要中英习语文化差别-英语-毕业论文-英语专业

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英语二级试题-罗密欧与朱丽叶读后感



陕西师范大学远程教育学院
函授生毕业论文



论文题目 论中英习语的文化差别
姓名 李小艳 学号 专业 英语
年级 2014级 层次 专升本 教学点 榆林函授站
交论文时间 2016 年 1 月20日

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备注:论文成绩采取优秀、良好、及格、不及格四个等级进行评阅



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Cultural Differences between English and Chinese
Idiomatic Phrases
Abstract
Idioms are social products, carrying a nation's
civilization. Life can be used and seen anywhere. They have rich
cultural connotations, reflecting the different ethnic groups
in history, geography, religion, customs and ways of thinking.
So it is necessary to compare their culture. In this paper, the
author will discuss the idioms in five levels: living
environment, custom, religion, allusion, and acknowledge of
objective things. The translation of idioms in both languages
should not only be a simple conversion, but also cultural
exchanges.

Key Words: Idioms; culture; culture differences







1



Catalogue
Abstract ................................................. 1
Introduction ............................................. 3
1 Cultural differences between English and Chinese Idioms 3
1.1 Differences in living environment ................. 3
1.2 Differences in Customs ............................ 5
1.3 Cultural Differences in Religious Beliefs ......... 7
1.4 Allusion .......................................... 9
1.5 Different opinions on objects .................... 10
Conclusion .............................................. 13
Bibliography: ........................................... 14



2



Introduction
Language carries a rich connotations about culture, however, the
idiom, as the essence of a language, is even more so. A lot of forms of
fixed, brachylogy, concision, and full of implications, rather ethnic
characteristics of the idioms are from in English and Chinese long history.
The idiom has a strong cultural identity and is the core and essence of
language and an important part of society and culture. These idioms and
this nation’s customs, history and culture are linked in countless ways.
“Culture is a complex body, including physicals, knowledge, beliefs,
arts, ethics, law, customs, and the rest of the ability and habit which
learned from the community.”A nations’ values, social customs, ways of
thinking are all most vividly manifest in the idiom.
About Idiomatic phrases, “ Oxford” explanation is that the idiom is
divided into two meanings:(1) language of a people or country ;specific
character of this ;(2)(gram)succession of words whose meaning is not
obvious through knowledge of the individual meanings of the constituent
words but must be lean as a whole. Therefore, the Idiomatic phrases,
including idioms, proverbs, sayings, phrases, slang and allusions.
From the Linguistic Weltanschauungs, the national life of the Earth
is only one; therefore, the commonalities of different ethnic language
and culture must exist. However, “different ethnic languages, because
the physical environment and located in different geographical, social
and cultural philosophies of origins are diverse, and thus there must be
its own unique national identity. In any case, cultural differences, the
reality is prevailing at this stage.”
1.1 Differences in living environment

As the United Kingdom is located in an island nation, English people
has always been good at sailing; the maritime industry has always occupied
an important position, a lot of English idioms are nautical terms which
used by sailors, and later people on the ground who also gradually use
it. Such as: all at sea (All at sea, as a metaphor for at a loss),hang
in the wind (Swaying in the wind, as a metaphor for hesitating to do things),
three sheets in the wind(three sails feet shaking, as a metaphor for
drinking too much), all hands to the pumps(All have gone to pumping, as


