A Comparative Study on Chinese and English Taboos.doc

a comparative study on chinese and english taboosabstract: nowadays, the mutual communication between chinese people and english people has become more and more frequent. it is important for both peoples to know not only what utterance is preferred but also what utterance is forbidden in cross-cultural communication. taboo is a common linguistic phenomenon both in chinese and english. this essay introduces the source of taboo, the definition of taboo, and then compares the difference and similarities of language taboo between english and chinese from the perspectives of cultural differences. the main purpose is to help people have a better understanding of linguistic taboo and develop a clearer awareness of avoiding taboo words in communication, thus enhancing their cross-cultural communicative competence. key words: taboo; definition; similarity; difference中英禁忌语比较摘 要：现在，中英两国人民之间的相互交流变得越来越频繁。对中英两国人民来说在跨文化交际中不仅要知道讲什么话是首选，而且了解哪些话是被禁忌的是十分重要的。禁忌语是中英文化中一个很普通的语言现象。这篇文章介绍了禁忌语的起源和禁忌语的定义，也从文化差异这个角度比较了中英禁忌语的不同点和相同点。主要的目的使人们对语言禁忌有更好的了解，并且在交流中能够建立更高的警觉性避免使用禁忌语，然后提高他们的跨文化交际能力。关键词：禁忌语；定义；相似处；不同点contentsintroduction11. definition of taboo11.1 definition of taboo11.2 differences between taboo and euphemism22. similar taboos in english and chinese32.1 religion and god32.2 sex42.3 secretions and excretions52.4 disease and death62.5 social status82.6 privacy on income and weight93. different taboos in english and chinese103.1 political opinion103.2 privacy on age and marriage113.3 names114. conclusion13bibliography15introduction nowadays, taboo has become a commonly used word in anthropology and studies of religion and folk custom. furthermore, it has been a fairly important field of these branches of learning. in every nation and culture there are phenomena of using taboo in daily life. about the origin of taboo, there are two viewpoints now. one viewpoint is that the term taboo is originated from polynesian (in south pacific) tonga language. in 1777, captain james cook arrived in south pacific polynesian tonga. in tonga, he found a strange behavior in their daily life. there were many things forbidden to do, many foods forbidden to eat, and some words not allowed to say. the local language of tonga called this phenomenon taboo or tabu. then cook borrowed the word into english. the word in english refers to acts that are forbidden or to be avoided. when an act is taboo, reference to this act may also become taboo. that is, first you are forbidden to do something, and then you are forbidden to talk about it. the other viewpoint is that the term taboo is originated from native language in the middle pacific islands. after referring to information of different sources, i find most scholars think the source of the word “taboo” is tongan word, which is introduced by captain james cook from polynesia to europe in 1777. and in book the cambridge encyclopedia of language, when it defines “taboo”, it points out clearly that taboo has been borrowed from tongan.1. definition of taboo1.1 definition of taboo sigmund freud, the founder of psychoanalytic school, put forward interesting and detailed discussions on taboos in his classical work totem and taboo. he pointed out that taboos contained two opposite meanings: on one hand, it was lofty, sacred; on the other hand, it was mysterious, dangerous, prohibitive and unclean. on the basis of freuds views, the oxford advanced learners english-chinese dictionary defines the word “taboo” as follows: “a) ban or prohibition on something that is regarded for religious or other reasons as not to be done, touched, used, spoken of etc. b) general agreement not to discuss or to do something.”(oxford advanced learners english-chinese dictionary, 2000 )we can also find the definition in the cambridge encyclopedia of language: “taboo has been borrowed from tongan, where it means holy or untouchable. taboos exist in all known cultures, referring to certain acts, objects, or relationships which society wishes to avoid-and thus the language used to talk about them. verbal taboos are generally related to sex, the supernatural, excretion, and death, but quite often they extend to other aspects of domestic and social life.”(david,1997) in short, from these definitions of taboo, we can know all the taboos are likely to be considered sacred, dangerous, inviolable or obscene by certain people. it is usually not spoken directly. 1.2 differences between taboo and euphemismmany people think that taboo is to a degree similar to euphemism. in our daily life, we often meet certain things we cannot say directly, so we use language which can help us avoid saying certain things as well as to express them. certain things are not said, not because theres no way to express them, but because people do not want to talk about those things; or if those things are to be talked about, they are talked about in very roundabout ways. in the first case we have instance of linguistic taboo; in the second case we have the employment of euphemism so as to avoid mentioning certain things directly. taboo is the prohibition or avoidance in any society of behavior believed to be harmful to its members in that it would cause them anxiety, embarrassment, or shame. euphemism is more obvious than taboo words and expressions in our society. euphemistic words and expressions allow us to talk about unpleasant things and “neutralize” the unpleasantness. they also allow us to give labels to unpleasant tasks and jobs in an attempt to make them sound almost attractive. these two linguistic are have some similar, however, each group is different from each other in how it constrains linguistic behavior in one way. taboo is certain things that we cannot say, and euphemism is a linguistic we say certain things by better way, and then make people more comfortable. taboo and euphemism affect us in all aspects of life. when we speak, we must constantly make choices of many different kinds: what we want to say, how we say it, and the specific sentence patterns, words and expressions that best unite the “whats” with the “hows”. we should know some words we never and hardly use when we are talking with others. if we use these words, it may cause some troubles in communication. 