A Contrastive Study of Cultural Connotation between English

A Contrastive Study of Cultural Connotation between English and

Chinese Numerical Idioms

摘要

众所周知，习语是语言中文化积淀最深厚的部分，集中了语言和语言使用者的历史和文化，是语言的精华，是达到语言学习目的的重点和难点（张镇华，2007）。习语是人类文化的结晶，是民族文化的核心与精华，具有强烈的文化特征。数字是人类社会发展进程中起着重要作用的一个因素，因此语言中存在大量与数字相关的习语。由于英汉文化的共通性和思维方式的相似性，人们会对同一数字产生相同或相似的联想，但是，由于英汉民族在自然环境、社会制度、风俗习惯、宗教信仰及思维方式等方面又存在差异，形成了各具特色的民族文化。文化的差异导致人们对同一数字赋予不同的情感和联想，而不同的数字可能产生相同或相似的联想。

本文着眼于英汉民族对数字的不同喜好，探析数字习语的文化内涵及意义的差异。首先，本文从文化、数字和语言三者的比较出发，分析其内在联系，其次，英汉数字习语的文化内涵都与民族心理、神话宗教有着十分密切的关系，因此本文从这些方面详细分析阐述英汉数字习语不同的文化内涵及意义。 关键词: 数字习语;文化内涵;数字;文化

i

Abstract

As we all know, idioms，considered as the elite of that language，are the most culture-accumulated part of a language, conveying the history and culture of the language and the it’s users. (Zhang Zhenhua, 2007:1). Idioms，tinged with unique national colors， are crystallizations of human culture as well as the essence of language. Numbers play a vital role in the development of human society. Therefore，numerous idioms related to numbers have emerged. Due to the similarities between English and Chinese as well as universal modes of thinking, the same numbers may evoke the same or similar feelings or associations among people from both cultures. Because of different historical and cultural settings, the connotations of numbers in one language do not always coincide with those in another. However, on other occasions they may give different connotations to the same number.

Based upon the two nations’ different likes and dislikes towards numerals，this thesis explores and analyzes the different cultural connotation and meaning of English and Chinese numerical idioms and makes a contrastive study of the similarities and differences between English and Chinese numerical idioms.

Key words: numerical idioms; cultural connotation; numeral; culture

ii

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。 2. Numbers, language and culture ................................................... 错误！未定义书签。 2.1 The relationship between culture and language ............................ 错误！未定义书签。 2.2 The roles played by numbers in both languages.............................................................. 1 3. A brief analysis of English and Chinese numerical idioms .......................................... 2 3.1 The definition of idiom in both languages..................................... 错误！未定义书签。 3.2 The pattern of idiom in both languages ........................................................................... 2 4. Contrastive study of cultural connotation between English and Chinese numerical idioms .................................................................................................................................... 3 4.1 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to psychology ................................ 3 4.1.1The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in psychology ......................... 4 4.1.2 The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in psychology ......................... 5 4.2 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to mythology ................................. 5 4.2.1 The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in mythology ......................... 5 4.2.2 The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in mythology .......................... 6 4.3 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to religion ...................................... 6 4.3.1The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in religion ............................... 7 4.3.2The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in religion ................................ 7 5. Conclusion ...................................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。 Bibliography ....................................................................................... 错误！未定义书签。

iii

1. Introduction

As an important part of the English and Chinese idioms, numerical idioms reflect the psychological bases, the traditions and characteristics of both cultures. A good understanding of the cultural connotations of the numerical words is the basis for the proper use of English and Chinese numerical idioms. It will help us with language teaching and learning as well cross-culture communication if we have a proper understanding of the difference between the English and Chinese numerical idioms. (Chang Runfang, 2008.)

So far, many scholars have made systematic comparison between English and Chinese idioms. Numerical culture has attracted scholars’ attention at home and abroad in recent decades, especially in China. As the globalization of the world is speeding up day after day, and Chinese numerals carry such rich cultural messages, it is necessary to introduce the rich Chinese numerical culture to foreign countries and vice versa.

This thesis discusses the different cultural connotations of basic numerals in both English and Chinese from the perspective of psychology, mythology and religion. It contains five chapters.

2. Numbers, language and culture

2.1 The relationship between culture and language

In a broad sense, culture refers to the totality of material and spiritual products created by human beings in their practice. Specifically speaking, it can be divided into material culture, institutional culture and psychological culture. In a narrow sense, culture refers merely to spiritual products including language, literature, art, social ideology, etc. Definition of culture has varied a great deal since the emergence of anthropology in the 19th century and no unanimity has been reached yet. (Wangzhikui,2001:23 )

Language and culture are inseparable from each other. Language, on one hand, is the carrier of culture, on the other hand, a necessary part of it. Any culture must be expressed in a certain language.

