从中英两种语言“死亡”表达式的比较中寻找文化差异

毕业论文（设计）PAGEPAGE1ToSeektheCulturalDifferencefromtheComparisonoftheExpressionsof

“Death”inChineseandEnglish1.Introduction1.1TherelationshipbetweencultureandlanguageLanguageiscloselyrelatedtoculture.Languageexpressesandembodiesculturalreality.Languageistheprincipalmeaningwherebyweconductoursociallives(ClaireKramsch,2000：3).Languageplaysanimportantroleinhuman’sactivities,whichisanindispensablepartofhumanlife.Alanguage’sstructureisthetotalofthelanguage’susersandtheirlifestyles,whichincludesthegeographyenvironment,popularlegends,allegories,mythology,socialhistory,customs,religions,value,art,etc.Languagehasobviousculturalcharacters,whichcanbeshownasfollows:first,languagehasitsownregularpattern;second,languageischaracterizedonlybyhuman;third,languagecanbelearntonlyinthepostnataltime,itcannotbepassedontothenextgenerationbygene.Languageisrelatedtoitsraceclosely,sousuallythesameraceusesthesamelanguage.Itisthenationalculturethatmakespeoplechoosesthelanguagetheyuse.Languageandculturearecloselyrelated.Theycannotbeseparatedandtheyaffecteachother.Languageisanimportantpartofculture.Peopleconsideritasthekeystoneofculture.Itisclaimedthatculturewouldbeimpossiblewithoutlanguage.Meanwhile,languageisinfluencedandshapedbyculture,anditreflectsculture.Everynationlivesandworksinacertainnaturalenvironment,whichisreflectedbyitslanguage.Peoplefromdifferentregionsmayhavedifferentlanguages.Theyusedifferentwordstoexpresstheirviewstowardstheirenvironments.Itisbelievedthatthewaypeopleviewtheworldisdeterminedwhollyorpartiallybythestructureoftheirnativelanguages.Therefore,thereisagreatdifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishculturalbackgrounds.Andbecauseofthedifference,thetwolanguagesarequitedifferentfromeachother.Thereexistsagreatdifferenceintheusageoflanguages.BothChineseandEnglishareaffectedbytheirmotherlanguagesandthecommunicativestylespenetrateintolanguagecommunication.Thus,ChineseandEnglishspeakersoftenmakemistakesorfailincross-culturalcommunication.1.2LanguagesocializationWithincreasingcommunicationamongdifferentcountriesintheworld,peoplerealizetheimportanceofthecommunicativeabilityofforeignlanguages.Andpeoplepaymoreattentiontolanguagesocialization.Languageistheproductofasociety,whichisthesignsystemcarriedonasbeforebyhumanfromgenerationtogeneration.Allpeople’slanguagesmustberestrictedbydifferentessentialsofthesocieties.Nationallanguage,asabigessentialofthecultureinthenationculturesystem,mustbewithsomenationalcharacters.Inordertomeettherequirementsofcross-culturalcommunication,wehavetoputlanguageintothesystemofsocietyandculturetohaveacomparativeresearch,thenwecanrecognizetheinherentregularandthelanguage’sculturalforms.Languagesocializationcanbesearchedfromtheseaspects:first,differentnationshavedifferentlanguages.Inmanysituations,alanguageisjustasymboltodistinguishitfromtheothers.Therelationshipsbetweendifferentlanguages’pronunciationsandsemanticscanbeexplainedonlybysocialization.Anditisthereasonwhytherearesomanylanguagesintheworld;second,eventhesamenation’slanguagesaredifferentindifferentareas.Forexample,therearesevendialectsystemsinChinese,allofwhicharedifferentfromeachotherandwecannotfindanyessentialdifferencesfromthepeoplethemselvesofdifferentareas.Oneofthemostrevealingopportunitiesforstudyinglanguagesocializationisinthecaseofchildrengrowingupbilingually,fortheymanagenotjusttokeepthetwolanguagesseparate,buttolearnquicklywhichlanguagetousetowhichperson(BernardSpolsky,2000:44).2.Cultureabout“death”inChineseandEnglish2.1CulturalidentityItiswidelybelievedthatthereisanaturalconnectionbetweenthelanguagespokenbymembersofasocialgroupandthatgroup’sidentity.Bytheiraccent,theirvocabulary,theirdiscoursepatterns,speakersidentifythemselvesandareidentifiedasmembersofthisorthatspeechanddiscoursecommunity.Inmodern,historicallycomplex,opensocietiesitismuchmoredifficulttodefinetheboundariesofanyparticularsocialgroupandthelinguisticandculturalidentitiesofitsmembers(ClaireKramsch,2000：65).Weshouldavoidtwoculturaltendencies.Thefirstoneistotakethewesterncultureasthecentre,whichconsidersthatthewesternvalueistheonlyreasonablegeneralvalue.Theotheroneiscultureconservatism,whichconsidersthattheprocessofChinesemodernizationisaprocessofthelosinginculturalidentity,sothewesternlanguagesarerepelledinordertokeepChineseculturenotbechangedwithotherincomingcultures.About“death”,therearedifferentculturalidentitiesinChineseandEnglishbecauseofthedifferenceingeographicalenvironments,religiousfaiths,traditionalculturesandthinkingmethods.Thus,differentculturesabout“death”occurinthesetwolanguages.2.2CulturalstereotypesIncross-culturalcommunication,theculturalstereotypereferstosomeinflexiblestatementsaboutacategoryofpeople,andthesestereotypicalstatementsareappliedtoallmembersofthegroupwithoutregardforindividualdifferences(RenXiuzhen,WangHongwei,2006).Itisassumedthateveryonefromagrouphascertaincharacteristicsandallowsnoroomforindividualdifferences,soitisbynomeansthesameasinformationaboutanotherculture.Althoughculturestereotypescanbepositiveaswellasnegative,bothtypesareequallydistortinganddestructive.Theproblemliesinequatingtheracial,ethnic,nationalidentityimposedonanindividualbythestate’sbureaucraticsystem,andthatindividual’sself-ascription.Ithastobenotedthatsocietiesimposeracialandethniccategoriesonlyoncertaingroups:whitesdonotgenerallyidentifythemselvesbythecoloroftheirskin,butbytheirprovenanceornationality.TheywouldfinditludicroustodrawtheirsenseofculturalidentityfromtheirmembershipintheWhiterace(ClaireKramsch,2000：67).2.3Cultureabout“death”inChineseInChina,cultureisledbyConfucianism,soChineseconceptabout“death”isdeeplyaffectedbyConfucianism.Confucianismattachesimportanceto“birth”morethan“death”.Peopleatthattimetakeanattitudeofevadingandavoiding“death”.Confuciusoncesaid,“notknowhowtobeborn,howtoknowtodie”,whichmeansifwedidnotknowthemeaningof“birth”,thenwewouldnotknowthemeaningof“death”.Intheiropinion,theworldof“death”isunknown,sopeopleshouldpaymoreattentiontothelifetheyareliving.“Death”hasbeenputoutoftheproblemofphilosophyandlifeforalongtime.ItisshownthatChinesehasasenseoffearabout“death”.Confucianismtakeslifeasacarriertorealizehuman’ssocialvalue.Itconsidersthathuman’slifewillbemeaningfulonlybyrealizingthesocialvalue.