On the Cultural Connotation of English Idioms 英语专业毕业论文.doc

contents1. introduction12. the understanding of english idioms12.1 the conception of the word idiom22.2 the features of idioms22.2.1conciseness and extended meaning22.2.2 popularity32.2.3 explosive vitality32.3 classification of idioms32.3.1 colloquialisms32.3.2 proverbs42.3.3 slang42.3.4 allusions42.3.5 phrasal verbs43. the importance of researching idioms43.1 to master language well43.2 to learn the culture of english-speaking countries53.3 to promote cross-cultural communication in the world54. sources and culture of english idioms54.1 idioms originating from historic events and their reflected culture.64.2 idioms originating from geography and their reflected culture74.3 idioms originating from economy and their reflected culture84.4 idioms originating from religion and their reflected culture84.5 idioms originating from literary works and their reflected culture94.6 idioms related to sport and their reflected culture104.7 idioms related to animals features and their reflected culture104.8 idioms originating from food and their reflected culture115. the development of idioms116. conclusion12bibliography13on the cultural connotation of english idioms1. introduction idioms are a colorful and fascinating aspect of english. they are commonly used in all types of languages, formal and informal, written and spoken. they are vivid in usage, brief in structure and profound in meaning. it makes language more colorful, more alive. if used correctly, these kinds of expressions can be very impressive. it is a group of words with meaning different from the literal one; therefore, it is difficult to understand idioms just from their literal meaning of individual elements. idioms have short and brief words and connotative meaning. they reflect the specific cultural characteristic and cultural implication, which show development and evolution of english nation, they mirror the social life style and peoples value of english speaking country. a good mastery of idioms becomes a significant symbol of a persons command of the language. however, because of a low level of linguistic competence in the target language, people who learn english as a second language are at a distinct disadvantage in understanding english idioms. we must know the origins of english so that we can learn english well. english idioms have many origins among which ancient legends, historical events and religions are given much space in discussion. as to the forms of idioms, proverbs and slang, which are often neglected in other books, are also taken into consideration. the origin of idioms is confined in a small number of people. if other people know little about it, they may have difficulties in understanding it.as we all know, language is closely related to culture and can be said as a part of culture. from a dynamic view, language and culture interact with each other and shape each other. language is the carrier of culture which in turn is the content of language. we can dig out cultural features from language and explain language phenomena with culture. consequently, we can know much about culture through studying idioms and in turn get better understanding of idioms by learning the cultural background behind them. in this paper, im going to briefly show the source and culture implication of english idioms. it enables us to have an exact understanding of english idioms and to use them correctly.2. the understanding of english idiomsan english idiom is a group of words with a special meaning different from the meaning of its constituent element. strictly speaking, idioms are expressions which are not readily understandable from their literal meaning of individual elements. in a broad sense, idiom may include set phrases, two-part allegorical sayings, allusions, proverbs, maxims, epigrams, slang expressions colloquialisms, quotations and jargons. they form an important part of english vocabulary.2.1 the conception of the word idiomthe definition is various in different dictionaries. they are as follows:a. phrase or sentence whose meaning is not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as a whole unit (oxford advanced learners english-chinese dictionary ) b. a fixed group of words with a special different meaning from the separate words. (longmam dictionary of english idioms)c. a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements (american heritage dictionary)d. a group of words in a fixed order that have a particular meaning that is different from the meanings of each word understood on its own (cambridge advanced learners dictionary)2.2 the features of idioms the definition of idiom reveals its feature: the meaning of idiom can not be seen literarily. the meaning of it is not a complex of each word. if readers learn idiom from every word of it, they can get the meaning of each word, but they can not comprehend the whole idiom. idioms are different from the free phrases, in which the meaning can be guessed from their components. it brings people some difficulties to learn it. as the fine flower of the language, idioms play a very important part in english; it is the wisdom and strength of the people because of its conciseness, popularity, and explosive vitality.2.2.1conciseness and extended meaningas we all know that an idiom is an element of a language that possesses a unique way of expression based on its time-honored use. generally speaking, it can express a meaning with very few simple and unrelated words. just like hang in means never give up; the idiom green hand, meaning an inexperienced person, has nothing to do with either the green color or the human hand；red meat, refers to beef or lamb rather than any meat that is red in color.2.2.2 popularitysince the specialty of idioms, they become very popular in both oral english and written english. the english-speaking people will prefer to use the idioms to express themselves, rather than the long-winded words, for it can show the literary grace of the speaker and make the speech vivacious. for example, they will prefer to say i am as angry as a bear instead of i am very angry; and “i have ants in my pants instead of i am agitated or excited about something and cant keep still.2.2.3 explosive vitalitysince idioms have tight relationships with peoples work and lives, it can be created very lively. as we all know that england is an island country, so it cherishes water very much. then in english, it has such an idiom as spend money like water. while chinese people mainly live in the inland, so there is the chinese equivalence spend money like soil. one more example is that, when we mention the idiom skeleton in the cupboard, we are perhaps impressed by the frightening scene without catching what it really means, yet if paraphrased into family scandal, everyone can understand it.2.3 classification of idiomsidioms can be classified from different criterion. there are a variety of criteria for classifying english idioms. however, the criterion i want to point out in this article is mainly in terms of the cultural style. by this criterion, english idioms may be classified into five groups: colloquialisms, proverbs, slang, allusions and phrasal verbs.2.3.1 colloquialismscolloquialisms are oral words or expressions used in daily conversation. for example, the washing machine is on the blink.,on the blink is a kind of colloquialism, means not working properly; out of order”; “big wheel, means an influential or important person.2.3.2 proverbsproverbs are short, implied sayings in frequent and widespread use that express a basic truth or practical precept. for instance, a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit.;do as they do at rome.; bitter pills may have wholesome effects. 2.3.3 slangslang is a kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect. slang enjoys popular use, because it is colorful, blunt, expressive and impressive. dough and bread, for instance, means money. 2.3.4 allusionsallusions are often used where the more general terms reference would be preferable. allusions apply to indirect references in which the source is not specifically identified. for example, the trojan horse, comes from the historical story of trojan war; a sphinx riddle, among which, sphinx is from greek mythology , means a winged creature having the head of a woman and the body of a lion, noted for killing those who could not answer its riddle.2.3.5 phrasal verbsphrasal verbs are idioms which are composed of a verb plus a preposition and/or a particle. for example, get away with, means do something wrong without being punished; put down to, means state that something is caused or explained by; look into, means investigate.3. the importance of researching idioms3.1 to master language wellidiom is an essential part of language, language items, it appears in a colloquial style, or in a formal style, or even in slang. it can be very short or rather long. many idioms are treated on the basis of alliteration, rhyme, euphony and repetition. idioms are hard to learn because their meanings are unpredictable and their patterns may be unusual. their proper use is often a mark of ones command of english. its worthwhile for people to make efforts to learn them well. a right use of them in speech and writing will add much to variety, strength and vividness of language. 3.2 to learn the culture of english-speaking countries in a broad sense, whatever distinguishes man from the rest of the world is culture. culture is human-specific and it is a social phenomenon. culture is an extremely complex concept and an enormous subject. it embraces almost everything in the world, whether material or spiritual. language is a very special component of culture, and culture can only be preserved by means of language handed down from generation to generation. so language is the cornerstone of culture. language directly reflects the reality of culture. all kinds of idioms are important parts of the english language and english culture. correctly using english idioms helps us to learn about more culture of english-speaking country.3.3 to promote cross-cultural communication in the worldlanguage plays an important role in communicating with others. there may be a gap between one and another with different cultural background. its one of the best ways for people to know the culture of different countries through learning idioms. the correctly using of idioms helps them to communicate well with others. there are some people who learn the idioms from the literal meaning, so they often meet some embarrassment, but if they learn it well, the embarrassment will be cancelled. there are so many jokes made by idioms and their false understanding, so it is useful for english learners to learn something about english speaking counties culture and to communicate with each others.4. sources and culture of english idiomswhy can people not get the meaning of idioms literarily? people may find the answer through researching on the origins and culture of idioms. the origin of idioms is the place where the idiom comes from and the time when it is used for the first time. its lively. from it, people know more about its culture such as historic events, literary masterpieces, the religious beliefs, mythologies, ancient fables, anecdotes, seafaring, daily life, animal habitual behaviors, etc. idioms best mirror the national characteristics embodied in a language and are thus always rich in cultural connotation and national flavor. lots of cultural information