Chapter 4 language and culture

Unit 4

Language and Culture

Teaching ContentsI. Warm-up II. Cultural Differences

III. Identifying DifferencesIV. Reading Comprehension

Warm-up [ In a physics class] Professor: What is matter? Students: Never mind. Professor: Then what is mind? Students: It doesn’t matter.

English to Chinese TranslationVersion I教授：什么是物质？ 学生：非精神也。 教授：那什么是精神呢？ 学生：无关重要的东西。

English to Chinese TranslationVersion II 教授：什么是物质呀？ 学生：没什么要紧的啦! 教授：什么是精神呢？ 学生：没什么关系的啦!Can your translation be as humorous as the original?

II. Cultural Differences2.1. Theoretical Background

2.3. Animal Words in English and Chinese2.2. Color Terms in Chinese and English

Theoretical BackgroundCultural Differences of Languages

Culturally Loaded Words 文化负载词(Cultural Loaning Words)

1.是指标志某种文化中特有事物的词组 和短语。2.文化负载词是反映一个国家、一个民 族特有的文化和历史的一些词汇。

2.2 Color Terms in Chinese and English Group Work 1.红糖 2.红茶 3.眼红 4.开门红 5.红白喜事 1. brown sugar 2. black-tea 3. green-eyed 4. to begin well, to make a good start 5. weddings and funerals

Group Work 1. 清白 1.pure/clean/stainless 2.supercilious look 3.blue sky 4.be made a scapegoat/ be unjustly blamed 5.filthy books

2.白眼 3.青天 4.背黑锅 5.黄色书刊

Group Work

blue book a blue Monday a white lie a green wound red-letter days

蓝皮书(美)刊 载知名人士的书 倒霉的星期一 善意的谎言 新伤，未痊愈的 伤口 喜庆的日子

Translating the Underlined Part 1) He’s just a green recruit fresh from college 2) I tried to call her many times but she was in a brown study and didn’t hear me 3) One day, out of the blue, a girl rang up and said she was my sister 4) The new office block has unfortunately become an expensive white elephant 5 Mary was always regarded as the black sheep of the family

6 You’d better do something to prove you’re not 7 Can you see the green in her eyes? 8 The mere thought of her husband with the secretary made her see yellow. 9) I got some black looks from the shopkeeper when I cancelled my order. 10) When I’m feeling blue, all I have to do is take a look at you, and then I’m not so blue. 11) Don’t tell me any white lie to make me feel good.

12. It may cost over a week to go through all the red tape to get permission. 13. His type of humor is a bit too black for my tastes. 14. Are you all right?– You look absolutely white. 15. He based his judgment on headlines and yellow journalism.

yellow journalism (tabloid journalism) 指不择手段的夸张，渲染以招揽或影响读 者的黄色新闻编辑作风。如突出社会丑闻，

把普通新闻写得耸人听闻，有时甚至歪曲 事实以引起轰动等。

ExerciseWork together to make a tentative summary of the potential cultural implications of the following color terms. Red Yellow Green Blue Black White