1、渭南师范学院本 科 毕 业 论 文题 目： 论中英亲属称谓的异同 学院名称： 外国语学院 专业班级： 英语专业 08 级英本 4 班 毕业年份： 2012 年 6 月 姓 名： 叶 雨 露 学 号 080241090 指导教师： 陶 正 娜 职 称： 副 教 授 渭南师范学院教务处 制The Cultural Differences and similarities between Chinese and English Kinship TermsByYang HaiyingA Thesis Presented to School of Foreign Languages ofWeinan N
2、ormal Universityas Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsfor the Degree ofBachelor of ArtsMay 17, 2012Class: Class 4 of 2008Advisor: Guo Zhengxiai论中英亲属称谓的异同摘要: 语言和文化有着很密切的关系，所以，如果人们要学好一门语言，那么了解其文化是非常重要的。你理解语言的文化传统、习俗、生活方式以及生活细节越多，你就越能正确地理解并准确地使用这种语言。称谓语是民族传统文化和历史积淀的反映,不同的称谓语分别体现不同的民族文化。事实上，文化塑造并影响着
3、语言，同时，语言又反映着文化。本文主要有三个部分，第一部分主要从相同的功能和相似的分类来阐述中英亲属称谓的相同点。第二部分主要从旁系关系和直系关系，血亲关系和姻亲关系，父系关系和母系关系，性别，长幼关系和辈分顺序，派生的亲属称谓六个方面来阐述中英亲属关系称谓的不同。第三部分主要从家庭结构，历史背景，来源等等，来分析中英亲属称谓不同的原因。关键字：亲属称谓；中英文亲属称谓的对比；文化差异iiThe Cultural Differences and similarities between Chinese and English Kinship TermsAbstract: Language an
4、d culture have very close relationship. It is very necessary and important to learn a kind of language well and know the culture well, The more understanding of the languages culture, traditions, customs, lifestyles as well as details of life, the more you can correctly understand and accurately use
5、 the language. Kinship terms are reflections of traditional ethnic culture and historical accumulation and different addressing terms respectively embody different ethnic cultures. In fact, language is influenced and shaped by culture, at the same time, language reflects the culture. In this paper,
6、there are three main parts. The first part describes the similarities between English and Chinese kinship terms from two aspects: same functions and similar categories. The second part describes the differences between English and Chinese kinship terms from six aspects: between collateral relations
7、and lineal relations, between blood relation and affined relations, between elder-younger relations and seniority order, between paternal and maternal kinship terms, between gender kinship terms, and derivatives. The third part, from family structures, historical background, sources and other reason
8、s, explains the reasons of the cultural differences between English and Chinese kinship terms.Key words: Kinship terms; Contrast between English and Chinese kinship terms; Cultural differencesiiiTable of ContentsI. Introduction.1II. Comparison between English and Chinese Kinship Term Systems.1A. Sim
9、ilarities of English and Chinese kinship terms.21. The Same Functions.22. Similar Categories.2B. Differences between English and Chinese kinship terms.31. Between collateral relations and lineal relations.32. Between blood relation and affined relations.53. Between paternal and maternal kinship term
10、s .64. Gender kinship terms. .75. Elder-younger relations and seniority order.76. Derivatives of kinship terms .8III. The reasons of the cultural difference between English and Chinese kinship terms.9A. Different family structures .9B. Different historical background.10C. Different source .11D. Othe
11、r reasons.11IV. Conclusion .121I. IntroductionLanguage is not only a kind of cultural expression, but also the bridge of communication and kinship terms are indispensable to communication. Kinship term system is a very important part of language expression. Therefore, the kinship terms should be pai
12、d more attention. It is impossible to learn English well if you do not understand the British and American cultural background knowledge, especially, the kinship terms. So the different kinship terms between English and Chinese are importance in studying English. And this paper mainly talks about th
13、e differences and the similarities between English and Chinese kinship terms, including the reasons of forming these differences.Kinship terms, according to E.R.Leach, are “category words by means of which an individual is taught to recognize the significant groupings in the social structure into wh
14、ich he is born“(1958, P.143). Nowadays, Kinship terms belong to social language and they are used widely in daily communicative life. Therefore, the comparative study of kinship terms in Chinese and English is to understand better different cultural implication and make sure that communication is go
15、ing on well. So, if we want to learn English, we must pay more attention to kinship terms. In this paper, there are 3 main parts, the first part describes the similarities between English and Chinese kinship term from 2 aspects: same functions and similar categories. The second part describes the di
16、fferences between English and Chinese kinship terms from 6 aspects: between collateral relations and lineal relations, between blood relation and affined relations, between elder-younger relations and seniority, between paternal and maternal kinship terms, between gender kinship terms, and derivativ
17、es. The third part, according to family structures, historical background, sources and other reason to explain the reason of the cultural difference between English and Chinese kinship terms.II. Comparison between English and Chinese Kinship Term SystemsThere are both similarities and differences be
18、tween English and Chinese kinship terms; there are not so many limits. They have some similarities in the kinship terms 2functions and categories. At the same time, because English and Chinese languages have defined their own set of kinship terms and the roles they serve in the society. There are a
19、lot of differences between English and Chinese kinship terms. English kinship terms are less complicated than Chinese kinship terns. In Chinese, kinship terms are oriented by generation, age, paternal and maternal relationships and in-law relationships. But in England, the way people address others
20、are very random. Then, we will talk the similarities and differences between English and Chinese kinship terms. A. Similarities of English and Chinese kinship termsPeople from different countries have different cultures, but there are many similarities in cultures. Kinship terms must have some simil
