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“英语词汇学”课程小论文学期2011-2012秋学期姓名_____许丹宁______学号__3090104919___成绩________________EnglishIdiomsDanningXuAbstractIdiomsexistinanylanguage.Therefore,Englishisalsowithoutexception.Idiomsarewidelyusedinourdailylife.Theymakeourlanguagesmartandvivid.Inthisessay,wearegoingtodiscussidiomsfromthreeaspects,thedefinition,thereasonsfortheformationofidiomsandhowidiomsworkinsentences.Keywords:Englishidioms,formation,functionAsitisknowntoall,Englishwhichisconsideredasthemaininternationallanguageiswidelyusedallovertheworldbothonsignificantoccasionsandinpeople’sdailylife.Peopleusuallytreatidiomsasajewelincrown.WhenIfirstgotintouchwithidioms,Ireallywantedtomakeclearwhatidiomsare,howtheyformandhowtheyworktomakesentencesvivid.DefinitionofidiomsAnidiomisacombinationoftwoormorewordswhichfunctionsasaunitofmeaning.Itusuallyhasanimpliedmeaning.AccordingtoWebster’sNewWorldDictionaryoftheAmericanLanguage,itdefinesthatEnglishidiomsstandforanacceptedphrase,constructionorexpressioncontrarytotheusualpatternsofthelanguage”.(上引号呢？页数)Inotherwords,idiomsincludeasetofphrases,shortsentences,proverbs,sayingsandsoon.Theyhavetheirowndistinctiveculturalfeatures.FormationofidiomsEnglishidiomsarebuiltupbythefollowingfourkindsofsources:a.LivingconditionsinBritain（格式）Differentareasproducediversecultures.Thesedifferentgeographiclocationsalsostronglyinfluenceidioms.TherearelotsofmountainsinthenorthwestpartofEngland.Whichhasmanydifferencesfromtheeastpart.（brokensentences）Asaconsequence,theweatherinEnglandisverymild,whichisvaluableforthegrowthofgrains.[author?1]Therefore,theanimalhusbandryofEnglandisadvanced.Milk,butterandcheesearetraditionalfoodsforEnglishpeople,Hencetherearemanyidiomsrelatedwiththesefoods,suchas“hardcheese”whichmeansbadluck.“Acouchpotato”whichmeanssomebodywhoisverylazyandspendsalotoftimesittingaroundwatchingTVandeatingjunkfood,”Chickenfeed”whichmeansaverysmallamountofmoney,especiallymoneythatispaidfordoingajob.b.ReligiouscultureInallcultures,religionplaysaveryimportantpartinpeople’sdailylife.InEnglandtherearemanythingsthatarerelevanttoChristianity.Thephrase“Adam’sapple”isanidiomcomesfromtheBible.Itmeansthenodeofthroats.TherearealotofEnglishidiomswhicharealsofromtheBible,suchas”SinceAdamwasaboy”whichhasthemeaningof“sinceancienttimes”,“TheoldAdam”whichmeanshumannatureofthecrime;”eyeforeye,toothfortooth”whichstandsfortakingvengeanceonsomebody.[author?2]c.Greecefairytailsandfables“Appleofdiscord”comesfromGreecefairy.GreecefairieshaveundeniableinfluenceonEuropeancountries.Theidiommentionedbeforemeansasourceofdiscord,becausetheapplegivenbyEriscausedawarbetweenHera,AthenaandAphrodite.d.AnimalsandpetsSinceancienttimes,peoplehavetightconnectionwithanimals.Peoplehuntedthemforfoodattheverybeginning.Nowwealsokeepsomeofthemtoaccompanyus,suchas”Smellarat”whichmeans“feelthatsomethingiswrong”,“Everydoghasitsday”whichrepresents“everybodycanbesuccessfulatsometimeintheirlife;”Afatcat”whichstandsforarichandpowerfulpeople.TheFunctionofIdioms“Stopdishingthedirt,Sally,itisreallyunbecoming!”,“Throwawaythatcancerstick!Smokingisbadforyou!”,“I’msleepy.Let’shitthesack!”.[3]Whatwouldyouthinkifyouhearpeoplesaythese?Theseareallsentenceswithidioms.Ithink，tosomeextent,thesentencesbecomealittledifferentfromwhattheyusedtobe.SoI’dliketostudywhatisthefunctionofidioms.Firstly,anidiomisasymbolofthesocialstatusofaperson.AccordingtoHuJiaying(2003).Idiomshavethesocialfunctionofshapingtheimageofcertainroles,characterizingtheirpersonality.ProfessorLuoWeidongnotesthatpeoplemayformahabittouseacertainkindoflanguagewhenthey’reinthecertainpublicorganization.Peoplewhogrowupintheuppertenmaynotuseidiomslike“Bitch!Whore!”or“Youbeast!”ineverydaylife.Onthecontrary,apersonwholivesinademi-worldtendstogrouselike“Damnit!”inhisdailylife.Secondly,idiomsusuallyhavestrongcontemporarycharacteristics.Theword“goodytwo-shoes”issimilarto“hypocrite”.Thisworddescribesapersonwhoisabitsham.In1765,afamouspublishercalledJohnNewberypublishedafairytalecalled“TheHistoryofLittleGoodyTwo-Shoes”.Inthisstory,theprotagonistGoodyisapoorchildwhoseownpropertyisashoe.Oneday,shegetsapairofshoesfromawell-wisher.She’ssohappyandshouts“Twoshoes!”everywhere.Sincethen,shegetsanicknamecalled“GoodyTwo-Shoes”.Aftersometime,thegirlbecomesrich,butshestillkeepsgoodpurenature.So,peopleinthaterausedthiswordtodescribepersonwhoisaskindandpureasthegirl“Goodytwo-shoes”.ThenintheNineteenthCentury,goodytwo-shoesbegantorepresentpersonwho’stoogoodtobesuspected.In1934,thisusageofthephrasestartedtoappearedinthepublication.Nowadays,peopleisusedtousing“Iamnotagoodytwo-shoes”toargueforhimself.Thelastpointisthatidiomscanmakesentencesvitalandfullofartifusedproperly.Anidiomisakindoflanguagewhichisdifferentfromliteralonesornotaccordingtotheusuallanguagepatterns.Forexample,ifyouwanttoexpressthatsomebodyisinjealousofsomebody,youcansaythat“Tomisgreenwithjealousybecausehisbestfriendownalltheprizeinthisschoolyear.”[5]ThisidiomdescribestheexaggerateexpressionsofTomandgivesreadersanimageofthejealousperson.Sothesentenceshaveitsownsoulandcanbemoreheartwrenching.“Rai