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      中英語言禁忌

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      中英語言禁忌

      [Abstract]Language,asthecarrierofculture,iscreatedduringtheprocessofhumanbeings’productivelaborandservesasthetoolofcommunicationtoconveythemessagebetweenpeople.However,ithasbeenendowedwithmagicandpowerinparticularlanguageacts.Astheoldsayinggoes,troublescomeoutofthetongue.Superstitiouspeoplethinkthatthelanguageitselfcanbringaboutfortuneormisfortunesothattaboostorestricttheuseoflanguagearecreated.Anyonewhoviolatesthemwillgetpunishment,whereasthosewhofaithfullyobeytherestrictionsoflanguagetaboowillgetprotection.Furthermore,linguistictabooschangewiththedevelopmentofsociety.Thepaperfirstlyanalyzestheevolutionoflinguistictaboo.Secondly,itisindicatedinthepaperthatlinguistictabooexistsinalmosteveryaspectofpeople’slifeandisauniversalsocialphenomenoninChinaandBritain.BothChineseandEnglishculturesareinagreementaboutlinguistictaboossuchaspronunciationtaboo,andvocabularytaboo.However,influencedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds,ideologiesandtheconceptsofvalue,ChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosalsohavedifferences,asisdiscussedinthepaperfromtheaspectsoftaboosubjects,taboonumbersandnames.Atlast,thispaperputsforwardtwoeffectivewaysofavoidingtaboo,thatis,usingeuphemismandhavingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture.AndthisdiscussionwouldhelpEnglishlearnersimprovetheirabilityofcross-culturalcommunicationandachievebettercommunicationaleffects.

      [KeyWords]linguistictaboo;evolution;similarities;differences

      【摘要】語言是人們在活動過程中產(chǎn)生和發(fā)展起來的一種社交工具,其功能就是溝通信息,但在特定的語言行為中,卻被賦予了它自身所沒有的超人的感覺和超人的力量。社會成員竟認(rèn)為語言本身能給人類帶來某種吉祥或不幸,人為地設(shè)置了種種語言禁區(qū)。他們相信誰要是違背這些語言禁忌,誰就會受到應(yīng)有的懲罰。反之,誰要是忠實(shí)遵循了語言禁忌的約束,誰就會得到相應(yīng)的庇護(hù)和保佑。語言禁忌會隨著社會的發(fā)展而變化。本論文首先論述了語言禁忌的演變,接著提出語言禁忌存在于人們生活的各個(gè)方面,是一種普遍存在的社會現(xiàn)象。在漢英兩種語言中,有些忌諱是一致的。文中分析了中英語言禁忌在語音層面、詞匯方面的相似性。但是由于漢英民族文化背景、意識形態(tài)、價(jià)值觀念等的不同,中英語言禁忌的內(nèi)容和形式也有一些差異,因此本論文還探討了中英語言禁忌在私人話題、數(shù)字和命名稱謂方面的互異性。這些異同和發(fā)展演進(jìn)往往會給跨文化交際帶來一些障礙,為此,有效避免使用禁忌語的方法主要是使用委婉語代替禁忌詞,并充分了解異國的文化背景。希望本論文的研究能幫助英語學(xué)習(xí)者加深英漢兩種語言和文化的理解,提高跨文化交際能力,避免交際失敗,達(dá)到理想的交際效果。

      【關(guān)鍵詞】語言禁忌;演變;相似點(diǎn);不同點(diǎn)

      1.Introduction

      “Itismanifestedinlanguage:persons,thingsandactivitiesthataretabooshouldnotbetalkedaboutorshouldbementionedinaroundaboutwayinlanguage.Wordsandexpressionsrelatedtothesesocialtaboosarelinguistictaboos.”[1]TheabovedefinitionshowsthatLinguistictaboo,asanintegralpartoflanguage,isnotonlyalinguisticphenomenonbutalsoasocialphenomenon.

      Likeotherpartsoflanguage,theoriginoflinguistictabooisdeeplyrootedintheprimitivesocialandculturalbackgroundanditschangeisgreatlyinfluencedbythedevelopmentofhumansocietyinordertosatisfyhumanbeings’needsforsmoothcommunications.Withtheadvancementofscienceandtechnology,manypuzzlesabouttheuniversearesolved,andwiththeincreaseofmaterialwealth,humandemandsforspiritualcivilizationarealsobecominghigher.Evidently,linguistictaboosareareflectionofthesesocialdevelopmentandthevalueconceptsandbeliefsofthecultureinwhichtheyareborn.Itexistsineveryaspectofpeople’slife.

      TherearesomesimilaritiesinEnglishandChineselinguistictaboo,butdifferentculturesmaynotallagreeonwhatisorisnotatabooinaspecificcontext.SothedifferencesalsoexistbetweenEnglishandChineselinguistictaboo.ALackofknowledgeinthisfieldorimproperuseoflinguistictaboosmayleadtomisunderstandings,conflictsandotherunknownseriousconsequencesinthecross–culturecommunicationswhichisincreasinglyfrequentandwidernow.

