从谚语看中西文化异同

从谚语看中西文化异同



today we explain more popular proverbs. a proverb is a short, well known saying that expresses a common truth or belief. proverbs are popular around the world.

many listeners have sent us their favorite proverbs. they give advice about how to live. we begin with two popular proverbs about staying healthy by eating good food: one is an apple a day keeps the doctor away. another is you are what you eat.

several proverbs about birds also give advice. you may have heard this one: the early bird catches the worm. this means a person who gets up early, or acts quickly, has the best chance of success.

another famous proverb is a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. this means you should not risk losing something you have by seeking something that is not guaranteed.

here is another piece of advice: do not count your chickens before they are hatched. in other words, you should not think too much about some future event before it really happens.

another proverb warns do not put all your eggs in one basket. this means you should not put all of your resources together in one place because you could risk losing everything at one time. many americans learned this the hard way by investing all their money in stock shares, which then lost value. another proverb says a fool and his money are soon parted. this means someone who acts unwisely with money will lose it.

here is more advice: if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. also, never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

you might learn that haste makes waste if you do somethingso fast, resulting in mistakes. most people would agree with this proverb: honesty is the best policy.

yet another proverb advises us not to be concerned about something bad that you cannot change. it says there is no use crying over spilled milk.

do you agree with the proverb that children should be seen and not heard? maybe you have told your children that hard work never hurt anyone. but other people say that all work and no play makes jack a dull boy. they believe it is not wise to spend all your time working and never having fun.

finally, here is one of our favorite proverbs: people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. this means you should not criticize other people unless you are perfect yourself.

(music)

this voa special english program was written by shelley gollust. i'm faith lapidus. you can find more proverbs and other words and their stories at our web site, .




从西方的谚语中我们可以观察到中西文化的一个有趣的区别。


我们先来看几条中西文化水乳交融的谚语。

Man proposes, God disposes.

这个说法最早见于14世纪，起初以 “If man proposes evil, God disposes of it.” 的形式

出现, 意思是上帝会阻止想要为恶的人。这里的God, 既可以指上帝, 又可以指天意。 就像我们常说的“尽人事, 听天命”、“谋事在人，成事在天”一样, 尽力而为之后, 还要顺从自然的规律。 毕竟，人类是自然的一部分, 凡事皆不可强求，与自然的和谐是人类的生存之本。

e.g. A: Bob, how about tomorrow’s driving test？Sure to pass，huh？

B: I don’t know. I’ve done enough, I’d say. Anyway, man proposes, God disposes. I am praying for good luck.

If you play with fire, you get burnt.

所谓“玩火者必自焚”，铤而走险的盲目举动会招致无穷祸患。

e.g. The abuse of power has sent many people into jail, which shows that playing with fire could get you burnt.

Revenge is a dish that could be eaten cold.

很形象的一句谚语。所有的菜肴都必须趁热吃，唯独revenge是个例外。“君子报仇，十年未晚。”

e.g. He has done serious wrong to his friends. You just wait and see. They will not let him go scot-free. Revenge is a dish that could be eaten cold.

Every dog has its day.（又作All dogs have their days.）

这里的day，是指opportunities, 即成功的机会；而dog 则泛指那些地位低下、似乎没有出息的人。“士别三日，当刮目相看”，落魄的人若发奋图强，总会有出头之日。

e.g. You must not look down upon him. Though poor and gloomy. he could turn out to be outstanding one day. As the saying goes, every dog has its day.

上一句中提到了"dag"。西方人其实经常用狗来比喻人，如，lucky dog（幸运儿），因为他们并不歧视狗。而在汉语中，有不少涉及狗的谚语和成语都是贬义的，如“狗改不了吃屎”、“挂羊头卖狗肉”、“狗仗人势”、“狗嘴里吐不出象牙”等。当然，英文中dog一词有时也带有贬义，但往往含义与中文不尽相同，我们使用时切忌望文生义。如，It is a dog’s life Chris is leading. 某位教授认为“a dog’s life”的意思是“悲惨的生活”，因而在一篇论及中英文化差别的文章中将其译成“过着牛马不如的生活”。其实“a dog’s life”指的是“争吵不休，过着不安宁的日子”。这类成语很多，如go to the dogs（每况愈下），dog-eat-dog（狗咬狗的，损人利己的），dog in the manger（占着茅坑不拉屎的人）。还有一些没有任何褒贬涵义的用法，如dog days（大热天），doggy bag（餐馆里的打包袋），据说，早先人们碍于面子，不愿明说要把剩菜带回家吃，佯称要带给狗吃，所以叫doggy bag。

上面这些西方谚语大体还能找到和它们相对应的汉语谚语，而以下两条则完全不同。

Lightning never strikes the same place twice.

“闪电从不打同一个地方”，与我们说的“福无双至，祸不单行”恰恰相反，这也是差异的一

个有趣的体现。

e.g. -How were your exams? All over?

-I really don’t know. I did rather poorly last time. I hope I’ll do better this time.

-Come on, don’t worry about it. You are sure to pass. As the saying goes, lightening never strikes the same place twice.

One swallow does not make a summer.

swallow 是燕子。西谚说，一只燕子飞来不能代表夏天的来临。而中国成语却说，一叶知秋。两种说法各有其智慧。“One swallow does not make a summer”强调的是要区别一般性与特殊性的辩证哲理；而“一叶知秋”体现的则是从细微的端倪窥见总体趋势的睿智。

e.g.-Hey, look! The scores are already 2:1！Liverpool is sure to win, I bet!

-I don’t think so. One swallow does not make a summer. Miracles always happen the last minute.