Differences and Similarities between Eastern and Western Cultures in Chinese and English Idioms

羅羽婷

摘 要：The article is to explain the correlation of idioms and culture， compare and analyze the differences between Chinese and western culture， points out that the study of idioms must links up the corresponding cultural background and idioms， compared with the learners' mother tongue culture， don't unilaterally to learn idioms.

關鍵詞：Idioms； Chinese and western culture； Differences

1. Definition of idioms.

Idioms refer to the unique and fixed expression of language that has evolved over a long period of time in the culture. Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary is derived from the Greek idiom and idiomatikos， meaning "special" . Idioms refer to the language or dialect of a people or country. In a broad sense， the language includes set phrases， proverbs， sayings， colloquialisms， allusions， slangs， and enigmatic folk similes. In a narrow sense， idioms are a special form of language， reflecting the cultural life of people in a nation or country or region. It carries the information of language， and carries the comprehensive information of people's life customs， geographical environment， religious beliefs， values and so on. It is not only the communicator of language， but also the communicator of culture.

2. Analysis of cultural differences between English and Chinese idioms.

People are in different natural environment because each nation or group of different living conditions formed in language， religion， customs， customs， way of thinking， values， ethics and other differences， namely the cultural differences. There are many idioms in both English and Chinese that reflect the cultural differences between Chinese and western cultures.

2.1 Differences in natural environment.

Natural environment directly influences people's life， so people's language also reflects their natural environment. Our Chinese nation mainly lives on the Asian continent， so people's life and language are bound to have a close relationship with the land. But Britain is an island country， surrounded by water， and the daily life is mostly related to the sea and water. Therefore， there are some idioms related to "sea" and "fish" in the language. For example， we say "bon voyage" when we see a friend off， while the British use plain sailing. We say "spend a lot of money" when we describe a person's extravagance and waste， but we say "spend money like water in English" ， there are more similar idioms like a fish out of water. Miss the boat is a "missed opportunity".

2.2 Differences in customs and habits.

The differences in geographical conditions between China and western countries also lead to differences in people's living habits and other aspects. For example， apple， which is the most common fruit， has different meanings in English and Chinese due to the different effects of lifestyle habits. In "the apple in one's eye"， apple is a very precious person. In "the apple of discord"， "apple" leads to arguments. In China when you get married， the apple mean "safe"， because the word "apple" is the same as "flat"， so it sounds like a homonym. The girl's face is red when she is shy. Due to the different national conditions， many idioms in the diet also reflect the living conditions and habits of various ethnic groups. In China， "food for the people" reflects that we are a big agricultural country. "One cannot make bricks without straw." reflects the fact that we eat rice as the main food. The difference between Chinese and western diets is evident in the English language， which is a piece of cake. For animals， the Chinese and westerners both have a habit of keeping dogs， but the attitude towards dogs is very different. In the west， dogs， as pets， enjoy equal rights with their owners at home. They are treated as family members and treated as companions. So it's not surprising that westerners say "You are a lucky dog in English".

2.3 Differences in value orientation.

Values represent a person's view of the world and their attitude towards things. Due to historical reasons， the values and outlook on life of Chinese and the westerners are quite different. This is reflected in both English and Chinese. For example， westerners， especially Americans， believe in individualism， independently and creatively， and believe that it is a virtue to strive for personal interests and honor. So they said， "Everyone is the architect of his own fortune.""Everyman for himself and God for us all." （every man for himself， and God for us all， "the Self is our centre." （the ego is our center）. In Chinese culture， collectivism is advocated. Such as： "unity of purpose"， "together"， "the overall situation" and so on. Westerners pursue personal values and interests， and can boldly pursue money. However， in the Chinese culture， due to the influence of Confucianism， "valuing righteousness and ignore profit"， "being willing to give up" and "seeing money as dung" has become a moral constraint. This is a flagrant contrast with the west "Money is the key that opens all doors."

3. Summary

The role of idioms in English cannot be ignored. To learn English well， learners must master idioms. In the process of learning， we must put the idioms in their corresponding cultural background to reproduce the original appearance of the idiom so that we can know more about idioms and cognitive idioms. With the comparison between the English idioms and Chinese idioms and culture， we can know the difference between them， and to avoid mistakes in using English idioms and Chinese idioms or make a joke.

Reference：

[1]Radford， a. zhou liuxi. Introduction to linguistics [M]. Beijing： foreign language teaching and research press， 2001.1.

[2] lu qiuping. A brief analysis of the influence of negative transfer of native language on the meaning of words. Journal of chongqing institute of technology， 2001， （4）.