      Thispaperintendstostudytheevolutionoflinguistictaboo,toanalyzethesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictabooinpronunciationandvocabulary,andpresentthedifferencesfromtheaspectsofnames,numbersaswellastaboosubjectsinbothcultures.Lastbutnotleast,twoeffectivewaysareproposedtoavoidlinguistictaboos.

      2.Theevolutionoflinguistictaboo

      Thewordtaboo(alsospelledas“tabu”,“tapu”and“kapu”)wasborrowedfromTonga,anislandgroupinPolynesia,anditsfirstrecordeduseinEnglishwasbyCaptainJamesCook(1729-1779),aBritishnavigator.HecametotheArchipelagoofTongaduringhisexplorationsinthesouthernpartofthePacificOcean.Thereheheardthewordfromthelocalpeople,whichoriginallyreferredtopersons,activities(includingspeech),orthingsunderprohibitionbecausetheywereconsidered,ontheonehand,”sacred”and“consecrated”,andontheother,“uncanny”,“dangerous”and“unclean”.HeintroduceditintoEnglishinhisdescriptionofhisthirdvoyagearoundtheworldin1777.ButtaboophenomenaarenotuniqueinTonga.Instead,ithaslongexistedinallculturesandlanguagethroughouttheworld.[2]

      Aswehavementionedabove,linguistictabooisnotonlyalinguisticphenomenonbutalsoakindofsocialphenomenon.Thedevelopmentofsocietyhasinfluencedthedevelopmentoflinguistictaboo.Soifwewanttorevealthewholepictureoflinguistictaboo,wemusthaveareviewofthehistoryoflinguistictaboo.“Theevolutionoflinguistictaboohasgenerallyexperiencedthreestagesaccordingtothehistoryofhumansociety:theprimitivesuperstitionsstage,thefeudalpatriarchalstage,andmoderndemocraticstage.Butthereisnoexplicitdemarcationlinebetweenthreestages.”[3]

      2.1Theprimitivesuperstitiousstages

      Asweallknow,Intheprimitivesociety,peopledidn’tgettoknowwellaboutnature,mostnaturalphenomenasuchaslightning,thunder,storm,earthquake,werebeyondtheunderstandingofhumanbeings.Whenthesephenomenahappened,theythoughtthatcertainsupernaturalcreaturespossessedgreatpower.Theythoughtthatiftheywereloyaltothesesupernaturalcreatures,theywouldbesafeorrewarded.Iftheyactedagainstthem,theywouldbepunishedseverely.Asaresult,theprimitivepeoplecreateddifferentkindsofgods.Theyheldastrongreligiousconvictionthatthesegodscontrolledtheworldthattheywerelivingin.Sothefirstthingtheydidwastorespectthesegodsthroughlanguage.ThereisanexamplefromtheSeventhCommandmentoftheTenCommandmentinBible“YoushallnotmakewrongfuluseofthenameoftheLordyourGod,fortheLordwillnotacquitanyonewhomisuseshisname”.[4]

      Inaword,theearliestlinguistictabooemergedasaresultoftheignoranceandsuperstitionoftheprimitivepeopleinancienttimes.

      2.2Thefeudalpatriarchalstage

      Feudalsocietyisrigidlystratified.Acountryoffeudalismisusuallycontrolledbytheroyalsandsometimestogetherwiththoseconsideredwithgreatpowergivenbygod.

      Duringthefeudaltimes,peoplewerenotequaltotherulersandweresuppressedbytheirsuperiors.Thedistinctionbetweentheupperandthelowerclasseswasalsoreflectedintheevaluationofthelanguageusedbythemrespectively.Thewordsofupperclassusedwereconsideredgoodandelegantwhilethoseusedbythelowerclasswereregardedasvulgarandindecentandshouldbeavoidedinthespeechofladiesandgentlemen.Forexample,whenreferringto‘出汗’,duchessesusedtheword‘perspire’,butthefemaleservantsused‘sweat’;whenreferringto‘吐痰’,theformerpeopleused‘expectorate’,butthelatterused‘spit’;Asfor‘月經(jīng)’,theformerused‘menstruate’,butthelatterused‘bleed’.Themaxim“Horsessweat;menperspire;youngladiesglow”moreorlesscanreflectthestratifiedusageofwordswhichhavethesamemeaninginthisperiod.[5]InChina,duringthefeudaltimes,menusuallyplayadominantroleinfamily.WecanseeitfromtheChineseexpressions“三從四德”,“三綱五常”etc.Inordertostrengthentheirpositionandtopreventtheirsubjectsfromviolatingthem,theroyalsandkingsputforwarddifferentkindsofprohibitionsandbans.Forinstance,toshowtheirauthorityandmajesty,thenameoftheemperorandhisancestorsshouldnotbementioned.Atthesametime,peoplealwaysavoidedspeakingouttheirparents’namesoreventhecharactersintheirparents’names.Theoldsaying“古人聞父名而泣”canprovethispoint.

