Abstract

The British culture and American culture are the typical representatives and two pillars of Western culture, which have long history and possess their own unique characteristics. Culturally, every country has its typical cultural image and brand representatives. Gentleman and Cowboy are very meaningful brand images of these two countries. Gentleman is the representative of the image of the UK and cowboy is the symbol of the USA. With the rapid development of international cooperation in economy, science and education, a better understanding of cross-cultural communication is of great importance. The writer believes that the knowledge of other cultures will help us understand the traditions of those countries, and provide more chances for the people in the world to learn from each other. This paper selects the British gentleman and American cowboy as a theme, making a comparative analysis, tracing their roots, distinguishing the similarities and differences, in order to find the different cultures embodied in the two images. In addition to introduction and conclusion, this paper is divided into three parts. The first part describes the origins and development of British gentleman culture and American cowboy culture. The second part analyzes the differences of the two cultures in the aspects of cultural background, cultural content, value pursuit and social customs. The third part reveals the two images’ far-reaching impact on national culture and society.

Key words: British gentleman; American cowboy; culture; comparative analysis

摘  要

英美文化是西方文化的典型代表和两大支柱，这两种文化渊源深厚却各有千秋。就文化而言，每一个国家都有其典型的文化形象和品牌代表。英国的绅士和美国的牛仔就是两种极具品牌意义的形象。绅士是英国的形象代表，而牛仔是美国的招牌形象。随着国际间在经济、科学、教育等领域的合作不断发展，跨文化交流就越显得更重要。笔者认为了解其他文化的内涵，有助于使我们了解各自传统，并提供相互学习的机会。本文选取了英国绅士和美国牛仔这两种最具品牌意义的形象来对比分析，溯其根源、辨其异同并究其影响，以便更好地认识和理解英美文化。本文除介绍和总结外，主体分为三部分。第一部分介绍绅士文化和牛仔文化的起源及其发展。第二部分对比分析两种文化在文化背景、文化内容、价值追求及生活习俗等方面的差异。第三部分分析绅士文化和牛仔文化对本国文化及社会产生的深远影响。

关键词：英国绅士；美国牛仔；文化；对比分析