论中西方文化中动物象征意义的差异.doc

1 论中西方文化中动物象征意义的差异论中西方文化中动物象征意义的差异 1 Introduction Language and culture , intrinsically dependent on each other , have evolved together through the history. ( Claire Kramsch , 1998 ) On one hand , language as an integral part of human bEing , permeates his thinking and way of viewing the world , language both expresses and embodies cultural reality. On the other , language , asa product of culture , helps permeate the culture , and the changes in language uses reflect the cultural changes in return. ( Claire Kramsch , 1998 ) Language is the base of entire culture , and it is only in language that culture can be wellpresented and handed down from generation to generation. On the other hand , language is influenced and shaped by culture ; it reflects language. Language reflects characteristics of culture and predicts the developing orientation of culture. parison of the Symbolic Meanings of Animals in Chinese and Western Cultures Similar Symbolic Meanings of Animals 2 As the ecological environments of human life are roughly similar , people in China and the West will naturally produce the same or similar association , giving the same significance of the animal words when they understand animals from the basic attributes of the animals. For example , in Chinese , fox is the synonym for cunning and craftiness. When people use such phrases like as cunning asa fox , old fox to des