example

1. The Differences of Cultural
Connotations of Animal Words
in English and Chinese
by XX
XX University
May 20xx

2. I 摘 要
语言蕴含着一个民族的社会意识、历史文化、风俗习惯等各方面
的社会特征，而词汇是语言最基本的要素和表达语言意义的主要
单位，它由于受到文化因素的影响而蕴含着丰富的文化内涵，因
此，文化差异在词汇上体现的最为突出。由于中英两国文化背景
不同，人们对同一动物词语所承载的意义也就会出现差异，而不
同动物词语，也极有可能表达相同的内涵。本文通过列举大量的
例子分析了英汉动物词汇文化内涵差异的四种情况，并从地域，
风俗习惯，宗教信仰和历史四个方面解释了这些差异产生的原
因，这有助于加强语言学习者对中西方语言和文化的了解，进而
避免在跨文化交际中可能出现的误解和摩擦，促进民族文化的融
合，同时对外语学习和教学有实际的指导意义。 关键词：动物
词汇；文化内涵；差异

3. Abstract
Language implies a nation's social consciousness, history, culture,
customs and other aspects of social characteristics, and word is the
most basic element of language and the main unit of language
expression. It contains rich cultural connotations because of the
impact of culture. So the cultural differences which are reflected in
words are the most prominent. Britain and China have different
cultural backgrounds, so people may have different cultural
connotations to the same animal word, or have similar cultural
connotations to different animal words. This article, by giving a lot of
examples, analyzes the differences of cultural connotations of animal
words in English and Chinese in four situations, and explains the
causes of these differences from four aspects of geography, customs,
religious beliefs and history。This study will help learners improve
the understanding of western language and culture, avoid
misunderstandings and frictions in cross-cultural communication,
and promote the integration of national culture. At the same time, it
is of significance in foreign language teaching and learning.
Key words: animal words; cultural connotation; difference

4. III Contents
摘要
Abstract Contents
1 Introduction
2 Cultural Connotations of Animal Words in English and Chinese
2.1 The Same Animal Words, Similar Cultural Connotations
2.2 The Same Animal Words, Different Cultural Connotations
2.3 Different Animal Words, Similar Cultural Connotations
2.4 The Cultural Connotations Only in One of the Two Languages
3 Causes of the Differences
3.1 Differences in Geography
3.2 Differences in Customs
3.3 Differences in Religious Beliefs
3.4 Differences in History
Conclusion
References

5. Introduction
During the long period of the society, animals keep in close contact
with humans and have a profound influence on human society. In
many Chinese and foreign myths, legends, fables and fairy tales,
there are a lot of stories about animals that are often given human
emotions and qualities. Both languages have lots of words denoting
animals, especially, there are a large number of metaphorical
phrases containing animal words as the vehicles both in English and
Chinese. These kinds of phrases are used frequently, which makes
English and Chinese vivid in images, plain in characters and rich in
flavors. But animal words may have different cultural connotations in
both languages because of the cultural characteristics and
differences of the two countries. So, in order to understand and
master the English and Chinese languages better, and make
successful cross-cultural communication, it is necessary to explore
the similarities and differences of animal words which have different
cultural connotations in English and Chinese.

6. 2 Cultural Connotations of Animal Words in English and Chinese
Connotation meaning is beyond conceptual meaning, it is usually
connected with the nature and feature of objective things (Mao
Ronggui and Liao Sheng 2005, 26). Because human experiences are
very much alike throughout the world, for example, everyone eats,
sleeps, works, experiences a lot of common things, there is a
common core in different cultures and languages. It is possible for
people of different cultures to give the same or similar metaphorical
meaning to the same animal. But because of the differences in
geography, customs, religions and ecological surroundings, national
cultures are formed particularly. The cultural differences make
people give different figurative meanings to the same animal word,
or even use different animal words to express the same associations.
Therefore, we will discuss it according to the following four
situations.

