Abstract: Taboo, as a special linguistic phenomenon, universally exists in every culture all over the world. The great difference between Chinese and western culture directly results in the great differences between Chinese and English taboo. Taboo is not only a complex cultural phenomenon of human society, but also established by usage. In the long-term practice, the human beings built and developed constantly with their own languages and culture, which established different language patterns and cultural circles. Taboos in both Chinese and English reflect every corner of the different social life, so understanding the differences between Chinese and English taboos can be of great help for cross-cultural communication. Furthermore, it can avoid embarrassment or joke when communicating with each other.
Key words: Comparison, English, Chinese, Taboo, communication
摘要：禁忌词，作为一种特殊的语言现象，普遍存在于世界每各种文化之中。中西方文化之间的巨大差异直接导致了中英禁忌词的差异。禁忌词是人类社会一个复杂的文化现象，但却也是约定俗成的。在长期的历史实践中，人们创造并不断发展其自身的文化，创立了许多不同的语言模式和文化。中英禁忌词反映了不同社会生活的每个角落，因此，了解中英词汇中的禁忌词对跨文化交流有巨大的促进作用。此外，它也可避免在与其他人交流时的尴尬。
关键词：对比、英语、中文、禁忌词、交流
Contents
1.1 Research background and significance. 1
2.1 Similarities between Chinese and English taboos. 4
2.2 Differences between Chinese and English taboos. 6
2.2.2 Privacy- related taboos. 7
2.2.3 Number-related taboos. 7
2.2.5 Religion-related taboos. 8
3.1 The impact of national culture on taboo words. 9
3.2 The impact of participants’ personal circumstances. 10
