试析地理环境影响下中英成语的文化差异 定稿

福州大学本科生毕业论文PAGE18PAGE13Contents目录TOC\o"1-2"\h\uContents 1ChineseAbstract 2EnglishAbstract 31.TheRelationshipBetweenLanguageandCulture 42.EnglishIdiomsandChineseIdioms 42.1ChineseIdioms 42.2EnglishIdioms 53.TheCorrespondenceBetweenEnglishandChineseIdioms 63.1TheBasicCorrespondingEnglishandChineseIdioms 63.2Semi-basicCorrespondingEnglishandChineseIdioms 73.3Non-correspondingEnglishandChineseIdioms 84.GeographicalEnvironmentAffectingFactors 94.1

DifferentTerrains 94.2DifferentClimates 94.3DifferentModeofProductions 104.4DifferentMeaningofDirections 114.5DifferentNaturalResources 115.Conclusion 12References 13试析地理环境影响下中英成语的文化差异摘要英语和汉语两种语言中都含有丰富的成语。成语是语言文化的高度凝练，突出反映了民族文化的特点。汉语成语和英语成语产生于不同的地理环境，来源于不同的民族文化，因此在结构、风格、意义等方面都差别巨大。本文选择富有文化内涵的英汉成语，通过对比分析其所产生的不同地理环境，探析其中的文化差异。从英汉成语各自的特点和他们的对应关系入手，着重分析地理环境影响因素中地形地势、气候条件、生产方式、方向意义及自然资源这五个方面的异同，总结出不同地理环境影响下英汉成语的文化差异，以便读者了解中英成语文化的深层含义。关键词：地理环境；成语；文化差异AnAnalysisofCulturalDifferencesBetweenChineseandEnglishIdiomsundertheInfluenceofGeographicalEnvironmentAbstractThereareampleidiomsinbothEnglishandChinese.Idiomsarehighlycondensedinlanguageandculture,whichhighlightthecharacteristicsofnationalculture.ChineseandEnglishidiomsoriginatefromvariousgeographicalenvironmentsandnationalcultures,sotheydiffergreatlyinstructure,styleandmeaning.ThispaperselectsEnglishandChineseidiomswithrichculturalconnotations,andexplorestheculturaldifferencesbetweenthemthroughthecomparativeanalysisofdifferentgeographicalenvironments.StartingfromthecharacteristicsofEnglishandChineseidiomsandtheircorrespondingrelations,thispaperfocusesontheanalysisofthefivefactorsaffectingthegeographicalenvironment:topography,climaticcondition,modeofproduction,meaningofdirectionandnaturalresources,subsequentlysumsuptheculturaldifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishidiomsundertheinfluenceofdiversegeographicenvironment,sothatreaderscanunderstandthedeepmeaningofthetwoidioms.Keywords:geographicalenvironment;idioms;culturaldifferencesTheRelationshipBetweenLanguageandCultureEdwardBurnettTylordefinescultureinhisPrimitiveCulture(1871):Cultureisacomplexwhole,includingknowledge,beliefs,art,morals,customsandanyotherabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbyhumanbeingsasmembersofsociety.Language,asanessentialpartofculture,isalsoaprerequisitefortheformationanddevelopmentofculture.Ontheotherhand,culturaldevelopmentalsopromoteslinguisticrichnessandperfection.Itcanbesaidthatlanguageindicatesthecharacteristicsofacountry,forthereasonthatitincludesnotonlythehistoricalandculturalbackgroundofthecountry,butalsothewayoflifeandthinkingofthenation.Languageandculturebeareachotherandtheyareinseparably.Thedevelopmentoflanguageandculturepromotesandinfluenceseachother,theydonotrestricteachother,onthecontrary,theyinfluenceandintegrateeachotherinparalleldevelopment.Thenaturalgeographicalenvironmentinfluencestheformationofcultureandcreatesspecificculturesandexpressions.Duetothedifferentgeographicalconditions,theterrainclimateandeconomicproductionmethodsinvariousregionsarealsodistinctfromeachother,thereforethelanguagevocabularyanditsconnotativemeaninggeneratedonthisbasiswillalsodifferinexpression.Idiomsarethecondensationandcrystallizationoflanguage.Learningidiomswhichisconsideredaveryessentialpartoflearningandusinglanguage(Sridhar&Karunakaran,2013).What’smoretheyareanindispensablepartoflanguage,whichreflectingthenationalculture.Theseidiomsreflecttheculturalcharacteristics,livinghabits,customsofthenationfromallaspects.ChineseandEnglishnationalcultureisdeeplyinfluencedbytheirrespectivehistory,geographyandcustoms.Thedegreeofthisinfluenceisalsoengravedinthelanguage,soalargenumberofidiomshaverichculturalcharacteristics.EnglishIdiomsandChineseIdioms2.1ChineseIdiomsWhatisaChineseidiom?TheNewModernChineseDictionarydefinesidiomsas:“phrasesorshortsentencesthathavebeenusedbypeopleforalongtime,withsimpleformsandbrilliantmeanings.”