Abstract: There is a close relationship between English and Chinese. Proverbs, as a form of language also has a close relationship with culture. However, animal is the most common creature in our daily lives. So this essay mainly focus on comparing the animal proverbs in English and Chinese. By comparison, we can find notable differences between the two cultures.
Key words: cultural differences ; English and Chinese ; animal proverbs
摘要：语言和有着非常密切的联系。作为语言的一种形式，谚语与文化也有着不可忽视的联系。然而，动物是我们日常生活中最普通的生物。所以，本文主要通过比较英汉动物的差异探究英汉语言的差异。
关键词：文化差异; 英汉; 动物谚语
In Longman Modern English Dictionary(Owen,1976:899), a proverb is defined as a brief familiar maxim of folk wisdom, usually compressed in form, often involving a bold image and frequently a jingle that catches the memory. Gregory Titelman, in Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings(Gregory Titelman,1996), gave the following definition of proverbs: “Proverbs are the collective wisdom of all nations, of all ages, of all times. A proverb typically expresses a common place thought in a succinct, often metaphorical way.” In my word, proverbs, as the oldest and the most valued form of human culture, are the crystallization of wisdom. Roman is not built in one day. The appearance of proverb comes from combination of labour and living practises in many years. Proverbs, which represents the unique characteristics and cultural features of a nation, is the most important language.
