Chapter-8--English-Idioms-英语词汇学-教学课件.ppt

Chapter 8 English Idioms Introduction Idioms consist of set phrases and short sentences and loaded with the native cultures and ideas. Idioms are colorful, forcible and thought-provoking. Strictly speaking, idioms are expressions that are not readily understandable from their literal meanings of individual elements. Introduction for example:fly off the handle, put up with In a broad sense, idioms may include colloquialisms, catchphrases, slang expressions, proverbs, etc This chapter will deal with idioms in terms of their characteristics, classification and uses. idiomaticity It should be pointed out that the idiomaticity of idioms is gradable, with the ‘true’ idioms established at the upper end and regular combinations at the bottom. In between are the ‘semi-idioms’ By true idioms we mean that the meaning of the idiom cannot be deduced from those of the individual constituents: stepped up, in the raw Idiomaticity By regular combinations we speak of the regular collocations such as make friends with, break silence and smooth tongue, the meanings of which are understood from the literal meanings of the constituents.In between we have idioms like turn over a new leaf, as cool as a cucumber and draw the curtain , whose meanings are in a way related to the meanings of the constituents but are themselves explicit. Idiomaticity The fixity of idioms depends on the idiomaticity. The more idiomatic the idioms, the more fixed the structure. Many of the idioms of the lower scale do allow some changes. For example, break silence can be changed into keep silence to express the opposite meaning. Put on the coat can be replaced by put it on in the actual context. Classification of Idioms Classification can be approached from different angles. We prefer the criterion of ‘grammatical functions’. By this criterion, idioms may be classified into five groups. Idioms Nominal in NatureIdioms Adjectival in Nature Idioms Verbal in NatureIdioms Adverbial in NatureSentence Idioms U