3



a metaphors foe critical issues, we must go all out), in the same boat(This
is the sailor said: “with somebody at the same boat”, and, later, people
use it to express “the situation is the same to somebody”) and so on.
China has vast territory, although near the sea, and the coastline is very
long, but the maritime industry has been in a backward state. Though with
the navigation-related idiom there are a few, such as “same boat”,
“through thick and thin”, “the drowned disaster” , etc .China mainly
locates in the Asian continent, is a landlocked country, the land is vital
for people, people can not live without the land, so there are many
agriculture-related idioms in Chinese, such as: “Tu yangjie he”, “the
collapse of soil bang”, “extermination”, “home-grown”, “comeback”
and so on.
In the Chinese cultural atmosphere, summer is often linked with the
intense heat, there are many idioms describing the hot summer, such as:
“Jiao yang si huo”,“scorch like fire”and so on. The United Kingdom
is located in the North Temperate Zone, summer weather is cool and pleasant,
and it often together with lovely, warm and good, beautiful the words.
In Shakespeare's sonnets, Shakespeare draws an analogy between lover and
summer,“shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art lovelier and
more temperate.” In addition, the United Kingdom is located in the Western
Hemisphere, the reporter is the message of spring westerly winds, while
in Chinese, and the east wind is the reporter about spring.
In addition, people always use the “bamboo” to describe as that:
“the things are rapid development” in China. English idiom is synonymous
with “like mushrooms”(like a mushroom General).Because Britain does not
produce bamboo,“bamboo”in English this word comes from Malay.
1.2 Geographical environment

Britain is an island country. People who live along seacoast and whose
livelihood is dependent on the sea will have idioms about water, sailing,
island and fish. For example, we speak in Chinese 挥金 如 土 ,but we
should render it into English as
lot of English idioms about ship, water and fish: close as an
oyster守口如瓶), 欺世盗名).
On the other hand, the Han People live on land, they belong to an
agrarian society that places agricultural production at the top of the
4



national agenda, During the long history of farming, the Chinese language
has accumulated large numbers of farmers' idioms, like 二人同心,黄土
变金(When two people are of the same mind, even clay may be changed into
gold),上无片瓦,下无寸土(as poor as a church mouse).
Britain is located in western hemisphere, with North Temperate Zone
and marine climate, so
abounds in rain can be proved in some idioms concerning rain:
hay while the sun shines趁热打铁), (穷困时期),
or shine(无论如何), Chinese culture,
of springspring is warm and colorful, and it is regarded 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.),
一年之计在于春 (the whole year's work consists in a good start in spring.
1.3 Differences in Customs
Culture is long acquired from customs and habits. These customs and
habits are representative of the way of living of a certain speech
community and they are mirrored in the habitual speaking of the language.
Idiom has a strong flavor of life and distinct ethnic characteristics.
Customs of a nation are reflections of cultural awareness and performance
in the long years of evolving by the nation’ s psychological state of
domination. Colorful ethnic customs, which constitute the roots of idioms
and is soil which idioms, depends on the resilience to survive and get
the deep, and a lot of idioms are from folk idioms. Example, Apple-pie
is a traditional food and is from the United States population. Some women
used to start the week, first baked apple pies are 7, and then discharge
them in turn in the food shelves. Monday is to eat first lattice pie,
Tuesday is to eat second grid. Do the same by analogy. Therefore, apple-pie
order (the order of apple pie) has become a synonym for neat and orderly.
For example: Before her guests arrived, the hostess had put her house in
apple-pie order.
Chinese idiom “xiao cai yi die” and the English Idioms a piece of
cake (a cake), all mean easy things. In this sense, the Chinese language,
“side dishes” and English “cake” contain “easy things” meaning. But
in the idiom, the expression of same idea is completely different in the
form between Chinese and English, and it is a relationship with eating
habits. The Cake is very common form of food in the Britain .The British
often used it in life, so they will use a piece of cake that easy to do.
5



