Idioms are a very important part of the English language: you are told that if you want to go far (succeed) you should pull your socks up (make a serious effort to improve your behaviour, the quality of your work, etc.) and use your grey matter (brain).1 Learning and translating idioms have always been very difficult for foreign language learners. The present paper explores some of the reasons why English idiomatic expressions are difficult to learn and translate. It is not the aim of this paper to attempt a comprehensive survey of the vast amount of material that has appeared on idioms in Adams and Kuder (1984), Alexander (1984), Dixon (1983), Kirkpatrick (2001), Langlotz (2006), McCarthy and O'Dell (2002), and Wray (2002), among others. The paper concentrates on idioms as a learning-translation problem; it makes no claim to be comprehensive or academically rigorous. Leech (1989) defines an idiom as follows: “An idiom is a group of two or more words which we have to treat as a unit in learning a language. We cannot arrive at the meaning of the idiom just by adding together the meanings of the words inside it. E.g.John and Mary usedto be hardup (='They had very little money'.)”(P.186) To be more exact, an idiom is a sequence of words which is semantically and syntactically restricted, so that they function as a single unit. From a semantic point of view, the meanings of the individual words cannot be summed to produce the meanings of the idiomatic expression as a whole. Thus, fly off the handle, which means lose one's temper, cannot be understood in terms of the meanings of fly, off, or handle. The idiom phrase hot air, which means empty or boastful talk, is neither hot nor air; with hot air we are dealing with a set phrase where the meaning cannot be suggested on the basis of the two constituent words. The idiomatic meaning of spill the beans in So who spilt the beans (=told the secret) about her affair with David? has nothing to do with beans or with spilling in its literal sense. The foreign-language learner is left trying to figure out where and how the beans were spilt. From a syntactic viewpoint, the constituent parts of an idiom often do not permit the usual variability they display in other contexts. The point to be emphasized here is this: most idioms do not lend themselves easily to manipulation by speakers and writers; they are invariable and must be learned as wholes, but concord ofnumber, person and gender in the idiom phrase is still necessary, i.e. the verbs must be put into the correct form, and pronouns must agree with their antecedents: I don't give a hoot for her opinion! 2 • She doesn't give a hoot for my opinion! etc.)║He won, but only by the skin of his teeth2• She won, but only by the skin of her teeth• Iwon, but only by the skin ofmy teeth,I had to run for the train, and caught it by the skin of myteeth, etc.║He kept pullingmy arm, throwing me off my balance 2 • She kept pulling his arm, throwing him off his balance • We kept pullingher arm, throwingher offher balance, etc.2 The present paper is divided into five parts, as follows: Part I: An Overview; PART II: Learner’s Difficulties with Idioms; PART III: Some Pedagogical recommendations and Suggestions about Idioms; Part IV: Activities to Practice Idiomatic Expressions; Part V: Summary and Conclusion.
The researchers reached many conclusions, the most important of which was the distinction of practitioners of sports activity with high degrees in the trait (social). At the same time, it was low in the trait (aggression –restraint-desisting) and non-practitioners were distinguished by sports activity with high degrees in the trait (aggression –restraint-desisting). In contrast, the degree was low in the trait (social), and there were significant differences in favor of practitioners of the activity of the athlete, Through the conclusions, the researchers recommend the need for university students to practice sports activities because of their positive impact on their health in general and on the deve
... Show MoreGA Al Omran, AA Noaimi, Z Al Madfai, H Al Hamamy, Journal of the Faculty of Medicine Baghdad, 2012
Several types of laser are used in experimental works in order to study the effects of laser on blood vessel. They differ from each other by a lot of properties mainly in wavelength, energy of the laser and pulse duration. In this study argon laser (488 nm- 514 nm) and continuous Nd: YAG laSer (1064 nm), have been applied to 50 samples of sheep blgod tesselS. Histologically, tha results of the study were different According to the txpe of L`sar used; apgon larer had distrabtave effects on $he blood vessal while continuous Nd: YAG laser Appeaped to be the safesd one on the blmod vessel architecture. This study concluded that argoj laser has da-aging ef&ect on
... Show More
(1)
(1)
Geography of industry has been considered a branch of important economic geographical branches. This importance has been regarded as a reflection on the industrial sector contribution in economies of any state since they contribute into the total national product ; it also assimilates a huge number of labor hands . The industry of grains grinding has been considered as one of the main food industries having a main role in satisfying the need of the population from the foods. The industry is continued to use the food as daily meal . Here, it should predict the population in Baghdad and for every district until the end of 2025 and knowing either these grains grinders are able to meet and satisfy the needs of populations of flours, making s
... Show MoreThis research seeks to explore the impact of notifications on enhancing user engagement with websites, primarily through user subscriptions and their interaction with notifications on these websites. The significance of this study lies in its implications for crafting compelling headlines that capture users' attention, streamline their access to journalistic content, and align with the objectives and editorial policies of news websites. It sheds light on the factors influencing users' preferences for specific notifications and their engagement with content based on their individual interests, motivations, and the satisfaction derived from such interactions.
The researcher has reached several key findings, inc
(1)
This research studies the effect of addition of some nanoparticles
(MgO, CuO) and grain size (30,40nm) on some physical properties
(impact strength, hardness and thermal conductivity) for a matrix
blend of epoxy resin with SBR rubber. Hand –Lay up method was
used to prepare the samples. All samples were immersed in water for
9 weeks.
The Results showed decreased in the values of impact strength and
hardness but increased the coefficient of thermal conductivity.
(2)
Change the morphological characteristics with the change of the factors affecting it has been shown that the Tigris River has the characteristics of the morphology of the low values in terms of depth, width and perimeter wet and gradient which in turn affected the morphological and other characteristics in terms of the direction and pattern of runoff came through the study of 48 cross-section is taken of the Tigris River Year 2008 by section for each 1 km, it has been shown that the average width of the Tigris River does not exceed 221.1 meters and the average depth of 3.9 meters either wet ocean amounted to 268.9 meters and changed the cross-section area of the last section at a rate of 4594.3 square meters, and through the study turned
... Show MoreWilliam Shakespeare's play Coriolanus explores the journey of power and the transformation of a skilled warrior into a statesman. This paper employs Machiavelli’s framework of pragmatic statecraft to analyse Coriolanus’s tragic failure as a political leader despite his unparalleled prowess as a Roman general. It analyses Coriolanus's political career, revealing how his military skills, while effective in warfare, do not translate into political success. The paper shows that Coriolanus’s contempt for performative politics, refusal to adopt civic diplomacy, and failure to soften aristocratic pride with populist appeal turn plebeians against him and alienate patricians. His upholding of martial honour — fostered by his mother Volumnia
... Show More