1、從廣告語看中西文化差異(Cu ltu ral D ifferences betw een Ch inese andW estern Coun tries in A dvertisem en ts綿陽師范學院外國語學院石成蓉(四川師范大學外國語學院碩士研究生AbstractCu ltu ral difference can be found in m any aspects,th is paper deals w ith the differences betw een Ch inese cu ltu re and English cu ltu re in the perspective of

2、advertisem en ts.A dvertising is an i m po rtan t part of peop les life.A dvertisem en ts in a certain coun try attract certain con sum ers,so they reflect the un ique cu ltu re in the given coun try. T h is paper w ill focu s on fou r aspects to illu strate the cu ltu ral difference betw een Ch ina

3、 and W estern coun tries found in advertising creati on and advertising language ai m ed to help peop le understand cu ltu ral difference in the trend of globalizati on and accelerate the cro ss-cu ltu ral comm un icati on.Key wordscu ltu ral differenceadvertisem en tCh inese cu ltu reW estern cu lt

4、u reT hom as OGu inn et al.po in t ou t in their book dvertis2 ing,cu ltu re is w hat peop le do,o r“the to tal life w ays of a peo2 p le,the social legacy the individual acqu ires from h is group”. (OGu inn1998:137A dvertising is an effective w ay fo r traders and bu sinesses to comm un icate info

5、rm ati on abou t their goods, services o r ideas to the con sum ers.It is p ri m arily concerned w ith attracting the pu rchasersin terest by bu ilding accep tance fo r a p roduct o r a service and by develop ing confidence and re2 spect fo r the firm and its p roducts o r services.A dvertising is a

6、 cu ltu ral p roduct;it m ean s no th ing ou tside of cu ltu re.(OGu inn 1998:236D ifferen t w ays and language in advertising p roduce differ2 en t effects on con sum ers from differen t cu ltu res.So s m art ad2 vertisers dont igno re cu ltu ral difference,and w e can tell the cu ltu ral differenc

7、e betw een Ch inese advertisem en ts and w estern advertisem en ts.T h is paper w ill focu s on fou r aspects to illu s2 trate the cu ltu ral differences betw een Ch ina and W estern coun2 tries found in advertising creati on and advertising language.I.Collectiv is m vs.I nd iv idua lis mV alues are

8、 the defin ing exp ressi on s of cu ltu re.In advertis2 ing,it is strongly believed that the mo st effective advertise2 m en ts are tho se that best exp ress and affirm co re cu ltu ral val2 ues.W hat advertisers shou ld do is to m ake the advertisem en ts con sisten t w ith values of the targeted p

9、eop le.If no t,they are likely to be rejected.Every coun try has its ow n values,o r the endu ring beliefs.A set of con tradicto ry one shared by a lo t of coun tries is co llectivis m and individualis m.Ch inese society is co llectivistic and the Ch inese tend to pu t the benefits of group o r soci

10、ety in the first p lace,w h ileW estern societies are individ2 ualistic and thu s mo re p rone to strive fo r self-ach ievem en t and self-satisfacti on.T hese concep ts are often reflected in adver2 tising language.Fo r examp le:你好,我好,他好。大家好,才是真的好廣州好迪(Houdy Shampoo ad.上汽五菱全國用戶滿意企業用了都說好。(D a Ke N in

11、g p laster ad顧客甲:我要雕牌。顧客乙:我也要雕牌。顧客丙:我還是要雕牌。顧客丁:為什么都要雕牌。顧客戊:只選對的,不選貴的。(Eagle B rand ad.In the cu ltu ral con tex t of group o rien tati on,fo llow ing the m aj o rity is con sidered as the best w ay in decisi on m ak ing.M o st peop le tend to believe w hat is good fo r o thers m u st be good fo r th

12、em selves.So the above advertisem en ts are app reciated and accep tab le in the Ch inese cu ltu re.How ever,these advertise2 m en ts m ay seem stup id and non sen se in the view of W estern con sum ers,becau se individualis m is firm ly estab lished in their m ind.In the W estern cu ltu re,individu

13、al in itiative and ach ieve2 m en t are stressed,and pu rsu it of personality and freedom is h igh ly valued and w ell app reciated.T he fo llow ing examp les can show th is o rien tati on clearly.W hats m ine is m ine.(V o lk s w agen Seat Car ad.Go ld B lend,the on ly coffee to serve.(N escafe Go