In China, the cake appear Over the past few hundred years in people's life,
is a High-grade food, generally only in exceptional circumstances can eat.
The dish has had an important place in the lives of the Chinese people,
eating a dish is easy for Chinese people, so we use “a piece of cake”
to describe a very easy thing for a long time . Because this eating customs
are different,when Chinese and English idioms express the same meaning
from food culture, they use a completely different form.
Culture is long acquired from customs and habits. These customs and
habits are representative of the way of living of a certain speech
community and they are mirrored in the habitual speaking of the language.
Due to different living conventions , different nations have obvious
cultural differences in concept of value and aesthetic standards. For
instance ,in Chinese ,the word“old”is the honorific title to the
experienced. For thousands of years , family , to the Chinese , is always
an important and stable part of life. Whether the old is in family or in
society , they are revered. In Chinese culture ,“old”was the symbol of
wisdom and experience. Therefore , it is not surprising that in Chinese
there exists such idioms as 老成持重 ( experienced and prudent) , 老当
益壮 (old but vigorous) 老将出马 , 一个顶俩(when a veteran goes into
action , he can do the job of two ) . However , in western countries ,
especially in America , the development of industry has spoiled the
traditional relationship between family members. Most people have to show
their care about the old by making a phone call . With the declining social
position of the old and the rising role of the young , the latter has become
the center of the whole society , which attaches importance to those full
of vigor. In American culture ,“old”means the end of youth , the decline
of vigor. Therefore , most Americans mentally resist the idea of becoming
old and try to keep young. They are not willing to use word“old” just
because of the connotation of it . And the idiomatic expression such as


you don’t look your age”is welcomed.
To illustrate this point further , let’s take the animal words for
example. People in the West have had a long tradition of keeping pets.
To them , domestic animals such as dogs and cats are dear and valued
companions. However in China dog is disgusting in people’s eyes.
Naturally they have different idiomatic expressions toward dog in the
use of language. For instance , in Chinese people have such derogative
expressions as 狗腿子 ,狗崽子 ,狗急跳墙 ,狗嘴吐不 出象牙. Nonetheless ,
in English people have favorable expressions as follows : love me ,love
my dog (爱屋及乌) ,top dog (最重要的 人物) ,lucky dog (幸运儿) , dog -
tired (筋疲力竭) ,to lead a dog’s life (过着牛马不如的生活) .

Another case in point is dragon. Chinese people admire and worship
this imagined animal .It is the symbol of the Chinese nation and it
6



is the symbol of authority , strength and good fortune. In English , though
dragon can bring the association of “strength ”and“power”, it gives
derogatory association. When seeing this word in English , people always
think of cruelty , devilishness and viciousness. But Chinese idioms such
as 望子成龙 ,龙飞凤舞 ,龙子龙 孙 ,龙凤呈祥 express Chinese people’s
appreciation and love to dragon.
Similarly , owl implies wisdom and calmness in the West . “As wise
as an owl ”indicates that English - speaking people associate wisdom
with this bird. In children’s books and cartoons , the owl is usually
solemn and wise. In disputes among birds and beasts , it is the owl that
they go to for advice. Sometimes , the bird is considered as impractical
and foolish. But in general , the owl stands for wisdom. However , there
is a superstitious belief that this bird is a sign of bad luck and the
symbol of sinister things among many Chinese. So comes the common Chinese
saying 夜猫子进宅 , 无事不来 (“an owl visiting a home ”portends
misfortune in that household) . The mere sight of an owl or the sound
of the creature’s hooting might cause people to draw back in fear.
1.4 Cultural Differences in Religious Beliefs

Religious differences are typical of the psychological and cultural
differences. Religion has played a very important role in the development
of all different nations. Western people are Christian faith, and the
Chinese are Buddhist faith. Thus, a large number of idioms, which related
to religion, appear to the English language. In many Western countries,
especially in the Anglo-American, they are Christians, related idioms
such as: “God helps those who help themselves.”,“Go to hell.”This curse
and so on.
The Bible” was adopted Christianity as its classic, because“the Bible”
tells a lot with religious myths and legends related to the Jews, codes,
religious rules, and some of the facts and so on. It reflects the emotions
of the ancients, entreaties and ideals. Therefore, a large number of
idioms are from “Bible” Such as: Job’s patience “very patient”, “Judas
Kiss”, a daughter of Eve“woman”, as wise as Solomon “superior
7



