Abstract and Key Words

Abstract: Idioms, which are fixed expression formed in the process of language use, are the essence of language. There are a large number of idioms in Chinese and English languages. Idioms in both Chinese and English languages carry national characteristics and cultural information. Idioms are culture-loaded, which brings about difficulties in translating. This paper analyzed the cultural differences between Chinese and English idioms from four aspects: geographical conditions, conventions, religious beliefs, and historical allusions. And it also discussed the translation methods of idioms. It is hoped that the present study may further our understanding on idioms and may do some help for language learning and cross-culture communication.

Key words: idiom; cultural difference; translation

摘要：习语是语言的精华，是某一语言在使用过程中形成的独特的固定的表达方式。英汉两种语言中都有大量的习语。英汉习语承载着不同的民族特色和文化信息，这给习语翻译增加了困难。本文从地理状况，风俗习惯，宗教信仰，历史典故四个方面分析了英汉习语的文化差异，并探讨了习语的翻译方法，旨在加深对习语的了解，为语言学习及跨文化交流提供帮助。

关键词：习语；文化差异；翻译

1. Introduction
Idioms are the essence of language. In English, there are a large number of idioms. Idioms, as an important part of language, gradually develop from common people’s daily life and are accepted and widely used among people. In Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, the idiom is defined as “a group of words which have a different meaning when used together from the one they would have if you took the meaning of each word individually” (Collins Cobuild, 2000:833). In broad sense, idioms cover figurative phrases, slangs, proverbs, colloquialisms, allusions and so on. Chen (2008) points out that English idioms have two features: semantic unity and structural stability. Semantic unity means the idiom is an expression that does not mean what it literally says. Although the words that make up the idioms have their respective literal meanings, they lost their individual meanings in the idioms. Each idiom is regarded as a semantic unity. We cannot understand the meaning of an idiom by combining the meanings of its individual words. For example, “give someone a kick” means make someone feel happy instead of kicking somebody. Structural stability means that idioms are fixed expressions, thus we can not make any change on them. For example, the idiom “rain cats and dogs” means raining heavily. It cannot be said to be “rain dogs and cats”.