Abstract In both Chinese and English, there are a lot of animal metaphors。 They usually not only have basic meanings but also have deep connotations and symbolic meanings。 In different culture, animal metaphors have different connotations and symbolic meanings which are caused by literary factors, religion, mode of thinking and values。 Without the cultural backgrounds, people will face the pragmatic failures in daily communication。 This thesis, from the studies of animal metaphors and cultural differences, tries to throw out some suggestions which can help people avoid the pragmatic failures caused by animal metaphors in daily communication。94700

Keywords: animal metaphors; cultural difference; connotation; pragmatic failures

摘要在英汉两种语言中，有许多的动物隐喻。它们不仅有表面的基本意义，还有深层的引申意义和象征意义。在不同的文化中，由于文学因素，宗教，思维模式和价值观的影响，动物隐喻有着不同的引申义。没有文化背景的支撑，人们在日常交流中便可能会出现语用失误。本文以动物隐喻和文化差异的各种研究为基础，旨在为人们提出一些关于规避在日常交流中由于动物隐喻引起的语用失误的建议。

毕业论文关键词：动物隐喻；文化差异；引申义；语用失误

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

2。 Literature Review 1

3。 Comparative Study on Animal Metaphors in Chinese and English 2

3。1 Same animal metaphors with different cultural connotations 3

3。2 Different animal metaphors with similar cultural connotations 4

4。 Reasons for Cultural Differences in Animal Metaphors 5

4。1 Literary factors 5

4。2 Religion 6

4。3 Mode of thinking 6

4。4 Values 7

5。 Suggestions to Avoid Pragmatic Failures Caused by Cultural Differences in Animal Metaphors 7

5。1 Improve intercultural awareness 8

5。2 Develop the ability of intercultural communication 9

5。3 Establish a tolerant attitude to different culture 10

6。 Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1。 Introduction 

During the development of human beings, animals keep a close relation with human beings and play an important role in human life。 In ancient times, people hunted animals and used animal fur to make clothes。 Nowadays, with the development of economy and science, people no longer hunt animals。 However, animals are still rooted in human culture。 People often use animals to express their emotions and feelings。 What’s more, people often associate animals with metaphors to convey their implications。 A metaphor is a figure of speech。 It usually contains an implied comparison。 It can provide similarities hidden between two ideas clearly and vividly。 According to Lakoff, metaphor is a device of the imagination which can make the language poetic and rhetorical, a matter of extraordinary rather than ordinary language (Lakoff and Johnsen 4)。 For example, he has neither friends nor family。 His life is a lonely kite。 This sentence contains a metaphor。 It does not using the words like or as。 However, we can understand that he is very lonely, just like a kite flying alone in the sky。 Every metaphor is the result of a personal innovation at a particular time (Fernando 18)。 Lots of people prefer to use metaphors to express their feelings because metaphor makes language more interesting and more humorous。 Animal metaphors are rich in Chinese and English。 More and more people use animal metaphors in intercultural communication。 However, under the different cultural backgrounds, animal metaphors have different connotations。 If people do not know the cultural differences, there will be pragmatic failures。 This thesis begins with the comparative study on animal metaphors in Chinese and English, from the view of literature, religion, mode of thinking and values, analyzing the reasons for cultural difference in animal metaphors。 And try to make some suggestions which can help people avoid pragmatic failures caused by cultural differences in animal metaphors。