《Understanding English and Chinese Idioms from a Cultural Perspective英语毕业论文.doc》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《Understanding English and Chinese Idioms from a Cultural Perspective英语毕业论文.doc（7页珍藏版）》请在taowenge.com淘文阁网|工程机械CAD图纸|机械工程制图|CAD装配图下载|SolidWorks_CaTia_CAD_UG_PROE_设计图分享下载上搜索。
1、Understanding English and Chinese Idioms from a Cultural Perspective1. IntroductionEvery language in this world has a great many of idioms, especially those highly developed tongue. Idioms consist of set phrases and short sentences, which are peculiar to the language in question and steeped in the n
2、ational and regional culture and ideas, thus being colorful, forcible and thought-provoking. (Zhang Weiyou, 2011, P181) Its believed that foreign language learners learn not only language, but also the culture in which language shapes and develops. The process of receiving a language is also the pro
3、cess of acquiring the culture related since they affect each other so deeply and widely.English and Chinese, as two of most highly developed languages in the world, definitely contains abound idioms. Britain and China which once have contributed a lot to world civilization and caused a tremendous im
4、pact to the whole world are absolutely representatives of Western culture and orientals. culture means the customs, institutions, objects, techniques, organizations，family patterns and political systems that characterize the life of a human community，which are explicit(Dai Lisheng, 2009)A better und
5、erstanding of English culture would help people learn a language better. Idioms as an important part of language, is intimately bound up with culture.2. Definition of IdiomsAccording to Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary, an idiom is a group of words whose meaning is different from
6、the meanings of individual words. Idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meanings of individual constitutes, and in a broad sense, it includes colloquialisms, catchphrases, slang expressions, proverbs, etc. Correspondingly, Chinese has similar terms such as “成语
7、”(chengyu) which in Current Chinese Dictionary is defined as phrases or short sentences that have been accustomed used and consist of a certain number of characters, brief and profound, “歇后语”(a two-part allegorical saying) which refers to a riddle-like sentence composing of two separate parts, and “
8、谚语”(proverb), a simple sentence, widely used, easily understood and profound truth contained.3. Cultural differences reflected in the English and Chinese idiomsIdioms are shaped in a community after a long periods living of the local people, and it is the reflection and expression of the culture of
9、a certain race, because of this, the differences on geography, history, custom and living habits will be reflected in the word-using in idioms (Yang Chunli, 2010). Britain and China both have its own culture characteristics. The development of a nations culture to a great extend is also the process
10、of a language shapes. Idioms as an important part of the language are deeply affected by the culture, including historical background, religion belief and social customs.3.1 Differences in historical backgroundHistory, from whatever aspect is a vast treasure since it records a nations development. B
11、ritain and China are two counties having long history and that result in the significance difference of these two languages.Firstly, Britain is a coastal country whose development is obviously affected by ocean culture whereas China is an agricultural country so that most Chinese idioms are related
12、to agriculture. For example, people use “drink like a fish” to describe somebody excessive amounts of alcohol in English while “牛饮” in Chinese; the idiom “ spend money like water” is used to describe somebody spends money in great quantities while “挥金如土” in Chinese. There are a lot of similar exampl
13、es such as “a drop in the ocean” and “九牛一毛”. Secondly, allusions are idioms related to history stories. Britain and China are countries with long history, resulting which English idioms are different from Chinese. Most English idioms allusions from Bible or Greek and Roman Mythology whereas Chinese
14、originate from historical records such as Shih Chi, anthology such as The Book of Sons(诗经), literature works such like The Peony Pavilion(牡丹亭), folktales like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. For instance, in English, there are idioms like Achilles heel, rest on ones laurels, swan song, labor of Sisyph
