[Keywords:] Sino-Russian cultural vocabulary teaching
As we all know, Chinese and Russian are two different languages. This difference is not only reflected in the structure of language, but also in culture. When teaching Chinese vocabulary to Russian students, we have encountered some problems, the most serious of which is "cultural words". In the final analysis, this is caused by cultural differences. Then, for teachers of Chinese as a foreign language, how to study this cultural difference in depth in order to improve the level of Chinese teaching for students from specific countries? This is a problem that we should consider carefully.
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Cultural meaning is "emotional color, style meaning, figurative meaning, metonymic meaning and unique conceptual meaning endowed by society." According to the corresponding relationship of cultural meanings, the relationship between Chinese and Russian cultural words can be summarized into three situations. (1) The same cultural words represent different cultural meanings. (2) Different kinds of cultural words represent the same or similar cultural meanings. (3) Different kinds of cultural words have different cultural meanings.
In the first case, cultural words in Russian represent another cultural meaning in Chinese.
For example, in western culture, the dragon is a terrible animal; In the Bible, dragons are regarded as monsters; In Russian culture, the dragon is a monster (a snake-shaped monster with wings that can spray flames in myth). Russians use it to describe cruel people. In Chinese, the cultural meaning of dragon is completely opposite. Dragon consciousness probably originated from the totem worship of ancient ancestors in China. Fuxi's mother, Hua Xu, was pregnant in Leize because she stepped on the ancestral base of Thor the Dragon Face. Fuxi Nuwa is a snake with a human face and a snake nose. ("Liezi? Yellow emperor. In the Shang Dynasty, dragons became an important animal for divination. " The cloud follows the dragon and the wind follows the tiger (Zhouyi? Do divination? Classical Chinese). Xu Shen's Shuo Wen Jie Zi: "The dragon, the scale worm's length, can be quiet and bright, can be big and small, can be long and short, the vernal equinox reaches the sky, and the autumn equinox goes deep. "It can be seen that the dragon was a magical animal in ancient China.
There were many cultural words related to dragons in ancient society:
Long Yan: The emperor's face and facial expressions.
Yulong: Also known as "Yulong", it means that the emperor drives a car. Bai Juyi's Song of Eternal Sorrow: "Heaven and earth turn back to the dragon, but the emperor refuses to turn on the spot." Also refers to the emperor. Wei Zhuang wrote in the poem "Jade Dong Jun": "After four years of dragon guarding Emei, the iron horse came late step by step."
Long gan: before the emperor ascended the throne.
Dragonfly: When the emperor ascended the throne, it was later compared with promotion. Fu Xian's Congratulations to Wang Shaoji: "My brother Fengxiang is also a dragonfly."
Dragon boat: an ancient imperial costume embroidered with dragon patterns. Book of rites? Ritual vessel: "People with heavy words: emperor, emperor and doctor."
Dragon bed: the bed used by the emperor. The old title "Yunxian Miscellanies" in Tang Dynasty: "There is Taoism in Han Dynasty. When Xian Zong offered the dragon bed, his claws moved when he sat down. "
Dragon Battle: This is the battle of Yin and Yang. "Is it easy? Kun: "On the sixth day, the dragon fought in the wild, and its blood was mysterious. "Later, Yu Qunxiong competed for the world.
Longting: the palace where the emperor ruled.
Longxing: the rise of a new dynasty.
Dragon species: descendants of emperors.
Long Mai: It refers to the mountains and rivers that have already had an emperor (or maybe an emperor), or can bury the emperor and protect the descendants of the royal family.
It can be seen that the above words were all made by ancient emperors, and the real dragon emperor refers to ancient emperors, which can be well-deserved.
In modern society, people in China still like dragons as a metaphor. The Chinese nation is a "descendant of the dragon". The Chinese nation calls itself the "Oriental Dragon", and China's parents want to "dream of success". There are also many idioms with "dragon" in Chinese, which are most popular among the masses and are often used in various social lives. Such as: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, traffic, son-in-law's son-in-law, two dragons playing with pearls, entering the dragon, tiger sitting on the dragon plate, dragon pool and tiger cave, making the finishing point, proud of the dragon, context, old age, phoenix turtle dragon, dragon and phoenix dance, dragon and phoenix appearing auspicious, dragon and tiger leaping, dragon and tiger stepping on the ground, alive and healthy.
In the second case, cultural words in Russian have the same cultural meaning in Chinese.
