中英语言与文化比较

浙江大学2012–2013学年秋冬季学期

《中英语言与文化比较》课程期末论文

A Contrastive Study of the Semantic Association and Pragmatic

Analysis of Plant Terms in English and Chinese* Abstract:Language is the soul andessence of culture, without which any language will find it difficult to develop further. And semantic association is undoubtedly of critical significance in language. A language of no semantic association is just prosaic , and lackluster. Semantic association creates great space for language to develop and gives it more meanings. As two completely different languages, one thing may sometimes have the same semantic association while sometimes not, which entirely shows the differences and similarities in these two cultures. This passage mainly focuses on semantic association and pragmatic analysis of pant terms in English and Chinese, shows the tradition andcustom of these two cultures, discusses the culturaldisparities behind it, and tries to help people from different cultures to communicate better.

Key Words: PLANT, CULTURE, SEMANTIC ASSOCIATION, PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS,

【摘要】语言是文化的灵魂和精髓，任何文化离开语言都将寸步难行，难以发展。而在语言中，意象无疑有着极为重要的作用。没有意象的语言是平淡无味、毫无生机的，意象的存在让语言有了极大的发展空间和引申意义。汉语和英语作为两种截然不同的语言，对同一事物的意象有时不尽相同，有时又大相径庭，充分体现出两类文化之间的差异与共通。本文主要立足于植物在中英语言中的不同意象与语用分析，展现中英文化传统与民俗的特色，深入讨论其背后的文化差异，以促进来自不同文化的人们更好的进行文化交流和对话。

【关键词】植物；文化；语义联想；语用分析；

1.Semantic Association of Plant Terms in English and Chinese

Plant, which can be seen everywhere, offers great chances for people to express themselves. Some plants may have similar semantic association in the two cultures while others may totally differ. Now I’m going to talk about the concrete features of this phenomenon.

1.1.Plants with completely differentsemantic associations

Due to different religion and legend, one plant may have totally different semanticassociations.

Ormosia is so popular in China that people often regard it as the symbol of love and name it the bean of lovesickness. It’s a habit for Chinese people, no matter imperial or ordinary, to send ormosia to lovers and families. One romantic poem says"红豆生南国，春来发几枝。愿君多采撷，此物最相思", which shows the deep meaning of this bean. On the contrary, western people have entirely different idea of it. They look on ormosia as a symbol of people who sacrifice more important things just to get some immediatebut small interest. This originates form a story in the Bible, saying that in order to have a bowl of ormosia soup, Esau left his eldest son to his brother Jacob. This makes it a negative image in the west.

Likewise, lotus is another plant that have completely different meanings in English and Chinese. It’s seen as a mark of tragedy in western countries. It sometimes also refers to forgetting the past and falling into a messed-up condition.

Let’s have a look at this poetry:

ON THE day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded. Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind. That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed tome that it was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion. I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart.[1] However, Chinese people speak highly of it and treat it as the very embodiment of noble people. As the old saying goes”出淤泥而不染，濯清涟而不妖”. We see the noble character it conveys.

1.2.Plants with partially similar associations

Some plants may represent similar emotion by and large, but differs in some details.

Willow is seen as something sad both in China and the west, but there still exist some distinctions. In China it is often related to getting apart. This is because in Chinese“柳”and”留”is homophonic, so willow symbolizes asking someone to stay. What’s more, willow twigs wave in the wind, just like a girl holding the arm of the leaver.Examples are as follows:“杨柳岸,晓风残月””渭城朝雨邑轻尘, 客舍青青柳色新”.

But in the west the situation is a little different. People prefer to