A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Taboos

I. Introduction

According to Oxford Living Dictionaries， taboo means a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person， place， or thing.This essay focuses on the similarities and differences between English and Chinese taboos， which may help us to acquire a clearer understanding on English taboos， break through the cultural barrier and improve our cross-cultural abilities.

II. Similarities between English and Chinese Taboos

2.1 Taboos on Sexuality

Sexuality and death are the two main taboos in early（primitive） as well as in modern societies and cultures. In Chinese culture， owing to the discrimination against female in the ancient， things connected with female is sometimes considered as misfortune. People use 葵水or 月信 to refer to menstruation. Natural phenomenons are applied to the sexual description， such as 春風(fēng)一度，風(fēng)流，風(fēng)月.The taboo of sex in Western societies is associated with their religion and idiomatic expression.

2. 2 Taboos on death

People are reluctant to mention death and disease whether in Chinese or Western societies， as a result， numerous euphemisms are produced to replace those words.

In English communication， death today is still a main subject of taboo， people tend to use the phrases as below： to pass away， to fall asleep， and to be at peace. Similarly， in Chinese culture， the references of death vary with the social positions， ages， professions and genders of the dead， especially in ancient China. For example ， the death of emperor is called 駕崩，賓天; the death of monk is 圓寂.

2.3 Taboos on Religion

In English-speaking countries， English- speaking people usually use gosh， golly to refer to God， and gee， gosh almighty to say Jesus.There are taboos on the devil Satan by means of the deuce， the dickens. In the same way， Chinese people believe in many religions and there are many taboos related to them. There are many taboos in their daily life. For instance， Chinese are accustomed to naming gods with honorifics， such as 王母娘娘.

III. Differences between English and Chinese Taboos

3.1 taboos on naming and addressing

Chinese culture emphasizes social order， which has been maintained by distinctive social classes under the feudal governing. In family， younger generation can’t call the elder’s name directly. However， the rule is not suitable for English-speaking people. Western people emphasize freedom and value personality， so it’s not offensive for children or juniors to call parents’ or superiors’ names directly.While there are some restrictions in English， especially to royal people and the noble class. The titles of the noble class， such as lord， duke， also appear in the official sites. It is fine to use Mr.， Ms.， Mrs. or Miss.

3. 2 taboos on privacy

In China， there are rare taboos in conversation. Certainly， it’s impolite to talk about weight with women. In contrast， English-speaking people pay more attention on privacy than Chinese. They avoid asking the questions about income， age， marriage， weight and family. However， Chinese often start a conversation with the the following：

How old are you？

Are you married or single？

3.3 taboos on number

Number is related to many aspects of society as well as language.Chinese people don’t like four， because the number four sounds like death in Chinese pronunciation. Westerners hate the number 13. The taboo is associated with religion. In Bible， 13 is the day when Jesus died. At the same time， the betrayer Judah is the thirteenth disciple of Jesus. Therefore， the number thirteen is thought of as unlucky number.

IV. Conclusion

Taboo is a complex linguistic phenomenon widely existing in all cultures. Through the study of surface， we can develop our cognition of language. In conclusion， the study help us master and use language properly and correctly in intercultural communication.

References：

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[3]施曉偉.英漢語言禁忌的建構(gòu)與解構(gòu)[J].浙江大學(xué)學(xué)報（人文社會科學(xué)版），2006（04）：166-173.

[4]周密.Comparison of Chinese Taboo and English Taboo[J].海外英語，2012（03）：165-167.

【作者簡介】李梁靚，華中師范大學(xué)外國語學(xué)院。