Chinese languages and cultures.
The figurative meaning of the word dragon is completely opposite in Chinese and English. Dragon is not a real animal but an imaginary one. In China， dragon is the symbol of the Chinese nation. In the ancient time， Chinese people worshiped dragon to beg for rain. The Chinese feudal emperors were often referred to as “sons of dragons”. The emperors would wear clothes with designs of dragons. Chinese people always call themselves descendents of the dragon and are very proud of being the descendents of the dragon. However， in Western people’s minds， the dragon is an evil monster with a large tail and wings and claws， breathing out fire and smoke. It symbolizes evil and bad luck. Do you know the meaning of the following sentence “We are really frightened of the maths teacher. She was a real dragon.”？ The word dragon here is used as a metaphor to describe someone who is badtempered. Let us have a look at the Chinese term “望子成龙”（meaning to expect one’s son to become an outstanding person）. We can see that the figurative meaning of dragon is very different in English and Chinese.
The animal bat is considered as an evil animal in the eyes of the western people. It is always associated with darkness and sin. Western people are afraid of the bats because they think that bats are blood-sucking animals. Therefore the animal bat contain derogatory sense in western culture. The English terms “as blind as a bat”， “as crazy as a bat” reflect a glimpse of derogatory meaning of the animal bat in western culture. However， the connotation of the animal bat is commendatory in Chinese culture. The animal bat is a symbol for felicity in the eyes of Chinese people because the Chinese letters 蝠（bat） and 福（felicity） are homophones. 2.3 Different animal association vehicles and similar figurative meanings
Different animal words have similar cultural connotations in English and Chinese languages and people use different animal words to express similar meanings. Even though the animal association vehicles are different， they have similar figurative meanings.
Agriculture is the foundation of China’s economic development， so the cattle play a great role in Chinese culture. Presently， there has been a popular Chinese saying such as “你真牛”（meaning you are extremely excellent）. However， in the Middle Ages， horse was not only the inseparable part of Knights’ lives， but also the animal kept and used by the imperial families. So English people give horse many good figurative meanings such as “as strong as a horse”， “to work like a horse”， “get on one’s high horse”. In English， there are many figurative expressions using the word “horse” as association vehicles， e.g. “change horse ” is likened to “change groups or leaders ”， “from the horse’s mouth ”means “firsthand”， “talk horse ” means “to boast” etc.
Different animal association vehicles with similar figurative meanings can be also seen from the following expressions. There are English terms such as “as timid as a rabbit， chicken-hearted or pigeon-hearted ” that are used to describe someone who is fragile and timid while Chinese people would use the animal “mouse” to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “胆小如鼠”. English people would describe someone who is anxious as “a cat on hot brick” while Chinese people would express the same meaning with the help of the animal ant in the Chinese term “热锅上的蚂蚁”. English people would say “as wet as a drowned rat ”that means totally wet while Chinese people would use the animal “hen” to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “落汤鸡”. There is the English term “goose flesh” while the Chinese would use the animal “hen” rather than the animal goose to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “鸡皮”.
3. Influence of figurative meanings of animal words on intercultural communication
3.1 communicative problems of animal words
Intercultural communication is concerned with communication among people from different cultural backgrounds. With the rapid development of science and technolog，the world is becoming smaller and smaller. It is necessary to communicate with people from different cultural backgrounds. However， different cultures have different value systems and worldviews. Furthermore， people from different countries have different belief， customs and habits. In the human communication， a plenty of animal words are widely used to enrich the language and culture. The vivid images of animals enhance the expressive ability of language by associating with their features showed from outside appearances or individual temperaments. As the above comparisons represent， animal words have the same or different figurative meanings in English and Chinese. If people do not know the cultural information of the animal words in target language， they would make a misunderstanding of target language in intercultural communication .
Let us have a look at the following sentence “Jones family live like fighting cocks ever since he got that new well paid job at the ministry.” 4 The structure is very simple but many Chinese people would make a wrong understanding. The problem lies in the phrase “fighting cocks”. To Chinese “fighting cocks” is usually used to describe two people not living a peaceful life. In ancient China， the palaces or the folks liked gamecock to make a pleasure， which brought out the association. But in English， “live like fighting cocks” means “to enjoy the best possible food or life”.
We can see that specific cultures exert a strong influence on language. Animal words as association vehicles are the products under the specific cultural backgrounds.
Terms with animals as association vehicles can be from the literature works. There is an English term “as merry as crickets”. It was created by Shakespeare in his great literature work Henry Ⅳ. However， Chinese people do not give any figurative meaning to the animal cricket. The animal cricket is just a common animal in Chinese people’s eyes. Animal words reflect the fact that English people and Chinese people understand the natural world in different ways.
3.2 linguistic problems of animal words
Animal words in English can be used as verbs. Let us have a look at the following sentence “Jane craned her head to look for her brother in the crowd.” The animal word crane is used as a verb here to make the vivid image of someone stretching her head. This usage of the animal word crane from noun to verb is called conversion in lexicology. But this vivid image of the animal crane would be lost in Chinese translation because the animal crane can not be used as a verb in Chinese. There are more examples such as “ to fox someone”， “to duck the issue”， “to snake one’s way”， “to fish out”， “to mouse out the secret”， “to ape one’s behavior”. All the animal words in these English terms cannot be used as verbs in Chinese. Therefore the beauty and the vivid image of the animal words in English is lost in Chinese. According to Arensberg and Niehoff， there is “nothing more clearly distinguishes one culture from another than its language.”3 We can see that animal words in English and Chinese reflect quite different cultural meanings as well as unique linguistic features. These animal association vehicles have their respective cultural connotations which are completely strange to people from other cultural backgrounds. Therefore， we should pay attention to the figurative meanings and unique linguistic features of animal words to make cross-cultural communication successful and keep the beauty of source language.
