PT Journal
AU Lei, C
TI Contrastive analysis of Chinese-Spanish proverbs related to gold: a linguistic cultural perspective
SO Romanica Olomucensia
PY 2025
BP 61
EP 77
VL 37
IS 1
DI 10.5507/ro.2025.004
DE proverb; contrastive analysis; Chinese-Spanish; gold
AB Gold is a cultureme in both Chinese and Spanish, which is evidenced by their proverbs. Through a contrastive linguo-cultural analysis, this paper aims to study proverbs related to gold in these two languages. To carry out this study, first, proverbs referring to gold were collected in both languages. On the basis of this data, a corpus was created for each language. Then the target domain of each proverb was identified and they were grouped according to their respective themes. Subsequently, the similarities and differences between them were analysed, providing illustrative examples as linguistic evidence. Proverbs alluding to gold are utilised in both languages in diverse situations. Its frequent occurrence reveals that the symbolism of gold is deeply rooted in both societies, and these proverbs reflect significant cultural characteristics. On one hand, a notable similarity was observed, but on the other hand, there are significant differences. This study supports the universality of certain human cognitive processes, as well as the cultural diversity among different societies through interlinguistic contrast. Additionally, these findings can also be valuable for pedagogical and translation purposes.
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