A paper on cultural differences between China and the West.

Cultural Differences and Language Differences between China and the West In the minds of China people, "intense heat" and "intense heat" are always associated with intense heat. But in one of Shakespeare's sonnets, there is such a poem. Can I compare them to summer? /You are cuter and warmer. Can I compare summer with you? /You are lovelier and more beautiful than summer. )

The poet compares his lover to summer, which is lovely and warm. "Summer" brings such different associations to China and Britain. The reason lies in their different geographical locations. China is located in the Asian continent, with a continental climate and four distinct seasons. The most obvious feature of summer is the scorching sun and unbearable heat. Britain, on the other hand, is located in the northern temperate zone, with a maritime climate, sunny summer and mild and pleasant weather. Of course, there are many such examples. For example, the Chinese word "east wind" reminds people of warmth and warmth, while the west wind makes people have a biting taste. In the west, the situation is just the opposite. The reason is the same, because the different geographical locations of the two places bring different feelings.

Second, productive labor.

There are many words related to aquatic products and ships in English, such as fish in the air, a strange fish, and missing the ship. There are far fewer such words in Chinese. The reason is that the waters around Britain, aquaculture and navigation play an important role in its economic life, so there are many such words. In China, only the coastal areas have fishermen casting nets, so there are relatively few such words.

There are many verbs in Chinese that mean to "carry things by physical strength", such as "carry, carry, carry, carry, carry, carry, carry". Every word has some negative things in it (for example, carrying earth, water and boxes), which is really meticulous. In English, there is only one carry to refer to this action. The reason why Chinese distinguishes this verb in detail is probably because China has been in an agricultural society for a long time and has a lot of physical labor.

In Chinese, we will encounter words such as "work like an ox" and "be as strong as an ox". In English, we will say "work like a horse, be as strong as a horse, whip a fierce horse" to express the same meaning. Why do Chinese use "ox" and English use horse? The answer is that in China, cows have always been used for farming, while in early England, horses were used for farming. Cattle and horses are divided into good helpers of the two countries in the production process, which is deeply loved by people, and the characters also have the above usage.

Third, customs and habits

1, Appellation and Appellation: When learning English, we find that the appellation in English is far less than that in Chinese. For example, the word cousin in English corresponds to cousin, cousin, cousin and cousin in Chinese. We can see that Chinese is very strict in distinguishing the relationship between cousins, which is divided into gender and size. Unlike English, it is not a common word at all. This linguistic phenomenon is attributed to the feudal rule of China for two or three thousand years. This feudal society attaches great importance to consanguinity, especially emphasizes the difference of grades and advocates the order of the young and the old. Relatives are close, young and old, gender and so on are different, and their rights and obligations are different, so the appellation is strictly and carefully distinguished. There are few appellations in English, except for father, mother, grandfather, aunt and uncle, which are often used. In Britain and the United States, it is unreasonable, impolite and ill-bred for people to address each other in China. For example, children don't call their grandparents directly, but it is appropriate, kind and in line with common funerals. Young people call them old people, and only add Mr., Mrs. or miss before their surnames. These practices reflect the idea that westerners pursue equality for all. In their eyes, appellation itself means inequality.

2. Politeness and modesty: Like appellation, politeness and modesty in English are far less than those in Chinese. In English, no matter how old or high the position is, you are you and I am me, so there is no need to use many honorifics like "you, director, engineer" in Chinese. The patriarchal clan system in China feudal society is one of the reasons for this phenomenon. It requires people to use honorifics when talking to their elders or superiors, or even peers, otherwise they will think that the words are inappropriate, rude or even arrogant; When talking about yourself, you should use modest words. If you don't use them, you will also be considered impolite. Another reason is that China people, influenced by thousands of years of traditional ideas, are unwilling to highlight themselves, and always think that "modesty" is a virtue. There are at least two reasons for such words in English:

First, westerners love to pursue equality; Second, they have long respected personal values, are willing to express themselves, and emphasize the cultivation of personal self-confidence. Dominated by the above ideas, China people and westerners have obviously different reactions to praise and congratulations. China people will say something modest after hearing this, while westerners will say "thank you" without hesitation. I once read such a joke in the newspaper. At a dance, an American praised a lady in China and said, "You look beautiful today." The China lady quickly said modestly: "Where (where), where (where)." The American was very surprised, and then she had to say, "It's everywhere."

According to the habit of westerners, when praising others, we always hope that others will answer with thanks or acceptance, otherwise they will misunderstand each other and doubt their own judgment. The East, on the other hand, is modest and prudent, and even if it is very happy, it will not accept or accept compliments from the other side.

Another example is the title of a document or paper published in an academic journal. In addition to explaining the content of the article, the titles of Chinese articles often contain words expressing modesty. For example, "about …", "about …", "about …" and so on, while the titles of English articles are often straightforward without any modification, such as science and linguistics.

