1、跨文化交际presentationA COMPARISION OF CULTURAL CONNOTATIONS BETWEEN CHINESE AND ENGLISH ANIMAL WORDS AND THEIR TRANSLATIONAbstractThere are a large number of words, idioms and expressions both in Chinese and English that are related to animals. Some of their meanings, cultural connotations and the range
2、 of usage are the same or similar, and some are different. On the one hand, they are the same or similar, because human beings have some similar capabilities of thought, some same laws of cognition, and some animals have the same important role in the human life of these two nations, and have the sa
3、me attributes and features. On the other hand, because of the long course of history between these two social groups, they are discrepant in religion, history, geographical environment and customs. These discrepancies make animal words different in their cultural connotations in these two languages.
4、 Because of these discrepancies, we should consider the differences and similarities of the cultural connotations carried by animal words when translating animal words. Only in this way, can we translate correctly the real meanings and the style of the original, and promote the cross-cultural exchan
5、ges between the two countries.Key Words: animal word; cultural connotation; discrepancy; translation method汉英动物词的文化内涵对比及翻译摘要 中英文里都含有大量和动物有关的词语、习语和表达。它们的词义、文化内涵及其应用范围都有相同或相似之处，也有不同之处。一方面，它们有共同或相似之处，这是因为人类有相似的思维能力；共同的认知规律；一些动物在汉英两大民族生活中占有同等重要的地位；以及这些动物本身的固有属性和特点。另一方面，由于汉英两大社会群体在各自漫长的历史进程中，各自的宗教不同；历史文化
6、不同；地理环境不同；习俗不同，这又形成两者之间的差异。由于这种差异的存在，在翻译时，我们应充分考虑动物词所含文化内含的差异。只有这样，我们才能正确传译出原文的真正含义和风格，促进两者的跨文化交流。关键词：动物词；文化内涵；差异；翻译方法Contents1.Introduction 12.Cultural connotations of animal words in Chinese and English 12.1 A comparison of animal words in Chinese and English 12.1.1Basic correspondence of cultural
7、 connotations 22.1.2 Partial correspondence of cultural connotations 22.1.3 No correspondence of cultural connotations 22.2 The causes of the discrepancy between cultural connotations between Chinese and English animal words 32.2.1 Religion 32.2.2 History 32.2.3 Geographical environment 42.2.4 Custo
8、ms 53. Some Methods of translating animal words 63.1 Literal translation 63.2 Substitution 73.3 Liberal translation 84.Translations change as the time changes 85.Conclusion 9A Comparison of Cultural Connotations Between Chinese and English Animal Words and their Translation1. IntroductionIn the long
9、 history of human beings, animals are always closely related to our existence and development. Some are a kind of important food to people; some offer the labor for agriculture; some support the inspirations for some inventions of science and technology; and some are a kind of close friends of peopl
10、e, playing an important role in the mankinds society. Thus animal words and expressions have slowly become a significant member of the basic vocabulary of many languages in the world. Chinese and English are no exception. Some animal words in Chinese and English are the same or similar in cultural c
11、onnotations, because the Chinese people and the English people have some same capabilities of thought, some same laws of cognition, and some animals have the same important role in the human life of these two nations, and have the same attributes and features. But some of them are dissimilar or diff
12、erent. The cause of it is that the English people and the Chinese people are different in religion, history, geographical environment, customs and so on. This paper tries to elaborate the similarities and the differences between the cultural connotations carried by animal words in Chinese and Englis
13、h, find out the causes of differences, and then discuss some methods and techniques for translating these animal words.2. Cultural connotations of animal words in Chinese and English In linguistics, English lexicon includes simple words, compounds and idioms. And the meaning of a word includes gramm
14、atical meaning and lexical meaning. Lexical meaning has two parts. They are conceptual meaning and cognitive meaning. The former is the center of the meaning of the word, and it indicates definitely the object. Conceptual meaning has comparative stability, so it is also called referential meaning. C
15、ognitive meaning has the meaning of emotional color, it shows emotions and attitudes to the contents that the word refers to. So cognitive meaning is also called connotative meaning. Cultural connotation contains cognitive meanings and cultural meanings. Cultural connotation of a word refers to the
16、cultural information that a word has been given by the society, including the added meaning or the implied meaning given by the social background, and the special feelings conveyed among a certain social group.2.1 A Comparison of cultural connotations of animal words in Chinese and English According
