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

Probe into the influence of the Bible on English idioms
Abstract: English idiom is the most vigorous part in the language which was greatly influenced by the religious classic of western society the Holy Bible. This 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.
Key words: English idioms; cultural connotation; the Bible
Introduction
Idiom
Idioms refers to the language peculiar to a 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 being①. Strictly speaking, idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meanings of individual constituents.
Idioms are rooted in the soil on which the people live and are realized as formulaic phrases in its language system. Therefore 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. Consequently, in order to understand idioms, we should observe them in relation wi