A comparative study on Chinese and Thai idioms containing the word "wind"

Abstract

Idioms are one of the expressions of language that represent culture in various countries and regions. Moreover, it’s reflect human history , culture ,thoughts and emotions. China and Thailand are different in terms of geography, environment, education , custom and cultural heritage. The expressions of idioms also reflect country’s culture and customs. This study aim to explore the similarities and differences of idiom between two countries that will be beneficial for both countries in term of cultural exchanges. This study mainly conducts a comparative study in term of language expression, and cultural differences of Chinese and Thai idioms that containing the word “风” (Feng) which mean“wind”.The study believe that the geographical landforms, production methods, lifestyles, religious beliefs and thinking ideas provide valuable reference in the idiom containing the word “Wind”.The range of the selected Chinese idioms is in Chinese Idiom Dictionary, and the range of the selected Thai idioms is in Thai Idioms , align with using of literature research method, observation method, quantitative analysis method and qualitative analysis to explore the Chinese and Thai idioms that influenced by the word “Wind” To conclude, the results of this study found that many Chinese and Thai idioms containing the word "wind" have similar meanings but different origins. The reasons are leading by the differences in language expression habits, natural environment, way of life, commonly used tools, religious beliefs, and customs between two countries. The study is expected to provide corpus help for more Chinese learners and Chinese-Thai idiom teaching.