4. Translation of animal metaphors
4.1 Keeping image of animal association vehicles
English culture and Chinese culture have much in common， so the English and the Chinese share the same or similar feelings or attitudes to some animal words. They use the same animal images to express the similar figurative meanings. Therefore， we can adopt literal translation to keep the original association vehicles. To a certain extent， this method helps to keep the source national sense and makes the target language readers understand the source language culture. Let us see the following exemples.
There is an English proverb “The early bird catches the worm.” Chinese people also express the same meaning with the image of the animal bird in the Chinese saying “笨鸟先飞”. There is another English proverb “One swallow does not make a summer.” The image of the animal swallow is kept in the Chinese translation of this English proverb “一燕不成夏”. The image of the animal horse in the English term “dark horse” is kept in its Chinese translation “黑马”. The image of the animal tiger in “paper tiger” is also kept in its Chinese translation “纸老虎”.
Keeping image of association vehicles can make language vivid and vigorous and preserve the original style. Adopting this method not only reproduces the source language meaning and charm but also benefits the cultural exchange between Chinese and English.
4.2Changing image of animal association vehicles
English language and Chinese language have some cultural discrepancies. If some original association vehicles are kept in the process of translation， the target language readers may not understand them. Indeed， there are occasions where certain cultural aspects of original cannot be directly transferred into the target language culture. Thus， in the process of intercultural communication， we may replace the original image with a different one that retains the meaning of the original message and well fits in with the target language. For example： There is an English term “a lion in the way” which means trouble or difficulties. Chinese people would use the image of the animal tiger to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “拦路虎”.
In English culture， people will use the term “as timid as a rabbit” to describe someone who lack courage. But Chinese people would use the animal “mouse” rather than the animal “rabbit” to express the same meaning in the Chinese term “胆小如鼠”..
Chinese and English people adopt different animal images to express the similar figurative meanings， so this method of changing images is the best way and this conforms to the thinking modes and expressions of the source and target language readers.
4.3 Discarding image of animal association vehicles
Some animal words contain opposite figurative meanings with commendatory or derogatory sense and exist semantic gaps. If these culturally loaded association vehicles can be represented in the target language version， it would cause many misunderstandings and language barriers. So the best way is to discard the images of animal association vehicles. For example：
The Chinese saying “炒鱿鱼” is a dialect in the area of Guangdong province.This dialect uses the image of the animal squid. The meaning of this dialect is equal to “fire sb.” in English language. We have to discard the image of the animal “鱿鱼”（squid） in the dialect so that the English readers would not be confused. In western culture， people would use the term “as mute as an oyster” to describe someone who seldom talk. But there is no such semantic meaning with the animal association of oyster in Chinese. As a result， the animal oyster should also be discarded in its Chinese translation.
When this method is used in translation， the target language readers have no difficulty in reading and they do not need to stop to guess the meaning of the figurative expressions as well.
Along with the development and close contact with the foreign countries， the western people have been learning the Chinese culture all the time. When translating， we can use literal translation plus annotation in the beginning. After the target language readers have been very familiar with the expressions and known their meanings in the source language texts， we can omit the annotation. With the lapse of time， Chinese and English language will be absorbed each other. This will benefit more to know the two countries’ cultures and customs， and the two countries can keep their own national flavors. 5. Conclusion
Human beings always have inseparable relations with animals. In the long period of time when man is in harmony with animals， he has come to realize that all animals， whether they are friends or enemies， contribute much to man’s living. Therefore， animal words come into human communicating language. It can be said that human language reflects human ideas and acts； so animal words play a very important role in human linguistic communication.
Different cultures of Chinese and English nations entrust cultural connotations to the animal words， which cause discrepancies in the application of animal association vehicles. These discrepancies bring obstruction of intercultural communication. As an important means of cross-cultural communication， translation is also closely connected with culture. For the purpose of our effective communication， we should understand these culturally loaded animal words correctly and do the equivalent translation between English language and Chinese language and build a bridge for the linguistic cultural exchange.
Bibliography
L.Samovar， R.Porter， & L.Stefani. Communication Between Culture. 3rd ed.（Wadsworth Publishing Company， 1998）
Mona Baker. Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2001
Eugene A.Nida. Language and Culture. Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2001
伍卓. 英汉动物词汇的文化内涵[J]. 邵阳师范高等专科学校学报. 2001.2（1）.P71， P73
金惠康. 跨文化交际翻译续编[M]. 北京：中国对外翻译出版公司. 2004. P362-363
李秀萍. 动物名词中的中西文化内涵之比较[J]. 丹东师专学报. 1999.21（4）.P86
刘铁铠. 英汉动物词语的文化内涵与差异[J]. 佳木斯大学社会科学学报. 2002.20（2）.P66
韦森. 英汉动物词的文化内涵[J].广西师范学院学报. 2003.24（1）. P139
詹蓓. 英汉动物喻体语用含义的对比分析[J]. 外语研究. 2003.3. P35