A Contrastive Study Of English And Chinese Idioms

Idioms, as the crystallization of human wisdom, are regarded as the essence of language, which mirror the well-established, broad and profound culture of the East and West. Both English and Chinese are languages with a long history, owning large quantities of idioms. Some of them are implicative and humorous, while others are serious and elegant. Idioms are simple in form, and vivid in meaning, which pass on a sense of beauty.This thesis is a contrastive study of English and Chinese idioms from the angle of culture, with the guidance of Contrastive Linguistics Theory. Objectives of this study are as follows:to provide an overview of the contrastive study on English and Chinese idioms; to explore English and Chinese idioms from a more comprehensive view; to study Contrastive Linguistics from a new perspective.Three study methods are mainly adopted in this thesis, namely analytical inductive method, comparative method, and the method of seeking for similarities as well as dissimilarities. As the main methodology of Contrastive Linguistics, the method of seeking for similarities and dissimilarities is applied throughout the whole thesis, which is reflected in the contrastive study of English and Chinese idioms in sources and culture.This study shows its significance in both theory and practice. In theory, it will benefit the development of Contrastive Linguistics; in practice, this study will offer theoretical guidance for idiomatic translation. Through the contrastive study, it can be seen that there are both similarities and dissimilarities between English and Chinese idioms, which exist in the following aspects:classification, sources and cultural implications of idioms and so on.This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One is the introduction. Chapter Two is concerned with the literature review. First, it defines the term "idiom" both in English and Chinese, and classifies English and Chinese idioms. Then is the description of previous studies. Chapter Three is the contrastive study of English and Chinese idioms in their sources. There are similarities as well as dissimilarities in sources. Living on the single earth, British and Chinese have similar experience and thinking to some degree. Hence there exist similarities in sources of idioms. However, because of the differences in geographical location, social custom and cultural connotation, some sources are also different. Chapter Four is a contrast of English and Chinese idioms in the aspect of culture. The similar aspects in different cultures are reflected in idioms. Nevertheless, dissimilarities of cultures are attributed to the differences of various aspects. Chapter Five is the conclusion.This thesis riot only makes a contrast of the classification and cultural connotation of idioms, but also contrasts the idiomatic sources-in detail. It’s an innovation point.Though there are differences in various respects, people from distinctive nations can communicate well with each other. It shows that there are intercommunication, exchangeability, and translatability among different languages. Thus, making a contrastive study of English and Chinese idioms is significant to the development of Contrastive Linguistics study and the smooth progress of idiomatic translation. It is hoped that it will be beneficial to the future research on idiomatic studies.