本书主要讲授了语言与文化之间的密切关系，介绍中西文化的主要差异以及这些差异对英汉两种语言及其运用的影响，阐述中西文化、风俗习惯在英汉两种语言上的体现，进而有助于在和英语本族人交流时能够准确、深刻地理解对方和得体地表达自己的思想。主要探讨了语言各个层面——词汇、语法、语篇等与文化的内在联系，重点对英汉两种语言受中西不同文化影响所存在的差异进行了对比。语言力求简练，每章将生词、难词列出，适合本科低年级学生使用。为了激发学习者学习了解西方文化的兴趣，每章配有讨论题目。

Chapter One Language and Culture: An Introduction 1

I. Language 1

 1. What is language?  2

 2. Characteristics of language 2

  II. Culture 4

 1. What is culture?  4

 2. Characteristics of culture 5

 3. Relationship between language and culture

  III. Thought 9

 1. What is thought?  9

 2. Relationship between language and thought

  IV. Language, Culture and Thought 11

  Words and Expressions 11

  Topics for Discussion 13

Chapter Two Word Meaning and Culture 14

  I. Word Meaning 14

  II. Word Meaning and Culture 16

1. Words with basically the same cultural meanings 16

2. Words with partially equivalent cultural meanings 18

3. Words with greatly different cultural meanings 25

4. Words with completely different cultural meanings 30

5. Words with cultural meanings absent in the other 35

  m. Summary 42

 Words and Expressions 44

 Topics for Discussion 47

Chapter Three Grammar and Culture 50

  I. Grammatical Explicitness of English and Grammatical Implicitness

  of Chinese 50

 1. Grammaticalmorphemes 51

2. Subject prominence and topic prominence 57

3. Hypotactic relations vs paratactic relations 61

4. Grammatical explicitness vs grammatical implicitness and culture 62

  II. Word Order 63

 1. Left branching pattern and right'branching pattern 63

 2. Pre-modification and post-modification 65

 3. The order of the date, name of the units and the address, etc. 69

 4. The order of interrogative sentences 70

 5. Word order and culture 72

  III. Responses to Negative Questions 74

  IV. Tables of Grammatical Terms 76

  Words and Expressions 77

  Topics for Discussion 77

Chapter Four Text and Culture 79

I . A General Introduction 79

 1. What is a text?  79

 2. Culture in texts 79

II. Textual Connectives 80

 1. Cohesion and coherende; 80

 2. Hypotactic and paratactic 84 

 3. Textual connectives in four main categories of logical relationships' 'between" ad-

   joining sentences 86

III. Text Structures 91

 1. Deductive structure vs inductive Structure 92

 2. Linear structure vs circular Structure 96

IV. Styles 100

 1. Writing styles 100

 2. Speaking styles 102

  V. Summary 105

 Words and Expressions 106

 Topics for Discussion 107

Chapter Five Simile, Metaphor and Culture 108

  I. General Remarks 108

  II. Cultural-alike Associations 109

  III. Cultural Distinct Association 110

  IV. Smnmary 115

 Words and Expressions 116

 Topics for Discussion 116

Chapter Six Cultural Differences in Everyday Conversation 118

  I. Vocatives and Culture 118

 1. Names 118

2. Standard appellatives 123

  II. Greetings and Farewells 123

 1. Greetings 123

2. Farewells 124

  III. How to Make Introductions 125

  IV. Compliments and Responses 126

  V. Different Verbal Conventions in Phone Calls 129

  VI. Thanks and Replies 130

  VII. Apologies and Replies 132

  VI. Invitations and Replies 132

  IX. Gift.giving and Responses 133

  X. Smnmary 134

  Words and Expressions 135

  Topics for Discussion 136

Chapter Seven Culture and Image Transfer 137

  I. Introduction 137

  II. Methods of Image Transfer 138

 1. Image reproduction 138

 2. Image substitution 140

3. Image omission 141

  III. Sunmmry 143

 Words nnd Exprisions 144

 Topics for Discussion 144

Chapter Eight Culture in English Study 145

  I ~ The Imemrtsae of Culture Learning in English Study 145

  I1. How to Learn Culture During English Study 146

1. To eradicate two false ideas about English study 147

2. To cultivate "cultural creativity" 148

3. How to learn culture in a macroscopic way in English study 150

4. How to learn a culture in a microcosmic way 152

  III. Cultural Linguistics 154

 Words and Expresions 154

 Topics for Discussion 157

Bibliography 158