从习语角度看中英文化差异--

1、【标题】从习语角度看中英文化差异T he Cultural Differences between China and Western Countries   from the Perspective of Idioms 【作者】侯 杏 娟 【关键词】习语；文化；文化差异 【指导老师】程琼 张婕 【专业】英语 【正文】. IntroductionIidioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from the literal meanings of individual constitutents. S

2、emantic unity and structural stability are two charactrastics of idioms. The term idiom is used throughout this paper in its broad sense , including metaphorical phrases, slang, colloquialism, proverb, allusions and so on. Each language, English or Chinese, has a long history with large quantit

3、ies of idioms, which are characterized by such features as conciseness and vividness. The idiom is the essence of a language. Therefore, the relationship between idiom and culture is just like the relationship between language and culture. First of all, language is a part of culture, but not the ful

4、l content of culture, since material culture is manifested by mans productions. Besides, every aspect of culture, either material or spiritual, influences language directly. Furthermore, language mirrors culture. The most important function of language is to reflect productions made by humankind, pe

5、oples outlook on life and the development of a community. Last but not least, language is influenced and shaped by culture. The development of culture promotes the creation of new words and expressions in a language. Owing to this kind of close relationship, language is described as the carrier of c

6、ulture and the mirror of cultural characteristics. It is believed that idioms are the most culturally loaded element in any languages  vocabulary. Undoubtedly they are often hard to understand and hard to be used correctly. English and Chinese idioms, closely related to their own culture, conve

7、y different cultural features and messages of their own nation, reflecting their own culture.1 There exists vast differences between English and Chinese culture and these differences occur in English and Chinese idioms, too. And it is the cultural elements that poses a difficulty in understanding id

8、ioms.Consequently, the paper aims to analyze the origins of idioms, which may be helpful for language learners on mastering idioms. And the paper is a try to illustrate those idioms from cognition of the world and human activities. The Similarites between Chinese and English IdiomsAs human civilizat

9、ion has developed in a similar way, both English and Chinese idioms are similar in basic moral concepts and value viewpoint ,which have formed a common base for both cultures.A. Persuading people to be kindBoth English and Chinese idioms have expressed good will and forgiveness of human nature.

10、For example，“己所不欲，勿施于人equals to “Do as you would be done; “好有好报equals to “One good turn deserves another; “慈悲心肠 equals to “Milk of human kindness; “既往不咎 equals to “Let bygones be bygones. The surprising similarity of the above idioms in both culture and language st

11、yle has showed the universal kindness and generosity of human beings. Equivalents are required when they are introduced into the target language to preserve cultural accuracy, classical language style and vivid description.B. Encouraging people to be active and venturousBoth English and Chinese are

12、imaginative, hard-working, brave and indomitable. Both march in the front echelon of all nations through their own effort. Thus, there are many idioms in both languages to praise the pioneering spirit. For example，“天行健，君子以自强不息 equals to “God helps those who help themselves; “有志者，事竟成 equals

13、 to “Where there is a will, there is a way;“不入虎穴，焉得虎子 equals to “Nothing venture, nothing have.C. Persuading people to be dogged once determinedFor example，“不成功，便成仁equals to“Do or die; “一不做，二不休 equals to “Over shoes over boots; “有始有终equals to “From beginning to end.The

14、above similarities are essential to the intercultural communication. Different cultures may conflict in many aspects, but must agree on basic morals and value points. Only by agreeing on basic morals and value points,can cultural conflicts be limited in a tolerable level and intercultural communicat

15、ion . The Manifestations of Cultural Differences through IdiomsThough there are some similar idioms expressing the same meaning or arising from the same aspect of culture, much more differences are obviously to appear in English and Chinese idioms because of their distinctive cultural backgroun

16、ds. The cultural difference has posed a challenge for intercultural communicators.A. Idioms about Folk Culture1. Idioms about Dietary CustomsFood is one of the aspects of cultural traditions that are reflected in idioms.In China, most of the areas especially the south grow rice, so many idioms have

