cultural differences between ChineseEnglish Allusion.docx

cultural differences between ChineseEnglish Allusion.docx

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culturaldifferencesbetweenChineseEnglishAllusion

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吉首大学外国语学院

《西方文化概论》课程论文

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摘要

典故是语言中最具有民族文化特色的语言形式之一。

由于典故在形成发展的过程中，天然的与其所承载的文化融为一体，其语言构成和文化内涵具有凝固性、整体性和不可替代性，加上其包含深广，时空跨度大，在给语言表达增添亮丽色彩的同时，也形成了一定的文化差异。

在典故研究的基础上，本文从文化差异的角度对英汉典故进行比较与分析，揭示其文化内涵，对英语学习十分有用。

关键词：

典故文化差异对比

Abstract

Allusionisakindoflanguage,whichhasastrongnationalcolorsanddistinctiveculturalconnotations.Duringthedevelopmentofallusion,itnaturallycombinedwithitsculture,soitfeaturedwithcoagulation,overall,andirreplacement.Additionally,itincludesalargeareaofcontent.Withawidespan,itinfusesbeautifulsceneryintothelanguageaswellasbarriers.Basedonthestudyofillusion,thispapermakesacomparisonofChinese-Englishallusionfromtheperspectiveofculturaldifference,thenanalysesthedifferencebetweenthem.Revealingitsculturalconnotations,whichisveryusefulforthelanguagelearning.

KeyWords:

allusionculturaldifferencecomparison

Contents

1.Introduction………………………………………………………………………5

2.ThesimilaritybetweenChinese-Englishallusion………………………………5

2.1Origin………………………………………………………………………….5

2.2Thelargeuseofantonyms……………………………………………………..6

Collocation…………………………………………………………………….6

3.ThedifferencebetweenChinese-Englishallusion……………………………...6

Differentlivingcircumstances………………………………………...............6

Differentreligiousbelief………………………………………………………7

4.ProblemsinChinese-Englishallusiontranslation……………………………….7

5.Translationmethods……………………………………………………………….7

5.1Derecttranslation………………………………………………………………..8

5.2Inderecttranslation………………………………………………………………8

5.2.1Similarlytranslation………………………………………………………...8

5.2.2Useidiomorproverbstotranslate…………………………………………8

5.2.3Symmetry…………………………………………………………………..9

6.Conclusion………………………………………………………………………….9

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………...10

Acknowledgement…………………………………………………………………...11

1.Introduction

Allusionisaninstanceofindirectreference,whichisalwaysphilosophicalandexternal.AccordingtoOxfordAdvantagedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,allusionisanindirectreference.Inthebroadsense,allusionmayinclude:

idioms,historicalallusion,allusioninBible,phrases,proverbs,sayings,quotation;someoftheallusionsaredescriptiveandhaveadeepmeaning,sometimesunstated,carriesthemessage,reflectingthebackgroundofitshistory.WhileinChinese,allusionarecalledas‘典故’,including:

成语，谚语，短语，习语，歇后语，佛教中的典故，etc.HoweverthispaperwilldiscussChinese-Englishallusioninanarrowsense,andonlysettheculturaldifferencesunderthediscussion.

ChineseallusionandEnglishallusionaregemsoftwolanguagesaswellasthecrystallizationofthetwonationculture.Mostofallusionsareofvividimageswhichareappropriatelyusedtocomparetootherthings,consequently,theycontaindistinctivenationalandlocalcolors.Someallusionshavequiteclearmeanings;someareimplicitandprofound,whichcouldcauseagreatdealofassociation,whileothersmayincludeseveralmeanings,whichdependonthecontexttodefineitsrealindication.

BothChineseandEnglishallusionsareimportantrhetoricalmeansinlanguageaswellastheassembledmanifestationsofdifferentkindsofrhetoricalmeansinitself.Manyallusionshavesymmetricalforms,beautifulsyllablesandharmoniousrhythms.Allthesefeaturesgiverisetotheparticulardifficultiesinunderstanding,itismoredifficultytounderstandandmorechallengingtoconveytheculturalinformationclearlyandexactlythanthecommonlanguage,however,inordertokeeptheunderstandingfaithful,thesefeaturesshouldbepreserved.Soitisveryimportanttostudyculturaldifferencesofallusionsandlearnthedifferencesbetweenthem.

2.ThesimilaritybetweenChinese-Englishallusion

Origin

Languageistheexpressingofitsculture.Allusionisalsoakindoflanguage,whichisusedtoexpresspeople’sfeelingintheirdailylife.Duringtheprocessofpeople’sdevelopment,languageisabasictoolforthemtocommunicatewitheachother,somefeelingscannotexpressdirectly,sopeopletrytofindaspecialwaytoexpressitout,thenallusioncameoutduringhuman’slifeandworkactivities.BothofChineseandEnglishallusionsarefrompeople’slifeandtheyhavealonghistory.Mostofthesewordsareveryclassical,justbecausetheyareverycolloquialcouldtheybest-knownandcomedown.Forexample:

”Likefather,likeson.”isknowntoallofus.

