英汉语言特点对比-综述

2.This self-contained and self-sufficient farming culture brews satisfaction and conservatism. A farmer is tied to his land, clinging to his farm and hating to move. He is given to fatalism because he depends on the treacherous weather , the unpredictable will of heaven to nourish his crops. He is easily content with whatever he can wring from the land to keep him alive. Eg. 汉字的“男” “妇” －－－男主外，女主内
4.Nomadic peoples were either driven by bad climate and harsh life or tempted by abundant wealth to sweep south to sack the north China plains.
5.With a size approximately the same as Europe, China’s arable land constitutes only a small percent of latter. In this respect, she is god-forsaken because almost two-thirds of it is swallowed by untamable plateaus and deserts. The pressure has been great of a dense population on limited farmland.
In the southwest--- impassable valleys and jungles
Chinese environmental influences upon culture:
1.It allows a vast living space for large number of tribes to survive, to move and to intermingle in the north and south of China.
3.The vast areas of living space allow plenty of leeway for mobility and the intermingling of tribes and peoples in China proper. Even in prehistory, large numbers of peoples -----rice-eaters, dry crop raisers and herdsman, already settled the continent of China. This vastness dwarfs the other ancient civilizations--the Nile Valley, the Mesopotami, the Indus Valley and Greece. Most of the settled area was almost 10 million square kilometers in the temperate zone---rich enough to support at least a huge population many times those elsewhere.
Summary: China is besieged on all sides by natural barriers. This renders it impossible to communicate with the outside in prehistory . It gives rise to the wall mentality of a continental people showing no interest in the sea.
2.Why the two cultures are different?
Cultures are co-products and reflections of climate, geography and human society in different corners of the world.
1）“日出而作，日落而息。凿井而饮，耕田而食。 帝力何有于我哉？” 2）请回顾《桃花源记》
3）“智者乐水，仁者乐山；智者动，仁者静；智 者乐，仁者寿。”
1）“Rise with the sun to work, retire with the sun to rest. Farm the land for food, sink a well for water. What has heaven got for me ?‖ 3) ―The knowledgeable love waters, the benevolent love mountains; the former are active, the latter are tranquil; the former enjoy a happy life, the latter enjoy a long life.‖
Contrastive Studies of English and Chinese
(General Introduction)
自然
互动
人
文化
Physical Environment
inter来自百度文库ct
Man
Culture
Physical Environment
Limit the activity of Man
―All land under heaven belongs to the king, all people within the seas are subjects of the king.‖
This misconception was later blown into ignorance of self-imposed enclosure and containment in early modern times against all communication with outside world.
“一方水土养一方人。”
A land nurtures a nation。
Contrast:
The Chinese has huge areas to maneuver; the Greek has restricted areas to move. The Chinese soil is fertile. The Greek soil is poor. The Chinese seas are boundless and frightful, the Greek seas are peaceful, friendly , and full of chances and lures.
翻译基础
英汉语言特点对比
（综述）
Please think over the questions.
1.Why the two languages are different?
Languages are the carriers of cultures. Cultures are roots of languages.
If the Chinese seas look unnavigable , the Greek seas look like swimming pools. The Chinese sailor, if he happens to be bold, sails for days without any land in sight. In fact, he can easily get drowned before he has a chance to get anywhere. The Greek sailor, who is always fortunate, can spot islands in all directions on clear days. With these stepping-stones, he can reach any part of the Mediterranean to trade, to stay, to conquer and to colonize.
Chinese culture’s disadvantages
1.This human habitat is too congenial to produce an outward-looking, adventurous , sea-faring culture. The rest of this congeniality is a peaceful people, indulging in an uneventful life of the simple rhythmical pulse of nature. Eg:
China –in a pocket
To the east—boundless and unfathomable seas; In the north--- harsh Mongolian Plateau
In the northwest---largest deserts on earth In the west--- inhospitable roof of the world
3. The geographical isolation of China coaxed Chinese into a misbelief of the world: The world id China, China is the world. Eg ―溥天之下，莫非王土；率土之 滨，莫非王臣。”－－－《诗经》
Chinese culture’s advantages
1.The relative isolation encourages the maintenance of uniqueness. 2.The variety of terrain and climate is conducive to the flourishing of regional cultures.
Shape culture
Raised above the environment
Dominate the nonhuman world
Man
Create culture Follow nature
Bound by the natural limits
Created by man Influence man’s activity culture Conditioned by the physical world
Terrain Environment 地形
(physical world)
Climate
气候
environment
Way of thought
culture
condition
create
custom
Language
Man
Italy, Greece--origins of western culture and English language
2.It nurtures a continental culture looking inward, a farming culture bent on soil, discouraging the emergence of an adventures sea-faring people. 3.The natural barriers within the vast territories block easy communication to help create cultures , subcultures and unintelligent dialects.