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1、On the Origins of English Idioms and comparison differences between English and Chinese idioms I. IntroductionAs an English learner, we study English everyday; learning its literary works, grammatical functions, use them and so on. Sometimes, we come cross some sentences that we cant understand, suc
2、h as, “There is a black sheep” or “Dont be a bad apple”, “go over my head” , “Dont put your problems at my doorstep”, “just bear with me”, “heap coal of fire on ones head” etc. Of course we can comprehend the meaning of every single word. Why did we meet such a difficulty to understand them? So they
3、 represent native English idioms! How can we understand the phrases meaning? “There is a black sheep”(害群之马), “go over my head”(无法理解)(乔恩（Choong,G,G.） 2003.2),“Dont put your problems at my doorstep”(归咎于我)(卢思源，2006，1. p290) ，“just bear with me”(容忍我) , “heap coal of fire on ones head”(以德抱怨).In fact Engl
4、ish idioms are not strange to us in our study and daily life, we can often mention or use them with which we are familiar .Idioms are fixed phrases that go through the test of history and cannot be treated separately, they are a kind of language that Britain and America use to express their ideas. A
5、n English idiom is a group of words with a special meaning different from the meaning of its constituent words. Most of these idiomatic expressions are phrases of two or more words that function as a unit of meaning and must be learned as a whole.In English-speaking countries, idioms are heard and r
6、ead everywhere from debates to everyday conversations .A good mastery of idioms becomes a significant symbol of a persons command of the language. However, because of a low level of linguistic competence in the target language, people who learn English as a second language are at a distinct disadvan
7、tage in understanding English idioms. We must know the origins of English idioms so that we can learn English well.Idioms as a special form of language carried a large amount of cultural information, such as history, geography, religion, custom, nationality, psychology, thought pattern and so on, an
8、d therefore are closely related to culture. They are the heritage of history and the product of cultural evolvement. General speaking, English idioms came from society, culture and history; they included in everything and related to our societys life and played an important role in culture. In this
9、paper, Im going to show the sources of English idioms, and then make a contrast between Chinese and English idioms, finding their differences and similarities in culture. In this way, we can easily study and understand English idioms for successful communication. To sum up, it is important to study
10、English idioms, it is also necessary.II. The sourcesA. Idioms from living circumstanceLanguage is a reflection of one countrys cultural background. The natural environment including geographical position, climate, and ecological condition is something that plays contributory role in the formation of
11、 language. Certainly, their special way of living, thinking and behaving is formed as a side-product of their relationship with the environment.Idioms are closely related to peoples labor and life, people in particular culture need words to name and explain objects in their culture. Because Britain
12、is an island country, people who live along seacoast and whose livelihood is dependent on the sea will have idioms about water, sailing, island and fish. For example, “ to take the wind out of somebodys sail”(先发制人) ,“at sea”(茫然), “to trim ones sail to the wind” (见风使舵),“never offer to teach fish to s
13、wim” (不要班门弄斧),“full fish” (乏味的人),“sail under false colors”(欺世盗名)(庄和诚，2002. P572),etc. Whats more, climate, agriculture are also another factor in the living condition. While Britain is located in western hemisphere, with North Temperate Zone and marine climate, so “west wind” is the symbol of spring
14、. The west wind blows from the Atlantic Ocean is warm and gentle, so that Britain abounds in rain can be proved in some idioms concerning rain: “to make hay while the sun shines”(趁热打铁), “to rain or shine”(无论如何), “rainy day”(穷困时期), “as right as rain”(非常正确)etc.The British people are good at hunting an
15、d fishing; they often use horses working in the field, so they made their way of life and made of production. There are many idioms from agriculture. E.g ,“beat around/about the bush”(拐弯抹角)(高凌，2002.10. p43)this from hunting, “a hard row to hoe”(难办的事情), “have all ones eggs in one basket”(孤注一投), “put
16、out to grass”(年老退休), “ride on the high horse”(盛气凌人), “feel like a fish out of water”(感到不自在).BIdioms from religions and beliefsAs a cultural phenomenon, religion, which is the manifestation of cultures, is the vital part of human thought .Religion is an important source for idioms. Most of westerners