      Mostlinguistictaboosduringthisperiodwereputintoeffectbyrulersinordertomaintaintheirsuperiorsocialpositionandkeepthesocietyundertheircontrol.However,someofthem,becauseoftheirdeep-rootedinfluenceonpeople’smind,stillremaininlanguageevenafterthecollapseofthesocialsystem

      2.3Themoderndemocraticstage

      Inmodernsociety,asaresultofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,manynaturalphenomenaarenolongermysterious.Humanbeingsnotonlyconstantlyimprovetheirabilitiestoexploittheworldwheretheyarelivingthroughtheirgreatwisdomandknowledge,butalsomakeeffortstoexploretheextraterrestrialworld.Sciencehasmuchmoresayintoday’ssociety.Thereby,thesuperstitiouselementsinlinguistictaboosdecreasewhilethosereflectingspiritualcivilizationincrease.

      Duringsuchanopen-mindedperiod,peoplevaluefreedom,equalityanddemocracyverymuch.Manyminoritiesstruggleforequalrightswiththemajorities.Asaresult,linguistictaboosconcerningracialdiscriminationarise.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,“nigger”waswidelyusedtocallblackpeopleinthe1960sbutnowitisforbiddeninnormalinteractionbecausesuchformofaddressingshowscontemptfortheblackandgoesagainstthespiritofhumanrights.

      Inaddition,moreandmorewomenstepoutsidetheirhousestoworktogetherwithmen.Theydon’twanttodependonmenanylonger.However,thetraditionalideasaboutwomenstiflethefulfillmentoftheirabilitiesandtheyareoftentreatedunfairlyinwork.Thisforceswomentoriseandfightforequalitieswithmenandmoreandmoremenbegintolearntorespectwomen,whichwillhaveaninfluentialeffectonthelanguage.Asaresult,taboosonsexistlanguageincrease.Besides,inaneraofpeace,therelativestabilityofsocietyandthefastpaceoflife,peopledon’tbothermuchtoavoidthingsintheobjectiveworld.Instead,theypreferlivingapleasantandharmoniouslife.Theyenjoyspiritualentertainmentverymuch,sotheytrytoavoidthosewordsandbehaviorsthatmaymakeothersfeelunpleasanttokeeptheharmoniousrelationship.Thoseprofessionsthatwerelookeddownuponinthepastarebeautifiednow.Thesubstitutionof“sanitationengineer”for“garbagecollector”isagoodexampleforthis.

      Asawhole,sincethethirdstage,peopletodayshowmorerespectforscienceandtechnologyandhumanrightsothatthesuperstitiousandfeudalelementsinlinguistictaboostendtoreducewhilethosereflectingtheadvancementofhumansocietyandspiritualcivilizationtendtoincrease.

      3.ThesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboo

      Therearetaboosforreligion,sex,death,disease,socialbias,etcinbothChineseandEnglishculturesandtheyarereflectedintheirrespectivelanguageandbecomeakindoflinguisticphenomenon.ThesimilaritiesofChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboomainlyembodyinthefollowingaspects:

      3.1Inpronunciation

      BothChinesepeopleandEnglishpeoplebelievethatsayingwordsthatimplymisfortunesordisastersmaybringthemtrouble,andtheythoughtmisfortunescanbepreventedbyreplacingthewordswithhomophonesthathavebettermeanings.

      InChina,manytabooshavebeencausedbysuperstitions.InShanxiprovinceofChina,thereisacustomthatmulberriescannotbeplantedinfrontofthehouseandwillowscannotbeplantedbehindthehouse,becausetheChinesecharacter“桑(mulberry)”soundsthesameas“喪(mourning)and“柳(willow)”soundsthesameas“綹”.Theymayindicatethattherewillbeafuneralandsomethingwillbestolen.[6]Gamblerswon’tsay“書(book)”,becausetheChinese“shu/書(book)soundthesamewith“shu/輸(defeat)”.Chinesepeoplewillnotpresentaclockasagiftinweddingsorotherceremonies,because“clock”pronounces“zhong(鐘)”,whichhasthesamepronunciationas“zhong/終(end)”,meaningdeathinChinese.ManyotherexamplesalsocanbefoundinChinese.SomefishermaninSouthChinaavoidsayingsuchwordas“fan/翻(turnover)”or“chen/沉(sink)”andanyotherwordswithsimilarsounds.Someevenchangetheirsurname“chen/陳”whichsoundsthesameas“chen/沉”.ItissaidthatthechopstickspeopleintheEastusewhenhavingmealswereoriginallycalled“zhu/箸”inancientChina.Sinceithadthesamesoundas“zhu/住(stop)”,itwasreplacedlaterby“kuaizi/筷子”since“kuai/筷”soundslike“kuai/快(quick)”.Inwesterncountries,therearealsomanysuchkindsofexamples.Whenawordsoundsthesameasatabooword,itneedschangingintoanotherexpression.Forinstance,“inearlier18thcentury,thefemaleinEnglishandAmericancountriesalwaystriedtoavoidusingtheword‘a(chǎn)rse(thebottompartofthebodyonesitson)’,whichwasconsideredinelegant.Sopeoplecalledtheanimal‘a(chǎn)ss’as‘donkey’.”[7]Anothertypicalexampleisthat“fuck(asail)”,“feck”or“fack(fact)”areseldomusedorevengooutofuse,becausetheypronouncethesameas“fuck”.“Neamanmadeaconclusionthatthereasonwhysomewordsdisappearedwererelatedtothefactthattheirpronunciationarethesameassometaboowords”.[8]

