Elementary Analysis of the Bible Linguistic Art

hwsy@overseaen.comISSN 1009- -5039htp://ww.overseaen.conOverseas English海外英语Tel:+86-551-65690811 65690812Elementary Analysis of the Bible Linguistic Art陈月汀(浙江财经大学东方学院.浙江海宁314408)Abstract: The English language in its development course embraces every aspect of social life and it reflects the unique culturalculture. There are a lot of English wordbible. This paper from derived words, euphemism, idiom, proverb and British and American literature perspectives discusses thelinguistic artistic characteristics of the bible and its influence on the English language.Key words: The Bible; Derivation; euphemism; idiom中图分类号:HO文献标识码:A 文 章编号:1009- -5039(2014)07-0225- -021 IntroductionThis paper from derived words, euphemism, idioms, proverbs,The Bible, a religious classic full of rich vocabulary, is one ofBritish and American literature perspectives discusses the linguis-the two sources of western civilization. Its thought deeply infiltratestic artistic characteristics of the bible and its influence on the Eng-lish language in order to help English learners to understand, learnin the blood of western culture and drives the people's values andand use these words better. In the meanwhile, know and cognizelanguage communication. As a classic of Christianity, the Bible re-the linguistic artistic characteristics of the Bible briely. (Haocords the faith of westerners: “God” enlightenment and eternalPeng, 1-22)truth. It is the general principles and norms of the people’s beliefsand behaviors, which has been integrated into the daily life of west-2 Elementary Analysis of the Bible Language Char-erners ’marriage, funeral, and etiquette celebration and so on. For acteristicEnglish learmners, to learn English well need to know about westernculture, and to undestand westem culure and communicate with 2.1 The bible and dervationwesterners, they should understand and learn the Bible.The Bible has influenced numerous people for thousandsToday English language as mighty spread of Christian since .years and as the change of the history of the society and languageindustrial revolution has become the most popular language of theuses, the original meanings of some words or phrases have been in-world. In the process of its development, modern English has beenterpreted by the people for various versions. Thus, the word roots ingreatly influenced by the Bible. Reviewing modern literary clas-the Bible have their derivative meanings. Take Eden and Ark as ex-sics, no matter Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, the Rain-amples. Eden is the place where the human being”s ancestors Ad-bow by Lawrence, and W iliam Faulkner's the Sound and the F'ury,am and Eve live in the Bible with flowers, fruits and beautiful scen-etc., they all have the role of biblical cultural prototype, not onlyery, but now it means the heaven; Ark originally referred to Noah'sthat, Hollywood as the holy land medium of modern media, the fa-Ark, a big boat which can take Noah and his family, and all kindsmous movie "Ben- Hur", "Chariots of Fire", "the Da Vinei code",of land creatures in the world to avoid a flood disaster made by"City of God" and so on, are also based on the cultural backgroundGod. Records of Noah' s ark were built in 120 years. The story wasof the Bible to tell stories. Meanwhile, they shaped modern Englishrecorded in Genesis (including the Old Testament and the Hebrewlanguage from integrated cllisionin of Bible words and modern Bible) and chapter 6 to chapter 9 of Islam the Koran (John, 11:25,thought. As a result, we can believe that the Bible is the passwordThe Holly Bible, KJV). More examples:to understand western culture and knowing rich vocabulary in bibli-Wordsmeaning (origin)meaning (derivative)cal language can help college students quickly enter into the west- mannathe food endowed by God something unexpected and excitingern context, which really did the communication and exchangesiconoclasm against idolismbreaking the traditional ruleswith westerners. Using plain, refining and beautiful languages, the2.2 The Bible and euphemismsBible tells one after another Bible stories with a strong expressiveforce and appeal. The Bible stories in the spread form a large num-Chrstianity is the religion in which most American westernber of derived words, euphemism, idioms, proverbs, etc., also in-people believe. Its doctrines have become their moral code.jected fresh blood to the moderm English, so as to enrich, developThe word“Death" is taboo in Christians' language and makesand perfect the language.people afraid. They do not understand this natural phenomenon中国煤化工TYHCNMHG收稿日期:2013-08- 10修回日期:2013-09-25作者简介:陈月汀(1985-),女，贵州人,浙江财经大学东方学院,教师,硕士研究生,英语语言学方向,主要从事语言文化研究。