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1、.本科学年论文（2012级） 姓 名：莫笑媚学 号： 201242204226院 系：外语系专 业：英语（商务方向）二一四年六月东莞理工学院精品.The Comparison between Chinese and Western Taboos英汉禁忌语对比分析姓 名： 莫笑媚院 系： 外语系专 业： 英语（商务方向）指导教师： 黄海英 东莞理工学院Dongguan University of Technology 精品.ContentsI. Introduction4II. The similarities between English and Chinese taboos42.1 Tab
2、oos on name.42.2 Taboos on sex.52.3 Taboos on diseases or death.5III. The difference between English and Chinese taboos.53.1 Taboos on privacy.53.2 Taboos on number63.3 Taboos on color.6IV.Conclusion7Bibliography8精品.精品. The Comparison betweenChinese and Western TaboosIIntroductionIn the communicatio
3、n between Chinese and western cultures, many people strongly think that China and Britain just like chalk and cheese on many aspects, such as social life, politics, culture, religion, etc. In addition, the particular historical process and social backgrounds have a great impact on the their language
4、s. A good understanding of taboo culture makes us speak and behave in a proper way. Taboo is a common social and cultural phenomenon in both China and Britain. However, influenced by different cultural backgrounds, ideologies and concepts of value, the content and forms of taboos are different. Ther
5、efore, the discussion of the relation between the taboo and language is conducive to English teaching and communication. What is more, it can help us to have a better understanding between China and Britain.II. The similarities between English and Chinese taboos 2.1 Taboo on name In the west, the ea
6、rliest taboo is related to religion and God, the words are considered to be holy and inviolable. When referring to God and devil, people tend to replace their names with the euphemisms, such as God of this world, the big D (lord of filies) and the good man. In Chinese feudal society, imperial power
7、is supreme. The names which are the same as the the emperors or their royal familys must change. The taboo is very popular in Chinese history, what is more, the Tang and Song Dynasties reached the peak. For example, when Li Shimin ascended the throne as Emperor in Tang Dynasties, a place named “nan
8、ming fang (南民坊) ” was renamed “nan ren fang (南人坊) ” in order to avoid using the same word of “min (民) ”.2.2Taboos on sexIt is impolite to mention anything about sex in some the social or formal interactions. Those words related with sex or genitals can be only used on a very informal occasion or in
9、the field of medical. Due to the Sex Liberation in the western countries during the 1960s, the English speaking countries took a more freedom, open attitude towards sex. therefore, the phrases 精品.“to make love”, “to have sex with” could be often found in written form, however, when they talk about s
10、omething on it, people tend to replace them with the euphemisms. In addition, influenced by the feudal code of ethics, Chinese people also treat terms on sex seriously. Besides, they always use the expression of “styles” or “improper relationship” to show the immoral relationship between man and wom
11、an.In China, influenced by the asceticism of the Buddhism, combined with the Confucian on the moral, almost everyone hold the opinion that “Prurient is the worst, filial piety is the best”. Therefore, any words related with sex are taboos in Chinese minds.2.3 Taboo on disease and death English and C
12、hinese in the aspects of taboo is quite similar, unwilling or dare not mention “death”. We often use many other euphemisms to express death or disease. Such as “kick the bucket”, “pop off”, “pass away”, “be with the god”, etc. Especially during the Spring Festival, many bad words related to “death”,
13、 “broken”, “killing”, “ghost” and “illness” or “sickness” are forbidden during conversations.These words or phrases reflect peoples attitudes toward death and their wishes for the after death. Mental illness is thought not to be mentioned directly. For example, when referring to a mental illness, we
14、 just say “a little eccentric” or “a little confused”. Either in Chinese or in western countries, people have sympathy for ones physical disability.II. The differences between English and Chinese taboos 3.1Taboos on privacy In the west, privacy is holy and can not be violated. Westerners attach impo
15、rtance to it. Usually, they take no interest in others privacy, and they do not hope that others pay more attention to theirs as well. Therefore, in the process of communication, it is mainly impossible that the topics are related to private questions unless they are happy to tell you. Such as“Are y
16、ou married?” “How much is your salary?” “What does your wife do?” People should not ask about other peoples privacy in Britain, Dont ask how much money someone makes: Instead play a curious guessing game by asking someone what they do, where they live, where they went on holiday, and figure it out b
17、y correlating this with their accent.精品. while Chinese like to ask and answer these questions. These questions are concerned with privacy affairs in English, so it is forbidden to talk about it. 3.2Taboos on number In China, number 4 is regarded as bad luck number because it has the similar pronunci
18、ation with “death”, especially number 14, because it has the similar pronunciation with “want to die”. People wont like telephone number or cars license to be with no.4. In western cultures, Friday is a bad luck, day, because Friday is the day that Jesus suffered the death, besides, Adam and Eve wer
19、e evicting to the Garden of Eden. Western people also avoid number 13, something relative to Judas and the death of Jesus. 3.3Taboos on colorIn the West, the color of white generally represents innocence, purity, all of which own positive and nice connotations whereas the color of black is always as
20、sociated with wickedness, dirty, evil. It is often noticed that the bride wears a white gown appearing in her weeding in the western films. In China, whiteness means cleanliness, but it also can be understood as weakness, bloodiness, coldness, and insensitivity. A white face in Beijing opera stands
21、for a bad man, and in socialist terminology terms like white area or white terror, they refer to the region that is controlled by or the terror caused by reactionary force. While the color of red, it is often connected by Chinese people with celebrations and joyful occasions. Nevertheless, in Americ
22、a, most people dont like the color of red. In their view of thinking, red makes people annoyed, and red means stop. On the other hand, red can be used in such phrases as to become red-faced or his/her face turned red to show peoples embarrassed and unsightliness.IV. Conclusion In fact, taboo is a cu
23、ltural phenomenon of various nations in the world, if we understand the differences of taboos between Chinese and English culture, we can resolve the misunderstanding and embarrassment and more easily communicate with each other. Knowing about the differences and similarities of taboo word between E
24、nglish and Chinese so we can have a full use of them to create a more harmonious atmosphere for international communication and cooperation.精品.精品.Bibliography1Hass. Interlingua Word Taboos M. London: Cambridge University Press, 1951.2崔大虎,中国日报网. http:/ 北京：外语教学与研究出版社,1995. 4美布莱森布.比尔著，曾琳，赵菁译.莱森英语简史M. 北京：中国人民大学出版社，2013.5 匿名，盘点七大国文化禁. http:/ 如有侵权请联系告知删除，感谢你们的配合！精品