cultural-difference-on-translation-of-english-and-chinese-idioms(英语专业论文)本科学位论文

PAGEPAGE26中国某某某某学校学生毕业设计(论文)题目：CulturalDifferenceonTranslationofEnglishandChineseIdioms姓名：0000000班级、学号：000000000000系(部)：经济管理系专业：商务英语指导教师：000000000开题时间：2008完成时间：20092008年10月2目录毕业设计任务书…………………1毕业设计成绩评定表……………2答辩申请书……………………3-5正文……………6-29答辩委员会表决意见……………30答辩过程记录表…………………31课题CulturalDifferenceonTranslationofEnglishandChineseIdioms课题(论文)提纲0.引言1.关于中文和英文习语的翻译2.翻译英文习语的方法2.1直译法2.2直译加注法2.3意译法2.4增删法3.习语翻译共有的错误3.1没有注意文化差异3.2错误观点3.3逐字翻译4.影响英文习语和中文习语的文化差异4.1不同的生活环境4.2不同的传统和习惯4.3不同的宗教和信仰4.4不同的历史影射4.5社会科学发展4.6文化与娱乐5.结论二、内容摘要习语是语言文化的精华，缺少了习语，语言将会变得索然无味。习语在语言中的应用比比皆是。在写作或演说中适当地使用习语将会使篇章增色，加强语言的力量使语言更形象。奈达曾说过，习语使比任何非习语更具冲击力的表达，它带有一种语言和文化的识别特征。习语在语言运用中占有重要地位，恰到好处的翻译习语将有助于跨文化交流。中英不同的文化使得英汉习语在表达上有很大差异，也使得翻译中容易产生误译，因此加强对英汉习语文化内涵差异的了解有着重要意义。本文试从六个方面就英汉习语所反应的文化做简单比较，探索4种翻译方法：直译法、直译加注法.意译法.增删法，使英语习语原汁原味呈现在中国读者面前。参考文献[1]OxfordAdvancedLearner’sDictionaryofCurrentEnglishwithChineseTranslation.Beijing:CommercialPress.1987.[2]OxfordIdiomsDictionaryforLearnersofEnglish[J].ForeignLuanguageTeachingandResearchPress.2003.[3]ChitraFernando.习语与习语特征（英文版）[J].上海：上海外语教育出版社.2000.[4]郭著章.李庆生.英汉互译实用教程[M].武汉：武汉大学出版社1996.[5]何慧刚.英汉习语翻译与文化交流[J].英语辅导。1996.[6]胡文仲.跨文化交际面面观[M].北京：外语教学与研究出版社.1998:234,280[7]平洪.洪国扬.英语习语与英美文化[M].北京外语教学与研究出版社.2000.[8]冉秀霞.英汉习语的文化差异[J].重庆职业技术学院院报.2004年7月第13卷第三期.[9]孙娟华.从英汉习语之来源比较两种文化的区别[M].无锡职业技术学院院报.2003年3月.第2卷第1期.[10]谢金良.西方文学典故词典[M].北京：中国展望出版社.1986年.[11]孙凯.关于英语习语的翻译[F].咸宁师专学报.2002年2月.第22卷第1期.[12]叶先风.英汉习语的文化差异及翻译[S].湖北汽车工业学院学报.2005年9月.第19卷第3期.[13]郑立信，顾嘉祖.英语与英国文化[M].长沙：湖南教育出版社.1998[14]张以文.辛全宝.英语习语分类词典[A].上海：上海外语教育出版社.1999.CulturalDifferenceonTranslationofEnglishandChineseIdioms0000Abstract:Idioms,havinguniversalappeal,arewidely

recognizedastheessenceorthecrystallizationoflanguage.Withoutidiomslanguagewouldbecomedullanddry,whereasanappropriateuseoftheminspeechandwritingwilladdmuchtovarietystrengthandvividnessofthelanguage.Idiomsusuallycarrymoreimpact

thannone-idiomaticexpressionsbecauseoftheircloseidentificationwithaparticularlanguageandculture.Idiomsarewidelyusedinalmostallkindsofspeechesandwritings.Idiomsholdanimportantpositioninlanguageuse,anadequatetranslationofidiomsisnotonlyhelpfulbutalsoessentialininterculturalcommunication.ThispaperattemptstomakeabriefcomparativestudyoftheculturesembodiedinChineseandEnglishidiomsfromsixaspectsandexplorefourpracticaltranslatingwaysandskillsfromthepointofviewofkeepingtheflavoroftheEnglishwaysidiomaswallascateringforallChinesereaders.KeyWords:idioms;culturaldifference;translation.0.IntroductionLanguageisinseparablefromculture.Foronething.Languageisapartofcultureandplaysanimportantroleinit.Foranother,asamirrorofculture,Languageisstronglyinfluencedandshapedbyculture;meanwhile,itreflectsculture.Idioms,aparticularpartofalanguageandcultureofasociety,whichincludingmetaphoricalphrases,slang,colloquialismproverballusion,mottoandsoon,arecharacterizedbytheirconciseexpressionsrichandvivid,involvinggeography,history,religiousbeliefandlivingconvention.Theyareusuallyhighlyspecializedinmeaningandcloselytiedtodistinctiveculturalfeaturesandculturalattitudes.Asfarastheirunderlyingculturalinformationisconcerned,someidiomsarecompletelyorpartialequivalentbothinChineseandinEnglishwhilesomeothershavenothingincommonatall.EnglishandChineseidiomscloselyrelatedtotheirownculture,conveydifferentculturalfeaturesandmessagesoftheirownnation,reflecting,theirownculture.ThereexistvastdifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesecultureandthisdifferentoccursinEnglishandChineseIdioms,too.AfewideasonEnglishandChineseidiomstranslationTheword“idiom”possessesseveralmeanings.Itiscommonlyacceptedasatypeofmultiwordexpression(redherring,makeup,smellarat,thecoastisclear,etc.)Thoughafewscholars(Hockett1958;KatzandPostal1963)acceptevensinglewordsasidioms.Idiomsareconventionalizedexpressions,conventionalizationbeingtheendofinitiallyadhoc,andinthissensenovel,expressions.Themeaningofanidiomsisnotthesunofitsconstituents,Inotherword,anidiomisoftennon-literal.Makkai’sIdiomstructureinEnglish,anextendedversionofhisdoctoralthesis(1965),reservesthetermidiomforunitsareglossedas“anypolylexoniclexememadeupofmorethanoneminimalfreeformorword(asdefinedbymorphtacticcriteria)”(Makkai1972:122).ButStrasslergiveshisownworkingdefinitionofanidiom:Anidiomisaconcatenationofmorethanonelexemewhosemeaningisnotderivedfromthemeaningofitsconstituentsandwhichdoesnotconsistofaverbplusanadverbialparticleorpreposition.Theconcatenationassuchthenconstitutesalexemeinitsownrightandshouldbeenteredassuchinthelexicon.(ibid:79)Formtheabovedefinitionswecanextracttwobasiccriteriaonwhichtodecideonwhichtodecidewhetherornotanexpressionisanidiom:Firstly,establishedandrefinedbylongpracticaluse,anidiomhasarelativelyhighdegreeofstabilityofthelexicalcomponents.Anidiomallowslittleornovariationinformundernormalcircumstances.Ingeneral,anychangeinthecomponentswillresultinabsurditiesorevenrendertheidiomsmeaningless.Aspeakerorwritercannotnormallydoanyofthefollowingwithanidiomunlessheorsheisconsciouslymakingajokeorattemptingplayonwords:Changetheorderofthewordsinit(e.g.“atsevensandsixes”insteadof“atsixesandsevens”);Deleteawordfromit(e.g.“akettleoffish”insteadof“anicekettleoffish”);Addawordtoit(e.g.“toshowone’swhiteteeth”insteadof“toshowone’steeth”);Replaceawordwithanother(evenwithasynonymousword)(e.g.“thepearofone’seye”insteadof“theappleofone’seye”)Changeitsgrammaticalstructure(e.g.”akingmaybelookedatbyacat”insteadof“acatmaylookataking”)Secondly,anidiomoftencarriesmeanings,whichcannotbededucedfromtheirindividualcomponents.Moreoftenthannot,itcannotbeinterpretedonlyaccordingtoitsliteralmeaning.Taketheexpression“togotown”forexample:Itmeanstoactfreely,especiallybyspendingalotofmoney,asin“Youcertainlyseemtohavegonetotownonthedecorationofyourhouse.”Italsomeanstodosomethingwithenthusiasmandvigor,asin“Wewenttotownonthesalescampaign.”Anidiomusuallyacquiresanimpliedmeaning,thatistosay,mostidiomsaremetaphoricalinconstituentwords.Inotherwords,idiomsconveymoremeaningasawholethanthefewwordstakenliterary,thephrase“bellsandwhistles”isnotanidiom.Inafigurativesense,“bellandwhistles”isnotanidiom.Inafigurativesense,“bellsandwhistles”impliesattractiveandextrafeatures.“Acat’spaw”doesnotrefertothepawofacatbutapersonusedasatoolbyanother.