17、 are Christians, who believe that the world was created by God. They think that God is omnipotent and sacred. God, Christ, devil, Adam and some educational segments of the stories in Bible are passed down, because of peoples favor or even some historical and political causes, especially religious be
18、liefs. Many British who believe in Christianity all read the Bible; therefore, numerous idioms have come into peoples colloquial speech, and have become mottoes. For example: “Judass kiss”(犹大之吻) from the Matthew, Judas, one of the Twelve, agrees to betray Jesus that the chief Priests counted out for
19、 him only thirty silver coins. A kiss as the betrayer had arranged a signal with the chief Priests. Jesus had crucified, and then died. So, Judass kiss means “with the best of intention or forsake.“Turn the other cheek”（甘受侮辱）from the New Testament, Jesus advice: Resist not evil, but whosoever shall
20、smite thee on thy right cheek, turns to him the other also. “Build up on the sand”（根基不牢）from the Matthew: “and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand”in it, “build upon the sand” metaphorical meaning is unstable foundation. There are quite a few Engl
21、ish idioms from religion. Such as: “Benjamins mess（最大的份额）, “raise Cain apple of Sodom（金玉其表，败絮其中）,“handwriting on the wall”（不祥之兆）, “God preserve us”（神明保佑）(骆世平，2005. 2.2)etc.C. Idioms from historical allusion Britain as an ancient country passes a long history, which mainly comprises allusion, myths,
22、poem, ancient books and records etc. Among them, allusion is the most important, it reflects the national characteristic. Idioms from history culture are the gems of human cultural heritage. It is worthwhile for us to learn them well. English idioms have their legends and anecdotes about historical
23、figures which have provided rich and varied materials, and consequently give a national color to the idioms. It is necessary for us to learn and use the English allusion, it can enlarge our scope of knowledge, widen our field of vision, and it is useful to learn about the idioms origin. Maybe we can
24、 learn it by its historical events, fables, mythologies and literary works.1. Historical events and folk stories In most language, people embellish their speech or writing with references to characters or event from their history, that is to say, idiomatic expressions are closely related to a countr
25、ys history. English has a history more than thousand years and has some idioms from historical. For example: “to meet ones Waterloo”(遭遇滑铁卢)is from the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815,which means to be completely defeated. “Dunkirk evacuation”（敦刻尔克撤退）from the world War II and originally meet t
26、he retreat of the English-French troops forced by the German now, the expression means to retreat in disorder. “Columbuss egg”（哥伦布竖鸡蛋）,in the famous story of Columbuss egg, the explorer, irritated at being told that his exploits were easy, challenged the guests at a banquet to balance an egg on its
27、end, when all had failed, he succeeded by flattening one end by tapping in against the table, a trick that any would than have been able to repeat, its means repetition is easier than innovation. As we all know, Rome and Denmark once occupied Britain for a long time, so the conquest influenced on th
28、e Britain to a certain extent: “Six of one and half a dozen of the other”(半斤八两)came from Denmark, whereas “return to ones muttons”(言归正传)and “do in Rome as the Romans do”(入乡随俗)are from France and Rome respectively. Of course, the history of mankind is almost the history of war, which is the source of
29、 numerous idioms, as is mirrored in the following: “What millions died that Caesar might be great”(一将功成万骨枯) ,“to put up the sword”(讲和)etc. We cant sure that if the folk story is true or not, but as a part source of English idioms, we would rather believe it is a true story, like “eat crow”(被迫认错) “fi
30、ght like silken cats”(两败俱伤).There is an interest story told that one night, a wife hears a mouse sound in their room, so she asks her husband to drive mouse away, but the man says the door is so cold, he gets cold feel, he will not get up to do anything. In fact, the husband is not because the door
31、cold, but also is afraid the mouse. Nowadays “get cold feet” means someone is coward.2. Fable and mythologies Idioms are usually closely related to distinctive cultural fables and mythologies. As a part of English idioms, though ancient fable stories are short and refined, they teach people many phi
32、losophic and educational theories while being narrated. They are also parts of the kindergarden education of children. E.g: “Sour grapes”(酸葡萄)disparage something that is beyond ones reach. The allusion is to Aesops well-known fable of the fox, which tried in vain to get at some grapes, but when he f
33、ound they were beyond his reach, he went away saying, “I see they are sour”. “Grin like the Cheshire cat”(咧嘴傻笑),in a childrens story, there is a Cheshire cat kept smiling innocently, so people to describe someones stupid smile as grin like the Cheshire cat. “Alice in wonderland”(幻想的)came from Lewis
