Cultural differences between target language and source language

On the Cultural Differences between China and the West from English and Chinese Idioms

chinese abstract

Idiom is a language structure with stable structure and meaning. Idioms are incisive, vivid, beautiful, vivid and profound. They are a mirror that reflects the general situation of culture and have distinctive national cultural characteristics. Chinese and western cultures have given birth to idioms with their own national characteristics. This paper analyzes the meaning of English and Chinese idioms from three aspects: regional environment, national customs and values, and points out that different languages carry different cultures and habits, so that English learners can understand the deep cultural differences on which English and Chinese idioms depend. The author suggests that cross-cultural awareness should be established in English teaching, and teachers should impart cultural knowledge while spreading language to students, so as to strengthen the teaching of cultural awareness. At the same time, referring to Nida's transformational generative translation method, the author discusses how to correctly handle the cultural differences between China and Britain in the process of learning English and Chinese idioms, so as to help learners use the language more appropriately and freely in cross-cultural communication.

Keywords: idioms; Chinese and western cultures; conflict

I. Introduction

Language is the container and carrier of culture. Idioms are the core of language essence, which embodies strong cultural characteristics and cultural load. "Idioms refer to fixed phrases, phrases and short sentences extracted from the long-term use of language. It includes fixed phrases, allusions, proverbs, proverbs, proverbs, slang, slang and expressions after a break or a pause. It is concise and vivid. " [1] (p119) Idiom is a relatively stable language structure in meaning and structure. The stability of this structure should be attributed to the fact that it is the product of historical and cultural precipitation and has a distinct cultural brand. Every country has its own idioms that reflect its own culture. These idioms reflect this nation's views on the world and life, and are a small window to reflect the cultural differences of each nation. There are many cultural factors in idioms. This paper attempts to analyze and compare them from three aspects: regional environment, national customs and significance, and values.

Second, the cultural differences reflected in English and Chinese idioms

(A), regional environmental differences

"Every language has many words to express the characteristics related to its geographical environment. The geographical and ecological environment in English and Chinese idioms has an important influence on the formation, development and evolution of a national cultural model. What kind of language will be produced in what kind of environment people live and work in. " 【2】（p70）

1. Regional living environment differences

Many drops of water will sink the ship.

Many piles will sink the ship. (Corresponding China proverb: Drops of water pierce the stone)

② The mouse escaped from the sunken ship.

The ship sank and the mouse tried to escape. (The corresponding China proverb: the tree falls apart)

A small leak will sink a big ship.

A small leak will sink a big ship. (Corresponding China proverb: A levee of a thousand miles is destroyed by an ant nest)

(4) any port in the storm.

The ship didn't choose a port in the storm. (Corresponding China proverb: in a hurry)

⑤ Let other people's shipwrecks become your navigation marks.

Someone else's sunken ship is your lighthouse. (Corresponding China proverb: a lesson from the past)

The above proverbs can reflect the cultural characteristics of English-speaking island countries, while the corresponding Chinese proverbs have the characteristics of mainland culture. Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea and occupies a certain position in British culture. So for the British, sailing has always been very important. The British navy ranks first in the world for a long time. "In World War II, when the Allies were defeated by the Germans to the French coastal city of Dunkirk, 300,000 British and French troops were rescued because the British were familiar with the sea and navigation. The British managed to transport them across the English Channel to England. This surprised Germans who didn't know how to sail. As Churchill said, the British are sea creatures. Many English proverbs originated from their sailing experience. " [3] (P142) The words sunken ship, sunken ship, giant ship, port and shipreck are closely related to navigation. Although China is close to the sea and has a long coastline, the birthplace of the Chinese nation is in the Yellow River valley far from the sea. In the history of China, there was only one large-scale sailing activity with a national background (Zheng He's voyage to the West). Although its voyage and tonnage were larger than those in the European navigation era, China's navigation industry failed to make good use of Zheng He's achievements in his voyages to the West due to the implementation of the sea ban policy from the middle and late Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Although there are some idioms related to navigation, they are few in number, and the word "sea" in Chinese has mysterious, distant and incredible meanings. Stones, trees, dams, roads and cars are all related to land activities. Of course, these expressions, whether in English or Chinese, are concrete. When expressing these similar meanings, the striking difference between English and Chinese is that British people regard their sailing experience as the source of vivid and witty proverbs, while China people absorb nutrition from the experience of land activities and produce proverbs.