(罗琦,周丽萍,2003)Itcanbeseenthatthestructureofidiomshasbeenrelativelyfixeduptonow,mostofwhicharefour-characteridioms.Chineseidiomsaremostlyderivedfromancientclassics,famoushistoricalstories,people’soralormythsandfables.(陈玉霞,2001)Theyhavebrilliantmeanings,whichareoftenimpliedinliteralmeaning.Insteadofsimpleadditionofconstituentmeanings,theyhaveintegratedmeanings.Ithasatightstructure,andgenerallycannotchangethewordorderarbitrarily,replaceorincreaseordecreaseitscomponents.Itisnotasimplecombinationofwords,butastereotypedphrasewithspecialmeaning,richingrammaticalfunctionsandprofoundculturalconnotations.Chineseidiomsareshort,concise,andrichincontent,andoftenhaveastrongemotionalcolor.Therearemanyidiomsderivedfromhistoricalstories,forexample,指鹿为马(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“zhiluweima”,whichmeansintentionallyconfuserightandwrong)fromtheHistoricalRecordsoftheFirstEmperorQinShihuangbySimaQianoftheWesternHanDynasty.InadditiontothehistoryofZhaoGaopointingatthedeerasahorseandmurderingaminister,italsousesmetaphortointentionallyreverseblackandwhiteandconfuserightandwrong.望梅止渴(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“wangmeizhike”,whichmeanswishcannotberealized,comfortoneselfwithdreams)isfromtheSouthernDynastiesLiuYiqing’sNewWordsoftheWorld-FalseTreachery.ItisaboutCaoCao’sstoryofstimulatingmoraleanddeceivingaplumtreeinfrontofsoldiers.Asaresult,moraleincreasedgreatly.Later,itcomparedmetaphoricallytowish,andcomfortedoneselfwithdreams.Idiomsderivedfromfablestories:东施效颦(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“dongshixiaopin”,whichmeansimpersonateothers)isaparableinChuangTzu-Fortune,whichtellsthestoryofDongshi’sfailuretoimitateXishiandspurnedbyothers.Itisnowusedtoridiculeimpersonalbehaviorandadvisepeoplenottoimitateblindly.守株待兔(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“shouzhudaitu”,whichmeansholdontoanarrowexperienceandwon’tchange)isaparablefromHanFeizi-FiveKindsofEvils,aboutanancientpeasantwhosawarabbitslammedintotherootofatreeanddied.Sincethenheputdownhishoeandwaitedfortherabbittobekilledbythetreeeveryday.Itisnowusedtoridiculethosewhowanttosucceedwithouteffort.天衣无缝(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“tianyiwufeng”,whichmeansthingsarewell-roundedandflawless)isamythicalstoryfromGhostRecord·GuoHan.Itoriginallyreferstotheheavenlydresswornbythefairyinthemythwhichisnotmadebyneedleworkandnotsewn.Nowmetaphoricalthingsareperfectandnatural,withoutanytracesorflaws.