the-different-connotation-of-animals-words(英语专业论文)本科学位论文.doc

中国某某某某学校学生毕业设计(论文)题 目：The Different Connotation of Animals Words 姓 名 ： 00000000 班级、学号 ： 000000000 系 (部) ： 经济管理系 专 业 ： 商务英语 指导教师 ： 00000000 开题时间： 2009-4-10 完成时间： 2009-10-30 2009 年 10 月 30 日22目 录毕业设计任务书1毕业设计成绩评定表2答辩申请书 3-5正文6-24答辩委员会表决意见25答辩过程记录表26课 题 The Different Connotation of Animal Words 一、 课题(论文)提纲1.摘要 2.在中国和英国相同动物的相同含义 2.1蜗牛2.2狐狸2.3其它动物 3.在中国和英国相同动物的不同含义 3.1猫 3.2鱼 3.3狗 4.不同动物的相同含义 5结论二、内容摘要几个世纪以来,动物作为人类的朋友,在与人类长相处过程中建立密切关系.人们借物喻人,寓情于物,来表达不同的人类情感和社会现象.英汉两种语言皆有丰富的动物内涵意思.然而由于不同的东西方文化风俗习惯,东西方人们对动物有不同的理解,所以说在中国和英国,动物的隐含义是有很大不同的.在这篇论文中,首先我主要分析了在不同国家动物相似的隐含义,其次叙述了在不同国家动物的不同隐含义,最后我以一些例证来解释了在不同国家不同动物也有相同的隐含义.三、 参考文献1徐东霞. The Translation of Animal Idioms in a Cultural Discrepancies Perspective D，上海外国语大学硕士论文，20082金惠康. 跨文化交际翻译M 中国对外翻译出版公司，20043胡文仲. Aspects of Intercultural Communication-Proceedings of Chinas 2nd Conference on Intercultural CommunicationC 外语教学与研究出版社，19994陈治安. Communication between CulturesM 外语教学与研究出版社，20005包惠南. 文化语境与语言翻译M 中国对外翻译出版公司， 20036吴幼娟. 词语翻译丛谈续编M 中国对外翻译出版公司， 20007郭敏. Cultural Differences between English and Chinese Proverbs and Their TranslationD, 西南大学硕士学位论文，2008The Different Connotation of Animal Words00000AbstractAnimals are peoples friends for centuries of years, so they have a very close relationship with human beings. People adopt different species of animal as metaphors in an expressive way to express their feelings or to describe social phenomena. Both English and Chinese are rich in their meaning. However owing to the different national characteristics between eastern and western cultures, the attitudes between easterners and westerners towards animals are different .therefore, there is different connotative meaning between English and Chinese animal word.In my paper, firstly I mainly analyze the same connotation of animal words in English and Chinese. And then I write the different connotative meaning of animal words. The last, I simply take some example to explain that the different words also have the same connotative meaning.Key Words: Animal; Connotative meaning 1. IntroductionAs animals are peoples friends for centuries of years, the long-term close relationship has made people learn of the characteristics of various animals. People associate their feelings and social phenomena with different species of animals, therefore animal Connotation are rich in their own cultural meanings, whether in English or in Chinese. However, owing to the different cultural background between English and Chinese, different cultural meaning of animal are derived, whether to those animals having certain associated characteristics in one culture but not in the other, or to those animals with certain associated qualities in both cultures but with different meanings. These cultural discrepancies indicate the different national characteristics such as economic development, geographical conditions, fable and mythology, literature, folk customs and social practice, religion, etc between the eastern and western countries. For example, the ostrich policy, in English it means cheating oneself. We have “as black as a crow” in English and “黑得象乌鸦”in Chinese ,both having the same implication of “darkness”.This thesis is constructed in the following structure. Chapter 1 is focus on the same connotative meaning in both English and Chinese, which come from several animals. Chapter 2 is on the different connotative mining in English and Chinese. Chapter 3 comes from the same connotation of different animal words.2. Animal words having nearly the same connotative meaning in both English and Chinese People of different race live in the same world. So it is possible for them to share similar experiences. Some animal words gradually get the same connotative meaning both in Chinese and in English. 2.1 SNAIL The English word snail denotes a slimy slow creeping animal which eats plants and has a wet skin, without bones. A snail secretes a slimy path over which it progresses, slowly by rhythmic contractions of the muscular base or foot. So the most important feature of a snail helps to make the connotative meaning of being extremely slow, as is shown in the following sentence:The road was full of traffic and we were traveling at a snails pace for two hours.A snail is often used to refer to a drone, slow moving or working person, who maybe lazy or sluggish. The Chinese equivalent“蜗牛”also has the connotative meaning of small and slow.“蜗行”(snail creeping) is snail-paced walk or work, quite slow.