      3.2Invocabulary

      “Roughlyspeaking,taboowordsinEnglishfallintothreetypes,namelyobscenities,profanitiesandvulgarities”.[9]Basedonthisclassification,thepartfirstlyanalyzesthethreetypesasfollows:

      3.2.1Inobscenities

      Obscenewordsrefertowordsrelatingtosexinashockingandoffensiveway.Thatistosay,obscenewordsmaycauseoffencetothesocialmoralprinciples.Theyusuallygooutofuseinpublicoccasionandcannotappearinliterarylanguage.Thesewordsarerelatedtohumanbeingssexualbehaviors.InbothEnglishandChinese,thesewordsaretobeavoidedinpoliteconversations,becausetheymaycausestrongdisapproval.

      InAmerica,theSexualRevolutionin1960sand70smadepeoplemoreopentowardsex,butnowwordssuchas“makinglove”and“havingsex”stillseldomappeardirectlyinwriting,letaloneinconversation.Westernpeopleareserioustowardssextermstoacertaindegree,sotospeak.

      TheChinesepeoplealsotreattermsonsexseriously.Chinesepeoplealwaysusetheexpressionof“作風(fēng)問題”or“不正當(dāng)關(guān)系”toshowtheimmoralrelationshipbetweenamanandawoman.

      Asweallknow,pregnancyisanormalphysiologicalphenomenon,butindailylife,peoplewon’tsayitdirectly,asitisrelatedtosex.Ifsomeoneispregnant,Englishpeoplewillsay,“sheisexpectingababy”or“sheisinafamilyway”.SimilareuphemismscanbefoundinChinese“有喜了”,“行動不便了”.

      3.2.2Inprofanities

      ProfanitiesrefertoreligiouswordsusedinawaythatshowsalackofrespectforGodorholythings.Religionisafertilefieldofthistypeoftabooterms.AtypicalexampleisthatChristiancannotrefertoGodorGod’sname.“TheTenCommandmentsforbidpeopleto‘takethenameoftheLordyourGodinvain’.Soitisconsideredveryrudetosay‘goddame’or‘goddamned’”.[10]Thewordssuchas“God,”“Jesus,”“damn”and“hell”etc,areconsideredhollyandonlyproperlyusedinreligion.Iftheyappearindailycommunication,theywillmakepeopleunpleasantanddisgusted.Sopeoplealwaystrytoavoidusingthesetaboowordsdirectly.Theywouldliketousetheireuphemisms“Gosh,”“Jeeperscreepers,”“dash”and“heck”.Somepeoplealsoavoidreferringtothedevil,whichisconsidereddisrespectful.Sotheyuse“thedeuce”,“thedickens”,“oldNick”tosubstitute“thedevil”.

      WecanfindsimilarexamplesinChinese.Inreligion,peopleusesomecomplimentaryaddresstorefertoawesomegods,e.g.“大帝”,“大圣”,“佛陀(Buddha)”.Anotherexampleisthat,tigerisregardedasthedivineanimalneartheChangbaiMountainsituatedintheNortheastofourcountry.Therefore,therewasthecustomof“tigeristhegod”inancienttimes.Peopleavoidedcallingthe“tiger”directlyandgavethetigeranothername,“山君”or“山佛爺”.

      3.2.3Invulgarities

      BothinEnglishandChinesethevulgarwordsareusuallyrudeandoffensiveandbringaboutunpleasantness,angerorconflicts.

      SwearwordsinEnglishareoftencalledfour-letterwords,becausemostofthemareshort,andmanyaremadeupoffourletters,e.g.:piss,shit,crap,fuck.“Theseso-calledfourletterwordsareconsideredvulgar.”[11]

      Swearwordsformedbyemployingsomeoftheanimals’namesarevulgaritiestoo.

