An Analysis on the Effect of Cultural Factors Affecting English Vocabulary Learning
教研探索
作者：李維佳
【摘要】主要研究了文化因素對英語詞彙的影響。從不同的方麵來體現英語詞彙和西方文化之間的關係，如地理環境、動物、數字、等方麵。
【Key words】culturevocabularyrelationshipEnglish learning
文化因素英語詞彙學習影響
1Culture， language and vocabulary
The relationship between language and culture is complex， each influencing and shaping the other. Language is a special part of culture， because it can represent all the other components of culture. On the contrary， language exerts its influence on culture， helping to reinforce certain ideas and beliefs. In shorts， language and culture interact and interplay.
The system of meaning represented by the words in a language is culture-specific. Each culture is a unique way of life favored by a particular population， and it shapes the system of meaning represented by language， especially words. As all above said， language is a carrier and container of culture and vocabulary is the basic unit of language. So such a remarkable culture is directly and vividly reflected in English vocabulary. Therefore， to learn English well， one must study western culture surely.
2The relationship between vocabulary and culture in different aspects
2.1 Geographical environment
Because of the geographic environment， the Kingdom possesses a distinct culture. Therefore its language fully has also demonstrated the sea culture characteristic. Britain， the Europe's largest island， is surrounded by sea， ninety four percent of the occupied territories. Because of its special location， there are a lot of sailing-related wordsand expressions， such as： warship， gunboat， vessel， steamboat， navigate， freighter， steer， etc..The most that can embody the English marine culture is the word "ship"， appeared as a noun in the ancient English and as a verb after the ancient English， like： "give up the ship"， "run tight ship"， "ships that pass in the night"， "when one's ship comes home" and so on.