英语动物词汇文化与汉语的比较分析 第5页
3.2 Lexical Gap and Cultural Gap
Lexical gap refers to an absence of a word in a particular language. Due to some regional or historical reasons, often a concept lexicalized in one language does not have a corresponding lexical unit in another language and thus presents a translation difficulty. (Wikipedia)
A culture gap is any systematic difference between two cultures which hinders mutual understanding or relations. Such differences may be that of values, behavior, and customs, backgrounds and experiences of the respective cultures.（Wikipedia）
The bird kiwi, the flightless bird endemic to and the national symbol of New Zealand, bears a special significance to New Zealanders, and it’ s so well-known and endearing that now all New Zealanders overseas and at home are commonly referred to as “kiwis”. Furthermore, kiwis are prominent in the coat of arms, crests and badges of many New Zealand cities, clubs and organizations. The non-native New Zealanders may hardly imagine how great the affection Kiwi is in because it is the indigenous animal that occurs only in New Zealand. Then, it’s even more difficult to for them to understand its cultural meanings like Kiwi ingenuity, hospitality, independence, and love for nature.
By the same token, as the national emblem of China, panda plays an important role in our culture. Since panda implies peace and harmony, giant pandas are viewed as cultural exchanges in “Panda Diplomacy” to express good wishes between China and the West in the 1970s. Also, in May 2005, China offered a breeding pair to Taiwan as the surrogates of cross-Strait relations. As one of rare species, panda is peculiar to China, and it’s for this reason the cultural meanings that panda carries are peculiar in China.
Both of the two cases cited above show us that whether a certain concept or object exists in a culture, contributes somewhat to the differences between Chinese culture and that of English. Other examples of this kind include crane, tortoise, ostrich and beaver.
3.3 Different History, Geographic Features and Mode of Production
Cattle are one of the 12-year cycles of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar. Since China is an agricultural-based country, from the time immemorial, cattle have experienced domestication and been deemed as the most important animal in China’s history. Cattle can be used for plowing, pulling carts or wagons, threshing grain by trampling, and for powering machines for grinding grain, irrigation or other purposes. The meat and milk of cow are also indispensable to our daily life. It seems to us that they are not only tough and powerful, but also able to bear hardship without complaints. It is held in ancient times that peace and harmonious symbiosis come only when people can enjoy the fun of doing farm work, and cattle have been used as the gifts to express the inclination of truce, or rewards for heroes. Therefore, as an inseparable animal on farmland, cattle are deemed as the symbol of peace. It is for this reason some idioms and sayings about this animal appear, and nearly every part of its body can be linked to idioms. As for its horn, there are“钻牛角尖”,“鼠入牛角”,“牛角挂书”,“牛角书生”, and“牛角之歌”etc; for its hair, “牛毛细雨”,“九牛一毛”, and“多如牛毛”; for its mouth,“牛口之下”; for its hoof,“牛蹄之涔”and“牛蹄之鱼”; for its head,“牛头马面”; for its hide“牛衣病卧”,“牛衣对泣”,“牛衣岁月”and“牛衣夜哭”; for its bottom,“鸡口牛后”and“羞以牛后”; and for its tongue,“老牛舐犊”.
However, the expressions about bull or ox in English are not often related to its physical features, but rather its certain propensities. “Bull-headed” refers to someone who is determined to do exactly what they want to do, and does not think about what other people want; “(as) strong as a bull” or “(as) strong as an ox” means “very strong”; and the saying “bull in a china shop” is used to identify a very clumsy creature in a delicate situation.
In comparison, horses are more 原文请找腾讯752018766优,文'论~文^网
http://www.youerw.com ” to indicate“壮如牛”,“talk horse” to“吹牛”, “horse power” to“牛劲儿”. Domestication of the horse most likely took place in central Asia prior to 3500 B.C. By riding horses, people did farm works, looked after the stock; horses were also for leisure activities, sports, warfare. The American legendary heroes, commonly known as cowboys, too, kept the cattle together, guided them to pasture, prevented their being mixed with other droves, completed their treks by riding horses. Cowboys were tended to develop extraordinary skill in horsemanship. On top of this, both live horses and iconic images of horses are used on advertising and brands, such as luxurious car Ferrari and Porsche, famous costume Polo. Other expressions about horse are “a horse of another/a different color” (another matter entirely; something else); “beat/flog a dead horse” (to continue to pursue a cause that has no hope of success; to dwell tiresomely on a matter that has already been decided); “be/get on (one’ s) high horse” (to be or become disdainful, superior, or conceited); “hold (one’ s) horses” (to restrain oneself); “the horse’s mouth” (a source of information regarded as original or unimpeachable).上一页 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] 下一页
英语动物词汇文化与汉语的比较分析 第5页下载如图片无法显示或论文不完整，请联系qq752018766
