A general literature review about cultural difference between English and Chinese idioms

Introduction

According to Spain-Wholfs cultural theory， the diversity of the world is embodied in all nations languages. In other words， the cultural differences among different countries will eternally influenced their languages as well （Felix， 2007）. Idiom， which recorded and transmitted from generation to generation， is a reflection of the changing culture. Mixed with various profound significant meanings and prominent artworks， idioms can vividly describe peoples lifestyles and shows living attitudes to audience in the first place （Fernando， 2000）.  Depending on the diversity， both Chinese and English idioms load heavy massages that it shows distinctive national features. Thus， through contacting， learning and understanding different pieces of idioms can assist the language learners not only learn the language faster but also in a deeper and more native way.

Hence， the significance of this paper is going to show a few of theories and examples about various language differences especially within idioms. By identifying those， it can bring more benefits to language learners. After recognizing the similarities and differences in various aspects of English and Chinese idioms， communicators can make a better communication between English， Chinese and other countries people during the process of cross-cultural communication.

1. Literature Review

1.1 The Definition of English and Chinese Idioms

“A phrase or expression， is considered to be the use of a given language， different from the usual syntactic pattern， and also is different from the literal meaning made by some parts”， which is the definition provided by Webster New World Dictionary （1993：670）. Besides， in terms of the linguistic area， the definition of idioms is regarded as series of words that are often limited by semantic and syntactic from A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics（1985：152）.

According to the Chinese Modern Dictionary by Commercial Press （1983）， it defined “習语” as habitually used words. In 2000， Modern Chinese Dictionary defined “成语” as well established， brief， grounded together into phrases or short sentences， normally used four words; “俗语” may explain and create by working people， which are spreading quickly and widely with vivid image and perform their best wishes and amazing experiences.

These definitions about English and Chineses idioms are trying to analyze in different angles—the specific characters of the idioms. All of them are essential to analyze the general features of idiom.

2. Differences in the Sources of English and Chinese Idioms

As we all realize， the different sources of idioms is one of the roots of the cultural differences between English and Chinese idioms. Therefore， we can learn different regional culture from different sources. In this part， four outstanding factors will be discussed as shown in Lan Feifeis paper （兰飞飞，2013）， including： geographical environment， historical background， religion and belief and commerce business.

2.1 From Geographical Environment

Survival generally refers to all natural and social environment， the objective existence of self. Britain is an island country in the continent of Europe， people always have to fight with bad Marine climate. In the process of struggle with climate， generated a lot of English idioms related to the ocean， including：

（1）Be in the same boat（同处困境）.

（2）On the rocks（濒临毁灭）.

（3）A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner（平静的海洋练不出熟练的水手）.

（4）Go to the sea， if you would fish will（不入虎穴，焉得虎子）.

（5）A drop in the ocean（沧海一粟）.

However， China is a predominantly agricultural country， and there are many people who live in rural areas， so that a large number of Chinese idioms are from agriculture and farming and these Chinese idioms have spread down from generation to generation. Here are some examples：

1）When the melon is ripe， it falls from the stalk（瓜熟蒂落）.

2）Have deep roots and luxuriant leaves—be well established and vigorously developing（根深叶茂）.

3）Try to help the shoots grow by pulling them upward—spoil things by excessive enthusiasm（揠苗助长）.

4）No pains， no gains（种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆）.

5）The whole years work depends on good planning in spring（一年之計在于春）.

These examples show the differences in geographic environment， most English idioms are from ocean and fishery， while Chinese idioms are mainly from agriculture and farming， which can be seen from the former contents （孙欣欣，2013）.

2.2 From Historical Background

History also plays a significant role in the process of taking the shape of idioms. English and Chinese people with their different tales and anecdotes about historical characters show rich and various materials from their idioms. A number of mythical allusions not only make the language richness， but also make communication more plentiful and much easier.

