The Study of Animal Metaphors in English and Chinese Idioms from the Perspective of Conceptual Metaphor

This paper conducted a study of animal metaphors in English and Chinese idioms from the perspective of conceptual metaphor for the following reasons. Firstly, it summarizes the primary metaphors and its classifications by collecting and sorting out a large number of English and Chinese animal idioms and interpreting the representative animal “dog”. Secondly, it summarizes the similarities and differences of conceptual metaphors in English and Chinese animal idioms, and discusses the causes of these similarities and differences, hoping to help readers understand the nature and characteristics of idioms from a new perspective. It is found that the common characteristics and the similar physiological and psychological basis between human and animal lead to the similarities, while geographical environment, religious belief, dietary habits, literary works and legend, historical background and social customs lead to the differences in conceptual metaphors in English and Chinese animal idioms.