Cultural Differences Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms.docx

Cultural Differences Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms.docx

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CulturalDifferencesReflectedinEnglishandChineseIdioms

CulturalDifferencesReflectedinEnglishandChineseIdioms

abstract：

idiomscanreflectanationjustlikeamirror.asaspecialformoflanguage,idiomscarryalargeamountofculturalinformationsuchashistory,geography,religion,custom,nationality,psychology,etc.,andthereforeidiomsarecloselyrelatedtoculture.thuspeoplecanknowmuchaboutculturebystudyingidiomsandinturngetbetterunderstandingofidiomsbylearningtheculturalbackgroundbehindidioms.inordertocommunicatewitheachotherfluently,thestudyoftherelationshipbetweentheidiomandcultureissignificantandurgent.thispaperanalyzesthemaincausesofculturaldifferencesinenglishandchineseidiomsandillustratesthemanifestationsofculturaldifferences.theaimofthisthesisistoenhancelanguagelearners’interculturalawarenessofcomprehendingandutilizingidiomsfromdifferentculturespreciselyandaccurately.

keywords:

idioms;origin;cultural;differences

i.introduction

idiomscanbeconsideredasitemsofspecialcollocation.famouslinguistcarterdescribesidiomsas“restrictedcollocationwhichcannotnormallybeunderstoodfromtheliteralmeaningofthewordswhichmakethemup”.furthermore,longmandictionaryofcontemporaryenglishdefinesidiomsas“afixedgroupofwordswithspecialmeaningwhichisdifferentfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords”.despitetheirdifferences,thereisonethingincommon:

agreatnumberofidiomshaveafigurativesensethatcannotbederivedfromtheunderstandingofcomponentparts.unlikeliterallanguage,itisimpossibletoexplaintheidiomfromtheliteralmeaningoftheseparatewords.itisanestablishedformthathasbeenacceptedbytraditionalusage.assuch,thecomponentwords,wordorderandmeaningofeachidiomshouldbelearnedasawhole.

ii.thehistoryandtheoriginsofidioms

i.fromcustoms

onenation’scustomisformedthroughalonghistoryandfirmlyrootedinpeople’smind.itplaysanimportantsourceofidioms.indifferentcountriescustomsdrasticallydifferinvariousaspects,soalotofidiomsturnoutwithdifferentfeatures.

takefoodhabitsforexample,cakehasbeenacommonfoodinenglish,soitisunderstandablethattheyuse“apieceofcake”denotinganeasy-donetask.however,inchina,cakecannotbeseenuntilthelastonehundredyears,soitisimpossibleforthesameidiomtoappearinchinese.ontheotherhand,dishesareverycommoninchina,thereforeasimilaridiom“小菜一碟”turnedoutinchinesetoexpressthesamemeaning.

anotherexampleisrelatedtothehabitualwayofworkinginthefield.chinesepeoplewerehabituatedtousethebulltoploughthefieldbeforemodernizedagriculturewasdeveloped,whileenglishpeopleuseahorsetoplough.consequentlychinesesay“力大如牛”todescribesomeonewithgreatstrengthwhileenglishuse“asstrongasahorse”todescribeit.

ii.fromhistoricaffairs

therearelotsofidiomscomingfromhistoricaffairs.thestructureofthemisverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundmeaning,sopeoplecannottranslateandunderstandtheidiomsfromtheliteralmeaning.itisnecessaryforpeopletolearnandunderstandtheenglishallusionaswellasthechineseone.herearesomeexamplesasfollows:

in49b.c.theromanemperorcaesarsenttheorderofburningoutallhisboatsafterhisarmypassedlupigenriver,showingthedeterminationtotakeanall-outwar.thatistheoriginoftheenglishidiom‘burnsone’sboat’.incidentally,in208b.c.generalxiangyu（项羽）inchinasentthesimilarordertosmashalltheboatsafterthearmypassedriverzhanginattempttoshowhisdeterminationofwinningthewar,whichproducethechineseidiom“破釜沉舟”.thetwoidiomsarealmostthesameinformandmeaning.anotherexampleis“meetone’swaterloo”.waterlooisaplacewherenapoleonwasultimatelybeatenbywellingtonandblucherin1815.theidiommeans:

befinallyandcrushinglydefeatedinacontest,especiallyafteraperiodofsuccess.

iii.fromreligion

religionexistsineverycountryandaffectsmuchinpeople’sbeliefandlives.numerousidiomsweregeneratedfromthefountainofreligion.thereforesomedifferencesinidiomsbetweenchineseandenglishcanbetracedbacktotheoriginofreligion.

buddhismhasbeentransmittedtochinaformorethanonethousandyears.peoplebelievethatthereisa“buddha”whocandominatetheworldanddecideeverybody’sdestiny.forexample,theidiom“道高一尺,魔高一丈”isoriginallythewarninginbuddhismtowarnbuddhistdisciples,andremindthemofthehardprospecttoovercomealldifficulties.nowitisusedtotellthereisalwaysatleastonepowerstrongerthantheother.

inwesterncountries，especiallyinbritain，peoplebelieveinchristianity.theythinkthatgodisomnipotentandsacredjustlikethebuddhisminchina.forexample,theidiom“judas’skiss”meansadeceitfulactofcourtesy.（judasbetrayedhismasterwithakiss.）