2. similar taboos in english and chinesewith the development of science and technology, the world becomes smaller and smaller; the increasing communication between different countries and nations make the mutual understanding more and more important. thus, different social values and life customs blend as well as collide with one another. people in one culture may not use euphemism when referring to a social phenomenon while in another culture euphemism is the preferred way people address it. so the former may find a different equivalent in the latters language. for instance, english-speaking people usually substitute “underachieve” for “slow student” and nowadays chinese people also tend to use the euphemistic phrase “后进生” instead of “差生”. in present society, taboo plays a considerably important part in the development of cross-cultural communication in english and chinese.according to international english usage, there are mainly six taboo aspects as follows, religion and god, sex, secretions and excretions, disease and death, society, and privacy regarding age, weight, income etc. i have read some book about chinese culture. then, i compare english taboos with chinese taboos. chinese taboos are similar to english taboos. chinese taboos also contain mainly six aspects.2.1 religion and godin english-speaking countries, most people believe christianity, they have a strong sense of religion, and people are strictly prohibited from mentioning gods name. in the third commandment of ten commandments, it says,” thou shalt not speak my name in vain”. once you break the rule, you will be criticized or even be alienated by other members. jesus christ was a jew who lived in palestine 2000 years ago and is accepted by christians as the son of god. so in these countries, the religious terms like god, devil, christ, damn, jesus christ etc, are only allowed to be mentioned in serious talk. if someone mentions jesus christ in casual talk or in a joke, he will be considered impolite. however, when english people scold someone, they will use these words: “for christs sake!” , “god damned!”, “hell!”, “ oh, damn it!” in chinese, it is similar for people to avoid calling gods name. most chinese people believe buddhism, they also do not mention gods name. they often call god such as “玉皇大帝”， “大圣”，“佛主” etc. when they swears, they will use sky, such as “上苍作证”, “对天发誓”，“上天为证”。sometimes they use爷， like“老天爷”, “阎王爷”, “土地爷”and so on.swearwords are taboo as well. this is generally true of both english and chinese, although swearwords are no longer so offensive as before. some of the swearwords mentioned above are now frequently heard in young peoples conversation. but for non-native speakers, it is better to be cautious in using profanity. comparing english taboos with chinese ones, we can find that though these two countries have different religion, they have some similar taboo in religion.2.2 sexthough modern people are more and more open than before in sex, when mentioning sexual things, people still feel embarrassed. generally speaking, western people are open in sexual things, for sex education has a long history in the west. however, they are also cautious when talking about it in public, especially in mixed groups with women and men. words about sex are not allowed to talk freely. when talking about it, people prefer to use other words to replace it. most people feel embarrassed to say such words e.g. “ piss”, “fuck”, “ tits”, “cock” etc. commonly, these words are called four-letter word. some words are originally not taboo words, but they lost their frequency of being used, because they have sometime to do with sex or sex organs in the process of lexical evolution. these words like “gay”, “cock”, “ass”, “rooster”. in daily life, if you want to say sexual thing, you cannot use “copulate”, and “sexual intercourse” does not appear in conversation either. nowadays, woman pregnant is not mentioned directly. people use euphemism to mention it. they will use-she is “expecting”; she is “in a delicate condition”; she is “well-along”; she is about to have a “blessed event”; or she is about to be “in a family way”. besides, if a woman pregnant unmarried, people will say she is “in trouble”. in chinese culture, people pay more attention to sex and sex organs. in most times, people do not mention sex words. if it must be mentioned, people will use other words. they tend to use “下面”，“那里”，“阴部”etc. chinese people never say sexual things directly any time any place. these things are considered embarrassing; it is not allowed to say them in public. when mentioning it, they tend to use phrases like “男女关系”, “洞房”, “房事”, “过夫妻生活”etc. similarly, chinese people do not say pregnancy directly like english people. chinese people call it “有了”，“有喜了”，“有孩子了”，“肚子大了”，“身子笨了”，“身子不方便了” etc. in short, we can draw the conclusion that chinese and english have many similar taboos on sex. so we should not speak of it at random, instead we should use it seriously. otherwise, it will cause some embarrassments.2.3 secretions and excretions secretions and excretions are substances of taboos. perhaps this is because it is an ineluctable sign of our nature. no wonder that if someone mentions these words or phrases in public, it may cause considerable embarrassment, even misunderstanding in cross-cultural communication. people do not like to mention secretions and excretions because they think they are dirty. no matter in ancient or modern time, people hate dirt and emphasize personal cleanliness. waste disposal is extremely primitive. so people have to use another way to dress these words and phrase up to make them sound better.in english, “problem days”, “bad time”, “red light”, “holy week” etc. are just a few words of typical examples. in chinese, there are also many expressions, such as “例假”，“好朋友”， “大姨妈”，“不方便”。