Differences between China and Western Countries on Numbers

Abstract: Different cultures transmit different values and prepare people differently for life. The paper focuses on the reasons of different attitudes to numbers and the emphasis on notices to be taken into consideration. Analyzing the differences will certainly be constructive to a better understanding of both Chinese and Western culture.

Key Words: cultural differences; number attitudes; analyzing reasons

Technically speaking， number refers to the concept created to designate the quantity or order of things， persons or events. There seems to be no dispute over this technical aspect of number. A number is a word or symbol， and different languages may have different set of symbols to denote specific numbers. A comparative study of numbers between China and western countries cannot be done without the knowledge of number， such as lucky numbers， unlucky numbers， even numbers and singular numbers.[1]26

1.The Reasons Why Different Attitudes to Numbers Exist

A language is deeply rooted in its culture and reflects its culture. It is race history， ecological environment， religion， custom， appreciation of the beauty and ways of thought that form different culture. And those cultural differences cause people endow different feelings and meaning with the same numbers.

1.1 Race History

Different groups of different people exhibit different history. People are shaped by both external factors and internal factors. So is the culture. Race history is one of the factors.

Both Chinese civilization and western civilization have a long history. Western civilization comes from Greek civilization， the Roman civilization and Christian civilization. At the beginning these three civilizations had great differences. During the race development they gradually came to the same point. Chinese civilization comes from Pre-Qin Dynasty. China became strong until Han Dynasty. After Han Dynasty， instead of high-hand， China became courteous because of Confucian Thought. At the same time Roman Empire ruled the west.

1.2 Pronunciation

Language has great power so is oral language. We communicate with others mainly by speaking. English and Chinese are different in both writing and pronunciation. And the differences of pronunciation have great effects on the use of numbers. For the same number 6， in English its pronunciation like sex so people choose days having 6 to hold their weddings; in Chinese its pronunciation is liu， meaning smooth going， so people like to use 6 as their telephone numbers or number plate.

At most of the time we have to speak so pronunciation takes great part in a language， stimulating the use of language to change. Of course， different languages have different changes. It’s not allowed to neglect pronunciation.

1.3 Philosophy and Religion

Philosophy and Religion are two factors of the most important reasons.

Philosophy and religion are thought to be the core source of a culture and sometimes they play a dominant role in a high social field. They represent universal expressions of the human mind. Too many numbers were added philosophical or religious meanings， which are demonstrated in some eastern classic texts， like Dao De Jing《道德經(jīng)》 and The Analects 《論語》. The Bible is another source.

Firstly there are the numbers actually mentioned in the text of the Bible itself such as the 40 days and nights it rained while Noah was in the ark. Many of these numbers clearly show a consistent symbolic meaning and give us clues to the meaning of other numbers.

Secondly there are patterns within the occurrence of words and phrases， for example， how many times the name of Moses is mentioned in the Bible， how often is the Greek word apocalypse used， and so on.

Finally because of the nature of the numbering systems used in the Hebrew and Greek languages which the Bible was originally written in， every letter， every word， every phrase and every passage in the Bible has a number value. 7 spiritual perfection， God’s seal; 8 resurrection， new life; 9 judgment; 10 ordinal perfection; 13 rebellion; 29 nature of man strength; 70 Jerusalem; 81 = 9 x 9， ultimate judgment; 153 the sons of God.

Since China has a long history， her civilization has been one of the oldest in the world. Central to the philosophical thought of ancient China are the Hundred School of Thought， among which the most notable are Confucianism and Taoism. In Taoism one is used to designate Tao(道)， the beginning of the world， the primordial unity at the basis of creation， of which everything is conceived : one produced two， two produced three， and three produced everything. [6]87

（四）Ecological Environment

There are also other reasons forming cultural differences， such as ecological environment. Ecological environment is where people spend their whole lives in so it has great influences on culture.

