《中西文化比较（英文版）（第2版）》unit 2 The Chinese and Western Language

中西文化比较TheComparisonbetweenChineseandWesternCulture

Unit2TheChineseandWesternLanguage图片Background

About1/5oftheworld’spopulationspeakChineseastheirnativelanguage.ThewrittenformofChineseusingcharactersisatleast3,500yearsold.Theyevolvedfrombasicpictogramstomoreabstractsymbols.Meanwhile,thespokenlanguagehasundergoneevolutionanddiversification.EnglishisaWestGermaniclanguagethatwasfirstspokenbyAnglo-Saxonsintheearlymiddleages.Thereareabout375millionnativespeakersandabout220millionpeoplespeakitasasecondlanguage.ThismakesEnglishthesecondmostspokenlanguageandthemostinternationaloneintheworld.VocabularyExtensionTextA

Notes1.dialectn.

aformofalanguagethatisspokeninaparticulararea①Theybegantospeakrapidlyindialect.他们开始叽里呱啦地说起地方话来。②ThecharactersinthatnovelspeakaYorkshiredialect.那部小说里的人物讲的是一种约克郡方言。TextA

Notes2.variantn./adj.

①somethingalittledifferentfromothersofthesametype②differingfromanormorstandard①Thisgameisavariantofbaseball.这种运动是由棒球演变而来的。②Therearesomanyvariantspellingsofhisname.他的名字有很多不同的拼写形式。TextA

Notes3.Mandarinn.

thestandardformofChinese,whichistheofficiallanguageofChina①OursupportfortheChineseclientsisinMandarinlanguage.我们对中国客户提供中文支持。②OneofthecharacteristicsofstandardMandarinisitstones.汉语普通话的特点之一是它的声调。TextA

Notes4.vicinityn.

theareaaroundaparticularplace①Therewereahundredorsohotelsinthevicinityoftherailwaystation.在火车站附近大约有100家旅馆。②Thereisnohospitalintheimmediatevicinity.附近没有医院。TextA

Notes5.comediann.

anentertainerwhomakespeoplelaughbytellingjokesorfunnystories①MyspecialguestwillbecomedianBenElton.我的特邀嘉宾将是喜剧演员本·艾尔顿。②I’mgoingtowritegoodjokesandbecomeagoodcomedian.我打算写一些精彩的笑话，成为出色的喜剧作家。TextA

Notes6.intelligibleadj.

capableofbeingapprehendedorunderstood①Hislecturewasreadilyintelligibletoallthestudents.他的讲课学生们都能轻松地听懂。②ThelanguageofDarwinwasintelligibletoexpertsandnon-expertsalike.达尔文的语言无论对专家还是非专业人士而言都明白易懂。TextA

Notes7.episoden.

①anevent,asituation,oraperiodoftimeinsomebody’slife,anovel,etc.thatisimportantorinterestinginsomeway②onepartofastorythatisbroadcastontelevisionorradioinseveralparts①InthisgrimlittleepisodeofrecentAmericanhistory,fewpeoplecomeoutwell.在美国近代史上这一小段阴暗时期，很少有人能有好

的结果。②ThefinalepisodewillbeshownnextSunday.下周日将播出最后一集。TextA

Notes8.migrationn.

themovementoflargenumbersofpeople,birdsoranimalsfromoneplacetoanother①Thescaleofmigrationtookahugeleapintheearly1970s.20世纪70年代初，移民的规模骤然扩大。②Birthplacedataareonlythecrudestindicatorofactualmigrationpaths.出生地信息只能非常粗略地显示实际移民过程。TextA

Notes9.unrestn.

