An Intercultural Comparative Study Of English And Chinese Personal Names

The differences between Chinese and American cultural psychological attributes are complicated and subtle. The present studies are mainly concerned with religion, custom and habits, etc. It is quite new to explore this topic in the perspective of personal names.Based on the careful investigation over Chinese and American personal names from the three aspects of composition of names, surnames and given names, this thesis analyzes and summarizes the cultural psychological differences between Chinese culture and American culture: the blood-relationship and pursuit of harmony in Chinese culture; and the personal independence, pursuit of personal wealth, competitive-orientation and innovative-orientation in American culture.The results of the comparison prove that personal names, as not only distinctive signs or language units but also culture carriers, can be actually seen as a window through which we can know the history, religion, development of the society and the cultural value system of one nation. This awareness will help us better understand each other during the inter-cultural communication, which will also be helpful for practical social transaction such as giving a Chinese an English name or giving an American a Chinese name.Besides, based on the cultural awareness achieved from previous comparison, the author further emphasizes that during the mutual translation of personal names, we should pay special attention to the cultural connotation hidden in personal names. Although which strategy the translator will use depends on his specific translation purpose, it is obvious that under current situation the strategy of alienation is usually more practical for intercultural communication. Detailed discussions on translation of personal names are made in the thesis, in which the author gives her consideration on some specific translation practice.