开天辟地(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“kaitianpidi”,whichmeansunprecedented)isalegendfromTheHistoricalRecordsoftheEmperorintheMiddleandlatePrimitiveSociety,whichtellsthestoryofPangucreatedheavenandearthinancienttimes.Thelatterisoftenusedasametaphorforanunprecedentedphenomenonthathasnotoccurredsinceancienttimes.2.2EnglishIdiomsThedefinitionofidiomintheOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionaryis:“agroupofwordswhosemeaningisdifferentfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords”(赵翠莲,邹晓玲,2016).LongmanEnglishDictionarydefinesidiomas“agroupofwordsthathasaspecialmeaningthatisdifferentfromtheordinarymeaningofeachseparateword”(Net1).InCambridgeAdvancedEnglishIdioms,idiomisakindofstylizedlanguage,whichisafixedcombinationofwords.Itsmeaningisnotonlythesumofthemeaningsofwords(O’Dell&McCarthy,2014).Tosumup,“idiomsareusuallysemanticallyopaque,metaphoricalratherthanliteral”(RenChi&YuHao,2013:78).TherearealsomanyidiomsinEnglishthatoriginatefromancientmyths,historicalallusions,religiousclassics,andliteraryworks.Forexample,in“Achillesheel”,AchillesisaheroinancientGreekmythology,andheelishisonlyweakness.“TheswordofDamocles”isderivedfromahistoricalstoryofancientGreece.InthefourthcenturyBC,DionysiusI,therulerofSyracuseonSicily,letDamoclessitonthethrone.Whenhelookedupandsawaswordhangingwithhishaironhishead,itwouldfalldownatanytimeandscaredhimtoleave.Peopleusethe“TheswordofDamocles”todescribethemurderousopportunitiesanddangersbehindpeaceandtranquility(樊艳萍,2010).TherearealsoEnglishidiomsintheclassicChristianBible.Forexample,“ForbiddenFruit”isthefruitofthetreeofgoodandevilintheGardenofEden,andwaseatenbyAdamandEveinviolationofGod’swill.Peoplehaveacceptedmanyfamousquotationsinliteraryworks,suchasGeorgeOrwell’s“BigBrother”in1984.3.TheCorrespondenceBetweenEnglishandChineseIdiom 3.1TheBasicCorrespondingEnglishandChineseIdiomsBasiccorrespondencemeansthatEnglishidiomsandChineseidiomsarebasicallythesameinmeaning,materialselection,structureandusage(岳鹏,2016).Thisisonlybecausetherearesimilarnaturallivingenvironmentorsimilarthingsbetweenthetwocultures,people’scognitionofthingsisalmostthesame(ShiWenjuan,2015).Thissimilarityreflectscertaincommonalityinlanguage.Forexample,themeaningofChineseidiom殊途同归(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“shututonggui”,whichmeanstakedifferentapproachestogetthesameresult)istoobtainthesameresultbytakingdifferentmethods.“AllroadsleadtoRome”inEnglishmeansgoingfromdifferentroadstothesamedestination.Therefore,thetwoidiomsareverysimilarinimageandmeaning.“Killthegoosethatlaysthegoldenegg”correspondsto杀鸡取卵(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“shajiquluan”whichmeancovettheimmediateinterestsanddisregardthelong-terminterests),while“鸡”inChinesecorrespondsto“goose”inEnglish(郭倩倩,2015).Althoughthereferenceofanimalsisdifferent,themeaningisthesame.Thatmeansthepracticeisurgent.“flashinthepan”correspondsto昙花一现(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“tanhuayixian”,whichmeansgoodthingsappearforashorttime),Chinese“昙花”correspondsto“flash”.Althoughtheobjectsarenotthesame,theopeningtimeoftheflowerisasshortasaflashoffire.Thebasiccorrespondingidiomsareasfollows:Seeingisbelieving眼见为实(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“yanjianweishi”)Aneyeforeyeandatoothforatooth.以牙还牙,以眼还眼(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“yiyahuanyayiyanhuanyan”)aslightasafeather轻如鸿毛(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“qingruhongmao”)Love me, love my dog.爱屋及乌(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“aiwujiwu”)  Constantdroppingwearsstone.水滴石穿(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“shuidishichuan”)topouroilontheflame火上浇油(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“huoshangjiaoyou”)A slow sparrow should make an early start.