intelligence” and so on. This shows that the“Bible” of the impact of
the English language.
“Buddhism was introduced into China in Western Han Dynasty. There have
been already 1000 years of history. There appear lots of idioms which form
Chinese Buddhism in China. They believe the “Buddha” dominates
everything in the earth,there are many idioms, such as: “borrow something
to make a gift of it, leisure does not burn incense, five body cast, the
back is the shore, paying homage to Tao is one foot tall high magic Yi
Zhang and so on.”
Religion , the main component of human culture , reflects different
attitudes towards admiration and taboo of each nation. Chinese culture
is deeply affected by Taoism , Buddhism and Confucianism , among which
the effect of Buddhism is the most inveterate , while English culture is
greatly influenced by Christianity. There is no question that Chinese
idioms reflect the influence of Buddhism , whereas English idioms are
closely related to Christianity. For instance , 远看菩萨 ,近看泥巴 and
平时不烧香 ,临时抱佛脚 are taken from Buddhism , 灵丹妙药 and 回光返照
from Taoism. In contrast , idioms from the Bible and Christianity are also
abundant , such as a thorn in the flesh (眼中钉) ,the forbidden fruit
(果) ,the apple of one’s eye (掌上明珠) ,a covenant of salt (不可背弃
的盟约) ,gird up one’s loins( 准备行动),as poor as Job the
church mouse(家徒四壁) , pride goes before a fall (骄兵必败) ,and so on.

8



1.5 Allusion

Different countries possess different history culture , which mainly
comprises allusion , myths , poems , ancient books and records , etc. Among
them , allusion is the most important it reflects the national
characteristic. Idioms from history culture are the gems of human cultural
heritage. It is worthwhile for us to learn them well . Chinese and English
idioms , springing from different cultural background , differ from each
other to a great extent . A knowledge of the historical background of the
English and Chinese idioms may help us to comprehend what they really mean.
A study of several examples will illustrate this : 妙手回春 and 对症下
药 come from traditional Chinese medicine , 拔苗助长 and 杞人忧天 from
classical works. English idioms are mainly from the life experience of
the English people (e. g. to give somebody the cold shoulder , to be in
the same boat , to read between the lines , to be in the soup) , Shakespeare’
s plays (e. g. much ado about nothing , gild paint the lily , bay bark
at the moon) , myths , legends , fables (e. g. sour grapes , Achilles’
heel , the lion’s share. ) , in addition to Bible. Having been customarily
used for ages in terse terms and with incisive meanings , Chinese idioms
carry more historical color and literary allusions than do English
idioms .

In brief , as language learners , the more we learn about the cultural
differences in English and Chinese idioms , the better they can understand
and utilize them. The above analysis of reasons causing cultural
differences and their influences on idiomatic expressions only provides
a way for us to study them , which is intended to enhance our intercultural
awareness so as to comprehend and use idioms from different cultures
precisely and accurately.
English language has much less idioms from historical events than the
Chinese language, but there are still some, for example,
Waterloo一败涂地) is from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815,
which means to be completely defeated; The idiom evacuation敦
刻尔克撤退)comes from the Second World War and originally meant the
9



retreat of the English-French troops forced by the German.
English idioms, there are some from history, and some are from fables,
myths and legends, and their structure are simple, but its significance
is far- reaching. Therefore, they have a high value of researching. From
the Greek myth of Achilles' heel leads people to think of “The only
Achilles heel”; cat’ s paw literally translated as a cat’s claws, it
is from “Aesop’s Fables”, metaphor is used to “having been used as
a tool to use” or “the subject of to fool people” between Scylla and
Carbides translated as “a dilemma” ,is from Homer’s epics; Pandora’
s box literal translation for the Pandora’s box, which means “endless
disaster”.
Chinese idioms are mainly derived from the Chinese classical fables、
stories and legends. For example, trust to chance and stroke of luck; only
pay lip service, “The foolish old man who removed the mountain”. “Making
a mark on the Boat to Looking for a Sword”. Those are derived from fable;
Chang E flying to the moon, putting the finishing touch to the picture
of a dragon, “Jingwei Trying to fill up the Sea”, those idioms are from
myths and legends. These idioms fully reflects the Han nationality's
unique ancient culture, it is difficult to find equivalent idiom in
English also showing the great differences with the English national
culture. Allusions in English idiom come from the “Bible” and the Greek
and Roman mythology, such as “the Achilles’ heel” (the Achilles heel
of the sole), “meet one’s waterloo” (suffered a crushing defeat),
“Penelope’s web” (never able to fulfill the work), “a Pandora’s box”
(Pandora’s the case dates disaster, trouble, the root causes of the
scourge), etc.
1.6 Different opinions on objects
The meanings of all wisdom which related to animals are very different
between English and Chinese languages. Because the two peoples who
attitude towards animals is different. Two peoples have the habit of dogs,
but in China, people psychologically hate the creatures. Thus, in Chinese,
the most idiom which related to “dog” is derogatory , such as: henchman,
the dog saw were low, a person who offers bad advice, a cornered beast
will do something desperate, dogs bad one did not know a good heart. Lu
10