Largeuseofantonyms

AntonymsarewidelyusedbothinChineseandEnglishallusionstogiveprominencetoitsmeaning.Antherimportantofusingantonymsistoformcomparison.Take“江山易改，本性难移。

”“人往高处走，水往低处流。

”“好话一句三冬暖，恶话一句六月寒。

”forexample,allofthemuseantonyms,andexpressitvividly,whichformabrightcomparison.ThesamethinghappenedinEnglishallusions,suchas“Alightpursemakesaheavyheart.”（钱袋轻，心事重）“Foolslooktotomorrow,andwisemenusetonight.”（蠢人指望明天，智者利用今天）“Graspall,loseall.”（样样都要，全部失掉）

Collocation

BothChineseandEnglishallusionspayattentiontocollocationinsentencestress.Thesymmetryitgivesusnomatterinradicalnorinvisionwillgiveusasenseofharmoniousandrhythm.Forexample“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。

“and“Easycome,easygo.”

3.ThedifferencebetweenChinese-Englishallusion

Differentlivingcircumstances

EnglishallusionsproducedbypeopleinEnglish-speakingcountry,theyhaveastrongreligiouscolorsandfolk-custom.Itreferstohistory,geography,political,religiousbelief,customandcivilization.EvensomeofthemoriginfromthosecountrywherepeopledonotspeakEnglish,someofthemfromHellenic,archaism,dialect,orcelebrityandmasterpiece.“Arosebyanyothernamewouldsmellassweet.”IsfromShakespeare’smasterpieceRomeoandJuliet,and“Ahousedividedagainstitselfcannotstand.”IsfromBible.While“Chinaisanagriculturalcountry.Thepeasantshavepresentedmanyallusionsaboutfarmwork,suchas‘斩草除根’whichistranslatedliterallyinto‘tocuttheweedsanddiguptheroots’,itsfigurativemeaningis‘tostampoutthesourceofthetrouble’.Moreexamples:

‘瑞雪兆丰年’（atimelysnowpromisesagoodharvest）;‘顺藤摸瓜’（itsoriginalmeaningistofollowingclues）;‘捡了芝麻，丢了西瓜’（itsoriginalmeaningistopickupthesesameseeds,butoverlookthewatermelons;itsextendedmeaningis‘mindfulofsmallmatterstoneglectoflargeones’）”（LiuJinding,1995:

4）

3.2Differentreligiousbelief

MostEnglish-speakingcountriesbelievegod,sotheyhavealotofallusionaboutgod.ManyEnglishallusionsarefromBible,forexample,”doubtingThomas”（怀疑的托马斯）isanallusionfromtheBiblenowstandsfor“不肯轻易相信别人（peoplewhowillnotbelieveinotherseasily）”.WhilemostChinesepeoplehaveastrongbeliefinBuddhism,sotherearealotChineseallusionsfromBuddhism,suchas“不看僧面看佛面”、“闲时不烧香，临时抱佛脚“、”跑得了和尚跑不了庙“etc.

4.ClturaldifferencesbetweenChinese-Englishallusion

Toabroadaspect,culturecanbedividedintomaterialcivilizationandspiritualcivilization,asanarrowaspect,culturemeansthespirituralcivilization.Withthedevelopmentofthesocietyandhumanbeing,thecultureextrangebetweendifferentcountriesbecomemoreandmorefrequent,andtherelationshipbetweenthemalsobecomecloserandcloser.Whenthestatecommunicatewitheachotherinthefomeoflanguage,whichbeapartofculture,playsanimportantroleinmessagetransition.Whiletheallusionwasjustformedinthiscertainsocialcirsumstances,withitssimpleformandmeaning,theallusionContainsallthenationalculturalcharacteristicsofeverycountry,anditistheessenseofeverynation.Becausetheformationofallusionrelatedtogeography,history,custome,religiousbelief,andsoon,thefollowpassagewillanalysistheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinese-Englishallusionfromtheseaspects.

Geographicalandculturaldifferences.

AsweallknowthatBritainisacountrysurroundedbysea,soalotofallusionsfromhereareaboutwater,sea,andnavigation,andsoon.Forexample,Hoistyoursailwhenthewindisfair;Asmallleakwillsinkagreatship.WhileChinaisalandlockedcountry,peoplehaveacloserelationshipwiththeland,somanyallusionsarerelatedtolandandfarming,suchas:

众人拾柴火焰高；竹篮打水一场空.Andthemostrepresentitiveoneis:

Whileitisfineweathermendyoursail,abigfishinasmallpond.Whenwesayapersonwhoisnotverycareofhismoneyandverylavish,wesay:

挥金如土，whileinEnglish,itistobesaidspendmoneylikewater.Allthesearethereflectofthegeographicalandculturaldifferences.

Culturaldifferencesinbackground

Chineseisheavilyaffectedbyconfucianism,somanyallusionsarefromTheFourBooksandTheFiveClassics,suchas：

己所不欲，勿施于人；得道者多助，失道者寡助；人无远虑，必有近忧。

WhilemanyEnglishspeakingcountries’peoplebelieveChristian,somanyEnglishallusionsarefromBible,Shakespeare’sworksandAesop'sFables.Forexample,Aneyeforaneye,atoothforatooth,What’sdoneisdone;Strangebedfellows;Adoginthemanager.

Thehistoricalallusionisalsodifferentforitshistorybackgrounddifference,itstandsforthehistoricalfiguresandhistoricaleventsofdifferentnationsindifferenttimes,soithasastrongethicandculturalcharacteristics.Suchas破釜沉舟arefromafamousallusioninChina.Moreexamplesare:

Romewasnotbiultinaday,appealtoCaesarthethingsthatareCaesar’s.Alltheseallusionsarefromthehistoricalfiguresandhistoricalevents.

Thedifferenceincustoms

Everynationintheworldaregenerallyinasimilarlivingcircumstanses,theirmannerofproduction