本栏目责任编辑:谢嫒嫒XU 225Overseas English海外英语2014年04月and try to avoid the unpleasantness. This has given rise to a lot ofPride goes before destruction.euphemisms related to death: “Return to dust”is from the BibleThe Sabbath was made for man. Not man for Sabbath.which implies that the human body is made of mud and should re-The lip of truth shall be established for ever; but a lyingturn to dust when they die.tongue is but for a moment. (The truth will last forever while liesIn the Old Testament God told Adam, “thou come from dust, exist for a second.)and shalt retur to dustThe Holly Bible, KJV). That means hu-man is borm evil, people should atone for their crime. Thus peo- be filled xwith mischief. (Good man won' t suffer from disasters butple’s death is also called“to pay the debt of nature" or‘ 'go the the evil one will finally be punished).way of all flesh".Man proposes, but God disposes.In the multitude of words there wants not sin; but he thatmany as you can so that you can‘ 'go to Heaven/Paradise" and “be refrains his lips is wise. (to speak less is better than more).with God”,“be asleep in the Arms of God/in Jesu/lie in Abra-As a man sowus, so he shall reap.ham' s bosom”and fnally “be at peace”. In that case, your life willAsh and you shall be given.“go to your final reward”.Do as you would be done by. (Bible Sanctuary)For Christians, death is just to yield up the ghost but the soul2.5 The bible and the English and American culturewill be launched into eternity.“Have one' s name inscribed in theReligion always has a great influence on literature. In historyBook of Life" is regarded as the perfect life for Christians and is ac-many works are inspired by from people ' s beliefs and reflect theircepted by most of American and British people.Of course, death is not the only subject that has given rise toareligious life as well and spread their thoughts. The Bible, as a clas-lot of euphemisms. Other types of euphemism abound (Zhang Yali,sic of Christianity, has permeated into all parts of social life in the46-48):UK and the USA. Its atraction can be seen in a large number of lit-eral works. The Genesis, the Christ, the Fates of the Apostles areall based on the resources of the Bible.to get on the right side of somebody: to please somebodyThe great poet Milton' s famous work Paradise Lost, Paradisein Adam 's and Eve’s togs: nude, wear nothingRegained and Samson Agonistes created during the British revolu-2.3 The bible and English idiomstion also came from the Bible. Here is a short part of Paradise Lost:Ever since Adam 's birth, the best seller in the world so far is .Of Man' s first disobedience and the fruitthe Bible. For most of W estermers especially the Americans andOf that forbidden tree whose mortal tasteEnglish, and for learmers of the English language and culture, theBrought death into the world and all our woeBible is an essential necessity. W ith the spread of Christianity andWith loss of Eden (Paradise Lost)the Bible' s increasing influence, a lot of expressions from the Bi-The title Shakespeare' s renowned drama Measure for Measureble are widely used. These expressions, which cover almost all has its origin in Matthew. Biblical characters and stories are easyparts of our social and cultural life, are becoming English idioms to be seen in John Bunyan' s the Pilgrim’s Progress. Vanity Fair inwhich have been used frequently now. Here are some of them (Daithis book is a typical example. The Way of All Flesh came from Allet. al, 2003);Fall by the wayside: to fail or stop being done, used, or madeAmerican literature in the 20* Century often borrowed the sto-Fall on stony ground: ignored, disliked (of a suggestion, ries of Jesus’suffering to describe those innocent victims who tookjoke, etc.)the pain for the masses. .Greedy as