“JohnBull”isnotapersonwhocalledJohnBull;itmeanstheEnglishnationalofthetypicalaverageEnglishman.WaysofEnglishIdiomTranslationTranslationisanart,abilingualart,whichistheculturalbridgeandmediabetweentwolanguages.Asthereexistwidedifferenceinvocabularyandsyntaxbetweentheorientalandoccidentallanguages.Translationisnoeasyjob,especiallythetranslationofEnglishidioms.Translationisdifferentfromcommoncommunications.Itinvolvesalotoffactors,suchaslinguistic,cultural,psychologicalandartetc.Therefore,itdoesnotexcludethegeneralrules.Theimportantthingforthemtopaymuchattentionistousetherulesflexiblyaccordingtorelevanceprinciple.Becauseoftheculturaldifference,therearesometechniquesintranslationofidioms.Techniquesintranslationvaryandweshouldusespecificmethodsintreatingspecificproblemsaccordingtotheaboveculturaldifference,inanotherword,tofindtheoptimalrelevance.Inthefollowingsections,weshalldiscusstranslatingfromChinesetoEnglishandviceversa,andtrytoanalyzetheminthelightofrelevancetheory.Herearefourmainapproaches.2.1LiteralapproachTheChineseandEnglishlanguagesareverydifferentintheirformsandwaysofexpressionontheonehand,andsimilarinmanyrespectsontheother.Topreservethenationalcharacterandthespecialoriginalwork,andalsoacceleratethecultureexchangeofthetwonations.Thefirstapproachinidiomtranslationsistheliteralapproach.Itreferstoanadequaterepresentationoftheoriginal,whichpreservestheoriginalformofEnglishidiomswithoutcausingconfusioninmeaning.IttransferstheoriginalculturalinformationeffectivelyandshortensthegapsbetweenChineseandEnglish.Forexample,“sourgrapes”(酸葡萄)，“togointothered”(出现赤字)，“tobreaktherecord”(打破记录)，“tobeonthethinice”(如履薄冰)，“tostrikewhiletheironishot”(趁热打铁)，“atoothforatooth”(以牙还牙)，“first-handmaterial”（第一手材料），“acastleintheair”(空中楼阁)，“toburntheboat”(破釜沉舟)，“tohavesomethingatoneshand”(了如指掌)等。Inthesameway,lotsofwordsandidiomsinEnglishareintroducedbythetranslationofChinese.Forexample,“tositonthemountainandwatchthetigerfight”(坐山观虎斗)，“topouroilontheflame”(火上浇油)andsoon.Takeanotherexample:Donotthrowcoldwateronnewlyemergingthings;onthecontraryyoushouldsupportthem.不要给新生事物泼冷水，相反，你应当支持它们。不要反对新生事物，相反，你应当支持它们。ObviouslyAfitstheoriginalsentencebetterthanB,becausetheEnglishidiom“throecoldwater”“反对”inChineseareobsoleteequivalence.IfweselectB.“反对”cannotexpresstheoriginalmeaningaccurately.Onthecontrary,BcreatesdiversitytoChinesereadersinthought.2.2Literalapproachwithnotes.Translationinaliteralwaywillsometimesdo,butnotalwaysformanyidiomscanbeunderstoodonlywhenthehistoricalbackgroundortheiroriginiscompletelyexplained.And,someidiomshaveacloserelationship,moreorless,withanation’s(oraregion’s)customsandthetranslationofitisnoteasilydonebyafewwords,Thenthetranslatorshavetodotheworkwiththehelpofnotes.Forexample:“三请诸葛”—askyouthreetimes,likezhugeliang.Note:zhugeliangwasaherooftheThreekingdomsperiod.HehadtobeaskedthreetimesbeforehewouldgrantaninterviewtoLiuPeiThat’ssomethingforRipley,那简直是里普利的奇闻Note:AnumberofAmericannewspaperscarryafeaturetitled“Believeitornot”byRipley.Itpresentsstrangeorunusualfactsorhappeningsthatareallsupposedtobetrueandcanbeverified,butbecausetheyaresoodd,sooutoftheordinary,Peoplefindthemhardtobelieve.Theexpressionisgenerallyusedwhenreferringtosomethingthatseemsincrediblebutisprobablytrue.2.3LiberalapproachSomeidiomsareinfluencedbycultureandcustom,whichmakestheoriginalmeaningoftheidiomschange.Thetranslatorneedtranslateitintoanotherformknownbyreaderstokeeptheflavorandthepurposeoftheidioms.Liberaltranslationdoesnotadherestrictlytotheformorwordorderoftheoriginal.WhenthereexistsomedissimilaritiesorgreatdifferencebetweenEnglishandChineseinthesequenceofvocabulary,ingrammaticalstructureandartdevice,liberaltranslationbeemployed.Suchas“aseasyaspie”(易如反掌)，“bewiseaftertheevent”(事后诸葛亮),“Stillwaterrunsdeep”(大智若愚)，“Eachhasitsownmerits”(各有千秋).Forexample:Shefoundherselftobeafifthwheelinthefamily.A,她发现她成了家里的第五个轮胎。B，她感到她成了家里多余的人。ComparethesetwoversionsAandB.Aemployedliberalapproach,Busedliteralapproach,fromtheviewpointofthesentencestructureandgrammar,theyarebothright,butaccordingtothemeaningoftheoriginal,“afifthwheel”meanstheadditionalthingsorperson.But“第五个轮胎”thisversionhasnolinkwithpersonorthing.Ahasnomeaningof“afifthwheel”,itmightexpressthelogicalreason,Bwouldmakereadershaveamuddledidea.Hereisanotherexample:Saveyourbreath;thebosswillnevergiveyouthedayoffA,说也无益，老板不会准你的假。B，省省呼吸，老板不会准你的假。ObviouslyAismoresuitable.Bbelongsto“stifftranslation”inChinese,theversionseemstokeepthe“flavor”oftheoriginal,butinfact,itnotonlydoesnotexpressthetruemeaning,butalsoproducesunreasonableChineseexpression,whichletsreader’sconfuse.2.4ApproachofadditionandomissionComplexidiomsshouldbetreatedinflexibleways.Sincetherangeofinferencesonecanmakefromanyphenomenonishugeandopen-ended,thereneedstobesomeconstraintthathelpstheaudiencetoidentifythoseassumptionswhichthecommunicatorintendedtocommunicate.BecauseofthedifferentnaturesoftheChineseandtheEnglishlanguages,thatis,theformerisimplicateandthelatterexplicate,differentapproachesoftranslationshouldbeused.OwingtotheimplicatednatureoftheChineselanguage,andinordertokeepitsnationalflavoring,wordsorphrasesshouldsometimesbeadded.That’swhytheapproachofadditionexists.Itisnotamatterof“somethingoutofnothing”.Instead,ithelpstheforeignreaderstohaveabettercomprehensionoftheoriginalwork.Forexample:借香献佛borrowingjoss-sticksfromaneighborandburningthembeforeBuddhaforyourownsake.Thistranslationhasaddedthephrases“fromaneighbor”and“foryourownsake”togivethereadersacompleteideaofthespeaker.BecauseofthetersenatureofChineseidioms,theyoftencontainsomedeepmeanings,whicharenotshownonthesurface.Butthewholeideaswillnotbecompleteifnotexpressedinthetranslation.Inabovetranslation,ifthetwophrasesarenotadded,thereaderswillnotunderstandwhyone“borrowjoss-sticks”andwhyhe“burnsthemBuddha”.Andhere,neitherliteraltranslationisproper,fortheformerone-“Toborrowjoss-sticksandofferthemtoBuddha”cannotexpressthecompleteimplicatedmeaning,andthelatter-“tomakepresentsprovidedbysomebodyelsewilllosevividimageoftheoriginal”.Ontheotherhand,becauseofthespecialnatureofChineseidioms,someofthemoftencombinetwoidiomsofthesamemeaningforbettersoundandform.Asweknow,repetitionisoneofthecharacteristicsoftheChineselanguage.ButintranslatingthemintoEnglish,translatorswillfeelitdifficulttodothesame,becauseEnglishspeakersdonotoftensaythingslikethis.Theydonothavethehabitofrepeatingthings.Sointranslatingthem,omissionshouldbechosentoavoidunnecessaryandtediousrepetition.Lookatthefollowing:取之不尽，用之不竭-inexhaustibleTheidiomisquiteniceintheeyesofChinesespeakers,foritisbalanced,whichconformstotheChinesecultureandthefeelingoftheChinesepeople. ButtoEnglishreaders,whoareusedtobeingbrief,afeelingofbeingwordyandstrangewillbeunavoidablycausediftheyaretranslatorastheChinesewords.Thenthebetterwayforaskillfultranslatortochoosenowisomission,whichistobetranslatedas“inexhaustible”or“abundant”.Herearefewmoreexample:沉鱼落雁之容，闭月羞花之貌—one’sbeautywouldputtheflowerstoshame.乐极生悲，否极泰来—extrmepieasureisfollowedbysorrow.3.CommonMistakesinIdiomsTranslationCultureisakindofsocialbehavior.Itneedstimeandpeopletoformtheculture.Idiomscomeupwiththenewthingsandnewideas.Oldidiomsfadewiththeoldthingsandoldideas.ItcanbereflectednotonlyinEnglishidiomsbutalsoChineseidioms.Sothegeneraldevelopingandchangingtendencyofidiomisthatthenewonesaremorethanthedisappearingones.Sotheamountofidiomsincreasecontinuouslywithcolorfulandvividexpressions.SoitisusefulandhelpfultounderstadandlearnabouttheculturaldifferencebetweenEnglishidiomsandChineseidioms.ItcanhelpustogetridofthebigbarriertounderstandingtheoriginalEnglishandChineseliterature.Onthecontrary,wealwaysignoretheculturaldifferencebetweenEnglishidiomsandChineseidioms.Wealsomakemistakesinidiomstranslationresultingfromoverlookingtheculturaldifferences.Therearesomecommonmistakesinthefollowingthatwealwaysmade.3.1PayingnoattentiontoculturaldifferencesDuetodifferentconvention,differentnationshaveobviousculturaldifferencesinconceptofvalueandaestheticstandards,butasanewlearner,weoftenpaynoattentiontoculturaldifference,suchaslivingcircumstances,traditionsandcustoms,religions,beliefs,andsoon.Therearelotsofidiomscomingfromthehistoricalallusion,thestructureoftheseidiomsareverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundbackground,sowemusttakethemintoconsiderationwhentranslating,andformisoftenneglectedcoherenceisemphasizedandunderstandingthemeaningofawordanditsrelationtootherwordislargelydependentoncontext,ortoputitexactly,none’sintuition.Forexample“asfatasawhale”<身壮如猪>.Wecannottranslateaccordingtoliteralmeaning.Becauseasthecarrieroflanguage,culturenaturallyhasconnectedwiththecertaincircumstance,especiallythenaturalconditionsmakegreatdifferencesonwhichtwonationsofEnglishandChineserely.Withoutconditionsofculturaldifferences.Wemaytranslateitinto<身如壮鲸>.AsChinaisagreatagriculturalcountry,andlotsofidiomsarerelatedtopig,cowandsoon.ButEnglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithsea,ocean,andfish,andboat,Whaleetc,ct.SoitisusefultopayattentiontoculturaldifferencestomakeushaveagoodknowledgeofEnglishidioms.3.2MisusingofcommendationandderogatorysenseSomeidiomshavedifferentmeaningindifferentsentences.Soitmeansidiomsoftentakecommendationorderogatorysenseinsomesentencesorarticles.Weshouldunderstandthetruemeaningofidiomsaccordingtocontextorwhatthetalkerstalkabout.Forexample;beggarscan’tbechoosers.（误译：饥不择食）,thisidiommeansthatthosewhoaskforfavorsshouldsubmittothetermsimposedonthem;thosewhodon’thavesufficientmoneytosoexactlywhattheylike,orthosewhodependonothersmustbesatisfiedwithwhattheycanget.Forexample;‘’Youwon’tsleepverywellonthiscounch,John,’”‘Itisallright,Gorge.Beggarcan’tbechoosers.’’