英汉名字比较-英文版.doc

A contrastive study to Chinese name and English name
For a long time, name has been an important mark of individual identification in human society. In communicative activities, people usually begin with each other’s name. Name, as a culture carrier, has rich and profound cultural connotation, which also reflects the characteristics of national culture. The paper will attempt to analyze the distinguishing features of Chinese name and English name from two aspects.
1. The origin of family name
The Chinese family names are numerous, and there are no accurate statistics until now. The number of family name we use frequently is about 100, which are derived from the following several aspects: the totem of ancestor, such as Niu, Ma, Long, Yang, Li and so on; the place where they lived, for example, Zhao, Qin, Han, Chen; the official position, Si Ma, Si Tu; the profession, Shi( whose ancestor was a stonecutter), Tu( butcher),Tao( potter); the color, Huang, Bai, Lan
Although there is a big difference between Chinese and English culture, the source of name has a lot in common. English name comes mainly from the following aspects: the profession, which is more common than Chinese name, such as Baker, Tailor, Hunter. Take Smith as an example, it’s an usual family in English country, because there were many kinds of craftsmen in early British society, Goldsmith, Coopersmith, Blacksmith, then as the time passed by, Smith has become a family name; the place people lived, Field, Hill, Lane, Bush; natural phenomena, Snow, Summer, May; the animals, Bird, Lame, Bull; the bodily form or appearance of one person, Longman, Fatt, Armstrong; Raised by human migration, Scot( Scotchman), and Wallace( the Welsh), they were newcomers migrating to England
2. The naming convention
Chinese name is made of family name and given name, and family name comes before given name. When people are given their names, profound meanings are in them, and a distinction should be made between males and females. Men’s names are generally with masculinity, which stands for strength and braveness. While women’s names are often with a beautiful, virtuous, and lovely image. The characteristics of naming convention can be summed up in following kinds: the expectation and aspiration from parents, anguo, yongqing, zhaodi, wenshu; the season, weather and place of birth, huanghe, dongsheng, xue(my elder sister’s first name is xue, for she was given a birth on a snowy day); the plant and flower, mei, lan, ju, tao; the “Eight Characters” of one person, my litter brother’s name is yan(炎），for a fortune-teller told my grandpa the boy was short for fire in his fate; the historical events, but it’s not usual now, such as jiefang, yuejin, zhenhua
English names are generally made of two parts as well, but family name comes after given name. English names have something in common with Chinese name, here we talk about the difference: Named after their parents or good friends, the America ex-president Franklin Roosevelt named his son as Franklin Roosevelt Jr.(小）；Named after the celebrity or deity, Washington, Lincoln, Diana,John; the nickname of some religious sect, William is called Bill for showing intimacy, Richard short for Dick, and Elizabeth for Bess
Name is the sign and symbol of every social member, whose social function is to distinguish each other. However, it implies a national language, history, geography, religion and cultural
tradition. Actually, name system is one kind of cultural phenomenon. For example, Chinese name put family name at first, which convey a concept of clanism, group consciousness, and genetic connection. On the contrary, English name puts given name first, because they place emphasis on personality and individual. Their value is to respect independent personality and subject consciousness. By the comparison of Chinese name and English name, we will have a deeper understanding of our culture. At the same time, we’ll know foreign culture much well, which is useful to conduct an effective conversation with a foreigner and avoid misunderstanding to achieve a win-win situation.