A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Proverbs

王興珠

【Abstract】Through comparison， the ultimate goal is to find out the emergence and development of proverb and its social and cultural origins， to understand the cultural differences in English and Chinese proverbs， and to avoid cultural pragmatic failures.

【Key words】English proverbs； Chinese proverbs； cross-cultural communication； comparison

I. INTRODUCTION

A distinctive feature of human being is that they posses linguistic power， which magically links people sharing the same or different cultural backgrounds together. Language， known as the cultural carrier， serves as a bridge through which cross-cultural communication has been made possible. Being the cream of language， proverbs play an indispensable role in cross-cultural communication.

II. PROVERBS AND CULTURE

Proverbs are the summary of class struggle， the working practice and life experiences of human being. They usually refer to some meaningful sentences， Which， bearing national and cultural features， are found， selected， refined and accumulated in the long course of language and social developments. Just as clothes are to women， so proverbs are to language. Culture is an indispensable part of proverbs. The definition of Chinese and English proverbs are firstly need us to know and then we should to study the relationship between cross-culture communication and proverbs.

III.THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH AND CHINESE PROVERBS

Most Chinese proverbs we have know when we were child， and also we learn some English proverbs. We know meaning of some English proverbs， but the deeper of these proverbs we cannot study clearly. So we need to comparative study English and Chinese proverbs. They have both similarities and differences. Some Chinese and English proverbs origin from religion， social discrimination，history and most of them are influent by culture. But though they have different in culture background， historical and literary allusions and aesthetic perspectives.

Ⅳ.THE CAUSE OF THE PROVERBS DISCREPANCY

We have know know that English and Chinese proverbs have some differences， such as religion， social discrimination，history and culture.What couse these discrepancy， it is mainly can concluding as two aspects. Firstly， they gave environment and experience discrepancy. Sencondly， they have cultural tradition discrepancy.

Ⅴ.THE CHANGE OF PROVERBS IN THE POCESS OF USAGE

Proverbs have exist from thousands years ago， and they are not unchangeable. According to the development of the society， both Chinses and English proverbs had changed a lot. Some out of date proverbs are out of people's daily use. At the same time， new peoverbs appeared. And they also change in forms.， but heir meaning is not altered.People Extend or dimin some proverbs to adjust to everything in order to the living and competition needs.

Ⅵ.CONCLUDING REMARKS AND IMPLICATION

We have know Similarities and differences shown in both English and Chinese proverbs，the causes of the proverbs discrepancy and the change of proverbs in the process of usage. So it is not hard for us to know the significance of study English and Chinese proverbs.As a special part of language and culture， proverbs reflect almost every aspect of the features of a nation： therefore the importance of proverbs is quite obvious. Only by comparison can we find out the similarities and differences between the proverbs of different languages. We can gain a better understanding， or rather to have a better command of English proverbs by comparing them with our native proverbs. But there are also have some problem of proverbs unsolved. There are some proverbs which cannot be understood in both languages.

CONCLUSION

With the increasing demand for people of different cultural backgrounds to communicate with one another， we are more aware of the importance of the way by which cross-cultural communication is conducted. Proverbs， the cream of language， mirror certain cultures and express ideas of human experiences in an explicit way. As the valuable treasure of different culture， proverbs provide readers with plentiful information. Coning from various cultures， proverbs present to readers a panorama of cultures to indicate how people are thinking， doing and communicating. Just because of their essential linguistic nature and their particular cultural traits， they play an important role in cross-cultural communication， if improperly handled； rhetorical devices employed by both Chinese and English proverbs， misunderstanding will be aroused. To a large extent， it also manifests how people of different language view the same or different thing.

References：

[1]The Random House College Dictionary of English Language[M].New York，1975：456.

[2]Owen Watson，Longman Modern English Dictionary[M].London，1976：1265.

[3]Oxford Advanced Learners English Dictionary of Current English[M].New York，1987：1192.