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1、中英习语典故对比分析中英习语典故对比分析中英习语典故对比分析 2007-12-08 16:50Cultural Differences between English and Chinese on Idioms OriginsAbstract Different people from different cultures may have different understandings of the same sentence because they know little about the target cultures. While the ultimate aim of Engl
2、ish teaching as a foreign language is to cultivate students competence to apply English correctly, fluently, and appropriately in cross-cultural communication. However, due to lack of knowledge of cultural differences, many college students fail to achieve this purpose during the actual communicatin
3、g activities. It is necessary for us to study the cultural differences in some fields between China and Western countries. Language is the most principal means for inter-cultural communication. Idioms, a part of language, are the essence of culture in every country. Using language in such communicat
4、ion, we often come across some idioms with distinctive cultural characteristics, so it is a very important and complicated thing for us to understand and use these idioms correctly. Therefore, in this paper, we will discuss the idioms reflecting the differences of Chinese and Western cultures in var
5、ious levels with many lively, important, and interesting examples of idioms. Key Words idioms; origins; cultural differences between English and Chinese从习语来源看中英文化差异【摘 要】 同一句话，不同文化背景的人的反应有时是不同的，甚至会截然相反。究其原因，是说话双方没有真正掌握对方的文化。大学英语教学的目的，是使学生在跨文化交流中可以正确、流利与恰当的运用英语。而大学生在实际交流活动中，往往不能达到这一目的，这是因为他们对中两方文化差异不够
6、了解。因此，完全有必要对中西文化差异进行详细的研究。语言是跨文化交际中最主要的手段。在运用语言进行跨文化交际时,由于民族文化差异,难免会遇到具有鲜明文化特色的成语和习语,而对此确切地理解并正确地加以运用,则是一个十分重要而又复杂的问题。习语是各国文化的精髓，反映各国的风俗习惯。因此，本文从最能体现中西文化差异的习语着手，论述习语在文化的各个层次上所反映的中西文化差异，并采纳大量生动有趣的例子作为论据进行适当的分析。【关键词】 习语;来源;英语;汉语;文化差异IntroductionLanguage is inseparable from culture. For one thing, lang
7、uage is a part of culture and plays an important role in it. For another, as a mirror of culture, language is strongly influenced and shaped by culture; meanwhile, it reflects culture. Idioms include metaphorical phrases, slang, colloquialism, proverb and so on. As an essential part of the language
8、and culture of a society, idioms are characterized by their concise expressions, rich and vivid, involving geography, history, religious belief, living conventions and so on. They are usually highly specialized in meaning and closely tied to distinctive cultural features and cultural attitudes. It i
9、s believed that idioms are the most culturally loaded element in any language s vocabulary. Undoubtedly they are often hard to understand and harder to use correctly. English and Chinese idioms, closely related to their own culture, convey different cultural features and messages of their own nation
10、, reflecting their own culture.1P281-282 There exists vast difference between English and Chinese culture and this difference occurs in English and Chinese idioms, too. Based on others research, this paper intends to explore it by fully analyzing the main cultural reasons causing idiomatic expressio
11、ns differences in both Chinese and English.1.Different living circumstanceThat culture is determined by geographical environment is a subjective view of geographical determinism. It cannot be denied, however, that natural environment including geographical position, climate, ecological condition is
12、something that plays contributory role in the formation of a culture. People dwelling in a certain region try to adapt themselves to the surroundings so that livelihood can be maintained. As a result, their special way of living, thinking and behaving is formed as a side-product of their relationshi
13、p with the environment.1.1. Geographical environmentBritain 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 “spend m
14、oney like water“. There are a lot of English idioms about ship ,water and fish: “as close as an oyster“(守口如瓶)，“cast an anchor to windward“(未雨绸缪), “at sea“(茫然)，“to keep ones head above water“(奋力图存)，“to take the wind out of somebodys sail“(先发制人)，“tower ones sail“(甘拜下风)，“in full sail“(全力以赴)，“sail under
15、 false colors“(欺世盗名)，“half sea over“(酒喝得太多), “fish begins to stink at the head“ (上梁不正下梁歪)，“never offer to teach fish to swim“ (不要班门弄斧)，“dull fish“ (枯燥无味的人); “plain sailing“ (一帆风顺)，“to trim ones sail to the wind “ (见风使舵), “to be in the same boat“ (同舟共济)，“to burn ones boat “ (破釜沉舟), “a big fish in a l
16、ittle pond“(山中无老虎，猴子称霸王).2P110On the other hand, the Han People live on land, they belong to an agrarian society that places agricultural production at the top of the national agenda, regarding industry and commerce as the non-essentials. 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)，人不亏地，地不亏人(Th