“蜗角”(snail horn) is the horn of snail, which figuratively means little space. “蜗舍”(snail house) is figuratively used to stand for small and shabby rooms like the shell of a snail. From comparing semantic idea of snail we can come to the conclusion that both snail and蜗牛have the same connotative meaning in Chinese and in English. It is safe to take this animal as something or somebody, slow and small, in reading literary works.2.2 FOX The word fox has the following denotations as a wild mammal belonging to the dog family, are traditionally thought to be clever and good at deceiving people. For example:When the fox says hes vegetarian, its time for the hen to look out.Thus human beings are sometimes compared to them. It refers to a crafty, sly or clever person. Fox in a lambs .skin is a person pretended to be friendly. The fox also means a sexually attractive woman or a good-looking young man. The fox and the grapes is a phrase, which comes from Aesop s Fables. A famished fox saw some clusters of ripe black grapes hanging from a trellised vine. She resorted to all her tricks to get at them, but wearied herself in vain, for she could not reach them. At last she turned away, hiding her disappointment and saying: The Grapes are sour, and not ripe as I thought. This phrase says of someone who wants a thing badly but cant obtain it, and so tries to pretend that he doesnt want it at all. The word fox has the same connotation in Chinese. Sure it is safe. A suspicious person can be called foxy. Consequently“狐疑不决”(foxy and undetermined) means being indecisive in ones mind like a fox. So“狐狸”，in Chinese also refers to a cunning and suspicious person.“狐媚”(foxy charm) means the flattery measures taken by women to bewitch men. “狐狸精”(fox spirit) symbolizes a seductive woman. A gang of scoundrels is often called“狐朋狗友”(fox and dog friends)A story is about the fox .A tiger caught a fox which looking for any beast that might come his way and fall a prey to him. Dont you dare eat me! said the fox. The emperor of Heaven has made me king of the beasts. You eat me and you will be going against His order. If you dont believe what I say, just let me lead the way and you follow close behind. Then well see if they will flee or not at the sight of me. The tiger agreed to the idea, and so the two of them set off together. When the other beasts saw them coming, they all turned tail. Not realizing it was he that was the cause of their panic stricken flight; the tiger thought they were afraid of the fox. That phrase is 狐假虎威”，the fox assumes the tigers might. 2.3 Other animalsApart from the above examples there are some other animals that have similar associations in both cultures. The following are some other animals, which share similar symbolic meaning in Chinese and in English:Lamb: innocence and self-sacrifice(小羊象征无辜和祭品)Tiger: ferocity(虎象征凶猛)Swan: grace(天鹅象征优雅)Wolf: cruelty and ferocity良象征残忍和凶猛)Ass: stupidity(驴象征愚蠢)Bee: industry(蜜蜂象征勤劳)Dove: innocence and harmlessness(鸽象征天真和无害)3 Animal words having different connotative meanings in English and Chinese Though people in different places can get to know the world in similar ways, more often than not they have their unique impression about nature due to different living conditions, customs, and value orientations. So it is quite common that the same animal stands for different even contrasting symbolism.3.1 CAT The cat is a small carnivorous furry mammal, domesticated since early times, usually kept as a pet or to catch mice and rats. It also refers to a woman considered as spiteful like an old cat, so that a spiteful remark is said to be catty. Cat is an informal term for a youth or man, such as a cool cat, referring to a fashionable person. There are so many phrases about cat in English, which reflect the characteristics and cultural heritage concerning this animal. Catwalk is a narrow footway or gangway over a theatre stage or along a bridge. Cats nap means the short sleep in a chair instead of in bed. Cats paw is one who is used merely for convenience of a clever or stronger person. Cat-and-dog life is a life of continual quarrelling and fighting. To let the cat out of the bag means to tell the truth of a long and well-kept secret. The expression comes from an old tradesmans trick of holding a cat in a bag and trying to sell it as a pig. A smart buyer, of course, would look inside the bag and learn the truth when the cat jumps out. When a man feels squeezed, with not enough space to move around in, he may say in protest, I dont have enough room to swing a cat! While the cats away, the mice will play means that when the person who is in charge of a place is not there, people there will behave badly. In Chinese“猫”(cat) is a popular domestic animal, but seldom refers to a person.