Idiomi, Lecture 01, 13_14
Transcript of Idiomi, Lecture 01, 13_14
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Terminology
Problematic
No generally agreed common vocabulary
Different terms used to describe identicalor very similar kinds of unit or a single
term used to denote very different
phenomena
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Definition
Idioms – multi-word phrases whose overall
meanings are idionsyncratic and largely
unpredictable, reflecting speaker
meanings that are not derivable by
combining the literal senses of the
individual words in each phrase according
to the regular semantic rules of thelanguage.
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Meanings od idioms
The typical meanings of idioms are not
fully compositional.
However – most idioms also have
possible, though unlikely, literal
compositional interpretations along with
their idiomatic senses. Which meaning is
intended usually depends on the context inwhich the expression is used.
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Examples
Let the cat out of the bag = reveal a secret
Take the bull by the horns = take charge of a
situation
These are commonly used idioms whose usualmeanings are not fully compositional, but have
to be learned as a whole.
However, these idioms also have possible,though rarely intended, literal compositional
meaning.
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Fixed expressions
There are various groups of lexical combinations on the basis of
their degree of cohesion:
1. Free combinations: their components are the freest in regard to
combining with other lexical items, NOUN murder + to analyse ,
boast of , condemn , descr ibe …
2. Idioms: are relatively frozen expressions whose meanings do not
reflect the meanings of their component parts. Proverbs and sayings
differ from idioms in that they convey folk wisdom or an alleged
general truth, and they are usually more frozen than idioms.
3. Collocations: are loosely fixed combinations, e.g. to comm itmurder .
(Benson et al . Lexicographic Description of English, Amsterdam:
John Benjamins, 1986)
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Fixed expression
Covers several kinds of multi-word lexical item or
phraseological unit, i.e. holistic units of two or more words:
frozen collocations (e.g. in retrospect , k i th and k in ; a foregoneconc lus ion , in effect , beg the question )
grammatically ill-formed collocations (break the conventional grammaticalrules of English, e.g. by and large , stay pu t )
proverbs (e.g. every clo ud h as a si lver l in ing ; f i rs t com e f irst served )routine formulae (e.g. al ive and well , pick and ch oose , you know )
sayings (include formulae such as quotations, catch-phrases, and truisms,e.g. an eye for an eye , don’t let the bastards grind you down)
similes (e.g. as good as gold , l ike lambs to the slaughter )
Fixed expression also subsumes idioms.Idioms - used to refer loosely to semi-transparent and opaque metaphorical
expressions, e.g. spi l l the beans , burn one’s candle at both ends.
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Idioms
Narrower uses of idiom: idiom is a unit thatis fixed and semantically opaque ormetaphorical, or not the sum of its parts
(e.g. kick the bucket , sp i l l the beans ).Broader uses of idiom: idiom is a generalterm for many kinds of multi-word item,whether semantically opaque or not (inthis use the term idiom is equivalent to theterm fixed expression)
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Idioms
Idiom – an ambiguous term
In lay or general use – idiom has two main
meanings:
1. Idiom is a particular manner of expressingsomething in language, music, art, etc., which
characterizes a person or a group
Ex.: …the most fantastic (performance) I haveseen in the strict id iom of the music hall
comedian.
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Idioms
2. Idiom is a particular lexical collocation
or phrasal lexeme, peculiar to a language:
Ex.: The French translations, however, of
my English speeches were superb (except
for rare instances where the translator was
unfamiliar with some out-of-the-way
English id iom I had used).
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Main factors in defining FEIs
Idiomaticity is a universal linguistic phenomenon in naturallanguages
The fundamental question - whether a string of words can beconsidered a unit (i.e. free combination) or FEI
3 principal factors in trying to define fixed expressions:
1. INSTITUTIONALIZATION: the process by which a string orformulation becomes recognized and accepted as a lexical item ofthe language. The main criterion is the frequency with which thestring recurs.
Problems: most fixed expressions occur infrequently; FEIs may belocalized within certain sections of a language community, andpeculiar to certain varieties or domains; some FEIs are no longercurrent in the lexicon, but were institutionalized in former times(e.g. put one’s eyes together , sw im between tw o w aters ).
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Main factors in defining FEIs
2. LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FIXEDNESS: implies
some degree of lexical and grammatical
defectiveness in units, f.e. with preferred lexical
realizations and often restrictions on aspect,mood, or voice (e.g. cal l the sho ts , ki th and
k in , shoo t the breeze ).
Problems: by no means all FEIs are fully frozen
strings. Institutionalization and fixedness are notsufficient criteria by themselves.
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Main factors in defining FEIs
3. NON-COMPOSITIONALITY*: is a semantic criterion. The meaningarising from word-by-word interpretation of the string does not yieldthe institutionalized, accepted, unitary meaning of the string (typicalcases are metaphorical FEIs). To sum up, institutionalized stringswhich are grammatically ill-formed or which contain words unique tothe combination may also be considered non-compositional.
There are also cases where the string is decodable compositionally, butthe unit has a special function in discourse, f.e. proverbs, similes,sayings. This is called pragmatic non-compositionality.
Problems: apparently holistic FEIs (spi l l the beans , rock the boat )may be partly compositional in relation to syntactic structure andmetaphoricity, i.e. we understand the pertinence of the image. Thus,
non-compositionality should be intepreted as indicating that thecomponent lexical items may have special meanings within thecontext of the FEIs, not that the meanings can never berationalized, nor that they are never found in other FEIs.
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Main factors in defining FEIs
* COMPOSITIONALITY of meaning (term
from semantics) = the meaning of any
expression is a function of the meanings of
the parts of which it is composed.
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Other criteria in defining FEIs
1. Ortography: FEIs should consist of, or be written as, 2or more words
2. Syntactic integrity: FEIs form syntactic orgrammatical units in their own right: adjuncts (e.g.
through thick and thin), complements (e.g. long in thetooth), nominal groups (e.g. a flash in the pan),sentence adverbial (e.g. by and large), clauses (e.g.don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched ).
3. Phonological criterion: where strings are ambiguous
between compositional and non-compositonalinterpretation, intonation may distinguish: interwordpauses and word durations are longer in literalreadings, shorter in idiomatic readings.
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Criteria are variables
Institutionalization, fixedness and non-compositionality distinguish FEIs from other strings,but they are not present to an equal extent in all items.
Degrees of institutionalization (e.g. from very frequent of
course to fairly rare cannot cut the mus tard ), offixedness (e.g. from the completely frozen ki th and kin to the relatively flexible and variable take st ick from
someone , get a lot of st ick from someone , givesomeone st ick ), and of non-compositionality (from the
opaque bite the bu l let to the transparent enough isenough ).
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HOMEWORK
kith and kin
a foregone conclusion
beg the question
by and large
stay put
every cloud has a silver lining
pick and choosespill the beans
burn one’s/the candle at both ends
call the shots
shoot the breeze
through thick and thin
long in the tooth
a flash in the pandon’t count your chicken before they’re hatched
cannot cut the mustard
take stick from someone/ get a lot of stick from someone/ give someone stick
bite the bullet