14、ld B lend ad.D rink Baker,fo llow the track of you r ow n.(Baker Beer ad.T he un ique sp irit of Canada:w e bo ttle it!(L o rd Calvert Canada ad.T he box fits in m y jean s o r jacket and doesnt get cru shed. T hat m akes a difference.W in stons taste m akes a real difference,too.N o cigarette gives

15、 m e mo re taste.Fo r m e,W in ston is re2 al.(W in ston ad.F ind you r ow n road.(SAAB Car ad.O bey you r th irst.(Sp rite D rink ad.In the above advertisem en ts,w e can easily find the w o rds o r ph rases w h ich stress un iqueness and differences,such as “m ine”,“m y ow n”,“you r ow n”,“on ly”,

16、“un ique”and“dif2 ference”.T he advertisers m ake u se of such cu ltu ral con sci ou s2 ness to give W estern con sum ers a strong sen se of individuality and o riginality,and to arou se their desire to take acti on.O bvi2 ou sly,these advertisem en ts are successfu l in comp lying w ith th is value

17、 o rien tati on.T he Ch inese co llectiveness is also em bodied in the con sid2 erati on and respect fo r the aged,and fo r the fam ily.R espect fo r the o ld is a traditi onal virtue in the Ch inese cu ltu re.T here is an o ld saying in Ch ina“百善孝為先”(F ilial respect fo r the o ld goes first in virt

18、ue.T he o ld shou ld be treated w ell and hono rab ly.T hese ideas have been so deep ly roo ted in Ch inese peop les m inds that they con sci ou sly and uncon sci ou sly regu2 late peop les acti on s and behavi o r.In advertising,respect fo r the o ld is reflected by m any Ch inese b rand nam es,suc

19、h as“阿香婆”(Granny Ax iang,“王老吉”(O ld W ang J i,“老翁”(O ldM an,“老干媽”(O ld N om inal M o ther,and“老干爹”(O ld N om inal Father.T hese b rand nam es sound co rdial to Ch inese con sum ers and qu ite attractive.Si m ilarly th is virtue can be il2 lu strated in the fo llow ing advertising,fo r examp le,“正清制藥

20、,關愛老人健康”(Zheng Q ing Pharm aceu tical Facto ry show s the u tmo st so licitude fo r the health of the elderly,“老人家感冒該怎么辦?!”(W hats to be done w hen the elderly catch a co ld?!,“威力洗衣機,獻給母親的愛”(W eiliW ash ing M ach ine is the love dedicating to M o thers.How ever,in the W estern cu ltu re the w o rd“o

21、 ld”is associated w ith the concep ts of being “ou tdated”and“u seless”,and the w o rds and ph rases related to “age”are taboo s.Since W estern peop le are afraid of being o ld, and the concep t of respect fo r the o ld is no t so strong as that in the Ch inese cu ltu re,such k ind of advertisem en

22、ts is no t often p resen ted in English advertising.II.M on is m vs.Plura lis m or D ua lis mF rom the aspect of cu ltu ral basic fo rm,Ch inese cu ltu re has the mon is m view po in t and the w estern cu ltu re has the p lu2 ralis m o r dualis m view po in t.T he traditi onal Ch inese view of u2 n

23、iverse is“the harmony of heaven and m an”,the ideal state of the co rrespondence of the ob jective and the sub jective.Ch inese peop le are inclined to seek the un ity,the generality and the syn thesis in their m ind.T h is ph ilo soph ical concep t can be found in the fo llow ing en ts.取天上太陽,用人間輝煌(

24、HU I HUAN G SOLA R EN ER2 GY ad.銀河在天上,溫情在人間(an ad.fo r ShanghaiM ilky W ay A dvertising&D eco rati on Co.天上彩虹,人間長虹(ChangHong Co lo r TV ad.T hese th ree advertisem en ts appeal to con sum ers by a good con trast betw een the heaven and the w o rld,w h ich b rings con2 sum ers a sen se of harmony

25、.Fu rthermo re,the parallel struc2 tu res in these th ree advertisem en ts increase the effect of the u2 n i on of m an and natu re.O n the con trary,the w estern cu ltu re in sists on the view of p lu ralis m.It emphasizes on the changes and differences of the m atter,self-developm en t,and en terp

