英漢習(xí)語的文化共性和個(gè)性研究

【摘要】：習(xí)語是一個(gè)國家語言和文化的重要組成部分， 攜帶著大量的文化信息， 如歷史、地理、宗教、民俗、民族的心理和思維模式等等。本研究從社會語言學(xué)角度出發(fā)，以語言與文化之間的關(guān)系理論為指導(dǎo)，通過例證分析法和理論聯(lián)系實(shí)際的方法，在前人研究的基礎(chǔ)上，對英漢習(xí)語的文化共性和個(gè)性等進(jìn)行了系統(tǒng)的分析，說明正確掌握英漢習(xí)語的文化共性和個(gè)性不僅對于提高語言靈敏度是必要的，而且還能提高跨語言交際的能力。

【關(guān)鍵詞】：習(xí)語;語言與文化;共性;個(gè)性

Introduction

Language is a communicative tool for people to express thought， exchange feelings as well as a microcosm of the culture of a nation. Vocabularies in language are closely related to culture， while the idioms in the vocabulary are most sensitive to changes in the development of culture of a nation. It can be said that if one could not grasp cultural background knowledge implied in the idioms，he will not really understand and master the idioms， and it is also impossible for him to obtain cross-cultural communication capabilities. Precisely because of it， the research on cultural similarities and differences between English and Chinese idioms will help people understand the value system as well as feel cultural similarities and differences between English and Chinese.

Earlier scholars mainly clarify idioms from the perspective of communicative function， and execute a comprehensive functional analysis of linguistic form of idioms in vocabulary structure， semantic features and syntactic aspects. In recent years， research on idioms has developed to the cultural functions and pragmatics aspects and so on. （Peng， 13） Idioms are unique and fixed expressions formed in the course of using a language. （Deng and Liu， 22） At present， the study of the idioms can be divided into two sides： horizontal and vertical. Horizontal study mainly focuses on the study of word idioms， phrases idioms and vocabulary structure of sentence idioms， etc; for instances： Colorful and Navigation-Related English Idioms are gold in the language culture. （lu， 43） Under the influence of two different cultures， the majority idiom in English and Chinese is part correspondence， while fully correspondence is very rare. （Zhou， 111） Meanwhile， vertical study pays more attention to explore all kinds of semantic characteristics of idioms. For examples： Language is not an isolated phenomenon but rather an integral part of culture. （Snell-Hornby， 34） We will summarize the cultural differences reflected in the English and Chinese idioms as five areas： environment， customs， knowledge of objective things， religion， and historical allusion. （Zeng， 129）

This study takes the sociolinguistics as the main perspective. As a guide and based on the previous research， the theory of relationship between language and culture introduces the definition and fundamental features of idioms and executes a systematic analysis of cultural similarities and differences.

Besides introduction and conclusion， the paper consists of four chapters. Chapter one is a general survey of idioms. Chapter two is the introduction to the relation between language and culture. Chapter three is the analysis of cultural similarities between English and Chinese idioms. Chapter four is the analysis of cultural differences between English and Chinese idioms.

1 A General Survey of Idioms

1.1 Definition of Idiom

“Idioms， in general， are deeply connected to culture. …. Agar （1991） proposes that biculturalism and bilingualism are two sides of the same coin. Engaged in the intertwined process of culture change， learners have to understand the full meaning of idioms.”（Glucksberg， 13）.

The Oxford English Dictionary （1987 edition）， gives the following senses of the term：

1. The form of speech peculiar or proper to a people or country; own language， own tongue.

2. That variety or language which is peculiar to a limited district or class of people; dialect.

The Chinese equivalent for “idioms” is 習(xí)語. “Idioms in Chinese can be roughly divided into set phrase， proverbs， sayings， and allegorical sayings， etc.” （Simon， 34）. From the above definition we can make such a conclusion that the coverage of English and Chinese idioms is roughly the same， they all refer to a fixed phrase or phrases， and all own special meaning that hardly deduced from the literal meaning.

1.2 The Fundamental Features of Idioms

Idiom is an essential part of the general language; it has five peculiarities according to its formation and content： structural stability， semantic unity， figurative features， phonological features， national characteristics. The structural stability， semantic unity and the two fundamental features are much more projecting than others’ peculiarities.

1.2.1 Structural Stability

Many English and Chinese idioms have the characteristics of structural invariability. Their form is often fixed. However， the words in idiomatic expressions cannot， as a rule， be cut out， added to， replaced by synonymous words， or meaning. For example， in the idiom “on the tip of the tongue”， it is impossible to say “at the tip of the tongue” or “before the tip of the tongue”; In the idiom “for nothing”， if the word “nothing” is replaced by “anything”， the meaning of the idiom will no longer mean “for free”.A native speaker is not consciously aware of this inappropriateness.

It is correctly the same case with Chinese idioms. Since they have been accepted by traditional usage， they also have their stability， fixed and all ready-made nature. No element can be changed without destroying the meaning as a whole. For example， we can say 老馬識途， （ an lord horse knows the way – an old hand is a good guide），but not老牛識途， though 牛 might well know the way..