笨鸟先飞(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“benniaoxianfei”)ChineseandEnglishhavedifferentsocialandculturalbackgrounds,butduetothesimilarityofhumanmindsetandcognitiveability,therearemanyidenticalaspectsinhumansociallife,whichwillinevitablymakelanguagehavecommonality.Therefore,manyidiomshavethesameoranalogousmeaningandimage.3.2Semi-basicCorrespondingEnglishandChineseIdiomsThedifferentoriginsofChineseandEnglishidiomsaffectthelanguageforms.TheproportionofcompletecorrespondencebetweenChineseandEnglishidiomsisverysmall,becausemostofthemarepartiallyorinappropriatelycorresponding.PartialcorrespondencereferstoChineseandEnglishidiomsthatarenotcompletelyunifiedinmeaningorusageandhavecommonconnotations(郭倩倩,2015).Someidiomswithsimilarliteralmeaningmayhavedifferentconnotations,whilesomeidiomswithsimilarpracticalusageandmeaningmayhavedifferentexpressions.Forexample,半斤八两(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“banjinbaliang”,whichmeansthesameaseachother)and“sixofoneandhalfadozenoftheother”arepartialcorrespondences.Although“Sixofoneandhalfadozenoftheother”issimilartotheimageandmetaphorof半斤八两,itsusageinChineseemphasizesitsderogatorymeaning,andEnglishidiomsaremoreneutral.小题大做(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“xiaotidazuo”,whichmeansimproperlytreatsmallthingsasbigthings)isametaphorfortreatingsmallthingsasiftheywereimpossible，whichmeansthatyoudon’thavetoworkhardtodoit.“Makeamountainoutofamolehill”hasthemeaningofregardingsmallthingsasbigevents,includingexaggeration,exaggerationofdifficultiesorobstacles.Italsomeanstobeworriedorexcitedaboutminormatters.Thefirsttwomeaningsofthisidiomaresimilarto小题大做,butthethirdmeaningisdifferent.TheSemi-basiccorrespondingidiomsliketheaboveare:birdsofonefeather一丘之貉(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“yiqiuzhihe”)likeaducktowater如鱼得水(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“ruyudeshui”)spendmoneylikewater挥金如土(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“huijinrutu”)Likearatinahole瓮中之鳖(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“wengzhongzhibie”)Diamondcutdiamond棋逢对手(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“qifengduishou”)toeatlikeahorse狼吞虎咽(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“langtunhuyan”)Nosmokewithoutfire无风不起浪(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“wufengbuqilang”)Duetothedifferencesinstructure,culturaltraditions,naturalenvironment,historicalbackgroundandproductionmethodsbetweenChineseandEnglish,theculturalimplicationsthatarereflectedinmanyphrasesareinconsistentoronlypartial.Ascanbeseenfromthepreviousexamples,althoughsomepartsofEnglishandChineseareinterrelated,theirculturalandemotionalmeaningsaredifferent.3.3Non-correspondingEnglishandChineseIdiomsIdiomscomefromcultureandreflectculture,buttheyarealsorestrictedbyit.AstheculturaloriginsofChineseandEnglisharedifferent,theyexhibittheiruniqueculturalconnotation,emotionalcolorsandlinguisticcharacteristics.ItisoftenusedinChineseculture,butthereisnocorrespondingexpressioninEnglish.ItmeansthesameinChineseculture,butitmaybedifferentortheoppositeinEnglishculture.Forexample,thestructuralmeaningof翻天覆地(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“fantianfudi”,whichmeanshugeandradicalchange)and“moveheavenandearth’exactlycorrespondstoeachother,buttheactualmeaningofthemisfarfromeachother.