In history， Britain colonized many countries like Rome， Teuton， Norman and so on. Therefore， these countries cultures indeed had brought much influence on some English idioms. As Zhao Zhengyu （赵震宇，2013） pointed that in the year 55 B.C.， Julius Caesar came to the island of Britain. Since the year 43 A.D.， Roman Emperor Claudius occupied the central and southern of the island of Britain. From that time， the Roman culture went into every detail of Britain culture. For example：

（1） Do in Rome as the Romans do （入乡随俗）， this proverb seems to tell us when you are in a culture different from yours， you should act accordingly to their culture so that you could live peaceful and feel good with people of that local culture or even become one of them.

（2） All roads lead to Rome（条条大路通罗马）， we can realize this English proverb that the way to make a thing more than one， the road of life is not just a waiting we found. Then people cite this idiom to educate children that， success cant be achieved in only one way， we have got ability to find more methods to be successful.

（3） Six of one and half a dozen of the other（半斤八兩）， this common slang was created when Rome and Denmark once occupied England.

（4） David and Jonathan（管鲍之交）， describe yourself and trust relationship between your good friends.

（5） Watergate scandal（水门事件）， this event is the ignoble political scandal in American history. It has a long-term impact on international media.

Meanwhile， China in above next in 5000 glorious years of history， gradually has formed the design as the element， broad and profound， well-established China traditional culture， which is obviously different from Britain. The most significant remarks is the language used during the Warring States period. In the 3000 B.C， although China was an ancient country with a civilization and prosperity， she was fragmented by all kinds of foreign warlords. Those representative men， like Confucius， Mencius， Lao Tzu and etc. their thoughts have been recorded and affect the generation after generation of Chinese. Huang Qingfang （黄庆芳，2012） indicated that a number of the Confucius words are still quoted by people in their daily conversations and in their writings. For instance： “道不同，不相为谋”，“有朋自远方来，不亦说乎”，“君子成人之美，不成人之恶，小人反是” and etc. The former Chinese idioms generally spoke by Confucius.

According to Huang Pinpin （2003）， she pointed out several Chinese idioms by Chinese historical stories and the cases in point were similar to Chinese people.

1） Return the jade intact to the State of Zhao（完璧归赵）， it talks about in the period of the Warring States， the State of Zhao got the precious jade from the State of Chu. The King Zhao of State of Qin wanted to exchange the precious jade. The King of Zhao appointed Lin Xiangru to the State of Qin for exchange. After arriving at the State of Qin， Lin presented the precious jade to the King of Qin as promise. However， the dishonest King refused to give the towns over to him， and Lin managed to bring the precious jade back to State of Zhao in unbroken shape. Nowadays， we can use the figurative meaning—“to return a thing intact to its owner in wonderful condition” as the translation of this idiom.

2） Kindly step into the vat—try what you have designed against others（请君入瓮）， it narrated an ancient story that during the reign of Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty， a tyrannical judge named Zhou Xing was suspected of high recreancy and agent Lai Junchen was ordered to check into the case. In order to get a confession from Zhou Xing， Lai adulatory invited him to a party and asked him how to forge a confession about the unwilling prisoners. Zhou Xing proposed to place a vat in hot coals and put the prisoner in it. According this allusion， we can describe this idiom in “try what you have devised against others”.

Obviously， the study of history between Britain and China is quite distinctive as we discussed before. Britain， as we all interested， is a country aggressed by lots of foreign countries. Under this circumstance， the invaders also influence English idioms with their cultures. While on the other side， the examples about Chinese historical events are ingrained in modern-day Chinese culture and would strive to take hold of our country. Seemingly， the historical difference between two countries conduced to the different modes of idioms.

2.3 From Religion and Belief

Religious beliefs， refer to some followers who believe in the holy objects， and certainly including special doctrine and teaching. Besides， most British people are Christian， and the Bible is the most important book in westerns life that it also affects the westerners. Therefore， there are lots of English idioms relating to “God”， “devil”， “hell”， and “church”. Instances were illustrated by Liu Wenjun（劉文君，2013） and Huang Qingfang （黄庆芳，2012）：

（1） God be with you（上帝与你同在）.

（2） The devil and all（坏透了的人或事）.

