The Cultural Features shown in English Idioms (英语论文).docVIP

The Cultural Features shown in English Idioms English idiom is one of the most important components of the English language culture. It is widely used by native speakers. By using the idiom, the speaker can easily express his or her emotion, making the conversation or the discourse more vivid. While to foreign language learners, sometimes English idioms are hardly to be understood. The reason for the misunderstanding and puzzle of the English idioms is that many cultural features are included in the idioms. If someone is not familiar with the cultural background, he or she will have difficulties in using and understanding the idioms. To say more specifically, the features involved in English idioms demonstrate the geographical, religional, classical, and historical characteristics. First of all, some geographical features are in the English idioms. British isles locate in the Atlantic Ocean, separated by English Channel, the Straight of Dover, and the North Sea from the European continent. As an island nation, British peoples lives are closely connected to the ocean. Firstly, people have to struggle against the multivariant climate on the sea, some idioms reflect the hardness of the conquering of the ocean, for example using a drop in the ocean to indicate a tiny thing or a scrub. Secondly, as Britain is one of the most important harbor country in Europe, many idioms indicate the busy maritime carrying trade, such as all hands to the pumps, meaning everyone come to help for the harsh situation, and with flying colors which means having great success. Thirdly, due to the abundant ocean resources, people use phrases related to fish as idioms, for instance, big fish means a wealthy and high-status man, while like a fish out of water shows the uneasiness in new environment. Fourthly, the climate of Britain is greatly influenced by ocean, so it often rains, many idioms show this characteristic, like as right as rain, which means make someone feel satisfied. Besides all