ABSTRACT

Proverbs, the cream of language, are short and concise in structure but rich and colorful in contents. Proverbs in both the Chinese and English language have a long history and embody their own cultural elements. 

 This thesis makes a comparative study on Chinese and English proverbs and finds out that most of the proverbs in both countries come from the experience of the masses and the literary works. Some of them are borrowed from other languages.  Proverbs in both languages are also similar in people’s understanding towards life and production experience and their social function. However, since two countries differ in values, religions and geography, there are lots of cultural differences reflected by their proverbs. 

     The awareness of the similarities and differences between Chinese and English proverbs can make it easier to communicate interculturally. It is expected that this study can also offer some help for foreign language teaching and learning.

Key words: proverbs; culture; cultural similarities; cultural differences

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One  INTRODUCTION-1

Chapter Two  LITERATURE REVIEW-3

2.1 Previous Studies on Proverbs at Home-3

2.2 Previous Studies on Proverbs Abroad-4

2.3 Summary-5

Chapter Three  RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CULTURE AND PROVERS-7

3.1 Culture-7

3.2 Definition of Proverb-8

3.3 Relationships between Culture and Proverbs-9

Chapter Four THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE AND ENGLISH CULTURES IN TERMS OF PROVERBS-11

4.1 The Similarities between Chinese and English Cultures in Terms of Proverbs-11

4.1.1 Origin-11

4.1.2 Reflection of life and production experience-13

4.1.3 Social function-14

4.2 The Differences between Chinese and English Culture in terms of Proverbs-15

4.2.1 Differences in Values-15

4.2.2 Differences in Religion-16

4.2.3 Differences in Geography-17

Chapter Five  CONCLUSION-19

5.1 Summary of the Present Study-19

5.2 Limitations of the Study-20

5.3 Recommendations for Future Research-20

REFERENCES-21