Transcript The similarity and discrepancy between English idioms and

The Similarity and Discrepancy
between English Idioms and
Chinese Idioms
Reference Books
• 1.A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Idioms
郁福敏 著 上海交通大学出版社 1999.6
• 2.英汉习语的文化观照与对比 蒋磊 著 武汉大学出版社
2000年12月
• 3.英汉习语对比 陈新颜 南阳师范学院学报 2005年7月
• 4.英汉数字习语的文化根源及对比翻译探析 常润芳 河南
大学学报 2008年1月
• 5.英语习语中常用对比法的研究 杨兰兰 怀化学院学报
2006年11月
• 6.英汉常用习语的对比研究 周熹 和田师范专科学院学报
2006年27期
Introduction
• Without idioms, it may still be a long way before a language
becomes the treasury of a culture or even a nation. Just as the
distiled water is of purer quality, the distiled product of a language--idioms, are of finer features.
• In fact, idioms are by all means the crystallization of a language due
to its long history and also, the telling demonstration of wisdom of a
nation.
• Wisdom, as it is, takes many forms, so it is quite a good idea to
discuss the similarity and discrepancy of the wisdom between
English idioms and Chinese idioms.
• In terms of similarity, the article will deal with the beauty of language
itself, contents, forms and the rhetoric devices. The discrepancy will
be foucused on how culture has rendered distinctive features to
idioms of this two nations.
Similarity
• First, both the English and Chinese idioms are
descriptive in their aim to convey meanings.
• For instances, in English idioms, there are “drink
like a fish”, “as busy as a bee”, “eat like a horse”.
• In the same manner, Chinese idioms are also
known for their hit-the-point magic. Some idioms
go like: “热锅上的蚂蚁”，“火上加油”etc.
These idioms, though in different language, do
an excellent job in adding vivid images and stir
further imagination from readers.
• Senond, both the E&C idioms reflect the very beauty of
its language.
• Firstly, the use of alliteration is pervasive. E.g “nothing
venture, nothing have”, “in for a penny, in for a pound”,
“as cool as cucumber”; “澎湃”，“玲珑”etc.
• Its counterparts are also of frequent usage: “fair and
square”，“A friend in need is a friend indeed”, “East
and west, home is the best”, “wealth is better than
health”; “仓皇”，“逍遥”.
• Secondly, superposition重叠 is frequently emplyed. “step
by step”, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”; “恶
狠狠”，“气冲冲”etc.
• The idioms bearing the upper features sound more
rththmic and feels much briefer, giving a full display of
the beauty of both English and Chinese.
Corresponding
• One gifted scholar once said that between two
languages, generally, chances are against it that there is
a equivalence of phrases and sentences, only a few
exceptions. Idioms are just one of those One of the
reasons to this are that huaman beings live on the same
planet, confined to the same objective restrictions.
• E.g: “to strike while the iron is hot—趁热打铁”; “Like
father, like son—有其父必有其子”; “Birds of a feather
flock together—物以类聚，人以群分;” “the onlookers see
most of the games—旁观者清”.
• From these, it can be learned that there is a common
bond in the sameness of the thoughts and emotions in
human being of defferent parts in the world.
Rhetoric Devices
• The rhetoric devices in E&C idioms tell the same
story and achieve the effecs all the same.
• personification. E.g: “a walking dictionary”,
“riches serve a wise man but command a fool.” ,
“walls have ears” In chinese, there are “桃李天
下”, “人为刀俎，我为鱼肉”,etc.
• Contrast. E.g “Art is long, Life is short”, “An
optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; A
pessimist sees a calamity in every
opportunity”. ;“大材小用”, “凶多吉少”. The use
of contrast make the difference or opposition
seem sharper and clearer.
• Hyperbole. Idioms are rich in hyperbolic
expressions full of emotional saturation
which achieve the effect that is not real,
yet better than reality. E.g “Cowards die
many times before their deaths”, “An
unfortunate man would be drowned in a
tea-cup.” ;“一失足成千古恨” , “翻天覆
地”.
• Rhetoric devices used in the idioms add
lust to the beauty of language, besides,
they reveal to us that as far as literature is
concerned, there are no boundary in
idioms from different nations.
Discrepancy
• Language is a carrier of the culture in each nation.
Fundamentally, the descrepancy between E&C idioms is
the result of cultural reasons.
• Chinese Culture emphasize on argriculture which has
raised generation after generation and is what our
welfare is attached to.
• Growing up in this land-foucused notion, chinese people
have long been dedicated to their hometown, add to the
fact that the weather is also land-friendly, they are able
to feed themselves, as a result, the thoutht of expansion
and invasion of other nations is never of their concern.
• Whereas the western history started when the
ancestors discover and fight for their habitat by
sailing in the sea, western people have a
complex of marine culture.
• During those tough periods of the struggle on
and off the sea, western people formed their
strong sense of controlness and invasion by
force to expand their territory. Thus the western
culture is marked by their appreciation for
competition and enterprise.
• The above differences leads to the cultural
differences. They are geographic position,
individual values, social mentality, ways of
communication and expression.