17、 to the linguistic-domain category, there are three cases in correspondence of Chinese and English animal words. They are basic correspondence, partial correspondence, and no correspondence. 2.1.1 Basic correspondence of cultural connotationsThere are various things in the world. Different nations h
18、ave different views to different objective things, but all human beings have some similar capabilities of thought, some same laws of cognition, and some animals have some same attributes. In different languages, some same animals will be endowed with the same or similar images. These images will mak
19、e different nations have a same or similar association of some ideas. Their usages and meanings both in Chinese and English are basic correspondence or similarity.e.g. (1) eat like a wolf 狼吞虎咽 (2) fish in trouble water 浑水摸鱼 (3) ride the tiger 骑虎难下 (4) parrot what other people say 鹦鹉学舌 (5) kill two b
20、irds with one stone 一石二鸟2.1.2 Partial correspondence of culture connotations. The English culture connotations of some animal words are the same or similar to the Chinese cultural connotations of other Chinese animal words. Their implied meanings are the same, but their names are different. This is
21、a case that we often have in translation.e.g. (1) kill the goose that lay golden eggs 杀鸡取卵 (2) as strong as a horse 壮如牛 (3) like a dunk to water 如鱼得水 (4) a drowned rat 落汤鸡 (5) like a cat on hot bricks 热锅上的蚂蚁 (6) Better be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion. 宁为鸡头，不为凤尾 2.1.3 No correspondence o
22、f cultural connotationsBecause of the differences between the two cultures and image thoughts of the two nations, its natural that the two nations have different emotional reaction to the same kind of animal. In different cultures and civilizations, the same kind of animal might be given different c
23、ultural connotations, which will lead to the vacancy of cultural connotation in the other language, and lead to the obstacles for cross-exchanges. For example, peacock(孔雀) represents “arrogance” in English, but it stands for “beauty” in Chinese. The Chinese think “owl”(猫头鹰) means “ill-omened”, while
24、 in English culture, it is viewed as “wisdom”. And “鸳鸯” means that husband and wife in Chinese, but “mandarin duck” has not such cultural connotation in English. “山羊” has no special meaning in Chinese, but “goat” means “lecher” in English. In Chinese we have the idiom “指鹿为马”, but the equal expressio
25、n in English is “talk black into white”. The English version of the Chinese saying “挂羊头卖狗肉” is “to cry up wine and sell vinegar”.2.2 The causes of the discrepancy between cultural connotation of English and Chinese animal words The culture of a nation is formed by many factors. And the development o
26、f a society influences the formation, the development and the disappearance of the culture. Cultural connotations of some animal words in English and Chinese are closely related to the religion, history, geographical environment, and the customs of a nation. According to these factors, I will take s
27、ome typical animals for example to elaborate the causes of their discrepancies in Chinese and English.2.2.1 ReligionWe know that there is a big difference between the Chinese religion and the English religion. The Chinese people believe in Buddhism, but the English people believe in Christianity. Th
28、at is why some animal words about religion are quite different in Chinese and English. For instance, “dragon” and “龙” have different cultural connotations in the two languages, Chinese and English. In the Chinese culture, “龙” has been a symbol of “power, being sacred” from ancient times to now. In t
29、he feudal society, emperors were addressed with “真龙天子”. To some extent, “龙”is a symbol of China in the world, which stands for the source of the Chinese culture of about five thousand years. It is a special product of the Chinese culture. The Chinese take proud of being “the descendants of dragon”(龙
30、的传人). Some Chinese idioms like “望子成龙”, “龙凤呈祥”are well known to the Chinese. Their meanings contain a commendatory sense. But because of the influence of the Bible, the dragon in westerners minds is a kind of evil monster, which can vomit fire and sometimes possess three to nine heads. Therefore, the
31、re are few idioms and phrases about dragon in English. Generally speaking, in English the word dragon has a derogatory sense when it is used to refer to somebody. Collins Cobuzld English Language Dictionary explains: If you call a woman as a dragon, you mean that she is fierce and unpleasant. So “亚洲
32、四小龙” is often translated as “ the four tigers of Asia”, not “the four dragons of Asia”.We have some other idioms that are associated with animals from the Bible: (1)cast pearl before swine 明珠暗投（把珍珠抛给猪）(2)separate the sheep from the goats 把好人与坏人分开2.2.2 HistoryEach nation has its own unique history, which affects the culture of theirs. Meanwhile the history is an important part and factor of each nations culture.In Chinese, “ox” has the same meaning as the “horse” in English. Thats caused by their different histories. The earliest cultivation mainly depended o
