A comparative Study of English and Chinese idioms from their different derivation 英语论文.doc

Culture Difference between Chinese and English A comparative Study of English and Chinese idioms from their different derivation 1. Introduction As is known to all, idioms are the important part of language. It is applied at high frequency, it transforms plenty of cultural information such as history, geography, religion, and military, custom, nationality, psychology, thought pattern and etc. also it contains a large number of culture features and culture backgrounds. So different cultures bring out the similar and different idioms between Chinese and English. We should know much about culture through studying idioms and in turn get better understanding of idioms by learning the cultural background behind them. Francis Bacon said, “Generous wit and spirit of a nation are discovered by their idioms”. Comparing English and Chinese idioms will help us have a better understanding of differences and similarities of the two languages in the process of learning English. In addition, it helps us in translation. 2. The definition and classification of idioms 2.1 Definition What are idioms? Different scholars have different opinions and definition. Some are considering it as the cream of language; some thinks it is the treasury of language; some thinks it to be the important part of language. To sum up definition of idioms in some authoritative dictionaries: Longman Active Study English-Chinese Dictionary: a phrase which means something different from the meanings of the separate words; The Concise Oxford Dictionaries: a group of words established by usage and having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words; Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English: a phrase words from which is formed; Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language: an accepted phrase, construction, or expression contrary to the patterns of the language, or having a meaning different from the language or having a meaning different from the literal. To be brief, idiom