Definition of Idioms and Collocations Essay Example for Free

Definition of Idioms and Collocations EssayA phrase which has a mean that is commonly understood by speakers of the language, further whose meaning is often different from the normal meaning of the delivery is called an idiom.Of the various definitons of idiom, therr criteria, both semantic and syntactic, cut as predominant. The first is semantic opacity, or what has come to be known as noncompositionality, the fact that the meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced from a sum of the meanings of its separate in this sense, the meaning of an idiom is not motivated(bussmann 1996 316). Thus, the meaning od die cannot be produced from the sum of kick + the+ bucket , or be patient, check down from hold+ your+ horses.No constiluent os an idiom carries independent meaning. The secon criterion relates to the apparent morphological and transformational deficincies od idioms, in not permitting the syntatic variability displayed in other, freer sequences of words operations such p underst ructureive ( * the bucket was kicket by Sam), international modification ( * Hold your restless horses), and topicalization ( *The bucket Sam kicked) cannot occour with the idiomatic meaning being retained. The 3rd criterion is the lack of substitutability in idioms, their lexical integrity (Fernando and Flavell 198138) synonymous lexical items cannot be substituted in an idiom, as in have a drum on , but not *have a smash on (Bussmann 1996 216), nor can elements be reversed or deleted.Idioms are, therefore, syntagmatically and paradigmatically fixed (Nuccorini 1990 418). In addition to these criteria, it has beed observed that idioms belong to an informal register, are figurative or metaphorical in meaning, have homonymous literal counterparts, are often instutionalized (Fernando and Flavell 1981 17) or proverbial in constitution (describling situations of common social interest), and have an affective quality (implying a certain affective stance) ( Nunberg, Sag, and Wasow 199 4 492-93). They are frequentlu nontranstable (Fernando and Flavell 1981 81) The term collocation seems to date back toFirth, who discusses the collocation of ass with silly, obstinate, stupid, and awful (1957 190-215) in defining the term , Crystal( 1997 69-70) refers to the habitual co turn overrence of auspicious with occasion, event, sign, an so on, while Carter ( 1987 57) contrasts the collocation have, get evenfalls and needles, which is always plural and nonreverible, with the free combination pin and needle. Like idioms, collocations are groups of lexical items which repeatedly or typically cooccur, but unlike idioms, their meanings can usually be deduced form the meaning of their parts ( but cf. Bussmann 1996 81).Collocations are predictable to a greater or lesser degree, with some words having a very narrow collocational range ( e.g., spick, which may occur olny in spick and span) and others having a very wide collocational range ( e.g. , clean, which can occur in a wide variety of strrucures and phrases). Carter notes that the (near) synonymus putrid/rancid/ muddled/rotten have restrictions on the range of their collocability ( putrid fish and rancid butter, though not the reverse), but he also obseres that ranges are not alone fixed but can be extended ( rotten fruit,though also perhaps rotten fish/eggs).