从广告语看中西文化差异_英文_

1、从广告语看中西文化差异(Cu ltu ral D ifferences betw een Ch inese andW estern Coun tries in A dvertisem en ts绵阳师范学院外国语学院石成蓉(四川师范大学外国语学院硕士研究生AbstractCu ltu ral difference can be found in m any aspects,th is paper deals w ith the differences betw een Ch inese cu ltu re and English cu ltu re in the perspective of

2、advertisem en ts.A dvertising is an i m po rtan t part of peop les life.A dvertisem en ts in a certain coun try attract certain con sum ers,so they reflect the un ique cu ltu re in the given coun try. T h is paper w ill focu s on fou r aspects to illu strate the cu ltu ral difference betw een Ch ina

3、 and W estern coun tries found in advertising creati on and advertising language ai m ed to help peop le understand cu ltu ral difference in the trend of globalizati on and accelerate the cro ss-cu ltu ral comm un icati on.Key wordscu ltu ral differenceadvertisem en tCh inese cu ltu reW estern cu lt

4、u reT hom as OGu inn et al.po in t ou t in their book dvertis2 ing,cu ltu re is w hat peop le do,o r“the to tal life w ays of a peo2 p le,the social legacy the individual acqu ires from h is group”. (OGu inn1998:137A dvertising is an effective w ay fo r traders and bu sinesses to comm un icate info

5、rm ati on abou t their goods, services o r ideas to the con sum ers.It is p ri m arily concerned w ith attracting the pu rchasersin terest by bu ilding accep tance fo r a p roduct o r a service and by develop ing confidence and re2 spect fo r the firm and its p roducts o r services.A dvertising is a

6、 cu ltu ral p roduct;it m ean s no th ing ou tside of cu ltu re.(OGu inn 1998:236D ifferen t w ays and language in advertising p roduce differ2 en t effects on con sum ers from differen t cu ltu res.So s m art ad2 vertisers dont igno re cu ltu ral difference,and w e can tell the cu ltu ral differenc

7、e betw een Ch inese advertisem en ts and w estern advertisem en ts.T h is paper w ill focu s on fou r aspects to illu s2 trate the cu ltu ral differences betw een Ch ina and W estern coun2 tries found in advertising creati on and advertising language.I.Collectiv is m vs.I nd iv idua lis mV alues are

8、 the defin ing exp ressi on s of cu ltu re.In advertis2 ing,it is strongly believed that the mo st effective advertise2 m en ts are tho se that best exp ress and affirm co re cu ltu ral val2 ues.W hat advertisers shou ld do is to m ake the advertisem en ts con sisten t w ith values of the targeted p

9、eop le.If no t,they are likely to be rejected.Every coun try has its ow n values,o r the endu ring beliefs.A set of con tradicto ry one shared by a lo t of coun tries is co llectivis m and individualis m.Ch inese society is co llectivistic and the Ch inese tend to pu t the benefits of group o r soci

10、ety in the first p lace,w h ileW estern societies are individ2 ualistic and thu s mo re p rone to strive fo r self-ach ievem en t and self-satisfacti on.T hese concep ts are often reflected in adver2 tising language.Fo r examp le:你好,我好,他好。大家好,才是真的好广州好迪(Houdy Shampoo ad.上汽五菱全国用户满意企业用了都说好。(D a Ke N in

11、g p laster ad顾客甲:我要雕牌。顾客乙:我也要雕牌。顾客丙:我还是要雕牌。顾客丁:为什么都要雕牌。顾客戊:只选对的,不选贵的。(Eagle B rand ad.In the cu ltu ral con tex t of group o rien tati on,fo llow ing the m aj o rity is con sidered as the best w ay in decisi on m ak ing.M o st peop le tend to believe w hat is good fo r o thers m u st be good fo r th

12、em selves.So the above advertisem en ts are app reciated and accep tab le in the Ch inese cu ltu re.How ever,these advertise2 m en ts m ay seem stup id and non sen se in the view of W estern con sum ers,becau se individualis m is firm ly estab lished in their m ind.In the W estern cu ltu re,individu

