英语论文网

in their privacy. Annoyingly, in western countries, it is also improper to ask about other people’s religious beliefs. “Are you religious?” “What is your religion?” “Are you Catholic?” etc are questions that might be offensive to most English speakers. People don’t like, especially female, others to ask them “How old are you?”, because they are very sensitive to their age. “Even on a birthday call one may find the following congratulation: You may not like to be reminded that you are a year older today, but that would not keep me from saying ‘happy birthday!’.” [18] But in contrast, there was no such concept of privacy in Chinese people’s mind. 4.2 In numbers In China, the number “4” and the word “死 (death)” almost sound the same. People do not like the number “4”, because it reminds them of “death”. Among old people, they think “73” and “84” are two key ages. If you are 73 or 84 years old, you will die before the King of hell invites you. So many old people avoid talking their exact ages. While in western countries, one of the most influential taboo numbers is 13. According to the story of “The last supper”: Judas, the person who betrayed Jesus, sat in the No.13 chair, therefore, Number thirteen is universally considered to be unlucky. No door’s number is thirteen; no hotel has the No.13 Room; they don’t allow 13 people have dinner together. All in a word, they avoid number thirteen in every aspect. Ordinary people feel upset on 13th in every month. Therefore, thirteen became a taboo word in western countries. Another number concerning taboo in western is Friday. It also has long been considered as an unlucky day. “This taboo term affects people probably not only because they believe that Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross on Friday, but also because Friday is for many years the day of execution of criminals, commonly called “hangman’s day”. [19] Another striking contrast is that Chinese people like even numbers. For example, they say “好事成双”，“成双成对”。Chinese people especially like the even number “6” and “8”. The saying “六六大顺” can prove it . But in western countries, they like odd numbers. “The Roman poet Virgil says, ‘The god delights in an odd number’. In Shakespeare’s play Merry wives of Windsor, Falstaff says, ‘Good luck lies in odd numbers—’ They say, ‘there is divinity in odd numbers, either in nativity, chance or death.’” [20] 4.3 In names How to call others in verbal communication is very important. In Chinese, the ancestors’ and the older generation’s names cannot be referred directly. For example, because the second name of Sima Qian’s father was “谈”. When writing the Historical Records， (Sima Qian changed “赵谈” into “赵同” and “李谈” into “李同”[21]) As a result , we cannot find such a Chinese character “谈” in the Historical Records. [22] But in the English culture, there are no such name taboos. The younger generation can refer the elder generation’s name directly. It shows that they are equal, friendly and intimate. In the United States, many black people bear the name “Lincoln”, apparently after Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the country. English babies may be named after their grandparents or other relatives to show respect or to honor them. For example, “the British Prime Minister Churchill’s father was named Randolph. Churchill, and one of the Prime Minister’s sons was also named Randolph. Churchill. The grandfather and grandson had the same name. The American president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s so