Research on the Cultural Similarities and Differences between Chinese and English Curse Words

A Research on the Cultural Similarities and Differences between Chinese and English Curse Word

By Liu Fei

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

May 2016

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my thanks to those who helped me with this paper. First of all, I have to thank my supervisor Dr. Zhang Houzhen. He gave me a lot of suggestions and support when I decided the topic of my paper. When I expressed my worry about the difficulty of discussing a topic that people may be antipathetic to, he encouraged me to keep going and to be concentrated. Thanks to his support and guidance, now I finished this paper. I also want to express my thanks to my class monitor, who gave me a lot of help when I have questions about material resources and the schedule of the paper writing. Finally, my heartfelt appreciation goes to my head teacher Dr. Zheng Youqi. In the four years of my campus life, he helped me a lot both in my study and life.

Contents

1.Introduction...............................................................................................................2

2.Classification of Curse Words..................................................................................3

2.1 Classification of Chinese curse words............................................................3

2..1.1 Chinese curse words related to ancestry or seniority.......................3

2.1.2 Chinese curse words related to offspring...........................................4

2.1.3 Chinese curse words related to sexual organs or sexual behavior...4

2.1.4 Chinese curse words related to women...............................................5

2.1.5 Chinese curse words related to animals..............................................5

2.1.6 Chinese curse words related to death.................................................5

2.1.7 Chinese curse words related to disability or imperfection................5

2.2 Classification of English Curse Words...........................................................5

2.2.1 English curse words related to religious belief...................................6

2.2.2 English curse words related to women...............................................6

2.2.3 English curse words related to sexual organs or sexual behavior....6

2.2.4 English curse words related to racism................................................6

2.2.5 English curse words related to excretion............................................6

3. Cultural Similarities and Differences of Sino-English Curse Words..................7

4. Pragmatic Cognitive Values of Chinese and English Curse Words...................10

4.1 To vent the emotion of anger or abomination..............................................10

4.2 To express the feeling of surprise .................................................................11

4.3 To show the intimacy......................................................................................12

4.4 To show appreciation......................................................................................12

4.5 To be used as pet phrases...............................................................................12

5.Conclusion................................................................................................................13References...................................................................................................................14

A Research on the Cultural Similarities and Differences between Chinese and English Curse Word

Liu Fei

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

Abstract: Curse word is a kind of word meaning to insult, hurt or rebuke somebody, which is commonly known as “bawdry”, or “foul language”. Language is the carrier of culture and its meaning is closely related to social culture. As a special phenomenon of language, curse word can reflect the development and change of society more directly, as well as people’s national concept and cultural tradition. People use curse word every day in real life, and we should face up to this phenomenon of language as early as possible. Therefore, it is of deep realistic significance to do a language research on curse word. This thesis will start with Chinese and English frequently-used curse words and make a comparative study of them to probe into the hidden cultural roots behind them and the cultural similarities and differences between them. Therefore, with a deep research on Chinese and English curse words, this thesis aims to justify the survival of curse words, and people should have a wise attitude towards the existence of curse words in our daily life.

Key words: curse word; cultural similarities and differences; reasonability of surving; wise attitude

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