“Loyalty”and“piety”arethecoreofthelifevalue,soallthemeaningofhumanlifeistofollowloyalandfilial.InConfucianism,humancanrealizesocialvaluebythefollowingthreemethods.Thefirstoneistoachievevirtue,whichmeanstofollowthesages’instructionsandcarryforwardtheirancestors’godsinordertosetupamoralitymodelfortheiryoungergenerations.Whentherearesomecontradictionsbetweenmoralsandlife,nodoubttheywillchoosetosacrificethemselvestoachievemorals.Thesecondoneistorendermeritoriousservice,whichmeanstoachieveoutstandingmeritsandachievementsduringlifetimeinordertopursuethefamily’sconsummatereputation.Thelastoneistoachieveinteaching,whichmeanstobesuccessfulinliterature,andtowritebookstogiveyoungergenerationssomespiritualwealth.AlloftheseConfucianismthoughtsencouragepeopleofgoodwilltosacrificethemselvesforthemotherlandandfortheirideal.Butthesekindsofthoughtsabout“death”seemnottobeworkableenough,becauseConfucianism’sviewaboutlifeanddeathareseparatedfromthereallifeandthethreewaystoachieveone’svalueabovearetoodifficulttomostofthecommonpeople.2.4Cultureabout“death”inEnglishInEnglandandotherEnglishcountries,theconceptsabout“death”arequitedifferentfromthoseinChinese.Theydaretofacedeathsquarely.Itspurposeistopursuethevalueoflifeandattachtheimportanceoflife.ThoughthisseemssimilartoConfucianism,infact,therearealotofdifferencesbetweenthem.InEnglishculture,peopledonotthinkhighlyofthesocialvalueoflife,buttheypaymoreattentiontopeople’shappinessandexperienceduringthelifetime.Theydonotseekalonglifeorprolongtheirlifepainstakingly.Theylaystressonthelife’squality.Theencouragementofpainlessdeathinthemodernwesternsocietyisanexampletocertificatehowtheylaystressonthelife’squality.Theyencouragepeopletoenjoytheirlife.Theythinkthattheirvaluecanberealizedonlywithagoodunderstandingofdeath.OneoftheimportantelementswhichinfluencetheEnglishculturemostisthecultureofChristianity.Christianitybelievesthat“death”doesnotcomefromtheGod,butcomefromhuman’ssins.Infact,HolyBibletellsusthatoriginallyhumanwouldnotdie.Thereasonwhypeoplewoulddieafterwardsisbecauseoftheirsins.Christiansdonotfeardeath.What’smore,theyevenexpecttopassawayatanearlydate.Intheiropinion,peoplecanenjoyaneternallifebetterafterdeath.Theytakedeathasadoor.Whentheycrossthisdoor,theyarenotenteringdark,butgoingintoanotherbrightworld.Whatdeathbringstothemarenotseparationanddespair,butahappyandeternallife.ThusChristiansfacedeathwithanoptimisticattitude.Theyexpecttomeettheirgodandhaveahappylifeinheaven.3.Theexpressionsof“death”inChinese“Death”inliteraryworksBecauseofthetaboosinexpressing“death”,therearealotofdifferentexpressionsabout“death”inChinese.Theexamplesaregivenasfollows(XianDaiHanYuCiDian,1999):Emperors’death:“崩”、“驾崩”、“山陵崩”；Commonpeople’sdeath:“过世”、“过去了”、“过了”、“去了”、“走了”、“返乡”、“回去”、“离开”、“长眠”、“先走一步”、“老去”、“作老人”、“作古”、“千古”、“上西天”；Underages’death:“夭”、“夭折”、“短折”、“夭亡”、“殇”、“夭殇”、“早逝（英年早逝）”、“夭逝”、“天逝”、“弃养夙殒”、“天服之殇”、“早夭”；Taoistpriests’death:“羽化”、“登仙”、“兵解”；Beauties’death:“香消玉殒”、“天妒红颜”、“红颜薄命”；Imagesaying:“见\o"馬克思"马克思”、“见老祖宗去了”；Othereuphemisms:“辞世”、“与世长辞”、“辞去人世”、“百年之后”、“寿终正寝（\o"男"男）”、“寿终内寝（\o"女"女）”、“成为故物”、“呜呼哀哉”、“已故”、“大去”、“仙逝”、“安眠”、“安息”、“往生”、“驾鹤西归”、“风去楼空”、“天妒英才”、“南极星沉”、“驾返瑶池”、“音容宛在”、“师表长存”、“杀身成仁”；Theexpressionsof“death”inChineseaboveshowusprofoundculturalbackground.The

