A Study on Cultural Connotation of Animal Words in English and Chinese

Every animal word has its own cultural connotation.Obviously， different animal words， even the same animal words， have the same， similar or contrary cultural connotations in different languages.So it brings misunderstanding and cultural shock in intercultural communication.This paper tries to discuss the cultural connotations of animal words in English and Chinese from the following aspects： cultural connotation correspondence， cultural connotation non-correspondence and cultural connotation zero both in English and Chinese.Through the comparison， it is clear to conclude that this discrepancy of languages is the epitome of the differences of English and Chinese cultures.Therefore， if people want to communicate with English-speaking people confidently and successfully， people firstly have to enrich their knowledge of different cultures， make clear the differences and understand the cultural connotations of these animal words.

In China， the crane is the symbol of longevity.We can easily find the image of crane in the Chinese traditional lanterns whose metaphorical meaning is松鹤延年 （ health and long-life）.However， in western culture we can not find any idioms about crane because it doesnt have this kind of metaphorical meaning.

Chinese people like to use the mandarin duck as the symbol for love because a mandarin duck couple always lives together in the water at ease.In a newly-married couple's room， there are many things with pictures about mandarin duck， such as 鸳鸯帐、鸳鸯被、鸳鸯枕， etc.But the image of the mandarin duck in the phrase has to be turned into love birds as the mandarin duck is a kind of duck， which has no symbolic meaning at all in English.

Silkworm comes from china and the silk fabrics are very popular in foreign countries.The most famous history event is 丝绸之路.Silkworm is spoken highly in the poem for its dedication.So especially cultural connotations of silkworm are endowed to Chinese.Whereas to most English-speaking people， silkworm is， at most， a kind of small animal.Generally speaking， it is obvious to see the great influences of different cultures on animal words.

Chinese people believe that tortoise can live for hundreds of years.So it is a symbol of long life in Chinese culture.In the modern China， now tortoise has a very derogatory meaning.In English there is no such allusion whether with a favorable meaning or negative meaning.

Everybody can list a bundle of examples which have a Chinese connotation but have none connotation in English.English-speaking people feel puzzled when they meet 你真熊；他太牛了；那个家伙简直像条泥鳅；喜得麟子.Because in English， a bear has no symbolic meaning of stupid or incompetence， neither cattle refers to stubbornness.There is no loach in most English-speaking countries.So people do not regard it as a kind of fish， let alone a cunning animal.Of course they can not understand the connotative meaning of 滑as sly， tricky， diplomatic and so on.And Qilin麒麟 just exist in Chinese legend.麟子refers to a newborn child being looked forward to and blessed.凤毛麟角refers to rare， precious persons or things.So no wonder almost all English-speaking people were puzzled by Chinese phrases and idioms， even feel terrible about that.

This cognitive gulf exists because people in two cultures have different imagination of some animal words.However， the gulf will be eliminating gradually as people go deeper in the development of internet and intercultural communication.A simple example is enough to prove this.With the social development in China， more and more Chinese people change their mind on dogs.This is quite true in the coinage of some cool words on the Internet.For example， 搜狗Sogo， 看门狗WinDog， 酷狗KuGoo， etc.

Through the comparison of cultural connotation of animal words between English and Chinese， it is clear to conclude that animal word is not only a sign of animal but also has profoundly cultural connotation in different cultures.This discrepancy of language is the epitome of the difference of two different cultures--English and Chinese.Therefore， if people want to have a good grasp of animal words， they must try their best to understand the connotations of these words， especially the cultural connotations.It is also necessary to enrich our knowledge of different cultures as much as possible and make clear the differences of cultures between English and Chinese in order to understand correctly cultural connotation of words.Only deeply acquainting themselves with the cultural convention and living customs， can people communicate with English-speaking people confidently and successfully.

作者简介：

王英刚 （1979.3.8），男，汉族，吉林农安人，讲师，硕士，研究方向：英语教学与行政管理。