Cultural Differences Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms.docx
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Cultural Differences Reflected in English and Chinese Idioms.docx
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CulturalDifferencesReflectedinEnglishandChineseIdioms
CulturalDifferencesReflectedinEnglishandChineseIdioms
abstract:
idiomscanreflectanationjustlikeamirror.asaspecialformoflanguage,idiomscarryalargeamountofculturalinformationsuchashistory,geography,religion,custom,nationality,psychology,etc.,andthereforeidiomsarecloselyrelatedtoculture.thuspeoplecanknowmuchaboutculturebystudyingidiomsandinturngetbetterunderstandingofidiomsbylearningtheculturalbackgroundbehindidioms.inordertocommunicatewitheachotherfluently,thestudyoftherelationshipbetweentheidiomandcultureissignificantandurgent.thispaperanalyzesthemaincausesofculturaldifferencesinenglishandchineseidiomsandillustratesthemanifestationsofculturaldifferences.theaimofthisthesisistoenhancelanguagelearners’interculturalawarenessofcomprehendingandutilizingidiomsfromdifferentculturespreciselyandaccurately.
keywords:
idioms;origin;cultural;differences
i.introduction
idiomscanbeconsideredasitemsofspecialcollocation.famouslinguistcarterdescribesidiomsas“restrictedcollocationwhichcannotnormallybeunderstoodfromtheliteralmeaningofthewordswhichmakethemup”.furthermore,longmandictionaryofcontemporaryenglishdefinesidiomsas“afixedgroupofwordswithspecialmeaningwhichisdifferentfromthemeaningsoftheindividualwords”.despitetheirdifferences,thereisonethingincommon:
agreatnumberofidiomshaveafigurativesensethatcannotbederivedfromtheunderstandingofcomponentparts.unlikeliterallanguage,itisimpossibletoexplaintheidiomfromtheliteralmeaningoftheseparatewords.itisanestablishedformthathasbeenacceptedbytraditionalusage.assuch,thecomponentwords,wordorderandmeaningofeachidiomshouldbelearnedasawhole.
ii.thehistoryandtheoriginsofidioms
i.fromcustoms
onenation’scustomisformedthroughalonghistoryandfirmlyrootedinpeople’smind.itplaysanimportantsourceofidioms.indifferentcountriescustomsdrasticallydifferinvariousaspects,soalotofidiomsturnoutwithdifferentfeatures.
takefoodhabitsforexample,cakehasbeenacommonfoodinenglish,soitisunderstandablethattheyuse“apieceofcake”denotinganeasy-donetask.however,inchina,cakecannotbeseenuntilthelastonehundredyears,soitisimpossibleforthesameidiomtoappearinchinese.ontheotherhand,dishesareverycommoninchina,thereforeasimilaridiom“小菜一碟”turnedoutinchinesetoexpressthesamemeaning.
anotherexampleisrelatedtothehabitualwayofworkinginthefield.chinesepeoplewerehabituatedtousethebulltoploughthefieldbeforemodernizedagriculturewasdeveloped,whileenglishpeopleuseahorsetoplough.consequentlychinesesay“力大如牛”todescribesomeonewithgreatstrengthwhileenglishuse“asstrongasahorse”todescribeit.
ii.fromhistoricaffairs
therearelotsofidiomscomingfromhistoricaffairs.thestructureofthemisverysimplebuttheyhaveprofoundmeaning,sopeoplecannottranslateandunderstandtheidiomsfromtheliteralmeaning.itisnecessaryforpeopletolearnandunderstandtheenglishallusionaswellasthechineseone.herearesomeexamplesasfollows:
in49b.c.theromanemperorcaesarsenttheorderofburningoutallhisboatsafterhisarmypassedlupigenriver,showingthedeterminationtotakeanall-outwar.thatistheoriginoftheenglishidiom‘burnsone’sboat’.incidentally,in208b.c.generalxiangyu(项羽)inchinasentthesimilarordertosmashalltheboatsafterthearmypassedriverzhanginattempttoshowhisdeterminationofwinningthewar,whichproducethechineseidiom“破釜沉舟”.thetwoidiomsarealmostthesameinformandmeaning.anotherexampleis“meetone’swaterloo”.waterlooisaplacewherenapoleonwasultimatelybeatenbywellingtonandblucherin1815.theidiommeans:
befinallyandcrushinglydefeatedinacontest,especiallyafteraperiodofsuccess.
iii.fromreligion
religionexistsineverycountryandaffectsmuchinpeople’sbeliefandlives.numerousidiomsweregeneratedfromthefountainofreligion.thereforesomedifferencesinidiomsbetweenchineseandenglishcanbetracedbacktotheoriginofreligion.
buddhismhasbeentransmittedtochinaformorethanonethousandyears.peoplebelievethatthereisa“buddha”whocandominatetheworldanddecideeverybody’sdestiny.forexample,theidiom“道高一尺,魔高一丈”isoriginallythewarninginbuddhismtowarnbuddhistdisciples,andremindthemofthehardprospecttoovercomealldifficulties.nowitisusedtotellthereisalwaysatleastonepowerstrongerthantheother.
inwesterncountries,especiallyinbritain,peoplebelieveinchristianity.theythinkthatgodisomnipotentandsacredjustlikethebuddhisminchina.forexample,theidiom“judas’skiss”meansadeceitfulactofcourtesy.(judasbetrayedhismasterwithakiss.)