“翻天覆地”describesthechangeisamazing.And“moveheavenandearth”comesfromFrench,whichmeanstoachievethegoalbyallmeans.It’seasytomakemistakesfromit’sliteralmeaningwhenunderstanding“moveheavenandearth”(郭倩倩,2015).同舟共济(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“tongzhougongji”,whichmeansworktogethertoovercomedifficulties)and“inthesameboat”havethesameimageintheliteralsense,buttheirpracticalmeaningsarefarfromeachother.TheChineseidiom“同舟共济”meansthatwhenencounteringdifficulties,everyonewillworktogethertoovercomethem.Chineseidiomsemphasizeunity,whileEnglish“inthesameboat”emphasizesthesamesituation.Therearemanynon-correspondingEnglishandChineseidioms,forexample:一触即发(Thesituationhasreachedaverytensestage,anditwilleruptimmediatelywithapush.)touchandgo(Indangermustactimmediately.)患难之交(Friendswhohaveexperiencedhardshiptogether.)afriendinneed(Someonewhohelpsotherswhentheyneedit.)脚踏实地(Dothingssteadilyandconscientiously.)putone’sfootdown(Standfirmlyagainstwhatsomeonewantstodo.)浑水摸鱼(Seizingillegitimateinterestsatatimeofconfusion.)fishinthetroubledwater(Toharmotherswhentheyareindanger.)一朝被蛇咬,十年怕井绳(Fearofsimilarthingsoncehurt.)Oncebitten,twiceshy(Drawlessonsfrompracticalexperience.)ChineseandEnglishidiomsareconstrainedandinfluencedbyculturalfactors,sotheliteralmeaningandactualconnotationofmanywordsarenotconsistent.WhenthemeaningsofChineseidiomsandEnglishidiomsarenotequal,cross-culturalcommunicatorsarerequiredtounderstandtheirrespectiveimplicationsandcarefullyscreenthewords.4.GeographicalEnvironmentAffectingFactors4.1DifferentTerrainsChinaislocatedintheeastoftheEurasiancontinent.Theterrainisdominatedbymountains,hills,andplateaus,andtheterrainishighinthewestandlowintheeast.Thevastlandareaandcomplexlandformcontributetotheuniqueattributeofrichanddiversenationalcultureandwidedistributionofculturalelements(张晨霞,2018).ThehighlandstothewestandthelowlandstotheeastofChinacreateariverflowfromthewesttotheeast,whichalsoinfluencestheexpressionofChineseidioms.Forexample,大江东去(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“tongzhougongji”)isusedtodescribethedevelopmentofhistory.付诸东流(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“fuzhudongliu”)isametaphorofhopelost,achievementlostandpreviousachievementslost,asifwashedawaywiththerunningwater.SinceChinaisamountainouscountry,manyidiomsaboutmountainswereborn.Forexample:山高路远(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“shangaoluyuan”)isusedtodescribethejourneyisdifficultanddistant.绿水青山(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“lvshuiqingshan”)referstobeautifulmountainsandrivers.BritainisanislandcountrycomposedofthenortheastofIrelandislandanditsaffiliatedislandsandGreatBritainIsland.Duetolongcoastlineandthelackoflandresources,people’sdailylifeiscloselyrelatedtotheseaandwater,whichmakesEnglishidiomsoftenrelatedtothesea.Suchas,“adropintheocean”meansaverysmallamountcomparisontothemuchlargeamountthatisneeded.“betweenthedevilandthedeepbluesea”isinasituationwhereyouhavetochoosebetweentwothingsthatareequallydad.4.2DifferentClimatesThegeographicaldifferencesbetweenthetwocountrieshaveresultedinclimatedifferencesthathaveledtohugedifferenceswhendescribingthesameseason.MostpartsofChinaarelocatedintemperateandsubtropicalareas.Thetemperaturecharacteristicsofthefourseasonsaremoreclearcomparedwiththeaveragetemperatureofthesamelatitudeintheworld.Thetemperatureinsummerisrelativelyhigh,andinspringisappropriate.Therefore,inChinese,summerisoftenassociatedwithhotsummer.Therearesomeidiomsthatdescribethehotsummer,like:酷暑难耐(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“kushunannai”)、夏日炎炎(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“xiariyanyan”).Springisoftenpraisedbypeople.Itoftensymbolizes“joy”,“hopeandfuture”,etc.Forexample,春回大地(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“chunhuidadi”),春暖花开(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“chunnuanhuakai”)andsoon.BritainliesontheeastcoastoftheAtlanticOceanintheWesternHemisphere.Ithasamarineclimateinthenorthtemperatezone.Itssummerisawarmandpleasantseason.Peopleoftendescribeitas“beautiful”,“lovely”and“gentle”.Shakespearelikenedhislovertosummerinoneofhissonnets，“ShallIcomparetheetoasummer’sday?/Thouartmorelovelyandmoretemperate”(王莉,2009).4.3DifferentModeofProductionsSinceancienttimes,Chinahasalwaysbeenalargeagriculturalproductioncountry.Agriculturalproductionisthefoundationofnationaleconomy.People’sproductionactivitiesarecloselyrelatedtoland,andmanyidiomsrelatedtolandhavebeenproduced.Forexample:寸土不让(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“chuntuburang”),挥金如土(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“huijinrutu”).CattleplayanimportantroleinthehistoryofagriculturalproductioninChina.Sinceancienttimes,ithasagreatrelationshipwithpeople’sclothing,food,housingandtransportation.ManyoftheworkinghabitsofcattlearewidelypraisedbecausetheyarethesameasthetraditionalvirtuesoftheChinesenation.Theyaregiventheculturalconnotationofhardworkandselflessdedication.Therearealotofidiomsaboutcattle,suchas气壮如牛(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“qizhuangruniu”)、牛高马大(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“niugaomada”)、九牛二虎(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“jiuniuerhu”)andsoon.Britain’sdevelopedmarinefisheryculturebenefitsfromitsuniquegeographicalenvironmentandthehistoricalpositionofthemaritimeoverlord,soitslanguagealsofullydemonstratesthecharacteristicsofmarineculture.Therearealargenumberofwordsrelatedtofish,shipsandseatransportationinEnglish,whosemeaninggoesfarbeyondtheworditself.Forexample,idiomsrelatedtoships:“beinthesameboat”，“sailclosetothewind”;idiomsrelatedtothesea:“allatsea”,“holdwater”.TheBritishfishingindustryhasalsoleftalotoffishing-relatedwordsinitslanguage.Suchas:“fishforcompliments”,“haveotherfishtofry”,“afishoutofwater”.Beforetheappearanceofsteamengine,horsewasalwaysanimportantmeansoftransportationandcloselyrelatedtopeople’sdailylife,somanyidiomsrelatedtohorse.Suchas:“adarkhorse”,“eatlikeahorse”,“ahobbyhorse”.4.4DifferentMeaningofDirectionsInChinese,theEasthasspecialculturalconnotations.TheEastiswherethesunrises,wherethenewdaybeginsandwhereitbringslighttopeople.TherearemountainsinthewestofChinaandtheseaintheeast,sowhentheeastwindblows,itbringswarmthtopeople.Therefore,theeastwindisasynonymforwarmth,andthereareidiomssuchas万事俱备,只欠东风(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“wanshijubei,zhiqiandongfeng”),东风浩荡(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“dongfenghaodang”).AndChina'stemperatecontinentalclimatemakesthewestwindmeancoldanddesolateinChinese.Suchas西风落叶(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“xifenglouye”)Itmeansthatpeopleorthingshavedeclined.MaZhiyuanwroteinTianjingshaQiusi:“古道西风瘦马,夕阳西下,断肠人在天涯”.