17、to do with rice: “巧妇难为无米之炊 (Even the cleverest housewife cant cook a meal without rice)，“茶余饭后 (over a cup of tea or after dinnerat ones leisure), “不当家不知柴米贵 (He who takes charge knows the responsibility)，“看菜吃饭，量体裁衣(to adapt oneself to circumstances). China has a long history

18、of cooking and the Chinese are known as the most critical and at the same time the most causal eaters, for they attach greater importance to food than any other people, as is reflected in the sayings like: “家常便饭(daily food preparation)，“粗茶淡饭 (coarse tea and brown rice)，“大鱼大肉(abundant fish

19、and meatrich food),  “添油加醋(to exaggerate embellishment to), “画饼充饥(to draw cakes to allay hunger)，“鸡毛蒜皮 (an inch breaks no square), “生米煮成熟饭 (Whats done cannot be undone). Such expressions are quite abundant in the Chinese language. In our daily life, the Chinese usually

20、greet each other with “Have you eaten your meal?, which has been a hot topic for cultural linguists. The idiom“吃人的嘴软(Once you have accepted somebodys invitation to a meal, you will find it difficult to say anything against him) reflects the philosophy of the Chinese. That is why most of the pro

21、blems can be solved at the dinner table, which surprises the western businessmen.In most European countries, wheat used for baking bread, barley for brewing wine and oat for feeding animals are the major supply of food. Bread, butter, jam, cheese, etc. are usual kind of food in daily meals. Bread is

22、 one of the supplies for living. So “to earn one a bread means“to make a living. “Bread and butter(日常所需), as major food of the Westerners is also an idiom meaning “the usual needs of life. “To know which side ones bread is buttered(知道自身利益所在) is an interesting idiom implying 

23、“to know where ones interest lies. To butter both sides of ones bread may satisfy a persons appetite better, so “to butter both sides of ones bread(过舒适的生活) is used to mean “to obtain an comfortable living. It is certainly a bad luck if someone has to eat hard cheese, so “hard cheese(倒

24、霉) got its meaning “bad luck. 2. Idioms about Numeral CultureIn western world, people are expecially fond of odd numbers, resulting from they belief that the world is composed of three parts: sea, land and sky, while the nature are composed of animals, plants and minerals. Even in human, i

25、t is the trinity of body, soul and spirit. In addition to their beloved number “3, number “1 and “7 also have something to commend themselves. Westerns tend to add “1 to big numbers, for example, “a thousand and one job, “one thousand and one thanks, 1 here indicates mo

26、re, deeper, and stronger in degree. Number “7 is westerners another favourite number, for the simple reason that it takes God 7 days to creat their world. Idioms like “seven virtues, “A man may lose more in an hour than he can get in seven. However, considering “yin and “yan

27、g that make up everything in chinese culture, one area of idioms that cannot be mentioned more is the number. Because of the “yin and “yang theory, the even numbers are the chinese peoples favourite. They are firmly convinced that even numbers bear auspicious meaning and will bring them fo

28、utune and falware. Chinese people have common wish that good fortune oneday will come in pairs as in “好事成双.  Youngsters often wish that everything will be ok by saying “六六大顺; Businessmen commuting from place to place have “四通八达 on their lips to wish for a smooth journey. Also, wh

29、en the elders are proud of “四世同堂, they take pride that their offsprings are all over the world.B. Idioms about Ecological Environment1. Idioms about ClimateWhile Britain is located in western hemisphere, with North Temperate Zone and marine climate, so  “west wind is the symbol of spr

30、ing. The famous English poet Shirley s “Ode to West Wind is a praising song of spring.  Summer in Britain is a warm and comfortable season, which is usually linked with “lovely,  “gentle and  “nice. Shakespeare compares lover to a summer in one of his poems, &

31、#160;“shall I compare thee to a summers day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.2 The west wind blows from the Atlantic Ocean as warm and gentle as Chinese east wind and brings voluminous rain to this area. So that Britain abounds in rain can be proved in some idioms concerning rain: “to m