①afeelingofrestlessagitation②astateofagitationorturbulentchangeordevelopment①Therecouldbemoreunrest,butIwouldn’texaggeratetheproblems.可能会有更大的动荡，不过我想也不必夸大问题。②Thereisgrowingunrestinthesouthofthecountry.这个国家的南方日益动荡不安。TextA

Notes10.forebearn.

apersoninyourfamilywholivedalongtimeago①I’llcomebacktothelandofmyforebears.我将回到祖先的土地上。②HeistraditionallyconsideredtobetheforebearoftheArabs.他传统上被认为是阿拉伯人的祖先。TextA

KeySentences1.TheChineselanguageconsistsofawholebunchofspokendialectsandonesharedcommonwrittenlanguage…ThespokenChineselanguageiscomprisedofmanyregionalvariantscalleddialect.consistof…becomprisedof…包括；包含；由…组成；是……组成部分

TextA

KeySentences2.Onthewhole,therearefourtonesinChinese:theflattone,therisingtone,thelowrisingtone,andthedowntone…Scholarsusuallyclassifythesedialectsintosixmaindialects.Culturaltips:六大方言：吴方言、粤方言、闽方言、赣方言、湘方言、客家方言同时在复杂的方言区内，有的还可以再分列为若干个方言片（又称为次方言），甚至再分为“方言小片”，明确到一个个地点（某市、某县、某镇、某村）的方言，就叫做地方方言。如福州话、南昌话、广州话、长沙话等。TextA

KeySentences3.ItiscommonlybelievedthatHakkapeoplehavetheiroriginsinseveralepisodesofmigrationfromNorthernChinaintoSouthernChinaduringperiodsofwarandcivilunrestdatingbackasfarastheendofWesternJin.Culturaltips:客家是唯一一个不以地域命名的民系，是世界上分布范围广阔、影响深远的民系之一。客家这一称谓源于东晋南北朝时期的给客制度及唐宋时期的客户制度。移民入籍者皆编入客籍，而客籍人遂称为客家人。TextAI.AnswerthefollowingquestionsinEnglish.1.ListsixcategoriesofChinesecharacters.Inancienttimes,Chinesecharactersfellintosixcategories.Thefirstfourcategoriesincludepictographs,self-explanatorycharacters,complexideograms,andsemantic-phoneticcharacterswhichindicatethemethodsofformingcharacters.Thenexttwocategoriesareassociativetransformationsandphoneticloancharacterswhichrefertotheusageofcharacters.TextA2.WriteashortpassageaboutthedevelopmentofancientChinesecharacters.TherewasanancientlegendaryfigurewhosenamewasCangjie.HeworkedasYellowEmperor’shistoriographer.ItwassaidthatCangjiehadfoureyesandhewasgoodatobservation.Heoftenwatchedthefootprintsofbirdsandbeastsaswellastheappearanceofstars.Hislong-termobservationinspiredhimtocreatetheearliestwrittenChinesecharacters.TextA3.Whatistherelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureincommunication?Asapartofandthecarrierofculture,languageisanimportantwayofcommunication.Anylanguageisbornwithformationofitscultureandthengrowswiththedevelopmentofitscultureandinsomecases,vanisheswithitsculture.TextAII.ExplainthefollowingwordsandexpressionsinEnglish.1.ChinesesyllableThestandardunitoftheChineselanguageisthesyllable.EachChinesecharacterisspokenasonesyllable.Eachsyllableiseitherafinaloraninitialfollowedbyafinal.Thereareseveralhundredsyllablesincommonuse,whichrepresentthousandsofChinesecharacters.TextA2.SuzhoudialectSuzhoudialectistraditionallyspokeninthecityofSuzhouinJiangsuProvince.ItisavarietyofWudialectandisconsideredtobeWuprestigedialect.AsoneofthemostflowingandelegantlanguagesinChina,itisrichinvowelsandconservativeinhavingmanyinitials.TextA3.finalsoundThereare36finalsounds,whichareeitherpurelyvowelsoramixtureofvowelandconsonantpronunciation.Chineselinguistsdividefinalsintosinglevowels,compoundfinals,andnasalfinals.There’refourfinals,ün,üan,uen,andueng,whichneverappearinChinesePinyin.TextA4.toneToneplaysaveryimportantroleinthemeaningofthecharacters.DifferenttonesinPinyinleadtodifferentcharactersanddifferentmeanings.TheChineselanguagehasfourpronouncedtones,whicharemarkedwithalittlesymbolabovethevoweltowhichtheyrelate.Inaddition,there’salsoashort,lesspronouncedtonecalledthelighttone,whichisgivennotonalmarker.TextA5.theSino-TibetanlanguagefamilyTheSino-Tibetanlanguagefamilyisoneofthelargestlanguagefamiliesintheworld,withmorefirst-languagespeakersthantheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily.Morethan1.1billionspeakersoftheSiniticlanguageconstitutetheworld’slargestspeechcommunity.ItincludesboththeSiniticlanguageandtheTibeto-Burmanlanguage.TextAIII.Matchthefollowingwordsandexpressionswiththe