Sun, a famous scholar once called on people to “tong daluo shui gou”.
This shows that Chinese people hate dogs and have no praise to the dog.
However, for Westerners, either gatekeepers or hunting dogs can also
be regarded as human pets, friends or partner. So the Westerners have pity
emotions to the dog. Many English idioms that related to dogs are not
derogatory. Celebrity Roland during the French Revolution, famously
Madame Roland said: ”
obviously, “dog” in the Western is a favorite animal and is “faithful”
symbol. In English, the words with “dog” are complimentary sense, among
these are “Love me, love my dog.”; “A top dog” (the winners, so the
overall situation of people); “a gay dog” (Happy); “a sea dog”
(experienced sailor); “A water dog” (water well person); “to help a
lame dog over a stile” (to help others in distress), “You are a lucky
dog” (You’re really lucky), “better be the head of a dog than the tail
of a lion” (I would rather be beheaded, not to a cow’s rump)as a warning
motto. Another example: “Bear” in Chinese and Westerners, produced in
the minds of associative meanings are very different. When it comes to
the “Bear”, Chinese people will think about the “useless, no skill”
and other cultural contents, such as “Look at his bear- like”, “True
Bear” and other derogatory term. In English, the bear may be described
with special talents, such as people: “He is a bear at math.” He was
a mathematical genius. Have this can be seen that the same animal words
in different cultural background brings different associations.
1.7Conventional influence

Due to different living conventions , different nations have obvious
cultural differences in concept of value and aesthetic standards. For
instance , in Chinese , the word“old”is the honorific title to the
experienced. For thousands of years , family , to the Chinese , is always
an important and stable part of life. Whether the old is in family or
in society , they are revered. In Chinese culture ,“old”was the symbol
of wisdom and experience. Therefore , it is not surprising that in Chinese
there exists such idioms as 老成持重 ( experienced and prudent) , 老
当益壮 (old but vigorous) 老将出马 , 一个顶俩(when a veteran goes into
action , he can do the job of two ) . However , in western countries ,
11



especially in America , the development of industry has spoiled the
traditional relationship between family members. Most people have to show
their care about the old by making a phone call . With the declining social
position of the old and the rising role of the young , the latter has
become the center of the whole society , which attaches importance to
those full of vigor. In American culture ,“old”means the end of youth ,
the decline of vigor. Therefore , most Americans mentally resist the idea
of becoming old and try to keep young. They are not willing to use word
“old” just because of the connotation of it . And the idiomatic
expression such as“you don’t look your age”is illustrate
this point further , let’s take the animal words for example. People
in the West have had a long tradition of keeping pets. To them , domestic
animals such as dogs and cats are dear and valued companions. However
in China dog is disgusting in people’s eyes. Naturally they have different
idiomatic expressions toward dog in the use of language. For instance ,
in Chinese people have such derogative expressions as 狗腿子 ,狗崽子 ,
狗急跳墙 ,狗嘴吐不 出象牙. Nonetheless , in English people have
favorable expressions as follows : love me ,love my dog (爱屋及乌) ,top
dog (最重要的 人物) ,lucky dog (幸运儿) , dog - tired (筋疲力竭) , to
lead a dog’s life (过着牛马不如的生活) .