（“你在这张长沙发上睡起来可能不太舒适，约翰。”“没什么的，乔治。穷猿头林，凯暇择木”）.Itisobviousthatidiomstressesthathehasnochoicebuttosatisfythepresent.But“饥不择食”inChinesereferstonottomakechoiceforurgentneeds.Theintentionoftwowaysarenotsame.Perhaps“饥不择食”inChinesehasaderogatorysense.Fromthepointofmyview,butthisidiominEnglishisnot.Weoftenmisuseormisunderstandthecommendationandderogatorysenseoftheidiom.Itisthereasonthatwealwaysignoreofcombiningtheidiom,usingitscommendationandderogatorysenseproperly.3.3TranslatewordbywordSomeidiomsoftenmisleaduswhichhaveliteralandliberalmeaningsatthesametime.ThenthetranslatoralwayshaveatendencytoneglecttheprofoundmeaningsoftheidiomsandtranslateWordforword.Forexample;MarywentonwithJimfortwoyearsbeforetheyweremarried.Inthissentence,”gooutwithsomeone(havearomanticorsexualrelationshipwithsomeone)referstofallinlovewithsomeone,insteadofgototheoutsidewithsomebody.Sotheoriginalsentenceshouldbe’’’’’’’’’Takeanotherexample:TheMinisterlefttheChurchofEnglandandwentovertoRome.Here‘goovertoRome”(becomeRomancatholic).SothemeaningofthissentenceisthattheMinistergetsoutofthechurchofEnglandandbecomeRomecatholic.WewouldbelaughedbyothersifwetranslateittoleavethechurchforRoman.Itseemstobeinaccordancewithlogiciftheyareunderstoodliterally,andthereisnoobviousmarksoftheprofoundmeaninginthesentences.Inthiscase,itiseasytogowrongwithoutsimilaritytothemeaningsofidioms.Sowemustkeepitinmindatanytime;Donottranslatewordforword.4.CausesforCulturalDifferencebetweenEnglishandChineseIdiomsTranslation4.1DifferentenvironmentEverynationsurvivesanddevelopsinacertainnaturalcircumstances.So,idiomsarecloselyrelatedtopeople’sworkandlife.Britainisanislandcountry,whichonceleadingtheworldwithitsnavigation,lyingontheBritainIslesoftheAtlanticOcean.LotsofEnglishlikeoceanandalmostEnglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithnavigationandfish,sea,boat.Forexample:togobytheboard”（顺着船舷走；计划失败）,”toraisethewind(找风，筹钱),“neveroffertoteachfishtoswim‘(不要班门弄斧),”adropintheocean”(沧海一粟),”betweenthedevilanddeepsea”(进退两难),Inacalmsea,Everymanisapilot”(风平浪静时，人人都可以当舵手),”Stillwatersrundeep(大智者愚，静水流深).WhiletheChineseliveonAsiancontinentonegenerationafteranotherandtheirlivescannotgoonwithoutland.Suchidiomsas“spendmoneylikewater’inEnglishmeanssplashingmoneyansomethingwhereasinChineseittranslatedas(挥金如土).However,manyidiomsconcerningboatsandwatercannotbegiventhesameequivalentsinChinese.Suchas,torestonone’soars(暂时歇一歇),tokeepone’sheadabovewater(奋力图强),allatsea(不知所措)etc.InChineseculture,‘eastwind’is‘thewindofspring‘;Summerisalwaysconnectedwithextremelyhotortheintenseheat,so赤日炎炎似火烧”,“骄阳似火”aretermsoftenusedtodescribesummer,whileBritainislocatedinwesternhemisphere,withnorthtemperatezoneandmarineclimate,so‘westwind’isthesymbolofspring.ThefamousEnglishpoetShirley’s‘OdetoWestWind’isapraisingsongofspring.TheBritainbelongstofogyandrainyclimate,suchidioms‘asrightasrain‘(像下雨那样正确)areoftenpreserved.