Probe into the influence of the Bible on English idioms 词汇学论文.doc

P robe into the influence of the Bible on English idioms A bstract: English idiom is the most vigorous part in the language which was greatly influenced by the religious classic of western society the Holy Bible .T his paper probes into the influence of the Bible on English idioms in two ways: allusion of biblical story and original saying, so as to better understand the cultural connotation of English idioms and relationship between English idioms and the Bible . K ey words: English idioms; cultural connotation; the Bible 1. Introduction . Idiom I dioms refers to the language peculiar toa people, country, class, community or more rarely, an individual, which have grown out of the linguistic practice of the people ever since the language came into being ①. S trictly speaking, idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meanings of individual constituents. I dioms are rooted in the soil on which the people live and are realized as formulaic phrases in its language system. T herefore the character of the people is clearly branded n its idioms. paring idioms of different people with each other, we can find that each people ’s characteristics, history, cultural tradition, morality, sense of value, geographical environments and other aspects are fully expressed in its idioms. C onsequently, in order to understand idioms, we should observe them in