Cultural Origins of English Idioms

摘要

Language and culture are inseparable. Culture contains language while language carries culture (Hu,2011:146). As the essence of a language, idioms are believed to be the most culturally loaded expressions in it. Accordingly, they are often consid⁃ered as the mirror of culture, reflecting the special features of different cultures (Yu,1999:132). Hence, it is of vital importantce for English learners to trace the root of English idioms and understand their connotations culturally. This paper aims to explore the cultural origins of English idiomatic expressions from four perspectives, involving history, mythology, religion and society.