Taboo is an important factor that hinders the success of cross-cultural communication. By analyzing the social customs and cultural connotations of China and the West, we can understand that
The similarities and differences between Chinese and English taboo pragmatic principles can help people avoid unnecessary cultural conflicts in cross-cultural communication.
Keywords: taboo words; Cross-cultural communication; Pragmatics;
According to the classification number of China Library: H3 13.3, document identification number: A.
(Social Science Edition) Journal of shenyang jianzhu university (Social Science Edition) 20 10. 07. 12, No.3358 (Social Science Edition)
12 important areas of taboo. The religious and cultural traditions of China and the West are totally different. The culture of the Chinese nation is deeply influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, while the western nations believe in Christianity. They belong to different religious systems and have completely different immortal lineages.
[4]。 In western countries, Christians are very devout to God, and the name of God, Jehovah, is the biggest taboo. Under no circumstances will people say or abuse the name of God. Therefore, words like God and Christ are often avoided and replaced by gosh, golly, for God's sake or crying out loud (for God's sake). Use Gee, Jeepers, Jiminy and so on instead of the word Jesus. Just like people in China, we should try our best to avoid disrespect for "God", and people often avoid mentioning the devil's name. This is also a taboo in western countries, such as hell, devil, damn it.
China people should avoid blasphemy and should not show contempt and disrespect for the immortals they believe in and worship. In China, people who believe in Buddhism and Taoism are forbidden to talk nonsense. The so-called "nonsense" means talking nonsense, talking nonsense and lying. At the same time, China people are deeply influenced by Confucianism. Confucius and Mencius advocated etiquette and asked people to speak moderately in social activities, and not to talk nonsense and ramble. In order to protect the happiness and safety of a family, China people, especially Han people, believe in "Door God", "God of Wealth" and "Kitchen God" and think that they can protect the life of a family, so people invite them to post them on portal websites or offer sacrifices in the hall (the word "buy" is taboo, so it is changed to "please" to avoid blasphemy). People in Chinese and western cultures have different understandings of numbers. "Seven" is a taboo number in China culture. This is because the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is considered an unlucky day. Most Chinese idioms containing "seven" have derogatory meanings, such as "falling apart" and "gossiping about right and wrong". In English, "seven" is related to God. People often regard "seven" as auspicious numbers, such as "lucky seven" and "in the seventh heaven".
[5]。 In Chinese and western cultures, the worship of gods makes people integrate religious beliefs such as gods and ghosts into their daily lives. It is a kind of learning to prohibit blasphemous words in religion, and people try to avoid using blasphemous words in their speeches.
(2) No swearing.
From primitive society to information age, some swearing words are generally taboo for the public.
Because this will usually offend others, make people unhappy and angry, or cause contradictions between the two sides. These words often borrow animal names,
For example, bitch, cow, pig, pig, etc. The British Parliament has published a list of words that are not suitable for use in Parliament. Most of the words listed on the list are swearing words, such as cheeky, liar and fascist. In English, most of these words are composed of four English letters, which are called four-letter words. Such as shit, hell, damn, etc. People are very sensitive to this kind of words, and once they hear it, they will feel very surprised and angry, so they must not abuse them. There are also many swearing words in Chinese, which are generally unnecessary. Therefore, these swearing words are generally taboo in Chinese and English, so as not to cause embarrassment and conflict in communication.
(3) words about illness and death are prohibited.
"Birth, old age, illness and death" is human nature and a natural law. However, due to the fear of birth, illness and death, people are secretive about this topic. Both China and the West have such taboos, and they are unwilling or afraid to mention such things.
English generally uses "the big C" and "long disease" and avoids the word "cancer". Use "to heaven, to a better world, to another world" and avoid talking about "death". "Death" is also taboo in Chinese. People are afraid of death and don't want to talk about it. Instead, death is often replaced by "past", "leaving", "passing away", "death", "premature death" and "sacrifice".
