如果说语言是一种传递信息与文化的代码，那么习语就是一种特殊的代码同时也具有鲜明的民族文化特征。英语习语有两万多条，常用的有四千左右（Jackendoff，1997）”(彭庆华，1)，我们不难从各种电影，电视剧，书本中以及歌曲中发现习语被英语国家的广大人民普遍使用。在我们的生活当中英语的学习成为了必不可少的一部分，所以学习习语也变得同样重要了，因为在语言交流中习语的使用比较普遍。英语习语的学习在二外习得和跨文化交际中起着重要的作用。英语学习者若能熟练运用并准确明白习语的意思这代表了在一定程度上有了对西方文化的了解，就能使得英语学习者在与英语国家的人交流时能够足够尊重以及理解他国的文化，避免语用失误。本文试从对习语通过对比分析的方法来说明中英两国在地理环境、文学作品、宗教信仰、认知与风俗习惯等方面存在的差异, 通过对比我们会对英汉这两种文化有更深的理解, 并且也有助于我们更好地掌握这两种语言。
If language is a kind of code for transferring information and culture, idiom is a special code with distinctive nation cultural characteristics. “We know there are 20 thousand idioms and 20% of them are common used in our daily life. (Jackendoff,1997)” (彭庆华，1) . We can easily find those common idioms used by people are from varieties movies、TV series、books and some songs. Nowadays learning English is becoming our part of life, so that it is also very important for us to learning or knowing idioms. Because it is common for us to use idioms in communications. In my opinion, I think learning idioms plays an important role in second-language learning and cross-culture communication. As English learners if we can use idioms expertly and know their meanings which represent that how we know about western culture and show more respects to native speakers and their culture avoiding pragmatic failure. According to the comparatives on geography、literature works、religion and customs between these two countries，we can easily find the differences on English and Chinese idioms from the thesis. From this I think we can understand each other’ culture better and it is good for us to grasp these two languages.
Upon this topic “A Comparative Study on English and Chinese Idioms”, I just want to make a comparison between English and Chinese Idioms from a cross-cultural perspective. This thesis attempt to find out that how important for our English learners to learning idioms. Because the differences between English and Chinese culture, this thesis aims to let the English learners know that learning idioms can help us study English better. Idiom is also an important part of culture. The research methods in this thesis includes comparison, demonstration and deduction. I can find out the difference of culture between Chinese and English from a large number of idioms from all the reference books. First I will read all the reference books that I have, then I can choose what I need for my thesis and decide how to organize it. Meanwhile collecting some interesting and specific idioms is essential. I can categorize them and make comparisons on such as historical development, natural customs, religion, etc. Finally, I will show how important to know how to use idioms in study even in our daily life. The whole thesis will be divided into four parts. To find the exactly definition and features of idioms and analyze the differences between English and Chinese idioms to let people know English cultural better which also can help them learn English better. Of course，this is my first time to writer a thesis, so there would be a lot of difficult for me to face and handle them. At first, it is a huge work for me to finish readings all the reference books which I collect from the internet and library. Time is limit, this is a very important procedure, because I should be familiar with varieties idioms. Secondly, I think I should make a standard for this thesis. How to manage the whole thesis would be an issue. I show my thought through the different ways. Third, since I need write this thesis in English, the problem for me is how to translate or explain Chinese idioms exactly into English. First of all, I think I should spend a lot of time on reading those books, so that I can easily pick up representative idioms for this thesis. For the second, I manage the thesis under the outline. Make sure the order is easy to understand for readers. And for the third, in order to improve the quality of this thesis, I have to try my best to use correct ways to show the exactly meaning of these Chinese idioms, thus we could see the cultural differences between Chinese and English idioms.
Idiom is a product of culture with rich cultural knowledge to reflect the differences of Eastern and Western culture. The whole thesis analysis the differences of English and Chinese culture on both English and Chinese idioms from four aspects，geography environment、customs、religion and historical allusions. On one hand , in this paper I hope you can know exactly what is the origin of culture difference on English and Chinese idioms. On the other hand，I write thesis with the hope that English learners can study and grasp these two languages further more and better. However in this thesis I just make some comparisons between English and Chinese idioms and analysis the cultural differences from an objective point of view. In my opinion, if we want to grasp and know more about these two kinds of idioms even be proficient with them, we should do more analysis and grasp them in each specific situation. Today, we still can find that a large number of idioms are widely used in daily life in western countries. |
