语言文化On the Cultural Differences Between Western and Chines Attitudes Toward Dogs1. Introduction Cultural connotation of “dog” in English and Chinese is a culture carrier. Different social backgrounds and national cultures have a great effect on the cultural connotations of vocabulary. “Dog” is a commendatory term in English while it is a dergotory term in Chinese. This paper analyzes the word “dog”and explores the cultural differences between English and Chinese and their various generalizations. It discusses peoples attitude towards animal as well as the metapherical and symbolic meaning form to the fundamental cores of conresponding animal culture. These differences reflect the 本 diversity in the nattural environment cutural background and way of thinking and aesthetics between the Western people and Chinese people to be aware of such differences will helpful for cross-cutural communications between the two people. Whats culture? This question has been explored for a very long time and experts have made many definitions. Nowadays human beings acknowledge these aspects: Culture consists of the relatively specialized lifestyle of group of people: their values, beliefs artificats, ways of behaving and language. As the world is getting more and more close. It is neccassary to understand the cultural differences between West and China. In order to avoid cultural collision and misunderstanding, habits or attitudes of foreigners. Every culture is a treasure of the history of the earth. Different cultures add the most colorful element to the world of 21st century. The cultural gap should not be the abstacle to the civilization of human beings. This paper discusses the cultural differences between Western and Chinese attitudes toward dogs. Of course, there are many aspects reflect the cultures are different in the world,dog is a kind of Animals, a special one. In west and in China ,they stand for very differrent things. Hence it is necessary to study on this aspect. 2.The different attitudes toward dogs in West and in China:2.1The ideas of dogs in West and in China The worlds First Official Olympic Mascot. Guten tag! That means “good day”in German. He is waldi the dachshuund, Mascot of the 1972. Munich Olypic games. Waldi was the first official Olympic Mascot and preceded by the unofficial”scluss”, who is appeared four years earlier in Grenoble winter game 1968. Waldis head and tail are light blue,and he was produced in various forms and sizes so that Olympic fans and TV-goers could take “waldi”home for themselves. This example is a very good one to explain that the westerm people love dogs very much. Dogs can be taken to be Official Olympic Mascot. With Chinas entry into the WTO and the Olympic Game will be held in 2008. However, the Olympic Mascots in 2008 are impossible dogs. in fact, they has been fixed. BeiBei is the fish, JingJing is the panda, HuanHuan is the Olympic flame , YingYing is the Tibetan antelope and NiNi is the swallow. There arent any dogs that would be BeiJing Olympic Mascots. Because dog isnt an lucky animal in China. In China, dogs are always considered as house- keeper. They eat bad, sleep bad and are always beaten by their masters. So it is undoubtedly that Western peole and Chinese people have a different attitudes toward on dogs. The different attitu des toward dogs between China and West just result from different cultural background. Different countries have different cultures, and the differences are reflected in many aspects. Dogs become the reflection and manifection of one countrys culturein peoples social contract,such as religions,belief custom and so on. And it includes the principle and moral that people should obey in daily life. Dogs formed in the process of the deposition of culture and social contact. So every nation have their own culture which created with the spirit of this. And the countrys cultural background and properties decide the countrys cultural development. In the same way,cultures differences reflect nations properties. So in the following, we will take China , British and America as the representation of western, to look at some cultural differences.2.2.The different cultural background One of the cultural differences between China and West is cultural background. In the ancient time, China emerged confucianism,Taoism and other ideaologies, China has a long history and with a great country civilization. Confucianism has affected Chinese development deeply, Confucial said human beings would keep virtue, goodness,benevolence,humanity and human-heartedness. Many Chinese people believe there are gosts in the world ,believe ancestorsdeity. For more than two thousands it has molded and shaped the civilization of China and exerted a profound influence upon alomost and these high standards of morals are national spirit. Dogs is the earliest animal appearing in the human society. Since the early tim