2.2 The roles played by numbers in both languages

When human thought developed to a certain degree, numbers came on the sense to meet the need of the social activities with the help of signs. Numbers are used for counting ,comparing amounts，performing calculations, determining order, making measurements, representing value, setting limits, abstracting quantities, coding information, and transmitting data. Every nation has necessity to use numbers in their counting systems. Numbers is an organic part of language.

1

Numerical words with their unique connotations and functions play a very important role in human's cultural communication and development. Because of the similarities between English and Chinese cultures and modes of thinking, the same number may evoke the same or similar feelings or associations among people. However, due to different historical and cultural settings, the connotations of numbers in one language do not always coincide with those in another. In some cases people may use different numbers to express the same feelings or figurative meanings, while on other occasions they may give different feelings or figurative meanings to the same number.

3. A brief analysis of English and Chinese numerical idioms 3.1 The definition of idiom in both languages

It’s by no means easy to give a clear-cut definition of idioms. The definitions can differ from person to person (experts and scholars) and from dictionary to dictionary.

According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, (2004:971) an idiom is a group of words with a meaning of its own that is different from the meanings of each separate word put together. For example ―under the weather‖ is an idiom meaning ―ill‖.

Dictionaries offer very different opinions, so do experts and scholars. To quote only two of them as example: Ammer (1997) defines an idiom as a set phrase of two or more words that means something different from the literal meaning of the individual words; and according to the Chinese scholar Luo Shiping, an idiom is a set phrase particular to a language or people, whose meaning is often different from the meaning of the words that it is made up of and must be learnt as a whole. (2005:4)

In spite of the differences in definition of an idiom, the common characters are summed up by Luo Shiping (2005:13)，―when determine whether an expression is an idiom, three points may be taken into consideration: first, there have to be two or more than two words in an idiom; second, the structure is relatively fixed and its parts cannot be replaced arbitrarily; third, the meaning cannot be derived by adding up the meaning of every constituent of the expressions.‖ For instance, ―to spill the beans‖ has nothing to do with ―bean‖; in fact, it means ―to tell something that is secret‖. 3.2 The pattern of idiom in both languages

English idioms contain set phrases (set phrases are those idioms whose form is set and many of them are rather rigid and cannot appear in its variants.); proverbs (proverb is an embodiment and miniature of a nation’s language and culture, hails from ordinary people and roots in common life, mirroring wisdom, thought and sensation of the masses.); allusions (allusion is a direct or indirect reference with the character or event in history,

2

legends, literature, ect.); slang (slang is a kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.) etc.

Chinese idioms are composed of set phrases (成语), proverbs (谚语), slang expressions (俚语), allusions (典故) and two-part allegorical sayings (歇后语) and Antithetical couplets (对联). Set phrase are usually composed of four characters and they are forceful, terse and vivid in imagery.

In both Chinese and English, there are many numerical idioms related to such forms. 1）―Fifth column‖ means ―a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage, sabotage and other subversive activities within the defense lines or borders of a nation.‖(English set phrase)

2）―乱七八糟‖means ―At sixes and sevens‖(Chinese set phrase)

3)―A stitch in time saves nine‖ means ―小洞不补大洞吃苦‖ (English proverb) 4) ―说归说，做归做‖means ―To say is one thing; to do is another.‖(Chinese proverb) 5) ―Catch 22‖ means ―A situation in which a desired outcome or solution is impossible to attain because of a set of inherently illogical rules or conditions‖( English allusion)

6) ―朝三慕四‖means ―someone who changes his mind frequently or contradict one’s own words‖ (Chinese allusion)

7) ―two-bit whores ‖ means ―臭婊子‖ ( English slang) 8) ―二百五‖ means ―A stupid person‖(Chinese slang)

9) ―一条绳上栓着的两只蚂蚱-谁也跑不了‖ means ―Two grasshoppers tied to one cord, neither can get away‖(two-part allegorical sayings)

10) ―三千里外一条水，十二时中两度潮‖ means ― there is a channel beyond four thousand li, and the channel is on the flow twice in a single day (Antithetical couplets) 4. Contrastive study of cultural connotation between English and Chinese numerical idioms

England and China have gone through thousands of years history, each country have formed its own culture. Cultural connotation is an indispensable factor in the study of English and Chinese numerical idioms

