中外习语差异

TheCulturalDifferencesReflectedinChineseandWesternIdiomsYuHuiGuoYachanXingRongrongJiaHongliContentsIntroductionThesourceofEnglishidiomsFeaturesofIdiomsDifferencesNewWordsidiom['idiəm]习语maritime['mæritaim]海事cobblers['kɔbləs]

胡说臭皮匠Buddhism['budizəm]

佛教Christianity[,kristi'ænəti]

基督教individualism[,indi'vidjuəlizəm]个人主义collectivism[kə'lektivizəm]集体主义benevolent[bi'nevələnt]

仁慈的despicable['despikəbl]

卑贱NewWordspejorative['pi:dʒərətive]

轻蔑语auspicious[ɔ:'spiʃəs]

吉利，喜庆posterior[pɔ'stiəriə]后路authoritarian[ɔ:,θɔri'tεəriən]独裁主义者entangle[in'tæŋɡl]缠住derogatorysense[di'rɔɡətəri]贬义swine[swain]卑贱的人aristocracy[,æri'stɔkrəsi]贵族gladiator['ɡlædieitə]格斗士PartOneIntroduction1.Definition

Idiomgenerallyreferstothephraseswithaspecificformthatarecommonlyusedtogether.Itsinherentsignificanceoftencan'tbespeculatedfromthemeaningofthecomponentwords.Idiomsusuallyincludephrase,folkadage(俗语),motto,two-partallegoricalsaying(歇后语),slang(俚语)andjargon(行话),etc.e.g.1.Loveme,lovemydog

爱屋及乌2.robPetertopayPaul

拆东墙补西墙3.

whitenight不眠之夜4.

Aslowsparrowshouldmakeanearlystart.笨鸟先飞

5.

sparenoeffort;goallout;doone'sbest不遗余力6.

Nodiscord,noconcord.不打不成交

2.Whytolearnidioms?themostactivecomponentinEnglishvocabularybasictoolsreflectsanation’sspecificculturalcustomsculturalconnotationDifferentidiomscontaindifferentmeanings,whichmayformobstaclestoourcommunication.

PartTwo

ThesourceofEnglishidioms2.1FromHistoricalstoriesandevents2.2Fromthefables2.3FromTheBible2.4Fromthecustom

2.1Fromhistoricalstoriesandevents

(1)burnone’sboats(similarto破釜沉舟）Thestoryisthat,theancientRomeJulesCaesararmysailedacrosstheRubiconandthentheyburnedtheboats,totellthesoldiersthattheposterior(后路)hadbeenbroken,andcannotretreat.Nowitmeansthat“youcan't,gobackward,makeupyourmindtoslog”.WiththeChinesesimilarmeaning“cutoffallmeansofretreat”.Anothersimilaridiom:burnyourbridgesbehindyou.

(2)keepthepowderdry（similarto有备无患）

Theseventeenthcenturyauthoritarian(独裁主义者）politicianOliverCromwellgoneouttobattleIreland,beforecrossingtheriverhesaidtothearmy“PutyourtrustinGod；butbesuretokeepyourpowderdry”.Nowitusedtoreferto“getready”or“bepreparedagainstwant”.2.2FromthefablesManyEnglishidiomsoriginatedfromthefablesandspreadsofar.

(1)killthegoosetogettheeggs（similarto杀鸡取卵）TheidiomisfromtheGreekfable,saidthereisacountryfolk,hewasmoney-madandkilledhisgoosethatlaidgoldeneggstogetlotsofgold,buthegotnothing.Thestorytellusthatseekingimmediateinterestswithoutlong-termplancangetnoting.

(2)fishintroubledwaters(fromAesop’sfables.waterfisherman)（similarto浑水摸鱼，趁火打劫）

Thefishermanputanetacrosstheriver,andusedtheropetoentangle(缠住)thestones,thenhittheriverconstantly,thefishfleedinpanicandallwentintohisnet.Amannearbysaw,andaccusedhimofmuddyingtheriver,sothatnobodycandrinkthewater.Thefishermananswered:”IfIdidn’tmuddythewater,Iwouldbestarvetodeath”.Italwaysusedtoreferthatgainone’sownadvantageindisarray.2.3FromTheBible(1)Separatethesheepfromthegoatsmeansdistinguishthegoodfromthewicked(区别好坏）

InThegospelofMatthew

(马太福音)thesheepmeansgoodperson,andthegoatmeansthebadperson.IdiomsaboutgoatinEnglishalwayshasderogatorysense(贬义).Foranexample:“toplaythegoat”meansblindmischief.Togetsb’sgoatmeansmakesomebodyangry.

(2)Castpearlsbeforeswine（对牛弹琴，白费好意）

ThisidiomisfromThegospelofMatthew

meanswastingsomethinggoodonsomeonewhowon’tbethankfulforitortogivewhatisprecioustothosewhoareunabletounderstanditsvalue.2.4FromthecustomFolkcustomisanimportantsourceofidiom.

Hundredsofyearsago,theBritisharistocracy(贵族)likedtoputfeathersontheircaps,toshowtheirimportance.Sotheidiom:“featherinyourcap”meansthematterofglory.