（3） Go to the hell（下地狱）.

（4） As poor as a church mouse（一贫如洗）.

For some Chinese idioms Buddhism and Daoism have influence them most， so a plenty of Chinese idioms get connection with words “Buddha”， “temples” and “monks”. As Chinese idioms are hard to understand and translate， so we could understand these idioms in literal translation and free translation.

（1） 人面兽心（A fair face may hide a foul heart）.

（2） 放下屠刀，立地成佛（To drop ones clever and become a Buddha）.

（3） 临时抱佛脚（To embrace Buddhas feet in ones hour of need）.

（4） 救人一命胜造七级浮屠（To save a human life is better than building a seven-storeyed pagoda）.

To sum up， Chinese idioms are more related to “Buddha”， “temples”. While， according to the Christian religion， original sin is a part of us through Adam. As the Liu Wenjun（刘文君，2013） talks about original sin， the author explained that humans are born with original sin， so the human nature is evil.

2.4 From Commerce and Business

Britain， as a centuries-old capitalist nation， has a long history of commerce and business. Business becomes an integral part of daily life， and gradually become a pillar industry affecting every family in Britain. It can be seen from the following examples in Huang Pinpins paper （黄频频，2003）.

（1） Set up in business（从商）.

（2） Package deal（一揽子买卖）.

（3） Business is business（公事公办）.

（4） Two of a trade never agree（同行是冤家）.

By contrast， some Chinese idioms are listed below（薛玉红，2010）：

（1） Great mans sons seldom do well（富不过三代）.

（2） Hung up a sheeps head to sell dogs meat（挂羊头，卖狗肉）.

（3） There is no business who is not fraudulent（无奸不商）.

（4） Be reckless with greed（利欲熏心）.

Additionally， various idiom examples between English and Chinese idioms indicate that agriculture instead of business becomes the key industry in both two counties. The examples about English idioms are very popular and exist a few of commendatory terms， even are full of neuter meanings. And on the other side， in China agricultural labor is too hard to handle well， so we could see the pains through Chinese idioms and that is why there will be a lot of discontent and usually give people the impression of cheating in Chinese idioms. As a result， idioms about Chinese are not rich in content and cover lots of ground than those in English.

3. Conclusion

For these above purpose， numerous English and Chinese idioms were cited from several books and dictionaries， which were defined， analyzed， classified and compared.

First of all， in view of the essence of English and Chinese language， both English and Chinese idioms are cultural-loaded and with a lot of cultural information. But the best way to understand the English and Chinese idioms cannot be achieved without knowing all kinds of cultural sources. All the comparisons mentioned before are presented for several cases， which people often meet in translations. Secondly， it is a tendency to pay close attention to the cultural background influences communication and application of strategies used by people. Some of examples explain the reasons why in China， there are so tight social ties， but in Britain， the situation is opposite. Hence， it is very necessary to initiate some plans to teach or learn English and Chinese idioms. It might be helpful to promote mutual understanding of idioms in translation and cross-cultural communication. Additionally， Chinese learners require a much clear tendency about how culture will help us more capable to avoid cultural conflicts and create a harmonious environment under our endeavor.

References：

[1]Agnes M E. Webster New World Dictionary[M]. New York： Oversea Publishing House，1993：670.

[2]Cowie A P et al. Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English[M]. Oxford： Oxford University Press，1975：vii-ix.

[3]Crystal D. A Dictionary of Linguistic and Phonetics[J]. Oxford： Blackwell Publishing Ltd，1985.

[4]Felix. A Comparative Study of Differences and Similarities between English and Chinese Idioms[J]. Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture，2007（2）：54-56.

[5]Fernando C. Idioms and Idiomaticity[M]. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Press，2000：30-37.

[6]Weinreich U. Language in Contact[M]. New York： Linguist Circle of New York Publications，1992.

【作者簡介】林佳盈（1993-），女，汉族，广东汕头人，桂林电子科技大学，讲师，硕士研究生，研究方向：跨文化交际，社会语言学，中国语言背景下的英语二语习得。