34、Carrolls work Alices Adventure in wonderland. As we all know, Greek and Roman civilizations have a great influence on the English language, so the Greek and the Roman mythologies have greatly enriched the English idioms. Most English allusion came from the Greek Rome mythology. Lets take a glance at
35、 following idioms. “Achilles heel”(致命弱点)which is from the Greek mythology has the meaning: the one weak spot in a mans circumstances or character”. “A Pandoras box”（潘多拉魔盒）（骆世平，2005. 2.4.1）which means the origin of all evils, is also from Greek mythology. Another example, Hercules was one of the most
36、 famous heroes in Greek mythologies. He killed two snakes when he was a baby, and was known as a man of muscle. Because of this, he “walks” into the English idioms: “Hercules choice”(永存，不朽), “the Hercules efforts”(费九牛二虎之力), “the pillars of Hercules”(天涯海角). Aesops Fable have a greatly influence in En
37、glish idioms, e.g: “Aladdins lamp”(能产生神奇效果的东西)came from Aladdin and the wonderful lamp in Thousand and one Nights. In the story, Aladdin gained a magic lamp and a ring that he was able to call all deities to do anything that he wanted. Another examples, “an open sesame”(芝麻开门)from AliBaba and Forty T
38、hieves. There are so much interesting stories that made so many idioms.3. .Literary worksMany popular western literary masterpieces have the classic words, phrases and sentences that attract people greatly. They are shaped to evolve the hidden meanings; they are also one of the main sources of Engli
39、sh idioms. In English literature, Shakespeare plays a very important role, his dramas are the major source of this kind: “Applaud one to the echo”(掌声雷动)（卢思源，2006.）,“die in harness”(因公殉职),“make assurance doubly sure”(加倍小心),“at one fell swoop”(一举,一下子),“have an old head on young shoulders”(年轻却有头脑),“to
40、claim ones pound of flesh”(割某人的一磅肉),“out of joint”(杂乱无章),“a horse of different color”(截然不同的事或人),etc. Besides the works of other famous writers also store a great many idioms: “a nine-day wonder”(昙花一现)appears in Troilus and Cressida written by Geoffrey Chaucer; “mind ones eye”(当心你的眼睛)from Charles Dic
41、kenss Barnaby Ridge; “the ugly duckling”(丑小鸭)is from Han Andersons tables; “Friday”(星期五)means faithful, is from Robinson Crusoe written by Daniel Defoe. Many English idioms were came from literary works with which we all familiarity. D. Idioms from traditions and customs Culture is long acquired fro
42、m customs and habits. These customs and habits are representative of the way of living of a certain speech community and they are mirrored in the habitual speaking of the language. Food is one of the aspects of cultural tradition that are reflected in English idioms. In most European countries, brea
43、d, butter, jam, cheese, etc, are usual kind of food in daily meals. On the other hand, animals, sporting and daily life are also made so many idioms. So in English ,there are some idioms like: “bread and butter”(日常所需)（骆世平，2005. 2.6.3）,“hard cheese”(倒霉), “to butter both sides of ones bread”(过舒适的生活),
44、“clever dog” means a clever boy or guy. “To help a lame dog over a stile”(雪中送炭) ,“love me, love my dog”(爱屋及乌),“dog days”(伏天),“as strong as an ox”(很健壮) ,“birds of a feather”(性格不同的人)，“in the money”(获奖),“off and running”(进展顺利),“chuck in ones cards”(认输),“throw in the towel”(投降), “jump the gun”(抢先),“toe
45、the line”(服从命令),etc. Others ,we can learn some new idioms from Walt Disney, for example, “Mickey Mouse”(米老鼠): Small, insignificant or worthless person. This is a name of a mouse-like cartoon. III. Comparison Using language in such communication, we often come across some idioms with distinctive cult
46、ural characteristics. So it is a very importance and complicated thing for us to understand these idioms correctly. So, we should have a comparison between English and Chinese idioms through their differences and similarity.A. Differences between English and Chinese idioms 1. Geographical difference
47、.Geographical environment plays an important role in shaping one countrys culture and human beings have no choices and opacities to change the geography. As a result, idioms based on geographical features appear differences between different countries. Britain is an island country, which does not sh
48、are land border with any other country except the Republic of Ireland. So, Britain people have a special passion for water. However, the most part of China belongs to inland place where people cannot live without earth. This made difference idioms in the two languages. For example, there is a Chines
49、e idiom showing somebody being extravagant, “挥金如土”,but in English idiom is “spend money like water”； “Dont cross the bridge till you come to it”(车到山前必有路), “between the devil and the deep sea”(进退维谷), “all is fish that comes to ones net”(抓到篮里便是菜).2 . Conventional differencesOne nations custom is formed through a long history and firmly rooted in peoples mind. It is closely related to national psychology and acts as an important source
