A Contrastive Analysis Between the Culture of English and Chinese Names from Sociolinguistics Perspective

【Abstract】Name is an inseparable part of human verbal communication. It is also a product of mans social life which is not only an important component of language， but also a major carrier of social-specific cultures. This thesis aim to explore the similarities and differences between the culture of English names and Chinese names.

【Key words】English names； Chinese names； culture； sociolinguistics

Peoples name refer to the symbols indicating each particular member in the society. As one of the essential parts of human language， peoples names play a dominant role in the society. For one thing， names are unique symbols that show peoples existence and identity in the society. For another， it is name that can distinguish one people from another. Therefore， name as a special communicative tool of language is indispensable in human society. This thesis set forth to explore the similarities and differences between the culture of English names and Chinese names.

1. Similarities of Names between English and Chinese Culture

1.1 Similarities in the Origins of Family Names

Taking the origins of Chinese and English family names into consideration， they share similarities in several aspects. Firstly， ancient people usually take the names of ancient places or dwelling places as family names. Secondly， people used to take names of color as surnames. As White， Brown， Black and Red in English names and Bai（白）， Huang（黃）， Lan（蓝） in Chinese names. Last but not the least， people from different places may take the names of professions as their surnames， like Baker， Smith， Fisher in English and Bu（卜）， Wu（巫）， Tu（屠）， and Shi（石） in Chinese.

1.2 Similarities in Patterns of Naming Systems

To begin with， many people whether from western countries or China prefer to name their children after characters in stories or fairy tales， especially after characters of good virtue. Next， many people name their children after the names of animals or plants， such as Hu（虎）， Peng（鹏）， Mei（梅）， Zhu（竹），Bear， Swan， Apple and Lily. Finally， some parents choose the time when their children born as their names.

1.3 Similarities in the Gender Discrimination Reflected

Gender discrimination can be found in nearly all aspects of these two cultures including names. In ancient china， surnames were applied to men while family names to women， and the noble had the surnames while the humble had family names. This well indicates that women were of lower social status at that time. In Chinese feudal society. Women passed on their fathers family names. After marriage， they lose their preceding names and they were addressed in the way like “Jia Zhes wife”， “Zhu Lis mother” etc. Such phenomenon which contains great gender discrimination lasts for more than two thousand years in China. When it comes to English names， gender discrimination can also be found throughout the history. In history， women has no right in social affairs. In order to gain the recognition of the public， female writers had to use male pen names. For example， the famous British writers Bronte sisters all used male pen names to publish their great works Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.

2. Differences of Names between English and Chinese Culture

2.1 Differences in Principles of Names

Chinese names generally based on the Three Beauties Principles which is first proposed by Lu Xun in the book An Introduction to Chinese Characters. The first principle is the beauty in meaning. Many Chinese parents prefer to choose meaningful character to name their children. For example， Na

（娜） stands for beauty， Jian（健） represents health， Jie（杰） stands for outstanding. Next， is the beauty in sound. In the past， people often took pingze into consideration. However， today parents focus more on the homophonic function of names. For instance， the name Dai Jian（戴健） has a homophone Dai Jian（待見） which means likable in northeast dialect and that might be the reason why the child got this name. The third principle is the beauty in form. Chinese names are supposed to be in harmony and well balanced which means in one name， the number if each characters stokes should be similar. Han Yu（韩愈） and Ding Yi

（丁一） are good examples while Wei Daxun（魏大勋） contradict this principle.

The beauty in sound is the prime principle for choosing an English name. For instance， among English-speaking countries， E-names are vary popular， especially in American. People keen to choose names like Eva， Emily and Evie for their children.

2.2 Differences in Patterns of Names

Even nowadays， there are still a number of people who have superstitious beliefs. They believe that human body is made of five elements including mental， earth， fire， wood and water， if someone lacks some of the elements， he or she needs to make it up through their names. For instance， a girl whose primary name was Zhang Mingyang（张名扬）， after someone told her parents that she lacks of mental and water throughout her life， her name was changed to two homophones contains water and mental， those are ming（铭） and yang（洋）.

In western countries， names usually runs in the family which is a traditional family name. Those names are used to memorize or honer a family member. Take the British princess as an example， her given name is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. The first name of her given name Charlotte corresponds to her grandfathers name Charles. The second one is exactly the same name of her great grandmother Queen Elizabeth and the last one Diana is the name of her grandmother Queen Diana. Therefore， all three names of her given name are to memorize three specific family members.

2.3 Differences in Cultural Connotations of Names

2.3.1 Collectivism versus Individualism

One of the most distinctive differences between English names and Chinese names is the structure of the name. Chinese names are composed of two parts， family name and given name. And family names are always in the first place， followed by the given name. On the contrary， for English names given name always ranks the highest. It is generally acknowledged that given name stands for the individual and family name represents the whole family. Therefore， theses different structures indicate that Chinese culture is more collective than Western culture.

2.3.2 High-Uncertainty-Avoidance versus Low-Uncertainty-Avoidance

One important maxim of Chinese naming rule is to avoid duplication. For the sake of respect， there is little duplication of names in Chinese culture. But it has long been a convention for western people to name after the characters in the Bible， hence， a large number of given names are exactly the same. Western people also like to name their children after the famous historic figures or characters in literary works. Some people just use his or her fathers or grandfathers name， and in order to distinguish， they add Junior or Senior to their names. These distinct naming principles indicate that Chinese culture is higher in uncertainty avoidance than western culture is.

2.3.3 Ethical Culture versus Christian Culture

In a sense， Chinese culture is ethical culture in which Confucianism is the core principle. In Confucianism， ren

（仁） literally means kindness， is the highest moral principle and it always runs in names as Li Zongren （李宗仁）， etc. Another basic ethic is xiao （孝）， which can be found in the names of Fang Xiaoru （方孝孺）， Fei Xiaotong （費孝通） and so on. Moreover， Chinese people also prefer to chose names cited from idioms or classical works such as The Book Of Songs， The Book Of Rites， etc.

Unlike Chinese ethical culture， western culture has been greatly influenced by Christianity. Names are often chosen from Christian stories， especially from the Bible. For example： Adam is the name of the first ancestor of mankind； Daniel is the name of a character in the Old Testament of the Bible. Eva is the name of Adams wife， etc. All in all， it has become a custom that people in the English-speaking countries name after the characters in the Bible， and it is indeed an honor for them.

Conclusion： This thesis aim to explore the similarities and differences between the culture of English names and Chinese names. Through the comparative study， students are supposed to develop an intercultural awareness of their daily uses that are often below their consciousness.

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作者简介：戴健（1994-），女，汉族，河北承德人，东北师范大学硕士研究生，研究方向：英语语言文学（语言学）。