26、 rising sp irits.W estern peop le tend to believe that the un iverse shou ld be divided in to tw o differen t parts.T hat is so-called“D ividedness betw een M an and N atu re”.T he conquest of natu ral conditi on is the dom inan t assump ti on in W estern coun tries,especially in the U2 n ited State

27、s.T he Am erican mode of living is characterized by confron tati on w ith and exp lo itati on of the ex ternal w o rld and by hum an itys being arm ed again st it.T hu s,w e seldom find the idea of the harmony of heaven and m an in English advertise2 m en ts.In stead of it,the concep t of the emphas

28、is of m an and conquest is frequen tly emp loyed in advertising English,such as:Fo r the m an w ho m akes h is ow n ru les.(Beverage ad.D angerou s,bu t w o rth the risk.(N ik i de Sain t Phalle ad.H e ju st k illed the last dragon!(Kodar ad.Be all you can be(U.S A rm y ad.Engineered to move the hum

29、 an sp irit.(M ercedes-Benz ad.T hese five advertisem en ts echo the ph ilo soph ical concep t of the W estern cu ltu re,and acco rdingly satisfy the taste of the W estern con sum ers.III.M odesty vs.Super ior ityIn Ch inese cu ltu re,modesty is regarded as a traditi onal virtue.Ch inese are taugh t

30、 to be po lite and modest th roughou t h isto ry.Fo r Ch inese peop le are strongly influenced by feudal2 is m,they look reserved and con servative,bu t no t open,direct and arrogan t.How ever,w estern coun tries especially Am erica try to in still in studen ts a sen se of h igh self-esteem in o rde

31、r to mo tive them to ach ievem en t and self-confidence.So they are superi o r and direct.Tw o group s of advertisem en ts are cho sen to illu strate the above po in ts.W e lead.O thers copy.(R icoh cop ierT he best beef and soybean th roughou t Am erica!(Stock ley M an Foodstuff CompanyT ake the Se

32、n so rExcel challenge.O n ly.Sen so rExcel has p ro tective m icro fin s fo r ex tra com fo rt and self-adju sting b lades fo r incredib le clo seness.N o dispo sab le gives you all that.O ne shave w ith Sen so rExcel and w e bet youll get rid of you r dispo sab le fo r good.Bet you w ont go back to

33、 dispo s2 ab les.媽媽說這種糖味道最好。(W uhan Ch ildrens Food ad.凱歌牌全自動洗衣機就一個缺點,如果能自動晾衣服就好了。(Kai Ge A u tom aticW ash ing M ach ine ad.格蘭仕微波爐中國第幾品牌?(Galanz m icrow ave oven ad.T he difference betw een the tw o group s of advertisem en ts lies in that English advisem en ts directly and confiden tly p ro2 clai

34、m the top-rank ing statu s w h ile Ch inese one indirectly and illum inatingly indicate the num ber one po siti on of the p roducts in their respective secto rs.M o reover,sex w h ich is frequen tly emp loyed in English advertisem en ts is som ew hat a taboo in Ch ina,especially in pub lic becau se

35、sex is clo sely related to li2 cen ti ou sness and loo seness in mo ral.So sex iness is seldom found in Ch inese advertising.T h is can be illu strated in the fo llow ing examp les.O nce every27seconds the average m an th ink s abou t sex.T he rest of the ti m e;hes all of ou rs.(ESPN ad.T he go rge

36、ou s,sexy-young fragrance(L angcom e perfum e ad.Am I naked?(W atch ad.O ne drop fo r beau ty;Tw o drop s fo r lover;T h ree drop s fo r an affair.(F lo rdric perfum e ad.It look s sexy.A nd then w hat w ill happen?(Scoundrel perfum e ad.IV.Pa st Or ien ta tion vs.Future Or ien ta tionPast o rien ta

37、ti on is ano ther typ ical value o rien tati on in the Ch inese cu ltu re.Ch ina is a coun try w ith a long h isto ry,a refu l2 gen t civilizati on and age-o ld traditi on.Ch inese peop le take great p ride in their five-thou sand-year civilizati on and their in telligen t and diligen t ancesto rs w

