Culture loded dwords.pptVIP

Culturally-loaded words Overlapping words head: most important fox: clever and deceitful ass: stupid parrot: parrot what other people say vs. 鹦鹉学舌 Parallel words to describe a thin man: Chinese: English: as thin as a shadow to describe a tiring and miserable life Chinese: English: to lead a dog’s life To describe the strength of a tree: English: as strong as an oak Chinese: Parallel words 牛 vs. horse 气壮如牛，象黄牛一样干活 As strong as a horse, work like a horse Parallel words 东风 vs. west wind (“Ode to the West Wind”) Eg. 古道西风瘦马 Eg. biting east winds Eg. It’s a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds’ cries. (John Masefield) 夏日 vs. summer’s day 夏日炎炎似火烧 Shall I compare you to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate. (Shakespeare) Totally vacant words 仁，义，礼，智，信 功夫 Karaoke, T-shirt Allusions An Achilles heel --- the weak or vulnerable point of a person A Pandora’s box --- a present or something which may seem valuable, but which brings trouble and misfortune. Half vacant words 13:derogative in English 7:commendatory in English 9:commendatory in Chinese 4:derogative in Chinese 地主 vs. landlord 银河 vs. the Milky Way Conflicting words 鹤 vs.crane Chinese: the symbol of longevity Japanese: the symbol of happiness British: ugly bird French: stand for stupid men and wanton woman 猫头鹰 vs. owl Chinese: unlucky English: symbol of wisdom Conflicting words 蝙蝠 vs. bat Chinese: lucky English: as blind as a bat, as crazy as a bat etc. 白象 vs. white elephant Chinese: somewhat lucky English: something that is useless and expensive 狗 vs. dog Chinese: derogative English: neutral Conflicting words 龙 vs. dragon Chinese: symbol of power and status English: evil animal (the great dragon: Satan) 保守 vs. conservative Chinese: no willing to make progress English: respect of the history, handle things steadily 荷花 (lotus) Indian: the national flower Japanese: unlucky, used in funeral or memorial ceremony Conflicting words 黄色 (Chinese; American; Russian) Chinese: pornographic (English) yello