13、al in itiative and ach ieve2 m en t are stressed,and pu rsu it of personality and freedom is h igh ly valued and w ell app reciated.T he fo llow ing examp les can show th is o rien tati on clearly.W hats m ine is m ine.(V o lk s w agen Seat Car ad.Go ld B lend,the on ly coffee to serve.(N escafe Go

14、ld B lend ad.D rink Baker,fo llow the track of you r ow n.(Baker Beer ad.T he un ique sp irit of Canada:w e bo ttle it!(L o rd Calvert Canada ad.T he box fits in m y jean s o r jacket and doesnt get cru shed. T hat m akes a difference.W in stons taste m akes a real difference,too.N o cigarette gives

15、 m e mo re taste.Fo r m e,W in ston is re2 al.(W in ston ad.F ind you r ow n road.(SAAB Car ad.O bey you r th irst.(Sp rite D rink ad.In the above advertisem en ts,w e can easily find the w o rds o r ph rases w h ich stress un iqueness and differences,such as “m ine”,“m y ow n”,“you r ow n”,“on ly”,

16、“un ique”and“dif2 ference”.T he advertisers m ake u se of such cu ltu ral con sci ou s2 ness to give W estern con sum ers a strong sen se of individuality and o riginality,and to arou se their desire to take acti on.O bvi2 ou sly,these advertisem en ts are successfu l in comp lying w ith th is value

17、 o rien tati on.T he Ch inese co llectiveness is also em bodied in the con sid2 erati on and respect fo r the aged,and fo r the fam ily.R espect fo r the o ld is a traditi onal virtue in the Ch inese cu ltu re.T here is an o ld saying in Ch ina“百善孝为先”(F ilial respect fo r the o ld goes first in virt

18、ue.T he o ld shou ld be treated w ell and hono rab ly.T hese ideas have been so deep ly roo ted in Ch inese peop les m inds that they con sci ou sly and uncon sci ou sly regu2 late peop les acti on s and behavi o r.In advertising,respect fo r the o ld is reflected by m any Ch inese b rand nam es,suc

19、h as“阿香婆”(Granny Ax iang,“王老吉”(O ld W ang J i,“老翁”(O ldM an,“老干妈”(O ld N om inal M o ther,and“老干爹”(O ld N om inal Father.T hese b rand nam es sound co rdial to Ch inese con sum ers and qu ite attractive.Si m ilarly th is virtue can be il2 lu strated in the fo llow ing advertising,fo r examp le,“正清制药

20、,关爱老人健康”(Zheng Q ing Pharm aceu tical Facto ry show s the u tmo st so licitude fo r the health of the elderly,“老人家感冒该怎么办?!”(W hats to be done w hen the elderly catch a co ld?!,“威力洗衣机,献给母亲的爱”(W eiliW ash ing M ach ine is the love dedicating to M o thers.How ever,in the W estern cu ltu re the w o rd“o

21、 ld”is associated w ith the concep ts of being “ou tdated”and“u seless”,and the w o rds and ph rases related to “age”are taboo s.Since W estern peop le are afraid of being o ld, and the concep t of respect fo r the o ld is no t so strong as that in the Ch inese cu ltu re,such k ind of advertisem en

22、ts is no t often p resen ted in English advertising.II.M on is m vs.Plura lis m or D ua lis mF rom the aspect of cu ltu ral basic fo rm,Ch inese cu ltu re has the mon is m view po in t and the w estern cu ltu re has the p lu2 ralis m o r dualis m view po in t.T he traditi onal Ch inese view of u2 n

23、iverse is“the harmony of heaven and m an”,the ideal state of the co rrespondence of the ob jective and the sub jective.Ch inese peop le are inclined to seek the un ity,the generality and the syn thesis in their m ind.T h is ph ilo soph ical concep t can be found in the fo llow ing en ts.取天上太阳,用人间辉煌(

24、HU I HUAN G SOLA R EN ER2 GY ad.银河在天上,温情在人间(an ad.fo r ShanghaiM ilky W ay A dvertising&D eco rati on Co.天上彩虹,人间长虹(ChangHong Co lo r TV ad.T hese th ree advertisem en ts appeal to con sum ers by a good con trast betw een the heaven and the w o rld,w h ich b rings con2 sum ers a sen se of harmony