2. Differences in geographical location, climate and mountains and rivers.

The famous dispute between East and West in translation field is an example. In Chinese, "Dongfeng" often refers to praise. In the concept of China people, the east wind is warm and warm, representing spring and beautiful things, because everything recovers after the east wind blows, and the return of spring symbolizes progress and upward. The west wind is cold, symbolizing desolation. In the east, the "east wind" comes from the ocean, bringing rain and harvest, so it is said that the west wind is cold, the east wind is warm, the east wind overwhelms the west wind and the east wind spends thousands of trees at night. Even more, it blows the stars all over the sky like rain "(Xin Qiji)," The old road is thin and the west wind is thin "(Ma Zhiyuan). In the west, the word "east wind" was introduced into the inland, which brought diseases and germs. Therefore, British poets and writers have always praised the west wind and despised it. Shelley's "ode to the west wind" eulogized the west wind that predicted the coming revolutionary storm, and showed people's yearning for a better future. There is an English proverb that the west wind sends spring. Just like the east wind in China, Charles Dickens once wrote, how many winters have I seen him standing black and blue in the snow and the east wind. [4] (P180) The reason is that Britain is located in the Western Hemisphere, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and the European continent in the east. The west wind blows slowly from the Atlantic Ocean, bringing spring to the British Isles. It is said that the west wind indicates the arrival of spring. The east wind blowing from the northern part of the European continent symbolizes "cold" and "unpleasantness". China has mountains in the west and the sea in the east. In China culture, summer is a hot summer, which is a well-known saying that the sun burns like a fire. On the other hand, Britain is located in the western hemisphere and the northern temperate zone, and it has a maritime climate, and its summer is a warm and pleasant season. People often use "beauty", "loveliness" and "gentleness" to describe it, for example, "one swallow doesn't make a summer", which means that just one lucky or good thing doesn't mean that everything is fine.

Meanwhile, English and Chinese idioms also clearly reflect the differences between mountains and rivers. China is rich in bamboo, and there are many idioms related to bamboo in Chinese. For example, I have a plan, overwhelming, childhood friends, Zhu Bao Ping An and so on. China people often use "like mushrooms after rain" to describe the vigorous development of new things. The Chinese-English Dictionary published by FLTRP is translated as "springing up like mushrooms". "In addition, China literati have always admired bamboo, chanted bamboo, and admired its nobility and loyalty. For example, Zheng Banqiao's famous poem "Insisting that the green hills are not relaxed, rooted in the broken rocks, and still strong after many trials, regardless of the east, west, north and south winds" chants bamboo, which has been passed down through the ages. The charm of bamboo, the straightness of bamboo, the purity of wind and the coolness of wind reflect the noble taste of China people and condense the cultural psychology of people with lofty ideals in China. " [5] (P103) Britain is not the origin of bamboo. The British have never seen bamboo at home. They don't know whether bamboo grows fast or slow, and they can't imagine the momentum of bamboo growing like mushrooms after rain. Even the word bamboo in English is borrowed from French, so bamboo has no associative meaning in English, and there can be no idioms related to bamboo.

(B), the differences in the sense of national culture

"The meaning of national customs refers to the meaning of adding national cultural color on the basis of the direct meaning of vocabulary. It is a manifestation of semantic nationality, which reflects the historical, cultural and psychological characteristics of the people who use the language and has national cultural characteristics. Words with the same entity reference meaning in the two languages often have completely different national and cultural meanings. " 【6】（p 1 19）