Han nationality lives to the mainland， mainly living together in the center of the earth. People of Han nationality have the stable point of view characteristic. To the environment their feelings are safe and fusion and in thought they are fastidious of “ beauty gather one” (天人合一”). Therefore their understandings of nature are rich and kind. Their feeling way and cognition way pay great attention to the subjective and direct-viewing experiences. So their language has the character of “ agreement in thought” (意合)， having connotation and expressing things profoundly.

Most westerners live in islands or move about in search of pasture. Opposite with Chinese their ways of lives are movable and unstable. They have the certain independence， thinking that nature is against with human beings. In thought they pay attention to form and analysis. This way of thought makes westerners “agreement in form” (形合) when deal with numbers. In fact that limits displaying the significance of digital association.

2. Aspects Focused When Communicating with Western People

Happy conversations need the endeavor of the bilateral sides so if you want the conversation to go on， don not just pay attention to your own feeling. To think more for others: to others your topic is good or not， your words are proper， whether you cut in others’ talk and so on.

2.1 Avoiding Taboos

In numbers there are many taboos. People should avoid them carefully.

The most obvious one is the number 13. Western sometimes use “a devil’s dozen” instead of directly saying 13. When you buy a dozen of bread， usually the baker will send one more to you. People all know themselves get 13 bread but they don not speak out 13， use other replacing words， such as a devil’s dozen， or still say they have a dozen.

Most race car drivers consider 13 a very unlucky number， as a car carrying that number has never won the Indianapolis 500 or a NASCAR Nextel Cup race， and most all Formula 1 teams are no longer given the number 13 when car numbers are given out to teams on basis of points. Usually the team finishing seventh in the previous year’s championship will take the numbers 14 and 15， instead of 13 and 14. Only once in recent years (1991， Ricky Johnson) has an AMA Motocross rider chosen #13 instead of #14. Some NASCAR tracks refuse to have a pit stall #13. [4]90

Of course， different regions have different taboos. Maybe the taboos in one country are lucky things in another. There are also people choosing 13 as their lucky number.

2.2 Making Use of the Same with Western People as Topic

Sometimes you can use cultural differences as topic. They are often proved to be good topics. It can not only avoid situations that have no speaking to say but also let you know why local people use numbers in that way. And you can introduce your culture as well， and then each one will have knowledge of each other. There will be not communicating barriers.

For example westerners like the number 4 but there is some small exception- they do not choose Thursday when they hold weddings because they believe the luck fades on Thursday. You can ask whether it is true at the same time you know some local custom. Such exceptions should be paid enough attention. At most time the situations are the same. If you also grasp these exceptions， you have already known most part of culture.

3. Conclusion

The paper only reflects different number meanings in different cultures， aspects people should focus when communicating， and shows some phenomena of Western culture and Chinese culture. Understanding these phenomena are helpful for us to strengthen the cultural sensitivity， respecting the cultural custom of the opposite side， thus you can achieve the best communicating effect.

References:

[1] Porter R.E. Communication between Cultures (2 Ed.)[M]. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company， 1995.

[2] The Gideons. Holy Bible [M]. Philadelphia: The National Publishing Co.， 1964.

[3] 漆 紅. 漢語數(shù)字詞語比喻的文化透視[J]. 西南農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)學(xué)報(bào)， 2003， (3).

[4] 邢福義. 文化語言學(xué)[M]. 武漢：湖北人民出版社，1990.

[5] 鄧炎昌. 語言與文化[M]. 北京: 外語教學(xué)與研究出版社， 1989.

[6] 胡國強(qiáng). 試論東西方數(shù)字文化差異的成因[J]. 長春師范學(xué)院學(xué)報(bào)，2005，(2).

作者簡介：

朱離杰（1985.05-），女，漢族，河南中牟人，畢業(yè)于信陽師范學(xué)院外國語學(xué)院英語系，現(xiàn)為河南農(nóng)業(yè)職業(yè)學(xué)院教師，研究方向?yàn)橛⒄Z教育與研究。