Abstract: With the rapid development of globalization, intercultural communication has been increasingly frequent and extensive. It provides people from different cultures with the opportunity to understand each other better. Meanwhile, it brings new problems. Different taboo especially linguistic taboo, as a part and parcel of human language, has become one of the most serious problems. This paper analyzes the similarities and differences between English and Chinese taboos from the perspective of intercultural communication. The similarities are discussed from the aspects of religion, death and disease, swear words and excretion, and differences focus on the aspects of privacy, respecting and number. And it aims to help the readers to understand such similarities and differences so that they can achieve success in intercultural communication.

Key words: Comparison; Taboo; Euphemism; English and Chinese; Intercultural Communication

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction.1

1.1 Definition of Taboo.1

1.2 Characteristics and types of Taboo1

2. Literature Review2

3. Four Aspects Reflecting the Similarities on English and Chinese Taboos3

3.1 Region.3

3.2 Death and Disease.4

3.3 Swear Words.5

3.4 Excretion.6

4. Three Aspects Reflecting the Differences on English and Chinese Taboos.6

4.1 Privacy6

4.2 Respecting7

4.3 Number.8

5. The Significance of Studying English and Chinese Taboos.10

6. Conclusion10

Bibliography

Acknowledgements