Dreams

of

Red

Chamber

(红楼梦)isthebestexampletosupportthepointsofChinesecultureaboutdeath.Inthiswork,manyexpressionsareusedtodecribepeople’sdeath.Forexample,“如今从梦中听见说秦氏死了，连忙翻身爬起来，只觉得心中似戳了一刀的，不觉的‘哇’的一声，直喷出一口血来”,“林黛玉焚稿断痴情，薛宝钗出阁成大礼”,“苦绛珠魂归离恨天，病神瑛泪洒相思地”(CaoXueqin,1987：792).HereLinDaiyu’s“death”isnotexpressedbytheword“die”,butwecanstillfeeltheshadowofdeathtotheheroine,andwecanfeelherstrugglingwithlifeandherattitudetolove.Wecanalsoseehowpainfulshewaswhileherlovevanishedintothinair.IfwewerejusttoldthatLinDaiyuwasdead,thenwemightjustfeelthatasoulwasleavingherbodyandwemightnotfeelsadnessstrongly.Besides,therearealsoalotofdifferentexpressionsof“death”inpoems,suchasthefollowingsentencesofQuYuan’spoems:“国殇”:“身既死兮神以灵，魂魄毅兮为鬼雄”。“怀沙”:“知死不可让，愿勿爱兮”。“忆往昔”:“焉舒情而抽信兮，恬死亡而不聊”,“宁溘死而流亡兮，恐祸殃之有再”。“悲回风”:“宁溘死而流亡兮，不忍为此常愁”。“天问”:“何所不死，长人何守？”（长人，一说为长寿之人）,“延年不死，寿何所止”,“天式纵横，阳离爱死”。“渔父”:“宁赴湘流，葬于江鱼腹中”。Alloftheexpressionsof“death”thepoetsgiveusareverysuitableforeachroleinthestories.Theynotonlyshowusthepoets’writingskills,butalsoshowusthecorrespondingculturalbackgrounds.WecanbetterrecognizeChinesecultureinthephenomenonof“death”.3.2“Death”ineuphemismsandtaboosIthasbeenwidelyrecognizedthat“taboo”istheveryfoundationoftheoutcomeofeuphemisms,euphemismsofdeath,inparticular.AnditcanbefoundthatbothinChinaandEnglishcountriesthepsychologyoftabooisthemainrootoftheproductionofeuphemisms.Intheancientdays,peoplelivedinpoorconditions,inwhichboththeeconomicandspirituallifewereatlowlevels.Sotheworshipandfearfornaturebecomewidespreadamongthehumanworld.Ourforebearstendtoassociatesomekindsofmagicpowerwiththehumanworld,theresultofwhichistheappearanceof“wordmagic”.Theywouldfairlycombinewordsutteredwithfortune.Thosewords,associatedwithbadorunenjoyablethings,makepeopleshiver,andaretobeavoidedtothebesttheycan.“Death”isconsideredtobecursedorunfortunatehappenings,withtheresultofnumerouseuphemismscomingout.Therefore,whentalkingabout“death”,mostofuswouldliketouseeuphemisms.Originatedinthepsychologyoftaboo,thousandsofeuphemismscomeoutinChinese.Suchexpressionsas“安息”,“百岁”,“去世”,“牺牲”,“病故”,“作古”,“去见马克思”,“宾天”,“没了”,“升仙”,andsoon,arealltheeuphemismsof“death”.AcommontheoryholdsthatdeathisataboosubjectinmostEnglish-speakingculturespreciselyforthepsychologyoftaboo.Itmaybesaidthatoneisnotdying,butfadingquicklybecausetheendiscoming.Peoplewhohavediedarereferredtoashavingpassedawayordeparted(Net.2).4.Theexpressionsof“death”inEnglish4.1“Death”inliteraryworksInEnglish,therearealsomanydifferentexpressionsof“death”.Forexample,“kickingthebucket”,“enterthecelestialcity”,“dyingyoung”,

