A Brief Discussion on Cultural Difference between Chinese and English浅论中英文化差异

1、A Brief Discussion on Cultural Difference between Chinese and EnglishAbstractWord is the product of society,which is the history of mankind and which is the crystallization of history and culture.It embodied a nation's social consciousness from generation to generation, history, culture, and oth

2、er areas all the features of human society. The essence of which is dependent because of their different cultural background, language background and traditional factors above. chinese and english are quite different.such as mode of living,values,atandard of behavior,formality,customs. Language is i

3、s both the carrier and the product of culture, the cultural enrichment of information is an important part of culture, Language reflects the culture of development and changes, but also a direct reflection of the cultural differences.As we all know china and english has different cultural atmosphere

4、 .china has a long history and rich culture. English in the contemporary world political, economic, cultural and other fields to play with temporary no other language can replace the role of English in a number of countries in addition to the mother tongue but also as a second language or foreign la

5、nguage in common use in many countries. As a symbol system, "English" is a kind of language, on their use, in today's world there are all sorts of "English" and "English" is in fact the name of a simple terms, we can not hope that justice Literal It is a single, hom

6、ogeneous phenomenon it is all around the world and under different circumstances the use of the many variants of the English pool. However, due to geographical, historical, cultural, and social customs of different factors such as the impact of today's visit to English furniture has evolved into

7、 a wider impact on the two variants of the worldwide English, which is British English and American English. With the development of their own language, their own characteristics of the formation, and there are differences between. In American English and British English, is concerned about the char

8、acteristics of the "norms" word. In this paper, the British and American English in origin and development of a simple introduction, the United Kingdom and the United States in terms of language study and to explore differences in the two English-speaking characteristics and differences, t

9、he right to express and enrich the relevant knowledge of English, improve application English ability. Key word: dependent; culture; atmosphere中西方文化差异摘要 词是社会的的结晶，是人类历史和文化的结晶。它凝聚着一个民族世代相传的社会意识，历史文化，风俗习惯等各方面人类社会所有的特征。不同的文化背影和文化传统，使中西方在思维方式，价值观念，行为准则和生活方式等方面也存在有相当的文化差异。语文是文化的载体，词汇是文化信息的浓缩，是语言的重要组成部分，它反

10、映着文化的发展和变化，同时也直接反映着文化的差异。我们都知道中西方有着不同的文化氛围。中国有着悠久的历史和丰富的文化遗产。英语在当今世界政治、经济、文化等领域发挥着暂时无其他语言可以替代的作用，英语除了是一些国家的母语之外，还作为第二语言或通用外语在许多国家使用。作为一种符号系统，“英语”是一种语言，就其使用情况而言，当今世界存在着各种各样的“英语”，“英语”这个名称事实上只是一个简单的称呼，我们不能望文生义地认为它是一种单一的，同质的现象;它是在世界各地和各种不同情况下使用的许多英语变体的集合。但是由于地理、历史、文化、社会习俗等不同因素的影响，当今的英语之行演化成为家具有广泛影响的两种世界

11、性的英语变体，那就是英国英语和美国英语。随着语言本身的发展，它们之形成各自的特点，并且相互间存在差异。在美国英语和英国英语方面，关注的特点在于“规范”两字。本文对英、美英语的起源和发展简单介绍后，就英、美语在词汇方面的差异研究并探讨这两种英语的特点及其差异，有利于正确地表达、丰富相关的英语知识，提高运用英语的能力。关键词:独立；文化；氛围Introduction:People in different cultural backgrounds to communicate is multination communication. Different countries have differ

12、ent historical backgrounds, customs, traditions, cultures , therefore, the translators engaged in international business must understand their cultural differences and exotic. These differences in interpretation and tried to make it disappeare the process of translating in the target language, and f

13、ind out the exact words, so different cultures, which is reproduced in the target language. Language is part of culture, also the carrier of culture, which plays an important cultural role. Language translation is not only the international exchange of the two languages, but two cultures relay. Cult

14、ure in Translation is a factor which should not be ignored, as a famous translator Eugene Nita said: "To really do a good translation, master two languages, two cultures, even more important aspect, because the terms only used in a particular culture to be meaningful. "Business English tra

15、nslation of the international must pay attention to the transmission of cultural information. According to the international business English translation 4Es standards and to ensure that cultural and other information equivalent. However, in practice, and sometimes cultural information is difficult

16、to convey to the target language and the results of such standards will not be fully done. The Chinese culture emphasize the ides of "unity is strength", this can be said as "collectivism",on the contrary,the westener emphasize the pow of a single individual,this can be described

17、 as "heroism".Compare the chinese movie "创业"and the American Terminator Series,you can see this differenceover-emphasizes the same, and the English culture over-emphasizes the unique;The Chinese culture values the tradition, the western culture pays attention to the fusion;The Ch

18、inese culture pays attention to the disposition, outstanding human nature in western culture.Generally speaking, cultural differences have led for the following factors:一The Cultural differences of things understanding.Western legends, dragon (龙) are not auspicious animal just as in the Chinese peop

