英汉“前、后”时空概念表达对比研究

A Comparison of Time and Space Concepts Expressions of "front" and "back" in English and Chinese

"前、后"是语言中最基本的两个方位词,既可以指涉空间,又可以指代时间,汉语中"前、后"两个字本身有多种空间和时间意义,而英语通过多个词汇来表达相对应的含义。"前、后"在英语和汉语中表达方式的异同,反映了中西方在时空思维上的深层差异。

＂Front＂ and ＂back＂ are two basic words indicating time and directions. Two Chinese characters ＂前＂ and ＂后＂ have many time and space references,while several English words are employed to express similar meanings. The com-parison of the similarity and differences of the relevant expressions in Chinese and English indicates different thinking modes of Chinese and westerners, thus fostering the cross-cultural communication between the east and the we.st.