Ahab: to describe somebody is as extremely miser-ly as the Ahab in the Biblewith humanitarianism of saving the world and rescuing the peopleDevoul as Abraham (Abraham is an honest man): a man of that so many politicians and social workers crave to pick a drop ofhonesty, sincerityBible’s distillation to surround their books or speeches with an au-Eloquent as Aaron (Aaron is very talkative): to show some- ra of sanctity to inbody is very good at speakingworld famous broadcasting station VOA was born out of the sloganStrong as Samson: very strong“the voice of the people is the voice of God”in the Bible. ThisVicious as Jezebel: very viciousname intends to lead people with the imagination that the Voice ofPoor as Job: very poorAmerica is the voice of God, the authority, the truth, justice and the2.4 The bible and English proverbsharmonious paradise of human beings.There are a large number of proverbs from the Bible that are :3 Conclusionknown to both the old and the young. Those that urge people to actDue to the spread of English translation of the Bible, it has be-kindly and persuade people away from doing evil are especially at-come the language treasure of British and American people. Andtractive. They have become a kind of moral standard in people’s because the people in the world constantly refer to the biblical allu-written or oral language and influenced their words and deeds.sions in associations, make the Bible more and more important po-Hatred stirs up strife; but love covers all sins.sition in modern中国煤化工a famous doctineGossiping and lying go hand in hand. (The one who indulg- and become endu:HYHCNMHGes in talking about others will lie).English derilThe price of wisdom is above rubies. (Wisdom is superior to great number from the Bible. Above are only a few examples of tensjewellery).(下转第228页)226 /0研7本栏目责任编辑:谢媛嫒Overseas English海外英语2014年04月2.2对抗性语气3.1省略句体育新闻常常是关于各类体育赛事的报道。体育竞赛是任何一-种体育赛事都是-种争分夺秒的激烈活动,因此简指对立双方或多方在统一规则下,通过激烈拼搏以决出胜负。短有力的表达更能凸显出运动的紧张刺激。在选择英语体育因此,其过程中紧张激烈的比赛场面是新闻中不可或缺的部新闻的标题时,重点突出的省略句倍受欢迎,例如BaleNo分,会带给读者以身临其境的刺激感。以一-则关于高尔夫运动MatchforNeymar,虽然该标题中的系动词省略了,但是其意思的新闻为例，其首句就以充满对抗性的语气很快地引起读者强却- -目了然。在英语体育新闻中,没有动作指向的系动词通常烈的好奇心。"The world's top ranked golfer, Tiger W oods, and his都被省略,例如Tung Pleased with F1 Progress, Rooney's Con-immediate predecessor, Rory Mcllroy,ill wield their Nike clubs tract Status Not a Priority for Moyes, Moyes Facing Familiar Foe等in The Match at Mission Hills at Haikou, Hainan Island, on Mon-等。day.”(世界排名第一的高尔夫巨星泰格伍兹与前世界第- -罗3.2 陈述句.里.麦克罗伊,将于本周- -在海南海口观澜湖挥动他们的耐克无论是在英语体育新闻的标题还是正文中,使用最多的还球杆,进行-场前所未有的巅峰对决。)虽然这场为两位世界冠军量身定制的“观澜湖世界第--挑是介绍性的陈述句。标题中通常是最简单的陈述句，比如Ron-战赛”还未开始,但是新闻开篇中动感+足的语气已经让好奇aldo Laughs off Blatter Apology。但在报道的主体部分则更多地是比较长的陈述句,对比赛进行相对详细的描述,让读者更好的读者联想翩翩,精彩的赛场景象跃然纸上。地了解赛事。The 167th La Liga "Clasico' between Barcelona and2.3趣味性语气Real Madrid at the Nou Camp on Saturday could be the ideal stage .阅读体育新闻是体育迷们在工作学习之余的一种消遣性for Gareth Bale and Neymar to show they are worth a combined爱好,因此不能过于严肃和呆板。毫无趣味性的体育新闻对于price tag of almost 160 million euros. (周六在巴塞罗那诺坎普球读者来说也必定是毫无魅力可言的。因此,大多数的体育新闻场举行的西甲第167次国家德比,将是加雷斯贝尔和内马尔证作者都倾向于采用轻松愉快、诙谐幽默的语气。例如,(Tony明其非凡身价的最佳舞台,两个人的身价总和高达--亿六千万Allen) Even a minimal contribution on the more glamorous end of欧元)。 这是一则新闻的首句,清楚地交待了本次比赛的时间、the court is gravy on top when he sttles into lockdown mode. And地点 、看点,顷刻点燃了读者的热情和期待。when he does, the other team ’s best wing player can pretty much 4 结束语forget about having a good night. (托尼阿伦一旦 他正儿八经地开启一级防守模式,魅力四射的后场就可以说是固若金汤了。分析英语体育新闻在用词,语气和句型方面的特点,有助这种时候，对方最好的锋线球员的日子也不会好过啦。)轻松诙于 提高体育院校英语专业学生的写作技巧，游刃有余地撰写英谐的语言将托尼阿伦在场上的精彩贡献表现得淋漓尽致。语体育新闻,及时有效地向国外体育爱好者介绍国内体育活动,积极传播中国体育文化。3句型特点除了词汇和语气方面的特色,体育新闻里面的句型也十分参考文献:丰富,生动活泼，紧张有致，字里行间都透露出运动的活力。其川 宁翠叶体育英语词汇手册|MI.上海复旦大学出版社,2010.中常用的句型有以下几类:[2]何庆忠张惠珍体育英语[M]苏州:苏州大学出版社,2009.[3]王蕾新闻英语[M].杭州:浙江大学出版社,2003.(上接第226页)References:dents when they are learning English often meet these words, there-[1] Hao Peng.Christianity & the Bible[M].Nanhai Pressing Compa-ny,2005.fore must be aware of a certain gap of its literal meaning and practi-[2] Random House.The Holly Bible[M].KJV,1991.cal significance and this gap is due to misunderstand western cul-[3] Dai Weiping,Zhang Xuezhong,Gao Peng.English Words andture, especially the Bible culture. 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