correctChinese.TextAIII.Matchthefollowingwordsandexpressionswiththe

correctChinese.TextAIV.TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoEnglish.1.

汉语方言非常复杂，它们在发音、词汇和语法方面均有所不同，其中发音的区别尤为显著。和方言相比，普通话能被所有人理解，它有利于不同民族、地区人们之间的信息传递和文化交流。1.DialectsoftheChineselanguageareverycomplicated.Theydifferfromeachotherinpronunciation,vocabulary,andgrammarandthedifferenceinpronunciationisparticularlyoutstanding.Comparedwithdialects,Mandarincanbeunderstoodbyallthepeople.Itisbeneficialtoinformationtransmissionandculturalexchangebetweenethnicgroupsandpeopleindifferentplaces.TextA2.中国汉字经过不断的发展最终成为一种兼具音、形、意、韵的独特文字。汉字的结构“内圆外方”，源于古人“天圆地方”的观念。汉字有五种基本笔画，即横、竖、撇、捺、折。2.Afteralongperiodofdevelopment,Chinesecharactersfinallybecomeauniquecharactersystemthatembodiesphoneticsound,image,idea,andrhymeatthesametime.Chinesecharactersareroundinsideandsquareoutside,whichisrootedinancientChinesebeliefsofanorbicularskyandarectangularearth.ThefivebasicstrokesofChinesecharactersarethehorizontalstroke,theverticalstroke,theleft-fallingstroke,theright-fallingstroke,andtheturningstroke.TextA

Notes1.interrogativen./adj.

①asentenceofinquirythatasksforareply②askingaquestion;intheformofaquestion①Donovancockedaninterrogativeeyeathiscompanion,whonoddedinreply.多诺万向他的同伴投以疑问的眼神，对方点头回应。②Englishinterrogativesentenceisoneofthefourbasicsimplesentencepatterns.英语疑问句是英语简单句中四种基本句子类型之一。TextA

Notes2.negationn.

theexactoppositeofsomething;theactofcausingsomethingnottoexistortobecomeitsopposite①Sheshookherheadinnegation.她摇头表示反对。

②Theeditorgrimaced,gesturinginnegation.编辑一脸苦相，做了个拒绝的手势。TextA

Notes3.accentn.

awayofpronouncingthewordsofalanguagethatshowswhichcountry,areaorsocialclassapersoncomesfrom①HehaddevelopedaslightAmericanaccent.他说话带上了一点轻微的美国口音。②Thewaysheputsonthataccentreallyirritatesme.她故意操那种口音的样子实在令我恼火。TextA

Notes4.phoneticsn.

thestudyofspeechsoundsandhowtheyareproduced①TeachingChinesephoneticstoforeignstudentsisanimportantpartofChineselanguageteaching.汉语语音是对外汉语教学的重要组成部分。②Withthetechnologyadvances,experimentalphoneticsalsogotbetterdevelopment.随着科技的不断进步，实验语音学也得到了更好的发展。TextA

Notes5.phonologyn.