“onthepointofdeath”,“partingforever”,

“dying”,“passingaway”,

“restinginpeace”,

“beover”,

“bedonefor”,

“losingone'slife”,

“dyinginbattle”,

“dyingatone'spost”,

“dying(forajustcourseorforone’scountry)”,

“goingourofthisworld”,

“meetingone’sdeath”,“meetingone’send”,

“devotingoneselfto”,“sacrificingoneself”,

“breathingone’slast”,etc.(AnIntermediateLearners’English-ChineseDictionary,2003).Plato(Net.1)onceexpressedthedeathofasoldierinhisworkliterarycircles.Hesaidthatwhenhesawhisbodyburingonthefirewood,hebelievedthathissoulhadlefthisbodyandwasgoingintoaplacecalled“passage”whichtookpeopletoenteranotherlife.AndPlatoadvisedhisreadersthatpeoplemustobservetheGodtoseekwelfareandmoralexcellence,becausehumanspiritsarelastingforever.BecauseInEnglishculture,peoplethinkthathuman’ssoulcanliveaftertheirdeath,sotheirexpressionsof“death”alwaysemphasizethattheyaregoingintoanotherworld,notjustdying.4.2“Death”ineuphemismsandtaboosIthasbeenlongacceptedthateuphemismisaspecialkindoflanguagetechniques.Actuallyspeaking,euphemism,itself,isonekindofrhetoricaldevice,butwhenpeopletalkabout“death”,theywillprefertousesomerhetoricaldevices,especiallyfigurativedevice,tovaguelyrefertowhatwedonotwanttotalkaboutbymetaphor,simile,understatement,etc.Despitedifferentculturalheritages,euphemismsinthispartareincommon.BothinChinaandwesterncountriespeopletendtocomparelifetoajourney.Sincelifeisajourney,everyonemaygototheendofthejourney,indicatingeveryonecannotavoiddeath.Forexample,thereareEnglisheuphemismsof“death”like“thelastsentoff”,“tohavegoneout”,“togothewayofallflesh”,“thelastvoyage”,and“tolaunchintotheeternity”.Similartothemetaphorofjourney,“death”isalsocomparedtosleep.Wemayfrequentlymeetsucheuphemismsas“beatrest”,“gotosleepforever”inEnglish,and“安息”,“长眠”,“长寐”inChinese.Anotherexampleistheeuphemisticexpression“gotothewest”inEnglish,andinChinesewehavethesimilarone“上西天”.Thismaybecreditedtothesamenaturalphenomenoninbothcountries,wherethesunrisesintheeastandsetsinthewest(Net.2).Andusuallywemaynotsay“die”directly,sotosomeextentitisakindofunderstatement.Besidestheexamplesabove,wecanfindagreatmanyexamplesoffigurativespeechintheeuphemisticexpressions,someofwhichmaytakethesimilarorsameformontheaccountofthesimilarorsameculture.Thekeypointisthatweshouldtrytobecomeasharpobservanttofindthesesimilaritiesforthesakeofsuccessfulcommunication.5.Comparisonoftheexpressionsof“death”inChineseandEnglish5.1ThedifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishexpressionsof“death”inliteraryworksFromtheworksinChineseandinEnglish,wewillfindthattherearealotofdifferencesbetweenthetwolanguages.First,becauseofthetraditionalconceptstowardsdeath,intheearlyChineseliterature,writersdonotdaretodescribethephenomenonaboutdeath.ButinEnglishliterature,writersdaretofacedeathandtheyusedifferentwaystoexpress“death”,suchasShakespeare’s“tobeornottobe,thatisaquestion”.Theythinkthatawritermustlearntowritenotonly“birth”butalso“death”.Second,intheEnglishliteraryworks,therearealotofexpressionsof“death”showingtheiroptimisticattitudetodeath.Buttheyalsohavesomeexpressionswithterriblemeaningsintheworks,becausetheythinkthatpeoplediebecauseoftheirsins.Fromtheliteraryworksweseethat“death”inChineseliteratureisalwaysrelatedtohellandretribution,whileinEnglishliterature,“death”isusuallyconnectedwithheaven,happinessandholy.5.2ThedifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishexpressionsof“death”ineuphemismsandtaboosAparticularlanguageisusuallygeneratedbyaculturalcharacteristicofanationandinturnrepresentsthatculture.Theyareinteractiveandsupplementary.Euphemism,aspeciallinguisticexpression,isalsoboundupwithculture.Therefore,euphemismsabout“death”bothinChineseandEnglishreflecttheuniquenessofeachnationalcultureinthateuphemisticexpressionsbeardistinctiveculturaltraits.InEnglish,mostoftheeuphemismsof“death”tellpeoplethatthedeadisgoingtotheWesternParadiseorthePureLand,suchas“gotoabetterworld”,“gotoglory”,“gotoheaven”,“never-endingsleepInChinese,theeuphemismsof“death”aredifferent.Chineseshowapessimisticattitudetothedead,suchas“过世”，“香消玉殒”，“红颜薄命”，“夭折”，“与世长辞”，etc.InChineseexpressionsof“death”,thereisapessimisticmood,fullofsorrowfulsadness.ButinEnglish,therearestillsomehopefulexpressionsof“death”.ChineseandEnglisharetwocompletelydifferentlanguages.Theyaresortedintotwodifferentlanguagesystems.Furthermore,twodifferentculturalsystems,toagreatextent,havegreatinfluencetothedifferencesintheuseofChineseandEnglisheuphemisms.Euphemismsindifferentcountriesreflectdifferentculturalheritages,suchasthinkingways,nationalcharacteristics,likesanddislikes.5.3TheculturaldifferencebetweenChineseandEnglishexpressionsof“death”Withthematerialsgivenabove,wecaneasilyfindthedifferencesbetweenculturesinChineseandEnglish.InEnglishculture,Christiantyplaysanimportantrole.AndinChristianity’sculture,deathdepriveshumanbeingoffreedom.Buttheyalsothinkthathumancangetfreedomafterdeath.Theybelievedeathistheonlywaytoreleasethemselvesfrompoverty,sadness,andothersufferings.Theyconsiderthatthesoulisperpetualandhappy,butitisheldinhuman’sbody.Onlyafterdeathcouldpeoplegetrealfreedom.Anddeathencouragespeopletoliveseriously.Peopleknowthathuman’slifeislimited,thentheyjustcantreasuretime,andworkhardtorealizetheirvalues.Second,inChina,feudalisminfluencesChineseculturedeeply.Nowadays,itstillaffectsChineseexpressionsof“death”.InChinese,thedeadhavetwoways,eithergoingtotheheavenorgoingtothehell,somostoftheexpressionsof“death”areseparatedintotwokinds.WhatisquitedifferentfromtheEnglishisthattheChinesedonothaveafirmopinionthatpeople’ssoulcanliveforever,sotheirexpressionsof“death”insomedegreeshowtheirfeartothephenomenon.Theexpressionsof“death”inChinesetellatruthoranactionthatthepeopleisdead,whichmeansalife’send.Third,thefuneralritesalsoshowtheculturaldifferencebetweenChineseandEnglish.GrievedandsorrowfulexpressionsareusedtodescribethefuneralritesinChinese,butforthewesternfuneralrites,solemnanddignifiedexpressionsareemployed.Fromthemusicinthefuneralrites,wecanalsofindthedifferencebetweentheculturesofChineseandEnglish.InChinesefuneralrites,thefuneralmusicissadenoughtomakepeoplepainful,butinEnglishfuneralrites,thefuneralmusickeepspeoplecalm,andthereissomeoptimisticelementinsidethemusic,whichencouragespeopletochangesadnessintothepowertoworkhardandgetoutofsadnessinashorttime.AndinChinesefuneralrites,therelativesofthedeadcryverysadlywhythedeadleavessoearly,butinEnglishfuneralrites,peoplejustsaysomethinggoodtowishthedeadahappylifeintheheaven.Fromthediscussionoftheexpressionsof“death”bothinChineseandEnglishcultures,wecanfindtheimportanceofculturetolanguage.6.ConclusionFromthecomparisonoftheexpressionsof“death”inChineseandEnglish,wecanseetheculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish.Besides,wecanalsoseetherelationshipbetweencultureandlanguage.Thephenomenonofthedifferencesbetweendifferentlanguagescanshowusthecloserelationshipbetweenlanguageandculture.Firstly,Language,asaproductofculture,helpsperpetuateculture,andthechangesinlanguageusesreflecttheculturalchangesinreturn.Languageiscloselyrelatedtoculture.Languageexpressesandembodiesculturalreality.WeshouldknowEnglishcultureinordertouseEnglishproperly.Secondly,“Culture,inabroadsense,meansthetotalwayoflifeofpeople,includingthepatternsofbelief,customs,objects,institutions,techniques,andlanguagethatcharacterizesthelifeofthehumancommunity”(DaiWeidong,HeZhaoxiong,2004：96).Thatmeanscultureismoreorle