      Theyareveryimproperexpressionsinmostconversations,especiallywhentherearemaleandfemaleatthesametime,suchas“bitch”,“cow”,“swine”,“pig”etc.“TheBritishParliamenthasoncepublishedawordlist.Thewordsonthelistareabusiveandwereunparliamentaryexpressions,suchas‘cad’,‘cheeky’,‘liar’,‘prevaricating’,‘fascist’etc.”[12]Ingeneralsituation,evenindailycommunications,thesevulgarwordsareconsideredtaboowords.

      InChinese,therearealsomanysimilarsayings,suchas“小兔崽子”,“羊巴羔子”,“狗娘養(yǎng)的”,“小王八”etc.Thesewordsareusedtoinsultothers.Peoplealwaystrytoavoidusingtheminanormalandpolitecommunication.

      Theevolutionoflinguistictabooindicatesthattaboosinvolveinalmosteveryfieldoflife.Thereforetheabovethreetypesoftaboowordsdon’tpresentacompletelistoftabootermsandtheauthorhasfoundothertypesoftaboowordsinotherreferences.

      3.2.4Intermsconcerningdisease,deathandphysicaldisability

      EitherinEnglishorinChineseculture,disease,death,andphysicaldisabilitymayhorrifypeople.Sopeopledon’tliketomentionthesedirectlyinconversation.Therefore,theyareconsideredtaboos.

      InbothEnglishandChinese,deathisviewedas“departing”.InEnglish,wecanfindmanyeuphemismsfordeath,suchas“go”,“depart”,“departfromthisworld”,“gotoabetterworld”,“gothewaysofallflesh”,“passaway”etc.InChinese,wealsocanfindsimilareuphemisms:“去了”,“離開了我們”,“辭世”,“去見馬克思了”,“歸西”,“升天”,“上路”etc.InbothEnglishandChinese,deathiscomparedto“sleeping”,“sleep”inEnglishcorrespondto“正寢”,“長眠”,or“永眠”inChinese.

      Wordsdenotingterriblediseasearealsosourcesofhorror.InEnglish,peopledon’tliketotalkaboutterriblediseaseordiseaserelatedtosexualorgansdirectly.Forinstance,theyuse“V.D”insteadof“veneraldisease”;use“bigC”,“l(fā)ongdisease”,or”terminalillness”toreplace“cancer”.Abbreviationsareoftenusedtoalleviatetheshockingeffect.Forinstance,SARSisusedtosubstitutetheterriblename“SevereAcuteRespiratorySyndromes”.

      InChinese,whenwetalktoapatient,wemaysay“你今天不舒服,別上班了”.Here,weuse“不舒服”insteadof“病”.Asasoldier,wemaysay“掛彩了”insteadof“傷”.

      Mentalillnessesarethoughtnottobementioneddirectly.Forexample,whenreferringtoamentalillness,wejustsay“alittleeccentric”or“alittleconfused”.

      EitherinChineseorWestern,peoplehavesympathyforone’sphysicaldisability.Ifsomeonelooksugly,wewillsayshe/helooksplain/ordinaryandwewon’tusetheword“fat”todescribeaman.Weonlyuse“heavilyset”or“ontheheavyside”.Ifagirlisthin,wewon’tuseskinny.Wejustsayslender,andwhenwerefertoacrippled,wewillsay,“physicallyhandicapped”.InChinese,ifoneisdeaf,wewillsay“耳朵背”,“耳朵有點(diǎn)不好”,“說話得近點(diǎn)”.InEnglish,itiscalled“hardofhearing”.

      3.2.5Intermsconcerningpartsorexcretionofthebody

      Inbothcultures,peoplethinkthatcertainpartsofthebodyandtheexcretionofbodycannotbementionedindailyconversations.Theyareoftenconsideredtaboos.

      Forexample,inEnglish,therearesomanyeuphemismsforlavatory,suchas“washroom”,“restroom”,“bathroom”,“comfortstation”.Iftheywanttogotolavatory,theywillsay:“gotothebathroom”,“dotheirbusiness”,“answernature’scall”.InChinese,“廁所”isalwaysavoidedinpublicoccasion,onemaysay:“去一號”or“去方便一下”..

      3.2.6Indiscrimination

      “Inrecentyears,thereisagrowingtendencytoregardastaboolanguagethatreflectsademeaningattitudetowardscertainsocialorethnicgroups.Racistlanguageandsexistlanguage,forexample,areoffensivetothesocialorethnicgroupsdiscriminatedagainst.”[13]

      Discriminationagainstwomanisauniversalandunreasonablephenomenoninthesociety.Anditsreflectiononlanguageissexistlanguage.BothinEnglishandChinese,therearetracesofsexistlanguage.Unlessoneiscarefulenoughwithhis/herspeech,onemayeasilyoffendothersunconsciously.