4.1 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to psychology

3

In both English and Chinese cultures, from ancient times till now, ―word fetishism‖ has affected people’s sub-consciousness. It is believed that certain numbers contain magical or spiritual power which can bring people bad or good fortune. Therefore, numbers’ cultural connotation is inseparable from people’s psychology. Each culture over the ages has evolved and given to its members a unique ―psychological set‖ or orientation toward reality and this set actually determines how its member see and process information from the environment. Culture, in effect affects the ways in which the mind works. 4.1.1The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in psychology

China is one of the four ancient civilized countries in the world. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have firmly believed in the binary theory of Yin and Yang and thought that everything in the world is composed of Yin and Yang .Yin is the passive or the female element, while Yang is the active or the male element. Their interaction gives rise to the multiplicity of all things. Book of Changes(易经) claim that ―易有太极，是生两仪，两仪生四象，四象生八卦‖. (At the beginning of ―Change‖ lies T’ai-chi that engenders Yin and Yang, which in turn give rise to the four forms hsiang that again engender the eight trigrams). That everything has two sides embodies Chinese dialectics and conforms to traditional aesthetic psychology of the Orientals. There exist dualities in everything and Chinese people tend to emphasize its positive aspects, exhibiting their nice and harmonious psychology.

In idioms, people use ―四平八稳‖（methodical and well-balanced）to describe proper ways to manage affairs;―四通八达‖(extend in all directions) to describe convenience of transportations;―六六大顺‖(everything is all right ) to depict that everything goes smoothly;―十拿九稳‖(practically certain) to depict something is as good as settled;―十全十美‖（be the acme of perfection）to express one’s satisfaction with something.

Chinese people love ―four‖ out of its connection with natural phenomena, e.g., four directions—east, west ,south and north; four seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter; four limbs-two hands plus two feet; etc. For Chinese who are active in exploring the relationship between man and universe and seek to obey the will of Heaven, these phenomena have rich meanings. In the eyes of Chinese people, ―six‖ is double ―three‖ and has similar pronunciation with ―禄‖（―禄‖ means official’s salary in feudal China and is usually used to refer to the source of wealth）.‖Eight ‖ is considered as an extremely lucky number in today’s market economy due to its similar pronunciation with ―发‖（―发‖means

4

money-making in Chinese）. ―Ten‖, as a lucky number, is regarded as symbol of intactness and perfection. Chinese favor to use ―ten‖ as a standard measurement unit. Many place names contain number ―ten‖ such as ―Ten-Mile Chang’ an ‖in Beijing,‖ Ten-Mile QinHuai River‖ in Nanjing and ―Ten-Mile Yangchang (metropolis infested with foreign adventurists )‖ in Shanghai. It is still a tradition that every year media will select‖ Ten Film Stars of the Year‖, etc. In addition to these, other even numbers are also favored by Chinese people such as twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six, seventy-two, etc.

Chinese strong psychology towards auspicious connotations of even numbers has also been reflected in their literary tradition. Spring festival scrolls are a special form of literary style of unique Chinese characteristics. Antithesis is a figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure. 4.1.2 The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in psychology

In contrast, in the English –speaking countries, people tend to consider odd numbers (except thirteen) as lucky numbers. In their eyes, the world is made up of three parts-the land, the sea and the sky; nature consists of three parts-animals, plants and minerals; human being is composed of flesh, spirit and soul. There are lots of sayings containing ―three‖ such as ―all good things go by threes‖, ―the third time is the charm‖ and ―number three is always fortunate‖. Pytagoras, an ancient Greek philosopher, regarded ―three‖ as the symbol of God. In his opinion, everything in the world can be divided into different numbers and ―three‖ is the perfect one because it represents the three stages of a process: beginning, middle and completion. By contrast, he thought of ―two‖ as an unlucky number and treated it as the source of evil. In most English numerical idioms, ―two‖ contains the meaning of ―pimping, trivial‖ such as ―two by four‖ and ―two bits‖ (something worthless) 4.2 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to mythology

Mythology refers to a body or a collection of myths belong to a people and addressing their origin, history, deities, ancestors, and heroes. Myth means a traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the world view of people, such as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs or ideals of society, In general, the myths of a certain culture have extensive influence on its development. In both Chinese and English culture, there exist myths that are related to numbers and these numbers herein gain their special cultural connotations.