15、us, and so forth; in Chinese, there are 名列前茅(come out in front), 三顾茅庐(repeatedly to request somebody to take up a responsible post), 才高八斗(to describe a man of great talent), and so on.3.2 Different in religion beliefReligion belief is one of the most important of a nations culture. Most English coun
16、tries believe in Christianity and in most of the westerners opinion, the world is created, ruled by God, everything is under his control and everyone should worship him, love him, and believe in him. Correspondingly, Bible is the holy law of peoples behavior that everyone should obey. The belief in
17、Christianity and worship to God generate many idioms which come from Bible or concern with Christianity, their faith, just as the following: as poor as a church mouse, Aarons serpent, apple of Sodom beat swords into plowshares.Chinese, however, believe in Buddhism or Taoism, which impacts the format
18、ion of idioms. Buddhism emphasizes that in this world, everything, everybody are equal and people should help each other turn to good and enjoy happiness. Buddha, according to Chinese, represents love and mercy so that Buddha, in Chinese idioms, are always combined with hope, help, good luck and pra
19、ise, for example, 借花献佛(offer presents provided by somebody else), 放下屠刀，立地成佛(The butcher who lays down his knife and he immediately becomes a Buddha which means that the moment a person throw his evil thought away, he steps toward good and would be a good person), 临时抱佛脚(seek help at the last moment),
20、 佛口蛇心(to describe a person with honey words but evil intent).3.3 Different in social customsLanguage is shaped during peoples daily life and social customs have a great influence on idioms. There are many aspects reflecting the distinct differences between English and Chinese social customs.Ranking
21、the first on this list is peoples attitude toward animals. There are two typical examples, dog and dragon. In Britain and many English countries, dog is their humans friend representing loyalty, but in China, dog is connected with derogatory and pejorative sense. These two absolutely different attit
22、udes can be figured out from the idioms of these two languages, and the following are evidence: every dog has its day; be top dog; love me, love my dog; lucky dog, etc. 狐朋狗友(disreputable gang, a group of people doing evil things together); 狗吠非主( the dog barks at a man who is not his master; to descr
23、ibe a person fawn upon the rich and powerful persons and do some evil); 狗苟蝇营(seek personal gain shamelessly). Another good example is the view of dragon. In British opinion, dragon is a monster with a lot of evil deeds like watching princess, breathing fire, even killing people. Many idioms about dr
24、agon are associated with bad or even terrible things like chase the dragon; dragons teeth; the old dragon, etc. . But in the light of Chinese view, dragon is symbol of power, idioms contain the character of “龙”(dragon) usually express peoples good wishes such as 龙凤呈祥(the dragon and the phoenix bring
25、 prosperity, implying in extremely good fortune); 望子成龙(hope the son will be a dragon, indicating that hoping ones children will have a bright future); 藏龙卧虎(hidden dragons and crouched tigers, suggesting a place where talented and able men still remained in concealment)The second one is the feeling t
26、owards colors, among which red is one of the best proof. Red, in western countries, is always considered danger and admonition and used for traffic signs and sometimes it implies someone is in debt (Ni Wanhui, 2009). There are many English idioms containing “red” expressing negative sense. For examp
27、le, red in tooth and claw, a red rag to a bull, see red, as red as a beetroot, etc. . Another element having great influence on idioms is the diet. Its well known that westerners main food is bread while Chinese rice. So, “bread” and “rice(米)” are respectively two words appearing in idioms of these
28、two languages. In English, there are idioms like “bread and wine”, “make ones bread”, “bread and butter on both sides”, and so forth while in Chinese, 米珠薪桂(Rice is as expensive as pearls and firewood as dear as cassia. It means the cost of living is pretty high.); 巧妇难为无米之炊 (Even a clever housewife c
29、annot cook without rice. It means that nothing can be done without necessity).4. ConclusionIdioms are great treasure to a language, to human beings as they reflect not only language itself, but also a nations history, religion belief, social custom and many other cultural aspects. Its necessary and