32、ake hay while the sun shines (趁热打铁), “ rainy day穷困时期, “ to rain or shine无论如何, “to rain cats and dogs倾盆大雨, “ as right as rain非常正确, etc. Britain used to be known as a country of fog partly due to the dampness and warmness of the weather condition and partly to the air pollutio

33、n as side product of the industrial revolution. Therefore, in English there are some idiomatic expressions concerning fog, such as “in a fog云里雾里，and “to have not the foggiest idea. In Chinese culture, “east windis “the wind of spring; spring is warm and colorful, and it is regard

34、ed as the beginning of all lives. There are many idioms in China, which refer to spring：春暖花开(in warm spring, all the blossoms are in full bloom.), 春意盎然(spring is very much in the air), 一年之计在于春(the whole years work consists in a good start in spring)，万紫千红总是春(it is spring when the gayest col

35、ours abound). Spring has the image of good things, so Chinese “春 is used in some idioms to express this: 满面春风(ones face radiates happiness),春风化雨(the life-giving spring breeze and rain-salutary influence of education). Summer is always connected with extremely hot or the intense heat, so赤日炎

36、炎似火烧(the blazing sun scorches like fire)、骄阳似火(the burning sun is like a fire) are terms often used to describe summer.So different climate may produce different idioms and different culture.2. Idioms about AnimalsDog is a distinctive example in the two cultures. In English culture, a dog is a pet, w

37、hich can even be considered a family member. For example, “there are three faithful friends: an old wife, an old dog and ready money. (人有三个忠实的朋友：老妻、老狗和现金。). 3 To them a dog is lovely and a “running dog is doubly lovely. However,“狗 is very pejorative in meaning in Chinese. This can be

38、readily illustrated by the Chinese words and idiomatic expressions in which it is an element: “走狗, “丧家狗, “狗头军师, “狗急跳墙, “狗腿子. Many others can be added to this list, but they are enough to exemplify the negative attitudes of the Chinese people towards these creatures. In Engli

39、sh culture, owl is symbolized of wisdom. “As wise as an owl indicates that the native English people associate wisdom with this bird. In childrens books and cartoons, the owl implies calmness and solemn ample, “He peers owlishly at us through his glasses(他透过他的眼镜严肃而机智地打量着我们); A tenant offer

40、ing five bales of cotton was told, after some owl-eyed figuring, that this cotton exactly balanced his debt. (一个佃农交了5包棉花，老板精明地一盘算，告诉他说这些棉花刚好抵上他所欠的债务。). However, there is a superstitious belief that owl is an unlucky bird and is the symbol of the disaster and death among the Chinese peoples mind

41、s, as the Chinese saying goes, “猫头鹰进宅，好事不来an owl visiting a home pretends misfortune in that house. In Chinese, especially in ancient time, people thought dragon is a mythical animal with great power. To Chinese, a dragon is something sacred and has been referred to the ancestor of the Chinese

42、nationthats why the Chinese all call themselves descendents of the dragon and Chinese feudal emperors were often referred to sons of dragons, wearing clothes with designs of dragons. Chinese idioms that involve the word “龙with good connotations are as follows: “龙腾虎跃, “龙生龙，风生风, “龙

43、风呈祥, “生龙活虎.Many Chinese would say “望子成龙,but its literal correspondence of form: “To expect ones son to become a dragon would sound puzzled and ridiculous to the native English people. In western peoples minds, the dragon is a large imaginary animal that has wings and a long tail and c

44、an breathe out fire. To the westerners, the dragon is often a symbol of evil, a fierce monster that destroys and therefore must be destroyed. It originates from the Bible story, in which the Satan, who fought against the God, was called the great dragon. Dragon in the western world is a cruel and vi

45、cious creature. Several stories of saints or heroes deal with struggles against the monsters, which in most cases are slain in the end. “There is an example from the Collins Conbuild English Language Dictionary, “ If you call a woman a dragon, you mean that she is fierce and unpleasant.如果把

46、一个女人叫做dragon，是说她很凶，很令人讨厌。4 C. Idioms about ColorsThere are many cultral differences reflected by colors. In this paper, red, white and yellow will be taken as examples.Though English and Chinese have some sameness in the expressing of red, there are also a lot of dissimilarities between the lan

47、guages of Chinese and English in their connotations of red.     Red sometimes is the omen of hoodoo in western countries. In the concept of English nations, red has a closed relationship with blood, sacrifice and martyrdom. And the word red will remind them of something terrible.