1.2.2 Semantic Unity

Idioms are mainly characterized by their semantic unity. By semantic unity， no elements in the idiom can be changed without destroying the whole sense and also it can not interpreted only according to its literal meaning. So， “at the drop of a hat” is not at all connected with “hat”， it means “without waiting， immediately”， such as “At the drop of a hat， he would tell the story of the road he wanted to build.”

2 The Relation between Language and Culture

The relationship between language and culture are extremely close. Language as a carrier of national culture is an important part of culture; furthermore， the language has a long history， which shows the nation’s mode of thinking， cultural identity and national feelings. Culture is the base of language; the survival and development of any language are inseparable from its social and cultural environment. To some extent， social culture influences the development and improvement of language and affects the language user’s ways and ability of thinking and expression. If you want to understand the language， you must understand its culture and vice versa. Language would be nothing without culture. It is a reflection of culture.

Every culture has its own set of unique of value system. Language is the premise of formation and development of culture， while it is the mirror reflecting culture and the cultural value system. Living in different cultural environment， languages have different characteristics. In fact， they are the portrayal of cultural psychology of different ethnic groups. Vocabulary and idiom as the most active factor of a language， is the window of glimpse of a national ethos.

3 Cultural Similarities between English and Chinese Idioms

3.1 Basic Moral Concepts

There is commonality of human thought. Therefore， sometimes both the English and Chinese people use the same thing or concept to express similar meaning.The pursuits of human good qualities， which both English and Chinese people displayed in their idioms， are such as kindness， generosity and so on：

Chinese idioms English idioms

好人有好報(bào) one good turn deserves another

既往不咎 let bygones be bygones

3.2 Cultural Beauty

Idioms carry strong national colors and distinct cultural connotations. This connotation is often associated with ecology of one nation， way of living， way of thinking， as well as illusions from literature， religion， etc. We can easily find a large number of examples in English idioms.

3.3 Meaning and Symbol

English and Chinese are different in contexts and cultures， but people also use similar symbol to describe the same thing or view. For instances：catch fire "著火

3.4 Basic Values

There are also some common value points in English and Chinese idioms.

3.4.1 Activeness and Self-Reliance

Both English and Chinese people are imaginative， hard-working， industrious and diligent. They are all good at self-improvement through their own efforts. Thus， there are many idioms in both languages to praise the pioneering spirit：

Chinese idioms " " " " " " " " " " English idioms

3.4.2 Perseverance and Persistence

People of both two countries also pursue the positive and progressive attitude towards life and the persisting spirit to do things.一不做，二不休 " " " " " " " " " " "over shoes over boots.

4 Cultural Differences between English and Chinese Idioms

4.1 Living Surroundings

This kind of idioms has close relation with people’s everyday life. They are active， vivid， and expressive.

4.1.1 Sailing

Though China is also located to the sea， and it has long coastline. China has adopted close-door policy for long， and put “sea ban” into practice， so idioms deriving from sailing in Chinese are less than those of English， while the Great Britain is an island nation with advanced fisheries.

4.1.2 Geographical Environment

On the one hand， Britain is an island country. People who live along seacoast will have idioms about water. For example， we speak in Chinese揮金如土，but we should render it into English as “spend money like water”. On the other hand， the people in Han dynasty live on land. They belong to an agrarian social system， in which agricultural production is at the top. At that time industry and commerce are the non-essentials. During the long history of farming， the Chinese language has accumulated a large numbers of "idioms， such as： 上無片瓦，下無寸土（as poor as a church mouse）

4.2 Historical Allusion

4.2.1 Historical Events

History culture is composed of tradition， decrees， regulation， poems， ancient books and records etc. Here are some examples：破釜沉舟 to burn one’s boats/to cross the Rubicon.

4.2.2 Fables and Mythologies

Idioms are usually closely related to distinctive cultural fables and mythologies. Greek and Roman civilizations have a great influence on the English language. Most English allusions come from the Bible and the Greek Roman Myth. Most of the following Chinese idioms are from Chinese historical works and ancient fairy tales. They are vivid with profound meanings. For example：

4.3 Religions and Beliefs

A large number of idioms are related to religions and beliefs in English and Chinese language. Buddhism and Daoism are the important part in culture of Han dynasty. Comparatively speaking， Buddhist has more influence on Chinese culture， such as： 半路出家（switch to a new trade without solid foundation）.

Conclusion

Based on the Relation between Language and Culture， the paper analyses cultural similarities between English and Chinese idioms， including basic moral concepts， cultural beauty， meaning and symbol， basic values as well as cultural differences.

There are some limitations in the paper. Based on the Relation between Language and Culture， the analysis of English and Chinese idioms is not very comprehensive. There are more cultural similarities and differences between English and Chinese idioms to be explored. Besides， as idioms come up with new things and ideas， the latest change and development need to be studied.

Reference

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