英汉词汇文化对比及对英语教学的启示(1)(4)
2016-07-10 01:10
导读：贼眉鼠眼------shifty-eyed 抱头鼠窜------scurry off like a frightened rat 鼠目寸光------see only what is under one’s nose But in English, “mouse” can be used to refer to “women”,
贼眉鼠眼------shifty-eyed 抱头鼠窜------scurry off like a frightened rat
鼠目寸光------see only what is under one’s nose
But in English, “mouse” can be used to refer to “women”, and “girls”. For example:
as quiet as a mouse-----very quiet, silent[8] 文静如鼠
mouse and man----------all living creatures 众生
Such kind of meaning is not included in Chinese connotative meanings of “鼠”.
(2)In Chinese and English, “rose” and “玫瑰” both refer to “love”. When a man falls in love with a woman, he would send red roses to her to express his love. In Chinese, we often explain “带刺的玫瑰” as “a beauty who is difficult to approach”. While in English, “There is no rose without a thorn.” It really means “complete happiness or perfection can’t be found.[9] 事事无完美。” And “under the rose” means “privately[10] 在私底下”, which originates from an old convention: roses that hang under the council board imply that all attendees should keep secrets.
(3)“family” means “a group consisting of parents, their children and close relatives.”and “group members consisting of parents, their children and close relatives”.[11] Then “家庭” only means “以婚姻和血统关系为基础的社会单位，包括父母、子女和其他共同生活的亲属在内。”[12]
There are some other similar examples :“aunt”, “uncle”, “child’s play” and so on.
3.2.2 The opposite cultural meanings
This kind of words are apparently shown in some animal words. For example:
(1) Although Chinese and westerners have the habits of breeding dogs, they separately have different opinions about “dogs”.
Under Chinese cultural background, “dog” always has the derogatory sense.
狗急跳墙--- a cornered beast will do something desperate
狗仗人势---be a bully under the protection of a powerful person
狗胆包天--- monstrous audacity
狗拿耗子，多管闲事--- a dog trying to catch mice-poke one’s nose into other people’s business
（科教范文网 fw.nseac.com编辑发布）
狗腿子--- hired thug
But westerners consider dogs as good pets and man’s best friends. Dogs are very loyal and faithful to men and they all like dogs very much, which reflects greatly in their languages.
a lucky dog---a lucky person 幸运儿
top dog---the most important person 重要人物
Every dog has his day.”---Every man will be happy at some time. 凡人皆有得意时。
Love me, love my dog. ---You will have to accept my friends as well if you want me to be your friend. 爱屋及乌
If you are in America, people often call a skillful worker as “an old dog”. But if you are in China, someone that is given such appellation will be in a short temper.
(2)“dragon” and “龙”
In western mythology, dragon is considered as a gigantic creature called lizard, usually represented as having a reptilian body. People think they must kill the monster--dragon. The most famous story of killing dragon happened in about 700 AD, the Anglo-Saxon hero--Beowulf killed the dragon-like monster—Grendel. At that time, Grendel visits the Danes hall from night to night and carries the warriors away. So the hall is deserted. On hearing the news, Beowulf sails for Denmark with 14 companions and offers to fight the monster. After a terrible hand-to-hand combat, Grendel retreats mortally wounded. At last, Beowulf perishes together with Grendel. [13] By this token, westerners don’t like dragon very much. And because of this, we couldn’t make “dragon” as the symbol of the Olympic Games in 2008. On the contrary, in China, “龙”is considered as a wonderful animal which can make clouds and rain. It has the capability of 8 animals, including snakes, birds, horses, deers, fishes, eagles and so on. And it also can fly in the sky, swim in the river, walk on the land, which is symbolized as the spirit of braveness and adamancy. We are also proud of being “Descendants of the Loong”. As imagined by the Chinese, the dragon has the head of a camel, the horns of a deer, fiery eyes and a long beard. Its ears are like those of a cow, its paws like the tiger’s and its sharp claws like an eagle’s. Its neck is serpentine; it has the belly of a frog and the scales of a carp. When the dragon first appeared in the sky, after an heir was born, and the country was blessed with peace and prosperity for many generations thereafter. Thus, dragon also served as a symbol of good fortune. As time went by, in ancient time, the emperor of each dynasty was thought as the “the Real Loong” and the top dog in the world. In this way, a variety of the words and phrases about “龙”mean “auspicious”.