‘Afterraincomesfairweather“meansdifficultgoesandvictorycomes.Sodifferentlivingsurroundingsmayproducedifferentidiomsindifferentlanguageandculture.4.2DifferenttraditionsandcustomsThedifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesetraditionsandcustomsvaryfromaspecttoanother.Thereisnomoretypicalaspectthanthatoftheattitudestowardspets.Petsarefriendsofhumanbeingsandbecomeapartofpeople’slife.Manyanimalshavebecomeakindofsymbolisminpeople’thought,whichisreflectedinthelanguage.HowevertheconnotationofanimalswordsinEnglishdonotnecessarilyconcidewiththoseinChinese.Therearemanycanineidioms(关于狗的习语)。Forexampleit’sallrightrefertocertainpeopleasluckydog(幸运狗)，slydoginmostcasesisassociateswithsomederogatoryconnotation,suchas“狐朋狗友”，“狗急跳墙”，“狼心狗肺”，“狗腿子”ect.ThoughmostChinesenowthinkthedogisafaithfulanimal,thederogatoryimageremainsdeeplyinChineseculture.TomostEnglishpeoplethe“chicken”standsfortimidity;suchaschicken-hearted,whilemostChinesethinktheimageoftheratistimidity,forinstance,“胆小如鼠”Chinesepeoplelovecatverymuch,“馋猫”standsfor“womanwithevilintent”.Forexample,“oldcat”means“脾气不好的老太婆”，“putthecatnearthegoldfishbowl”istranslatedas“引狼入室”.ItcanbeseenfromabovethatEnglishpeoplehaveverydifferentassociationsofanimalsfromChinese.Thisisareflectionofdifferentculture.4.3DifferentreligionsandbeliefsReligionistheeverydaypracticesofacultureandgivesusinsightintothemembersofthatculture.SoalotofidiomsconceringreligionandbeliefsoccurinEnglishandChineselanguage.BuddhismhasbeentransmittedtoChineformorethanonethousandyears.Peoplebelievethereisa“Buddle”whocandominatetheworldanddecideeveryone’sdestiny.Sosuchidiomsas“临时抱佛脚”，“五体投地”，“闲是不烧香”，“借花献佛”areexamplesconcerningBuddhism.Inwestcountry,especiallyinBritainandAmerican,peoplebelieveinChristianitylargequantityofsentencesareseeninthewordsexpressionforeverydayuse.Forexample,God“sendsfortunetofools”(傻人有傻福)，“Likepriest,likepeople”(有怎样的牧师，就有怎样的传教)，“aspoorasachurchmouse”(一贫如洗),“Thankgod”(谢天谢地)！“Godforbid!”(苍天不容)！“Godblessyou/me!”(谋事在人，成事在天).TheBiblehasbeenregardedastheChristianscripture.SoitalsoinfluencestheBritishsocietyandculture.Thestories,figures,sentencesandphrasesintheBibleareusedwidely.Forexample,“aswiseasSolomon”(像所罗门一样智慧)，“asgreedyasAhab”(像亚哈一样贪婪)，“aspoorasJob”(穷得像约伯一样)，“ThewaytoHeavenisbyWeepingCross”(忏悔受难，得进天堂)，“NocomingtoHeavenwithdryeyes”(眼无泪水，难进天国)，“beattheair“standsfor“spendinvain”(白费力气)。4．4DifferenthistoricalallusionManyidiomscomefromthehistoricalzllusion,Thestructureoftheseidiomsareverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundmeaning,Sowecannottranslateandunderstandtheeidiomsfromtheliteralmeaning.ItisnecessaryforustolearnandunderstandtheEnglishallusioninadditiontotheChineseallusion.Itcanenlargeourscopesofknowledge,widenourfieldofvisionanditisusefultolearnabouttheoriginanddevelopmentofEnglishandChineselanguageandliterature.Forexample,“名落孙山”itreferstoapersonwhofailsintheexamandisnotenrolled.“叶公好龙”meansapersonwhoprofessedloveofwhatonereallyfearsandsoon.MostEnglishallusionscomefromtheBibleandtheGreekRomanMyth.Forinstance,“Pandora’sBox”(潘朵拉之盒，把灾难的根源)，“Odyssey”（奥塞德，喻把漫长的过程），“Achilles’heel”(唯一致命的弱点，可趁之隙)，“SuspicionofProcis”(普罗克丽丝的猜疑，把无端的猜疑，怀疑)，“Penelope’sweb”(铂涅罗伯织布，把永久也完成不了的工作).4．5SocialandscientificdevelopmentIdiomsarecloselytiredtothecolorfulworld.Thesupersessionof