Chinese Language Acquisition: Lost in Translation – Is it a Goat, a Sheep or a Ram?

20/02/2020

Dr. Lyu gives her intriguing insight into a recent linguistic discussion with her undergraduate Mandarin learners and her reflection on how culture can influence lexicon…

Sheep to reflect on the title of sheep, goat and ram

Having been a lecturer in Mandarin to learners from a vast array of backgrounds for more than 20 years, I have come to understand that fascination for cartoons and animation stretches across a number of cultures.

Recently, my undergraduate students had been persistent in their requests for me to introduce them to Chinese pop. culture and in particular, Chinese animation. Thus, during my seminar earlier today, I allowed them to watch a short extract of a Chinese children’s television series called Pleasant Goat and Big Wolf (喜羊羊与灰太狼 Xǐyángyáng yǔ huītàiláng)

As we begun to watch the video clip, a student soon asked me:

“What does yang (羊 yáng ) mean?”

I quickly replied that the word is used to signify sheep, but can be used to denote sheep, goats and rams to be exact.

The students were aghast and soon began to show their disapproval for such a broad sweeping categorization:

“Oh no, but they are all sooo different!” came their cries.

I went on to elucidate further:

“Well, they look alike, and although they are not exactly the same, they belong to the same larger category, which is why in Chinese they are all termed yang”

Another student tried to persuade me:

“But goats can climb trees!”

And then another student soon also begun to challenge me:

“So then you could say that tigers and lions are the same, they are both animals anyway!”

I decided to use another analogy to explain this lexicographical conundrum:

“Sorry, but Chinese people believe that they are all yang!And although some people can swim and others cannot, they are all human beings!”

This is just one example of how Chinese and English lexical systems differ when it comes to the naming and classification of animals. Take the Chinese Zodiac system as an example; every year when Chinese people celebrate the Lunar New Year, I find that English language media will struggle to find a precise word to give an exact translation of the Zodiac sign for the coming year. Is it the Year of Rat or the Year of Mouse? Is it the Year of the Chicken or Rooster?

I still vividly remember the year 2015 when I saw this issue debated for quite some time across English news articles. Should the fast approaching Lunar New Year be classed as the Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram?

If you were to ask a native Chinese speaker, they most likely would not be able to give you an answer because in the Chinese language all these words belong to the same category. Well, if you have to choose only one word as the counterpart word, I suppose you could choose any that you like!

Mandarin Lecturer Dr. Lyu
Author: Mandarin Lecturer, Dr. Lyu

Dr. Yulan Lyu graduated with a B.A from Beijing Language and Culture University, furthering her education at Beijing Normal University, receiving a PH.D. degree in 2005. She currently lectures on our undergraduate Mandarin programme as well as our Advanced Chinese short course. Dr. Lyu is on secondment from our partner university in Beijing, Capital Normal University.