A Cultural Study On Chinese And English Food Idioms From The Perspective Of Metaphorical Thinking

Idioms can transfer information. Meanwhile, they also convey the cultural customsand local conditions of different countries. Idioms have a natural and close relation withmetaphor, which just make idioms to be an important factor in cross-culturalcommunication. For this reason, the study of idioms is an indispensable part in languagestudy. Food is the foundation of the survival and development of human. Differentcountries or nations have different dietary habits, which are reflected in the languages ofthese countries or nations. There are numerous food idioms in English and Chinese, andthese idioms embody the culture of English-speaking countries and China. The metaphoris widely researched by many domestic and international scholars, but it is relatively lessto study idioms from metaphorical thinking, especially food idioms.The thesis uses Hutchins’ Theory of Proposition Schema as the theoretical foundation,and uses comparative study as research method. The author makes a comparative study onEnglish and Chinese food idioms from the aspect of iconic food, object fields of metaphormapping, the factors influencing the form of idioms, then classifies and analyzes them. Itfirst picks up food idioms from the authoritative English and Chinese dictionaries ofidioms-Oxford Idioms Dictionary and Xinhua Idioms Dictionary, and classifies themaccording to the related food, then divides food idioms into two types according to theobjects fields of metaphor mapping. Finally, it analyzes the above studies. The thesismainly studies the following questions: firstly, the characteristics of English and Chinesefood idioms from the perspective of metaphorical thinking; secondly, whether or notmetaphor has cultural nature, and why; thirdly, the relationship between the cultural natureof metaphor and the use of metaphor in idioms.By researching it concludes the characteristics of English and Chinese food idiomsfrom the perspective of metaphorical thinking, states that metaphor has cultural nature,and gives the relationship between the cultural nature of metaphor and the use of metaphorin idioms. It is hoped that the study of the thesis can have a positive effect oncross-cultural communication, teaching and learning, and translation.