潘春蝶

【摘要】希伯来文化和希腊文化即指圣经，是西方语言的起源，在西方文化的发展中发挥重要的作用。众所周知，圣经作为基督教的经典，被视为一项重要的文化遗产，并对西方的思想、文化、 意识形态以及语言等方面产生了重要影响。因此，如果英语学习者不能了解来源于圣经故事中的词汇的背景，他们就不能理解这些词的真正含义。为了更好地了解英语语言文化、丰富英语语言知识、改善英文表达的能力、更好地进行跨文化交际，本文对来自于希伯来文化和希腊文化的英语习语及其典故进行了探讨。

【关键词】希伯来文化 希腊文化 圣经 习语

【Abstract】Hebraism and Hellenism，which are the origins of western language and play an important role in the development of western culture，refer to Bible.As we known，Bible，a Christian classic，is regarded as an important culture heritage，and it has main influence on western thoughts，cultures，ideologies and language.Consequently，if English learners dont know the background of the words from the stories of Bible，they will not comprehend the real meanings of those words.In order to understand the English culture better，enrich their knowledge of language，improve their abilities to express in English and may contribute to the learners Cultural senses for the sake of better cross-cultural communications，this passage probes into some idioms and allusions from Hebraism and Hellenism

【Keywords】Bible，Hebraism，Hellenism，Idioms，cross-cultural communication

【中圖分类号】H319 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2018）01-0039-04

一、Introduction

From the historical development of language we see that any language reflects the cultures of a society in a particular period.There can be no doubt that language is a product of society，which is used as a means of communication in a society.People use language to say something to each other and express their daily needs for communication.Just as Ronald Wardhaugh says，“Language is the cement of society，allowing people to live，work，and play together，to tell the truth but also to tell a lie，or lies.”[3]If we really want to know the real meaning of sentences，we should not get it literally.So we must know the Etymology，from which we can get background information and knowledge about the history，origin and development of the English language and increases the learners enjoyment and real understanding of English words from their changes of different usages of words to that of meanings.

Moreover，we not only know the importance of etymology，but also know the idioms.The idiom is different from the common word，“An idiom is an element of a language that possesses a unique way of expression based on its time –honored use.”[6]（P1）In other words，an idiom is a fixed group of words or a single word，or even a sentence，with a special meaning that can not be guessed from its structure.That is to say，the meaning of an idiom must be learned as a whole.”[1]（P334）Besides，it is hard to use correctly.The proper use in a language is often a mark of a persons command of the language.Speech or writing without them lacks color and is uninteresting，but overuse or improper use makes the language sound affected and unnatural.It is often said that nothing marks a foreigner more than his unnecessary use of idioms.[2]（P338）Hebraism and Hellenism are the origins of western language and play an important role in the development of western culture，and even enrich its daily words，which are also called Bible.As we all known，Bible，a Christian classic，is regarded as an important culture heritage，and it has main influence on western thoughts，cultures，economy，ideologies，and even peoples daily life.

Strictly speaking，the origin of western culture is known by the Western historians as the "two H-culture" referring to Hebrew culture and Hellenic culture.Hellenic culture，including Greek mythology，Homer Epics and Aesop Fables is the source and the main material of the western culture.Ancient Greek culture and Roman culture，which is the inheritance of ancient Greek culture，are not only pregnant with the entire Western culture directly，but also have a significant and far-reaching influence on the world culture.Ancient Hebrew culture is developed by the Israelites who treated Judaism as the core content of the culture；and Christianity is derived from Judaism，so Hebrew culture is the foundation of Christian culture that inherits from Hebraism and absorbs the part of Greek culture.（严格说来，西方文化的渊源是西方史学家所称的“二希文化”（也称“两希文化”），即希腊文化和希伯来文化。希腊文化，包括希腊神话、荷马史诗、伊索寓言等，是西方各国文化的源泉和素材，古希腊文化和继承希腊文化的古罗马文化，不仅直接孕育了整个西方文化，而且对世界文化的发展也有重大而深远的影响。希伯来文化则是古代以色列人以犹太教为核心内容所形成的文化；而基督教是从犹太教派生出来的，所以基督教文化是继承希伯来文化的基础上吸收希腊文化的部分内容而发展形成的。）[7]（P80）The mainstream of Western culture should be a Christian culture that derives from Hebrew culture.Moses and Jesus are the Hebrew prophets who not only create the only holy Religious belief and divinity，but also created the Old Testament and New Testament.

The cultural exchange between Hebrew and Greek culture Is a major event，especially the combination of both resulted in Christianity，moreover，According to the rule of Christianity in the Middle Ages，it has a profound impact on the Western culture，religion，philosophy and even plays a decisive role in modern culture，the common function of the two cultures form a long history of Western culture.希伯来文化和希腊文化的交流，是世界文化中的一件大事，尤其是二者结合产生了基督教，通过基督教在中世纪的统治，对西方文化、宗教、哲学产生了深刻的影响，對近代文化起了决定性作用，两种文化共同作用，形成了西方文化的历史长流。……