Thumbsupmeansfavorandthumbsdownmeansopposition.InancientRometheslaveowneremploytheslavesasgladiators(格斗士)forentertainment.Afterthecontest,asktheaudiencetojudgehowtodealwiththedefeatedgladiator.Iftheaudiencethumbsup,releasetheloser,iftheaudiencethumbsdownkilltheloser.Nowthisfiguremeansfavororopposition.PartThree

FeaturesofIdioms3.1StructuralStability3.2SemanticUnity3.3FigurativeFeatures3.4NationalCharacteristics3.1StructuralStability

Theformisoftenfixed.Thewordsinidiomaticexpressionscannot,asarule,bedeleted,addedto,replacedbysynonymouswords,ormeaning.

e.g.1.Astitchintimesavesnine(小洞不补，大洞叫苦).

“in”“on”or“nine”“ten”?

2.Theoldmankickedthebucket(这个老人死了)Ifthewordbucketisreplacedbypail,themeaningoftheidiomwillnolongermean“die”.3.Iamgoodfriendswithhim(我和他是好朋友)Thissentenceisirregularorillogicalinitsgrammaticalstructure.“Iamagoodfriendwithhim”?

3.2SemanticUnityIdiomsaremainlycharacterizedbytheirsemanticunity.Bysemanticunitywemeananidiomfunctionsasaunitofmeaning,andmustbelearnedasawhole.Thatis,themeaningoftheidiomcannotbededucedfromtheliteralmeaningofitsmemberwords.

e.g.

Afeatherinsomebody’scapisnotatallconnectedwithfeatherorcap;itmeansanhonor,success,ofwhichonecanbeproud.Themeaningof

todrawablank

hasnothingtodowiththemeaningsoftheseparatewords;itmeanstofailtodiscoverorfindoutaboutsomethingaftersearchinghardandaskingmanyquestions.3.3FigurativeFeaturesIdiomsareoftenforcible,terse(精练的,简练的)andvivid.becausetheyareusedfiguratively.Idiomsareanimportantrhetoricaldeviceinlanguage,andtheyincorporatevariousfiguresofspeech,amongthemmostaresimiles(明喻)andmetaphors(隐喻).

Similes:

astimidasarabbit,asboldasbrass,likearedragtoabull,likewateroffaduck’sbackMetaphors:tohelpalamedogoverthestiles(助人度过难关)betweenthedevilandthedeep(进退两难)butterfliesinmystomach（七上八下)3.4NationalCharacteristicIdiomsarelargelydrawnfromthepopularspeech,createdbycommonpeopleandhavemuchtodowithpeople’slifecircumstances.Englishidioms：“God”,“devils”,“church”,“hell”Chineseidioms：佛(Buddha),庙(temple),和尚(monk)

e.g.(1)aspoorasachurch

mouse:oneissopoorthathasnopenny一贫如洗(2)toplaythe

devilwith:seriouslyinjure深深伤害(3)toridehellforleather:asquicklyaspossible尽快地(4)Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves:天助自助者(5)苦海无边,回头是岸:Theseaofbitternesshasnobounds,repentandtheshoreisathand.(6)跑得了和尚,跑不了庙:Themonkmayrunaway,butthetemplecannotrunwithhim.PartFourDifferences4.1Livingenvironment4.2Literature4.3Religious4.4Values4.5Customs

4.1LivingenvironmentChina:agriculturalcountryagriculture-related

idioms

Don’tforgetatonesdinnerthepeoplewhoraisethecrops.吃饭勿忘种田人

Fromonegrainsownintotheearth,onethousandgrainswillspring.一籽下地，万籽归仓

Britain:islandcountry

relatedwithwater,rain,

fish,etal.

Allisfishthatcomestohisnet.来者不拒（贬义）Livewithoutanaimislikesailingwithoutacompass.没有目标的生活，如同没有罗盘的航行。Thebestfishswimnearthebottom.好鱼居水底

4.2LiteratureChina：

fourgreat/famousmasterpieces

ThreecobblerswiththeirwitscombinedequalZhugeLiangthemaster-thewisdomofthemassesexceedsthatofthewisestindividual.三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮。Everythingisreadyexcepttheeastwindthatiscrucial.万事具备，只欠东风

Britain：

theBibleForbiddenfruitissweetest.禁果最甜（旧约·创世纪）Thereisatimeforallthings.天下万物皆有定时。（旧约·传道书）Nomancanservetwomasters.一仆不侍二主（圣经·新约·马太福音）4.3ReligiousChina：

BuddhismAllintheBuddhistcommunityarefriends.既在佛会下，都是有缘人。Bettersaveonelifethanbuildaseven-storiedpagoda.救人一命胜造七级浮屠。

Britain：

ChristianityMan

proposes,

GodDisposes.

谋事在人，成事在天Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves.天助自助者HethatservesGodformoneywill,servethedevilforbetterwages.为金钱侍奉上帝的人，为了更多的报酬也会给魔鬼卖力。

4.4ValuesChina：

collectivismWithinthefourseasallmenarebrothers.四海之内皆兄弟。Decentbehaviorisworthathousandpiecesofgold.仁义值千金。Thebenevolentlovesothers.仁者爱人。

Britain：

individualismWhatissauceforthegooseissauceforthegander.同样的对象，就应该同等对待。Everymanfo