The Effects Caused by Cultural Differences on the

吳金花

Each language has its profound cultural intension relative to its own physiology， convention， religious belief and so on. English and Chinese idioms， closely related to their culture， convey different cultural features and message of their own nation， reflecting their own rich culture. Based on my study， the differences between English and Chinese idioms are presented in the following aspects.

1. Regional Cultural Differences

Region culture refers to the culture formed by the different geographical condition， living environment， living condition. As we know，that English and Chinese idioms closely relate to their cultural background， carry different cultural features and messages of their own nation， reflecting their own rich culture. It is the case that English and Chinese people live in absolutely different？geographical condition， living environment and living condition， so they have their own unique characters of culture.

1.1 East wind vs. West wind

In terms of the geographical condition， the Great Britain is an island country， surrounded by the sea； while china is on the Euro-Asia continent， so the two nations have a different attitude of “the west wind” and “the east wind”. Actually speaking， they both refer to the natural wind， but the wind brings quite different weather and feeling to the people there. In Britain， “the west wind” refers to the word “daffodil” which is from the Atlantic， is often used to describe the spring and joy. Shakespeares sonnet gives a good illustration to this phenomenon，“When daffodil begin to peer/With heigh， the doxy over the dale！/Why， then comes in the sweet othe year.” A deeper description of daffodil as the messenger of spring can be found in William Wordsworthss？“The daffodil”. The daffodil is as a symbol of the joyful spring times. So many British poets praise “the west wind”. P. B. Shelleys “Ode to the West Wind”， he praised the west wind as a spirit of revolution， to show his optimistic view toward the bright humans future. While“the east wind” comes from the north of the continent， it means cold and unpleasant， we can see from the Charles Dickens “How many winter days have I seen him， standing blue-nose in the snow and east wind.”

In China， the east wind is the wind in spring. It often means warm， reborn and vigor， just like “立夏起東風(fēng)，田禾收割豐；傍晚吹西風(fēng)，晚上有霜凍。” Because in China， people think “the east wind” is the symbol of the spring， on the contrary， “the west wind” is a symbol of desolation， the poem of Ma Zhiyuan gives a illustration：“古道西風(fēng)瘦馬，夕陽(yáng)西下，斷腸人在天涯。” So the Chinese people prefer the east wind to the west wind.

1.2 Sea vs. Land

On the other hand， a large number of English idioms are derived from the sea， such as a drop in the ocean， feel under water， plain sailing， between the devil and the deep sea， to tide over， all at sea， to keep ones head above water， to rest on ones oars， etc.

But in the eyes of Chinese people， “sea” is something unfamiliar， mysterious and remote， like “大海撈針、海市蜃樓?！?That is because the Chinese culture originated from the inner part of the continent， which is far away from the sea. Here are two pairs of idioms， which express the same thing but employ different images； all this can be explained by the differences of geographical conditions between the Great Britain and China.

* To spend money like water VS 揮金如土

* All is fish that comes to the net VS 拾到籃里就是菜

In the aspect of living environment， the people of the Britain live along the seacoast and they depend on the sea； whereas， China is a nation of agriculture， with a large population of peasants， the people put the earth at the top of the nations agenda， regarding industry and commerce as the non-essential. During the long history of farming， the Chinese language has accumulated great numbers of farmers idiom.

2. Affected by History Affairs

Idiomatic expressions are closely related to a countrys history. History is a part of culture； different nations have different historical affairs. That is because a nation has its culture system and then forms different historical figures from their legends and ancestors. Those provide the idioms a plenty of materials， which make the idioms more colorful. Culture is made up of allusions， tradition， decrees， regulations， myths， poems， ancient books and records. Among them， allusion is the most important part. Such allusions not only make the language richer， but also make communication much easier and vivid.Idioms are usually closely related to distinctive cultural and historical fables and mythologies. 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.One examples is “cupids arrow”， “Pandoras box”， “king stork”， “swift as mercury” and so on. All these have a rich background and historical origins. And most of them are from Greek or Roman myths.

3. Influenced by different conventions

Due to different living conventions， different nations have obvious cultural differences in concept of value and aesthetic standards. For instance， in Chinese， the word “old” is the honorific title to the experienced. For thousands of years， family， to the Chinese， is always an important and stable part of life. Whether the old is in family or in society， they are revered. Therefore， it is not surprising that in Chinese there exists such idioms“老成持重” （ experienced and prudent）. “老當(dāng)益壯” （old hut vigorous）. But in England the development of industry has spoiled the traditional relationship between family members. Most people have to show their care about the old by making a phone call. With the declining social position of the old and the rising role of the young， the later has become the center of the whole society， which attaches importance to those full of vigor. In American culture， “old” means the end of youth， the decline of visor. Therefore， most Americans mentally resist the idea of becoming old and try to keep young. They are not willing to use word “old” just because of the consolation of it. And the idiomatic expression such as “you cant look your age” is welcomed.

In brief， as language learners， the more we learn about the cultural differences in English and Chinese idioms， the better they can understand and utilize them. The above analysis of reasons causing cultural differences and their influences on idiomatic expressions only provides a way for us to study them， which is intended to enhance our intercultural awareness so as to comprehend and use idioms from different cultures precisely and accurately.

【責(zé)編 金 東】