      InChina,underthecontrolofstricthierarchyfeudalsociety,thefemaleswereregardedinferior.Theydependonmaleandweredominatedbymale.Sothediscriminationandprejudiceagainstwomenisthelong-termaccumulation,whichisinevitablyreflectedinChinese.Forexample,thesayings“婦人之見”,“頭發(fā)長見識短”,“男子漢不和婦人一般見識”,“長舌婦”,etc,reflectthepejorativeattitudetowardwomen.Andtherearealsomanyderogatorytitlesforwomen,suchas“賤人”,“潑婦”,“母老虎”,“母夜叉”,“娘兒們”,“悍婦”etc.

      SincetheChinesewomen’ssocialstatuseshaveincreased,thesesayingsareusedmuchlessfrequently.Theusingofthescornfulandpejorativewordsforwomeninpublicoftengetscriticismandresentment.

      InEnglish,therearealsomanysexistexpressions.Forexample,apersonofunknownsexisreferredas“he”,or”him”ratherthan“she”or“her”.Apersonwhopresidesameetingisthe“chairman”,evenifsheisawoman.Therearemanyotherexamplesaboutit.“cow”means“(a)womanwhohasmanychildren”,“mutton”means“(a)dissolutewoman”,“hen”means“(a)womanwholikesgossip”,“cat”means“(a)maliciouswoman”,“crone”means“(an)uglywitheredoldwoman”etc.

      “Nowadays,perhapsasaresultoftheWoman’sLiberationMovementinthe1960sand70sinwesterncountries,especiallytheU.S.Aandsocio-culturedevelopment,mostnativeEnglishspeakerstrytoavoidsoundinglikeasexist.”[14]Forexample,theychangetheword“chairman”into“chairperson”,“gentleman”into“gentleperson”.Whenreferringtohumanbeings,peoplebegintouse“humankind”or“thehumanrace”insteadof“man”or“mankind”.

      “Racismisthebeliefthatcertainhumanracesareinherentlyinferiortoothersandracistlanguageisthatwhichshowsabiasedattitudetowardscertainracialorethicgroups.”[15]InEnglish,nomatterintentionallyornot,thefollowingwordsareagainstblackpeopleandannoyingthemunsatisfied.Forexample,“white”means“pure”,“clean”,“benevolent”,whichhavepositivemeaning.While“black”isrelatedto“evil”,“wrongdoing”,and“dirty”suchas“blackguard”,“blacklist”,“blackmark”etc.Besides,“nigger”and“boy”,forablackadultman,oftenhaveoffensivemeaning.

      InChinese,thereisalsoracistlanguage.Forexample,“using“蒙古大夫”foranincompetentdoctors;using“小鬼子”forJapanese.“洋鬼子”,“大鼻子”forwesterners.”[16]Mostofthesewordsarederogatory.ItshowsoffthatChineseismoresuperiorthanotherracialorethicgroups.

      4ThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboo

      AlthoughtherearemanysimilaritiesinEnglishandChinese,differentviewsaboutwhatisorisn’ttaboocanbefoundintwocultures.DifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictabooembodythefollowingaspects:

      4.1.Insubjects

      Englishpeopleplaceahighvalueonprivacy.“TheEnglishhaveasaying‘Aman’shomeishiscastle,meaningaman’shomeissacredtohim;nooneshouldcomeinwithoutpermission.Soitisalsowithhislifeandpersonalaffairs’”.[17]Chinesepeopleoftenliketogreettootherslike“Haveyouhadameal?”Thiscommongreetingindicateswebeginourconversationwithouracquaintance,justasforeignersask“Hownicetheweather!”ButtheChinesegreetingwillmaketheforeignerssuspectthatyouwanttoinvitehimtojointhedinner.Sometimeswhenwegettogetherandtalknaturallyaboutthesequestions:“Howaboutyoursalary?”“Areyoumarried?”,“Whatdoyourwife/husbanddo?”,“Howmuchisyourskirt?”Inthisway,weexpressourcareforourfriends.Generallyspeaking,weneverfeelembarrassedabouttheseconversations,butwhenweaskthewesternersthesamequestions,theywillthinkwemayinvolveintheirprivacy.Annoyingly,inwesterncountries,itisalsoimpropertoaskaboutotherpeople’sreligiousbeliefs.“Areyoureligious?”“Whatisyourreligion?”“AreyouCatholic?”etcarequestionsthatmightbeoffensivetomostEnglishspeakers.Peopledon’tlike,especiallyfemale,otherstoaskthem“Howoldareyou?”,becausetheyareverysensitivetotheirage.“Evenonabirthdaycallonemayfindthefollowingcongratulation:Youmaynotliketoberemindedthatyouareayearoldertoday,butthatwouldnotkeepmefromsaying‘happybirthday!’.”[18]Butincontrast,therewasnosuchconceptofprivacyinChinesepeople’smind.