“猫眼”(cats eye) is a kind of jewel as well as a convex tens installed in door to see the comer from inside. “猫儿食”(cats food) is not food for cat. When we say a person does not have an appetite and eats little food, we say he eats“猫儿食”because generally speaking cats have a small appetite. “猫哭老鼠 (cat cries for mouse) means to shed crocodile tears. When thieves and police corporate, they act in collision with each other. In this case, we can say “猫鼠同眠”(cats and mice sleep together). The word cat has much more connotative meanings in English than in Chinese. It is rich in connotation in English partly for the reason of tradition and habits: cats have been kept as pets and are closely associated with people. Some literary works serve as other explanations for its popularity.3.2 FISH In Chinese its equivalent“鱼” has several connotations.Firstly,“鱼”implies a bad person.“鱼龙混杂”(dragons and fish jumbled together) means bad persons mingled with good ones. It also refers to something fake and shoddy, for example“鱼目混珠”(fish eyes mingled with pearls). Secondly, it means to persecute or to be cruelly injured. As is originally reported in The Records the Historians,“如今人为刀姐，我为鱼肉”(to be meat on somebodys chopping block) here“鱼肉”means somebody to be killed or cruelly injured, just like a fish to be cut into pieces before the cook put it into the pot.“鱼肉百姓 (to oppress the people savagely) is another phrase which suggests oppression without mercy. Thirdly,“鱼水”(fish and water) is metaphorically applied to harmonious relationship. It can be the relationship between husband and wife as well as emperor and officials. Now the phrase“鱼水情深” is applicable to any harmonious relation, and“如鱼得水”(to feel like a fish in water) is a favorable environment for a person. Last but not least,“鱼”has the same pronunciation as“余”，which means abundance, so“年年有余”(be abundant every year) became an auspicious remark used to express best wishes for the future. It is well known that England is a country surrounded by water. Its fishery was much developed even in the early days. Fish has been playing an important role in their daily life, especially for the fishermen. That is why the word fish has many connotative meanings. In English fish often refers to a person or guy. A cold fish is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone. For example some people will give a party and they are discussing whom to invite. One of them says, Lets not invite Joe to the party: he is such a cold fish hell spoil it for everybody else. A queer fish is an eccentric person who behaves strangely. Since fish lives in water, we Chinese say如鱼得水”when one is in favorable conditions, while Americans use the phrase a fish out of water to mean that one is out of his natural element or surroundings. If one feels like a fish out of water, he must be awkward, out of place and at a loss. A country girl is likely to feel like a fish out of water among so many well-dressed and cultured people. A fish drinks water in order to breathe. If one drinks like a fish, it doesnt mean that he drinks a lot of water, but regularly drinks a lot of alcohol. There is another expression in English that means “you are in trouble or a thorough unsatisfactory state of affairs that is You are in a fine kettle of fish.” If you have other business to occupy the time, you may say I have other fish to fry. The proverb There is as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it means even if one chance or something has not been seized, there will be plenty of others. To fish means try to catch fish. It figuratively means trying to get by indirect means, such as fishing for compliments, which is equal to making an effort to attract admiring words. To fish in troubled waters is to win advantages for oneself from a disturbed state of affairs. To fish or cut bait has a literal meaning whether to proceed with an activity or abandon it altogether. A father may say so to his son, Son, either go on to college or go out and find yourself a job. It is time to fish or cut bait. “There are more other fish in the sea means that there are many other people or possibilities, especially when one person or thing has been unsuitable or unsuccessful.3.3 DOG A dog is an animal that is often kept as a pet or used to guard or hunt things. In the old days people used to train dogs to protect themselves against attacks by other beasts. And later they came to realize that a dog was not only useful for protection but also willing to obey his master. But now people keep dogs mainly for companionship or friendship. Owing to their different living conditions and value systems, the English and Chinese people have their own individual state of mind and ways of perception, which is reflected in words concerning dog. Generally speaking, Chinese looked down upon this humble animal. They prefer to use the word