Absract:This is an attempt to analyse the cultural differences between China and those countries whose people speak English as their mother tongue. The analysis is made here to caution that enough emphasis should be placed on this very difference in the teaching of the English language.

Key words: cultural differencesdaily lifesocial contact

1.Introduction

American famous linguist Sapir said that language couldn’t exist without culture， without a variety of customs and beliefs， which， on the whole， determine our life. (Edward Sapir， Language) Cultural linguistic authority， Mr.Hu Wenzhong said that Linguistic teaching involves cultural teaching. (Hu Wenzhong， 1991， 12-13). We have long paid insufficient attention to cultures between China and English-speaking countries in English teaching; English linguistic forms instead of its social significance and its practical applications as well have been focused on in its teaching and in the textbooks， which results in improper utterances among students.

2.Cultural differences between China and western countries

（1）Cultural differences in daily life

Failure to learn about the cultural differences in communication influences the appropriate linguistic expressions， even results in social pragmatic errors.

Having been influenced by international greetings， Chinese intellectuals are accustomed to say “您好!” “您早!” “早上好!” “晚安!”。With the more and more frequent communication， greetings have been diversified dramatically since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China. You may greeting one of your acquaintances by asking， “上街買菜了?” even it is obvious that he is going out for shopping because he is carrying a basket; asking about whatever you see; by asking “上班啦?” if seeing somebody taking a handbag; by asking “旅游啦?” if seeing somebody taking luggage. Western people， however， will be amazed at your words， since you have seen that he is obviously going out for shopping， for office or for traveling. Why do you still ask question like “Are you going out for shopping” and so on? And the ultimate comment is “What a stupid question!”

（2）Cultural differences in social contact

Anyone who learns a little English knows that the equivalent of Chinese words “謝謝” is “Thank you” in English， but it’s a big knowledge to make use of “Thank you” appropriately in different social circumstances. “Thank you” is widely-used in response to congratulations in English， while such polite formula as “過獎(jiǎng)過獎(jiǎng)”，“慚愧慚愧” are commonly applied in Chinese. In these cases of communication in English， if we respond literally saying “you flatter me”， or “I feel ashamed” instead of saying “thank you”， it would rather be indecent. Take another example， a visiting scholar in the U.S. replies in accordance with Chinese customs by saying “No， no， it’s just a very ordinary dress” when somebody comments favorably on the dress she wears with “That’s a lovely dress you have on”. That leads to a pragmatic error. The hearer will believe that such a reply indicates she is unable to tell good from bad. (Deng Yanchang， 1981)

3.Cultural differences between China and Western society represent differences of folk custom.

A Chinese saying “Selling dog meat by hanging a sheep head” (掛羊頭賣狗肉) rather than “Selling mutton by hanging a dog head” (掛狗頭賣羊肉) embodies Chinese tradition that people comment favorably on sheep while unfavorably on dog. Dogs have impressed China mainland so badly that most words and phrases made of “狗” (dog ) are almost derogatory. Chinese words as “走狗，惡狗，看門狗，喪家狗，哈巴狗，狗漢奸” are examples of this kind. “A lost dog”， which can be associated with “喪家狗”， is doomed to be beaten fiercely by Chinese people， while “a lost dog” would be much more cherished by an American or a British. In American or British culture， “dog” is the substitute of loyalty， is a friend of human beings so that a large number of sayings or proverbs in English concerning with dog are absolutely opposite to those in Chinese with commendatory or at least neutral meanings. For example， “as sick as a dog” is used for a serious patient; “to die a dog’s death” refers to those who die from poverty or other disaster; mercy and sympathy are evident when a dog is used to describe human beings，a person in high rank ?C a top dog; a lucky person ?Ca lucky dog. “I’m too old a dog to learn any new tricks” is said by senior citizens who assume that it’s too late for them to learn; and “凡人皆有出頭之日” is “Every dog has its day”; “愛屋及烏” for lovers is “Love me， love my dog.” We can conclude from the above mentioned examples that “dog and 狗” mean the same animal in Chinese and English， the absolutely identical signified， but their cultural connotations are considerably different.

4.Conclusion

In a word， language is a manifestation of a culture. It’s impossible to have a good command of English if you fail to learn about English culture. On the contrary， the more deep going you know about the nation’s history， culture， traditions， customs， life style and even life details， the more accurately you can understand and apply the language. Therefore， being aware of the cultural differences between China and the western countries appears to be important in the education of English as a language.

References：

[1]胡文仲．《文化和交際》．外語教學(xué)與研究出版社，1994年版：75-77．

[2]楊新義．《英語輔導(dǎo)報(bào)》．1998—1999學(xué)年度第四期．

[3]張淑芳．《西安外語學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)》．2002年第二期．

（作者單位：廣東湛江師范學(xué)院外語學(xué)院）