英语论文网

un),习语, etc.” However, the thesis will discuss English and Chinese idioms in a narrow sense, and only set phrases and proverbs will be under discussion.
English idioms and Chinese idioms are gems of the two languages as well as the crystallization of the two national cultures. Most of idioms are of vivid images which are appropriately used to compare to other things, consequently, they often contain distinctive national and local colors. Some idioms have quite clear meanings; some are implicit and profound, which could cause a great deal of association, while others may include several meanings, which depend on the context to define its real indication.
Having left their deep and unique stamps on the language, idioms can best express the historical process, cultural tradition and customs of the people. The present article, adopting a contrastive approach, attempts to put forward the distinctive characteristics of both English and Chinese idioms, namely, metaphorical language, integrate meaning, fixed collocation and euphonious sound. And then it tries to make an analysis of their cultural discrepancies in terms of geography, culture, custom and religious belief.
Idioms are a mirror of a people. They comprise the historical and cultural background as well as the approach to life and the ways of the people. No translator, language learner or language teacher can afford to ignore idioms if a natural use of the target language is an aim. Therefore, with the more frequent communication between the English people and the Chinese people, there is a great demand for more research in English idioms.
2. Definitions of idioms
It is difficult to give a clear definition to idioms. First, people are often confused with their scope, content and form. Second, experts have different opinions about how to divide idioms from narrow sense and general sense. What kind of language expression really belongs to idioms? Different experts have different opinions and definitions to idioms. Some people consider idioms as quintessence of a language. Others regard them as treasury of a language. These statements in certain degree reflect the idioms' characteristics, but can't be regarded as idioms' definition. All of these causes bring difficulty to define a idiom .Maybe owing to those causes, the word “ idiom” even hasn't been collected in such authorities reference books as Modern Chinese Dictionary and Chain(辞海).
2.1 Some English Dictionaries
Longman Active English-Chinese Dictionary (1990) defines an idiom as “a phrase which means something different from the meanings of the separate words”.
The concise Oxford Dictionary (2000) gives such a definition as “a group of words established by usage and having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words”. Longman Dictionary of contemporary English (1998) gives the definitive “a phrase which means something different from them meanings of the separate words from which it is formed”.
Webster's New World Dictionary of the American language (2nd college edition, 1972) gives this definition “an accepted phrase, construction, or expression contrary to the patterns of the language having a meaning different from the language or having a different from the literal”.
2.2 The explanation of idioms
An idiom is a term or phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known on本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。