7. 2.1 The Same Animal Words, Similar Cultural Connotations
As the ecological environment of human life is somewhat similar,
human feelings and cognition to the objective world also have some
similarities. English and Chinese understand animals according to
their basic properties, which is natural to produce the same or
similar associations, or give animal words the same cultural
connotations. For example, the word ―wolf‖ has the same
meaning in both English and Chinese. It means bloody and cruel. In
Chinese, there are many idioms associated with the wolf, such as
langxingoufei, langbeiweijian, yinlangrushi and so on. In English,
there are expressions like ―as cruel as a wolf‖, ―throw to the
wolves (betray a friend)‖, ―wolf in sheep‘s clothes (wolf dressed
in sheep‘s clothing)‖. These idioms and phrases are all developed
from wolf‘s associated meanings ‗greedy‘, ‗cruel‘ and ‗bloody‘. So,
wolf implies a bad person or thing in the two languages. Snake
stands for evil and danger in the eyes of both the Chinese and the
English people. As is known to all, a snake in the grass is particularly
dangerous because it is difficult to be discovered. In English, people
use ―a snake in the grass‖ to imply a person who is kind to you
when he is near you but whispers bad things about you behind your
back. In Chinese, people usually use fokoushexin, shexiexinchang to
describe the vicious person. In addition, there are many such animal
words with the same cultural connotations in English and Chinese
languages. For examples, sheep means docility and quiet, just like
the meaning in ―as gentle as a lamb‖; pig is the symbol of
dirtiness, fatness, laziness, and greediness, as in the sentence ―She
is as fat as a pig‖; parrot is used to indicate a person who does not
have an idea of his own and always imitate others; swan is a symbol
of elegance; fox is a symbol of slyness; bee represents hard-working
and business, just as the saying ―as busy as a bee‖.

8. 2.2 The Same Animal Words, Different Cultural Connotations
Because of the differences in social and living environments, the
recognition of people to the same thing may be different. It is easy
for them to give the same animal word different cultural
connotations. One of the typical animal words is the word ―dog‖.
In English-speaking countries dog is considered as loyal, brave, and
clever and man's best friend. Westerners, especially English people,
love dogs very much and rear them as pets. They have special food
and shelter for their dogs. So many of the expressions related to the
word ―dog‖ are commendatory, such as ―love me, love my
dog‖, ―a big dog (an important people)‖, ―a top dog (a
winner)‖, ―a lucky dog (a lucky person)‖, ―a lame dog over a
stile (to help others in distress)‖. Of course, there are some
derogatory expressions, such as ―to live a dog‘s life (to live a poor
and miserable life)‖, ―to treat someone like a dog (to ill-treat a
person)‖, ―political dogfight (political chaos)‖, but this does not
affect the status of dogs in westerners‘ eyes. In China, dogs are also
considered to be faithful and reliable, but they keep dogs to look
after the house. They do not have much good impression on them,
so many of the expressions related to dogs are derogatory, such as
goujitiaoqiang(a cornered beast will do something), goutuizi(son of
bitch), and hupenggouyou(Mao Ronggui and Liao Sheng 2005, 30)
In Chinese culture, dragon has a high status and is considered as an
auspicious animal that can bring good luck. It is the symbol of
emperors in the feudal society and the symbol of Chinese nation. We
can understand that dragon in Chinese culture is a well-respected
image from these idioms wangzichenglong, zhenlongtianzi,
longfengchengxiang, and longtenghuyue. On the contrary, in
Western countries, dragon is only a cruel and dangerous reptile and
a symbol of evil; it always refers to a fierce and brutal person. The
third one is the word ―owl‖. In English-speaking countries, the owl

9. is a symbol of wisdom and clever, such as ―as wise as an owl‖. In
their children's books and cartoon books, owls are often serious and
smart and are the ―person‖ for animals and birds to seek help
from. Sometimes, the owl is also considered as impractical, foolish,
but generally speaking, it is a positive image. However, in Chinese
culture, owl stands for doom and disaster. As the Chinese saying
goes, ―A night owl flies into the house—the good thing will not
come‖. When seeing it or hearing its hoot, the Chinese people will
tremble with fear.
The last one is ―bat‖. Westerners have no good impression on the
bat, and often associate it with bad things. So in English there are ―
as blind as a bat (senseless)‖, ―as crazy as a bat (crazy like a
bat)‖, ―he is a bit batty (he was a bit unusual)‖, ―have bats in
the belfry (wishful thinking)‖. When mention it, people will think of
the ugly, evil, blood-sucking image. But in China bats symbolize good
luck, health, happiness because the pronunciation of ―bat‖ in
Chinese is the same with fu, which means good luck, happiness,
richness and power.
2.3 Different Animal Words, Similar Cultural Connotations
In English and Chinese, there are many different animal words which
express the same meaning. For instance, horse and ox. China is an
agricultural country and people mainly use cattle to plough the land,
while the British use horses. Cattle in Chinese and horses in English
have similar cultural connotations. So westerners say ―He is as
strong as a horse‖, ―talk horse‖, ―a willing horse‖; while
Chinese people say lidaruniu, chuiniu, laohuangniu. Tiger in Chinese
and lion in English represent the same meaning. In English lion has
rich cultural connotation, it is the King of beasts and its image is
brave and majestic. Therefore, there are terms such as ―a lion

