The Cultural Differences Reflected in Chinese and

TheCulturalDifferencesReflectedinChineseandWesternIdiomsContentsIntroductionThesourceofEnglishidiomsFeaturesofIdiomsDifferencesNewWordsidiom['idiəm]习语maritime['mæritaim]海事cobblers['kɔbləs]胡说臭皮匠Buddhism['budizəm]佛教Christianity[,kristi'ænəti]基督教omniscient[ɔm'niʃənt]]无所不知omnipotent[ɔm'nipətənt]无所不能的individualism[,indi'vidjuəlizəm]个人主义collectivism[kə'lektivizəm]集体主义benevolent[bi'nevələnt]仁慈的NewWordsdespicable['despikəbl](卑贱)pejorative['pi:dʒərətive]轻蔑语auspicious[ɔ:'spiʃəs]吉利，喜庆posterior[pɔ'stiəriə]后路authoritarian[ɔ:,θɔri'tεəriən]独裁主义者entangle[in'tæŋɡl]缠住derogatorysense[di'rɔɡətəri]贬义swine[swain]卑贱的人aristocracy[,æri'stɔkrəsi]贵族gladiator['ɡlædieitə]格斗士PartOneIntroduction1.DefinitionIdiomgenerallyreferstothephraseswithaspecificformthatarecommonlyusedtogether.Itsinherentsignificanceoftencan'tbespeculatedfromthemeaningofthecomponentwords.Idiomsusuallyincludephrase,folkadage(俗语),motto,two-partallegoricalsaying(歇后语),slang(俚语)andjargon(行话),etc.e.g.1.Loveme,lovemydog爱屋及乌2.robPetertopayPaul拆东墙补西墙3.whitenight不眠之夜4.Aslowsparrowshouldmakeanearlystart.笨鸟先飞5.sparenoeffort;goallout;doone'sbest不遗余力6.Nodiscord,noconcord.不打不成交2.Whytolearnidioms?themostactivecomponentinEnglishvocabularybasictoolsreflectstheinformationoffolkcustomandcultureculturalconnotationDifferentidiomscontaindifferentmeanings,whichmayformobstaclestoourcommunication.PartTwoThesourceofEnglishidioms2.1FromHistoricalstoriesandevents2.2Fromthefables2.3FromTheBible2.4Fromthecustom2.1Fromhistoricalstoriesandevents(1)burnone’sboats(similarto破釜沉舟）Thestoryisthat,theancientRomeJulesCaesararmysailedacrosstheRubiconandthentheyburnedtheboats,totellthesoldiersthattheposterior(后路)hadbeenbroken,andcannotretreat.Nowitmeansthat“don’tstaythroughposteriorapproach,determinedtogothroughwithit”.WiththeChinesesimilarmeaning“cutoffallmeansofretreat”.Anothersimilaridiom:burnyourbridgesbehindyou.(2)keepthepowderdry（similarto有备无患）Theseventeenthcenturyauthoritarian(独裁主义者）politicianOliverCromwellgoneouttobattleIreland,beforecrossingtheriverhesaidtothearmy“PutyourtrustinGod；butbesuretokeepyourpowderdry”.Nowitusedtoreferto“getready”or“bepreparedagainstwant”.2.2FromthefablesManyEnglishidiomsoriginatedfromthefablesandspreadsofar.(1)killthegoosetogettheeggs（similarto杀鸡取卵）TheidiomisfromtheGreekfable,saidthereisacountryfolk,heismoney-madandkilledhisgoosethatlaidgoldeneggstogetlotsofgold,buthegetsnothing.Thestorytellusthatseekingimmediateinterestswithoutlong-termplancangetnoting.(2)fishintroubledwaters(fromAesop’sfables.waterfisherman)（similarto浑水摸鱼，趁火打劫）Thefishermanputanetacrosstheriver,andusedtheropetoentangle(缠住)thestones,thenhittheriverconstantly,thefishfleedinpanicandallwentintohisnet.Amannearbysaw,andaccusedhimofmuddyingtheriver,sothatnobodycandrinkthewater.Thefishermananswered:”IfIdidn’tmuddythewater,Iwouldbestarvetodeath”.Italwaysusedtoreferthatgainone’sownadvantageindisarray.2.3FromTheBible(1)Separatethesheepfromthegoatsmeansdistinguishthegoodfromthewicked(区别好坏）InThegospelofMatthew(马太福音)thesheepmeansgoodperson,andthegoatmeansthebadperson.IdiomsaboutgoatinEnglishalwayshasderogatorysense(贬义).Foranexample:“toplaythegoat”meansblindmischief.Togetsb’sgoatmeansmakesomebodyangry.(2)Castpearlsbeforeswine（对牛弹琴，白费好意）ThisidiomisfromThegospelofMatthewmeanswastingsomethinggoodonsomeonewhowon’tbethankfulforitortogivewhatisprecioustothosewhoareunabletounderstanditsvalue.2.4FromthecustomFolkcustomisanimportantsourceofidiom.Hundredsofyearsago,theBritisharistocracy(贵族)likedtoputfeathersontheircaps,toshowtheirimportance.Sotheidiom:“featherinyourcap”meansthematterofglory.Thumbsupmeansfavorandthumbsdownmeansopposition.InancientRometheslaveowneremploytheslavesasgladiators(格斗士)forentertainment.Afterthecontest,asktheaudiencetojudgehowtodealwiththedefeatedgladiator.Iftheaudiencethumbsup,releasetheloser,iftheaudiencethumbsdownkilltheloser.Nowthisfiguremeansfavororopposition.PartThreeFeaturesofIdioms3.1StructuralStability3.2SemanticUnity3.3FigurativeFeatures3.4NationalCharacteristics3.1StructuralStabilityTheformisoftenfixed.Thewordsinidiomaticexpressionscannot,asarule,bedeleted,addedto,replacedbysynonymouswords,ormeaning.e.g.1.Astitchintimesavesnine(小洞不补，大洞叫苦).“in”“on”or“nine”“ten”?2.Theoldmankickedthebucket(这个老人死了)Ifthewordbucketisreplacedbypail,themeaningoftheidiomwillnolongermean“die”.3.Iamgoodfriendswithhim(我和他是好朋友)Thissentenceisirregularorillogicalinitsgrammaticalstructure.“Iamagoodfriendwithhim”?3.2SemanticUnityIdiomsaremainlycharacterizedbytheirsemanticunity.Bysemanticunitywemeananidiomfunctionsasaunitofmeaning,andmustbelearnedasawhole.Thatis,themeaningoftheidiomcannotbededucedfromtheliteralmeaningofitsmemberwords.e.g.Afeatherinsomebody’scapisnotatallconnectedwithfeatherorcap;itmeansanhonor,success,ofwhichonecanbeproud.Themeaningoftodrawablankhasnothingtodowiththemeaningsoftheseparatewords;itmeanstofailtodiscoverorfindoutaboutsomethingaftersearchinghardandaskingmanyquestions.3.3FigurativeFeaturesIdiomsareoftenforcible,terse(精练的,简练的)andvivid,becausetheyareusedfiguratively.Idiomsareanimportantrhetoricaldevic