Abstract

In both Chinese and English, there exist large numbers of idioms, of which idioms concerning animals is one of the important components. With more frequent foreign exchanges and the progress Chinese people make in English study, many interesting and vivid English animal idioms are getting more popular and more widely used in China. However, animal idioms, if comprehended and applied in an inappropriate way, can lead to much misunderstanding. The research reveals that the difference in geographical features, religious beliefs, and aesthetic perceptions between the east and west leads to the difference in animal idioms in the two languages. Therefore, it is necessary to have a profound understanding of the cultural deposits and knowledge reflected in Chinese and English animal idioms, thus promoting the smooth cross-cultural communication between the east and the west.

Key words: Chinese and English, animal idioms, cultural difference

摘 要

英汉两种语言中都存在着大量的习语，与动物有关的习语更是其重要的组成部分之一。随着我国对外交流日益频繁，国人英语水平的大幅提高，英语中许多形象生动，妙趣横生的动物习语也越来越为中国人所熟悉和使用，但对动物习语的错误理解与不当使用会引起很多误会。研究表明，中西方在地理环境、宗教信仰、审美观念等三个方面的差异造成了与之相关的英汉两种语言中动物习语诸多不同。因而我们有必要对英汉动物习语中所折射出的文化底蕴和知识作深刻的了解，以便进一步地促进中西方之间的跨文化交流。

关键词： 中英；动物习语；文化差异；

1.    Introduction
By observing everyday speech and newspaper articles, it is not difficult to find that idioms are quite often used in both spoken and written languages. The reason why idiomatic expressions are so popular is that they help enliven people’s speech. Take the English language as an example; it is full of all kinds of idioms, the estimated number of which is over 20,000. All these idioms can be divided, based on their theme or content, into the following types: animal idioms, sports idioms, diet idioms and so on, among which the animal idioms occupy a large proportion and are widely used in conversational as well as written language.   
Animal idioms are shaped in a community during a long period’s living of the local people, and they are the reflection and expression of the culture of a certain race. With the common existence of animals in both China and western countries, using idioms while speaking is a common way for local people to express their ideas clearly and lively to others. Therefore, in the course of cross-culture communication, it is an important thing to use them correctly in order to make us better understood by the people from different cultural backgrounds. Unfortunately, only the people who are very good at English or Chinese can use idiomatic expressions related to animals adequately and correctly in their speech. This is because in many cases, people lack the knowledge of the history and the culture behind these idioms. Some scholars point out that animal idioms are often colloquial metaphors which require users to have at least some basic knowledge, information, or experience, and they can only use the idioms with those who have the same or at least familiar cultural backgrounds.