For example, "like mushrooms after rain" in Chinese means that bamboo shoots suddenly grow out after it rains in spring, which means that things emerge in large numbers quickly. This includes the unique culture of the Han nationality. People in China love bamboo very much. The so-called "three friends of the old cold" are pine trees, bamboo and plum blossoms. Bamboo is a symbol of elegance, purity, humility and integrity. There are few gardens and bamboos in ancient and modern gardens. If there is bamboo in the house, the window will be blown in spring and it will be full of gas. The bamboo shadow is swaying and the posture is in the painting. The green leaves don't fade in winter, so they are handsome. Throughout the ages, "one day can't leave this gentleman" has become the preference of many literati. Scholars of all ages also like to use bamboo to symbolize noble character. Su Dongpo, a poet in the Song Dynasty, once said: "Plum is cold and beautiful, bamboo is thin and long-lived, and stone is ugly and literary." Later, the stone was replaced by pine, and "pine is more noble than frost and snow". Later scholars often use these three things as metaphors. Zheng Banqiao, a Qing Dynasty man, praised in "Tuming in Zhu Mo": "Thin leaves, sparse knots; Snow can't be pressed and wind can't be folded. " Bamboo is also better than a gentleman. Liu Yuxi's poem "Ting Chu" said: "Expose the lead powder festival, and the wind shakes the jade branches. Iraq is like a gentleman, and there is no discomfort. " In the south of China, bamboo grows quickly after rain. "Countless bamboo shoots, all over the forest, Chai Men Tibetan pedestrians. The meeting will be a bamboo, and the guests will never welcome it. " (Tang? Du Fu's ode to spring bamboo shoots, so there is a metaphor of "spring bamboo shoots after rain". Russians, on the other hand, use another thing "mushroom" to express a similar statement, that is, "like mushrooms after rain." Mushrooms are Russians' favorite food, so Russians use their favorite mushrooms to express this Chinese-like statement. Russia is rich in forest resources, and mushrooms are a gift from the big forest to Russians. There are many forest-related proverbs in Russian, but China has relatively few forest resources, but it is rich in bamboo, so many idioms are related to bamboo, such as "having a plan" and "overwhelming".
Thirdly, cultural words in Chinese belong to "cultural restrictive words" in Russian.
For example, "Evergreen pine and cypress" and "Happiness is like flowing water in the East China Sea, and longevity is better than longevity in the South Mountain" are all things that China people like to say on their birthdays. China people regard pine trees as mascots, and pine trees are regarded as "the length of a hundred trees", called "Mu Gong" and "Doctor". Pine trees are characterized by persistent frost and evergreen in winter and summer. So the ancients regarded pine trees as evergreen trees. In ancient times, there was a saying of "immortal pine", which was endowed with auspicious meaning of prolonging life and immortality. Pine trees are generally regarded as a symbol of blessing, praying for eternal youth, health and longevity. Pine trees can also symbolize unyielding character. "When cold comes and summer goes, you will know that pine and cypress wither" (The Analects of Confucius? ), Serina Liu, one of the seven sons of Jian 'an, also praised Song's character in "The Gift of My Brother (II)": "The pavilion is loose on the mountain, and there is a stroke in the valley. When the wind is strong, pine branches are strong. The wind and frost are miserable, and the end of the year is always correct. Not cold, pine and cypress are sexual. " Pine trees do not have these figurative meanings in Russian. Russians prefer to use birch as a symbol of "homeland" and "motherland", which can also be used as a metaphor for the slim beauty of Russian girls. For Russians, pine trees are just ordinary trees and have no other meaning.
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The above is only an extremely extensive correspondence of cultural words. According to these three corresponding situations, we discuss the teaching methods of Russian-Chinese cultural vocabulary.
1. Interpretation of cultural significance
In other words, when teaching a cultural word, we must explain the cultural meaning of the word in place, otherwise it may cause misunderstanding among students. For example, in the first case, the meaning of dragon in eastern and western cultures can be said to be completely opposite. In China culture, the dragon has at least two cultural meanings: (1) symbolizes the emperor. (2) It symbolizes the whole Chinese nation. For western students, especially Russian students, they can't understand why such a fierce and cruel animal as dragon is actually the ancestor of China people. Or they misunderstood that the emperors of China were cold and cruel people, because they were "real dragons". Another example is the Kethleen concept. Wang Changling's "Parting Xin Jian at Furong Inn": "If relatives and friends in Luoyang ask each other, a piece of ice heart is in the jade pot." If we don't understand it in combination with China culture, foreigners can't know what "Bing Xin" means, or even understand it as "a cold heart in a jade bottle".
However, the emphasis on cultural meaning should not exceed linguistic meaning, and both linguistic meaning and cultural meaning should be paid equal attention. Otherwise, the whole vocabulary teaching becomes an explanation of culture, which is obviously not desirable. In teaching Chinese as a foreign language, we should pay special attention to avoid the explanation of "downpour" because it will scare away students.