thespeechsoundsofaparticularlanguage;thestudyofthesesounds①ThephonologyofChinesecharacteralterswiththedevelopmentofthetime.汉字语音随着时代的发展而改变。②EnglishphonologyteachingisveryimportantintheearlystagesofcollegeEnglishteaching.大学英语基础阶段语音教学是非常关键的。TextA

Notes6.raccoonn.

asmallanimalthathasdark-colouredfurwithwhitestripesonitsfaceandonitslongtail①Raccoonsusedtobetrappedfortheirfur.人们过去经常猎取浣熊，以获得其毛皮。②Shedrewwhitespotsontheraccoontoshowdew.她在浣熊身上画上白点来表现露水。

TextA

Notes7.canoen.

alightnarrowboatwhichyoumovealonginthewaterwithapaddle①Thecanoecutthroughthewater.独木舟划破水面前行。

②Thecentreoffersactivitieslikecanoeingandsailingandsuch.这个中心开展划艇、帆船之类的活动。TextA

Notes8.savannan.

aflatgrasslandintropicalorsubtropicalregions①TheseuprightapesevolvedontheAfricansavannaabouttwomillionyearsago.约二百万年前，这些直立猿人在非洲的热带稀树草原进化。②ThisisthelargestintactsavannainEastAfrica.这是东非最大最完整的热带稀树草原。TextA

Notes9.manglev.

tocrushortwistsomethingsothatitisbadlydamaged①Hisbodywascrushedandmangledbeyondrecognition.他的身体被压得血肉模糊，根本无法辨认。②Theydon’tknowwhatthey’retalkingaboutandmanglescientificinformation.他们不知所云，把科学知识讲得错误百出。TextA

Notes10.benchmarkn.

somethingwhichcanbemeasuredandusedasastandardthatotherthingscanbecomparedwith①Testsattheageofsevenprovideabenchmarkagainstwhichthechild’sprogressatschoolcanbemeasured.七岁时进行的测试为孩子在学校中的学习发展提供了一个测量基准。

②Thetruckindustryisabenchmarkfortheeconomy.卡车业是衡量经济的一个基准。TextB

KeySentences1.TheearliestformsofEnglish,asetofAnglo-FrisiandialectsbroughttotheGreatBritainbysomeAnglo-Saxonswhosettledthereinthe5thcentury,arecalledOldEnglish.Culturaltips:“Anglo-Saxon”盎格鲁-撒克逊人主要形容祖籍来自英格兰、母语为现代英语的欧裔白人群体，为英语国家的主体族群。WASP:隐形“贵族”TextB

KeySentences2.ModernEnglishhaslittleinflectioncomparedwithmanyotherlanguagesandreliesmoreonauxiliaryverbsandwordordersfortheexpressionofpassiveconstructions,interrogatives,andsomenegation.Inflection:屈折变化Auxiliaryverbs:助动词Wordorders:语序Passiveconstruction:被动结构TextB