21、arities in different countries too. Its necessary to realize the similarities of the kinship terms. It may promote people to get along well with each other. So, the analysis of them is quite important.1. The Same Functions English and Chinese kinship term have many important social functions. Genera
22、lly, no matter English kinship or Chinese kinship terms, they have a basic functions, linking function. according to the linking function of human communication, communication is used to establish relationships between the individual and the environment, and that people use symbols to create a desir
23、ed image to facilitate this linking to the environment. Thus, the individual is consubstantial with society. 2. Similar Categories No matter English kinship terms or Chinese kinship terms, they can be divided into two parts：the kinship terms and the social terms. Kinship system is not only a univers
24、al feature of languages, but also a result of the importance in social organization. Social term means the usage of all kinship term strategies and regulations between different social groups and social organizations in their communication according to their social positions and social roles. 3B. Di
25、fferences between English and Chinese kinship termsEnglish and Chinese kinship terms stem from two different civilization traditions that have their own evolving history. It is not strange that there are many differences between the two. It is very important to understand these differences, only in
26、this way can avoid many problems in intercultural communications. And then , there 5 key points will be followed. 1. Between collateral relations and lineal relations.In Chinese kinship terms, there is some difference between collateral relations and lineal relations, but in English kinship terms, t
27、here is little difference. First, please look at the following 2 tables; they will help us to understand the differences between collateral relations and lineal relations.Table 1 Lineal relationsRelation Chinese Terms English Termspaternal grandfather maternal grandfatherzu fu（祖父）wai zu fu（外祖父）grand
28、fatherpaternal grandfather maternal grandfatherzu mu（祖母）wai zu mu（外祖母）grandmotherfather fu qin（父亲） fathermother mu qin（母亲） motherelder brotheryounger brotherge ge（哥哥）di di （弟弟）brotherelder sisteryounger sisterjie jie（姐姐）mei mei（妹妹）sisterson er zi（儿子） sondaughter nv er（女儿） daughtersons sondaughters s
29、onsun zi（孙子）wai sun（外孙）grandsonsons daughterdaughters daughtersun nv（孙女）wai sun nv（外孙女） granddaughter4The above table talks about the lineal relations kinship terms, from table 1, we can see that the English language pays little attention to consanguinity and affinity relations in its kinship terms.
30、 But the Chinese language considers that these are important. And in China, there is another relation, who is collateral relations; therefore, the following table is to talk about it.Table 2 Collateral relationsRelations Chinese Terms English Termsfathers elder brotherfathers younger brothermothers
31、brotherbo fu（伯父）shu fu（叔父）jiu fu（舅父）unclefathers sistermothers sistergu mu（姑妈）yi mu（姨妈）auntfathers brothers sonfathers sisters sonmothers brothers sonmothers sisters sonfathers brothers daughterfathers sisters daughtermothers brothers daughtermothers sisters daughtertang ge/di（堂哥弟）gu biao ge/di（姑表哥弟
32、）jiu biao ge/di（舅表哥弟）yi biao ge/di（姨表哥弟）tang jie/mei（堂姐妹 ）gu biao jie/mei（姑表姐 妹）jiu biao jie/mei（舅表姐妹）yi biao jie/mei（姨表姐妹）cousinBrothers sonSisters sonWifes siblings sonzhi zi（侄子）wai sheng（外甥）biao zhi（表侄）nephewbrothers daughtersisters daughterwifes siblings daughterzhi nv（侄女）wai sheng nv（外甥女）biao z
33、hi nv（表侄女）nieceThe above box talks about collateral relations. From the table, we know that 5many differences between Chinese and English in collateral relations. For example, when a boy says this is my uncle. In fact, we cant get the information only from the word those words, but in Chinese, we ca
34、n know much information, such as sex, birth order and so on.2. Between blood relation and affined relations.About the blood relation and relations by marriage, these people are called relations with blood; and those are called relation by marriage. In Chinese, their kinship terms are different and a
35、re very clear. In paternal clan, bo fu, shu fu, jiu fu, gu mu, and yi mu belong to blood relation; Gu fu, yi fu, bo mu, shen mu, and jiu mu, belong to relations by marriage. At the same time, it reflects that Chinese have strong clan relative sense.But in English, there is no classification between
36、blood relation and relations by marriage. There being an example is the kinship term uncle. According to Ullmann (1962), the English word “uncle“ comes via French from the Latin avunculus, which meant only one kind of uncle, namely, the mothers brother, whereas the fathers brother was called patruus
37、. Since the latter word fell into disuse, the descendants of avunculus have come to stand for both kinds of uncle, so that the range of the Latin term has been doubled (p. 228).In the OXFORD ADVANCED LEARNERS English-Chinese Dictionary, the word, uncle, is explained: 1. the brother of ones father; 2
38、. the brother of ones mother; 3. the husband of ones aunt (p.1915). And the same, aunt is explained: 1. a sister of ones mother; 2. a sister of ones father; 3. the wife of ones uncle (p.95). So, based on the above examples, uncle includes parents brothers and parents sisters husbands, for example, g
39、u fu, shu fu, jiu fu, gu zhang and yi zhang; aunt means parents sisters and parents brothers wives, such as gu mu, yi mu, bo mu, shen mu and jiu mu.Of course, English does not ignore relations by marriage, in English, there often has a suffix in-laws followed by some kinship terms of blood relation, for instance, brother-in-laws ,this word means jie fu, mei fu, husbands jie fu , husbands mei fu, nei xiong, nei di, da bo zi and xiao shu zi. There is a table to show the affined relations:
