英语毕业论文A-Probe-into-Cultural-Differences-between-English-Idioms-and-Chinese-Ones

PAGEPAGE2010年毕业论文AProbeintoculturalSimilaritiesandDifferencebetweenEnglishidiomsandChineseones中西方文化中习语差异的探究AProbeintoCulturalDifferencesbetweenEnglishIdiomsandChineseOnesAbstract:Idiomsareanimportantpartofthelanguageandcultureofasociety.Idiomsareoftenhardtobeunderstoodandevenhardertobeusedcorrectly.Theproperuseofidiomsinalanguageisoftenamarkofaperson’scommandofthelanguage.EnglishandChineseidiomscarvedwithculturalcharacteristicsaccountforagreatpartinapplication.Themainpurposeofthethesisistodiscusstheinfluenceoftheculturaldifferencesexistinginidiomapplicationandtheapproachestodealingwithculturaldifferencesinidiomapplication.Theidiomisnotonlyagemoflanguagebutalsothecrystallizationofhumanwisdom.Itislikeamirrorreflectingculture.Idiomapplicationisbothaninterlinguisticprocessandaninterculturalactivity.Therefore,itisnecessarytostudytheidiomtranslationfromtheperspectiveofculture.WhenrenderingidiomsauserfirstlyneedstocontemplatetheirculturaldiscrepanciesbetweenChineseandEnglish,andthen,usestranslationmethodsandstrategiesflexiblyinordertoprovideagoodversionandmakeeffectiveculturalexchange.Keywords:culture;idiom;culturaldifference;idiomapplication;interculturalcommunication摘要：习语是一个社会的语言和文化的重要组成部分，不仅难以理解，更难以运用得当。能否正确使用成语往往是一个人的语言水平的标志。带有文化色彩的英汉成语在翻译中占有很大的一部分。本论文旨在讨论英汉成语运用中存在的文化差异现象，并就习语运用中的文化差异的处理方法提出自己的意见。习语是人类语言的精华、民族智慧的结晶，它的形成与其所属的国家和民族文化紧密相联。因此它蕴含着丰富的文化内涵，像一面镜子一样很好的反映着文化。从这个意义上说，习语运用不仅是一种语际转换过程，更是一种跨文化交际活动，因此探讨习语运用策略，必须从文化角度着手才会行之有效。所以在习语运用过程中，译者应该以对源语文化和目的语文化的充分了解为根本出发点，灵活恰当的选择翻译方法和策略，方能使译文获得成功，实现有效的跨文化的交际。关键词：文化；习语；文化差异；习语运用；跨文化交际ContentsⅠ.RelationshipbetweenLanguageandCulture……..1A.Definitionoflanguage……….1B.Conceptofculture…...………1C.Relationshipbetweenlanguageandculture……………...21.Languageasapartofculture…………..32.Interdependenceoflanguageandculture………………..4II.IdiomsandTheirCulturalFeatures………………..4A.Difficultiesinuseofidioms………………….41.Linguisticdifference……….52.Modesofthinking………….53.Lifeexperiences……………6B.Culturalvacancyinidioms………………….61.Definitionofidioms………..72.CulturalgapfactorsinEnglishandChineseidioms…………...……….8III.EffectsCausedbyCulturalDifferencesinIdiomsApplication…8A.Livingenvironmentdifferences…………….8B.Geographicaldifferences……………………9C.Socialcustomsdifferences……………...….9D.Religiousbeliefsdifferences……………….10Ⅳ.Conclusion…………..11WorksCited…………….12AProbeintoCulturalSimilaritiesandDifferencebetweenEnglishIdiomsandChineseOnes第13页共12页Ⅰ.RelationshipbetweenLanguageandCultureA.DefinitionoflanguageIt’swellknownthatthemostdistinguishingdistinctionbetweenhumansandanimalsisthatwehumanshavethecapacityofusinglanguage.Weuselanguageeverydayandweliveinaworldofwords.Languageiscenturialtoournatureashumanbeingsandlanguageisanintegralpartofourlife.Languageisthemostimportantdevelopmentinhumanhistory.Withoutlanguage,thearts,laws,sciencesandeconomicsystemscouldnotexist.However,ourabilitytocommunicatehasledusfromthecaveallthewaytothemoon.Languageissomuchapartofhumanexistencethatwewillbetalkingaslongasweinhabittheearth.Itisnotdifficulttofinddefinitionsonlanguageinlinguistic.Thefollowingsarethetwoofthem.Sapirwrotein1921:“Languageisapurelyhumanandnon-instinctivemethodofcommunicatingideas,emotions,anddesiresbymeansofasystemofvoluntarilyproducedsymbols”.In1957,Chomskygivesadifferentdefinitionlikethis:“FromnowonIwillconsideralanguagetobeset(finiteorinfinite)ofsentences,eachfiniteinlengthandconstructedoutofafinitesetofelements”.Despitethedifferencesinthesedefinitions,muchlinguisticsisinbroadagreementaboutsomeoftheimportantfeaturesofhumanlanguage,andmostofthemwouldaccepttheviewthatlanguageis,inessence,asystemofsymbolsdesignedforthepurposeofhumancommunication.Nevertheless,languageservesasabasisforcommunication.Languageisthesystemofhumanexpressionbymeansofwords.B.ConceptsofcultureMuchofthecomplexbehaviorofhumanscannotbeexplainedonthebasisofinnatetendencies,butonlyonthebasisofculture.Culturecanbemostsimplydefinedasasetofsharedideas,orthecustoms,beliefs,andknowledgethatcharacterizeawayoflife.Theconceptofculturewasdevelopedbyanthropologiststowardtheendof19thcentury.ThefirstreallyclearandcomprehensivedefinitionwasthatoftheBritishanthropologist,SirEdwardBurnettTaylor.Hedefinedcultureaseverythinghumanbeingsmadeandtaughttofuturegenerations.“Culture,”hewrote,“isthatcomplexconceptwhichincludesknowledge,belief,art,morals,law,custom,andanyothercapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety”inPrimitiveCulturein1871.Toananthropologist,themoderndefinitionofculturerunsasfellows:Cultureisasetofrulesorstandardsthat,whenacteduponbythemembersofsociety,producebehaviorthatfallswithinarangeofvariancethemembersconsiderproperandacceptable.Let’sseethedictionarydefinitionofculture.IntheWebster’sThirdNewInternationalDictionary,thedefinitionofculturegoeslikethat:“Culturereferstothetotalpatternofhumanbehavioranditsproductembodiedinthought,speech,action,andartifactsanddependenceuponmen’scapacityforlearningandtransmittingknowledgetosucceedinggenerationthroughtheuseoftools,andsystemsofabstractthought.”Thetermofculturereferstothetotalpatternofabstractvalues,beliefs,customs,institutions,objects,andtechniquesthatcharacterizethelifeofahumancommunity.Cultureincludesallthesharedproductsofhumansociety.Thismeansnotonlymaterialthingssuchascities,organizationsandschools,butalsonon-materialthingssuchasideas,custom,familypatternsandlanguages.Asthetermitselfsuggests,materialcultureissubstantial,concreteandobservable.Andnon-materialcultureisaproductofthinkingactivityofhumanbeings.Itismainlyrepresentedbythevalues,convention,system,literature,science,philosophy,religiousbeliefs,modeofthinking,aestheticstandardsandmoralconcepts,etc.Incontrastwithmaterialculture,onlyasmallpartofnon-materialculture,theproductsofthemind,istangible,andmostnon-materialcultureishidden,abstract,implicitandindiscernible.Theseabstractareasofculture,whichareindeedverydifficulttodetect,notonlyposeproblemstoforeignlanguagelearners,butalsoconstitutetranslationproblemsininter-culturalcommunication.C.RelationshipbetweenlanguageandcultureOnlyhumanbeingshavethecapacityofcreatingandtransmittingculture.Humanbeingsarethe“culture-bearinganimals”becausetheyhavethecapacityforsymboliccommunication,orlanguage.AstheeminentanthropologistA.L.Kroeberputit:“Manisanessentiallyuniqueanimalinthathepossessesspeechfacultyandthefacultyofsymbolizing,abstracting,orgeneralizing.Throughthesetwoassociatedfacultiesheisabletocommunicatehisacquirelearning,hisknowledgeandaccomplishments,tohisfellowsandhisdescendants.Thisissomethingthatnootheranimalscando,atleastnottoanysignificantdegree.”Inwhatwayislanguagerelatedtoculture?Peoplewhoaremembersofsocietieshavetheirowndistinctiveculturesandwaysinusinglanguages.Let’stakethelegendarycreaturethe“dragon”betweentheeasternandwesternnationsforexample.TheChinesepeopleparticularlyfavordragon.InthedynastictimesinChina,thedragonstoodforthekingoremperor.ItissaidthatChinesearedescendentsofthedragon.InChina,thedragonisalwaysassociatedwithgloriousthings,regardedasanauspiciousgodandsupposedlybringsgoodluck,forithasmagicpower.SothedragonhasgivenrisetosomeChineseidiomssuchas“望子成龙”–longingtoseeone’schildrenbecomedragons,thatis,besuccessfulandhavebrightfutures,and“龙腾虎跃”–dragonsrisingandtigersleaping,havingafigurativemeaningofasceneofbustlingactivity.However,inthewesterncountries,especiallyinEurope,thedragonisoftenasimpleofevil.Ithaswingsandclaws,andspurtsoutflam.Somestoriesofheroesorsaintsdealwithstrugglesagainstthemonsters,whichinmostcasesarekilledintheend.ToWesterners,theword“dragon”oftenbearsaderogativemeaning,whichimpliesafierceperson,especiallyawoman.Fromtheabove-mentioneddiscussion,wecanseethattheassociatedandaffectivemeaningsofthe“dragon”betweentheChineseandEnglish-speakingpeoplearesharplycontrasted.Thisistheoneexamplewhichillustratesthatculturehasgreatlyshapedlanguageinawayandlanguagereflectsculturefromsomeaspects,too.Next,let’1.LanguageasapartofcultureWiththedefinitionof“culture”bothinEnglishandChinese,wecanseethatlanguageiscoveredbycultureandlanguageisapartofculture.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditconsistsoftheirhistoricalandculturebackgroundsaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking.Languageisamajorpartofcultureandplaysanimportantroleinit.Itisconsideredasthekeystoneofculturebysomesocialscientists.Theyholdthatculturewouldnotbepossiblewithoutlanguage.Languageisaculturalphenomenon.Languagecannotexistwithoutcultureasitscomponent.Languageisasystemforcommunication,insymbols,ofanykindofform.Languageisgreatlyinfluencedandshapedbycultureandlanguageinturnreflectsculture.Languageistheproductaswellasthecarrierofculture.Theculturaldifferencescanbereflectedinlanguages,too.Peoplecommunicatewhatismeaningfulornotmeaningfultotheminawaydefinedbytheirparticularculture.Asnation’scommonbeliefsandpractices,culturehasitsfixedmodel,whichcanbeseeninlanguage,thought,customarybeliefs,materialtraits,historicalbackground,religion,politicsandmanyotheraspects.Whenlanguageactsonculture,itisthecontainerandvehicleofculturalinformation.2.InterdependenceoflanguageandcultureLanguageandcultureinteract,andthatunderstandingofonerequiresunderstandingoftheother.Solanguageandculturehaveadialecticalrelationship.Languageisthekeytoacultureofwhichitisapartandtoalargeextentembeddedincultureorviceversa.Humanculturecouldnotexistwithoutameansofsymboliccommunication.Languagegiveshumanbeingsaccesstowhatwasthoughtandexperiencedinthepast,aswellasawayofpassingnewinformationtofuturegenerations.Whenthislanguagelinkisbroken,acultureislosttousforever.Languageisalsoessentialtohumanlifeandmakesnationalthoughtpossible.Itenablesustoreason,todrawlogicalconclusionsfromtheevidenceofoursense,togeneralizefromoneeventtoanother,andtopredict,create,andunderstand.Language,astheexpressionofculture,separatesusfromotheranimalsandmakesushuman.Sincelanguageisapartofculture,italsoshapesandcolorsourexperiencesoftheworldaroundus.II.IdiomsandTheirCulturalFeaturesInthispart,theoriginofculturalgap,theirembodimentsandtheinfluenceorthebarriertheybringtotheapplicationwillbediscussed.Asastart,itisusefultopresentabriefintroductiontothestudyoftheculturalgap.A.DifficultiesinuseofIdiomsCulturegapistheextremeformoftheheterogeneityofbothlanguageandcultureofanation.AccordingtoLiuBiqing,theheterogeneouscharacteristicsofculturesoriginatedprimarilyfromthedifferentoriginsofhumanculturesandtheirsubsequentdevelopments(includingtheriseofhistory,geo-configuration,theriseofculture,socialdevelopment,politicsandeconomy)(LiuBiqing,1999:43).Weallknowthatlanguageisculture-specific.What’smore,cultureisnationality-specific.Inotherwords,eachnationorethnicgroupshasitspeculiarculture.Firstly,culturalpeculiarityisthemainfactorleadingtoculturalvacancy,whichistheextremeexampleofculturedifference.Secondly,theemergenceofculturalvacancyisowingto“culturaldiversity”aswell.Culturaldiversityreflectsvariousculturalcharacteristicsandelementsallaroundtheworld.Suchasbeliefs,values,attitudes,norms,customsandmaterialaspects.Thisgivesrisetomostofthedifficultiesininterculturaltranslation,andoftenresultsinlimitationsoftranslationorculturallossofmeanings.TomakeagoodtranslationofChineseandEnglishculturally-loadedlexemes,theusershouldbeawareofwhatkindsofproblemshinderingthetranslationprogress.Nowwewilltakeacloselookattheproblemshinderingculturally-loadedlexemestranslationfromtheangleoflinguisticdifference,modesofthinkingandlifeexperience.1.LinguisticdifferencesEnglishbelongstoIndo-EuropeanlanguagefamilywhileChinesebelongstoSino-Tibetanlanguagefamily.Theformerisalphabetic,whilethelatter,pictographic.Theirlinguisticdifferencesareinsuchfeaturesassound,wordformationsandsyntax,etc.Linguisticdifferencesareoftenfoundinformalstylesofwritingorpoems.Forexample,itisalmostimpossibletorendertheChinese“对联”(antitheticalcouplet)intoEnglishatthesametimekeepingthestructure,meaningandallotherwritingtechniquesrequired.Similarly,itisdifficulttoputtheEnglishsonnetintoChineseequallyinstructureandsyllables.Sinceasemioticsystemisintegratedintothecultureofthatlanguageinwhichitoperates,wemaysaythatlinguisticgapis,tosomeextent,tantamounttoculturalgap.ManyChinesewordsareveryvividwithimages,shapesandqualitiesclearlypresentedwhereasmostoftheirEnglishapplicationsonlyconveythemeaningandfunctionofthelanguagewithoutpreservingtheimages.Fromabovementionedheknownthatlinguisticmeaningreferstothemeaningthatiscarriedbytheinnerresourcesoflanguageitself.2.ModesofthinkingModesofthinkingrefertomindsetsorsetpatternsformulatedinthementalprocessofreceiving,reflecting,consideringandprocessingoutsideinformationbyacertaingroupofpeople,usually,withinaparticularsociety.“Oncecomeintobeing,themodesofthinkingbecomespiritualcharacteristicssharedbypeopleinsidethesocietyandwillpassfromgenerationtogenerationasthemoststableorthescorefactorofthepeople’sculturaltradition(WangPing,1994:67)”.Althoughinmoderntimes,traditionalmodesofthinkingareoftenundergoingchangesduetoinfluenceofforeigncultures,itistruethattheyremainthemostinnateordeeplyrootedcomponentofaculture.English-speakingpeopleusuallydisplayalogicalandanalyticalthinkingpattern.Chineseismorecompatible,self-denial,group-oriented.Theyputmuchemphasisonfamilyandexpressthemselvesinamorereservedandimplicitway.English,bycontrast,ismoreself-assertive,straightforwardandexplicit.Theybelieveinindividualdiversities.Theirfamiliestendtobelooselybound.Influencedbythedifferentpsychology,Chinesewhostressconcreteperceptionareinclinedtobefondofparticulars.Eveninmoderntimes,Chinesepeoplegetacquaintedwiththeworldoftenthroughcontactwitheachparticularobjectintheirdailylife.SuchanintertwiningofabstractthinkingandparticularimagesproducesanartisticflavorpeculiartoChinese.Accordingly,Chineselanguagefeaturesarefondnessforimages,abundanceofexpressionsinconcreteforms,highregardforprecedent,andabundanceofliteraryandhistoricalallusions.Atthesametime,Chinesepeopleareusedtoseekingasenseofsymmetryandbalanceintheirdiction,soexpressionsoffourChinesecharactersinparallelstructurearefrequentlyemployedastheyarevivid,forceful,andeloquentwithasenseofbalance.ComparedwithChinesepeople’sfondnessofconcreteimages,theEnglish-speakingpeople,influencedbytheirhighlydevelopedabstractthinking,areapttouseofabstractexpressions.Therefore,itisnaturalthatuseroftenhavedifficultiesinretainingtheconcreteimagesusedinChineseastheseimagesareculture-specific,thatonlyappealingtothefeelingsoftheChinese,nottotheAnglo-Americanpeople.3.LifeexperiencesPeoplewhospeakdifferentlanguagessharethesameorsimilaropinionofsomethingsduetothesameorsimilarexperiencesononehand.Ontheotherhand,becauseoftheinfluenceofdifferentculturesandcustoms,eachnationhasitsownwayofexpressingthesameconnotation.Fromtheseperspectives,“peopleofanylanguage-culturehavesufficientimaginationandexperiencetounderstandhowthepeopleofanotherlanguage-culturemayrightlydifferintheirbehaviorandvalues.”(Nida1993:106)Forexample,donkeyinalion’shide:“狐假虎威”;todrinklikeafish:“牛饮”;totalkhorse:“吹牛”;tositonthefence:“脚踏两只船”;greatboasters,littledoers:“说话的巨人,行动的矮子”;greatmindsthinkalike:“英雄所见略同”.Itmustbepointedoutthatnotwolanguagesareidenticalintheirvocabulary,becausedifferentpeoplehavedifferentlifeexperiences.Evenspeakingthesamelanguage,notwopeoplehavethesamelifeexperiences.Nidasaid:“peoplealwayshavedifferentlifeexperiencesanddifferentrecognitionoftheobjectiveworld,thereforetheyalwaysunderstandwordsindifferentwaysofmodes”.Betweentwocultures,thereexistsculturalgapaswellasculturaloverlap.Inapplicationprocesses,themostdifficultproblemexistsinculturally-loadedwordsandexpressions,especiallyinidioms.JinDiandEugeneNidasaid:“Differencesofcultureinmanyaspectsshouldbeevenmoreofaproblemfortranslatorsthandifferencesoflanguage.”Indeed,somewordsandexpressionsprofoundlyimbuedwithuniqueculturalelementsdocausetranslationproblems.C.CulturalvacancyinidiomsLanguageisthemaincarrierofculture,whereasidiomscanbecalledthecreamoflanguage.Englishidiomsformanessentialpartofthegeneralvocabulary.EnglishidiomsconstitutedthemostcolorfulandfascinatingaspectofEnglish.Idiomsreflecttheenvironment,life,historicalculture,etc.Ofthenativespeakersarecloselyassociatedwiththeirinnermostspiritandfeelings.Theyarecommonlyusedinalltypesoflanguage,informalandformal,spokenandwritten,thatiswhytheextenttowhichapersonfamiliarizeshimselfwithidiomsisamarkofhisorhercommandoflanguage.Yourlanguagecompetencewillbeincreasedrapidlyifyoucanunderstandplentyofidiomsandemploythemconfidentlyandcorrectly.Speechorwritingwithoutidiomslackscolorandlocalflavor,butoveruseorimproperuseofidiomsmakeslanguagesoundunnatural.JustasMichaelK.Liu(1994:preface)says:“unlessonehascometotermswithidioms,heorshewillnothaveagoodgraspofthelanguage.”Whenidiomsreflectculturalcharacteroflanguage,theyaremoretypicalthantheotherlanguagecomponents.1.DefinitionsofidiomsJustasitishardtodefine“culture”,itisnoteasyatalltogiveaclear-cutdefinitiontotheword“idioms”,foritcanbedefinedvariouswayswhichmaygetuscompletelyataloss.AccordingtoCollinsDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,idiomsare“agroupofwordswhosemeaningscannotbepredicatedfromthemeaningsoftheconstituentwords”.(Hanks,1979:728).Thedefinitionstatesthatidiomsaredifferentfromotherlinguisticitemsinthatthemeaningofanidiomcannotbepredictedfromitsform,whereasthemeaningofanordinarylinguisticitemcanbemoreorlesspredictablefromtheirindividuals.Inaddition,accordingtothelatestWebster’sNewWorldCollegeDictionary,3rdEdition,“idiomisaphrase,constructionorexpressionthatisrecognizedasauniteintheusageofagivenlanguageandeitherdiffersfromusualsyntacticpatternsorhasameaningthatdiffersfromtheliteralmeaningofitspartstakentogether”.Thesedefinitionsshowthatidiomsareanumberofwordswhich,puttogether,meanthataredifferentfromtheindividualwordsoftheidiomswhentheyarealone.Theyaresyntacticallystableandsemanticallyunited,especiallyingrammaticalstructuresandcollocations.Soidiomsharessomethingwiththeworkingdefinitionfor“culturalterms”inthattheybothhavethemeaningswhichcannotbeinferredmerelyfromtheirlinguisticcomponents,thefactthattheirdefinitionsoverlapsinonewayortheotheragaindemonstratesthatidiomsaretypicalculturaltermsrichinculturalconnotations.Inshort,“idiomsarelittlesparksoflifeandenergyinourspeech,theyarelikethosesubstancecalledvitaminswhichmakeourfoodnourishingandwholesome”(Smith276).2.CulturalgapfactorsinEnglishandChineseidiomsDifferentlanguagesreflectdifferentculturesanddifferentculturesentaildifferentlanguageexpressions.Idioms,theessenceoflanguage,carryrichculturalelementsandtheyareevencalledasthelivefossilofculture.Idiomsaredifficulttotranslateinthattheyareoftenofparticularculturalorigins.BothChineseandEnglishhaveplentyofidioms.Someofthemhavethesamemeaningorarequitesimilarwitheachother.Butinothercases,theyarequitedifferentfromeachotherjustbecausetheyareproductsofdifferentcultures.BymakingacomparisonbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms,wefindsomesimilaritiesbetweenthem,butwecanalsofindmanydifferencesinvariousculturalaspectsbetweenChineseandEnglishidioms.Inthispart,acomparativestudyofculturaldifferencescarriedrespectivelybyChineseandEnglishidiomsistobemadeinaspectssuchaslivingconditions,socialcustoms,religiousbeliefs,historicalandliteraryallusionsandmodesofthinkingandsoon.III.EffectsCausedbyCulturalDifferencesonIdiomsApplicationA.LivingenvironmentdifferencesIneverynation,someidiomsarerelatedtothelivingenvironmentofitspeople.Forexample,Britainisanislandcountry,whichhasalonghistoryofnavigation,andthereforeagreatnumberofEnglishidiomsarederivedfromlifeonthesea.Chinaisalargecountrychieflybasedonagricultureandthegreatmajorityofthepeoplelivinginruralareas,sothefarmers’proverbialsayingsformalargepartofChineseidioms.Theseidiomsarethecrystallizationoftherichexperienceinagricultureproduction,accumulatedintheirproductivebytheChinesepeasants’TheBritishpeople’slovefortheseacanbefoundinthefollowingidioms:“whenone’sshipcomeshome”means“whenonehasbecomesuccessful”(当某人发财时),“tokeepone’sheadabovewatermeans”means“stayoutofdebt,difficulty,etc.”(未举债、未陷入困境等).JustastheBritishpeoplecannotlivewithoutsea,sotheChinesepeoplecannotlivewiththeearth,thereforeinChinesewehave“面朝黄土背朝天”todescribetheChinesefarmer’stoilinthefield.InChinese,wesay“进退维谷”todescribethatapersonisinadilemma,whileinEnglishit’s“betweenthedevilandthedeepsea.”Ifwewanttoexpressapersonwhospendsmoneywastefully,wesay“挥金如土”whileinEnglishitis“spendmoneylikewater.”Thedifferentlivingenvironmentsofthetwopeoplesareresponsibleforthedifferentculturalvaluesembodiedintheidiomsofthetwolanguages.Inordertodogoodtranslation,thetranslatorshouldhaveaneyeontheuseofthewordsintheidioms.B.GeographicaldifferencesThedifferentgeographicalconditionsineachcountryhavealsoplayedanimportantroleindeterminingnationalcharacteristicsofidioms.Herearesomeexamples:CarrycoalstoNewcastle多此一举SettheThamesonfire做出惊人的事来ShootNiagara孤注一掷TakeFrenchleave不辞而别TalklikeaDutchuncle谆谆教诲Anation’sgeographicalconditionisaframeworkinwhichalanguageandculturedevelop.Thegeographicalfeaturesofanationareinevitablyreflectedinthenationallanguageingeneralandidiomsinparticular.Forexample,theChineseidiom“不到黄河心不死”(nottostopuntilonereachestheYellowRiverrefusetogiveupuntilallhopeisgone)isapparentlyrelatedtotheYellowRiver,thesecondlongestriverinChinaandthecradleofChinesecivilization;theidiom“不到长城非好汉”(whodoesnotreachtheGreatWallisnotatruehero)isclearlyrelatedtotheGreatWall,oneofthewellknownscenicspotsinChina;anotheridiom“泰山压顶不弯腰”(donotbendone’sheadevenifMountTaitopplesonone-nottogiveinanypressureordifficulty)isrelatedtoMountTai,alargemountaininChinaandasymbolofgreatweightorimportance.C.SocialcustomsdifferencesSocialcustomshavemuchtodowithnationalcharacteristicsofidioms.Chinese-speakingpeopleandEnglish-speakingpeoplehavedifferentsocialcustoms.FromChineseandEnglishidioms,wecanseepeople’sdifferentattitudestowardscertainanimals,suchastheowlandthedog.“Aswiseasanowl”indicatesthatEnglish-speakingassociatewisdomwiththisbird.Inchildren’sbooksandcartoons,theowlisusuallysolemnandwise.Indisputeamongbirdsandbeasts,itistheowlthatactsasjudge.Insomecases,itistheowlthattheygotoforadvice.Sometimesthebirdisconsideredasimpracticalandfoolish,butinthemain,theowlstandsforwisdom.AmongmanyChinese,however,thereisasuperstitiousbeliefthatthisbirdisasignofbadluck.Thereisasaying“夜猫子进宅”(anowlvisitingahome),portendingmisfortuneinthathousehold.Themeresightofanowlorthesoundofthecreature’shootingisenoughtocauseChinesepeopletodrawbackinfear.IntheWest,dogsarecompanionsoftheirmasters.Theyhuntwiththeirmastersandtheywatchhomeforthem.InEnglish,thereareidiomsaboutdogs,suchas“aluckydog”(幸运儿),“everydoghashisday”(凡人皆有得意时)and“loveme,lovemydog.”(爱屋及乌)Theabove-mentionedidiomsaboutdogshavegoodmeanings.ButinChina,dogisanimagetobecondemned.InChinese,wesay“狗仗人势”(likeadogthreateningpeopleonthestrengthofitsmaster’spowertobeabullyundertheprotectionofapowerfulperson),“狗尾续貂”(to