ⅲ.culturaldifferencesbetweenenglishandchineseidioms

bothchinaandbritainhavealonghistory,whichfertilizedtheirwonderfulcultures.thecommonexperienceandmutualinteractioninvariousaspectsthroughlong-timecommunicationbetweenthetwocountriesleadalotofcommonpointsinculture.forexample,thechineseidiom“以眼还眼,以牙还牙”wasborrowedfromtheenglishidiom,whiletheenglishidioms“toloseone’sface”and“tosaveone’sface”areborrowedfromthechineseones.

althoughchinesecultureandenglishculturehavemuchincommonasshowedabove,theyhavemoreindiscrepancyowingtotheirdifferentgeographicalenvironment,history,religion,etc.thedifferenceisacommonphenomenonwhichappearsinvariedforms,oneofwhichisidiom.thefollowingpartwouldanalyzethreeculturaldifferencesbetweenenglishandchineseidioms.

i.idiomsbasedongeographicalfeaturesappeardifferent

geographicalconditionplaysanimportantroleinshapingonecountry’scultureandhumanbeingshavenochoicesandcapacitiestochangethegeography.thusidiomsbasedongeographicalfeaturesappeardifferent.

britainisanislandcountry，whichonceledtheworldwithitsnavigation．solotsofenglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithnavigationandfishing．whilethechineseliveonasiancontinent,andtheirlivescannotgoonwithoutland．suchidiomsas“spendmoneylikewater”inenglishmeanssplashingmoneyonsomething,whereasinchineseitistranslatedas“挥金如土”.

so,differentlivingsurroundingsmayproducedifferentidioms.ifpeoplewanttomasterthiskindofidioms,theymusthaveaquatintedwiththebackgroundinformationofothercountriestogetabetterunderstandingincross-culturalcommunication.

ⅱ.astoreligiousviewpoint,chinesecultureevolvesfromconfucianandtaoistschoolwhilethewesternculturebelievesinchristianity

themajoritiesoftheenglishpeoplebelieveinchristianityandregardthebibleasoneofthemostimportantclassicalworksintheirlife.manyidiomsareoriginatedfromit,suchastheidiom“tomakeone’shairstandonend”,itusetodescribethrillinghorrorcausedbysomething.anotherexample“aneyeforaneye,atoothforatooth”indicatesrevengeinthesameway.besides,theidiom“aspoorasachurchmouse”alsoissomewhatinfluencedbyreligion.inchristianchurch,thereisnodevotedfood,whichisdifferentinchinesetemples.so,thisidiomisusedtoindicatepeoplewhoseconditionislikethemiceinthechurch,canbesaidaspoor.

beingdifferentfrombritain,chinesecultureevolvedfromconfucianschoolandtaoistschool.althoughbuddhistcultureisoriginatedfromothercountry,ithasbeenabsorbedinchineseculture.inlanguage,alargenumberofchineseidiomscanbetracedbacktobuddhistschool.forexample,“一尘不染”isabuddhistterm.buddhistschoolcallssex,sound,smell,flavor,touchandruleas“六尘”andbuddhistdisciplesshouldnotbeaffectedbytheabovesix.nowthisidiomevolvedtodescribeapersonwhoispureandhonestorathingwhichiscleanandinorder.

ⅲ.idiomsinvolvingvaluedifferfromtheeasternandwesterncountries

seeingfrompeople’sworkingandlivingexperienceofonecountry,peoplecanfindthatdifferentvalueconceptionhasbeenformed.becauseofdifferentexperiencebetweencountries,valuesalsoturnouttobetotallydifferent.idiomsrelatedtovaluealsodifferfromeachothergreatly.

forinstance,modestyisvaluedinchineseculture.therearemanychineseidiomsshowingthevirtuetobemodest,suchas“满招损,谦受益”,“虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后”,etc.however,peopleinbritainusuallyemphasizeindividualbehaviors,achievementandvalue.theirvalueconceptioninthisaspectappearsoppositetochinese.theyhaveidiomsshowingtheuselessnesstobemodestsuchas“modestdogsmissmuchmeat”,“wherethereisfearthereismodesty”,etc.

ⅳ.conclusion

idiomsarefrequentlyusedbypeople.foronething,idiomsarefullofwitandhumor;theymakespeechmoreexpressiveandinteresting.forother,theysoundpleasantwiththeuseofalliteration,repetitionandrhythm.

asidiomstakeanimportantpositionintheuseoflanguage,anadequateuseofidiomsisnotonlyhelpfulbutessentialincross-culturalcommunication.withspecialpointofviewandthroughthesharpcontrastbetweenenglishandchineseidioms，thispapertriesitsbesttofocusontheroletoexploreculturaldifferencesbetweenenglishandchineseidiomssoastofindoutacorrectnewwaytounderstandthewesternculture.

today,thetypeoffigurativelanguageishighlyusedinwesterncountries.itisnecessaryforustohavesuchknowledgeofhowtocomprehend.theabilitytounderstandidiomsisimportanttosuccessfulcommunication.failuretograspthemeaningsofidiomscana