another important aspect of secretions and excretions is the definition of toilet. in modern times, there are many beautified names of toilet, such as “washroom”, “the john”, “powder room”, “public comfort station”, rest room” etc. however, people still do not like to say these words and phrases even when they are uttered in euphemism. they would like to say “spend a penny”, which means that it is charged to go to the toilet. “to shake hands with an old friend” implies that one has to do things that are frequently done. there are other similar expressions as well, like “answer the call of nature”, or “to have a bm (bowel movement)”. what is more interesting is that in different situations it will have different expressions. in climbing, a woman wants to go toilet, she may say “i must go and pick flowers.” in a party, people will say “may i wash my hands?” or more interesting, that is saying, “i must see a man about a dog.”, because “doghouse” means “toilet”. in chinese, people usually call toilet“茅厕”，“厕所”， “卫生间” or “洗手间”。these expressions are similar to those in english.from the examples on secretions and excretions both in chinese and english, we can know in chinese and english have similar taboo phenomena in secretions and excretions. secretions and excretions are a necessary part of human physical function. we should deal with them in right attitude and in right way.2.4 disease and deathdisease and death, and all that related to it are steeped in taboos. it is known to all, health is very important in our life. people are afraid of facing disease and death. so in conversations, people are not allowed to say sickness directly. instead they prefer using other words. therefore, we often hear people say, “i am not feeling well.” and for physical disabilities, people use “special boy” or “special girl” instead. if someone is blind, you can never call him or her “blind people” for that is a tabooed verbal utterance. similar situation can be seen in chinese. chinese people are also afraid of talking about disease too. when a person is sick, he would like to say “我身体有点不舒服。” or “我最近感觉不是很好。” when talking about disabled people, like crippled people, they will say his leg is inconvenient. when talking about a blind person, they will say, “his eyes have some problems”, or “his vision is not good”.it may be logical to attribute taboos concerning the dead to a natural human aversion to the processes of bodily decay, the odor of putrefying flesh and the fear of disease. no wonder death is the taboo topic in any time and in any place. throughout the history, death is considered serious topic. for any person, death is a sad thing; usually people are unwilling to face it. when someone dies, for the word death is taboo, people never say she or he has died. they would like to say, “he has passed away.” or “he is gone.”; “hewenttohisrewards.”; “hefellasleep.” or“ hebreathedhislast.”if this man is a solider, people would not say, “he is killed.” for kill is a taboo. instead, they say, “hefellinbattle.” if someone is drowned, they would like to say, “thesailorwaslostatset.” in chinese there are more one hundred expressions about death. in these expressions there are some rules, especially in ancient time. people cannot use these words at random. when the emperor dies, people say “驾崩”; when the officials die, people say“薨”; if it refers to the death of a respectable person, we may say “仙逝”; a person dies in campaigns, we call it “牺牲”。and other expressions of death are not strictly used, such as “走了”, “去了”, “去世”, “辞世” “安息”, “断气”, “长眠”, “离开” etc. nowadays, some new expressions are used by chinese people, like “挂了”, “去见马克思了” “归西了”。different countries have different cultures. in chinese culture there are more expressions about death than those in english. and it has more rules than english. the hierarchy is so strict in ancient china that the choice of this kind of vocabulary is made strictly too. different social class, age, cause of death and religious faith may cause different versions of death in china.firstly, according to a persons social status, there are some expressions. when the emperor dies, people say “驾崩”; when the zhuhou (dukes under an emperor) die, people say“薨”; when the dafu (a senior official in feudal china) dies, people say “卒”; when the shi (a social stratum in feudal china, between senior officials and the common people) dies, people say “不禄”; when the civilians die, people say “死”. secondly, according to persons age, there are many expressions about death. when a person dies younger than twenty years old, people say “殇”. what is more, there are some rules about “殇”. when a person dies between eight to eleven, people say “下殇”; when a person dies between twelve to fifteen people say “中殇”; when a person dies between sixteen to nineteen, people say “上殇”. (but if this person has been betrothed, people do not say “殇”.) in addition, if it refers to the death of a baby or a child, people say “夭折”. of course, when it comes to an older peoples death, chinese people have another expression. when an older people dies, people “寿终”; or say it more respectably “寿终正寝”. if this died person is a woman, people say “寿终内寝”. so in later times, “正寝” becomes a new expression of death. thirdly, according to the different reasons of death, chinese people also have different expressions. a person who contribute his life to career, people say “殉职”; a person dies in battlefield, people say “阵亡”(nowadays, we say “牺牲”); a person does not die in his hometown, people say “客死”; a person dies by accident, people say “凶死”. lastly, according to persons religion, it has different expressions. a monk dies, pe