One of the most typical examples is the idiom about dogs in English and Chinese idioms. In Chinese, "a dog jumps over a wall" means that when the bad guys are cornered, they will do whatever it takes; "Dogs rely on human potential" is a metaphor for running dogs, and slaves rely on their masters' evil forces to oppress the masses. "Dogs are cowards" describes the behavior of bad people as despicable as pigs or dogs. China has a saying that "selling dog meat by hanging sheep's head", which reflects the traditional view that the Han people praise sheep and belittle dogs. In China, people generally think that dogs are relatively humble animals, so dogs are often used to describe bad people. English idioms about "dog" are: a gay dog; Every dog has its day; Help the lame dog cross the fence; A lucky car. "Dog" is a pet kept by people in English-speaking countries and is deeply loved. English-speaking people generally dislike that orientals eat dog meat. Another example is "'old dog' and' old dog' are seemingly corresponding words, but their national and cultural meanings are different: the former is abusive, and the latter contains praise, which means' an old and experienced person'." [7] (P200) These all reflect the totally different traditional views of dogs between the East and the West. Then there are western idioms about "bats", such as "have bats in the belfry", from which we can see that bats usually bring bad associations to westerners. For China people, bats are symbols of good luck, health and happiness. These associations come from the name of the bat, which is homophonic with "Fu". Some pictures or patterns draw "bat" and "deer" together, which is very popular, because "bat deer" symbolizes auspiciousness, happiness and power, just like "Fu Lu". The red bat is especially popular because it is homophonic "Hongfu". She is a cat (she is a very vicious woman. ), but many people in China will think that she is as docile as a cat. The reason for this mistake is that the cat is a kind and lovely image in the eyes of China people, but in the west, the cat has a cunning meaning.

"The differences of national cultural meanings are also reflected in the different carriers of metaphors in English and Chinese idioms. For example, the British use lions, while the Han people use tigers to describe strength, courage and danger. " [8] (P200) This is because in China culture, "tiger" is the king of all animals. For example, the tiger in words such as "Dragon Pan Tiger" and "Tiger Jumping Dragon" has the majestic meaning of "King of Animals". "Tiger" is also used as a metaphor for "heroic and mighty", such as "energetic", "crouching" and "lively". In Chinese, "huwei" is represented by a lion instead of a tiger in English. The lion symbolizes "strength" and "courage", and the central pattern of the British national emblem is the lion. Therefore, Britain is also known as the "British lion". "Twisting the lion's tail" means "offending Britain". The idiom "starting from the lion's head" (that is, visiting an important person to ask questions and get some benefits) and "the biggest share" (the biggest or best share) both reflect the authority of the lion in English culture.

Differences in values

In the book "Practical English Language and Culture" edited by Wang Zhenya, the six-fold theory put forward by Zhang Dainian and others in 1994 is introduced. "These six theories are specifically divided into material, social system and organization, science and art, language and other communication systems, customs and behavior patterns and value systems (including world outlook, nationality, aesthetics and thinking patterns). These six components or levels summarize the main characteristics of people. It is these characteristics that distinguish people from animals and nature, and they naturally constitute a broad culture. " [9] (P2) The following is an example of value difference.

The courtesy, restraint and civilization of China people in handling things are "up to you". "As a guest, you should obey the arrangement of the host, don't embarrass the host, and you shouldn't make demands that the host can't make. This is respect for the host. According to the traditional way of thinking of China people, this is reasonable. However, in the eyes of Europeans, "guests at home" is a very confusing way of thinking. " [10] (p92) China people are good at overall planning and pay attention to collective comprehensiveness, that is, they are used to considering all aspects of things as a whole. Confucius advocated "love for humanity", Sun Yat-sen advocated "the world is public" and Mao Zedong advocated "serving the people" and "many hands make light work". The social value that China people attach importance to only regards people as a member of the group, and people can only entrust their own destiny and interests to the group to which they belong unconditionally. "One of the most basic and important issues in China's philosophy is the relationship between man and nature, or the relationship between man and nature. "[11] (p110) There is an old saying in China that" everything is ready except the east wind ". The forty-ninth chapter of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "Zhuge Liang took a pen and paper, and the screen retreated around. The secret book was sixteen words:' If you want to break Tsao Gong, attack him with fire; Everything is ready except the east wind. "It emphasizes the close combination of nature and man-made. The idea of "harmony between man and nature" makes China culture emphasize man's adaptation, coordination and gratitude to nature, and takes the affinity between man and nature as its cultural value basis.

However, the way of thinking of westerners often emphasizes "individuality", so opinions are often too scattered and difficult to adjust. Western culture emphasizes the opposition between man and nature and pays attention to outward exploration, thus forming the outlook on life of British and American people who are brave in pioneering, enterprising, conquering nature and dominating the world with human wisdom, so knowledge of idioms in English is power; ; Anglo-Americans like to seek changes and differences, and are good at seizing opportunities and taking bold risks. Therefore, the mantra of the British and American people is "I will try" and "God help them." Western cultural spirit promotes the worship of rights and the pursuit of material economy abroad, and forms the utilitarian values and individualism-centered creed of pursuing material interests.

