Abstract

Culture and language are inseparable: as a part of the culture, language is not only the carrier and expression form of language, but also the important means to the cultural transmission and inheritance. Idiom is the essence of language as well as the prime of a nation’s civilization and culture. There are abundant idioms in both Chinese and English. Idiom is concise in structure, but meaningful and expressive, reflecting the uniqueness of a nation and its distinctive cultural connotation. The Chinese and English idioms have similarities, but more differences which mirror the different cultures.
Human beings and animals coexist in the world, and closely connected with each other. Therefore, people use the idioms with animals frequently. Idioms with animals are important components of idioms. The Chinese Zodiac is a typical representative of Chinese culture. However, these twelve animals each has different meaning in Chinese and western cultures. In this article, the twelve animals are divided into three groups, according to their similarities and differences of idioms in Chinese and western cultural connotations: 1. same animal idioms having similar connotations in Chinese and western cultures, including鼠—Rat，蛇—Snake，猴—Monkey，鸡—Cock，猪—Pig; 2. same animal idioms having different connotations in Chinese and western cultures: 兔—Hare & Rabbit，龙—Dragon，羊—Sheep，狗—Dog；3. different animal idioms having similar connotations:牛—Horse，虎—Lion. Besides the literal meanings, the idioms of each animal contain the rich cultural information. This article aims to clarify the religious, historical, and geographical differences hidden behind the idioms with animals by a comparative study of the connotations of both Chinese and English idioms with animals and the reasons which cause the differences.

Key words: idioms with animals, Chinese Zodiac, western culture, Chinese culture, difference

摘要

文化与语言的关系密不可分，语言作为文化的一部分，既是文化的载体和表达形式，又是文化传播和继承的重要手段。习语是语言经过多年锤炼而沉淀下来的精华，是一个民族的文明、文化精华的积累与结晶。中英两种语言中都有大量的习语。习语形式简洁而意思精辟，使语言更加凝练，更加具有表现力。带有浓厚的民族色彩和鲜明的文化内涵。中西习语语义有相同之处，而差异更多，习语语义的差异较为集中地体现了文化差异。
人类与动物相依共存，有着非常密切的联系。因此，动物习语的使用率极高，是习语语言重要的组成部分。其中，十二生肖的概念是中国文化的典型代表。但是，这十二个动物在中西方的含义不尽相同。本文将十二生肖动物根据其中英文习语在中西文化中内涵的异同，分为三类：1.相同的动物在中西文化中具有相同或相似的文化内涵，包括鼠—Rat，蛇—Snake，猴—Monkey，鸡—Cock，猪—Pig；2.相同的动物在中西文化中具有不同的文化内涵，例如：兔—Hare & Rabbit，龙—Dragon，羊—Sheep，狗—Dog；3.不同的动物具有相似的文化内涵：牛—Horse，虎—Lion。每个动物习语词除了具有字面意义外，还有丰富的文化信息。本文通过对中英文十二生肖习语内涵的比较,进一步探究产生内涵差异的原因，了解隐藏其背后的，在宗教、历史、地理等方面的差异。

关键词：动物习语，十二生肖，西方文化，中国文化，差异