Abstract  Language is the most important communication tool of human society. The idioms are the carrier of culture and the quintessence of any language. After long-term use, idioms are refined to be fixed phrases or short sentences. Both English and Chinese have a long history, so they are highly developed and contain many idioms. Due to the influence of various factors such as history, geographical environment, religious beliefs and so on, English and Chinese idioms are provided with their own national characteristics. In particular, animal idioms have good language expression effect and create vivid images, which are important components of idioms and reflect the cultural differences between English and Chinese obviously.55469

This thesis aims to analyze the reasons for the cultural differences between English and Chinese through contrasting the different images and connotations embodied in animal idioms in Eastern and Western cultures so that readers can get a better understanding about animal idioms.

Key words: animal idioms; cultural differences; reasons

摘要语言是人类社会最重要的沟通工具。习语是文化的载体，是语言的精华，是某种语言经过长期使用而提炼出来的固定短语或短句。英汉两种语言历史悠久，高度发达，拥有大量的习语，由于不同的历史文化，地理环境，宗教信仰等因素的影响，英汉习语都带有各自的民族特色。其中，动物习语是习语的重要组成部分,形象生动，具有较好的语言表达效果,鲜明地体现了中西方文化的异同。

    本文通过对比东西方文化中部分动物习语表达的不同形象和涵义，分析英语和汉语的差异，以便读者们更好的理解动物习语。

毕业论文关键词：动物习语；文化差异；原因

Contents

1.Introduction 2

2. Literature Review 2

3. Relationship between Culture Differences and Idioms 3

3.1 Definition of Idioms and Animal Idioms 3

3.2 Relationship between Culture Differences and Idioms 3

4. Contrast of English and Chinese Animal Idioms 4

4.1 The Same Animal with the Same Meaning 4

4.2 The Same Animal with Different Meanings 5

4.3 Different Animals with the Same Meanings 6

5. Reasons for Differences between English and Chinese Animal Idioms 7

5.1 History and Culture 7

5.2 Living Environment 8

5.3 Religious Beliefs 9

6. Conclusion 10

Works Cited 11 

1. Introduction

With the development of economic globalization, the culture exchanges between Chinese and the Western become more and more frequent. At the same time, it is associated with culture conflicts. As is known to all, economy and culture are unpided. Hence, comprehending both similarities and differences between Chinese and Western culture is requisite for economic progress.

We can give no causes for much criticism that idioms are the core of any language. Without idioms, languages would be vapid. Idioms are fixed phrases or short sentences, which are shaped in the process of using a language. And idioms can better show the culture features and connotations. Idioms are the products of history, which can bring our life experiences to be concretized. Both Chinese and English are sized by rich idioms which are connotative, genteel, pensive, brief and vivid. Therefore, idioms can reflect their national characteristics very well. A better understanding of animal idioms can be conductive to study the culture differences between English and Chinese.源.自|吹冰,:论`文'网www.chuibin.com