Combined with the above examples, it can be concluded that the differences in values between Chinese and western people are manifested in the differences in personal standards and ethical standards. China people advocate "interpersonal standards", which can be said to be group standards, or in a more modern way, collectivism. Taking others as reference, leaders, family members, classmates, colleagues, relatives, friends and neighbors form a group "magnetic field". It seems that nothing can be done without the influence of this magnetic field. [12] (p 261) and the main line of British and American culture is individual-oriented, or individualism. "Individualism in English comes from the inseparable thing '(Individualism' in Latin. During the bourgeois revolution in modern western countries, many thinkers regarded "individualism" as the main content of eternal humanity and morality and the main criterion for judging good and evil. As a value system, western individualism advocates that all values are people-centered, the individual itself has the highest value, the individual is the highest purpose of life, social interests are the way of personal interests, society is the means to achieve personal goals, and all individuals are morally equal. " [13] Page 43

Third, the practical significance.

To sum up, we can easily see that idioms are not only a mirror of culture, but also influenced and restricted by culture. By comparing the cultural connotations of English and Chinese idioms, we can see the distinctive cultural characteristics of English and Chinese people, which restrict the emergence of English and Chinese idioms and the differences in their connotations and meanings. Therefore, only by deeply understanding the different characteristics of English and Chinese cultures can we deeply understand the meanings of English and Chinese idioms and use them correctly.

Misleading and myths about China culture abound in the West. The people of China have the responsibility to clarify the wrong information. It is not easy for the west to face up to this. China's understanding of western culture is superficial. Without arduous and equal dialogue, the cultural gap between the East and the West will be difficult to bridge, and the relationship between world culture and development and prosperity will be empty talk. Therefore, China people should strengthen the teaching of cultural awareness. In English teaching, we should establish cultural awareness and teach cultural knowledge while teaching language. The principles and methods of strengthening the teaching of cultural awareness are as follows: "(1) English teachers must constantly improve their cultural literacy. (2) Language teaching and cultural awareness teaching should be closely combined at the same time. ③ Random teaching. According to the textbook, we should not only explain the concept, but also explain the cultural background knowledge it contains. Sometimes we should expand our knowledge appropriately and tell some related foreign customs and common sense of communication by the way. (4) Comparison of differences. ⑤ entertaining and entertaining. In the teaching process, teachers should do everything possible to create a language environment for students and mobilize students' learning enthusiasm in the form of entertaining. " （p 159）

The study of idioms is a big problem. Foreign language readers cannot combine text information with their own knowledge and experience when learning idioms, so it is difficult to establish the necessary meaning coherence for understanding words. To learn idioms that create a meaning vacuum for readers or conflict with readers' cultural psychology, we should not only skillfully handle the differences in expression forms, but also carefully handle their cultural information. We should not only make up for the default of the source language and culture to avoid obstacles in interpretation, but also interpret the source language and culture based on the target language and culture and serving the target readers. Look at Nida's transformational generative translation method here, that is, "take a sentence first and trace back to the core sentence with the simplest structure and the clearest semantics;" Second, translate these core sentences from the source language; Third, according to the translated core sentences, the surface sentences in the target language are generated. " (15)(p72) The transformational generative translation method is applied to idiom learning, emphasizing the careful analysis of the cultural connotation carried by the language, finding the core meaning of idiom expression, and finding the concepts and images with equivalent or equivalent effects in the target language and expressing them in the corresponding target language.

Four. Concluding remarks

Learners can get a glimpse of the deep cultural differences behind English and Chinese idioms from the above analysis, but it is beyond the scope of this paper to elaborate on the profound cultural connotations contained in English and Chinese idioms. With the continuous expansion of globalization, the practical application function of English has become increasingly prominent. Preserving and spreading one's own culture and respecting and accepting foreign cultures have become an important part and unavoidable content in international communication, which requires language learners to transcend cultural barriers and look at and understand mother tongue culture and foreign culture from different angles with an open mind, that is, to cultivate their own cross-cultural awareness.