30、important to know and learn idioms well if a person wants to learn a language well since the idiom as a significant part of a language. Idioms take the heavy responsibility of spreading culture and put forward the civilization of a nation or a community (Yang Chunli, 2010). As a distinctive language
31、 phenomenon, idiom is widely spread and used by ordinary people. It evolved into a special and fixed style in the course of language usage. References1. Dai Lisheng. (2009) Understanding English and Chinese Idioms from a Cultural Perspective. Read and Write Periodical Vol. 6, No.5.2. Ni Wanhui. (200
32、9) Translation of English-Chinese Idiom under Cultural Differences. US-China Foreign Language Vol.7 No.2.3. Yang Chunli. (2010) Cultural Differences on Chinese and English Idioms of Diet and the Translation. English Language Teaching Vol. 3, No.1.4. Zhang Weiyou. (2011) English Lexicology. Wuhan： Ce
33、ntral China Normal University Press.生命列车The Train Of Life1. 不久以前，我读了一本书。书中把人生比作一次旅行。2. 人生一世，就好比是一次搭车旅行，要经历无数次上车、下车; 时常有事故发生; 有时是意外惊喜，有时却是刻骨铭心的悲伤 3. 降生人世，我们就坐上了生命列车。我们以为我们最先见到的那两个人-我们的父母，会在人生旅途中一直陪伴着我们。 4. 很遗憾，事实并非如此。他们会在某个车站下车，留下我们，孤独无助。他们的爱、他们的情、他们不可替代的陪伴，再也无从寻找。 5. 尽管如此，还会有其他人上车。他们当中的一些人将对我们有着特殊的意
34、义。 6. 他们之中有我们的兄弟姐妹, 有我们的亲朋好友。我们还将会体验千古不朽的爱情故事。7. 坐同一班车的人当中，有的轻松旅行。8. 有的却带着深深的悲哀 还有的,在列车上四处奔忙，随时准备帮助有需要的人 9. 很多人下车后，其他旅客对他们的回忆历久弥新 但是，也有一些人，当他们离开座位时，却没有人察觉。10. 有时候，对你来说情深义重的旅伴却坐到了另一节车厢。你只得远离他，继续你的旅程。11. 当然，在旅途中，你也可以摇摇晃晃地穿过自己的车厢，去别的车厢找他 12. 可惜，你再也无法坐在他身旁，因为这个位置已经让别人给占了 .13. 没关系。旅途充满挑战、梦想、希望、离别 就是不能回头。
35、因此，尽量使旅途愉快吧！14. 善待旅途上遇见的所有旅客，找出人们身上的闪光点。15. 永远记住，在某一段旅程中，有人会犹豫彷徨，因为我们自己也会犹豫彷徨。16. 我们要理解他人，因为我们需要他人的理解。17. 生命之谜就是：我们在什么地方下车？坐在身旁的伴侣在什么地方下车？我们的朋友在什么地方下车？我们无从知晓 18. 我时常这样想：到我该下车的时候，我会留恋吗？我想我还是会的。和我的朋友分离，我会痛苦。让我的孩子孤独地前行，我会悲伤。 我执著地希望在我们大家都要到达的那个终点站，我们还会相聚 19. 我的孩子们上车时没有什么行李，如果我能在他们的行囊中留下美好的回忆，我会感到幸福。20.
36、我下车后，和我同行的旅客都还能记得我，想念我，我将感到快慰。21. 献给你, 我生命列车上的同行者, 祝您旅途愉快!1. Not long ago, I read a book, in which a mans life was compared to a journey.2. The life of a man is just like a hitchhiking，during which many times we go up and down. Now and then things will happen accidently, some of which are to be unex
37、pected excitement，while some heart-breaking sorrows. 3. When first embraced the world，we are already on the train of life. We take it for granted that the first two persons, our parents, whom we are encountered with, will accompany us all the way.4. Sadly，things do not go on as we thought.Our parent
38、s will get off the train at a certain station，leaving us, bereft and helpless.Their love and emotion to us and their irreplaceable company can be found in nowhere.5. However，there will be somebody else who will get on the train. Some of them will have special meaning to us.6. Some of them may be our
39、 siblings , relatives and friends, and we will also expereince the imperishable love.7. Some of our travelling companions are quite light-hearted on the way.8. While some may bear immense sorrow.Still some ,back and forth, are ready to hold out their hands for others who need help.9. Some people ali
40、ght off the train, yet they are still kept in the mind of the other passengers for long;some, to the opposite, leave their seats without being noticed.10. Sometimes, the one,who is dear to your heart, has huddled into another carriage. Nothing but one you can do is just to keep on going, far away fr
41、om him.11. Of course, during the journey, you may stagger to another carriage to look for him.12. Its a pity that you will never seat yourself beside him because the seat has been engaged by others. 13. Never mind. The journey is full of challenges,dreams, hopes and departures- but only one thing is
42、 that you cant turn back. So, have a good journey with heart and soul.14. Show your good-will to all the passengers you are encountered with, and find the merits of theirs.15. Remeber that someone may oscillate just as we do in the journey.16. We should understand others just as we need others under
43、standing.17. The enigma of life is：Where shall we get off the train of life?And how about the companions beside us?And our friends?We dont know.18. Sometimes I think：When my time comes to get off the train，shall I miss it？I think I will.It is a suffering when I part with my friends.I will be sorry f
44、or leaving my kids going alone.I firmly hold that when we get to the terminal，we will have another reunion.19. When my kids get on the train of life, they have only little luggage in their travelling bags. However,if I can leave the beautiful memory in them,I will be happy. 20. After getting off the train of life, I will be content if my fellow passengers will remember me and miss me.21. To you , the companions on my train of life.May you have a good journey!