session-10--idioms-词汇学.ppt

1、English idioms,What does this mean really?,Hurry up,What about this one?,disgust someone,And this?,persevere,These idioms are all about food. Can you explain what they really mean?,go bananas sell like hot cakes play gooseberry,Numbers up,dressed up to the _ talking _ to the dozen one in a _ playing

2、 _ fiddle in the_ heaven,nines,nineteen,second,seventh,thousand,Animal Crackers,Its raining _ and dogs! Ive got a _ in my throat. Those are just _tears. Hes taken the _ share. I can smell a _.,cats,cobweb,crocodile,lion,rat,II. Definition,Idioms are set phrases and short sentences made up of two or

3、more words; it functions as a unit of meaning which cannot be predicted from the literal meaning of its component words.,Sources of English Idioms,Language is a mirror of society. Idioms, as the essence of language, are no exception. English idioms owe its great variety and abundance to the colorful

4、 social and cultural life of the English people. Knowing the sources of the English idioms will help us to have a better understanding of their meanings. There are various sources which contribute to the creation of English idioms.,Sources of English Idioms,Everyday life is the chief sources of Engl

5、ish idioms. e.g. earn ones bread, keep ones hat, small beer, follow suit, and a storm in a tea cup, to be born with a silver spoon in ones mouth, to make a clean sweep, to hit the nail on the head；,Many English idioms are related with peoples living environment. Britain is an island country which is

6、 surrounded by sea, so there are a lot of idioms describing peoples life on the sea, e.g. all at sea, between the devil and sea, in low water, in the same boat, know the ropes, when the ship comes home.,Religion is an essential part of peoples life. the salt of the earth, at the eleventh hour, handw

7、riting on the wall, Man proposes，God disposes, cast pearls before swine.,Literature, especially classical literary works, has always been rich materials for numerous idioms. Die in harness, applaud one to the echo, at one fell swoop, make assurance double sure come from one of the tragedies by Shake

8、speare Macbeth; a pound of flesh and murder will out are from The Merchant of Venice; paint the lily from King John; hit the mark from Romeo and Juliet.,Some idioms can date back to the ancient Greek and Roman mythologies, legends, fables and anecdotes: Promethean fire or Promethean unguent, the app

9、le of discord, as fair as Helen, Achilles heel, a pandoras box, Hercules efforts, Jobs comforter, a dog in the manger, fish in troubled water, to meet ones Waterloo, burn ones boat, bury the hatchet.,1. Semantic unity 语义的整体性 Each idiom is a single semantic unity. The meaning of an idiom is not the t

10、otal sum of the meaning of its constituents. till the cows come home: The idiom functions as one wordan adverb meaning “forever”. show the white featherfunctions as a verb meaning “to show fear”.,Characteristics of idioms,Other Examples: To stick your neck out is to say or do something that is bold

11、and a bit dangerous. A similar idiom is go out on a limb. To break the ice is to be the first one to say or do something, with the expectation that others will then follow. A similar idiom is get the ball rolling. To have a chip on ones shoulder is to describe a person who acts rudely or aggressivel

12、y. The person seems always ready for a fight. To get long in the tooth means to get old.,2. Structural stability 结构的固定性 The structure of an idiom usually remains unchangeable. In other words, the constituent components of an idiom can not, generally speaking, be changed or replaced by other words. b

13、ury the hatchet *bury the ax in (*the) question out of (the) question,Many idioms are grammatically wrong, but idiomatically accepted. Long time no see. Like cures like. Go great guns.,According to grammatical function, idioms can be divided into 5 types: 1) Nominal idioms 2) Adjectival idioms 3) Ve

14、rbal idioms 4) Adverbial idioms 5) Sentence idioms,Classification of idioms,They function as the subject or the object in a sentence: a white elephant (沉重的负担, 无用的累赘东西) brain trust (智囊团、思想库 ) the salt of the earth (社会中坚分子；高尚的人 ) apple of discord (祸根) What is the apple of discord for this disaster?,1.

15、 Idioms nominal in nature,They function as complements or modifiers in a sentence. cut and dried (determined) wide of the mark (irrelevant) up in the air (uncertain) The plan is cut and dried. What he told me was quite wide of the mark. The plan is still up in the air.,2. Idioms adjectival in nature

16、,They function as predicate verbs in a sentence. make sure run short of keep after (反复提醒） get at （批评） move in on （准备）攻击；影响 sit down under (忍受） make do with (凑合着用） poke ones nose into (探听，干涉） make a clean breast of (和盘托出）,3. Idioms verbal in nature,Verbal idioms may also function as predicates. keep

17、the pot boiling（维持生活） bite the hand that feeds one（恩将仇报） give sb. the bag (解雇某人） cut a shine 招摇过市，出风头；摆阔 put a spoke in ones wheels （破坏某人的计划） play to the gallery （讨好观众，迎合低级趣味） pull the wool over ones eyes （蒙蔽某人）,3. Idioms verbal in nature,They function as adverbials in a sentence: tooth and nail: 拼命

18、 We will work tooth and nail. heart and soul: We will serve people heart and soul. in nothing flat: 立刻，马上 I will go there in nothing flat. through thick and thin: 不畏艰险 We made it through thick and thin.,4. Idioms Adverbial in nature,Such idioms are usually in complete sentential form. They are usual

19、ly proverbs or sayings. Never do things by halves. All is not gold that glitters. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Speech is silver, silence is gold. Many hands make light work. Time tries all things.,5. Sentence idioms,In order to use the idioms appropriately, one should be aware of the following

