Abstract

A name is indispensable to human's communication, therefore differences of naming systems affect cross-cultural communication a lot. This paper makes a contrast of Chinese and English naming systems from three aspects to reveal deep cultural connotations, which is conducive to helping people understand the relationship between name and culture and effectively promoting cross-cultural communication. First of all, this paper contrasts family names from the aspect of historical background and origin. Then it contrasts given names from the perspective of naming principle and naming method. Eventually, hidden cultural connotations of the two naming systems are revealed through the above analysis.

Key words: naming system, contrast, cultural connotation    

摘要

姓名在人们的交往中是必不可少的，在人们的跨文化交际中，姓名的差异成了影响彼此沟通的一个重要方面。对比汉英两种不同文化的姓名，透过这一生活中常见的现象，揭示其深刻的文化内涵，有利于帮助人们了解姓名与文化的关系，促进更为有效的跨文化交际。本文采用了对比分析的方法，从三个方面入手，首先对比了汉英姓氏的历史背景以及来源，其次从命名原则以及命名的方式对比了汉英名字的差异,最后对比了两种姓名中所隐含的文化内涵。

关键词： 姓名；对比；文化内涵

1.Introduction
A name, composed of a family name and a given name, is the most basic interpersonal title which is used to differentiate people from each other. As a unique social phenomenon, this kind of title is the outcome of both society and language. Owing to the differences of language, national history, religious faith and traditional culture, China and western countries present the distinct national characteristics in naming systems and cultural connotations. Accordingly, a name is a window through which people can comprehend diverse cultures. With the globalization, people have more and more opportunities to interact with foreigners. It is of great significance for people to promote cross-cultural communication by understanding the distinctions between the two naming cultures.
2.Demonstration
2.1 Family names
A family name, also called a surname or a last name in English, is fixed and hereditary in each family. He/She gets his/her family name before birth. Therefore family names are not selectable. A further investigation into surnames in both Chinese and English is given below, which reveals broad differences between the two cultures.