Chinese and English taboo pragmatics have their own characteristics and differences. By understanding and analyzing the differences between Chinese and English taboo words, it is helpful to avoid conflicts between different cultures and make the communication go smoothly.
Thirdly, the differences between Chinese and English taboos are analyzed from the perspective of idiom pragmatics.
With the development of economic globalization, China is more and more closely connected with the world. As a great literary master, Lu Xun is deeply loved by readers in China, but there are many things in his works that foreigners may not understand. For example, in The True Story of Ah Q, it was written that Ah Q touched a little nun's head, and the little nun called Ah Q "childless", and Ah Q was very nervous after hearing it. Foreign students often don't understand when they study here.
The reason is that they don't know that "childlessness" is a taboo in China, and they don't understand its cultural significance. Therefore, in actual communication, some taboos from written literary works will be involved, and its cultural connotation can be understood through the study of literary works. Being familiar with the pragmatic differences between Chinese and English taboos is very helpful for practical communication [5]. In people's daily life, people have different views and understandings of animal idioms because of different understandings of animal species and different expressions of words. Take animal idioms such as "chicken" and "dog" as examples. In China, some places use homophones to express good luck. Because of the homonym of "chicken" and "auspicious", "chicken" is used as an auspicious animal for various happy events, such as "Daji" brand cigarettes in red packaging produced in Jinan, which become local weddings.
A Brief Analysis of Pragmatic Differences between Chinese and English Taboos
Vocabulary from the perspective of cross-cultural communication
Abstract: With the development of globalization, cross-cultural communication is the main way of communication.
Taboos in different cultures and languages make intercultural communication possible.
Failure. It is necessary to analyze the social customs and cultural contents of China and the West, and understand
Common pragmatic principles of language and differences between Chinese and English taboos
Make people handy in actual communication and avoid unnecessary cultural conflicts. Therefore,
It is significant to analyze the similarities and differences between Chinese and English.
Taboo words from the perspective of pragmatics.
Keywords: taboo words; Cross-cultural communication; Pragmatic; contrast
Bo Yan Shu
(Comprehensive Basic College of Liaoning University, Shenyang 1 10036, China)
Bo Yan Shu: Contrasting the pragmatic differences between Chinese and English taboos from the perspective of cross-cultural communication. In English, there are many proverbs about "chicken", for example, "chicken" means timid; "Count the chickens before they hatch." It means overconfidence and is derogatory. "Running away from the cold, playing with chickens, feeding chickens ..." are all derogatory. So try not to use "chicken" to express your blessing in front of the British. China people have no taboos about "chicken". But in modern society, if you call a woman "chicken", it will definitely arouse the strong resentment of the other party, because "chicken" is homophonic with "prostitute". For another example, in the west, dogs are recognized.
As human's best friends, people usually keep dogs as pets, so westerners are very disgusted with eating dog meat. Although "dog" sometimes has a derogatory meaning in English, it is generally neutral or has a positive meaning. Idioms such as "You are a lucky dog", "Every dog has his day", "He works like a dog" and "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" all illustrate this point.
Its positive side. Life of a Dog and Love Me, Love My Dog are more neutral. In Chinese, dogs are generally derogatory. Such as "the dog jumps over the wall", "the dog fights the human potential" and "ruthlessness",
Idioms such as "flies camp on dogs" People's cognitive categories originated from their own culture may not completely coincide with those of another culture, so it is difficult to ensure that people with different cultural backgrounds have the same understanding of the same thing [6]. With the development of world globalization, cross-cultural communication has become the main way for people to communicate. Taboos in different cultures and languages are important factors that hinder the success of cross-cultural communication. Only by constantly learning and understanding Chinese and western social customs and cultural connotations, and understanding and studying the significance of language taboos in improving cross-cultural communication ability, can we continuously improve our cultural literacy, be handy in practical communication, reduce misunderstandings, understand each other and avoid unnecessary cultural conflicts.
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