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2. Comparative analysis method
This method is suitable for the second case, that is, when two cultural words represent the same or similar cultural meaning, words from one culture can be used to derive words from another culture. As mentioned above, "like mushrooms after rain" in Chinese is represented by "mushrooms after rain" in Russian. In teaching, it is undoubtedly easier for teachers to understand if they have enough knowledge reserves and can use "like mushrooms after rain" to bring out "like mushrooms after rain".
Under similar circumstances, the Chinese word for "downpour" is equivalent to the Russian word for "pouring rain like a bucket". A spoon and a bucket show the regional cultures of the two countries. The tool of Russians in northern temperate zone and northern cold zone is bucket, and the tool of China people to hold water is ladle. In Chinese, "if you tread on two boats, you will capsize sooner or later", and in Russian, the corresponding statement is "if you catch both rabbits, you can't catch either". Similarly, it means that being distracted from doing two things may lead to failure. Han people and Russians use two different cultural words. There are many boats in the south of China, and rabbits are often found in Russian forests and grasslands. In addition, "as timid as a mouse" in Chinese and "as timid as a rabbit" in Russian have the same meaning.
Therefore, the positive transfer between cultural meanings can be used to bring out words, such as:
Heavy rain like a bucket (Russian)-pouring rain (Chinese)
"Catch both rabbits, but you can't catch either" (Russian)-"If you tread two boats, you will capsize sooner or later" (Chinese)
"As timid as a rabbit" (Russian)-"As timid as a mouse" (Chinese)
Of course, this should be based on our teacher's foreign language level, which is why we emphasize that teachers who teach Chinese as a foreign language should master at least one foreign language.
3. Context method
This method requires teachers of Chinese as a foreign language to create a language environment in which words are used to the maximum extent, so that students can exercise their ability to guess words in a natural language environment.
There are two ways to explain cultural words in context.
(1) using literary works
Literary works are the most abundant materials to understand the cultural characteristics and customs of a nation. In class, teachers should choose some literary works that can best reflect the characteristics of their own language and culture. For example, a Russian student once asked the teacher why the cuckoo was used to symbolize love in the sentence "Saint Zhuangzi daydreaming was bewitched by butterflies, and the emperor Wang was in love" in Li Shangyin's poem "Jinse" (cuckoo is a derogatory term in Russian). In fact, we can find out Du Fu's poems, so that students can understand why ancient China literati used Du Fu to express their loneliness, sadness and sadness in natural language materials.
Shu once heard of Zigui birds and Xuancheng saw azaleas. One is called, one is ileum, one is broken, and March is three memories.
(Tang Libai's "Seeing Rhododendrons in Xuancheng")
What can you hear here in the morning and evening? The cuckoo's bleeding cry, the ape's sobbing.
(Don Bai Juyi's Pipa Trip)
It's a lonely museum closed in cold spring, and the cuckoo enjoys a good reputation.
(Close "Treading in the Sand")
What's more, the partridge stops and the cuckoo cuts. Cry until the spring, can't find a place, hate wheatgrass and rest.
(Song Xin Qi Ji "He Xinlang")
From now on, I will leave Jiangnan Road and become a crow with blood.
(Jinling Yi by Wen Song Tianxiang)
Rhododendrons make rhododendrons cry, like blood, like the touch of Zhu.
(Modern Qiu Jin's "Azalea")
……
Then we will tell the students that the cuckoo's mouth is bright red. In ancient China, people thought that cuckoo would cry until it bled, so it is not surprising to use cuckoo to symbolize lonely and desolate love.
(2) Using the context of "classification"
We try to sum up words representing similar cultural meanings into the same cultural topic, so as to deepen students' understanding of the cultural meaning of the word. For example, when introducing China's family concept, we collected related kinship terms such as "uncle" and "uncle" and told students that there are many kinship terms because China culture emphasizes blood relationship and ethics. Western culture emphasizes the individual as the center, and uncles and uncles use the same word. When we explain folk customs, we collect cultural vocabulary about folk customs, such as Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Laba Festival, New Year's Eve, etc ... When we explain the inclusiveness of China culture, we can focus on Buddhism and Taoism. In this way, foreign students can master certain vocabulary under the background of learning culture, which will not only help them understand China, but also increase their interest in learning Chinese.
References:
Geibn A study of Chinese vocabulary [M]. Shandong Education Press, 1985.
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[4] Wu Guohua. Dictionary of Russian cultural background knowledge [M]. Zhengzhou: Henan People's Publishing House, 1992.
[5] Wang Huan. On dictionary definition from the compilation of Chinese-English dictionaries with dual interpretations. Early stage of World Chinese Teaching, 1987, (1.