20、features of idioms: 1. stylistic features 2. rhetorical features 3. structural variations of idioms,V. Use of idioms,Different idioms show different stylistic meanings. Some are casual, others formal or neutral in style.,1. Stylistic features,1) Colloquialism big wheel: 有影响或重要的人物 Chomksy is a big wh

21、eel in linguistics. 2) Slang cancer stick: 癌棒（指香烟） hit the sack: 上床睡觉 in the soup: 处于困境 I am deep in the soup now. 3) Literary expressions come to pass: take place; happen bear witness to: prove, show His action bore witness to his kindness.,Stylistic features,The same idiom may show stylistic diffe

22、rences when it is assigned different meanings. screw up informal: I get screwed up at the thought of going to see a dentist. (become nervous) slang: He has the ability to screw things up from start to finish. (to make a mess of) neutral: He screwed up the letter and threw it in the wastepaper basket

23、. (destroy or ruin),(1) Phonetic manipulation 音韵手段 a. alliteration 头韵 part and parcel重要部分 sum and substance 要旨 fall flat (未能达到预想效果或完全失败） make ends meet dish the dirt到处散播别人的谣言 chop and change时常改变（主意) at sixes and sevens乱七八糟,2. Rhetorical features,b. rhyme 押尾韵 toil and moil辛苦工作 wear and tear 磨损 by hoo

24、k and by brook 不择手段地 fair and square 正大光明 art and part 策划并参与 high and dry 孤立无援 hoity-toity 神气十足 hurry-scurry 慌慌忙忙 Might makes right. 强权即公理。,(2) lexical manipulation 词语手段 a. reiteration (duplication of synonyms) pick and choose 挑剔 aches and pains 各种疼痛 babes and sucklings 天真而单纯的人们 by leaps and bounds

25、飞跃地 toss and turn 翻来覆去 cool and calm镇静 safe and sound 安然无恙 puff and blow 喘气,b. repetition (repetition of the same word) 词语重复 by and by 不久，马上 neck and neck out and out 十足的， 彻底的 such and such 这样那样的 through and through 彻头彻尾地 over and over 反复地 on and on 连续不断地 measure for measure 针锋相对的 call a spade a spa

26、de 直言不讳,c. juxtaposition (combination of two antonyms) 并置对举 day and night rain or shine,(3) Figurative manipulation 修辞手段 a. Simile as proud as a peacock ；as mute as a fish feel like a fish out of water,Todd is a country boy raised in a small town in Northumberland and was like a fish out of water wh

27、en he visited bustling London.,b. Metaphor a white elephant a black sheep dark horse wet blanket a stage whisper (有意让别人能听到的耳语） to set ones home in order (内部整顿） between the devil and the deep sea (进退维谷） c. Metonymy from cradle to gravelive by ones pen red tape,d. Personification Actions speak louder

28、than words. Failure is the mother of success. The pot calls the kettle black. e. Hyperbole a world of troubles a flood of tears,Despite the property of structural stability, idioms occasionally do show structural changes in terms of 1) addition 2) deletion 3) replacement 4) position-shifting,3. Stru

29、ctural Variations,3. Variations of idioms,1) Addition: 增加 “in good condition” from “in condition” 2) Deletion: 减少 “the last straw” from “It is the last straw that breaks the camels back.” 3) Position-shifting: 位置替换 day and night = night and day 4) Replacement: 替换 “lose heart” vs. “take heart” 振作 “br

30、eak ones word” vs. “keep ones word”,常用的习语总结,1. Money doesnt grow on trees. This often is said by parents to their young children. For example, when I was a young child, I really wanted a bike for my birthday. The bike was very expensive. When I asked my mother if I could have the bike, she said “No,

31、 money doesnt grow on trees.” What my mother meant was that she couldnt afford the bike. She couldnt just pick the money like leaves from a tree.,媒体中常用的习语总结,2. Money is the root of all evil This is often said when something bad has happened because of money. For example, Tom and Andrew are best frie

32、nds. Andrew lent Tom money so that Tom could buy a car. Andrew now wants his money back but Tom hasnt got it. A fight starts between the two friends and Tom is badly hurt. A newspaper journalist reporting the incident ends his story by saying “Money is the root of all evil.” It was because of the lo

33、an of money that the fight started.,媒体中常用的习语总结,3. Money cant buy you love. No matter how much you earn, there are things that you cant buy. A school boy really likes a girl in his class. He buys her flowers, jewelry and other beautiful things. But when he asks her out on a date she says “no”-money c

34、ant buy you love.,媒体中常用的习语总结,4. I wouldnt do that for love nor money. This saying means that there is no way you would do a certain thing. For example, you hear on the radio that a man is going to walk the entire length of the Great Wall with a book on his head. Id never do that, you think, so you s

35、ay: “I wouldnt do that for love nor money.”,媒体中常用的习语总结,A fool and his money are soon parted. This means that a stupid person spends his money quickly and too easily. For example, a friend of mine bought an extremely expensive pair of trousers. When she told me I thought to myself: “A fool and his mo

36、ney are soon parted.”,Ways to talk about time,1. Time waits for no one. 2. Time flies when you are having fun. 3. I have time on my hands. 4. Take your time. 5. The time passed at a snails pace. This has the opposite meaning to “time flies,” meaning that time went by as slowly as a snail crawls.,Ways to talk about time,6. I havent seen you for donkeys ears. It means “I havent seen you in a very long time,” and is a pun on “donkeys ears,” since donkeys have very long ears. 7. We have all the time in the world. This simply means that we have a lot of time. 8. Since the year dot. Sin