KeySentences3.TheAmericandialectalsoservedastherouteofintroductionformanynativeAmericanwordsintotheEnglishlanguage.serveas…用作；充当①Thesofawillserveasabedforanightortwo.沙发可以当床凑合一两夜。②Shewaselectedtoserveassecretaryofthelocalparty.她当选为地方党组织的书记。TextBI.AnswerthefollowingquestionsinEnglish.1.ListoneortwoWesternlanguagesoftheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily.①GermanisaWestGermaniclanguagethatismainlyspokeninCentralEurope.ItisthemostwidelyspokenandofficiallanguageinGermany,Austria,Switzerland,andtheGerman-speakingCommunityofBelgium.GermanisalsoanofficialbutnotmajoritylanguageofLuxembourg.ItisthesecondmostwidelyspokenGermaniclanguageafterEnglish.②ItalianisaRomancelanguageoftheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily.ItisspokenmainlyinItaly,SouthernSwitzerland,SanMarino,Sicily,andNorthernSardinia.LiketheotherRomancelanguages,ItalianretainstheclosestresemblancetospokenbytheRomans.TextB2.WriteashortpassageaboutthedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishwordformation.Chineseisn’taninflectivelanguage.ThedevelopmentofChinesewordformationisjustfromsingle-syllablecharacterstomultiple-syllablecharacters.UnlikeChinese,Englishisaninflectivelanguage,whichmeansaddingaffixescancreatenewwordsorchangetheclassoftheword.Besides,itisformedbyanalphabet.TextB3.WhatarethedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlanguageinsyntax?Firstly,Englishemphasizesthestructure,whileChinesefocusesonthemeaning.Next,inEnglish,wordsareoftenomittedtoavoidrecurrencesandtomakethesentenceshorterandsimpler.InChinese,incontrast,wordsaregenerallynotomittedandinsteadmayberepeated.TextBII.ExplainthefollowingwordsandexpressionsinEnglish.1.Anglo-SaxonTheAnglo-SaxonswerepeoplewhoinhabitedGreatBritainfromthe5thcentury.TheycomprisedpeoplefromGermanictribeswhomigratedtotheislandfromcontinentalEurope.TheirdescendantsandindigenousBritishgroupsadoptedsomeaspectsofAnglo-Saxoncultureandlanguage.TextB2.NormanConquestofEnglandNormanConquestofEnglandwasthe11thcenturyinvasionandoccupationofEnglandbyanarmyofNorman,Breton,andFrenchsoldiersledbyDukeWilliamIIofNormandy,laterstyledasWilliamtheConqueror.TextB3.GermaniclanguagesGermaniclanguagesarebranchesoftheIndo-Europeanlanguagefamily.ScholarsoftendividetheGermaniclanguagesintothreegroups:WestGermanic,includingEnglish,German,andDutch；NorthGermanic,includingDanish,Swedish,Icelandic,andNorwegian；andEastGermanic,nowextinct,comprisingonlyGothicandthelanguagesofafewtribes.TextB4.theGreatVowelShiftTheGreatVowelShiftwasamajorchangeinthepronunciationoftheEnglishlanguagethattookplaceinEnglandbetween1350and1600.ThroughtheGreatVowelShift,allMiddleEnglishlongvowelschangedtheirpronunciationandEnglishspellingbecamestandardizedinthe15thand16thcenturies.TextB5.LatinlanguageLatinisanItaliclanguagespreadthroughouttheMediterraneanandalargepartofEurope.ItlaterevolvedintolanguagessuchasFrench,Italian,Romanian,Spanish,andPortuguese.ItwasalsotheinternationallanguageofscienceandscholarshipincentralandwesternEuropeuntilthe17thcentury.TheLatinalphabet,alsocalledtheRomanalphabet,isthemostwidelyusedalphabeticwritingsystemintheworldtoday.TextBIII.Matchthefollowingwordsandexpressionswiththe

correctChinese.TextBIII.Matchthefollowingwordsandexpressionswiththe

correctChinese.TextBIV.TranslatethefollowingsentencesintoEnglish.1.EarlyModernEnglishandLateModernEnglishvaryessentiallyonvocabulary.LateModernEnglishhasmanymorewordsarisingfromtheIndustrialRevolutionandthetechnologythatcreatedaneedfornewwords.1.早期现代英语和晚期现代英语在词汇上有本质的不同。晚期现代英语的词汇量大得多，这些词大量产生于工业革命和需要新词的技术领域。TextB2.ArecentsurveybyGallupshowedthatonly1/4AmericansaremultilingualorabletospeakmorethanonelanguageandmostmultilingualAmericansareimmigrantsorthechildrenofimmigrants.ChinaDailyestimatesthat400millionChinesearestudyingEnglish.ThatmeansChinahasmoreEnglishlearnersthanAmerica.2.最近，盖洛普民意测验的一项调查显示：四分之一的美国人会多种语言或者能说至少两种语言。大多数会说多种语言的美国人都是移民或移民的孩子。据《中国日报》估计，约有四亿中国人在学习英语，也就是说，中国学英语的人数比美国讲英语的人数还要多。ZhaoYuanrenNoamChomskyTextCComparison1OracleBoneScriptLatinScriptTextCComparison2ChineseLoanwordsinEnglishEnglishLoanwordsinChineseTextCComparison3TheKangxiDictionaryTheOxfordEnglishDictionaryTextCComparison4ColorWordsinChineseColorWordsinEnglishTextCComparison5Case

