Comparative Study Of The Numerals Used In Chinese-Thai Idioms

Numeral idioms hold an important place in the life of the Chinese and Thai people.Idioms composed of numeral morphemes are symbolic and profound in meaning.Because both countries vary in their social backgrounds,modes of thinking,and manners and customs,the people's feeling and association with numeral are also different.As a result,the Chinese and Thai numeral idioms differ in their conceptual meaning and figurative sense.The semantic difference reflects the cultural uniqueness,and also causes the Thai learners of Chinese to make errors when studying numeral idioms because of the interference of their mother tongue.Content is composed of five chapters.Chapter one is introduction which shows background and significance,previous researches relating to numeral idioms in both China and It also includes objectives,information and research methods.Chapter two is discusses the literal meaning and figurative sense of the Chinese and Thai numeral idioms and the relationship between the vehicle and the figurative meaning.Chapter three includes comparing Chinese and Thai numeral idioms structure and syntactic function and meaning analysis.Chapter four is includes comparing and analyzing of definitions in term of cultures for basic of number in Thai and Chinese and showing of the result of the study Chinese and Thai numeral idioms can be divided into three categories;the ones which the meanings are the same or similar to Thai idiomatic expressions and the numeral used for comparison are the same,the ones of which the meanings are the same or similar to Thai idiomatic expressions but the numeral used for comparison are different and the ones of which the meanings are the same or similar to Thai idiomatic expressions without numeral.The last chapter is a conclusion part of all parts in this study.Finally,hopes that the research of the numerals used in Chinese—Thai idioms will encourage the learners to understand the characteristics and meanings of numeral idiom,the teaching of the words and expressions in cultural terms;help Chinese and Thai people to understand each other and the two countries of cultural exchange.