Abstract

The U.S. and China, both are impressive economic power in the world, but there is a huge difference between their cultures. As we all know, American “individualism” is one of the most important part of its social value conception; However, Chinese “collectivism”, has also become an integral part of Chinese life. American individualism is developed from European humanism, but also formed its own characteristics in the Westward Movement. It emphasizes the liberation of humanity, self-realization, and believes that the individual's interests are above all else. As to the car trademarks, there is a significant feature --- to name a car after a particular individual's name. In contrast, China's collectivism emphasizes individual’s obedience to the collective. In the eyes of Chinese people, the interests of the state are much higher than the personal interests, and to sacrifice own strength, even life for the collective is honorable. As to the car trademarks, they are usually named after things which can represent the whole country. This paper does a thorough study of American individualism and Chinese collectivism according to the causes, characteristics, development, and there will also be an inter-cultural comparison of car trademarks, which will help people to get a better understanding of Sino-U.S cultural differences in a new angle.

KEY WORDS:individualism, collectivism, car trademark, intercultural communication

摘  要

美国和中国，两个都是世界上令人瞩目的经济强国，但就其文化而言，却有着极大的差异。我们都知道，美国的“个人主义”，是美国社会价值观念的重要组成部分之一；而中国的集体主义也已经成为中国人生活中的一个不可分割的部分。美国的个人主义是从欧洲的人本主义变化发展而来，又在西进运动中形成了自己的特色。它强调人性的解放，强调自我价值的实现，认为个人的利益高于一切。表现在汽车商标上，很显著的一个特点就是很多美国的汽车都以某一个个人的姓来命名。相反的，中国的集体主义强调个人对于集体的服从。在中国人眼里，国家、集体的利益远高于个人的利益，能为国家、集体奉献自己的力量甚至生命都是至高无上的荣耀。表现在汽车商标上，则体现为命名以能代表国家的事物为主。本文就美国个人主义和中国集体主义的成因、特点及这两种文化在汽车商标中的体现做了较为周详的探究。从一个较为新颖的角度让人们再一次认识了中美文化的差异及其交融。

关键词:个人主义，集体主义，汽车商标，跨文化交流

1. Introduction
With the development of globalization, the exchanges between China and the United States become more and more frequent. In the present age, car has played an increasingly key role in the social life, as well as the business communication. It is a well-known fact that United States of America is “a country on wheels”. Most representatively, there are three main motor companies: Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors, which have designed a lot of widely famous car brands, such as Dodge (belongs to Chrysler), Lincoln (belongs to Ford), and Buick (belongs to General Motors). Meanwhile, automobile industry in the china is also developing in a vigorous way and till now, there have emerged some self-owned car brands with an influence. For example, there are “Red flag” cars, made by FAW Car Co. Ltd; CHERY, Great Wall and GEELY, who has just purchased VOLVO.