      4.2Innumbers

      InChina,thenumber“4”andtheword“死(death)”almostsoundthesame.Peopledonotlikethenumber“4”,becauseitremindsthemof“death”.Amongoldpeople,theythink“73”and“84”aretwokeyages.Ifyouare73or84yearsold,youwilldiebeforetheKingofhellinvitesyou.Somanyoldpeopleavoidtalkingtheirexactages.

      Whileinwesterncountries,oneofthemostinfluentialtaboonumbersis13.Accordingtothestoryof“Thelastsupper”:Judas,thepersonwhobetrayedJesus,satintheNo.13chair,therefore,Numberthirteenisuniversallyconsideredtobeunlucky.Nodoor’snumberisthirteen;nohotelhastheNo.13Room;theydon’tallow13peoplehavedinnertogether.Allinaword,theyavoidnumberthirteenineveryaspect.Ordinarypeoplefeelupseton13thineverymonth.Therefore,thirteenbecameataboowordinwesterncountries.

      AnothernumberconcerningtabooinwesternisFriday.Italsohaslongbeenconsideredasanunluckyday.“ThistabootermaffectspeopleprobablynotonlybecausetheybelievethatJesusChristwasputtodeathonthecrossonFriday,butalsobecauseFridayisformanyyearsthedayofexecutionofcriminals,commonlycalled“hangman’sday”.[19]

      AnotherstrikingcontrastisthatChinesepeoplelikeevennumbers.Forexample,theysay“好事成雙”,“成雙成對”。Chinesepeopleespeciallyliketheevennumber“6”and“8”.Thesaying“六六大順”canproveit.Butinwesterncountries,theylikeoddnumbers.“TheRomanpoetVirgilsays,‘Thegoddelightsinanoddnumber’.InShakespeare’splayMerrywivesofWindsor,Falstaffsays,‘Goodluckliesinoddnumbers—’Theysay,‘thereisdivinityinoddnumbers,eitherinnativity,chanceordeath.’”[20]

      4.3Innames

      Howtocallothersinverbalcommunicationisveryimportant.InChinese,theancestors’andtheoldergeneration’snamescannotbereferreddirectly.Forexample,becausethesecondnameofSimaQian’sfatherwas“談”.WhenwritingtheHistoricalRecords,(SimaQianchanged“趙談”into“趙同”and“李談”into“李同”[21])Asaresult,wecannotfindsuchaChinesecharacter“談”intheHistoricalRecords.[22]ButintheEnglishculture,therearenosuchnametaboos.Theyoungergenerationcanrefertheeldergeneration’snamedirectly.Itshowsthattheyareequal,friendlyandintimate.IntheUnitedStates,manyblackpeoplebearthename“Lincoln”,apparentlyafterAbrahamLincoln,the16thpresidentofthecountry.Englishbabiesmaybenamedaftertheirgrandparentsorotherrelativestoshowrespectortohonorthem.Forexample,“theBritishPrimeMinisterChurchill’sfatherwasnamedRandolph.Churchill,andoneofthePrimeMinister’ssonswasalsonamedRandolph.Churchill.Thegrandfatherandgrandsonhadthesamename.TheAmericanpresidentFranklinD.Roosevelt’ssonalsohadthesamenamewithhisfather.”[23]ThispracticewasquitedifferentfromChineseculturewhichwascharacterizedbyaclearlydelineatedstratifiedsocietyinwhichthenames,forexample,ofone’srelatives,oneortwogenerationsabove,orofficials,orotherinfluentialfiguresweretaboostotheordinaryChinese,noonedaredtonamehisbabiesafterthem.

      5Waysofavoidinglinguistictaboo

      5.1Usingeuphemism

      Fromtheabovediscussion,weknowthatsomeharsh,blunt,unpleasantoffensiveandtaboothingsoractsshouldnotbeexpresseddirectlyinourdailylife.Soitisveryimportantforustoknowhowtoavoidtheselinguistictaboos.

      Mostlinguistictabooscanbeavoidedbytheemploymentofeuphemisms.(Euphemismreferstotheuseofpleasant,vagueorindirectwordsorphrasestotaketheplaceofmoreaccuratedirectortabooones.)Inotherwords,euphemismisameansofexpressingthewordsorthingsthatareprohibited.

      Euphemismsareusedalmostinallfieldsoflife.Forexample,whenajudgegivesthecriminalasentence,hewilldirectlysay:“Iherebysentenceyoutofiveyearsinprison.”Butthecriminalhimselforhisrelativeswilltellothers:“Somebodyissenttothebighouse.”forthepurposeofsavingface

      Atthesametime,wemustrealizethatlanguageisaliveandchangingallthetime.Influencedbythesocialpsychologyanditsculture,euphemismschangeconstantly.Aeuphemismmayquicklyacquirethestigmaoftheworditreplacedandbecomesatabooafterpeopleuseitforatime.Forexample,thereisaseriesofexpressionsabouttheword“poor”.“AtfirstIwaspoor,then,Ibecameneedy,laterIwasunderprivileged.NowI’mdisadvantaged.Istilldon’thaveacenttomyname,butIsurehaveagreatvocabulary.”[24]

      Anotherexampleisthat,inAmericanEnglish,euphemismsfortheword“buttocks”are“arse”,“ass”,“prat”,“can”,“tail”,“cheeks”,“caboose”,“fundament”andnowthenewestoneis“sitting-downplace”.