Another case in point is dragon. Chinese people admire and worship
this imagined animal . It is the symbol of the Chinese nation and it
is the symbol of authority , strength and good fortune. In English , though
dragon can bring the association of “strength ”and“power”, it gives
derogatory association. When seeing this word in English , people always
think of cruelty , devilishness and viciousness. But Chinese idioms such
as 望子成龙 , 龙飞凤舞 , 龙子龙 孙 , 龙凤呈祥 express Chinese people’
s appreciation and love to rly , owl implies wisdom and
calmness in the West . “As wise as an owl ”indicates that English -
speaking people associate wisdom with this bird. In children’s books
and cartoons , the owl is usually solemn and wise. In disputes among birds
and beasts , it is the owl that they go to for advice. Sometimes , the
12



bird is considered as impractical and foolish. But in general , the owl
stands for wisdom. However , there is a superstitious belief that this
bird is a sign of bad luck and the symbol of sinister things among many
Chinese. So comes the common Chinese saying 夜猫子进宅 , 无事不来 (

“an owl visiting a home ”portends misfortune in that household) . The
mere sight of an owl or the sound of the creature’s hooting might cause
people to draw back in fear .To the English and most of the Westerners ,
“the king of the beasts”is the lion enjoys high prestige ,
as can be seen from such expressions : regal as a lion , majestic as
a lion. Richard I , king of England in the late 12th century , was
known as lionhearted for his courage and chivalry. It ’s no wonder ,
then , that English have chosen the lion as their symbol . In Chinese
culture this beast has fewer associations with courage and bravery. He
is regarded commonly as being fierce and powerful but not necessarily
majestic or addition , influenced by the philosophical idea of
the Golden Mean (or Central Harmony) , the Chinese have developed their
peculiar aesthetic standards , one of which is a unique emphasis on the
beauty of balance. For example , antithesis is an important figure of
speech in both Chinese and English it emphasizes a contrast by
presenting contradictory or similar ideas by using two or more words or
sentences in sharp juxtaposition. But antithesis is much more prevalent
in Chinese poetry , folk songs , proverbs and proverbial expressions than
it is in most English forms. Good illustrations for this are人无千日
好 , 花无百日红(proverb) and 满招损 ,谦受益 (Book of songs) . Moreover ,
the formation of many Chinese four - character compounds with co -
ordinate relations also reveals this aesthetic standard of balance.
Balance is so carefully maintained in these four - character compounds
that meaning is often repeated. For example , 天造地设 consists of two
parts , 天造 and 地设. 地设 actually repeats the meaning of 天造 in a
similar form. This formation , which can be found in 天涯海角 , 十拿
九稳 , 年深日久 , 繁荣昌 盛 and many others , serves to make compounds
balanced in both form and sound with an emphasis on meaning.
Conclusion
There are many lively, important, and interesting examples of idioms
to help us understand Western cultures and develop their communicative
abilities. In the course of foreign language learning, we are supposed
to master the language and the habitual pattern of thinking as we do in
13



our native language. We are encouraged to go further understand the
cultural phenomenon of the foreign language better and also understand
our native language better through contrast. It can help us to get rid
of the big barrier to understanding the original English and Chinese
literature.
In short, the idiom is not only the essence of language, but also is
a microcosm of the language and is the concentrated reflection of language
features, and is the language which people in long-established and
accepted practice; language is a special part of the human culture the
Idioms precisely reflects the enormous impact of culture on language, the
culture of idioms information load large, many cases of “implication”
is in essence part of the language vocabulary. Therefore, to understand
and master the language of the idiom, not only can improve the people’
s language skills, but also can enhance people’s culture and ability,
cultural competence can contribute to the improvement of another person’
s language ability, and thus to further improve our cross-cultural
communicative competence.






Bibliography:
[1]Christine Amber.
Cool Cats, Top Dogs, and Other Beastly Expressions
.
Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1999
[2] Hall, E.
Beyond Culture
. New York: Doubleday Co. Press, 1976。
[3] Harry Collis.
101 American English Proverbs
. Beijing: Foreign
Language Teaching and Research Press, 2003
[4] Pam Watson.
English through Idioms
. Beijing: Foreign Language Company
Press, 2002

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