48、 Such as “red hands, “red battle, which can not be literately interpreted as “红手(hongshou) and “红色战争(hongsezhanzheng) in China. But they mean hands that are full of blood, and a furious battle. That people feel horrific of red has its root in the masterpiece the Bible. As it is k

49、nown that the Bible is the authority of Christianism. It has enormous effects on the whole western cultures. And according to the Bible, when Jesus had the last dinner with his twelve apostles before his death, he asked them to drink his blood, which bled when he made a convention with the God to sa

50、ve the world. And at last he was willing to be hanged to the cross, and bled to death. He saved the world at the cost of his life.5In China, red always indicates some satisfied things or events, especially in the wedding. However, in western countries, people always avoid wearing red clothes when th

51、ey take part in a wedding. As red in English-speaking countries has the connotation of devil, it is not a suitable color for a wedding, which is completely different from that in China. So it is more suitable and sensible not to dress in red when attending a wedding party in western countries, and i

52、t is beyond Chinese peoples understanding.And in the culture of bullfight, battle always gets mad at the sight of red things. So there is no surprise that red usually reminds people of something horrible in the western countries. And the red flag or the red rag the matador use is always referred as

53、something which makes people angry. Such as “like a red rag to a bull, which means the reason of making people angry. And, gradually，red becomes the sign of “the Random House Dictionary in western countries.6 Yet, in China “red rag only means a rag in red color“红布(hongbu).In the west,

54、 white gets preference of many people. Most of the westerners think that it is the symbol of purity, elegance, brightness and bluffness. In England, white symbolizes innocence, purity and sincerity in the culture of heraldry, and white also means loyalty in the art. So in the celebrations of God and

55、 Halloween, people are likely to be in the white in the west. White in the funeral shows hope, and this is quite different from the connotation it has in China. White is greatly used in architecture, and white buildings give people a pleasant feeling. There is the White Hall in London in the UK and

56、the White House in Washington in the USA. But, on the contrast,in China, white is always a sign of misfortune. It is the color that is disliked by many people, which is usually connected with sadness. So there is no surprise that in China, white is traditional the color of the livery of grave, and i

57、t is also the color of the wreaths. In China, the “白(bai) in “红白喜事(hongbaixishi) means funeral.For the westerners, yellow is an unsatisfied color, which always associates with something unpleasant. It is connected with cowardice, beggary and the likes. Such as “a yellow dog means some

58、one who is despicable not a dog. “A yellow person refers to a person who has lost all his courage for something else. “Turn yellow has the same meaning as becoming cowfish. “Yellow streak refers to a coward characters. And “yellow back is a cheap novel in France. Yellow sometimes

59、 indicates those newspapers that purposely report some sensational news or exaggerate the truth of the news.However, in China,yellow is the imperial color of nature, and it is the color of the earth. It is known that in the ancient China, soil played a great important part in the life of Chinese peo

60、ple. Hence, yellow has been considered as a color which is exclusive to the monarch. And yellow was an exalted color in the old times in China. It is the symbol of supreme power and dignity. There are many terms connected with it, such as “黄袍(huangpao), “黄榜(huangbang) and so on. And to dre

61、ss in yellow was the right of the emperor, other people were forbidden to wear yellow clothes, or they would be regarded as the reactive. And “黄袍加身(huang pao jia shen) has the connotation of usurping the crown successfully. And Chinese people called themselves as the offspring of “炎黄(Yan Huang). And “黄帝(Huang Di)the emperor, was the ancestor of Chinese people in the legend. And the tho