25、.Fu rthermo re,the parallel struc2 tu res in these th ree advertisem en ts increase the effect of the u2 n i on of m an and natu re.O n the con trary,the w estern cu ltu re in sists on the view of p lu ralis m.It emphasizes on the changes and differences of the m atter,self-developm en t,and en terp

26、 rising sp irits.W estern peop le tend to believe that the un iverse shou ld be divided in to tw o differen t parts.T hat is so-called“D ividedness betw een M an and N atu re”.T he conquest of natu ral conditi on is the dom inan t assump ti on in W estern coun tries,especially in the U2 n ited State

27、s.T he Am erican mode of living is characterized by confron tati on w ith and exp lo itati on of the ex ternal w o rld and by hum an itys being arm ed again st it.T hu s,w e seldom find the idea of the harmony of heaven and m an in English advertise2 m en ts.In stead of it,the concep t of the emphas

28、is of m an and conquest is frequen tly emp loyed in advertising English,such as:Fo r the m an w ho m akes h is ow n ru les.(Beverage ad.D angerou s,bu t w o rth the risk.(N ik i de Sain t Phalle ad.H e ju st k illed the last dragon!(Kodar ad.Be all you can be(U.S A rm y ad.Engineered to move the hum

29、 an sp irit.(M ercedes-Benz ad.T hese five advertisem en ts echo the ph ilo soph ical concep t of the W estern cu ltu re,and acco rdingly satisfy the taste of the W estern con sum ers.III.M odesty vs.Super ior ityIn Ch inese cu ltu re,modesty is regarded as a traditi onal virtue.Ch inese are taugh t

30、 to be po lite and modest th roughou t h isto ry.Fo r Ch inese peop le are strongly influenced by feudal2 is m,they look reserved and con servative,bu t no t open,direct and arrogan t.How ever,w estern coun tries especially Am erica try to in still in studen ts a sen se of h igh self-esteem in o rde

31、r to mo tive them to ach ievem en t and self-confidence.So they are superi o r and direct.Tw o group s of advertisem en ts are cho sen to illu strate the above po in ts.W e lead.O thers copy.(R icoh cop ierT he best beef and soybean th roughou t Am erica!(Stock ley M an Foodstuff CompanyT ake the Se

32、n so rExcel challenge.O n ly.Sen so rExcel has p ro tective m icro fin s fo r ex tra com fo rt and self-adju sting b lades fo r incredib le clo seness.N o dispo sab le gives you all that.O ne shave w ith Sen so rExcel and w e bet youll get rid of you r dispo sab le fo r good.Bet you w ont go back to

33、 dispo s2 ab les.妈妈说这种糖味道最好。(W uhan Ch ildrens Food ad.凯歌牌全自动洗衣机就一个缺点,如果能自动晾衣服就好了。(Kai Ge A u tom aticW ash ing M ach ine ad.格兰仕微波炉中国第几品牌?(Galanz m icrow ave oven ad.T he difference betw een the tw o group s of advertisem en ts lies in that English advisem en ts directly and confiden tly p ro2 clai

34、m the top-rank ing statu s w h ile Ch inese one indirectly and illum inatingly indicate the num ber one po siti on of the p roducts in their respective secto rs.M o reover,sex w h ich is frequen tly emp loyed in English advertisem en ts is som ew hat a taboo in Ch ina,especially in pub lic becau se

35、sex is clo sely related to li2 cen ti ou sness and loo seness in mo ral.So sex iness is seldom found in Ch inese advertising.T h is can be illu strated in the fo llow ing examp les.O nce every27seconds the average m an th ink s abou t sex.T he rest of the ti m e;hes all of ou rs.(ESPN ad.T he go rge

36、ou s,sexy-young fragrance(L angcom e perfum e ad.Am I naked?(W atch ad.O ne drop fo r beau ty;Tw o drop s fo r lover;T h ree drop s fo r an affair.(F lo rdric perfum e ad.It look s sexy.A nd then w hat w ill happen?(Scoundrel perfum e ad.IV.Pa st Or ien ta tion vs.Future Or ien ta tionPast o rien ta

37、ti on is ano ther typ ical value o rien tati on in the Ch inese cu ltu re.Ch ina is a coun try w ith a long h isto ry,a refu l2 gen t civilizati on and age-o ld traditi on.Ch inese peop le take great p ride in their five-thou sand-year civilizati on and their in telligen t and diligen t ancesto rs w