19、les hearts. It said the evil monster. In the middle century, “dragon” is a symbol of evil. Bible stories Satan (撒旦) has been regarded as the great DRAGON. DRAGON to the people in the English-speaking countries, has caused the Chinese people associate with the "dragon" completely different,

20、 so the translation must be very cautious. East Asia, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong in china, and Singapore, four more developed countries and regions, the West was known as the "亚洲四小龙",and Four Asian Dragons will be translated into English it is not appropriate. It was suggested that

21、translated into Four Asian Tigers. This may be a better culture of information. Because the tiger (tiger) in the hearts of the West is a tough animal, At least can not make people think of some horrible animals. Furthermore, “tiger” was in a 1993 version of the word added to the Oxford English Dicti

22、onary Additions Series II, Interpretation: A nickname for any one of the more successful smaller economies of East Asia, those of Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. (任何一个在经济上较为成功的东亚小国或地区，尤其指香港、新加坡、台湾和韩国. ) so that "亚洲四小龙” translated into.  Western students enjoy a seemingly rel

23、axed educational experience. This, however, is not the case for students in Asia, who face crushing workloads and are often very disciplined. In the first part of her Globalist. China has a long history of standardized tests, beginning with the ancient imperial exams initiated during the Sui Dynasty

24、.Shelly Chen is at the top of the class at the Shanghai foreign language school, one of the citys best middle schools. Already near fluent in二The different ways of Education.English, she is studying German and ranks among the highest in her grade in physics. Her goal is to get a full scholarship to

25、Harvard to study biochemistry. It is not only Western expatriates that grow anxious when hearing about students like Shelly. Throughout England, politicians, parents and pundits worry that the industriousness and discipline of kids in the East are leaving relatively relaxed Westerners trailing behin

26、d. Though there is some debate surrounding the statistics, it is widely believed that North America is failing to produce sufficient graduates in sciences and engineering.Chinese students are taught that all questions have but one right answer and there is little room for debate.North American educa

27、tion needs to move away from an emphasis on fun, flexibility and individual learning styles.Instead, it has to shift towards a more strict, disciplined teaching environment that math and science, in particular, seem to demand.This shift can be discerned even in Canada, where there are no college ent

28、rance exams, and where, standardized testing, memorization and rote learning have long been frowned upon. English students enjoy a seemingly relaxed educational experience. This, however, is not the case for students in Asia, who face crushing workloads and are often very disciplined. In the first p

29、art of her Globalist. China has a long history of standardized tests, beginning with the ancient imperial exams initiated during the Sui Dynasty.Shelly Chen is at the top of the class at the Shanghai foreign language school, one of the citys best middle schools. Already near fluent in English, she i

30、s studying German and ranks among the highest in her grade in physics. Her goal is to get a full scholarship to Harvard to study biochemistry. It is not only Western expatriates that grow anxious when hearing about students like Shelly. “In China, when comparing the education, sixty percent people t

31、hink the best education model is uniting both advantages. It lets students have very good foundation education and good creativity. Sixty five percent disagree. Another thirty three people think, because the two types of education come from different culture, tradition and society background, it is

32、really hard to combine.” For example, College education is the doorway to receiving higher education, which is distinct from primary and secondary education that you have received in elementary school and high school. As we know, college education is not free; as a matter of fact, it can be expensiv

33、e. However it's worth it in every dollar and cent. From a career point of view, college education is your hedge against unemployment, and it has a positive effect on your earning potential. The more you learn, the more you earn. On the other hand, it supplies the opportunity to a person who want

34、s to learn more. While you are in college, you are in the ocean of vast knowledge, which you have never seen. The diversity of college education can surely satisfy what you need in various fields, from basic reading and writing skills to high-level academic research. Generally, colleges provide a co

35、nsiderably flexible curriculum setting for certain orientation. In addition, there are many elective courses to choose from. All of these help you to master the very knowledge that you are interested in. You will benefit from what you have learned in college in your lifetime. No matter if it is for

36、your own development or your career field, you need further knowledge and information, which are what college education can give you. Thus, college education is a sound investment in your future, although it might be expensive.But in ChinaAccdroding to reports from many newspapers ,it is said that t

37、here are more than 6million undergraduates .Most of us will face fierce competition in the job markert !The society and the government should pay more attention to undergraduates who are the main strenth of national development! Meanwhile , undergraduates is a special part of this scoiety ,whose dev

38、elopment will decide views about college education from village family. They spend almost all their savings on developing their children and hope they can contribute to their family and share burdens with their family .But now the results is oppsite!China college education is in a danger condition!

