Abstract

There are abundant plant words both in Chinese and English languages. Owing to the history, cultural background and traditional custom are different, not only do different plant words have different associative meanings, but also the associative meanings of the same plant words are different. This paper firstly describes the definitions of plant words and associative meaning. Then it mainly compares the associative meaning of plant words from two aspects: associative meaning of the same plant words and associative meaning of the different plant words. The associative meanings of the same plant words include the same and different associative meanings. The associative meanings of the different plant words also contain the same and different associative meanings. At the same time, this paper also discusses the semantic lap, that is, the associative meaning of plant words only in Chinese language or English language. At last, this paper draws a conclusion that through the comparative study of associative meaning of plant words in English and Chinese, learners can master and use the fixed expressions with plant words better and improve the application capabilities of intercultural communication.

Keywords: A comparative study; Plant words; Associative meaning; Intercultural communication

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Literature Review-2

3. Associative Meaning and Plant Words-2

3.1 Definition of Associative Meaning-2

3.2 Cognition of Plant Words-3

3.3 Cognition of Associative Meaning of Plant Words-4

4. Associative Meaning of the Same Plant Words in Chinese and English-5

4.1 The Same Associative Meaning and Causes-5

4.2 The Different Associative Meaning and Causes-7

5. Associative Meaning of the Different Plant Words in Chinese and English-10

5.1 The Same Associative Meaning and Cause-10

5.2 The Different Associative Meaning and Cause-11

6. Semantic Lap and Causes-12

6.1 Semantic Lap-12

6.2 Cause-14

7. Conclusion-14

Works Cited-16