A Rough Research on Numerical Cultural Connotations between English and Chinese

Numerals are closely related to our daily life.We can not measure time,price,proportion,victory or defeat without numerals.However,numerals are not only take effects in calculation and other relevant respects in mathematics,but also function as mysterious cultural signs sometimes.In the long process of the Chinese nation’s development,almost every number has formed its own meaning with its distinctive characteristics.Numerals’invention and applying is an important symbol of human beings’cultural development.So they can not be ignored in the culture of human language.Nevertheless,various connotative meanings are bestowed on various numerals by different nations mainly owing to the discrepancies in historical backgrounds,social customs,religions culture,ideology between English and Chinese.This paper mainly explores the relationship between people’s conventional concept to numerals and nations’culture,studies the background knowledge of their cultural sources in the two languages,so as to know cultural differences and eliminate cultural conflict and improve people’s inter-cultural communication.