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1、20132014学年第 1学期考查卷课程 英语词汇学 考试形式（学期论文）学院 外国语 系 英语 专业 英语(教师教育) The Cultural Connotations of English IdiomsAbstract：The paper is concerned with cultural connotation. English idioms reflect rich cultural informations and unique cultural characteristics of the national English language in geography, hist
2、ory, religion, living custom and the other aspects. Therefore, it is difficult to understand from the literal meanings. So it is necessary and important to comprehend the cultural connotations of English idiomsKey words: cultural connotation, idioms, geography, history, religion, living custom1. Int
3、roduction An idiom (Latin: idioma, special property, f. Greek: idima, special feature, special phrasing, f. Greek: idios, ones own) is a combination of words that has a figurative meaning owing to its common usage. An idioms figurative meaning is separate from the literal meaning.1 There are thousan
4、ds of idioms and they occur frequently in all languages. There are estimated to be at least twenty-five thousand idiomatic expressions in the English language.2Idioms have narrow and general meanings. The paper is concerned about the general meaning. General idioms contains slang, saying, proverbs,
5、colloquialism, literary quotation and so on, is the crystallization of the development of language. Idioms reflect the experiences in peoples lives, and national culture is the lively source in English idioms. Idiom literal meaning is a highly concentrated and summarized of the national culture. 2.
6、Cultural connotation of English idiomsIdiom are very close with culture,which can be testified by its origins,some idioms are originated form peoples lives,custom and environment while other idioms are originated from religious belief,history,allegoric and mythical story,or literal works,still other
7、s originated from the foreign borrowing.therefore, I introduce four kinds of cultural connotations including geography, history, religion and living customs as following:2.1 English idioms influenced by geography. People living in different environment will have different culture, every culture more
8、 or less is related to its region, climate and so on. Idioms just contains a unique cultural genes. As we know, England is a island country. Thus, Englishman create a great deal number of idioms about water, ship, fish and so on.If someone wastes a lot of money, Englishman will say him “uses money l
9、ike water.” another example is that “to sail under false colors” means to act hypocritically or to try to attain ones object by appearing to be other than you are. The term is a nautical one, and refers to the practice of pirates approaching their unsuspecting prey with false colors at the mast.Thus
10、, if you want to more understand the English idioms, you d better to know the geography.2.2 English idioms influenced by history. Britain has experienced several specific historical stages, including the invasion of aliens, medieval feudal society, the bourgeois revolution, the industrial revolution
11、, colonial expansion, and so on. It is natural that a great deal of idioms about history. The idiom, do in Roma as the Romans do, is a example. Because Roma had ever invaded the England, and brought the culture to England, English idiom certainly refect Roman culture. “Roma is not built in one day.”
12、 is another instance to reflect that.In the process of historical development, a number of specific historical events closely related to the formation of idioms. Therefore, it is important to understand the history to learn English idioms2.3 English idioms influenced by religion The majority of Brit
13、ons are devout Christianity.they believe that the world was created by God, and God governs the universe, and all things including human beings, so they must absolute obey to God from beginning to end , and the idea from the beginning occupied their minds, which gradually became a British deep-roote
14、d cultural psychology. Therefore, there are many idioms related to Christianity. Here is a good example, Judass kiss. It means that a deceitful act of courtesy. From Matt.xxvi, 49. Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. Another vivid instance is “much cry and little wool”, which refers to a proverbi
15、al saying expressive of contempt or derision for one who promises great things but never fulfills the promises. Originally the proverb ran,” Great cry and little wool, as the Devil said when he sheared the hogs”; and it appears in this form in the ancient mystery of David and Abigail, in which Nabal
16、 is represented as shearing his sleep, and the Devil imitates the act by “shearing a hog”.So when we learn idioms from Christianity, we can read Bible, which will increase our knowledge and help us to be familiar with the features of western culture and have a clear understanding of the hidden meani
17、ngs of idioms.2.4 English idioms influenced by living customs Living life is a main source of culture and idioms. English idiom is a summary of Englishmens experiences, so the idioms are more or less to reflect the living customs in England. “See how the cat jumps “and “see which way the wind blows”
18、 have the same meaning which of the two alternatives is likely to be the successful one before you give any opinion of its merit or adhesion to it, either moral or otherwise. The allusion is either to the game called “tip-cat”, in which before you strike you must observe which way the “cat” has jump
19、ed up, or to the cruel sport mentioned above. This idiom comes from the daily life. Here is another interesting example. “Harry couldnt say boo to a goose!”is a strange sentence, but actually it means that a person is too timid to fight back the unfair treatment.Thus, Idioms with the influence of th
20、e national culture, inevitably reflect peculiar thinking and language habits. We should know the relationship between them and can help us to understand the English idioms better.3. ConclusionEnglish idiom is an important manifestation of English language diversity and plays an important role in a w
21、ide range of English communication. They are its distinctive features, a variety of sources, reflecting the situation in all aspects of British life politics, economy, religion, literature, etc., is worth more studies of English learners to learn.References:1.See the The Oxford companion to the Engl
22、ish language (1992:495f.).2. Concerning the estimate of the number of idioms in the English language, see Jackendoff (1997).3.ChenWenBo: English idioms and Chinese idioms M. Foreign language teaching and research press, 1982.4. PingHong, and ZhangGuoYang: English idioms and British and American cult
23、ures M. chief editor. Beijing foreign language teaching and research press, 1999.5. WangXueYing, zhangHui: chinese-english of English-Chinese idioms daqo M. Tsinghua university press, 2005.6.Liu Jinding.Translation of Chinese and English IdiomsJ.武当学刊,1995(9).P47.Ran lixia.Cultural Differences in English and Chinese IdiomsJ. Chongqi