ⅲ.culturaldifferencesbetweenenglishandchineseidioms
bothchinaandbritainhavealonghistory,whichfertilizedtheirwonderfulcultures.thecommonexperienceandmutualinteractioninvariousaspectsthroughlong-timecommunicationbetweenthetwocountriesleadalotofcommonpointsinculture.forexample,thechineseidiom“以眼还眼,以牙还牙”wasborrowedfromtheenglishidiom,whiletheenglishidioms“toloseone’sface”and“tosaveone’sface”areborrowedfromthechineseones.
althoughchinesecultureandenglishculturehavemuchincommonasshowedabove,theyhavemoreindiscrepancyowingtotheirdifferentgeographicalenvironment,history,religion,etc.thedifferenceisacommonphenomenonwhichappearsinvariedforms,oneofwhichisidiom.thefollowingpartwouldanalyzethreeculturaldifferencesbetweenenglishandchineseidioms.
i.idiomsbasedongeographicalfeaturesappeardifferent
geographicalconditionplaysanimportantroleinshapingonecountry’scultureandhumanbeingshavenochoicesandcapacitiestochangethegeography.thusidiomsbasedongeographicalfeaturesappeardifferent.
britainisanislandcountry,whichonceledtheworldwithitsnavigation.solotsofenglishidiomshavesomethingtodowithnavigationandfishing.whilethechineseliveonasiancontinent,andtheirlivescannotgoonwithoutland.suchidiomsas“spendmoneylikewater”inenglishmeanssplashingmoneyonsomething,whereasinchineseitistranslatedas“挥金如土”.
so,differentlivingsurroundingsmayproducedifferentidioms.ifpeoplewanttomasterthiskindofidioms,theymusthaveaquatintedwiththebackgroundinformationofothercountriestogetabetterunderstandingincross-culturalcommunication.
ⅱ.astoreligiousviewpoint,chinesecultureevolvesfromconfucianandtaoistschoolwhilethewesternculturebelievesinchristianity
themajoritiesoftheenglishpeoplebelieveinchristianityandregardthebibleasoneofthemostimportantclassicalworksintheirlife.manyidiomsareoriginatedfromit,suchastheidiom“tomakeone’shairstandonend”,itusetodescribethrillinghorrorcausedbysomething.anotherexample“aneyeforaneye,atoothforatooth”indicatesrevengeinthesameway.besides,theidiom“aspoorasachurchmouse”alsoissomewhatinfluencedbyreligion.inchristianchurch,thereisnodevotedfood,whichisdifferentinchinesetemples.so,thisidiomisusedtoindicatepeoplewhoseconditionislikethemiceinthechurch,canbesaidaspoor.
beingdifferentfrombritain,chinesecultureevolvedfromconfucianschoolandtaoistschool.althoughbuddhistcultureisoriginatedfromothercountry,ithasbeenabsorbedinchineseculture.inlanguage,alargenumberofchineseidiomscanbetracedbacktobuddhistschool.forexample,“一尘不染”isabuddhistterm.buddhistschoolcallssex,sound,smell,flavor,touchandruleas“六尘”andbuddhistdisciplesshouldnotbeaffectedbytheabovesix.nowthisidiomevolvedtodescribeapersonwhoispureandhonestorathingwhichiscleanandinorder.
ⅲ.idiomsinvolvingvaluedifferfromtheeasternandwesterncountries
seeingfrompeople’sworkingandlivingexperienceofonecountry,peoplecanfindthatdifferentvalueconceptionhasbeenformed.becauseofdifferentexperiencebetweencountries,valuesalsoturnouttobetotallydifferent.idiomsrelatedtovaluealsodifferfromeachothergreatly.
forinstance,modestyisvaluedinchineseculture.therearemanychineseidiomsshowingthevirtuetobemodest,suchas“满招损,谦受益”,“虚心使人进步,骄傲使人落后”,etc.however,peopleinbritainusuallyemphasizeindividualbehaviors,achievementandvalue.theirvalueconceptioninthisaspectappearsoppositetochinese.theyhaveidiomsshowingtheuselessnesstobemodestsuchas“modestdogsmissmuchmeat”,“wherethereisfearthereismodesty”,etc.
ⅳ.conclusion
idiomsarefrequentlyusedbypeople.foronething,idiomsarefullofwitandhumor;theymakespeechmoreexpressiveandinteresting.forother,theysoundpleasantwiththeuseofalliteration,repetitionandrhythm.
asidiomstakeanimportantpositionintheuseoflanguage,anadequateuseofidiomsisnotonlyhelpfulbutessentialincross-culturalcommunication.withspecialpointofviewandthroughthesharpcontrastbetweenenglishandchineseidioms,thispapertriesitsbesttofocusontheroletoexploreculturaldifferencesbetweenenglishandchineseidiomssoastofindoutacorrectnewwaytounderstandthewesternculture.
today,thetypeoffigurativelanguageishighlyusedinwesterncountries.itisnecessaryforustohavesuchknowledgeofhowtocomprehend.theabilitytounderstandidiomsisimportanttosuccessfulcommunication.failuretograspthemeaningsofidiomscana
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