10. heart‖, ―majestic as a lion‖ and ―a literary lion‖, and so on.
The British also use ―the British Lion‖ as the symbol of their own
country. In Chinese culture, what can lead to a similar association is
tiger. Chinese people believe that tiger is the King of beasts. Tiger
replaces the position of lion in English, so, in Chinese there are many
idioms related to tiger such as hushidandan, huhushengwei,
hudanyingxiong, and canglongwohu. When the British use ―a lion in
the way‖ or ―place one‘s head in the lion‘s mouth‖ (Mao
Ronggui and Liao Sheng 2005, 24) to express dangerous situations or
places, Chinese people will say lanluhu, zhishenhuxue. In English ―
the crocodile‘s tears‖ is an overused expression, it means a show
of insincere sorrow or sympathy, which is to say some people are
factually glad of others‘ misfortune but pretend to be sad about it.
While Chinese call this idiom maokuhaozi (cat weep over the dead
mouse). Here are some other similar examples, such as people in
China use ―as timid as rat‖ to describe a timid person, while in
English people use ―as timid as a hare/ chicken‖ to convey the
same meaning. The Chinese use reguo shang de mayi to describe ―
anxiety‖, but the English use ―like a cat on hot bricks‖. 2.4 The
Cultural Connotations Only in One of the Two Languages Some
animal words have associative meanings only in one of the two
languages, that is to say, some animal words have cultural
connotations only in English or only in Chinese. The first case is the
cultural connotations of animal words only exist in English. For
example, cat is one of the favorite pets in western countries and
people are very familiar with their habits. There are a lot idioms and
proverbs about ―cat‖ which can express their feelings and
behaviors of different people, such as ―rain cats and dogs (heavy
rain)‖, ―bell the cat (to save others, one bear the dangerous
task)‖, ―like a cat on hot bricks (very restless)‖, ―let the cat out
of the bag (inadvertently leak the secret)‖, ―cat burglar (light-
fingered gentry)‖, ―A cat may look at a king (ordinary people also

11. have the right)‖ and ―When the cat is away, the mice will play‖.
In Chinese people only use ―cat weep over the dead mouse
(maokuhaozi)‖ to show insincere sorrow or sympathy. Beaver is an
animal living in North America. It has high skills and originality in
nesting. Westerners use this word to describe the diligent people.
Therefore, there is an ―eager beaver‖, which means a person who
works hard to finish something but a bit impatient, the metaphor
sometimes has derogatory meaning: ―to work hard to please the
boss‖ (Huang Jianhua and He Kunhe, 1996). However, in Chinese,
the beaver is a very common animal without any special meaning.
The second case is the cultural connotations of animal words only
exist in Chinese. Silkworm originates from China. The ―Silk Road‖
is famous in the world and the silkworm culture has a long history in
China. This verse chuncan daosi si fang jin, laju chenghui lei shi gan
(The silkworm till its death spins silk from love-sick heart; the candle
when burned up has no tears to shed) (Mu Shixiong 2004, 125)
praises the dedication of silkworm. This particular cultural
connotation is deeply embedded in the hearts of the Chinese people.
However, the silkworm in English is noting but a bug. In Chinese,
the turtle has double meanings: one is longevity. The ancient
mansions, temples, palaces and other buildings often have a stone
turtle as a symbol of long life; On the other hand, the turtle is also
used as ―a humiliated husband‖. When saying that a person is a ―
turtle‖ or ―bastard‖, it is a great disrespect and insult to that
person. In Western culture, the turtle is just a slow-moving animal.
Crane in Chinese culture is a symbol of longevity. In traditional
Chinese paintings, people frequently paint crane with pine trees (the
other symbols of longevity), and write some blessed words, such as
songheyannian, on it. It is very popular to send such a gift to old
people on their birthday. However, in Western culture, crane has
nothing to do with longevity.

12. 3 Causes of the Differences
As is shown above, animal words have great differences of cultural
connotations in English and Chinese. The reasons for these
differences can be analyzed from the following four aspects:
geography, customs, religious beliefs and history.
3.1 Differences in Geography
Culture is closely related to environment and influenced by it. People
living in different natural environments will form different cultures.
In English and Chinese languages, the differences of cultural
connotation of many animal words are originated from the different
geographical environments of the two countries. It is common
knowledge that Britain is an island nation surrounded by water. The
British love the sea and something related to the ocean very much,
so many English expressions are concerned with the marine industry
and aquaculture, such as a poor fish (unlucky guy), like a fish out of
water (feel constraint), shy fish (shy people), as close as oyster (tight-
lipped), the shrimp of a possibility (slight possibility). China is a
continental country people‘s lives can not be separated from the
mainland, and their culture roots in agriculture, so many expressions
in Chinese are related to agriculture, hunting, insects, poultry and
birds, such as ―though ugly the toad is, it is a good helper of
farming(biekan hama chou, queshi zhongtian haobangshou).‖