3. Privacy: How old are you to most westerners? how much money do you earn? Are you married? Topics such as age, income, marital status, religious beliefs, family situation, etc. It belongs to the category of personal privacy, and it is forbidden for others to ask questions. The most common topic that westerners greet is the weather condition or weather forecast. For example, "it's good, isn't it?" It's raining hard, isn't it? "Your clothes are really nice!" Wait a minute. They never ask other people's private questions in front of people they meet for the first time or don't know very well to show their respect for each other. Chinese greetings sometimes show concern for each other.

For example, "You don't look well today. Are you sick? " "Long time no see, you have gained weight again." "You lost weight again. Pay attention to your health. " If westerners hear you say "you are so fat" or "you are so thin". Even if we are familiar with each other, we will feel embarrassed and difficult to answer because of impoliteness. China people can get to know each other's family and personal situation clearly within three minutes and half an hour. This is because different cultural backgrounds of both sides are at work. Westerners pay special attention to personal privacy. They think that personal affairs need not be known to others, let alone interfered by others. However, China people have lived in the countryside for thousands of years. They are close to each other and have a lot of contact with each other, so it is difficult not to be understood or interfere in their personal life or private affairs. In addition, China people are United and friendly, caring and helping each other, and think that personal affairs are family affairs, even collective affairs. So they are willing to know the ups and downs of others, and others are willing to tell them frankly. Of course, now in some developed or coastal cities, people are beginning to accept the views of westerners, and their speeches do not casually involve each other's privacy.

4. Religious belief

There are a large number of religious words in both Chinese and English, which are spectacular. For example, God, Yin and Yang and Bodhisattva. Language is a direct reflection of thoughts, and two different religious words are a true portrayal of different religious concepts of two ethnic groups. Before Sui and Tang Dynasties, China was dominated by Confucianism and Taoism, and many religious words in Chinese were related to this, such as "Taiji" and "Taoism". Their spirit of respecting life, filial piety and resignation can also be seen in daily language. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Buddhism was introduced in large quantities, followed by a large number of Buddhist sayings, and its reincarnation thought was accepted and digested by Confucianism and Taoism. In this way, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have occupied an absolute dominant position in China. Christianity is the main religion in Britain. This religion was introduced to Britain in 597. After a long time, a large number of related words have been integrated into English. There are not only words that infiltrated into English from Latin in the old English period, such as angel and monk, but also words borrowed from French in the middle ages, such as religion and dean, and a large number of words borrowed from other loanwords in the modern English period. Therefore, there are far more words related to religion in English than in other languages.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) historical allusions

Allusions are an important part of everyday conversation in every country. People often unconsciously use allusions from their own national cultural heritage. For example, China people will say, "This is really an afterthought" and "This turned out to be an empty plan!" Westerners will say it's all Greek to me. I know nothing about it. He is a Shylock (he is a miser). When it comes to allusions, most foreigners who don't know each other's culture are quite puzzled. Obviously, this is because different ethnic groups have different cultural backgrounds. Most of China people's allusions come from four ancient classical novels, such as A Dream of Red Mansions, folklore and myths, as well as traditional sports and entertainment projects in China, such as chess and drama. The first two examples come from China Chess and Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Western allusions mostly come from Shakespeare's plays and many other characters or names in later British and American literature, Greek and Roman myths, characters and events in the Bible, and traditional sports, such as baseball and rugby in the United States. The last two English examples come from Shakespeare's plays.

Sixth, the way of thinking

English pays attention to the use of various concrete connecting means to achieve the completeness of grammatical forms. These sentences are clear and orderly, and their syntactic functions are clear at a glance. For example, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? If winter comes, can spring be far behind? At the sight of if, the logical relationship between the two sentences is clear at a glance. In Chinese, however, conjunctions are rarely used, and sentences look loose and chaotic, and concepts, judgments and reasoning are not strict, so the logical relationship between sentences is not easy to see from the outside. For example, "fight, fight, and leave if you can't win." What are you afraid of? " There is no connection between several sentences, as if a large number of verbs are jumbled together. The relationship between sentences can't be seen at all. It is the meaning of sentences that connects them. This is what people call hypotaxis in English and parataxis in Chinese. These differences reflect the different ways of thinking between English and Chinese. The British nation attaches importance to rational and logical thinking. Han people attach importance to understanding and dialectical thinking.

Seven, individualism values

In western culture, the concept related to "self" can be said to be deeply rooted and ubiquitous. There are many self-centered words in English, such as self-absorption, self-appreciation, self-cultivation and self-image. Therefore, individualism prevails in western society, emphasizing individual freedom and not being bound by the outside world. China culture emphasizes that collective interests are higher than individual interests, and the words "country first, collective later, individual later, people first, self later" can be seen everywhere. Through simple words, we can understand two completely different cultures.

By understanding the differences between Chinese and western cultures through language comparison, people will have a deeper understanding of the two cultures, which in turn will help us master the two languages. When learning English, we should understand its cultural background and social customs and habits, and compare it with our mother tongue at any time, so as to consciously realize the root of language irregularity and the ways to avoid it, and then enhance our awareness of using standardized language. I hope it is useful to the landlord. Thank you!