• Geographic Position. Most idioms bear the characteristic
of its surrounding environment. Take Britain for example,
because it is an island country, British people are fond of
sailing by and off the sea, which is well expressed by
many idioms like “take some down a peg”压制, “steer
clear of”绕开.
• Whereas in an argricultural country like China, many of
our idioms has the flavour of land. “树大招风”，“五谷
丰登”,etc.
• Biological Environment breeds differece in idioms. As to
the expression which means things that pop up
everywhere, English use “mushroom” as in the “spring
up like mushroom”, while Chinese refer them to
“Bamboo” as in the “雨后春笋”. Both are vivid
descriptions under each biological features.
Honesty Vs.Aggressiveness
• Simplicity and Honesty have always been an innate
temperament of chinese people. They worship
politeness and sincerity and are ashamed by doing any
wrongness to others, even they have good reasons. As a
result, they regeard golden means as the highest cause.
So there are idioms like “礼仪之邦”，“知足常乐”，
etc.
• Aggressiveness shaped westerners′ idea of pragmatism.
They believe, beyond doubt that they are entitled to
achieve goal by all means. There are idioms like “All is
fair in love and war”, “A bird in the hand is worth two in
the bush”.
Symmetry
• Because Chinese people have long placed emphasis on
“man proposes, god disposes”, and they seek for the
notion “man in nature and nature in man” which unfold
our ideal that antithesis and wholeness are the inner
features of every creature.
• Therefore, it goes the idea that nothing is perfect without
being present in paris. E.g “阳奉阴违”，“十年树木，百
年树人”.
• In contrast, western culture prefers to break through
symmetry. Their poems are more in modern style—
without strict observance to requirement of rhythm and
number of characters.
• Of course, there are some exceptions, such as “ups and
downs”, “ more haste, less speed”, but these are minor
compared with those majority free forms.
Number
• Considering “yin” and “yang” that make up everything in
chinese culture, one area of idioms that cannot be
mentioned more is the number. Because of the “yin” and
“yang” theory, the even numbers are the chinese
people′s favourite. They are firmly convinced that even
numbers bear auspicious meaning and will bring them
foutune and falware.
• Chinese people have common wish that good fortune
oneday will come in pairs as in “好事成双”. Youngsters
often wish that everything will be ok by saying “六六大
顺”；Businessmen commuting from place to place
have “四通八达” on their lips to wish for a smooth
journey.; Also, when the elders are darn proud of “四世同
堂”, they take pride that they offsprings are all over the
world.
• However, in western world, people are expecially fond of
odd numbers, resulting from they belief that the world is
composed of three parts: sea, land and sky, while the
nature are composed of animals, plants and minerals.
Even in human, it is the trinity of body, soul and spirit. In
addition to their beloved number 3, number 1 and 7 also
have sth to commend themselves.
• Westerns tend to add 1 to big numbers, for example, “a
thousand and one job”, “one thousand and one thanks”,
1 here indicates more, deeper, and stronger in degree.
• Number 7 is westerners′ another favourite child, for the
simple reason that it takes God 7 days to creat their
world. Idioms like “seven virtues”, “A man may lose
more in an hour than he can get in seven.”
Colour
• Idioms are colourful. Their targeted meaning has also
been affected by the surrounding tradions, mentality,
religion, and values.
• Despite the fact that a single colour can trigger
diversified associations in peoples mind, one thing is
certain, the primary colours in the two nations are
generally the same.
• They are: “red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,
violet.(赤橙黄绿青蓝紫). But this sameness is only at the
superfacial level, exploring deep, we can find the whole
truth. The following graph is just one brief glimpse of the
most palpable distinctions.
• Black in both languages indicates
illegalness and sadness. Black list 黑名单
• white in English indicates innocence and
honesty while in Chinese, it means
voidness and nothing. White hands“白手”
• Though green in both languages indicates
freshness, only English use it to modify
memory : To keep one′s memory green记
忆犹新
• Red in Chinese bear commentory
meanings such as
auspicion,foutune,vigor,revolution,etc.
whereas in Enlish, it often indicates
aggression,cruelty,jeopardy and wrath
• Red flag/ red hands/ in the red/ see red
开战旗/血腥之手/亏损/发怒.
• Chinese people associate white with death
and funeral；Englishmen see
sincerity,solemn and purity in white.
White lies善意的谎言
• Monarch in China wears in yellow, while
their counterparts in English wears in
purple.
Born in the purple生于贵族或皇室之家
• Green in Chinese is associated with
spring,hope and birth. In English, it means
inexperienced and jealousy.
Green hand, green-eyed, be green at生手/
妒忌/对…..不熟悉
Conclusion
• The discrepancy between English and Chinese
idioms lies deep in the cultural difference. This
article should be an enlightment to us all that
when learning English idioms, we are supposed
to bear the cultural background in mind so as to
acquire better learning.
• Moreover, the study of both E/C idioms shed
lights for our studying of the thinking mode of
both languages, which is of central essence for
our learning purpose.
2008年12月
赵玲颖