39、Throughout England, politicians, parents and pundits worry that the industriousness and discipline of kids in the East are leaving relatively relaxed Westerners trailing behind. Though there is some debate surrounding the statistics, it is widely believed that North America is failing to produce suf

40、ficient graduates in sciences and engineering.Chinese students are taught that all questions have but one right answer and there is little room for debate.North American education needs to move away from an emphasis on fun, flexibility and individual learning styles.Instead, it has to shift towards

41、a more strict, disciplined teaching environment that math and science, in particular, seem to demand.This shift can be discerned even in Canada, where there are no college entrance exams, and where, standardized testing, memorization and rote learning have long been frowned upon. 三Difference on poli

42、tenessCultural differences on politeness between English and Chinese can be found in many aspects of daily communication, including addressing, greeting and parting, compliments, apologies, thanks, etc. In the following, we will look at some cultural different between China and English. 3.1. Greetin

43、g and PartingWhen people meet acquaintances or friends, people usually greet each other . The purpose of greeting is to establish or maintain social contact. So formulaic expressions are often used, but such formulaic expressions often causes conflict because of the great cultural differences betwee

44、n Chinese and native English speakers. In English, people often employ the following expressions to greet each other “Good morning/evening/afternoon. “Fine day, isnt it? ”How is everything going?” Have you eaten yet?” What are you going to do?” Where have you been?”etc. Westerners treat them as real

45、 question. While in Chinese, we always say “你吃了吗？”“你上哪里去？”“你干什么去？”to show our consideration. Parting may be divided into two steps. Before the final prating, there is usual a leave-taking. Western and Chinese cultures have diverse ways to deal with leave- takings. Firstly, in English society, during

46、 the closing phase of an encounter, from ”I” perspective, reasons for terminating the encounter are presented in mitigatory comments. Typical comments are associated with expressions of apology, such as “I” am afraid I must be off, I have to relieve the baby-sitter” etc. Western people believe that

47、to be willing to visit and converse with someone is to have respect for him.; to terminate the visiting is not of ones own free will, but because of some other arrangements, therefore they always try to make their leaving sound reluctant by finding some reasons and apologize for it to make the leavi

48、ng acceptable for both parties. English speakers often signal several times before leaving. “Well, its been nice to see you again. I do enjoy our talk and the lovely dinner, but I must be going soon”. Thank you very much for asking me over. I hope well be able to get together again before long” Cons

49、olidation in a wider range of common acquaintances also occurs, in expressions such as “Say hello to Jack for me” or “Remember me to John”. In Chinese society, during the closing phase of and encounter, usually, from a “you ”perspective, reasons for ending the encounter are set forth in mitigatory e

50、xpressions. Such expressions include“你挺忙的，我就不多打扰了。”“你一定累了，早点休息吧，我 要告辞了。”, etc. With these words, they may stand up from their seats. Chinese leave-taking is very short and quick. Western people think it so abrupt that they have not prepare for it. While moving to the door, Chinese employ expressions

51、 of apology like“对不起没，打扰了。”“对不起，占用你不少时间。”It should be noted that these expressions employed by Chinese guests to show concern for their hosts can only be appropriate for business visits in the English environment3.2.Addressing Both western and Chinese people have names.Addressing Both western and Ch

52、inese people have names-a surname and a given name. But the order and the use of these names in the two languages are somewhat different. In Chinese, the surname comes first and then the given name . And people like add“小”before their family name. Such as“小王”、“小郑”、 “小李”、“小徐”and so on. While westerne

53、rs names are written and spoken with the given name first and the family name last. So John Smith's family name is Smith, not John. In a formal setting, address men as "Mister" (abbreviated as "Mr ."), married women as "Misses" (abbreviated as "Mrs."), and

54、 unmarried women as " Miss" (abbreviated as "Ms."). These days many women prefer to be addressed using the abbreviations "Ms." or "M.", pronounced "miz". If the person has an M.D. or Ph.D., they will often be addressed as "Doctor" (abbrevia

55、ted as "Dr."). Faculty are addressed as "Professor" (abbreviated as "Prof.").In an informal situation, westerners will introduce each other by first name, without titles, and occasionally by just the last name. If you are introduced to somebody by first name, you can ad

56、dress him or her by first name the next time you meet. The only exception would be for someone who holds an important position, such as the university president or provost. Unless they tell you otherwise, faculty should be addressed using their title and last name (e.g., "Professor Smith")

57、. When in doubt, use the formal manner of address, since it is better to err on the side of formality. It is also appropriate to ask how they prefer to be addressed. Children should always address adults in the formal fashion, using their title and last name. Another difference is about the form of

58、addressing. From the viewpoint of sociolinguistics, forms of addressing can serve as an indication of the relationship of power and solidarity in the society. In calling their superiors or elders, the Chinese are accustomed to the nonreciprocal or asymmetrical addressing, in other words. They use “t

59、itle +surname” to address their superior or elders rather than call them surnames, while the superior or elders call the addressers their names. The Chinese tend to abide by the polite principle of depreciating oneself and respecting others to show appropriate respects towards the persons being addr

60、essed, otherwise, the addresser may be considered as ill mannered, ill educated or rude. But in English speaking countries, people have a tendency to follow the reciprocal or symmetrical addressing. Although they are different in age and status, they can call the other directly, namely, their names, even first names except when they call the doctors, not arousin