(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“gudaoxifengshouma,xiyangxixia,duanchangrenzaitianya”)Inthissentence,“thewestwind”isendowedwithasadmeaning.Onthecontrary,inEnglish,theeastwindisasymbolofcoldandunpleasant.Britainisanislandcountrywithamildmaritimeclimate.Thereisnoseverecoldinwinterandextremeheatinsummer.TheeastwindisverycoldfromthenorthernpartofcontinentalEurope,whilethewestwindisblownbytheAtlanticOcean,whichiswarmandpleasant.TheBritishlikethewestwind.Shelley,anEnglishpoet,highlypraisedthewestwindinhispoemOdetotheWestWind:“Oh,thewestwind,ifwintercomes,canspringbefarbehind?”,whichexpressedhisvisionandfirmbeliefforthefuture.4.5DifferentNaturalResourcesFromtheperspectiveofgeographicalresources,bothChinaandBritainhaveabundantnaturalresources.However,duetothedifferencesinresourcesbetweenthetwocountriesandtheuseandpreferenceofvariednaturalresourcesbythepeople,therearealsovarianceinthevocabularybetweenChineseandEnglish.Chinaisthehometownofplumblossom,whoseflowerlanguagerepresentsstrongwill.Therefore,manyscholarswillpraisetheindomitablespiritofplumintheirworks.IntheearlydaysofEngland,therewasnoplumblossom,sotherewasashortageofvocabularyaboutplumblossom.TeainChineseisalsoanexample.TherearemanyhillsandmountainsinChina,whichisgoodforthegrowthofteatrees.TherearerichteaculturesinChina.TherearemanyexpressionsaboutteainChinese,suchaspeoplewalkinginthecooltea,aftertea.ThehumidclimateinBritainisnotsuitableforteaplanting.Even“tea”isisborrowedfromforeignlanguage.Duetotheuniquegeographicalconditions,Chinaisrichinbamboo,andpeople’slifeiscloselyrelatedtobamboo.Therefore,therearemanyidiomsrelatedtobambooinChinese,suchas:胸有成竹(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“xiongyouchengzhu”),破竹之势(inChinesePinyin,itispronouncedas“pozhuzhishi”)WhilethegeographicalenvironmentofBritainandtheUnitedStatesdoesnotproducebamboo.Eventheword“bamboo”isborrowedfromforeignlanguages,sotherearealmostnoidiomsrelatedtobambooinEnglish,andbamboohasnospecialculturalconnotation(刘姝宇,2012).ConclusionLanguageisamanifestationofthecharacteristicsofthinking,reflectingthecivilizationofvariousnationalitiesaroundtheworldbutalsorestrictedbynationalcultureandgeographicalenvironment.Asaproductofthegeographicalenvironment,historicalculture,customsandreligion,idiomsembodyhumancivilizationandnationalcharacteristics.Idiomshavetypicalculturalcharacteristicsinvariousregions,sotheyoftenbecomecommunicationbarriersfornon-nativespeakersincross-culturalcommunication.Inordertosolvethisproblem,interculturalcommunicatorsshouldbetterunderstandtheculturaldifferencesandsimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms.Therefore,thestudyofEnglishandChineseidiomsfromtheperspectiveofgeographicaldifferencesisofgreathelptoreaders.TherearenumerouscolorfulidiomsinChineseandEnglish.ChineseandEnglishidiomsaretheepitomeofnationalcultureandthecrystallizationofhumanknowledgeandwisdom.ChineseandEnglishidiomsreflectthehistoricalcivilizationofdifferentcountriesandtheaccumulationoflongnationalhistory.TheuseofChineseandEnglishidiomshasalonghistory,formingafixedstructureandusage.BasedonthestudyofthedifferencesingeographicalenvironmentbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms,thispaperexpoundsthedifferencesintopography,climaticcondition,modeofproduction,meaningofdirectionsandnaturalresources.ThenusecomparativeanalysistoanalyzeandcomparealargenumberofChineseandEnglishidioms,afterthatsortouttheexpressionsandculturaldifferencesofChineseandEnglishidiomsaffectedbygeographicalenvironment.Throughtheunderstandingoftheorigin,structur