A Comparative Study Of Idioms In Chinese And English Food Culture

Language is the carrier of culture. The great richness of traditional culture can befound in the study of language historical records. As the live fossil of language, idiomsenjoy great popularity among people in the east and west because of their conciseness,vividness, distinctiveness and comprehensiveness. Reflected from the idioms are theenvironment, life, history and culture of the native speakers as well as their valueorientations and beliefs. Idioms contain such a vigorous life that they have held their placethroughout centuries. It is worthwhile to make a comparative study of Chinese and Englishidioms from a cross-cultural communication perspective so as to have a good grasp of themeaning and use of the language.There’s a principle which is unchanged through all ages, that “food is the firstnecessity of the people”. Just as Confucius put it in Li chi,“Alimentation and reproduction,or in simpler terms, food and drink and women are the two greatest desires of humanbeings”(Lin, cited in Li chi,1998:42), as well as in the English saying,“Bread is the staffof life”. As an essential prerequisite for existence, food plays an irreplaceable role in thedevelopment of society and progress of human beings, whether in ancient times or inmodern times, and whether in the East or West. However, not all human beings have thesame food or develop the same food habits, as the famous English saying suggests that“One man’s meat is another man’s poison”, for food is closely related to culture. Foodcultures and habits vary with nations, which can be easily found in idioms. Such as,“红白喜事”、“大锅饭”、“喝西北风”,which reflects pan-foodism of the Chinese and “earn one’ s salt”;“go Dutch”;“bring somebody to his milk”, which mirrors individualism of the English.Under the instruction of “cultural relativism” and “the deep structure of culture”, thisdissertation endeavors to analyze the cultural differences and idioms involved in Chineseand English food cultures from a cross-cultural communication perspective. The authorhopes this thesis may help cross-cultural communicators get further understanding ofidioms in Chinese and English food culture and gain better mutual-understanding in thecross-cultural communication.