跨文化交际课件第四章语言与文化Language-and-culture.ppt

1、Language and Culture“Careful with fire,”is good advice,we know;“Careful with words,”is ten times doubly so.Will Carleton,The First Settlers StoryCase 1 Shoes for Street WalkingwIt is said that in Rome,in front of a shoe store,there was such a sign to attract English-speaking customers:Shoes for stre

2、et walking.Come in and have a fit.The sign caught the attention of many English-speaking tourists,but not to look at the shoes displayed in the windows,but to read the sign and then break out into laughter.Case 2 Look Out!wA foreign student in the U.S.was sitting by a window reading a book.She heard

3、 someone yelling“Look out!”,so she stuck her head out of the window.Just then a board hurtled down from above,narrowly missing her.She looked up,half in anger and half in fright.There was a man on the roof doing repairs.“Didnt you hear me call Look out?”he demanded.“Yes,and thats what I did,”she rep

4、lied.Case 3 A Misunderstanding Caused by a JokewRoger was the Personnel Executive of a large American multinational firm.In 1996,Roger was working in Brazil to help promote their business.One evening,there was a party,attended by both his employees from the United States and many Brazilian business

5、people.At the party,Roger bumped into Rosalita,a Brazilian woman he had known for some time.Roger generally had a very good impression of Rosalita and always felt at ease with her,so that he felt free to tell jokes and share personal thoughts,and talk about Brazil and Brazilian life without having t

6、he jitters of offending Rosalita.wDuring the party,Rosalita said to Roger,“Id like to introduce you to one of my good friends.She is a very capable woman and is presently thinking of working in a joint venture so she can provide a better living for her large family.She is very much interested in you

7、r company.”Hearing that,Roger smiled and replied,“OK,but I just hope I dont get hustled.”unfortunately,Rogers reply made Rosalita quite upset.Very soon she excused herself as politely as she could,and did not speak with Roger for the rest of the evening.Words different in denotationwA term in one la

8、nguage does not necessarily have a counterpart in the other language;wWords or terms in both languages appear to refer to the same object or concept only on the surface,but actually refer to quite different things;Words different in denotationwThings or concepts are represented by one or perhaps two

9、 terms in one language,but by many more terms in the other language,i.e.finer distinctions exist in the other language;Words different in denotation in two culturesw“豆腐”“阴阳”“双规”“二奶”w“hamburger”“granny-sitter”“pollen count”w“药店”“drugstore”；“当然”“of course”w“带、扛、背、挑、提、荷、挎”=“carry”w“叔、伯、舅、姨父、姑父”=“uncle”

10、w“副”=“vice,deputy,under,assistant”叔叔伯伯舅舅姨夫姑父阿姨姑姑舅母婶婶小姨子小叔子小舅子大嫂妹夫婆婆公公岳母岳父表兄堂兄（弟）表姐（妹）堂姐（妹）连襟妯娌Kinship terms and morew林黛玉的母亲是贾宝玉的姑母，贾宝玉的母亲是林黛玉的舅母，又是薛宝钗的姨母。wa homeless dogw丧家之犬Words different in connotation in two cultureswcolorswanimalswnumberscolors 红糖 红茶 眼红 开门红 红白喜事 清白 白眼 青天 背黑锅 黄色书刊a blue Mondaya

11、white liea green woundyellow journalisma black eyered-letter daysColor termsChineseEnglishRedyellowgreenbluewhiteColor termsChineseEnglishRedprosperity,success,celebration;jealous,angrydangerousyellow obscene,lucky,royal familycoward,mean,warninggreena husband who has a disloyal wifenew,young,jealou

12、s,moneyblueobscene,sad,noblewhiteClear,pure,invalid,antirevolutionary,freepure,legal,just,happy,antirevolutionaryAnimalChineseEnglishoxdevotion/hardworkingfoodhorsedevotion/hardworkingdragonnobilityevilphoenixqueenlyrebirth/resurrectionsnakeslithery/harmfulslitheryrabbittimidattractivechickenprostit

13、utetimidAnimalChineseEnglishantsolidarityhardworkingbeehardworkingbusymandarin ducklovedove/dogloveowlbad luckwisdomturtle/cranelongevityelephantclumsy/uselesslongevitymagpiesymbol of good luckgossip AnimalChineseEnglish beavereager/anxiousimpatientswangraceful/noblegraceful/noblepeacocksymbol of lu

14、ck/beautyproud/showypigstupiditydirtyass/goosestupiditybatgood fortunehappinessugly/frighteningblood-suckinglambfoodsymbol of religion Favorite animalswChinese:wcrane,cat,rabbit,ox,horse,panda,swan,peacock,goldfish,birdsEnglish:Dog,cat,horse,birds,sheepNumbers in Englishw3w Christian TrinityFather,S

15、on,and Holy SpiritwAll good things go by threes.（好事成三）w7wChristian religion believes that God created the world by seven days,and thus seven virtues(trust,hope,tenacity,prudent,control,fair and benevolence)and seven sins(gluttony,greed,sloth,wrath,pride,lust and envy)wseven heavenw9wA cat has nine livesTaboow13&4