Study

有趣的对话

李老师在加拿大的一所孔子学院任教，她在学校里时常能听到一些有意思的对话。例如一次课间，学生A说：“后天是我奶奶的生日，我要回家。”学生B回应：“真的吗？你奶奶几岁了？”一次下课之后，她听见一名40多岁的学生跟20岁左右的学生道别：“兄弟，天冷，保重身体。”这些对话经常让李老师啼笑皆非。Case

Study

分析点评

汉语和英语在语用习惯和文化内涵上有差异。中国文化有着尊老的悠久传统，因此在询问对方奶奶年龄时，应该使用“高寿”或者“多大年纪”。同样，“保重”一词多用于长者之间，或者由晚辈对长辈说。案例中的对话都出现了语言文化差异引发的使用偏误。在学习过程中，应该注意并尊重不同语言的文化差异和使用习惯。Translation

汉译英

1.方言

中国幅员辽阔，人口众多，很多地方人们都说自己的方言。方言在发音上差别最大，词汇和语法差别较小。有些方言，特别是北方和南方的方言，差异很大，以至于说不同方言的人常常很难听懂彼此讲的话。方言被认为是地方文化的一个组成部分，但近年来能说方言的人数不断减少。为了避免更多方言的消失，一些地方政府已经采取措施，如在学校开设方言课，在广播和电视上播放方言节目，以期保留本地的文化遗产。Translation

Keys

1.Dialects

Asacountryboastingavastterritoryandencompassingalargepopulation,peopleinmanyplacesofChinaspeaktheirowndialects.Dialectsvarygreatlyinpronunciationbutslightlyinvocabularyandgrammar.Somedialects,especiallythosefromthenorthandthesouth,aresodifferentthattheirspeakersoftenhavetroubleunderstandingeachother.Althoughdialectsareconsideredasanintegralpartofthelocalculture,thenumberofpeoplewhocanspeakthemhasbeenundergoingacontinuousdeclineinrecentyears.Inordertoavoidlosingmorelocaldialects,somelocalgovernmentshavetakenmeasuressuchassettingupdialectcoursesandbroadcastingdialectprogramsonradioandTV,withahopetopreservethelocalculturalheritage.Translation

汉译英

2.汉语汉语现在是世界上被最多人用作母语的语言。汉语与西方语言的一个重要区别在于它是以汉字(而不是字母)构成的。汉语是目前仍在使用的最古老的书写系统。在中国，来自不同地区的人可能听不懂对方的方言，但由于汉字有统一的书写形式，他们交流起来几乎没有任何困难。在历史上，汉字对中华民族的统一发挥了重要作用。如今，随着中国经济的快速增长和全球影响力的增强，越来越多的外国人开始学习汉语。Translation

Keys

2.ChineseLanguage

TheChineselanguageisusedasnativelanguagebythegreatestnumberofpeopleintheworld.OneofthesignificantdistinctionsbetweenChineseandWesternlanguagesliesinitscompositionofcharactersratherthanletters.TheChineselanguageistheoldestwritingsystemstillinuse.InChina,althoughpeoplefromdifferentregionsmaynotunderstandeachother’sdialects,theyhavelittledifficultyincommunicatingbecauseChinesecharactersarewritteninauniformform.TheChineselanguagehasplayedquiteanimportantroleintheunificationoftheChinesenationinhistory.Nowadays,withChina’srapideconomicgrowtha