A Perspective Of Cross-Culture Into Origins & National Characteristics Of Chinese And English Idioms

Idiom, a relatively fixed expression, is a unit of a language constituted by words. Usually being bigger than words in size and function, idiom universally exists in a great number in a language which has a long history. Both English and Chinese, which are widely used and rich in expressive devices with glory of culture, have a multiple of idioms. English idioms form their independent sub-groups which include idiomatic phrases, proverbs and slangs; while there are set phrases, common sayings, proverbs and allegorical sayings in the stock of Chinese idioms. As products of human cultural activities, both English and Chinese idioms, reflect aspects of their own culture within which idioms should be explored, learned and taught. Culture, which is regarded as sum of human creation of materials, institution and spirit, possesses seven general characteristics that mean culture is learned, transmitted from generation to generation, symbol-based, subject to change, integrated, ethnocentric and adaptive etc. Language, of which idiom is parts of a vocabulary, is understood as a system of arbitrary vocal human communication. Language contains informative, performative, emotive, interpersonal, phatic, recreational, and metalingual function etc. Both English and Chinese idioms, which originate from different types of culture, share common characteristics including systematic, narrative, relatively fixed in form, nation-oriented, composite & fused and colloquial feature etc. The exploration of origins and characteristics of English and Chinese idioms can have implications to learning, teaching, translating and using idioms in the two languages. In short, English and Chinese idioms' origins and characteristics are discussed from cultural and linguistic perspective in the paper. Therefore, it will be of great help...