38、 ho created such a sp lendid cu ltu re.Co rrespondingly,anyth ing related to long h isto ry and traditi on is con sidered as valuab le and reliab le.T he w o rd“o ld”u sually p refer to stress the po in t that their compan ies and their p roducts are traditi onal ones,such as“百年老店”(a shop w ith a h

39、isto ry of a hundred years,“老字号”(age-o ld b rand,“老招牌”(age-o ld shop sign,“历史悠久”(w ith a long h isto ry and“祖传秘方”(a secret reci pe handed dow n from generati on to generati on.M o re examp le:百年老字号,广州皇上皇(sau sage ad.溪口千层饼采用传统工艺,制作精细,质地松脆,清香可口(X ikou Q iangceng Cake ad.(下转第155页时,可以讲解有关感恩节的由来;传统食物火鸡、南

40、瓜饼;以及传统活动项目游行、观看橄榄球比赛。并向学生介绍,自美国内战结束以后,感恩节被确定为法定国家节目,这一天家庭成员及朋友们通常用大型聚餐的形式来庆祝这个节日,如今感恩节已成为一种家庭团聚的家庭节日,使学生对感恩节有一全面的认识。写作与翻译密切相关。写作,即要求学生用英语表达清楚完整而且符合英语国家文化习惯的思想;翻译,从本质上来说正是跨语言文化的交际活动,黄忠廉在翻译本质论(2000,4一书中将翻译的本质概括为:“翻译是译者将原语言文化信息转换成译语文化信息,并求得二者相似的思维活动和语言活动。”如写作或翻译“西餐厅如雨后春笋般出现”一句时,其中汉语成语“雨后春笋”使人产生“新事物大量出

41、现”的意义联想,而因人们的生活环境不同,造成英国人不熟悉竹子,不易理会成语中的潜在意义,不可能产生与汉民族类似的联想。因此,为了让英语读者产生汉语读者从“雨后春笋”引起的联想,我们在写作或翻译中要把语言形象“竹子”更换为“m u sh room s”,即“sp ring up like m u sh room s”。6、小结综上所述,我们应该认识到英语教学中的跨文化交际教学不是空泛的,实施跨文化交际教学既是必要的,又是可行的。社会发展也必将使跨越不同文化的人类交流愈加频繁,英语教学的任务就是要培养高素质、有着较深厚文化修养的英语人才。注重跨文化交际教学,能增强不同文化的认同感和包容性,从而更好

42、地促进语言和文化的发展,以及不同语言、文化间的交流和沟通。参考文献1陈舒.文化与外语教学的关系J.国外外语教学,1997(2.2何筱莉.关于外语教学中文化导入的思考J.国外外语教学,2001(3.3李荫华主编.大学英语(全新版综合教程(3.上海:上海外语教育出版社,2002.4王佐良.翻译中的文化比较A.北京:外语教学与研究出版社,1994.5虞苏美,李慧琴主编.大学英语(全新版听说教程(4.上海:上海外语教育出版社,2003.6张安德,张翔.论外语教学的文化意识培养与文化导入J.外语与外语教学,2002(6.(上接第153页传奇品质,百年张裕。(Zhang Yu W ine ad.记忆中的味

43、道。(Bai J ia V erm icelli ad.曹州城内有一隅首,名曰“尤之女”。据传尤之女酿得一手好酒,偶被孔子一饮,赞曰“圣贤之美!”故得名“圣酒”。(Sain t L iquo r ad.A s past o rien tati on has been deep ly roo ted in Ch inese peo2 p les m ind,the advertisem en ts related to long h isto ry and tra2 diti on can readily strike a sympathetic cho rd of Ch inese con2

44、sum ers and lu re them to take acti on.O n the con trary,fu tu re o rien tati on p revails in theW estern cu ltu re.W estern peop le tend to believe that tomo rrow shou ld be better than today.T he w o rd“new”is related to p rogress and change.So being“new”is often emp loyed in English ad2 vertising.A cco rding to statistic,the w o rd“new”is the w o rd mo st frequen tly u sed in English advertisem en ts.A l mo st every2 th ing that is“n