Idioms习语课件.pptVIP

English Idioms Chang Chenguang In this talk… Idiomatic expressions Features of English Idioms Classification of Idioms Idioms in use Idioms and Appraisal Features of English Idioms Defining idioms has never been easy. Due to different theoretical standpoints and classification criteria, researchers have not been able to reach an agreement on what constitutes an idiom. Despite the differences, the three factors which have been most frequently mentioned as features of idioms are: compositeness institutionalization non-compositionality. Features of English Idioms By compositeness is meant that an idiom is commonly accepted as a type of multiword expression. a feather in sb’s cap (an honor, success, of which one can be proud) draw a blank (fail to discover or find out about sth after searching hard and asking many questions) Features of English Idioms Apart from compositeness, another necessary condition for a string to be classified as an idiom is institutionalization, the process by which a string or formulation becomes recognized as a lexical item of the language. break a leg put someone’s nose out of joint “That’s a nice shade of blue, isn’t it?” An example of a new idiom which is the result of “attendant circumstances” cited by Hockett. Mr X mistakenly identifies the colour of his wife’s blouse as blue rather as green. His remark is then used by his wife Mrs X to tease him about his insensitivity to the subtleties of colour. Features of English Idioms Finally, an idiom is characterized as a string of words whose semantic interpretation cannot be derived compositionally from its constituents (semantically opaque) Katz Postal (1963) emphasize the non-compositional feature of idioms: The essential feature of an idiom is that its full meaning, and more generally the meaning of any sentence containing an idiomatic stretch, is not a compositional function of the meanings of the idiom’s elementary grammatical parts. kick the bucket beat around the bush Features