is embedded in idioms. as jia xiuzhen mentioned in her thesis cultural connotation of english idioms, cultures shape languages. cultures shape mans thinking. the most vigorous part in a language is idioms. it is no exaggeration to say that language is the life-blood of culture and that culture is the track along which language forms and develops. as a part of language, idioms should be learnt from culture background, and from idioms, people can know much about culture too. people can know well about idioms and use them concretely by knowing the culture of idioms. in view of it, it is necessary for chinese to learn english idioms well. the correctly using of idioms helps them to communicate well with others.4.1 idioms originating from historic events and their reflected culture.the idioms, may come from historic stories, it is a record keeper of a nations history. idioms from historic culture are the gems of human cultural heritage. britain as an ancient country passes a long history, which mainly comprises allusion, myths, poem, ancient books and records etc. t is worthwhile for us to learn them well. english idioms have their legends and anecdotes about historical figures which have provided rich and varied materials, and consequently give a national color to the idioms. in most language, people embellish their speech or writing with references to characters or events from their history, that is to say, idiomatic expressions are closely related to a countrys history. english has a history more than one thousand years and has some idioms coming from historical events. (1) to meet ones waterloo means : be finally and crushingly defeated in a contest, especially after a period of success. it is involved with napoleon and the breakdown of his empire. in history, waterloo is the place where napoleon was ultimately beaten by wellington and blucher in 1815. (2) a trojan horse means a disguised means of introducing something harmful or disadvantageous. it originated from the large wooden horse filled with armed men, which when taken into their city by the trojans as a gift, enabled the greek to complete their siege of troy. (3) jump a claim means to rob things that are owned by others. it comes to be used in the history of america. the americans robbed the land with force owned by others with the excuse that the owners have given it up or the owners have not used it properly. 4.2 idioms originating from geography and their reflected culturelanguage is a reflection of a countrys natural environment. geographical environment plays an important role in shaping one countrys culture and human beings have no choices and opacities to change the geography. as a result, idioms based on geographical features appear differences between different countries. britain is an island country, so british have a special passion for water, sailing, and fish. to some extent, the geography has an impact on idiom formation, and the language would be different in terms of the clime, the climate and the environment etc. england is the first largest island in europe. he has a winded seacoast, and the total length is 11.450km. the only way out to many european countries is the north sea, the dover channel, and the english channel, whereas, it is one of the busiest voyage passage. the position of u.k., an island, has a vital meaning for its own development, and has a huge influence on forming idioms.english people live in an environment surrounded by the atlantic ocean. it is an insular country, so their culture is an insular culture too. (1) spend money like water”: to spend money without hesitation. in england, water is the richest natural source, so this idiom is commonly used to describe a person who wastes money greatly. (2) keep ones head above water: to avoid bankruptcy. the allusion is to about swimming; so long as ones head is above water ones life remains, but bad swimmers find it hard to keep their heads above water.(3) on the rocks : to have no money. a phrase from seafaring; a ship that is on the rocks will very quickly go to pieces unless she can be got off; so will a man.(4) to sail under false colors: to act hypocritically; to try to attain ones object by appearing to be other than you are. the term is a nautical one, and refers to the practice of pirates approaching their unsuspecting prey with false colors at the mast.there are many idioms related to navigation and ocean that have been very important to the united kingdom, such as the idiom a drop in the ocean which means the quantity is too small to make any improvement; and the idiom to miss the boat which means to lose the opportunity to do or obtain something. besides the ocean, there are some idioms about other phenomenon about geography, such as the idiom carry coals to newcastle , which means that doing things unnecessarily. people know that newcastle is a place with so much coal, so it is unnecessary to carry coals to newcastle.4.3 idioms originating from economy and their reflected culturemost western countries have experienced great development in economy. in some cases, the current stock market, which covers the broadest range of stocks in that country, has provided some information to these people who need them so they deal with their economic problems more effectively. as the markets in western countries develop very quickly and there are some idioms such as play the market and gain a foot hold in the market serving as a reflection of such a fact.(1)there are some people who own a part of a business, but dose not do any work in it. it is reflected in the idiom a sleeping partner. as commerce is very popular in western, some of the westerners are very sophisticated in commerce and they deceit others in their commerce often. the idioms sell one a bill of