4.2.1 The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in mythology

In Chinese myths, immortals’ residence is usually far away from mortals and they

5

often show little interest in mundane affairs. However, Gods in western myths are much more like human beings. Their dwelling place is reachable and they are allowed to get married to mortals. They also possess various human emotions and desires. The differences between Chinese and western myths lead to subsequent discrepancies of their cultural development. As far as the positive or negative aspect of numbers related to myths is concerned, western myths have more influence on westerners than that of Chinese myths upon the Chinese people.

In Chinese culture, the connotations of numbers have close relationship to Chinese ancient myths. In the 1970s, an unofficial book dating from the period of Warring Times was unearthed from a royal tomb of Western Han Dynasty in the outskirts of Changsha, Hunan Province. In the book, there record myths saying that God Huang has four faces with each face in charge of one direction. This is one of the reasons why ―四‖ has a good cultural connotation for Chinese people. There are various kinds of Chinese idioms containing ―四‖such as ―四面八方‖（all directions）and ―四通八达‖ in all directions). In Chinese myths, there exists another supernatural being, Nazha, who has three heads and six arms and is in charge of justice. He can transform himself into three bodies linked by their backs at will and possess unusual power. Therefore, Chinese people associate number―三‖with power and magic. Likewise, this is reflected in the idioms such as ―三皇五帝‖（three sage kings and five virtuous emperors: legendary rulers of antiquity in China）.

4.2.2 The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in mythology

English culture has been greatly influence by Greek and Roman myths. In Roman myths, the power of god Jupiter comes from his three-pronged thunder stick, the prowess of god Neptune lies in his three-pronged spear, while god Pluto is a mighty three-headed dog. These three gods are in charge of the world. Therefore, the propitious and powerful connotations of ―three‖ is well illustrated in western myths. ―Nine‖ is also endowed with rich connotations from ancient Greek myths. According to the myths, there are altogether twelve Muses and the water snake has as many as nine heads. Westerners get accustomed to using ―nine‖ to refer to a large number such as ―a stitch in time saves nine‖ and ―be dressed up to the nines‖.

4.3 The cultural connotation of numeral idioms related to religion

Religion, as the product of interactions between humans and nature, is a world-wide phenomenon. It refers to a certain people’s believe in and reverence for a supernatural

6

power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. Religion occupies an important position in human society and has enormous influence upon people’s spiritual and physical life. As an integral part of culture, religion is also reflected in language. 4.3.1The cultural connotation of Chinese numerical idioms in religion

China is a country with various kinds of religions, among which Buddhism and Taoism are the two most important ones. Buddhism originated from ancient India and was introduced into China in the first year of the reign of Yuanshou, Western Han Dynasty. Buddhism reached its culmination during Sui Dynasty and Tang Dynasty and has long influenced Chinese people’s psychology. In Buddhist culture , number ― one hundred and eight‖ is the symbol of Buddha and is linked with daily life and grand events in Buddhism, e.g., one hundred and eight bodhisattvas in temple are incarnation of Buddha; the bell in the temple rings one hundred and eight times; a string of beads contains one hundred and eight bead; etc. In addition to these, some idioms have close connections with Buddhism such as ―五体投地‖（prostrate oneself on the ground in admiration）.―五体‖refers to a person’s head , two elbows and two knees. In Buddhism, when Buddhist pays his worship to Buddha, he is required to prostate his head, two elbows and two knees on the ground. This idiom is used to describe one’s admiration for another person. Another example is ―三生有幸‖（consider oneself most fortunate）.―三生‖means a person’s pre-life, this life and aftertime in Buddhism. This idiom is used to depict that a person is fortunate enough to make somebody’s acquaintances. ―四大皆空‖ which literally means regarding the four major elements (earth , water, fire and wind ) in the world as in vain and metaphorically denotes that one regard the physical world as illusory.

4.3.2The cultural connotation of English numerical idioms in religion

Europe has been under the administration of Christianity for almost two thousand years and European culture is interspersed with unique Christian flavor. The English language is inevitably influence by Christianity. For a long time, people from the English-speaking countries have firmly believed that ―thirteen is an unlucky number‖. ―Thirteen‖ has become a ―number one‖ taboo due to the ominous stories from ancient myths and the Bible. According to the Bible, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’s twelve disciples, disclosed Jesus’s whereabouts to the chief priests and elders for thirty pieces of silver, which resulted in the crucifixion of Jesus. Before Jesus was arrested, it happened to be the Passsover. Jesus invited his twelve disciples to dinner together and at the dinner Judas sat in the thirteenth seat. Partly because of this, western people resent number ―thirteen‖ from

7

本文来源：https://www.bwwdw.com/article/lgcg.html