13. 3.2 Differences in Customs
Custom is a social phenomenon. It is not the product of individual
factors, but is created by social groups. Custom is the people‘s way
of life in a region; it refers to all aspects of social life. As a special part
of the national culture, a nation's language is bound to reflect the
nation's customs. In the development of history, people from
different countries have developed different feelings and attitudes
towards animals. Many animal words directly reflect the people's
likes or dislikes to animals. In China, the magpie is considered as a
precursor of good luck, so, when meeting a magpie or hearing their
sounds on the road, the Chinese people believe that something good
will befall. In Western countries, the magpie is linked with doom.
People believe it will bring horror and revulsion. Just like ―bat‖
mentioned above, English-speaking people think of an ugly, evil,
blood-sucking image when talking about it, but in the eyes of the
Chinese people, bats are symbol of good luck, health, and happiness,
because ―bat‖ and fu are homonyms, ―bat and deer (fulu)‖
means good luck, happiness, richness, and power. And the word ―
dog‖, Chinese people are generally averse such animal, and often
use it to describe bad people or things. But the British love dogs and
see a dog as a faithful and reliable friend, so their expressions about
dog are almost commendatory.
3.3 Differences in Religious Beliefs
Religion is an important part of human thought and culture. Different
religions have different forms of cultural expression, which reflect
the characteristics, backgrounds and traditions of different cultures.
As a social ideology, religion has a great influence on human beings.
It was originally a product of low productivity, but today the science
is advanced, due to the existence of classes and class struggle,
people can not fully control their own destiny. Religion still occupies

14. a very important position in the spiritual life of many people.
Moreover, religion also affects the political, economic and cultural
fields, and its impact on the development of the language is
immeasurable. Chinese culture is influenced by Taoism and
Buddhism, and the impact of Buddhism is profound. The Chinese
idioms niutoumamian, mangrenmoxiang all came from Buddhism
Scripture. Western cultures are deeply influenced by Christianity. The
Bible has long been rooted in people's hearts. There are many
English expressions came from the Bible, e.g. ―a lion in the
road‖, ―beard the lion in the Bible‖. In the Bible, the Lion has
been given the characteristics of braveness and ferocity.
3.4 Differences in History
History is process of development of nature and human society. It is
one of the important factors that influence the cultural meaning of
words. Different countries have different histories. When discussing
animal words, it is necessary to understand the historical
backgrounds of these differences. Britain was ruled by the Roman
Pope and the King for a very long time, and their brutal rule was
resisted by the British. Therefore, there are many idioms in English to
express the people's anger and disgust, such as ―The King and Pope;
the lion and wolf‖, ―Kings and bears often worry their keepers‖,
and so on.
China has over 3,000 years of feudal history, and people's minds
have been detained by feudal ideas for a long time. Due to the
impact of feudal ideas, many of the old sayings have still retained
today. In Chinese, phoenix is a miraculous thing and is considered as
the King of birds. It is believed that the emergence of phoenix
presages peace and harmony; usually people compare it to the
Queen. And the word ―dragon‖, the emperors in the feudal
society always call themselves ―the real dragon (zhenlongtianzi)‖

15. and nowadays the Chinese people call themselves ―the
descendants of the dragon‖, which implies that dragon has a very
high status in the hearts of the Chinese people. These concepts
originated from a particular history.
4 Conclusion
Animal words have different cultural connotations in English and
Chinese because of the differences in geography, religious beliefs,
customs and history. The Chinese focus on moral and character
significance and emphasize on animals‘ internal characteristics, while
in the Western culture, people focus on the meanings of images and
signs and emphasize on animals‘ external characteristics. Generally
speaking, the words reflect the specific social culture, different social
backgrounds and cultural differences led to the differences of
cultural connotations of words. The cultural connotations of animal
words are the product of certain culture. The meaning of language
they reflect depends on the understanding of English and Chinese
cultures. Only in systematic and comprehensive way to learn the two
nations‘ cultures can people deeply understand the similarities and
differences of animal words in English and Chinese, and avoid
misunderstandings and frictions that may appear in cross-cultural
communication.

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BlBC8yTrWEpQP6z2nWIaR_mAlQMII6bQLgwFjcyG0begwqCW4qBDO
Iz_67Y2Et-f1n4ErmLWK0ZJeaJV_