38、 ho created such a sp lendid cu ltu re.Co rrespondingly,anyth ing related to long h isto ry and traditi on is con sidered as valuab le and reliab le.T he w o rd“o ld”u sually p refer to stress the po in t that their compan ies and their p roducts are traditi onal ones,such as“百年老店”(a shop w ith a h

39、isto ry of a hundred years,“老字號”(age-o ld b rand,“老招牌”(age-o ld shop sign,“歷史悠久”(w ith a long h isto ry and“祖傳秘方”(a secret reci pe handed dow n from generati on to generati on.M o re examp le:百年老字號,廣州皇上皇(sau sage ad.溪口千層餅采用傳統工藝,制作精細,質地松脆,清香可口(X ikou Q iangceng Cake ad.(下轉第155頁時,可以講解有關感恩節的由來;傳統食物火雞、南

40、瓜餅;以及傳統活動項目游行、觀看橄欖球比賽。并向學生介紹,自美國內戰結束以后,感恩節被確定為法定國家節目,這一天家庭成員及朋友們通常用大型聚餐的形式來慶祝這個節日,如今感恩節已成為一種家庭團聚的家庭節日,使學生對感恩節有一全面的認識。寫作與翻譯密切相關。寫作,即要求學生用英語表達清楚完整而且符合英語國家文化習慣的思想;翻譯,從本質上來說正是跨語言文化的交際活動,黃忠廉在翻譯本質論(2000,4一書中將翻譯的本質概括為:“翻譯是譯者將原語言文化信息轉換成譯語文化信息,并求得二者相似的思維活動和語言活動。”如寫作或翻譯“西餐廳如雨后春筍般出現”一句時,其中漢語成語“雨后春筍”使人產生“新事物大量出

41、現”的意義聯想,而因人們的生活環境不同,造成英國人不熟悉竹子,不易理會成語中的潛在意義,不可能產生與漢民族類似的聯想。因此,為了讓英語讀者產生漢語讀者從“雨后春筍”引起的聯想,我們在寫作或翻譯中要把語言形象“竹子”更換為“m u sh room s”,即“sp ring up like m u sh room s”。6、小結綜上所述,我們應該認識到英語教學中的跨文化交際教學不是空泛的,實施跨文化交際教學既是必要的,又是可行的。社會發展也必將使跨越不同文化的人類交流愈加頻繁,英語教學的任務就是要培養高素質、有著較深厚文化修養的英語人才。注重跨文化交際教學,能增強不同文化的認同感和包容性,從而更好

42、地促進語言和文化的發展,以及不同語言、文化間的交流和溝通。參考文獻1陳舒.文化與外語教學的關系J.國外外語教學,1997(2.2何筱莉.關于外語教學中文化導入的思考J.國外外語教學,2001(3.3李蔭華主編.大學英語(全新版綜合教程(3.上海:上海外語教育出版社,2002.4王佐良.翻譯中的文化比較A.北京:外語教學與研究出版社,1994.5虞蘇美,李慧琴主編.大學英語(全新版聽說教程(4.上海:上海外語教育出版社,2003.6張安德,張翔.論外語教學的文化意識培養與文化導入J.外語與外語教學,2002(6.(上接第153頁傳奇品質,百年張裕。(Zhang Yu W ine ad.記憶中的味

43、道。(Bai J ia V erm icelli ad.曹州城內有一隅首,名曰“尤之女”。據傳尤之女釀得一手好酒,偶被孔子一飲,贊曰“圣賢之美!”故得名“圣酒”。(Sain t L iquo r ad.A s past o rien tati on has been deep ly roo ted in Ch inese peo2 p les m ind,the advertisem en ts related to long h isto ry and tra2 diti on can readily strike a sympathetic cho rd of Ch inese con2

44、sum ers and lu re them to take acti on.O n the con trary,fu tu re o rien tati on p revails in theW estern cu ltu re.W estern peop le tend to believe that tomo rrow shou ld be better than today.T he w o rd“new”is related to p rogress and change.So being“new”is often emp loyed in English ad2 vertising

45、.A cco rding to statistic,the w o rd“new”is the w o rd mo st frequen tly u sed in English advertisem en ts.A l mo st every2 th ing that is“new”is valued and thu s accep tab le in theW estern cu ltu re.L ook at the fo llow ing examp les:In stead of soap,try a w ho le new w ay to w ash you r face.N ew ponds leaves you r