Unit 2 language and Culture Lecture 2 Chinese Vs. English 语言文化心理的对比

汉英语言心理的对比 汉语 英语 悟性 理性 主体意识 客体意识 整体思维 个体思维

悟性Vs.理性 – 意合与形合 汉语重意合（parataxis),英语重形合(hypotaxis） 例如： 接着，他继续设想，鸡又生鸡，用鸡卖钱，钱买母牛，母牛繁殖，卖牛得钱，用钱放债，这么一连串的发财计划，当然也不能算是生产的计划。 He went on indulging in wishful thinking. Chickens would breed more chickens. Selling them would bring him money. With that he could buy cows. The cows would breed too and selling oxen would make more money for him. With the money, he could become a money lender. Such a succession of steps for getting rich, of course, had nothing at all to do with production.

Pidgin English “You needn't come，if he comes， He come，you no come，you come，come.” "Du Yusong having business like fruit stand. Like off the street kind. He is Du like Du Zong-but not Tsung-ming Island people. The local people call putong, the river east side, he belong to that side local people. That man want to ask Du Zong father take him in like become own family. Du Zong father wasn't look down on him, but didn't take seriously, until that man big like become a mafia. Now important person, very hard to inviting him. Chinese way, came only to show respect, don't stay for dinner. Respect for making big celebration, he shows up. Mean gives lots of respect. Chinese custom. Chinese social life that way. If too important won't have to stay too long. He come to my wedding. I didn't see, I heard it. I gone to boy's side. Chinese age I was nineteen." “You needn't come，if he comes， and he needn't come if you come “I wanted to capture what language ability tests can never reveal: her intent, her passion, her imagery, the rhythms of her speech, and the nature of her thoughts”. —— Amy Tan

悟性Vs.理性 – 形象与抽象 我怎样会感知他的内在 的智质之发展呢？ 我怎样会知道 他想些什么呢？ 汉语的具体，英语的抽象 E.g. There is no difference but difference of degree between different degrees of difference and no difference. 五十步与百步，有何异乎？ 丧失了原文的切准精确，却获得了明晓之意义 我怎样会感知他的内在 的智质之发展呢？ 我怎样会知道 他想些什么呢？

例如：对文法技巧的描述 蜻蜓掠水 笔调之轻松 画龙点睛 提出全文之主眼 欲擒故纵 题意之跌宕翻腾 单刀直入 起笔之骤开正文 神龙剑首不见尾 文思之灵活 壁立千仞 结束之峻峭 一针见血 直接警策之讥讽 声东击西 议论之奇袭 旁敲侧击 幽默之讽诮 层云叠嶂 辞藻之累积 湖上春来 调子之柔和

悟性Vs.理性 – 含蓄与直白 歇后语：门缝里看人 — 把人看扁了 外甥打灯笼 — 照舅（照旧） 飞机上挂暖壶 — 高水瓶（平） 《红楼梦》里一段对林黛玉的肖像描写： 两弯似蹙非蹙笼烟眉，一双似喜非喜含情目。态生两靥之愁。娇袭一身之病。泪光点点。娇喘微微。闲静似娇花照水，行动如弱柳扶风。心较比干多一窍，病如西子胜三分。 Gone with the Wind It was an arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw.  Her eyes were pale green without a touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightly tilted at the ends. Above them, her thick black brows slanted upward, cutting a startling oblique line in her magnolia white skin.

唐代赵嘏《江楼感旧》 同来玩月人何在？风景依稀似去年。 唐代元稹《行宫》 寥落古行宫，宫花寂寞红。 白头宫女在，闲坐说玄宗。 Herbert A. Giles One white-haired dame, An Emperor’s flame, Sits down and tells of bygone hours. W.J.B. Fletcher Only some withered dames with whitened hair remain, Who sit there idly talking of mystic monarchs dead.

悟性Vs.理性 – 谐音与包孕

地名如美利坚（America）、 英吉利（English）、意大利（Italy）等，若是不慎选了不好字眼的则要改成中性，莫三鼻给 ── 莫桑比克（Mozambique）、怯尼亚 ── 肯尼亚（Kenya）；人名如珂罗倔伦 ── 高本汉（Bernhard Karlgren）、斯诺 ── 施乐（Snow）等。我国编译了一本人名译名规范词典，但只用在标准场合，一旦一个外国人有了一点汉语汉字知识，也会像中国人一样热切地希望取一个“佳名”而不是简单的声音符号。商标名称如奔驰（Benz）、可口可乐（Coca Cola）、美年达（Mirinda）、彪马（Puma）等在翻译时都兼顾了谐音意义，体现了汉文化的特点。

喂喂喂，侬姓啥？—— 我姓黄。 啥个“黄”？ —— 草头黄。 啥个“草”？—— 青草。 啥个“青”？—— 碧绿青。 啥个“碧”？—— 毛笔。 啥个“毛”？—— 三毛。 啥个“三”? —— 高山。 啥个“高”？—— 年糕。 啥个“年”？—— 19** 年。

This is the malt That lay in the house that Jack built This is the farmer sowing his corn, That kept the cock that crowed in the morn, That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tattered and torn, That kissed the maiden all for lorn, That milked the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt, This is the rat, That ate the malt This is the cat …

