Dissertation > Excellent graduate degree dissertation topics show

A Study of the Compatibility of English and Chinese Idioms

Author: ZhongYaQin
Tutor: LiuWenHua
School: Dongbei University of Finance
Course: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Keywords: language idiom compatibility culture exchange compromise
CLC: H313
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2013
Downloads: 1
Quote: 0
Read: Download Dissertation

Abstract

The relationship between language and culture is a topic of major importance in the field of modern humanity and social science. It is commonly believed that culture is a product shared by the whole human society, as is expounded in Language and Culture by Mr. Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing. Therefore, we can say that language belongs to culture or constitute a special part within it. At the same time, language is a spiritual product based on material life and developed by a people over long-time of material labor. As a social phenomenon and a means of communication, language should be naturally regarded as the carrier of culture either in its broad or narrow sense.This paper views the relationship between language and culture from the perspective of compatibility, which has been introduced into the linguistic field from the technical field for the first time, because of its importance. Whoever once visited U.K or other commonwealth countries may be impressed by the fact that the plug we brought with us does not fit into the socket there. This is technically called incompatible. The same problem exists in the area of culture and language too. When we watch an opera from the west, we may notice that the actors’ words triggered much laughter from their audience while as foreigners, we don’t know where the humor is, though we seem to understand every word in it. The very reason for this is cultural difference. It is the same case when our foreign friends listen to Chinese cross talks or short sketch. The seemingly ordinary language codes bring about different mental impact upon its audience, which reflects the difference in culture, history and character of the people who speak the language and the compatibility of these differences as well. The compatibility problem is a topic of very wide range. Therefore, this paper will just concentrate on one of its aspect, the aspect of idiomatic compatibility. This paper consists of six chapters.The first is a brief introduction, which introduces the goal, significance and basic structure of this paper.Chapter two gives definition of both idiom and compatibility themselves, with a view to forming a foundation for further approach over this topic.Chapter three expounds the reasons for which the problem of compatibility arises and classifies compatibility into three categories, compatible, partly compatible and totally incompatible.The fourth gives a separate description of idioms related to joy, food and color in English and Chinese. It is held that some idioms from the two languages like throw one’s cap up and’“兴高采烈”express the feeling of happiness commonly by a body gesture or movement up, in spite of their seeming difference. Meanwhile, the paper points out that the Chinese language even uses eye or even eyebrow to convey the feeling of joy, like in“眉开眼笑”and“喜上眉梢”,which is a characteristic not shared by its English counterpart and should be therefore sorted as incompatible, etc.Chapter five analyzes and predicts the prospects of the compatibility problem, believing that with the deepening of globalization and the cultural exchanges of China with the U.S and U.K, the idiomatic compatibility problem will loosen, more idioms like“好久不见”will go from incompatible to compatible.Chapter six is a summary, which stresses the core status of cultural factors in the problem of idiomatic problem, believing that this problem derives from cultural difference and will be relieved and removed with cultural exchange, interaction and compromise.

A Study of the Compatibility of English and Chinese Idioms

Abstract

Related Dissertations