中山大学外国语学院 常晨光教授习语.pptVIP

English Idioms Chang Chenguang flsccg@mail.sysu.edu.cn In this talk… English Idioms Features of English Idioms Classification of Idioms Idioms in use 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. Definitions in linguistics: a complex lexical item which is longer than a word form but shorter than a sentence and which has a meaning that cannot be derived from the knowledge of its component parts. Meaning is thus the decisive, if not the only, criterion for idioms. A combination of two or more words which are usually structurally fixed and semantically opaque, and function as a single unit of meaning. It is an established form, one that has been accepted by traditional usage. Features of English Idioms 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. 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) empha