主体意识 Vs.客体意识 中国传统哲学的特点之一就是参与意识，一切以“人”为出发点，强调主体意识；而西方哲学则主张理性和物我之间的距离，有较强的客体意识。这种主、客体意识的对立在汉语和英语的句法中体现的尤为突出。

最典型的是英语用it 作形式主语引导一句话的句型，这是英语重客体意识的突出表现，然而对于汉语而言则是无论如何也不可能仿效的，翻译成汉语时只能转换成以人开头或隐含以人开头的句子： It appears that Mr Jackson has got religion on the subject of environmentalism. 杰克逊先生对环保问题认真了起来。 It is physically impossible for a well-educated, intellectual, or brave man to make money the chief object of his thoughts; as physically impossible as it is for him to make his dinner the principal object of them. 一个受过良好教育、有知识或胆识的人实在不可能把金钱作为他孜孜以求的主要目标，正如他不可能把吃饭当作最主要的目标一样。 It was a difficult time for them. 当时他们的处境很困难。 It is necessary for us to have some exercise every day. 我们每天必须做一些运动。 It appears that you are right. 看来你是对的。（主体隐含）

另一个突出的例子是被动句。英语使用被动句比汉语频繁的多，这也体现了两种语言心理的不同，很多英语被动句只能翻译成汉语的主动句正是因为汉语的主体意识在发挥作用，例如： Everything possible was done to conceal our movements from the enemy and to mislead them. 我们已采取了一些一切可能的措施，以便对敌人隐瞒我们的活动情况，并迷惑他们。（不说 “每一件可能的措施都被采取了……”） Table tennis is played all over China. 中国到处都打乒乓球。（不说“在中国乒乓球到处都被打”） Word was passed round maniples that all were to make for Tacfarinas. 各个小队都接到通知说，大家都要以塔克法里那斯为攻击目标。（不说“通知已被各个小队传开……”） 同样由于主、客体意识的差异，英语中类似 “Great changes have taken place”、 “Last year saw great changes” 这样的句子是无法进入到汉语中来的，翻译时必须转换出汉语可以接受的主体作为主语。

整体思维Vs.个体思维 “天人合一”的宇宙观对汉民族影响至深，使汉民族的思维具有高度的整合性，相比于西方的思维传统而言，汉民族更擅长于对事物的整体把握，更擅长于形象的思维，更注重归纳和整体性。这种整体性的思维与个体思维的对比集中体现在汉语、英语造字构词的差别上。

汉语数量繁多，给记忆带来了困难，而汉字在长期的发展过程中形成了以形声字为主体、以部首来统率、所有的字以类相从的办法，成功地解决了这一问题。如“木”旁，“凡木之属皆从木”；“水”旁，“凡水之属皆从水”。例如“松、柏、梅、枝、树、林…… ”等一望而知与树木有关；“江、河、湖、海、洋、池、深、浅……” 等一望而知与水有关。这些偏旁就起了把字串连起来的作用，这是一种整体思维的结果，每一个字都不是孤立的存在的。这种造字的方法又被用来构辞。即先确定一个类属大名，然后加以个别区分。例如，先把木本植物通称为“树”，然后把各种不同的树分别叫做“松树（pine)、柏树(cypress)、梅树(prune)、桃树(peach)、李树(plum)”等，把与“树”有关的各种事物，分别叫做“树干(trunk)、树枝(branch)、树墩(stump)、树叶(foliage)、树皮(bark)”等。“树”在这一系列词里起的作用就相当于原先字里面的偏旁，同样体现了一种从整体着眼来把握局部的思维方法。

汉语的周遍性重复也是一种整体观照的表现 镇子坐落在一个山谷里，东面是山，西面是山，南面是山，北面也是山。 The small town lies in a valley, to its east is a mountain, to its west is a mountain, to its south is a mountain and to its north is a mountain too.

Translation problems Vocabulary equivalence burgundy（深的紫红色），“汗”，“爽” Idiomatic equivalence kick the bucket, 坐吃山空 Grammatical-syntactical equivalence Experiential equivalence “三八妇女红旗手”， grocery store Conceptual equivalence individualism 孝(filiality)

Cultural tips for today Chinese “YES” Visa officer: “You don’t have any infectious disease?” Chinese student: “Yes, Yes”. Visa officer: “You don’t want to immigrate to US?”

A case study — Xiaolin’s story I am a graduate student in China, and over the last few weeks I have become friends with Earl, an American student who is studying Chinese at my university. We have a number of friends in common, so often see each other at various social gatherings. We enjoy talking to each other, and have gotten to know each other fairly well. Last weekend Earl asked me if I would like to go see a movie with him. I said yes, so we had dinner and saw the movie together. After the movie we talked for a long time as walked home. When it was time to say goodnight,… ? Does that mean he wants me to be his girlfriend? he took my hand and kissed me

Westerners tend to begin and end romantic relationships more frequently and easily than Chinese people do. While from Chinese cultural perspective this may seem to be too “casual”, most westerners view this as normal and even good. In fact, many westerners would argue that it is good to date a number of different people before you finally decide who to marry because this helps you choose a good partner. In Chinese cultural perspective, when a man kisses a woman it usually indicates serious romantic interest. From a western cultural perspective, a goodnight kiss is not taken so seriously. It could signal serious romantic interest, but it could also just indicates a mild and perhaps passing affection.

Thank you