A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Animal Idioms 对英汉动物习语的对比研究

A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Animal Idioms对英汉动物习语的对比研究外国语学院AbstractLanguage is the carrier of culture, and idioms are the essence of language, which has a strong expressive function and national colors. In both English and Chinese idioms, animal idioms occupy a large number. Along with the development and progress of human society, many animals are tamed to become domestic animals serving people, and many others have become people’s pets. Many animals have become a kind of symbol in people’s thinking and this symbol is reflected in the language. These animal idioms reflect different cultural connotations of different nationalities. This paper aims to disclose the differences between English culture and Chinese culture through comparing the connotation of animal idioms in both languages.Key words: animal idiom; comparison; cultural connotation摘要语言作为文化的组成部分，在文化中起着重要的作用，语言是文化的载体。

而习语是语言的精华，它所承载的文化信息带有强烈的民族文化特色。

动物，由于跟人们生活紧密联系，被大量作为喻体运用在英汉习语中，这些习语不但具有其表层的词汇意义，而且蕴含着更深层更重要的民族文化内涵。

而每个民族的历史文化、生活环境、传统习俗、宗教信仰、道德观念、审美价值等等都各有独特之处，所以有些动物习语虽喻义大部分一致，但其表达的含义往往有所偏差，有些动物在中英文中张冠李戴，有些貌似对等，实质意义却截然相反，这是中英两种文化差异在语言上的反映。

因此，对英汉动物习语文化特色进行比较与分析，有利于了解异国文化，增加学习语言的兴趣，促进跨文化交际，从而更好地理解和运用语言。

关键词：动物习语；对比；文化内涵Contents Abstract (2)摘要 (3)Introduction (5)1. Similarities between English and Chinese animal idioms (5)1.1 Same vehicle with the same meaning (5)1.2 Same vehicle with different meanings (6)1.3 Different vehicles with the same meaning (7)2. Differences between English and Chinese animal idioms (9)2.1Differences in agricultural production mode (9)2.2 Differences in aesthetic orientation (9)2.3 Differences in the standard of value (10)Conclusion (11)Bibliography (13)IntroductionAs a part of culture, language plays an important role. Language is the carrier of culture. The idiom is the essence of language, and the cultural information it carries has strong national characteristics. Animals, as living in the long-term intimate contact with people, are used in a large number as metaphor in English and Chinese, which not only has its lexical meaning , but also contains a deeper and more important cultural connotation. And each nation's historical culture, living environment, traditional customs, religious beliefs, moral values, aesthetic values, etc, have their own unique characteristics. In some animal idioms, though their English and Chinese figurative meanings are consistent, the connotation they express often means the opposite. Therefore, compared with Chinese and English animal cultural characteristics, it is conducive to understand a foreign culture and increase the interest in learning a new language and promote cross-cultural communication.1. Similarities between English and Chinese animal idioms 1.1 Same vehicle with the same meaningHumans cannot live and labour without animals and some animals even become friends. During the close association with animals, people carefully observe the habits of animals and gradually sum up the characteristics of different animals, and add them to the expression in everyday language. People's way of thinking and their worldview have agreat similarity, and both Chinese people and English people have nearly the same knowledge of animal’s instincts and ways of life. So the same animals with the same cultural connotations in English and Chinese culture, often express the same emotion. For example, if you want to say a person who is industrious, English people will say“as busy as a bee”, and at the same time Chinese people can understand it. Another example is that Chinese people will use“披着羊皮的狼”to describe a bad person，and in English it is said“a wolf in sheep’s clothing”. This example indicates that seen from the outside, the person is pretty kind but inside is extremely malicious. This example also states that different languages and cultures endow “wolf”the same cultural associative meaning. The following animal vehicles have the same associative meanings in both Chinese and English. Pig can be regarded as a kind of animal with lazy, dirty, greedy and rude characteristics. So “pig”is used to show the character of greedy and stupid both in English and in Chinese, e.g. “to make a pig/hog of oneself(过分贪嘴，贪婪)”, “if a pig had wings he might fly(除非猪能上树)”，and this example indicates an improbable state of affairs.1.2 Same vehicle with different meaningsAs English and Chinese people living in different cultural backgrounds, their worldview and values have significant differences. It is natural that they will create different associations towards the same animal. Let’stake the dragon for example, in Chinese, especially in ancient time, dragon was regarded as a positive image, a symbol of good luck in traditional Chinese culture, and it is enshrined as the totem of the Chinese nation. It is the respected name of emperor, the metaphor of all outstanding figures. Chinese people are proud to call themselves “Descendan ts of the Dragon” and in the hope that their son could become a “dragon”, that is a Chinese people’s idiom “望子成龙”. But in English,“dragon”is a derogatory term. In western stories and legends, a dragon is an animal like a big lizard, it has wings and claws, and breathes out fire. Dragons are described as monsters in most western countries. “There is an example from Collins COBUILD English Language Dictionary,‘If you call a woman a dragon, you mean that she is fierce and unpleasant.（如果把一个女人叫做dragon，是说她很凶，很令人讨厌。