      5.2Havingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture

      Languageandculturerelyoneachotherandinfluenceeachother.Languagesareformedanddevelopundercertainculturalbackground.Linguistictabooisakindofsocialphenomenon.Itsexistenceanddevelopmentarerestrictedandinfluencedbyspecificculturalbackground.SomewordsareprohibitedinEnglish;somewordsarebannedinChineseandsomewordsareprohibitedinbothlanguages.Asaresult,ifonewantstoavoidviolatingtaboos,heorsheshouldhaveagoodknowledgeofwhatisorisnotataboointhisculture.Forexample,inChina,theword“old”means“experience”and“wisdom”.Atthesametime,Chinesepeopleareinfluencedbythelong-termconceptofrespectingtheoldandtakingcareoftheyoung.Chinesepeopleseemtoliketoaddresseachotheras“老(old)”,forexample,“老爺爺”,“老奶奶”,“老林”,“老吳”,“老教授”.ButEnglishpeoplealwaysconnectthe"old"with"uselessness"and"death".Therefore,whencontactingwithEnglishpeople,thesayingof“somebodyisold”shouldbeavoidedinordernottoarouseunpleasantness.ForExample,wecannotcallsomebody“oldSmith”or“oldBrown”.Especiallyforwomenwhoaresensitivetoage,nomatterhowoldtheyare,weshouldnotcallthem“奶奶”or“大娘”,thoughtheyarepleasantgreetingsinChina.InEnglish,expressionssuchas“seniorcitizens”,“advancedinage”,“goldenyears”etc.areproducedinordertoavoid“old”.

      Asmoothcross-culturalcommunicationgreatlybenefitsfromthegoodcommandofaforeignlanguage’sculturalbackgroundknowledge.ItishardtoimagineaChinesewhohasapoorknowledgeofEnglishtabooculturecanintercommunicatewiththeEnglishpeoplesmoothlyandwithoutoffendingthem,andviceversa.

      6.Conclusion

      .Inshort,bycomparison,wecanfindthatbothChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosreflectpeople’spsychologyforgoodwill,forsafetyandfortuneandpleasantness.TheChineseandEnglishpeoplerestricttheirwordsanddeedsthroughtaboos,tryingtokeepaharmoniousrelationshipbetweenhumanandnature,orbetweenpeopleandsociety.Althoughthetraditionallinguistictabooscontainsuperstitions,ignoranceandnegativeelements,thenewtaboosonracismbearpositivefeatures.Theyareareflectionofpeople’spursuitoffreedomandequality.TheauthorhopesthatthediscussionaboutlinguistictabooshelpsEnglishlearnersimprovetheircommunicativecompetenceandreducemiscommunicationsandconflictsincross-culturecommunications.

      References

      [1]周秀敏.從禮貌角度對跨文化交際中禁忌語的動態(tài)研究.山東大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文,中國優(yōu)秀博碩士學(xué)位論文數(shù)據(jù)庫.2005,5.pi.

      [2]同注[1],p6

      [3]同注[1],p19

      [4]HolyBible.中國基督教學(xué)會,2000,10.p114

      [5]莊和誠.英語禁忌語芻議[J].現(xiàn)代外語,1990,2.p45

      [6]陳克.中國民俗[z].天津人民出版社,1993,5.p107

      [7]周淑清.禁忌語和委婉語[J].佛山大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào),1996,2.p72

      [8]轉(zhuǎn)引自向榮.中英言語禁忌的文化透視[J].武漢理工大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào),2005,12.p1

      [9]同注[5],p45

      [10]赫澎.英美民間故事與民俗[z].南海出版公司,2004,5.p147

      [11]王振亞.語言與文化[M].高等教育出版社,2004,11.p273

      [12]莊和誠.禁忌語詞縱橫談[J].現(xiàn)代外語,1991,3.p28

      [13]同注[11],p278

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      [16]劉潤清、鄧炎昌.語言與文化—英漢語言文化對比[M].外語教學(xué)與研究出版社,1995,5.p101

      [17]同注[16],pp96-97

      [18]王振亞.實(shí)用英語語言與文化[M].河北大學(xué)出版社,2004,8.p191

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      [21]魏立.英漢委婉語之對比研究.黑龍江大學(xué)碩士學(xué)位論文.中國優(yōu)秀博碩士學(xué)位論文數(shù)據(jù)庫p23

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